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"!

Click Here to go back to "Tim Waag Blog" Home Page! 

WORLD: Watch This Video!

Some of my favorite videos. Many involve me or people that I know. Have fun viewing them.

19***** It's no secret that E. Clampus Waagus has a weakness for the late great Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". Mark M. sent me a link to this you tube music video of a cover (by Avi Kaplan of Pentatonix) of Ring of Fire. Okay, I liked it. Not as much as the original from the Man in Black, but pretty entertaining, so listen to it by clicking here.

18***** The secret of how the "Moving Rocks" at Death Valley's Racetrack actually move has finally been revealed in this fascinating video, which you can watch by clicking here. Previously, many researchers thought they had found the answer, but this video proves them dead wrong. Many theories. Many projects. These guys finally figured it out. BUT they still don't know how the larger moving rocks actually move. Guess there's always some mystery left to figure out! This same group also has a web page at http://www.racetrackplaya.org/  

SLO: County Needs Affordable Housing - Part III

*****November 6, 2014:

They ran my letter to the editor (below) in the San Luis Obispo Tribune Newspaper on 11/6/2014, which you can read by clicking here.

Added commentary on this subject:
The real question is, other than myself and a handful of other so-called "crazies", does anybody actually care about these homeless people? Enough to actually do anything about it? The answer, of course, is no - nobody cares enough to actually do something.

My blog here at/timwaagblog.blogspot.com is filled with things that people can do to help the homeless. Remember, "there but for the grace of G*d go I", which means - it could be you that is homeless, instead of them. 

HOMELESS METERS: Homeless Donation Meters

Introduction: Many folks have asked me what I think about the parking meter style donation centers that are springing up across the country. Today it started with this message from a friend: "What do you think of Pasaena’s effort to repurpose parking meters to collect change for the homeless, Tim?" You can read about Pasadena's program in the LA times by clicking here. This and numerous other inquiries lead me to devote a website page to describe the various programs, how they are doing, and what I think of them. Much has been written about these fund-raising programs, and they've gotten a lot of local press. But are they worth it? Let's see.

What Do I Think of These Programs? First, we need a better name than "Programs to Convert Parking Meters into Fundraisers for the Homeless". That just doesn't work, in a conversational sense - way too awkward. Though each of the various municipalities have their own names for their programs, I'll go with the generic "Homeless Donation Meters" for now (unless someone comes up with something better).

In general, I am in favor of city parking meter programs that encourage donations to organizations that benefit the homeless and provide an alternative to giving money to panhandlers. We have 7 parking meters here in San Luis Obispo in a program called "Change for Change". They don't raise enough money (so far) to help provide affordable housing to the homeless, and their primary benefit is to increase awareness of homelessness and provide an alternative to paying panhandlers.

LOCAL: Bonetti Ranch Development Could Use More Housing

Update 12/16/2014: I've spoken with Bonetti Ranch Development people about including more housing of all levels in the development. They've told me that the city of SLO, through their housing policies, will not allow it. Specifically, they said they wanted to build 500 square foot housing units, and city policies basically made it unfeasible.

Original Article Introduction: On September 6, 2014, the Tribune published an article on the proposed Bonetti Ranch Development  located on the north east corner of Tank Farm Road and Higuera in San Luis Obispo. You can read an article on the development in The Tribune newspaper by clicking here.

Above: Corner of Tank Farm and Higuera. Left to right: Barn that will be torn down, windmill, ranch house.