SR-301-004-02 (4)
'3 01"'-- tf)o'i~ O~
JI-ft
MAY 1 4 1985
CM:VR:dvm
Councll MeetIng 5/14/85
Santa Monica, Callfornia
TO:
FROM:
Mayor and CIty CouncIl
CIty Staff
SUBJECT:
RecommendatIons of the WorkIng Group
on the Homeless
Introduction
On December 11, 1984 CIty CouncIl requested the City Manager to
convene a Worklng Group on the Homeless to explore the growing
communIty problem and pose recommendatIons for Counc 11 action.
CouncIl suggested that the mandate of the WorkIng Group include:
conductIng publIC workshops and hearings
considering the needs of the homeless
proposing CIty posItIons on legIslatIve programs in the areas
of men tal he al th, hOUSIng, penal law, and other ar ea s that
may be requIred to aSSIst In thIS problem
conSIderIng measures the CIty, other government agenCIes, and
the prl vate and non-profit sectors may take to Improve the
lot of the homeless and to reduce the pereel ved and actual
threat to publIC safety and buslness clImate posed by the
presence of thIS populatIon
CouncIl addItIonally requested that the SOCIal Service CommISSion
appoint a 11a1son to thIS group and that the CIty Attorney's
Off1ce prOVide llalson and aSSIstance.
Subsequent to CouncIl dIrectIon, the C1ty Manager's Off1ce
convened a 15 person Working Group WhICh included representatives
of key interest groups in the communlty which are lmpacted by the
homeless problem inclUding social service providers,
local
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tW' 1 4 ttIi
't..
....----.
"':..
merchants,
and
nelghborhood
groups.
A
llalson
from
the
RecreatIon and Parks CommIssion also attended.
The Working Group met tWIce a month from January through AprIl
and conducted numerous subcommIttee meetIngs on speCIfIC tOpICS.
The fInal report was approved at the April 24 meetIng of the
WorkIng Group.
As mentIoned In the fInal report, the WorkIng Group IS interested
in evaluatIng progress on Its recommendatIons in the coming
months.
RecommendatIon
It
IS
recommended
that
CounCIl
receive
the
report
and
recommendations of the WorkIng Group on the Homeless.
Prepared By: VIVIan Rothstein
CommunIty LIaison
(homless6)
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REPORT ON HOMELESS CRISIS IN SANTA MONICA
By
Santa MonIca WorkIng Group on the Homeless
May 1985
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE HOMELESS CRISIS
Not SInce the Great DepressIon have so many AmerIcans been
w1thout shelter, food and medIcal attentIon. Estimates of the
total number of homeless people nat1onw1de vary greatly from two
hundred fIfty thousand to two millIon five hundred thousand. The
CalIforn1a Senate Off1ce of Research estimates that between fIfty
fIve thousand to two hundred fIfty thousand are homeless In
CalifornIa. In January 1985 I the Los Angeles County Grand Jury
found that approx 1matel y th I rty f1 ve thousand to fifty thous and
people were homeless 1n Los Angeles County. The Grand Jury found
that the problem was so crItIcal that it recommended that Los
Angeles County ask the Governor to Issue a proclamation declaring
Los Angeles County a dIsaster area in order to qualify for
federal d1saster funds.
The Great DepressIon resulted In poverty caused by uncontrolled
economic forces. In contrast, the present homeless crisis has
emerged durIng the past fIve years prImarily as a result of
repeated maSSIve cutbacks In federal programs for the poor
includIng food supplements, medical care, housing and soclal
services. The CongressIonal Budget Off1ce estimates that budget
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cutbacks for the fiscal year 1982 1985 reduced benefits by
n::Lneteen bllllon three hundred milllon dollars. Of thIS, seven
blllion dollars was for reduced food stamps, five blllion three
hundred m11l1on for ChIld nutritlon programs, four b::LlIIOn eight
hundred mIllIon dollars for aid to dependent children and two
bIlllon two hundred mlllion dollars for cutbacks 1n low-cost
houslng programs.
