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Meet the outsider who accidentally solved chronic homelessness:
This man isn’t homeless
In between tracking corruption and fighting for our cities, OJ Blog has discussed helping the homeless.
It’s a hard problem.
But one man seems to have found an effective solution for the chronic homeless, the hardest part of this hard problem: give them homes. (and counseling)
While the idea arose amongst lefty do-gooders, this idea has been tried, repeatedly, in controlled experiments and found to save governments money.
“We committed,” said Utah’s Gordon Walker, explaining how his state succeeded at eliminating homelessness — and saved millions. “It was costing us in state services, health-care costs, jail time, police time, about $20,000 per person. Now, we spend $12,000 per person.”
Treat humans with dignity. Save tax dollars. Address the hardest part of the homeless issue head-on. What’s not to like?
(Here are some microhouses for your viewing pleasure!)
This is your Weekend Open Thread. Talk about that, or anything else you’d like, within reasonable bounds of decency and discretion.
And welcome, California Democrats, to your annual convention in Anaheim. Enjoy Loretta’s ambush attack on Kamala here, as I’m sure a few of you from out of town will.
****************
Chairman Vern adds:
Come to Zenger & pals’ “plein air” art show mañana Tuesday – Friday at the Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa! Are the blog philistines gonna deride THIS Zenger (below) as a “paint by numbers?” Their disdain becomes more and more insupportable, and is clearly a naked misdirection of their resentment at David’s plainspoken critique of their petty and gross criminalities! Vern out…
And Ricardo reminds us:
Tributes have poured in for the blues legend BB King, the inspiration for generations of musicians, who has died in his sleep aged 89.
The world famous singer and guitarist, who began life on a plantation in Mississippi and was universally acclaimed as one of the best blues musicians of all time, had been receiving hospice care at his home.
What, BB King died? Well then, let’s listen to some of his music!
I love this idea, and was thinking about this when working the other day. I was researching Pacific Ready Cut homes (the west coast version of the Sears house in a box that came precut on a railroad boxcar) they had the tiniest little cottages in the back of their catalog, I will see if I can get some scans to you. They were the 1920s version of the tiny home movement, and everything you could ever want in a house was built in, from Murphy beds that pulled out of the wall to little eating nooks, and they were CUTE, there would be little stigma of “shack” living when dealing with this issue, the cottages are adorable.
BIG ISSUES remain. Funding. Even the smallest of houses cost money and while we now know it costs less to house people than to leave them on the streets, our political leaders have not yet caught up with that concept and still pretend this is new money that needs to be found. What is needed is not new money but the political will to create a reliable and steady funding stream not subject to the whims of politicians, because I am sick of hearing that money is “earmarked” for some specific use and we can’t touch it. Time to do that with a fund for those unable to care for themselves.
BIG ISSUE TWO: NIMBY. while a little village of micro-homes seems somehow more friendly than a four story uber-building to house “the least of these,” we will still get the inane push back of those unwilling to share their existence with those who were perfectly acceptable as neighbors when they had homes. Instead of a concentration of one central location, we need to get these spread out citywide, and the best way I can think of is to build them as second units in residential areas, letting those individual homeowners brave enough to take the challenge collect a rental fee from the funding stream we devote, in order to dedicate a portion of back yard or side yard (corner properties ideal for this) we are already paying people to tear out their lawns and put in astro-turf or succulents, why not tear out the lawn and put in a PERSON who needs that space? Offer a set rent from a dedicated fund, to house someone who has been through a screening process to assure they are not the sex offenders too many folks are convinced all homeless people are. Keep in mind if I put up first, last, and deposit for the apartment NEXT TO YOU and offer it to a homeless person, you have no power to stop it. The only difference between the people who live next door and the people living in the alley is one has a key. And there are a scant few paychecks between the people next door and the people in the alley, in this economy.
