SLO: County Needs Affordable Housing - Part V

*****ORIGINAL ARTICLE: December 19, 2014:

I tend to be long-winded and take forever to get to my point. Often, by the time I get there, the message is convoluted. Stay with me here. That is the reason that I am a doer, and though frequently invited, I rarely/never accept invitations to serve on boards or committees, or anything that requires sitting in a room with a bunch of people for more than 20 minutes. I've been true to that commitment, until this year.

Above: I've never seen a homeless shelter comic, so I had to snag this one - thanks Sally G. for pointing this out to me!

Somehow, through a twist of strange fate, I ended up serving on the Homeless Services Oversight Committee's (HSOC) Housing Committee. Briefly, I'll tell you how I got there. I am on the Interfaith Coalition for the Homeless' (ICH) Homeless Shelter Overflow Program, helping to manage the overflow every year during the month of July. The ICH identified an opening in the HSOC full committee (not the Housing sub-committee) that nobody was stepping forward to fill. Knowing that it was important that someone from ICH fill the "faith" position on HSOC, I reluctantly applied. In the interim, somebody else (apparently more qualified) stepped forward and was awarded the position. Great - I didn't want to be on it anyways, for all the reasons previously mentioned. 

SLO: County Needs Affordable Housing - Part IV

*****December 19, 2014:

The Tribune ran my letter to the editor in the 12/19/2014 edition on page B4. You can read the article "Adding to the Homeless" by clicking here. It is a slightly modified letter that I sent to the SLO City Council to oppose their "Rental Inspection Program" (RIP) that they recently voted in favor of by a 3-2 margin. I am in favor of RIP only if it is accompanied by an equal or greater program for affordable housing. The idea is to at least offset the housing we are losing to the RIP by creating affordable housing in place of the lost housing.

*****December 18, 2014:

To make it easier, I'm removing the identity of the city council people that I am corresponding with, as it does nothing helpful, but may not be constructive. Also, printing the back-and-forth emails is counter-productive as well. Nothing but well meaning discourse, resulting in nothing. If any concrete action is ever proposed (in the future), I'll print that.

Dear Slo-City-Council-Person, 

Thanks  for taking the time to get back to me. I appreciate your concern for homeless and workforce housing issues. Unfortunately, the workforce model that you describe below does not appear to work. Why do I say that? Because it does not produce affordable housing. At least that’s what homeless people in search of Section 8 housing told me recently - there isn't any. Same with the 50 Now program - no affordable housing for the program. Don't believe me - ask them yourself.

SLO: National Homeless Persons Memorial Day.

Next Thursday, Dec. 18th, from 5pm to 6pm in front of the SLO Courthouse, the Homeless Services Oversight Council (HSOC) is hosting a Homeless Persons Memorial Event to commemorate those we have lost this year on the streets. Note that this is also a fundraising event for the “50 Now” Project and our local warming centers. There will be many speakers from homeless service providers, who will be setting up tables with more information, and there may be live music as well.

Anyways, I'm not generally one to attend these things, as I am better off helping a homeless person rather than listen to politicians and others talk about it. However, this event does create awareness to the plight of our local homeless population, and I am on the HSOC Housing Committee, so I am attending. If you want to attend, then that's great. More importantly, I encourage you to help those in need in a way that you see fit for yourself. This is a year 'round effort, and not just at the holidays. Blessings to all.

Poster of event below (click to enlarge):

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SLO: Winter is Here: Volunteer at Prado Warming Station

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12/4/2014 PRADO WARMING STATION 

Each year Prado Day Center in San Luis Obispo opens up as a “Warming Station” to provide overnight accommodations to those homeless individuals and families that would otherwise be outside in the elements.  The Warming Station opens when freezing temperatures and/or more than 3 nights of rain are forecast.

Prado Day Center is looking for volunteers who have a heart for those in need and are willing to donate their time to covering the Warming Station shifts. Please email CAPSLO manager Shawn Ison at sison@capslo.org so that you can get on the distribution list. Later this winter, when they plan to open the Warming Station, you will get an email asking if you’d like to volunteer. Just like with the Homeless Shelter Overflow, no experience is necessary - only compassion for your fellow human beings.