According to the Bates-Watson staff report for the Callfornla
Senate and Assembly CommIttees on Human ServIces issued 1n
February 1985, e1ghty-elght thousand Californ1ans were declared
Inellglble for federal programs, of these, thlrty-four thousand
resulted from reduced a1d for dependent chlldren and fifty four
thousand disabled Californians were terminated from other federal
maIntenance programs. The outlook is for even less federal funds
1n the fiscal 1986 budget WhiCh proposes to reduce "Section 8lf
affordable houslng ass::Lstance by nlnety-flve percent, in additlon
to more major cuts in other programs affectlng low income
indIv1duals.
Other factors responsible for the "new homeless" include changIng
Job requirements resulting 1n thousands of mIddle Income people
loslng thelr Jobs and the weakening of Amerlcan famlly structure
resul t1ng 1n IDcreas ed numbers of battered Wl yes and chlldr en,
and sexually abused Chlldren. In addltlon, the Bates-Watson
report identifled dIsturbIng new trends. There now are a large
number of frail elderly seeklng shelter who are too 111 for board
and care faC11ities and too well for nurs~ng homes as well as the
reappearance of the "throwaway" youths phenomena which has not
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been seen since the Great DepressIon. Throw-aways result when
familIes are unable to support themselves. Parents try to place
theIr chIldren WIth friends and famIly members or social
agenCIes, creatIng an unstable SItuatIon WhIch ultimately results
in thousands of children fInding theIr way to the streets.
In short, AmerIca fInds 1tself faCIng a completely new economic
and moral problem where at least hundreds of thousands, perhaps
mIllions of people lack nutrl tIonal food , shelter and medIcal
attentIon. UnlIke the Great Depression where the needy coeXIsted
with a depressed natIonal economy, the current needy exist In the
context of affluence, where the maJor1ty of Americans enJoy the
fruits of a healthy and prosperous economy whIle the new homeless
seek shelter under freeway overpasses, In theIr cars or cardboard
tents. These homeless suffer from Inadequate nutritIon and a
host of mental and phYSIcal dIseases, largely curable by modern
medICIne Wh1Ch SOCiety has chosen to WIthhold from them. The new
at t 1 tude seems to be that the "pri vate see tor," rather than the
government, should prOVIde shelter, soup kitchens and other
programs. However, as stated by B1Shop FranCIS A. Quinn of
Sacramento, "to put the whole burden of Increasing help to the
homeless on the churches and non prof:!. t organ1zatlons 1S like
telling Mother Theresa of Calcutta to work harder. The
obl1gat1on to see to the decent llving cond1tlons of each member
of the human family belongs to the whole communIty".
The Santa Monlca Working Group on the Homeless recognIzes that
homelessness In the midst of affluence and prosperlty IS not
unIque 1n Santa Monlca - It 1S a natIonal cr1S1S. The Working
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Group recommends that the buslness, civic and relIgious groups
and the Clty of Santa Monlca do the1r fa1r share to address this
natIonal problem. Thl s in vol Yes meet Ing our falr share of the
urgent needs of those wIthout food, shelter and medical attentIon
on the one hand, while addresslng the legitimate needs for
community publIC safety on the other hand.
II. TYPES OF HOMELESS PEOPLE
The WorkIng Group has identifled fIve major
homeless people 1n Santa MonIca, Los Angeles
nation:
categorIes
County and
of
the
A. The Men tally DIsabled Homeles s. People who are so mentally
dIsordered that they can not provIde for thelr own baSIC
needs are the "gravely dlsabled". They are homeless because
they can not organIze their llves to secure stable employment
and hOUSIng. Moreover, once the gravely dlsabled end up
lIVIng on the streets, their mental and phYSIcal health
contInues to degenerate. ApproXlmately two decades ago, a
reform movement took place WIthIn the mental health communIty
WhIch resulted In emptying vIrtually all of the state mental
heal th lnst I tu t ions. According to the Bates-Watson report,
admissIon to Cal ifornla' s state mental hOSPl tals decreased
from 1970 to 1980 resulting In a red uctlon of over 20,000
patients at a tIme when Callfornla's population almost
doubled. The orIgInal plan was to fund small community based
faCIlitIes WhICh would prOVIde out-patient care for those not
admitted to the state hOspItals. However, InsuffIcIent
funding was appropriated for community care faCllltles wlth
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the result that a large number of gravely di oS abled per sons
wander aImlessly In our city and other cltles. State law
requIres Los Angeles County to care for the gravely mentally
d~sabled; however, the county's program is grossly
inadequate.
