HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-06-28 STAFF REPORT 1A Paula N. Auburn & Keith D. Knauss ?
1369 Campeon Circle, Palm Springs, CA 92262, I D F F I,',,I-h'1 S; ?I
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TO: Ginny Foat and Steve Pougnet CI fY r L E
Council Members, City of Palm Springs
FROM: Paula Auburn and Keith Knauss
DATE: June 26, 2006
RE: Support for the Homeless Center I-10 Location
Dear Ginny and Steve,
First, thank you for all of your time and effort on this very difficult issue. At one council session you invited
those interested to attend Task Force meetings. It was not lack of interest that kept us away, but
scheduling conflicts. We are also aware that"Johnny-come-lates" can often delay a process.
We are, as you are, really conflicted on this issue. As "bleeding heart liberals"we do not want to blame
the victim. Multiple causes lead to homelessness, many having to do with failed national policies, others
relating to poor personal choices, and yet others due to the hand that fate dealt at birth. There but for
the grace of fate go many of us!
On the other hand, any location in or near residential areas is a threat to neighborhoods. Most of us
around the Sunrise-Tachevah and Sunrise-Vista Chino areas are middle class folks. In addition to retirees
our residents work at Desert Regional Medical Center, Desert Aids Project, and other local businesses.
We are living in our largest asset and many are widows on fixed incomes who may need reverse
mortgages to buy medicines and food. Unlike the wealthy we cannot afford to move should the
neighborhood deteriorate. We all feel highly threatened in a direct economic way since moving the
homeless to a residential area simply moves the current Sunrise Park situation to a new location.
Our former home community of South Bend, Indiana has a very successful Center for the Homeless that
has become a national model. They provide services to help other communities replicate their success.
We've included brief information with this letter; as you can see it is a full-service Center. Personally, we
are committed to helping the less fortunate and offer our volunteer services.
Here are some of the benefits we see for the 1-10 location:
1. Most valley cities, including Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City, are growing toward
the 1-10 corridor thereby creating jobs, services, and transportation within that locale. The area proposed
for the Homeless Center will soon be a high activity area.
2. While public transportation may not currently serve that area it easily could as they transverse 1-10
between Palm Springs/Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs.
3. The 1-10 location provides more convenient and faster access to county and counseling services in
Indio and in Riverside.
4. The location allows for expansion, thereby, increasing numbers served and services available.
Thank you for your consideration of our thoughts,
n _
Paula Auburn Keith Knauss
Cc: Mayor Oden and Council Members Mills and McCulloch
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Name ICENTER FOR THE HOMELESS, INC.
Record No. 1987
Location
Address 813 S. MICHIGAN STREET
SOUTH BEND, IN 46601
Phone (574) 282-8700
WVebsite
Contact loffice
In Charge ISteve Camilleri, Executive Director
Organization of origin
Days/Hours 110pen 24 hours
Description
The Center for the Homeless is a full service
center for homeless persons. The Center is
equipped with 200 beds divided into three
residential areas - single men, single women and
families. In addition to providing shelter and
three meals a day, the Center offers on-site
services such as: mental health counseling,
medical services,job placement, intensive out-
patient treatment for individuals suffering from
both mental illness and chemical dependency,
parenting programs and pre-school classes, life
skills/personal development classes, G.E.D.
classes, religious services, legal aid and case
management service,tutoring for children and
adults, and occupational therapy for children and
adults. The mission of the Center is to provide a
hospitable environment where homeless persons
can find respect and dignity as well as
comprehensive services integrated to assist them
in overcoming their condition of homelessness.