I found a good explanation online for the "Warming Station"  (note that some details may have changed since this was written). The interior of the Prado day center does not change. No beds would be offered. There may be blankets and sleeping bags, but people would have to utilize the interior as is. The accommodations are similar to an 'airport style' of comfort. People can rest in chairs and/or sleeping bags, but no beds will be brought in.

Additional Information

- Warming Station Shifts: 4:30pm-12:00a, 12:00am-8:30am or 4:30pm-8:30am

- Volunteers must complete a volunteer application

- Volunteers must show a photo I.D.

- Volunteers must be willing to be called upon within 24-hours’ notice

Above (click to enlarge): My son Andrew on a backpack with us earlier this year in Surprise Canyon in the Panamint Mountains. Yes, somebody did inscribe "Human Stupidity Has No Limit" into the canyon walls. Yes, this should be considered awful, but we find it clever and funny, and it is a great source for photos. What does this have to do with the Warming Station? Absolutely nothing, but I love photos on text-only postings!

If you can’t volunteer your time, Prado Day Center needs the following items to support the Warming Station:

- Blankets, Pillows, Sleeping Bags

- Disposable plates/bowls/cups/utensils

- Milk, juice, lunchmeat, cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, sliced bread

- Coffee/tea, creamer, sugar, snacks- Cup of Noodles/canned soups

Send your email address to Shawn Ison at sison@capslo.org to get on the Warming Station email list. Note that Prado just completed their first "Warming Station" session of the season, starting on Monday 12/1/2014 and ending on Thursday 12/4/2014. I did not participate, as they had already filled all the spots, but the reports are that it went well.

You can read more about the Prado Warming Station in SLO at the HopeDance website by clicking here.

SLO: You Can Help Support "Housing First"

*****Update 4/7/2015: A friend forward this article about the "Housing First" program in Washington DC, which I found particularly relevant. You can read the entire article in the Huffington Post by clicking here. I inserted some minor clarifications to an excerpt from the article that you can read below. 

In DC, the "housing first" program is only for the chronically homeless, and I tend to agree with that. The chronically homeless are defined as being homeless for more than a year, and are disabled or mentally ill. The article notes both that housing the chronically homeless saves the government money (in theory), and is in contrast to many government municipalities that make homelessness a crime through citations and arrests for people trying to survive on the streets.

Begin Excerpt:

In the entire United States, chronically homeless represent just 14 percent of the overall homeless population, and “housing first” is not a solution for the 7.7 million Americans at risk of homelessness for economic reasons. But chronic cases -- people who've been homeless more than a year and suffer from a disability of some kind -- are the most visible of the homeless, the kind many city dwellers see on the street every day.

Pathways D.C. (the group running the housing first program in Washington DC) said that since the group opened its D.C. office in 2004, Pathways has housed 600 formerly homeless people here, of whom 90 percent have remained in their apartments. Pathways is one of several organizations helping administer the 1,312 currently filled slots in the city's permanent supportive housing program. The number of chronically homeless individuals within city limits has declined from 2,110 in 2010 to 1,609 in 2014, according to the most recently available data.

Housing first is not only effective in getting homeless people off the streets. It is also designed to save the government money. The District's 400 most vulnerable chronically homeless people soak up an average of $40,000 per person annually in ambulance rides, hospitalizations and run-ins with the law, according to a February analysis commissioned by Miriam’s Kitchen, another homeless services provider in the city. By contrast, rent and social services for someone in a permanent supportive housing program run about $20,000 annually.

Despite the proven effectiveness of housing first, many cities have taken a more punitive approach to addressing homelessness, outlawing things like sleeping in public or panhandling.

*****Original Post: December 2, 2014
Beginning of "Welcome Home Kit Drive" Flier

Welcome Home 

Kit Drive

For Homeless Individuals Being Housed

December 2, 2014 - January 9, 2015

The 50 Now Project is a program to house the top 50 most vulnerable, chronically homeless people throughout SLO County. Kicking off on Giving Tuesday 12/2/14, the Welcome Home Kit Drive will help make their future homes more cozy and ensure that the newly housed have everything they need. This is a great project for your family, friends and coworkers during the holidays!