B. The Chemicall~ Dependent Homeless. A second frustratIng and
frequently visIble sect~on of the homeless population is the
chemIcally dependent. These IndIVIduals are frequently seen
near publIC parks and downtown bUSIness areas where retaIl
lIquor outlets are conveniently located. There were 2,473
people arrested for public drunkenness In Santa Monica in
1982 accordIng to the Federal Bureau of InvestIgatIon Uniform
CrIme Rates (apprOXImate ly ha If of whom were Id ent ~ fled as
tranSIents). The seriousness of publIC drunkenness IS
ev~denced by the fact that Santa MonIca had over four (4)
t~mes the average arrest rate for public drunkenness compared
with other clt~es of slm~lar size.
C. The Economl cHarnel ess. One of the IranI es of the current
economIC recovery is that for the fIrst tIme In their lIves
many mIddle class indiVIduals have been thrown into poverty.
Usually this occurs when a skilled worker has hIgh rent and
loses his or her Job. They fInd only low paying Jobs If at
all, WIth WhICh to support theIr famIlIes. The economIC
homeless want to work and frequently are young famIlIes who
do not WIsh to recel ve welfare. The economIC homeless tend
to be less VISIble than the mentally disabled and chemically
dependent because they try to keep up thelr appearance in
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order to flnd Jobs. They often are forced to sleep ~n theIr
cars. It IS estlmated that a hIgh percentage of the economic
homeless are veterans, refugees from other countrIes, and
people who migrate to CalIfornIa lookIng for "better tImes."
D. The Al ternat i ve L i fest yle . !-lame 1 es s or "Vol untary Homeles s fI .
A small percentage of homeless individuals are homeless by
cholce. The classIc "hobo" who performs mlgratory work and
travels by traIn or hitchhikes is one example of a voluntary
homeless indIvldual. Usually these people stay only brIefly
In a community, earn enough money to support themselves for a
whi Ie, and then move on. A second type of the al terna te
Ilfestyle homeless is the professional panhandler who prefers
to support hlmsel f or her sel f by panhandlIng, stealln g or
explo 1 t Ing soclal ser vIces rather than seeklng employment.
Such people appear to be only a very small segment of the
homeless populatIon.
E. The Battered and Abused Homeless ~Women, Chll~ren and Youth).
ThlS group of the homeless was referred to extensi vely on
pages 2 and 3. It refers In general to runaway chlldren and
youth, chIldren and youth who are abandoned by parents, and
to a growIng number of women who flee theIr homes to escape
from abuse. ThIS group of homeless is hlghly vulnerable and
subject to conslderable exploitatIon.
III. THE HOMELESS IN SANTA HONICA: As previously pOInted out
In Clty staff reports, pUblIC hearings, and Westslde Shelter
Coal:!. tlon informatIon, "the increase In the homeless populatIon
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is a growIng national and regIonal phenomena. The needs of that
populatIon cannot be met by Ind1vldual local communltles actlng
alone." We are interdependent wIth each other, wIth world,
natIonal, state, county and westside issues affecting Santa
MonIca, and we them! The problems and challenges of homelessness
are far bIgger than In Santa MonIca. It IS not necessary or
realistlc to expect we shall be able to complete the whole, but
neither ca~ we Ignore it. Homelessness in Santa MonIca calls for
a comprehensIve approach 1n conJunctIon WIth other JurIsdIct10ns
of government, prIvate enterprlse, the relIgIOUS communIty,
soclal serVIce agenCIes, and c1tizen groups.
