Monterey County >> Calling for more political will and authority focused on addressing the persistent problem of local homelessness and housing insecurity, a Monterey County civil grand jury has called for the formation of a regional leadership body charged with creating, implementing and tracking progress on a regional strategic plan.
According to a report released earlier this month entitled, “Who’s in Charge? Stepping up on Homelessness: The need for strategic leadership and comprehensive planning,” the 2017-18 civil grand jury found that a lack of coordinated authority and leadership had contributed to a lack of progress on addressing homelessness, including through the Lead Me Home Leadership Council and its nearly decade-old strategic plan. The report recommended the county and its cities should reach a “binding and enforceable” agreement to create an “accountable leadership body” with the power to oversee a regional approach to ending homelessness, and to secure a commitment to a strategic plan and ensure each jurisdiction’s responsibilities including dedicated funding and public reporting.
“Political leadership is required for the higher-level decisions and policy actions needed to meaningfully address homelessness,” the report said. “Political leadership is necessary to secure public support, enact policv and planning decisions that capitalize on state legislation, and execute a regional homeless plan. The county’s strategy for addressing homelessness needs a clearer focus, accountable leadership and enhanced capacity.”
The report noted evidence that homelessness is getting worse and there are more people struggling with homelessness and housing insecurity than the biennial homeless census suggests - pointing out the difference between the census count and the Monterey County Office of Education’s considerably higher count of homeless students while including housing “insecurity” measures such as overcrowding.
It suggested the problem has the potential to worsen further without investment in “accessible housing solutions,” and that “growing housing insecurity will only increase demand on our under-funded, over-stressed public services.”
At the same time, it noted the “public perception that nothing is being done in response to a growing problem” despite the numerous people and organizations dedicated to working on the issue, including through the non-profit Coalition of Homeless Service Providers.
The report pointed out that there is no government, agency or inter-governmental entity that has the “ultimate authority” for the goals listed in the county’s 2010 Lead Me Home strategic plan to end homelessness. It also pointed out the continuum of care administrator lacks the capacity to establish public policy and planning to address the issue, and suggested that the “complexity” of the homelessness issue requires “long-range regional planning in addition to coordinated social services.”
The report calls for responses to its findings and recommendations from the county Board of Supervisors and 11 of the county’s 12 cities, excluding Del Rey Oaks for some unknown reason, and invites the Coalition of Homeless Services to also respond to specific findings and recommendations.
June 20, 2018
Monterey Herald
By Jim Johnson
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