AnonymousSource: City of Goleta
Community input is an essential part of the City of Goleta’s effort to develop its first-ever comprehensive Homelessness Strategic Plan. The City is requesting community members participate in this process in two important ways. The City has just released a survey and is hoping to get as much input as possible through this outreach method. We hope to hear from residents, businesses, service providers, and those who are or who have experienced homelessness. Please share the survey with your neighbors, colleagues, and anyone else who may be interested in providing feedback. The survey can be found online in both English and Spanish at the following links:
- English Community Survey on Homelessness: https://tinyurl.com/
goletahomelessness - Spanish Community Survey on Homelessness: https://tinyurl.com/
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We also invite community members to attend an Open House on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. at the Goleta Valley Community Center (5679 Hollister Avenue). The event is a unique opportunity for the community to interact on a one-on-one basis with City staff and homelessness service providers, as well as provide ideas and input on homelessness in our community. A kids station will be available for those bringing children. Organizations including the County of Santa Barbara, Peoples’ Self-Help Housing, Isla Vista Youth Projects, New Beginning’s Safe Parking Program, Freedom Warming Center, Showers of Blessing, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness, and others will be available to talk personally to attendees. Attendees will also have an opportunity to complete the survey while at the Open House.
The Community Open House and survey are elements of a larger homelessness strategic planning effort, which has included stakeholder meetings, best practice discussions with communities nationwide, and years of partnership supporting regional homelessness efforts. While the City of Goleta has a history of supporting organizations and regional efforts serving those at risk of homelessness and those experiencing homelessness, the City currently does not have a comprehensive plan analyzing the state of homelessness in our area and the most effective steps forward. City Council and staff believe having a strategic plan will provide important direction and clarity around needs, service gaps, and priorities in order to make effective and strategic funding decisions that serve both the existing homeless population, as well as those at risk of becoming homeless. Once adopted, the Homelessness Strategic Plan will help guide and coordinate efforts to prevent and address homelessness within the City of Goleta. This Plan is one of many strategic efforts being undertaken by local cities and the County of Santa Barbara to support cooperative efforts to address the problem of homelessness on a regional basis.
We appreciate the community’s involvement in this process thus far and look forward to continued engagement during this important effort. For more information, please contact Dominique Samario, Management Analyst for the City of Goleta at dsamario@cityofgoleta.org or 805-690-5126. Learn more about the City’s Homelessness Strategic Plan at https://tinyurl.com/
Build 1450 permanent supportive housing tiny units for the homeless, off the property tax rolls like is provided for UCSB and SBCC Students at taxpayer expense. Impose a 5% local Fee payroll deduction on all persons working in South County regardless of location of residency. In addition, build a 200 licensed long term care health facility for seriously mentally ill. Then eliminate all double dipping pensions for Govt workers, and cut in half all CalPERS and other Govt pension benefits above $2000/month. Reallocate this money towards job training and placement of able bodied homeless. CA spends too much on government, too much on entitlements, and not enough serving citizens and vets needing a hand up. Fed HUD has sent $2B to build shelters for our veterans: get building! STOP PAING CONSULTANTS and chatting at meetings. Just Do It.
Don’t forget the billions already raised “taxing the rich” by the ballot supported MHSA – Mental Health Services Act. What happened to all that money that voters were told would get those with mental impairments off the streets? Who among our elected officials will be accountable for all that money already raised?
Triage the useless term “Homeless”. In fact they are the (1) have nots; (2) the can nots; and (3) the will nots. Each has a very different solution – and the have nots are already generously supported by our social safety net, both public and private. That leaves the can nots -those with mental impairments and the service-resistent will nots for cities to deal with. Voters supported state funding for the can nots; leaving only the will nots as the remaining issue. Will nots simply need to be strongly discouraged from even thinking about coming here on every level. No more coddling the will-nots and open state sanitariums for the can nots. And new program or task force must segegrate this population and prove what they propose will actually benefit the targeted group, which also must include tax paying property owners who are tired of seeing increasing waste and degradation of this town enabled by do-nothing, hand-wringing elected officials. Move on to support state sanitariums with the money already raised and enforceable codes for public conduct. Be finally done with this ongoing feckless, misguided mess.