Nearly $72 million renewed for local homeless programs, $1.4 billion distributed nationwide

Federal housing officials Wednesday announced nearly $72 million in renewed funding for 227 homeless programs in the city and county of Los Angeles.

The grants are part of $1.4 billion in nationwide funding to help organizations continue to provide stable housing and services such as job training, mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment in the coming year.

“Over the last decade we’ve seen that when localities combine housing with supportive services, the results are fewer ambulance and police calls, fewer visits to the emergency room and, just as importantly, real savings for taxpayers,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a conference call with journalists.

The approach reflects an emerging consensus among advocates for the homeless that putting a permanent roof over people's heads must be the priority. But it remains controversial. 

Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich has complained about spending tax dollars to provide housing to individuals who continue to abuse drugs and avoid treatment, calling the approach "warehousing without healing."

Many older programs required that people obtain treatment before they were offered permanent housing.

“What we have learned, however, is that it really works in the reverse,” Donovan said. “That if you can get somebody stably housed with the services that they need, that they do much better and they are much more likely … to be able to get straight.”

California received the largest chunk of the funding renewals announced Wednesday: $227.6 million. Major beneficiaries in Los Angeles County, where more than 48,000 people are homeless on any given day, include A Community of Friends, the Hollywood Community Housing Corp., the county Department of Mental Health, the Salvation Army Southern California Division, the Skid Row Housing Trust, Southern California Alcohol and Drug Programs and SRO Housing Corp.

New grants will be announced later this year, Donovan said.

The announcement came as Los Angeles and other communities prepare to conduct a national count of the homeless next week. Donovan urged people to volunteer.

“Understanding the extent of the problem is absolutely essential to solving it, particularly given today’s tight fiscal environment,” he said.

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-- Alexandra Zavis

Photo: George Givens, 63, now has a home in the Charles Cobb Apartments, which is run by the Skid Row Housing Trust, among the beneficiaries of renewed federal funding announced Wednesday. Givens, pictured at a recycling center he used to frequent, is among the chronic homeless targeted in recent efforts to provide housing and other services. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / Nov. 10, 2010

Comments

[Peter Shin]

wow 72 million doallars

[bettye198]

As a retired nurse, it reminds me of the ideology of treating the symptoms instead of the cause. Why not clean up the problem with education, rehab, protocol, medical care ( how about medical students and interns?) along with housing. It would be as ludicrous as giving your kid a roof over his head, food in his stomach and not show him how to get a job and be self sufficient. A travesty. There ARE homeless that are not indigent, that want a full life again, that have struggled and need therapy and just a chance. Couldn't the money be spent more effectively?

[dhwj]

227 different programs. You can be sure there is no waste or duplication in only 227 different programs.

[Ann Common]

Free housing, job training, health care. All on borrowed money. Unfortunately, this will not last.

[blackone]

This money will go to European Jews, Mexicans, Croatians, Serbians, and now, Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans. ANYONE at all but an American citizen. That photo of a homeless man is not typical nowadays. Even the most casual observer, especially those in the medical or social work fields knows that to be true.

The counties have to keep American citizens homeless, it's an extremely good gig -- a way of bringing millions of dollars into the counties so people like Yaroslavsky can import their people here, giving them free medical care, SSI checks and every other benefit. Each time one of these gigantic outlays hits the streets, those in need suddenly have a much, much HARDER time accessing even ordinary services or even receiving a simple callback from agencies that heretofore would answer on the second or third ring.

Americans are so Stupid. And the Plutocrats are practicing pretty aggressive population control, social genocide. Everything is skewered in favor of foreigners who are imported here, and haven't paid a single dime and will never pay a single dime for the massive benefits they receive. Just recently I met a foreign gentleman at a health club whose foreign girl friend got a 4-star apartment in Irvine in 9 months -- paid for by American taxpayers.

Recently, for example, even the State Parks Pass has been changed so that only those WHO HAVE NEVER WORKED can qualify for the $5 pass -- almost all foreigners -- ask someone who works for the state parks.

[Phil, Ohio]

Not in Ohio!
No word of this news here in Ohio so they must have stuck the money in their pockets!

[lexxie]

What a HUGE waste of money. This program ought to be the FIRST to go...