The object is to involve various community
agencies and volunteers to address homeless
person's needs,thereby bringing together diverse
groups in our society so that each can discover
the dignity,worth and God-given potential of
the other. The Center also seeks to be a resource
http://old.sj cpl.org/databases/commcoim/action.lasso?-database=Community_Connection... 6/23/2006
SJCPL -Detaile&Results ab ut
to communities around the nation by pioneering
a service model worthy of replication. Fax:
(574) 287-5023
Fees
Area
Eligibility
A ency Type non-profit
Subjects ISHELTER, TEMPORARY
Subjects
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Maur Cate go: ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
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For assistance email: con,i iiicmi i9 goi?i ai 1.Sl C o 1. 113
c2005 St.Joseph County Public Library 304 S.Main Street South Bend,Indiana 46601
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http://old.sj cpl.org/databases/commeonn/action.lasso?-database=Community_Coniiectioii... 6/23/2006
Center For the Homeless - 813 South Michigan Street- South Bend, Indiana .a,, L uL 1
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By ofoedng the best resources in our community to the people who n
most, we provide our guests with the hope and the tools they need t
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Yon A.02cax ;,q; om" and hit the driving range! This of amazing college students is sei
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June 19th at Lhe South Bend our guests as a result, but you ca
Country Club. end that trend!
Join i;hea Ce.it�,, for the i !a:.le olar avf-rd-vlil- inq CF1-1 blur
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our guests and staff as on your business. Sign up today!
participate in 'Die thiman Face
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Page 1 of I
Cindy Berardi
From: Martha Edgmon
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 2:49 PM
To: Cindy Berardi
Subject: FW: In Favor of Relocating Homeless AWAY from our Library ,,�•''' 6 :i
I F CLGiir
For tonight's meeting—in case you are including e-mails in your yellow folders.
From: Rdrwest@aol.com [mailto:Rdrwest@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 2:31 PM
To: marthalz@c:i.palm-springs.ca.us
Subject: In Favor of Relocating Homeless AWAY from our Library
Hi.
I hope I am sending this in time for the meeting this evening.
I'm a local Palm Springs resident and frequently avail myself of the services of our wonderful Palm Springs Library. I've
watched with dismay as the cadre of homeless has continued to grow. Neither my son or my daughter, both PSHS students
feel comfortable walking to the library to 'wait'for me to pick them up. And I have other friends in Palm Springs that have
expressed concern regarding their safety, especially those that are more advanced in years.
It is not that I am not sympathetic to their plight, I simply would like to have an area that is far away from public buildings
frequented by children and seniors. All of us should feel free to utilize the superb collection of books, movies, books on tapes
and more, that our library offers.
Thank you,
Robert J Panse:grau
493 Village Square West
Palm Springs
6/28/2006
Page 1 of 6
Cindy Berardi
From: Martha Edgmon i,iTVL i --
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:54 PM
To: Cindy Berardi
210 11 '
Subject: FW: Homeless and Transient rights? 1:',r • ' `'"
Mayor pro tem Foat wants this in tonight's Council folders. OK?
From: Ginny Foat [mailto:gfinla@msn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:43 PM
To: Martha
Subject: FW: Homeless and Transient rights?
Martha
Can you please have someone make copies of this entire email and put in tonights council folders.
Thanks
Ginny
-----Original Message-----
From: ERIK STOGO [mailto:stogo@dc.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 1:55 PM
To: Ginny Foat
Subject: Re: Homeless and Transient rights?
Hi Ginny:
Thanks so much for your quick response. It is obvious that you have done the heavy lifting on this project.
Mack just came home and read my letter and your response. He said, "That's a coincidence, I just had a vagrant follow me to my
car at Ralph's asking for money. When I didn't respond he started screaming at me, 'Boy, you must have the first dime you ever
had! You look like the type that has all your money. You must be a Jew!' I'm incensed. I have watched week after week at
Village fest where the Rabbi is attacked with anti-Semitic slurs. Once an English tourist said to him, "Hitler was a human being
too!" I have seen young school children push a button into his face that said "f k you." I also witnessed a native American who
claimed to be with the Band of Cahilla Indians go into a rant that Jews did nothing for America, that they won't assimilate in society
and bear an allegiance to Israel over the USA. Next time the Human Rights Commission blathers about a "Hate Free City" and
before the Council gives them tax dollars for such a sophomoric gesture, let's see if they are prepared to address the millennia of
hate so engrained in the human experience. Gays don't hold the monopoly on so-called "hate" crimes. I feel better--- I vented.