If we can house those folks who have slipped through the cracks and simply need a hand up to pull themselves together, and then offer services to those who deal with mental health issues but can be managed with medication if in a housed setting with access to services, then the victims left on the streets who are the tougher cases can be handled by the County with more focused attention. But we MUST stop treating ALL homeless as though they are vile creatures unworthy of existing among us, and we must find a funding stream that recognizes that caring for those unable to care for themselves is as basic a civic expense as repairing roads. Then we can address those UNWILLING to care for themselves (they do exist and they don’t deserve a handout beyond getting them off the street and offering a chance to get it together TEMPORARILY) but if we offer a homeowner the chance to collect a regular rent check to house someone who has been cleared as not a sex offender etc. we could spread the load of housing across the entire city instead of concentrating it into one place.
At that point, the service centers have the chance to catch up, would it not be great for someone to come in to an office and say I lost my job, I burned through savings and hit bottom, and they spend maybe one night at the emergency shelter before being plugged into a tiny-home in a residential neighborhood with access to groceries and a bus line and humanity, (which is what the Karcher site was supposed to be, NOT an Armory type emergency shelter where people congregate nightly with their belongings)
That is my soap box.
Another interesting article and comments about “tiny’ houses solution :
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/01/oregon-tiny-houses-solution-homelessness
Alas there is too much institutional push to go big. And the bigger. more permanent, the better. Both the government houseacrats and the full-time do-gooders agree. Options are not on the table. For my exhibit #1, I enter into evidence the fatuous and self-congratulatory “interview” Voice of OC did with some guy named Allan Roeder the other day.
There is no end of possibilities for little prefab or modular housing, toilet and shower buildings. This could and should be done at the Karcher site and other places, too.
Hell, for years downtown LA had the Dome Village, a collection of fiberglass radome covers that had been converted into shelter. It was set up under the 110 where the homeless actually were.
Came across this a recently while headed elsewhere. Gee, 100 – year cycle from “hazardous” tenement apartments to “cool” tenement-sized apartments!
http://www.businessinsider.com/tiny-apartments-illegal-in-new-york-city-2015-2
A funny (and sad) story: back in 1994 or so, there was a homeless dude living under the Lemon Street underpass in Fullerton. The Redevelopment Agency spent about $180,000 remodeling the area so that the guy couldn’t set up housekeeping again. At the time someone pointed out that it would have been cheaper to buy the individual a condo.
No surprise there. Nothing so terrifying as a good example.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_Village
Must reading.
Shipping container housing., stackable seven high by design, lots of surplus ones waiting to be re-utilized.
http://www.tempohousing.com/projects/keetwonen.html
Really, the opportunities are varied to do something quick, effective and cheap. Nobody wants to. Better to do it slow, clumsy and expensive. Shows how much you care.
… and BOOM, you’re in the story now David.
Thanks for the plug!
*Perhaps something in a Frank Lloyd Wright or Frank Gerhy….design might be nice. Yeah, something like the Victor Emmanuel….would probably do the trick. Homelessness is based on what they used to call: Drifters. Remember? Folks without enough funds to get a room at Ma Smalley’s. People without families, jobs, who suffered from alcoholism, drug addictions or mental depression from lost loves and sad tales of a hard life. Putting the Drifter population into Doll Houses with cute little shutters and a white picket fence may sound lovely – but the reality is, they simply need a clean Andy Gump, a bedroll and any type of roof over their heads in cold or wet weather. They need a place where they can shower, go to the bathroom and sleep. They need access to mobile food and basic shelter and perhaps even mobile medical once a week to check on their physical conditions. The same folks that demand every kid get a vaccination before they go to school, seem to care less what the Homeless are suffering from and doing to our neighborhoods and environments. Our lawmakers and Bureaucrats are strictly to blame, along with a wide array of very greedy and skimming developers who want to give their brother’s in law work on government projects. We need the Joe Arpaio tent cities and gated communities he provides. for the Homelessness which needs to be Transitory for Drifters and those suffering from temporary Vagrancy. Refusing to deal with the problem is the biggest crime of all.