[schlock]

we should do what atlanta did before the 96 olympics. they offered the homeless population a one way bus ticket anywhere they wanted to go. some fools sued and the courts said atlanta wasn't allowed to do it. 72 million for 227 local programs. another reason why people who pay taxes are angry

[A.]

WE. CANNOT. AFFORD. THIS.

[ellen morrissy]

Antonovich says "warehousing with healing"? Have you got a better idea on how they should be healed? Are there programs in place? Of course not. Another useless politician who sleeps in a warm bed with a roof over his head.
How very easy to make such comments without having a solution. What about it Antonovich? What are your solutions?

[mv]

this is how the radical left wing comunist democrats whant to keep americans down to contol us where are the jobs obama we americans dont whant youre hand downs wall st got lost of money evry thing obama is doing is a crime dont trust this man democrats stop beliving in the law of america the america costitustion

[TheBigPicture]

Talk about pouring money down a rat hole...Can't we just shoo them south of the border...

[Judy]

its like anything - there are 2 sides to this story. I've voluntered through my church to help on skid row a few years back. There are people down there who love living there and have given up their job, home and family to drink or do drugs down there and are happy as can be and think nothing of using the street or if they aren't too messed up the alley ways to go to the bathroom. The flip side of this are people (usually women left with children) who are working 2 jobs and trying desperately to get to a better place. For far too long we have been getting program after program and it changes virtually nada. Now all these freebies are biting us in the butt and we are on the verge of bankruptcy. California has helped sooo many people who never payed into the system that we are now "tightening our belts" too little too late. We are being taxed out of existence sigh 2012 anyone?

[Get Planted]

I've spent a lot of time on the streets with a large number of homeless people. They basically fall into one of three categories:

1. People with mental illnesses that make it impossible for them to be funtional and self-sustaining.

2. People who have no sense of responsibility and choose to spend all their money on drugs and alcohol. They don't mind sacrificing a roof over their heads to stay high all the time.

These people will never be able to support themselves and cannot handle the obligations of living in any kind of housing. If given housing, they will intentionally or untintentionally destroy their home through accidents, carelessness, or vandalism. They need help but cannot ever be expected to take on any kind of responsibility.

3. People who are down on their luck and with assistance can work at a job and be self-supporting.

These people are absolutely deserving of help finding jobs and housing. Ideally they get help through family, community, or religious organizations. If that is not possible then helping them with public assistance is an excellent investment of our tax dollars.

[Get Planted]

I seriously question Donovan's statements about housing people that are still on drugs. I don't see how that could possibly work. It seem to me that it would endanger other people who are already determined to get off drugs. I'd like to see some data that back up Donovan's claims.

[Elaine]

Great. More money for the "poverty pimps". I wonder how much of that will actually trickle down to the people that need the help.

I see they gave money to "A Community Of Friends". The amount of money they get to rehab buildings for the homeless and mentally ill is obscene. They are spending $13.3 million to rehab a 36 unit building in Silver Lake on Vendome St. - that is over $360,000 per unit!!! And they are singles!!!

[Dave]

Once again the State Spends money on programs it just cannot afford. We have only 9.800 Police officers in the L.A.P.D. and they are forced to work for free at times as there is know more money for overtime.

I am sure vital services would have made much better use of $72 Million dollars instead of funding garbage like this. I did have a contract with the County for 3 years to use a BUS and take the homeless , low income people out to clean up after rain storms during the Mid 1980s . This is a requirement to get welfare .

I am sure they could have found local work cleaning up Graffiti or Garbage in of The LA River during the summer.

CA can know longer afford programs like this .

This Money ( 72 Million ) would do a lot more for vital services then the so called 207 Programs .

One example was to give youth a chance to get out off the inner City to get away from the violence that is in many pockets both City and County .

The answer ? Take 12 Bus Loads of inner City kids to Magic Mountain. This happened in 1995 and is still going on today . Tough decision , send kids to Magic Mountain or cut back on first responders , Fire , Police , Etc..

[S Rubicon]

For more than forty years I have heard all the stories about how this program or that program is "solving" problems for the poor, indigent, etc. Yet today, there are more on the streets than ever before. Perhaps, just perhaps now, the approach is all wrong? In the end, helping people is something Americans do naturally. But to tax us & keep throwing money at a problem as though that alone will fix it, is sheer insanity.

[Clark Zapper]

Thank God we need this. The homeless need to be rehabilitated and taught some current job skills. Education is the only for them to get off the streets.