For a varlety of reasons, Los Angeles County has one of, If not
the largest, concentratIons of homeless people In the UnIted
States. Figures val' y, however, the two maJor concentratIons of
homeless people In our county are on Skld Row 1n downtown Los
Angeles and In the WestsIde beach communities, particularly Santa
Monica and Venice. All Indlcatlons are that the numbers of
homeless people comIng Into Los Angeles County and to the
Westside will continue to Increase, gIven present Federal, State,
and County pollcles. EconomIc, polItIcal, and milItary
prioritIes are clearly causlng a greater number of AmerIcans to
fall below the Federal poverty lIne, and accordIngly putting more
people out onto the streets.
Over the last four years, the relIgIOUS community on the
Westslde, local soclal serVlce agencles, and CIty staff have
sought to come to grips wIth the impact of growlng hunger and
homelessness on our area. The Westslde Food Bank was started.
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The Westslde Shelter Coalition came into belng and contl.nues to
be a posi t i ve fore e ln our commUDl ty. The flrst of sever al
County-wlde forums on homelessness was held ln Santa MonIca ln
January, 1983. Turnl.ng Point, a comprehensive ser vice shelter
model, was ln 1 tia ted Wl th broad base communl t y support ln July,
1983, and local leader s ha ve ac tl. vely worked wIth groups
throughout the Los Angeles area on homeless lssues. The Cl.ty of
Santa Monica has provlded valuable staff, financlal, and other
practIcal support for local reI i g IOUS groups and soclal ser vice
agencIes seeking to aSSIst the homeless.
Thes e effort s have been commendable , although fallIng far short
of the demand for service and crIsis Interventlon. Problems have
arlsen assocIated wlth the large number of homeless people In
Santa Monlca, a small area geographically. Fears, real and
lmagined, have contrlbuted to polarlzatlon between resldents,
buslness people, and social service provlders and theIr
supporter s. By work1ng together toward a better communl ty for
all people of good will, the Homeless Worklng Group has sought
and found common ground 1n reference to homeless needs and
concerns, a common concern for the quall.ty of lIfe in Santa
MonIca.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND VALUES UNDERLYING OUR RECOMMENDATIONS:
There are some things we can and ought to do to help--beginnlng
with each of us personally, our enVIronment, and extending out
from there.
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We belleve that the following moral assumptIons are central to
our recommendations:
A. I t IS ne i ther moral nor humane to turn our backs, or
close our doors upon people without food or shelter
regardless of thelr handlcaps, dIsease or prOblems.
B. It IS neither moral nor humane to allow the homeless to
be explolted, preyed upon, robbed, raped and assaulted by
crImInal elements WIthIn theIr ranks and WIthIn the
community.
C. It IS neither moral nor humane to allow a small element
of the homeless to get by wlth professIonal panhandlIng,
theft, the exploItation of society's lImited socIal
servIces, or behavlor WhIch threatens the safety of our
commun1ty.
D. It is neIther moral nor humane to allow the homeless who
are mentally ill, or those who abuse alcohol and drugs,
to destroy themselves.
E. It IS neither moral nor humane to allow the County of Los
Angeles, State of CalIfornIa or the United States
government to Ignore theIr moral responslblllty to care
for the needy.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
A. The WorkIng Group on the Homeless makes the following
recommendatIons:
1. The CIty of Santa MonIca should commence litigatIon
against the County of Los Angeles for fallIng to meet the
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needs of the mentally dIsabled.
a. The
single
most
frustratIng
problem
for
Santa
Monlcans, especI ally the business community, IS the
large and growing number of mentally dIsabled persons
In Santa MonIca.
The Task Force has concluded that
this problem wlll contInue to get worse.