*One last thought balloon: The Kurt Russel two movies: “Escape from New York” and “Escape from LA” are the visions we will be facing without dealing with the Homeless Problem…..right now. Guess we all need to get a pair of those “They Live” glasses…..so we can truly see what is going on in our society.
I beg to differ, Winships. Drifters have the power to choose. Today’s homeless are largely the mentally ill who in days gone by would have been hospitalized or in programs sufficient to keep them monitored and on their meds. People who have NOT chosen homelessness as a drifter lifestyle, because they are so impaired by their illness they can no longer function. Solve the mental health issues and we solve an enormous percentage of the homeless issue.
I agree that the biggest crime is, as you say, refusing to deal with the problem, but a guaranteed tragedy would be forcing the wrong solution on a population that needs a Helluva lot more than a bedroll and a clean Andy Gump, And many do have families but the families lost control (and lost touch with their wandering loved one) when they could no longer keep their loved one in a program thanks to the ACLU types fighting for the “rights” of someone unable to function. (what’s that punchline again? First thing ya do is get rid of all the lawyers…)
“Today’s homeless are largely the mentally ill…”
No doubt a large proportion, but a majority? I don’t know, but you’d think our professionals on the End Homelessness 2020 (Now only 4.5 years away!) could say. The real point though is that this population consists of different people with different needs both mid- and long-term. In the shortest term they need something to eat, a roof of some kind and maybe a rotten tooth pulled or a shot of penicillin.
In other words the first step of any intelligent plan is addressing these “least common denominator” issues all of which can be done using portable, prefab facilities instead of the grand nuclear option – a $10,000,000 capital outlay that’s two years away. This is the approach that Allan Roeder (career bureaucrat and sudden homeless expert) blithe spirit that he is claims is “untested.”
I knew Alan 6 years ago when he was a pretty good Costa Mesa City Manager (who skedaddled like so many did when Riggy’s wrecking crew took over) and a major fighter against Dave Ellis’ privatization of the Fairgrounds. Last I heard he was trying to clean up Garden Grove post-Broadwater.
At what point did he become an alleged homelessness expert? I guess I will have to find this VOC interview.
Apparently he was assigned to Moorlach’s hapless End Homelessness by 2020 Commission.
*Cynthia, we certainly grasp your concepts, but “Build a Homeless Shelter and they will come!” we believe is not the correct answer to a multi-headed problem. We will again be redundant with your indulgence: (1) First group of Homeless are those with families, living in cars or tents with females, children or single dads who do not need meds. (2) The 2nd group of Homeless are those that prey on other Homeless. These are Meth or Crack dealers along with med street suppliers. They beat, abuse and generally create a criminal environment and (3) These are indeed the group you suggest; Mentally ill, PTSD Veterans, Drug Dependent, Lost Economic Victims and generally any of the so-called Drifters, Bums or Hobo’s without any Social Security, any Federal Assistance and any hope for the future. Each of these groups we suggest requires a different prescription to be made whole. The sorting process is a must when we talk about this issue. Ask your local PD Watch Commander……about the complex and underfunded Homeless Issue. If you find that we are in error….please correct us……we are always open to new or better ideas.
Just found this while pursuing something else-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/05/07/the-odd-history-of-why-the-clintons-keep-all-their-money-in-cash/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_2_na
Why would successive First Families, who try to impress US as having leadership and financial acumen, keep wealth in near zero interest savings accounts, EXPONENTIALLY ABOVE the FDIC insurance limits ? Dya think perhaps THEIR accounts (really) have better protection in(from !) the ‘Too-Big-to-Fail’ Banks, than the REST OF US?
Petition : Monsanto is killing the monarch butterfly. You can stop it.
“The unchecked spraying of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, has contributed to an alarming decline in the monarch butterfly population in just two decades. We urge you to ban the use of glyphosate and encourage the planting of milkweed and other native plants on federal lands.”
https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/ban-monsanto-s-toxic-roundup-herbicide-on-federal-land?
*So true…
*Why are our local Honey Bee’s so disoriented as well. They sting without
provocation and attack if you are not paying attention. Africanized? Sounds
more like “iffy science” and more like a heavy pesticide presence in our
environment.