Yes, share my letter and attachments.
I hope you are going somewhere neat for your vacation.
Keep up the good work,
Regards,
Erik
----- Original Message-----
From: Ginny Foat
To: 'ERIK STOGO'
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 1:02 PM
Subject: RE: Homeless and Transient rights?
Hi Eric,
Thank you so much for your letter. I am appalled at the encounters you have had in your travels but yours are not isolated
incidents. We get reports of this type of harassment of citizens on a daily basis. I would very much like to share your letter and
6/28/2006
Page 2 of 6
attachments with the rest the Council and City staff. Please let me know if this is OK.
The plans for the Homeless Resource Center do not include the City running the social service programs. It is our intention to
create a venue and let the non-profit agencies that are the experts in providing services do what they do best. If we proceed
after tonight's Council meeting we will be designing a program that will include services provided by the County ie mental health
etc.food services possibly by the Well, housing services by Jewish Family Services and other faith based organizations etc. I
envision the City being strictly the facility manager. We already have commitments from DHS and Cathedral City to sit down
with us and collectively design some program that will assist all of the cities in the western valley.
It is much more: involved than that but I am in a real rush today. I am still preparing for Council meeting tonight and am leaving
on vacation tomorrow.
Best wishes,
Ginny
-----ONginal Message-----
From: ERIK STOGO [mailto:stogo@dc.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:40 PM
To: Ginny Foat
Subject: Re: Homeless and Transient rights?
Ginny:
Thank you for your response. You continue to be the sole council person who does respond and that is the reason you
have my continued support. I am sure there are homeless as you describe. However my experience has been with
those whom are crazed, abusive and dangerous. I might present too obvious a target in a wheel chair. My back pack
was stolen near the library while returning from the Pride festival. Near Desert Chapel, I was approached by a couple
of transient guys who blocked my path and wanted me to let them ride my electric wheel chair. The person who
services my chair told me a customer's chair was stolen by vagrants outside Jensen's recently. Once I offered a bag of
soda cans to a woman pushing a super market cart. She refused them and said, "I don't mess with them anymore, it's
too much trouble." Unfortunately, she then became belligerent calling me a "white devil." This was at the overpass
going over the wash. I used to take the public bicycle path through the Mesquite golf course but after being accosted
by homeless it is too scary. Lately in the heat I have seen transients using dogs as pan-handling props. The dogs are
panting heavily and in danger of heat stroke. I am a dog lover as you know and it is painful to see this. If a person
wants to subject themselves to this is one thing but to subject an innocent dog to this is cruel and pernicious.
I have spoken to several police officers about these experiences and they have told me they are under-staffed and
cannot get a "collar"which will stick without personally witnessing the incident. They attribute much of this to the heavy
crystal meth use by transients.
When I had my law office in Beverly Hills I used to hand out books, bed linens and food to the homeless. Beverly Hills
police told me to stop this; that I was making the situation worse.
I understand why you want to place the shelter in the isolated location. However, do you think you will be able to attract
and restrict them to this locale? You will remember that Giuliani's homelessness experience in NYC where they refused
to go into shelters even in the winter.* I have attached an analysis of the Jones v. City of Los Angeles case decided
recently by the 9th Circuit panel which is probably the case you referenced. LA has decided to appeal the split (2-1)
decision. The legal reasoning used by the majority was so tortured to arrive at this outcome, that it is likely not to stand,
moreover, the decision on its own terms ONLY applies to Los Angeles.**
In my youth t was told government had the solutions to all problems. History has proved that wrong. FDR lived to see
most of his New Deal programs declared uncontitutional or fail. LBTs Great Society collapsed under its own weight.
