Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California Needs to Treat Homelessness Like the Disaster It Is. Let’s Provide Housing First
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 5 years ago on
December 23, 2019

Share

For the past 23 years, I have led a statewide homeless services and housing development agency. In Los Angeles, I have interacted with four mayors, three cycles of county supervisors, and dozens of city council members.
During this period, the approach to the growing issue of homelessness has been predictable. Political efforts and resources to sufficiently fund services or build housing were always limited.


Joel John Roberts
Special to CALmatters

Opinion
Granted, leaders tried to slow down this human epidemic.
They proposed and passed housing bonds, 10-year plans, various initiatives and homeless counts. They created task forces, appointed homeless leaders and created the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a joint county and city agency.
Ten years ago, a strategy that shifted funds toward moving people into permanent housing and then linking them with services became popular. It is called housing first, and it became the establishment’s favorite approach to solving homelessness.
This year, with tents flooding our streets like a natural disaster hit, and with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent, the public is beginning to question the establishment’s approach to solving homelessness.
A recent Los Angeles Times survey found that 66% of respondents believed Los Angeles officials ineffectively spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.

The Supreme Court Is Considering Blowing up Local Ordinances

To no surprise, the public is getting restless. My agency has been contacted by numerous community leaders—business and faith—asking how we can shake up traditional approaches to addressing homelessness.
The end of 2019 could very well be a precursor for things to come.
Recently, Peter Lynn, the head of L.A. Homeless Services Authority resigned. He is one of the smartest leaders in this field, and oversaw record numbers of people being housed. But his five-year tenor was difficult in the current political environment.
On the federal level, the head of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Matthew Doherty, was recently fired by the Trump administration. He was another cutting-edge leader who advocated for Housing First.
Already there is talk of breaking the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority into regional agencies, or turning it into a joint powers authority like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. And Trump appointed a controversial new Interagency Council on Homelessness leader, Robert Marbut, who believes housing is the fourth priority, not the first.
Now, the Supreme Court is considering blowing up local ordinances that allow people to live on the streets, if there is not enough shelter.
Some might say it’s time to shake up the establishment’s approach to homelessness. Some shaking up in California might be good, as long as it’s not an earthquake.
We certainly need to respond to homelessness like it is a natural disaster. That means not building a limited number of permanent buildings for shelters, but setting up enough temporary structures immediately, perhaps on county and city property, to get people off the streets now. If thousands of people became homeless because of an earthquake, it wouldn’t take officials long to set up temporary shelter.

Disproportionate Percentage of People of Color Are Homeless

Shaking up how we build permanent homes should also be in the mix.

There is a disproportionate percentage of people of color who are homeless. African Americans consist of more than 40% of the homeless population, yet only represent 13% of the general population. Shaking up means looking at homelessness as an equity issue, as well.
A half a million-dollar studio apartment for one homeless person feels like a design-by-committee solution.
Let’s ignore established ways of building, and re-look at land acquisition. Public land should be donated, not sold to nonprofit developers. And there must be different forms of construction material, more cookie-cutter designs, and designs for shared-tenant housing.
Shaking up also means looking at who is homeless, and why our society is allowing them to become homeless.
There is a disproportionate percentage of people of color who are homeless. African Americans consist of more than 40% of the homeless population, yet only represent 13% of the general population. Shaking up means looking at homelessness as an equity issue, as well.
So did the establishment fail in dealing with homelessness? Yes and no.
Yes, the establishment never invested enough resources into services and housing the last two decades. But the failure is also not in the housing first approach—because the answer to homelessness is simple. People without homes need a home.
About the Author
Joel John Roberts is chief executive officer of PATH and PATH Ventures, statewide homeless services and housing development agencies, JoelR@epath.org. He wrote this commentary for CalMatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s Capitol works and why it matters.
[activecampaign form=31]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

DON'T MISS

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

DON'T MISS

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

DON'T MISS

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

DON'T MISS

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

DON'T MISS

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

DON'T MISS

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

DON'T MISS

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

UP NEXT

Why Is It So Expensive to Build Affordable Homes in CA? It Takes Too Long

UP NEXT

What Some Animals Endure Before We Eat Them

UP NEXT

Zakaria Warns of ‘Crony Capitalism’ in Trump’s Tariff Reversal

UP NEXT

How California Can Reduce High Concession Prices in Its Taxpayer-Funded Stadiums

UP NEXT

Why Palestinian Christians Feel Betrayed by American Christians

UP NEXT

Other States Do Housing Better Than California; a New Study Shows How They Do It

UP NEXT

Trump and Netanyahu Steer Toward an Ugly World, Together

UP NEXT

New Plan to Accelerate CA High-Speed Rail Construction Deserves Attention, Support

UP NEXT

Why Did So Many People Delude Themselves About Trump?

UP NEXT

LA Feud Is Prime Example of Constant Clashes Between CA Cities and Counties

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

17 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

18 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

18 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

19 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

19 hours ago

Vendors Back at Fresno’s Art Hop? Survey Wants to Know What You Think

20 hours ago

Russian Missile Attack Kills One, Wounds 112 in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Officials Say

20 hours ago

Iran Says Nuclear Deal Is Possible if Washington Is Realistic

20 hours ago

49ers Look to Strengthen Depleted Defense in NFL Draft

20 hours ago

Habit Burger & Grill Quietly Drops Impossible Burger From Menu

20 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

Pacific Gas & Electric customers are already paying some of the nation’s highest rates for electricity, and their bills could be g...

16 hours ago

16 hours ago

Hey PG&E Customers, Get Ready for New ‘Transaction Fees’

17 hours ago

Fresno County Ending ‘Squaw Valley’ Fight After Latest Court Ruling

Tesla Inc. vehicle facility is pictured in Costa Mesa, California, U.S., November 1, 2023. (REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo)
17 hours ago

Exclusive: Tesla to Delay US Launch of Affordable EV, a Lower-Cost Model Y, Sources Say

17 hours ago

Clovis Reconsiders Recycling Vote. Will a Campaign Contribution Matter?

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Newsom vetoed a landmark bill aimed at establishing first-in-the-nation safety measures for large artificial intelligence models Sunday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)
18 hours ago

Gov. Newsom Offers $50K Reward in 2022 Kings County Homicide

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo)
18 hours ago

Trump’s White House Launches COVID Website That Criticizes WHO, Fauci and Biden

19 hours ago

Fresno ‘Powers Up’ the Nation’s Largest Combined Solar and Battery Storage Project

19 hours ago

Trump Admin Asserts COVID-19 Originated in Chinese Lab, Targets Fauci

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend