WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES TO ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS?
“One of the obstacles has proven to be the state law and
the courts who have — time after time — halted any re-
alistic enforcement efforts. Three areas have contributed
most: the legal aspect, as in changing the criminal codes to
lower penalties; the closure of mental health state facilities
and ‘releasing’ the mentally ill upon society, then placing
the burden upon the counties without providing a funding
source; and California’s lack of participation in any solu-
tion, including economic development.”
– Mike Leahy, Yuba County
“Money: If we had more money, we could house every last one.
Housing: If we had the money, we could build more housing
units. Political will: It’s getting better and better, our county
government is supporting more and more programs that sup-
port the needs of the extremely low-income classes.”
– René Evans, El Dorado County
“One of the things we found out from talking to people look-
ing for housing was how much competition there is for units
— people would tell us they’d make an appointment to see
an apartment, and they’d get there, and there would be 10 or
20 other people there to look at it. Because there are so many
people looking for housing, landlords have a lot of choices,
and they’re not willing to take a chance on someone without
recent rental history or with an eviction. Once people leave
housing, especially with an eviction, it’s really difficult to get
back into housing.”
– Sarah Bontrager, Elk Grove
“Capacity in rural regions is limited. Staff at the county level
need to write grants and connect all funding into one area, and
law enforcement and health-care funding must be part of the
solution. Insurance issues for those needing both psychiatric
and substance-abuse counseling are also at play, as is attract-
ing large developers into smaller regions to build housing.”
– Denise Cloward, Amador and Tuolumne counties
“Changing public perception. By helping the homeless, it will
not attract more homeless people to the area. There’s a mis-
conception that they are all drug addicts and responsible for
their situation so we shouldn’t help them, as well as resent-
ment that they are taking resources from the community.”
– Frank Axe, Amador County
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