However, I was also committed to the personal obligation to do "good works (mitzvahs)." In high school I spent
Saturdays in ungentrified Spanish Harlem teaching reading. I was idealistic and compassionate. I still practice "good
works" but with life experience I can more easily detect mendacity. I have donated hundreds of pro bono hours in my
law practice and thousands of dollars in donations to the needy Last week, I met with a faith-based organization to
continue this process. Faith-based institutions are much more knowledgeable and better equipped to deal with
problems such as homelessness. After all this is their business, Government will have to reinvent the wheel to deal
with it. I get ill watching government, no matter how well meaning, wasting tax dollars to do what others know how to do
better. Katrina relief is a relevant example. The GSA now estimates $3 billion was wasted. Have you yet explored
contracting with private non-profits to address the housing and healthcare issues? If the city mires itself in being the
provider it will become the proverbial money pit which will stifle economic growth. This is not speculation, history of
such programs demonstrate this is a fated certainty.
6/28/2006
Page 3 of 6
For my part, I have paid my dues. I am secure that because of my good works I will leave this world better than I found it
(accomplished with much more limited resources than Warren Buffet). It is time to assert my needs and my rights. My
quality of life need is clear. I must be able to live out my last years in peace and security. I have the right to travel my
city, where I pay my property taxes without harassment and in safety.
Regards and thanks,
Erik Stogo
* Sunday, December 5, 1999
Addressing, not Ignoring, Homelessness
by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani
Over the last two weeks, there's been a good deal of misrepresentation and consternation about our stepped up
efforts to stop homeless people from sleeping on the streets and sidewalks.
To begin with, it's important to have a balanced understanding of this serious issue. Some advocates
romanticize homelessness; at the other extreme, some people speak of the homeless as if they're all criminals.
The fact is that people who are homeless are not at all alike. Homeless people are as complex and diverse as
everyone else, and their problems deserve a complex response. Different depending on the nature of the
problem they have, but they're all problems that we can and should address rather than ignore.
Some homeless people simply need help finding a place to live. Some are alcoholics or drug addicts and need
appropriate treatment. Some are physically ill and need medical attention. A high percentage of those people
who sleep on the streets, according to experts, are suffering from mental illness, in particular schizophrenia.
And some percentage are criminals who engage in violent crime, property crime, or some other mixed fonn of
crime. The common thread in each and every one of these cases is that ignoring the specific problem that an
individual homeless person is grappling with will only make things worse, both for them and for society at
large.
That's why police officers and homeless services persomiel are approaching people who sleep on the streets
and determining what they need. If they need housing, the City helps provide it. If they need medical care, the
City helps to take them to a hospital. And so forth. That is in no way, shape or form an attempt to criminalize
homelessness, as some critics have irresponsibly called it. The vast majority of homeless people are not being
arrested; they're being offered the precise services that will begin to help them address their problems.
The only reason homeless people are arrested is for the same reasons others would be arrested - committing a
crime, like robbery, burglary, assault, trespass, disorderly conduct. Again, homeless people are arrested not for
being homeless. Most homeless people are given services and assistance. But those homeless people who
commit crimes are, of course, arrested as anyone else would be. To do otherwise would be giving homeless
people an immunity that no one else in society deserves. And many of the politicians who discuss this issue
and many of the advocates are actually, maybe without knowing it, asking for that kind of inununity.
Let me share with you some statistics on the results of police officers' and homeless services employees'
contacts with homeless people since our intensified intervention began. Of the 1,674 people contacted, 380
have been taken to shelters-because it was determined that they needed a place to stay for the night. Sixty-
seven have been taken to a hospital to address a physical or mental problem.
6/28/2006
Page 4 of 6
Altogether, only 164 arrests have been made out of 1,674 contacts. That means that it's only a small number of
homeless people who are committing crimes or who have prior warrants to be arrested for crimes they
committed in the past. And again, the people being arrested are being arrested not for being homeless, but for
crimes they commit, like robbery, burglary, assault, disorderly conduct, menacing. I wonder what the
advocates would prefer-that we ignore their criminality? That would give them a special exemption that no
one else in the city enjoys. Homeless people should be treated like everyone else: when they commit crimes,
they should be held accountable.
In Cleveland, under the leadership of Mayor White, a very similar initiative is underway to stop people from
sleeping on the street . . . to offer appropriate services . . . and to arrest those who engage in criminal conduct.