Hey, this might be worth attending the Democratic Convention today (along with visiting my friends at the “Brownie Mary” table.) From “Occupy Fights Foreclosures” :
Action Alert Today, 3pm – at Anaheim Convention Center 800 W. Katella
Homeowners and Occupy to protest Kamala Harris during speech at Democratic Convention for protecting banks, ignoring families and using homeowners for her political future.
Hey, Loretta might enjoy that.
And then of course, after Zenger’s show in Costa Mesa, there’s the Anarchis Bookfair in Santa Ana. https://www.facebook.com/events/400373646801533/
The first ever Orange County Anarchist Bookfair is being held on Saturday, May 16, at El Centro Cultural de Mexico in Santa Ana. The event promises to bring a little anarchy in the OC. The oft-misunderstood political ideal is front and center at the day-long gathering with books, art and action offered up to inform.
After months of dedicated organizing, the OCABC is proud to present an ambitious program of thought-provoking politics. The weekend event includes panel discussions, breakout workshop sessions and keynote speakers. Deconstructing anarchism, feminist activism in grassroots spaces, the non-profit industrial complex and anarchists vs. ISIS are just a few of the topics that will intrigue bookfair goers.
Anti-authoritarian speakers are also lined up throughout the afternoon. Internationally renowned Paulo Freire scholar Antonia Darder joins the bookfair to talk about critical pedagogy and her latest book Freire and Education. UC Riverside professor Andrea Smith will bring her feminist and anti-violence activist perspectives. Anarchist author and activist scott crow visits the bookfair from Austin to close out the event with his thoughts on anarchism and creating power from below.
And what would a bookfair be without books? Vendors include Oakland’s PM Press which specializes in anarchist and radical literature. A solidarity fund at the event will go towards helping AK Press celebrate its 25th anniversary and rebuild itself from a devastating warehouse fire earlier this year.
El Centro Cultural is located at 313 N. Birch St. in Santa Ana. The event is free and open to all.
Our mission statement:
We are a horizontally organized collective that came together to organize Orange County’s first ever anarchist bookfair. Ours is an intersectional anarchism opposing all structures of oppression. We are feminist, queer, gender non-conforming, indigenous, anti-capitalist people of color. The collective actively creates another world within the very navel of this otherwise rotting orange. We subvert popular assumptions of conservative Orange County by unabashedly and daringly imagining a radical alternative. We work to create safer spaces for critical engagement, reflection and accountability without the presence of the state and those who mouth its oppressive tongue. We celebrate the local history of resistance upon this stolen land. We take inspiration from Indigenous peoples fighting the terror of Junipero Serra, the jailhouse cry of Modesta Avila, the Citrus Strike of 1932 and the spirit of Santa Ana’s Black and Brown youth protesting police violence in 1969. The collective wants to end all “isms” and phobias that perpetuate oppression in creating a new reality where many realities exist together.
*Give our love to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders….at the convention.
Seriously,Vern? Way to build credibility at OJB. Anarchy? At what point do the grown ups step in and send the teenagers home to get some sleep and shower?
Apparently, “when” is at some yet-to-be-determined later point.
While we wait for the “when”, let’s consider that anarchism has a long tradition in the political thinking. As such, it is useful to know its contemporary manifestations, which should not mean an endorsement of its commonly known expressions, violent ones.
This is a link to a recent manifestation of the unacceptable form of anarchism. It is in Spanish but I’d think most of blog readers know how to use the translation engines.
http://www.elmostrador.cl/opinion/2014/09/15/los-sinsentidos-del-anarquismo-revolucionario/
Good point about the anarchists.
A good read is the memoir by George Orwell about his time in Spain during the revolution. He fought for the anarchist movement, in league with the Communists – sometimes – sometimes fighting against each other, not against Franco.
I try not to spend much time arguing about the tenets and merits of anarchism — because I’m interested in political change.
This is in reference to Greg’s comment about political change: these anarchists indicate that they do pursue change. The question to discuss is whether they are effective or not.
