Bring California Home Act

 Greetings!

Here is a link to the current bill text of the Bring California Home Act. (https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billCompareClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB71&showamends=false).  

Almost a hundred organizations and individuals testified yesterday, and there was none from Sonoma County in the list of supporters.  I'm working on getting Chris Coursey and Chris Rogers to get the County and Santa Rosa to support it.  The Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce opposed it, probably because depends almost entirely on raising corporate taxes.  We need to get everyone behind this.  It’s ongoing $2 billion/year for operating funds for homeless programs.

Most of what happens in California is guided by what comes out of the Legislature.  So if there’s a crystal ball into the future, it can be seen in the Assembly and Senate Daily File reports, and now increasingly in their online video committee hearings.

Here’s what I see think you should know:

If the supporters can find a way to broaden the revenue source to beyond corporate taxes (and the upper personal tax bracket), they might hang onto enough Democrats to pass the bill in both houses by the two-thirds required.

The bill requires that funding go annually, based the 2019 PIT Count, and performance on a number of outcomes to joint County & CoC applicants, and large cities, through the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council.  Its operating and prevention subsidies require significant improvement in performance measurement, coordination, and gap analysis. It’s a good balance of carrot and stick which should please everyone a little.

Please join me in rallying support for this effort by Bring CA Home.

Gregory

 

County and City Budgets Being Approved

Greetings!

If there is a single email that has the most impact on directing government, it's the one. expressing your views on how they ought to spend our money in the year beginning July 1st.  Both Sonoma County and the City of Santa Rosa are asking for your advice in the next two weeks. 

Coming before these boards this week and next, each department head will be explaining how they think their budget should be spent.  Rarely does anyone from the public suggest additions or changes.  Seldom is there any money that is flexible enough for supervisors or councilpersons to exercise discretion.  

But this year is different.  This year, PG&E fire settlements, federal rescue funds, and state economic stimulus money make up one-third of the expected revenue during the next year.  If there were ever a time when our representatives had money to spare on big important projects, this is it.

So it is the time for you to tell them what you want.

Here are the contact links to let them know what you think they should do.

Board of Supervisors:  

Santa Rosa City Council

Rohnert Park City Council

Petaluma City Council

Sebastopol City Council

Windsor City Council

Healdsburg City Council

Cotati City Council

Sonoma City Council

Cloverdale City Council

Gregory Fearon

 

Designed for Failure - Building Homeless Housing Without Addressing Behavioral Health and Addiction

 Greetings!

Three quarters of the unhoused on the street, and in our shelters, are in need of mental health and addiction services.  Housing First (HF) forbids us from requiring such treatment as a condition of being housed.  HF was adopted because the homeless complained they were being kept out of shelters arbitrarily.   Then, we adopted Coordinated Entry (CE), intended to make sure the most vulnerable gained access first.  

Now, we're scrapping CE. closing the doors on the most difficult applicants.  So now, those who are accepted are easier to serve, and they have no incentive to accept services if they were available.  It's a plan for spending less on needed mental health and addiction services, and a betrayal of the desire to reclaim our public areas for those not needing a place to sleep.

The result is that we are exactly where we were when Reagan closed the state mental hospitals, except that we've hand-cuffed ourselves from doing what the agencies did who appeared when the hospitals closed.  They had no HF restrictions, and provided required case management in treatment services. 

It's worse than "One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest."   We've given up on the problems which led to the funding the residents and public demanded, and have turned our homeless facilities and services into nothing more than distanced beds for recently-homeless waiting to compete for a diminishing number of affordable apartments.  

The CoC has to recognize that, while needed for a vibrant city, affordable permanent housing development will never solve the problems of homeless.  It's too expensive, takes too long to build, and is serving the wrong population.  They must direct that these funds be used to open the doors for permanent supportive housing for chronic and vulnerable homeless, and for the services needed by those clients to become capable of transitioning into permanent housing.  Release these programs from HF restrictions on requiring participation in mental health and addiction services, and provide for these services in all supportive permanent housing.

And then, go partner with the Mental Health Advisory Board to coordinate the use of their new tax money to support mental health and addiction funds to bring the Care into your System.

And join my friend, Paul Webster, in the Hope Street Coalition.  Watch the video on Take Back Oceanside.  He's a brilliant mind, and a good Pied Piper willing to spread the word on where we're going wrong.  

Gregory