This is happening in cities across the country because people understand that the old philosophy of neglect is
destructive all around. A civilized society tries to move people in the direction of self-sufficiency and
independence rather than allowing them to deteriorate before our eyes.
We're spending more money than ever before on homeless services, and more money than any city in the
nation, but our focus now is on making that money work to create progress in people's lives, not to allow them
to deteriorate. That requires us to think more seriously and more maturely about homelessness than we have as
a city in the past. It requires us to understand that it's more compassionate and loving to deliver needed
services than to look the other way.
LAW. h-, lM
Arsl in 4galNemv and J Mifvivofi#ut..,.H
Arresting the Homeless Is Unconstitutional? Where
the 9th Circuit Went Wrong
Howard J. Bashrnan
Special,to Law.com
April 24, 2006
Vfix
Howard J. Bashman
6/28/2006
Page 5 of 6
APPEAL
P
"10rH '
Related: Bashman Archive
Earlier this month, the majority on a divided three judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled
that "a City of Los Angeles ordinance that criminalizes sitting, lying, or sleeping on public streets and
sidewalks at all times and in all places within Los Angeles's city limits" cannot be enforced because arresting
the homeless of Los Angeles would violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The ruling, a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union, was met with incredulity elsewhere. And perhaps
for good reason. The Eighth Amendment -- which states simply that "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor
excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted" -- does not appear from its plain
language to prohibit a law authorizing the arrest of the homeless. Even The Los Angeles Tunes found it
appropriate to write in a news article reporting on the decision that the 9th Circuit is "the most liberal federal
appellate court in the nation."
Before reviewing the flaws that plague the majority's approach to the case, I should note that the majority
opinion, by Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, presents a compassionate and stirring criticism of the plight
of the homeless in Los Angeles. To be sure, few would choose to make their home on the street if another
option were available. The city of Los Angeles, according to the majority opinion, falls far short of being able
to provide shelter at any given time to the entirety of its homeless population. And the majority opinion paints
a very sympathetic portrait of the particular homeless people who have brought the lawsuit and of the
unfortunate situation facing the homeless population of Los Angeles.
But, even in the 9th Circuit, sympathy for a group of litigants, in and of itself, fails to furnish an adequate
basis to strike down a local ordinance as unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of"cruel
and unusual purrishrient." Here, as the dissenting opinion of Circuit Judge Pamela Ann Rymer explains quite
cogently, there are at least three major flaws in the majority's approach and the outcome that approach
produced.
First, the majority has relied on the wrong constitutional provision to enjoin the Los Angeles ordinance. The
Eighth Amendment, on which the majority relies, is a provision intended to govern punishment for a crime.
Ordinarily, the question whether a statute criminalizing certain conduct is unconstitutional arises not under the
Eighth Amendment but under the 141h Amendment's due process clause. As Judge Rymer's dissenting opinion
explains, "Wholly apart from whatever substantive limits the Eighth Amendment may impose on what can be
made criminal and punished as such, the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause places no limits on the state's
ability to arrest."
Second, the 9th Circuit's majority relies heavily and incorrectly on a peculiar Warren Court—era precedent that
found a California law criminalizing drug addiction to violate the Eighth Amendment. According to the
Supreme Court's opinion in Robinson v. California (1962), "It is unlikely that any State at this moment in
history would attempt to make it a criminal offense for a person to be mentally ill, or a leper, or to be afflicted
with a venereal disease. ... But, in the light of contemporary human knowledge, a law which made a criminal
offense of such a disease would doubtless be universally thought to be an infliction of cruel and mausual
punishment in violation of the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments."
6/28/2006
Page 6 of 6
Puttin g aside for the moment the fact that the petitioner in Robinson was challenging the punislunent that
followed his conviction for being a drug addict, and thus was not seeking under the Eighth Amendment to
obtain a pre—enforcement injunction of the law, the question remains whether homelessness is properly
categorized as "an illness which may be contracted innocently or involuntarily." Stated plainly, under the
Supreme Court's ruling in Robinson, the dispositive issue appears to be whether the Los Angeles ordinance
seeks to criminalize "status" or "conduct."