Ther e 1S
little that the CIty can do because the legal
res ponsl b 111 ty for the inc reased number of mentally
d1sabled persons on Santa Monica streets belongs wlth
Los Angeles County. We have Identlfled three fallures
of Los Angeles County policy Wh1Ch are the direct
causes of the Increased numbers of mentally dlsabled
persons in Santa Monica:
1. Fallure to Implement a~equat~. 9~treach Programs.
2. Fa1lure to admIt and t~eat "Gravely Dlsabled".
3. Fa1lure to Protect CItizens from
DIsabled" who are Dangerous to Others.
"Gravely
b. Negotiat1ons v. LItIgation.
The
Task
Force
has
concluded
that
InItIating
Iltlgatlon does not mean that it must be done 1n an
antagonistlc way that would cut off further dialogue
and negotIatIons WIth the County of Los Angeles. As
any experIenced lItIgator knows,
usually serlOUS
dlalogue and negotlations do not even begIn untll the
Summons and Complalnt are ser ved.
We also recognize
that the County of Los Angeles has a severe restraInt
upon ItS resources so tha t 1 t must ask the Sta te of
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Call fornl a for
programs. The
strengthen the
such funds.
extra fundlng for mental health
eXIstence of such lItIgation would
County's Justlflcatlon for requesting
2. Support (fund) socIal ser VIces for the Homeless In Santa
MonIca USIng the follOWIng criteria:
a) MInImlze negatIve Impact on resIdential and business
communItIes.
b) Funded soclal service agency should have a "track record"
of serVIce to the homeless in Santa MonIca (or near
prOXImIty) .
Funded agency
c)
Santa MonIca,
should have a broad base of
IncludIng abIllty to raise
support In
funds and
attract volunteers.
d) CIty needs several small Day Centers rather than one
large Day Center.
The City of Santa MonIca has been responsive to the crItIcal
problem of the homeless in prOVIdIng some fundIng for social
services addreSSing theIr needs. The contInUIng and grOWIng
needs of the homeless cause us to belIeve that a crIS1S
eXIsts and serVices must be expanded. We recognize that the
County of Los Angeles, the State of CalIfornIa and the
federal government have responsibIlItIes for the homeless and
we have addressed those facts in our recommendations.
3. The following proposals for services to the homeless meet our
criterla and we urge that Councll support them:7
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CLARE FOUNDATION - expanslon of day feedIng program and
addltlon of serVIce center
TURN ING POINT - contlnu atlon of comprehensi ve shelter
program (Ocean Park CommunIty Center)
TURNING POINT - extenslon of current serVIces to homeless
DAY SERVICES (Ocean Park Communlty Center)
SANTA MONICA WOMEN'S DAY CENTER - to be operated by Ocean
Park Community Center, to serve homeless
women and theIr children.
ST. JOSEPH'S CENTER - for contInu1ng program of serVIng
the homeless.
SALVATION ARMY - feedIng program - downtown.
VENICE FAMILY CLINIC - medIcal serVIces and outreach to
homeless.
In recommendIng the precedIng programs for fundIng, the
Work1ng Group does not want to Infer that other programs
addreSSIng the needs of the homeless, espeCIally those
related to Jobs and hOUSln g, lack mer it. However, it was
felt that the C1 ty should fir st addr es s those most bas 1 c
needs of food f emergency shelter and med lcal services and
that the fundIng of long term rehabIli tatIon serVIces 1S
beyond the means of City government.
4. Recogn1zlng that the homeless populatIon Includes victims of
domestic vIolence and throw-away youth, It is recommended
that the CounCIl continue to fund programs WhICh address
these two ar eas (such as SOJourn Shelter for Battered Women
and Stepping Stone Shelter for Youth).
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5. Adopt a resolution requesting the County of Los Angeles to
locate a Day Center for the homeless on the WestsIde.
6. Adopt a resolutIon requestIng the County of Los Angeles to
dIscontInue unreasonable regulatIons which result In General
Relief terminations includIng the 60-day penalty WhICh leaves
needy IndIvIduals wIthout the most mInimal support and
WhIchcontributes to the homeless problem.
7. Investigate the possIbIlIty of allowIng a limIted number of
homeless Indl vIduals who need to sleep in theIr vehIcles to
park In a parkIng lot in the CiVIC Center area near the Santa
Monl ca Pol i ce Department overnight under permIts Issued by
the PolIce Department.