*Evidently, the nine that died in Waco yesterday……were effective in creating change….eh? Sacco-Vancetti proved one thing about anarchist: You don’t have to be dangerous to be dangerous. Say the magic word and the duck comes down with Black Helicopter.
They help us envision new possibilities. Give us breathing room.
I feel no need to elaborate.
So they want to eliminate all “isms” but their “ism”? Sounds fair. Too bad for the other “isms” that they didn’t think of that first!
*Call the Vice Squad and ask to see their Liquour License!
Pics from Zenger’s show. Crowd at the Higbee:
Zenger’s “Adobe Palomares Pergola”
Zenger’s “Roger’s Trio”
David and Colleen Zenger
Vern, thanks for stopping by. It’s a good show. Even I was pretty impressed.
*Colleen looks very nice…….
The paintings are impressive. David looks like a benign anarchist, except for the Kleptos.
Curios article about architects who include affordable housing in their projects:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/miranda/la-et-cam-chilean-architecture-goes-international-20150515-column.html#page=1
The price of ” FREE ” keeps going up ! No surprise.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/inside-washington-health-law-tax-071419600.html
That is not Mrs. Zenger. Dave, what have you done with Colleen?
Put her on a pedestal.
NOTE: For lack of a current WOT or recent TPP article, I am posting this here. PLEASE move to the appropriate spot when things update. THANKS! (And have an enjoyable Weekend, and a Respectful Holiday!)
It’s getting harder to tell if we still have any shred of representative government that follows its own rules (or else WHOSE rules?) or if what actually occurs unknown to us more resembles a trial wiretap transcript of Frat House dialogue between rogue Wall Street Traders
Since I never have too many things to do that keep me from doing other things, I decided to pursue a few nagging questions about the Trans Pacific Partnership that I think the public, or at least the members I see in the mirror while shaving, should know, excuse me, DESERVE to know, regarding the recent TPP “Fast Track” vote.
With everything “secret” about access to the details of TPP, WHO DECIDED on the “secrecy”? The White House Trade Office? The Senate ? “We Can’t tell you because it’s “secret” ? Back, again to the “Frat House” rules? (“Who DECIDED I have to shove a frozen hot dog up there?” “Look, DO you want to be IN or NOT???”) Before deciding TO start a FOI request, I have to know WHERE to start a FOI request !
There were 62(?) YES votes to grant the “Fast Track” authority. Supposedly for access to even LOOK AT the TPP, you have to sign in. Well, the question is then, from 100 Senators (and their staff?) HOW MANY SIGNATURES are on the “logbook” for dates BEFORE the vote? (For both YES and NO voters) Since no notes are allowed to be removed post -“visit”, are any of these REPEAT visits, indicating the attempt at some understanding, vs “slap the porch” tourist trips of those who could then claim to have “been there”? How LONG were the visits? Is the logbook itself “secret”?? (AND WHY??AND Upon WHOSE authority?) OR has the “Pelosi ACA rule” (Pass it to know…) been enshrined in Senate procedure?
If anyone has come across investigative articles that have already cut this path, or if you know anybody that can find this out in ten mouse clicks or three phone calls, please forward them (or this to them, respectively). I will attempt to update any (IF any) progress here. Cheers!
BORW – Good one. Not to worry however, the House will hold this one back….(our hope and wish). We were shocked last night when the Senate failed to extend the Patriot Act for two months. McConnell, in the Senate is having a conniption fit. “His cry baby act” was close to that of Boehner’s in the House. No Academy Awards for either one. They have one more shot on May 31st, but we believe the results will be the same – NO MORE PATRIOT ACT.
Meanwhile on TPP, too much heat in the kitchen on this one. TPP is going to have to come back AFTER Hillary is elected. That way, it may NEVER happen!
*One more thought on The Patriot Act Extension. As the Senator’s complained endlessly that they couldn’t get this passed: Mikulsky and McConnell failed to address the fact – that no Amendments were being allowed. NONE!