City's homeless turn out in force to question county's plans for aid
January census counted163 homeless in Simi Valley
By Miguel Morales miguel@theacorn.com

By bus, bike or simply their own two feet, they arrived- the community's homeless- to voice their distress over issues happening in the city they call home.

As they sat, many of them stirred, grumbling and fidgeting, waiting for their turn to speak. When the opportunity came, some shared stories of their troubles, others of the emptiness they said they felt inside.

The scene took place Wednesday as more than a dozen of the 163 Simi homeless counted in a January census showed up at City Hall for a meeting of the Simi Valley Task Force on Homelessness. The count tallied 146 adults and 17 children, about 81 percent of them white, 67 percent male. Seventyfour percent said they were born in California.

With printed copies of Ventura County's proposed "10Year Strategy to End Homelessness" in hand, the question posed by many of those in attendance was simply: What is being done now?

"There is no place to sleep at night unless you set up a tent and hope the police don't ask you to take it down," said Susan Marine, 53. "Where do you want us to go is what I'm asking?"

Marine, who has been homeless in Simi Valley for a year, said that the longer someone is out on the streets the harder it is for them to get back into a normal, productive life.

As she told members of the task force that the homeless are being tossed aside and treated as if they were trash, tears rolled off her cheeks.

Whether for joy or sorrow, Marine praised the task force for its efforts to take a stand to help end homelessness, stating that "it's a beginning."

The 10-year strategy includes seven primary areas of focus. On Wednesday, the task force discussed issues including homeless prevention, determining the number of persons to be served, identifying service and housing needs and developing community involvement.

By implementing homeless prevention programs, creating 300 additional units of permanent affordable housing and adopting a "zero tolerance" plan for discharge of people, by agencies, in to the street, Ventura County hopes to reduce homelessness by 10 percent annually.

The programs will implement community outreach and education campaigns to provide information about resources available to households at risk of becoming homeless. The strategy estimates it can prevent 50 percent of persons becoming homeless this year.

Cathy Brudnicki, executive director for Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition, said that many people who are homeless won't ask for help, some because they suffer from serious mental illnesses.

"How do you help someone who won't come forward for services?" Brudnicki asked.

Assertive Community Treatment, an outreach program that's included in the county's 10-year strategy, would bring social services directly to chronically homeless persons, Brunicki said.

The reasons the homeless have for being so are as varied as the people themselves, said Robert George, 51.

There can't just be an umbrella solution for homelessness because not all homeless people have the same problems, he said.

"When you become homeless you dig yourself a little hole. Pretty soon you get a ticket and you can't pay it because you don't have a job. Now you have warrants because you can't make it to Ventura to go to court. Now you're doing jail time," George said. "You're just digging the hole deeper and deeper."

During the discussion, Councilmember Barbra Williamson challenged local religious congregations to take a more active role in the fight.

Churches could open their doors to the homeless at any time and the city couldn't do anything about it, she said, but they choose not to.

The community should be a part of the solution as well and people need to take action, Williamson said.

"Has the congregation gotten together and said 'Look, we have a problem in this community and we're the answer. What are we going to do about it and damn it, let's do it now?'" Williamson said.

A meeting with churches is in the works, according to Councilmember Glen Becerra, who said the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce is also expected to join in on future task force meetings.

"I would be surprised if half of (the churches) show up," Becerra said. "But we are going to make that call," he said, "and we are going to try and get them together because they are a big part of the solution."

The county's proposed "10Year Strategy to End Homelessness" will be placed on the City Council's agenda in coming weeks to determine which, if any, of the 22 recommendations the council will adopt.