8. ReVIew the City's policy In relatIonship to publIC toilets
WIth the goal of makIng more tOIlet faCIlItIes avaIlable for
increased hours where approprIate.
9. CIty of Santa MonIca should prepare a brochure to deal WIth
the publIC's concern about the homeless and crImInal
behavior. (What are offenses? What are not offenses? What
to do when such behaVIor occurs.)
The homeless cause many people to be fearful for theIr own
safety. Businesses are concerned about the negati ve Impact
on customers and tourIsts speCIfically on the 3rd Street Mall
and the Main Street area. CItIzens lack knowledge about what
is legal or illegal and what must be done to confront Illegal
actions. People do tend to stereotype "homeless appearingll
individuals. A brochure addressing these problems could help
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In allevi a tlng some
homeless as well as
speclflc complaints.
of the publIC'S fears
educatlng the publiC
related to the
on how to mak e
10. The Homeless Resource card, prInted by the Cl ty of Santa
Monica, should be updated and expanded and distrIbuted widely
to busInesses, the homeless and the community. The card
should Include informatIon on local ordInances.
11. CIty oonsider acquIsitIon of problem l1quor outlets In the
downtown bUSIness dIstrIct WhICh attract alcohol - dependent
indlvlduals to the downtown park and mall areas.
12. An outreach team be fully funded on a year's trIal basis and
expanded to a second team If deemed necessary after 6 months.
Furthermore, these teams should work co-operatIvely WIth the
SMPD and other communIty staff (e.g. park staff, lifeguards)
who Interface regularly with mentally dIsabled and other
homeless IndiVIduals.
13. Clty allocate $2,000 for a pragmatic study which would
include re-analysis of current data around specific communIty
Issues; reVIew of other areas' homeless lIterature and
studies; and IdentifIcatIon and reVIew of the llmited
llterature available on the success of pollC2es In other
areas. Dr. MarjOrIe Robertson of UCLA has agreed to conduct
such a study for thIS nomInal fee. I t IS felt that the
informatlon so gathered w2ll be valuable to the City.
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14. The C1ty CouncIl desIgnate an Individual wIthIn the CIty
Manager 1 s Offlce as a homeless co-ordinator to keep abreast
of current opportunities for approprIate act1ons.
The homeless crisIs is a natIonal problem. In order for the
Clty of Santa Monlca to respond effectively to the situat1on,
1 t must coordinate with other C1 t1es, the county, the state
and the federal government. The CIty must prOVIde speakers
to appear before other agencies, monitor relevant
legIslatIon, publ1C hearings, etc. on the federal, state and
county levels regard1ng services to the homeless and
recommend actIon to the CIty CouncIl when appropriate.
Santa MonIca may be more SOCIally conSC10US of the homeless
crisIs than other communit1es; however, the problem 1S shared
by many cItIes, and we need to share resources and lobby
appropriate agenCIes more effectively.
15. Provide opportunities for communlty education and d1alogue on
the homeless Issue 1n cooperation with local rel1gious
groups, agenc Ies , the bus 1 ness communi ty , ser VIce
organIzations, and the Westside Shelter Coal~tion. ThIS
could be one task of the homeless co-ordInator.
16. City should continue fundIng for the permanent structure
guards, addIng extra guards If needed.
17. CIty should IdentIfy temporary employment opportunltles
withln C1ty government for homeless indlv1duals seeking work.
In additIon, the CIty should encourage local businesses and
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the Chamber of Commerce to provide temporary and permanent
opportunItIes for employment of the homeless, workIng through
the local EDD offIce.
18. CIty CouncIl should ask the Police Department to ~nvestlgate
ind i vIduals belIeved to be panhand ler s who are en ga ging In
anti-social or crimInal behaVIor In order to successfully
prosecute them when approprIate.