Judge Rymer's dissent observes that anyone who happens to be found sleeping on a public street or sidewalk
would be subject to arrest under the Los Angeles ordinance, whether that person was indeed homeless or not.
Thus, the Los Angeles ordinance is distinguishable from a provision that would punish someone for being
addicted to drugs or for having contracted a certain illness, because in those two situations it is truly the status,
rather than related conduct, that is the subject of the punishment.
A later Warren Court—era decision supports Judge Rymer's view. In Powell v. Texas(1968), a sharply fractured
U.S. Supreme Court held that convicting an alcoholic for the offense of public drunkemiess did not violate the
Eighth Amendment because the defendant was being punished for conduct rather than status. Under Powell, it
appears that the 9th Circuit's majority opinion reached the incorrect result. Indeed, in the course of reaching its
result, the 9th Circuit majority found it necessary to conclude that "the precedential value of the Powell
plurality opinion is limited to its precise facts."
What makes the case that the 9th Circuit has just decided particularly difficult is that the conduct that the Los
Angeles ordinance prohibits -- sleeping on the streets or sidewalks of that city -- is conduct in which some of
the homeless necessarily engage, given that sufficient shelter to house them does not exist in Los Angeles.
Thus,while the ordinance appears to punish conduct rather than status, the conduct that is being punished is to
some degree inherent in the status of being homeless in Los Angeles.
Nevertheless, because Robinson does not directly compel the conclusion that the Los Angeles ordinance
violates the Eighth Amendment, while Powell appears to preclude the finding of an Eighth Amendment
violation, the 9th Circuit majority should not have reached out to find an Eighth Amendment violation on the
facts of this case. And furthermore, it is doubtful that the current Supreme Court would be willing to expand
the holding of Robinson to cover arresting the homeless.
The final flaw in the 9th Circuit majority's recent ruling arises from the fact that California law permits the
defense of necessity to be raised in any prosecution under the Los Angeles ordinance that criminalizes
sleeping on the public streets or sidewalks. Thus, if someone truly has no alternative to living on the streets, he
or she possesses a valid defense to being convicted of violating the ordinance that the 9th Circuit has enjoined.
Whether the U.S. Constitution would require California to offer a necessity defense presents an interesting
question,but the fact that California has chosen to make such a defense available further destroys the basis for
the majority's ruling that the Los Angeles ordinance violates the Eighth Amendment.
The problem of homelessness in the major cities of the United States defies easy answer, and the 9th Circuit
majority's compassionate response to that problem deserves applause as a matter of policy. Unfortunately, as a
matter of constitutional law, the 9th Circuit's recent ruling declaring a Los Angeles ordinance authorizing the
arrest of those who sleep on public streets or sidewalks to be unconstitutional "cruel and unusual punishment"
in violation of the Eighth Amendment was unsound and should be overturned.
Howard J. Bushman operates his own appellate litigation boutique in Willow Grove, Pa., a suburb of
Philadelphia. He can be reached via e-mail at hib@hibashman.com. You can access his appellate Web log at
htt //howappealing.law.com/.
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6/28/2006
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Hi—Wayne asked me to send this to you and for you to print out 20 copies. thanks
Attached Message
From: Wayne Mcklnny<waynemckmny@webN net>
To: mse1944@aol.con
Subject: tasbmony for the June 28th Council Meeting
Date: Wed,21Jun 200615 34 40-0700
'j I speak for our at risk for homeless neighbors who live below the
federal proverty guidelines and for the Palm Springs homeless we serve
who do not have an independent voice. The Well has been serving this
target population for ten years and yet our input in the site selection
process for a permanent site to serve the City's homeless population has
been ignored and rebuffed and sometimes in ways which are authoritarian,
insulting and plain nasty. The site selection seems to be a fait
accompli and it's location on the other side of 1-10 in the desert
guarantees an expensive failure. Adequate transportation would not make
it possible for clients to easily access jobs in Palm Springs but would
cost enormous amounts of money. Then the cost of providing the
-i infrastructure for utilities, the landscaping necessary to combat the
blowing sand, the structures themselves, staffing and other expenses
would cost in the millions. And who will pay for it? Then based on 12
.;) years experience working with Palm Springs' homeless and numerous
conversations with our homeless and at risk for homeless clients, I
assure you it will only draw a handful of clients a day. And time will
not change that. It is too far away, even with regular buses, and
r� elderly, families with children, and the handicapped will have get to a
pick up site and later find a way back from the pick up site and over
,rl roads that are affected frequently by blowing sand and flooding and
slowed by traffic. And ninety percent of the homeless in Palm Springs
were born in this area and Palm Springs is home so they are not going to
hang out in the middle of the desert for even the greatest of
- facilities. Moreover, the successful facilities in California and
elsewhere frequently are those near the center of town or easily reached
sites within the cities and not at the edge of town. This site means
and guarantees you will still have the same problems with the homeless
in the parks and neighborhoods. And an expensive, massively
underutilized facility. Where is commonsense? Why would the City
choose a site doomed for failure? The site has to raise the question,
'Is it a ,political decision to prove the city is doing something to get
the homeless out of town to satisfy a vocal segment of the voting
public?" The Well's clients who are the at risk for homelessness(over
2,00�0 unduplicated clients each month,) our volunteers and their
families and friends, and at least two thousand compassionate people who
support us and have over the years are not a vocal group but they are
citizens and many do vote. And they are watching this whole process.
The homeless and the at risk for homeless and those of us who serve them
need to be listened to, shown respect, and allowed to be a part of the
process in any site selection-pZppr=s. And if the remote site is
chosen, the people and voters will remember when it fails.
http:/jfd02.webmail.aol.com/17789/aol/en-us/mail/display-message.aspx " AAA!-? 6/22/2006
A week at the Palm Springs
Public Library
June 19 — June 27 , 2006
e 9 � z,
Return to nbcs I Rectum to Updates
Monday June 19 t h Truck doused with gasoline in Palm Springs library parking
1 lot: two arrested
Il,illt Madura,
The Desert Sun
June 19,2006
Two people were arrestetl totlay on suspicion of aftempond arson,after
witnesses reported seeing them dousing a pickup 0uckwith gascime tnthe
Palm Springs Public Lihrary parking lot at 3003 Sunrise Way
City police and Ora personnel responded to the scene ofthe Inculpation 4nm a3y,M-u nsu
occurred after l p in today Thetmekwas neversetaam,bola large puddle of A Pwo Rwrger pickup truck m cwml
gasoline flowed trim ugh the parking 1.1 away from the cockup following the mid- away from the Palm Springs Public
day mcltlenl Librsy m,brq lIX in PMm Sp^y,attar
being tldused wih gasoline Twa
The names oflhe arrested Samovars nod immediately available;norwas any pear,wore anstcC after an
r,,m o ovathe,ocmto or we
way to
the Palm possible
ingsjmfor booking,
come The arrested pabwere on their personpdurmg to lowndver llxtr'A
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IDEAS for the
DESERT RESOURCE CENTER COMPONENTS
1. Reception area where mail can be picked up, messages received, appointments made.
2. Large meeting/dining room where people eat and meet as groups and take afternoon naps when hot shelter is in
place.
3. Small library and writing desk area for people to fill out paperwork and job applications. Volunteers available to
assist.
4. Three small private client interview offices for use by various providers who share the offices according to
scheduled service days or hours.
5. Two larger offices providing desks and file cabinets each for permanent city and case management staffs.
6. Small conference room.
7. Staff restrooms for women and men.
& Locked storeroom for cleaning and office supplies.
9. Locked storeroom for kitchen supplies.
10. Kitchen, prep or full depending on final budget.
11. Client bathrooms - for women with two showers and two lavatories and for men with four showers and two
lavatories.
12. Laundry room with two large washing machine and two heavy duty washers and dryers.
13. Adjacent clothing "store" where clients can exchange old clothes for new clean clothing.
14. Parking area for clients, providers and volunteers open only during business hours.
15. Possible outside, open-air, and cleanable (heavy-duty plastic) temporary storage lockers to be operated by
volunteers.
16. Enclosed trash area.
17. Security cameras.
18. Outdoor safety lighting.
19. Secure access after regular business hours, possibly by card access.
20, Wish list, if feasible, would be a small classroom that would serve 15 to 20 clients at a time. AA meetings,
gambling anonymous, group counseling and other meetings could be conducted here.
21. The entire project would be low-profile and geared for client privacy and dignity.
22. Childcare Facilities*
23. Cool Area with Pet Resources*
24. Drop-off Area*
25. Emergency Food Distribution* ^
stY/
26. Job Training— Adult Ed*
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27. Outdoor Picnic Area*
28. Shelter Beds*
* Additional Services suggested by the Homeless & Economically Disadvantaged Blue Ribbon Committee
Palm Spnngs Homeless Task Force,January 17,2006.Rev.February 16,2006.SG;Rev.May 2.2006 Blue Mbbon Com Ree DaleC\Homelessness\DRC Compenente Jua06
My name is Inez Cardozo-Freeman. I have lived in this beautiful community since Sept., 1999. I
an a retired Professor of Humanities, The Ohio State University where I taught for 37 years. My
area of research was studying the language and culture of maximum security prisoners. I have
published two books on the topic. I am also the mother of a son who suffers from severe mental
illness. I share this with you to demonstrate that in both my professional and personal life, I am
well acquainted with two partictdar groups who oflen show up among the chronically homeless.'
I want to thank Council members Ginny Foat and Steve Pougnet for their efforts in hying to
alleviate the difficult problem of homelessness in Palm Springs. People come from all over the
world to bask in the sun and enjoy the ambiance of this wonderful community. Everyone falls in
love with Palm Springs. For this reason alone, homelessness in our community is deeply
troubling.
Dr. McKinny's work in trying to fulfill the needs of the homeless at the Well in the Desert has
been tireless. He is to be commended for his charity and dedication. Unfortunately, homelessness
here and elsewhere across the country is going to increase. Something must be done to house the
homeless,to stop the endless cycle through suup.kitAevls,temporary shelters, emergency rooms,
detoxification centers and jails.
There is work being done in cities across the United States that is successfully reducing chronic
homelessness. An article entitled"New Campaign Shows Progress for the Homeless,"published
in the NYTimes on June 7"'of this year, points out that there is a solution to caring for the
homeless. It is "a radical approach to putting homeless people into apartments of their own, no
strings attached'.`The"housing first"policy, as it is called, is part of an accelerating national
movement that has reduced the numbers of the chronically homeless,those who spend years in
the streets and shelters. To daPf�219 cities at last count have started ambitious 10-year plans to
end chronic homelessness.
New York City, with over 4,000 homeless and Henderson,N.C. with only 91 homeless are
involved in the housing first program. Incredible reports of decline have been noted: Philadelphia
reports a decline of 60 percent over five years, San Francisco is 28 percent down in just two
years. Dallas is down 26 percent and Raleigh,N.C. has reduced homelessness by 15 percent. San
Francisco which has a ten-year plan predicts that by the end of 2006, 2,200 of its estimated 3,000
chronically homeless will be in apartments.
I hope the Coachella Valley Association of Governments dew 1Task Iorce on the gomeless will
join this nationwide approach to ending homelessness through this "housing first" approach now
taking place among so many cities throughout the United States.
In closing I would like to point out the importance of the connection between the homeless and t-,t-e
6_1eoxb
cart wluch�carry�all their possessions, T hey take eevfA veriy-Ivhere they go. Do you think fora
neat that they will part with their carts if they are required to board a bus to get to the Well in
the Desert?I don't think they will. Please consider the dignity and needs of the homeless in your
well-meaning intention to help them. Thank you.
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