Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica) issued the following statement regarding the results of the 2017 Santa Monica Homelessness Count:
“The results of the 2017 Santa Monica Homeless Count illustrate a disturbing increase in the number of people living on the streets, in shelter beds and in their cars. While Santa Monica has long been a leader in providing compassionate and comprehensive services to homeless individuals and families, these results demonstrate that it is not immune to the forces driving our regional housing and homelessness crisis. ”
“At the state level, the legislature recently established the No Place Like Home Program to develop permanent supportive housing for persons in need of mental health services and who are chronically homeless. These homes will be financed through a $2 billion dollar bond secured by a portion of future Proposition 63 funds. The No Place Like Home Program is guided by the principles of “housing first” strategy and works hand in hand with the new State Homelessness Coordinating and Financing Council, established by SB 1380, which I co-authored. Additionally funding was allocated in the most recently authorized state budget for:
- Services targeted to homeless youth and homeless veterans
- Increasing outreach to homeless persons
- Increasing funding for the CalWORKS Housing Support Program for families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
- Increasing availability of CalWORKS Homeless Assistance
- Creating the Bringing Families Home program, a county matching grant program aimed at reducing homelessness among families involved in the child welfare system”
“At the local and county level, members of our community have demonstrated compassion and pragmatism by voting for Measure GSH and Measure H to fund increased services, support and housing for homeless persons. The city of Santa Monica is working hard to address this increase in the number of vulnerable persons on our streets. These numbers are concerning but with the smart coordination of state, county and local resources and the active engagement of our community members, I am confident that we can make significant progress toward ending homelessness in our community.”