19. The CIty Council should communIcate WIth the Federal
government (Pres 1 dent, and member s of Congress), to expres s
our alarm at the current suggestIons to cut fundIng for
Feder al programs that help l.nd i v I dual sand famIlie sneed ing
assIstance (e.g. FEMA fundIng, General Revenue SharIng).
B. Background Information regardIng RecommendatIon Number 1.
1. FaIlure to Implement Adequate Outreach Pro~ram.
Most mentally dIsabled persons are unable to hold a Job.
They are Incapable of copIng with the bureaucratic
requIrements of the general relief program to find Jobs,
fill out forms, etc. Thus, they usually do not apply for
aId or If they do, they are qUIckly dIsCIplIned under the
1160 day rule" WhICh deprIves them of general relief
assistance. ThIS forces them back on the streets where
their phYSIcal and mental health further deteriorates.
Outreach programs should locate such IndIviduals who should
be screened upon Intake and prOVIded appropriate care.
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2. FaIlure to Admit and Treat "Gravely Disab~~~:~
The County has failed to comply wIth its mandatory statutory
duty to admit and treat the "gravely disabled".
There
appears to be li ttle doubt that the more serIOUS mentally
dIsabled are not being properly cared for by Los Angeles
County.
For example, when a "screamerll IS referred to
County
Mental
Health
OffICIals,
such
an
IndivIdual
frequently IS not treated at all.
At other tImes they are
treated for a few days durIng WhICh tIme the symptoms
respond to medication and then these IndIVIduals are
released by the faCIlIty WIthout any follow-up program.
UltImately, the conditIon reappears and the individuals fInd
their way back to the streets of Santa Monica.
Continulng
care would prevent thIS problem.
3. Failure to Protect CItizens From "G~avely DIsabled" Who
are D~~~~:ous to Others
A small number of the gravely dIsabled are dangerous to the
communI ty at large.
Santa MonIca Police have documented
instances where persons who are mentally dIsabled have
assaulted indIVIduals In Santa MonIca.
In one recent case,
such an Individual was turned over to Los Angeles County
WIth specifIC InstructIons to notify the Santa MonIca PolIce
if thIS person were ever released.
After a short sta y In
the County Mental Health System, the indIVIdual was released
WIthout notIfIcatIon to the Santa Monica Pollce and was soon
found beating CItIzens In the Mall area. The fact that the
County of Los Angeles would allow such gravely disabled
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persons to be turned loose threatens the safety and securIty
of Santa Monica cItizens.
C. We stand ready as concerned citizens of Santa MonIca and as
the WorkIng Group on the Homeless In our communIty to:
1. Help with the important work of ongoIng publIC
education.
2. To adVIse the CouncIl and CIty staff on homeless
Issues.
3.
To
hold
hearings
and
trouble-shoot
as
deemed
approprIate.
4. To evaluate progress on these recommendatIons by
January, 1986.
WorkIng Group on the Homeless:
Rev. Charles ElsWICk, ChaIr WorkIng Group
Paul De Santis, ChaIr Intergovernmental RelatIons Sub-Committee
Irene Zlvi, ChaIr, Social ServIces Sub-CommIttee
Gwen Meyer, ChaIr, Public InformatIon and EducatIon Sub-CommIttee
SIster MarIlyn Rudy, Chair, PublIC Safety & Community Concerns
Sub-Committee
MaXIne Shear
Pat Barrett
Blyden Boyle
SIster MIldred Irwin
Betty Macias
Bob Korda
Susan Johnson
*Dr. Al Kettenis
*Lee Forte
BIll PolkInghorn
*These Individuals abstaIned from votIng on recommendatIons
number 1 and 6.
CIty CouncIl LIaIson DaVId EpsteIn
Recreation & Parks CommiSSIon LIaIson Bernard Jones
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City Staff:
Sergeant DICk Tapia, Police Department
Robert M. Myers, CIty Attorney
Vivian RothsteIn, Community LIaIson
Ray CorreIo, Deputy CIty Attorney
(CIty staff did not partIcIpate In votIng on the recommendations
of the worKIng group.)
(HomlessS)
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