Grand Jury Rips San Joaquin County Homelessness Coordination Efforts

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) — San Joaquin County officials are under fire after a civil grand jury says there’s no strategy to deal with a growing homelessness problem.

The grand jury says communication between government and private agencies trying to address the issue is virtually nonexistent. There are many agencies that try to help, but there is no leadership to focus all the parties involved.

“Many government agencies and organizations are not talking to each other and end up going in opposite directions,” said grand jury foreman Howard Seligman.

But with all that said, one city in the county gets praise.

The report minced no words on the lack of coordination, but says efforts in Lodi could become the county’s model.

“Twenty-five years ago we figured out we need to do something about the wine industry to straighten it out and we did it,” said Mayor Mark Chandler. “Now we’re ready to do something about our homeless.”

The grand jury found Lodi was the only government agency with a well thought out and coordinated approach.

“It’s a very centralized effort but it includes faith based community charitable community and the city of Lodi; they all know what each committee is doing and that makes a huge difference,” he said.

The city has also discouraged food programs in parks.

“It keeps homeless people isolated from where the services are. So, now a faith-based community wants to feed homeless, they can do it at the Salvation Army so that gets homeless people closer to services,” he said.

He says homeless shouldn’t make it difficult for downtown business owners or tourists, but the city also wants to make sure no one goes hungry or without shelter.

“Our philosophy is to offer a hand up not a handout,” he said.

That model is in sharp contrast to Stockton. The jury found homelessness is highly concentrated and there’s no coordinated effort to deal with the issue there, and the city has been slow to provide information about the issue.

The county has 90 days to respond to the report.

May 25, 2016

CBS Sacramento