YOU CAN HELP! Collect individual items or create your own kit. See suggested essentials below: 

PERSONAL HYGIENE - toothbrush - toothpaste - soap - lotion - toilet paper - deodorant

HOUSEHOLD BASICS - paper towels - trash bags - sponges - mop - broom - dustpan

LAUNDRY - detergent - fabric softener - laundry basket - dryer sheets - roll of quarters - basket/hamper

KITCHEN - dish soap - pots - pans - aluminum foil - cling wrap - utensils

***Non-perishable, non-food items only, NO BLEACH OR AMMONIA products please.***

Lobby Drop Off Locations:

Your local Social Services office, including:
- Arroyo Grande – 1086 Grand Avenue - SLO – 3433 South Higuera
- Atascadero – 9415 El Camino Real - 
- Paso Robles – 406 Spring Street
- Nipomo – 681 W. Tefft Street, Suite 1 (Department staff will accept donations)

United Way of San Luis Obispo County: 1288 Morro Street #10, Corner of Morro & Pismo in Downtown SLO

Transitions-Mental Health Association: 784 High Street, SLO

*****End of "Welcome Home Kit Drive" Flier

ANOTHER WAY TO DONATE: In addition to donating the above items for the "Welcome Home Kit", there is now an option to make a monetary donation. You can write a check made out to:

Transitions Mental Health Association

Attn: Mark Lamore
784 High St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

On the check, please indicate that the check is for the "Welcome Home Kit" Drive (i.e., write "Welcome Home Kit Drive" on the "For" section of the check). I will be sending in my donation today (12/3/2014). I hope you will consider doing so as well.

NATIONAL: Why So Many People Hate the Homeless

*****UPDATE: 12/12/2014: I found a blog called "SLO Homeless" that I really liked that dealt with a similar issue, entitled "Why Do Some People Object to Helping the Homeless", which you can read by clicking here. I encourage you to read it also, even though it was written way back in 2010 - local homelessness has only gotten worse since then. In fact, here's is the link to this "SLO Homeless" blog that you can go to by clicking here.

The "SLO Homeless" article referenced above makes these major points regarding why some object to helping the homeless:
- Not In My Backyard (NIMBY)
- It costs too much.
- Providing services will draw more homeless to the community.

The writer concludes with this:
"Sooner or later, we are going to have to come to terms with homelessness. And we are going to have to provide the resources necessary to empower each and every homeless person who wants to get off the streets with a viable opportunity do so. But before we can do that, we are going to have to move beyond our personal objections to providing effective and meaningful homeless support services to those who live on the streets of our communities. Continually raising objections to providing services to assist the homeless doesn’t solve the issue. All it does is put our arrogance on display for all the world to see."

JUST FOR FUN: Halloween, 2014!

It's no secret that the Waag's love Halloween. Rick and Brian create a crazy Haunted House every year down in Southern California, and this year is no different. Thanks to them, as well as their spooky spouses, for building the Spook House and creating all the costumes for us, so we can come down and have some fun. Andrew joined us this year, which made it even better. A few photos from the event:

Above (click to enlarge): Rick chooses the theme every year. This year's theme was "Casa de VooDoo" which was a great one. Think jungles, gorillas, shrunken heads, etc. Rick carves the "masthead" above the Haunted House, which is lit up at night.

Above (click to enlarge): Sue in costume (left), and Andrew still in corporate Hulu attire - just showed up (right). Rick and Chris make all the costumes for us, the cast of creeps! Note that Sue designed and applied her own make-up. They have a huge make-up kit available for us to use to create our own crazy look.

Above (click to enlarge): Sue and I create 4 new Halloween themed drinks for the Haunting every year, and we always have a winner, and this year, the above was it: the Fractured Froggie - it looks gross, tastes great, and you just shoot it!

Above (click to enlarge): The crowds for the VooDoo haunt are always huge and around the block, and this year was no exception. A streetview above. Funny side note: during the running of the spook house, I leave (in costume) and go out and take the above photo - with a beer in my hand; I was standing in the middle of the street getting this shot, when who shows up but a cop car - but they didn't even blink. It would be a bummer to have received a citation while quickly leaving the set to go take a photo of the line action. Fortunately, the police were more worried about the crowd we were attracting!

Above (click to enlarge): Reina and Chris - a VooDoo Princess (daughter) and VooDoo Queen (mother)! How sweet! Great costumes...

Above (click to enlarge): Brian (left) as a sort of VooDoo Indiana Jones. Laura (right) in a crazy VooDoo feather-dress, complete with yellow and orange tooth makeup - and oh, what's in here right hand? Correct: she's about to down a "Fractured Froggie"!

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