San Diego Regional Coalition
4699 Murphy Canyon Road,
San Diego, CA 92123
(858) 636-4111
Fax: (858) 492-2059
So Many Homeless Are
Dying We Stopped Counting-They Get what They Deserve
Robert DeVries robert@n2.net
mndailyreporter@hotmail.com
Re: Question
Thu, 5 Jul 2001 18:11:37-0700(PDT)
Hi! Thanks for your message I don't think that the website you mention is living in the real world. But the point is still
well taken that the life of homeless people is extremely dangerous and the obstacles that homeless people face are severe. There are supposedly 15,000 homeless people here in San Diego County and
the death rate is so high that the local paper no longer even bothers to mention when yet another body is found in Balboa Park. When there was a meeting
of the Renaissance Commission here in Ocean Beach a couple of years ago, the concensus in the audience was running more than 10 to 1 in favor of the theory
that homeless people were ENTIRELY responsible for their own situation. What is needed is not $250 billion but a commitment by society that we will do what is
necessary to help those homeless people who are willing to help themselves.
Best regards,
Robert DeVries
Democratic Central Committee
SF Homless Coalition Question 1
468 Turk Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
tel: 415.346.3740
fax: 415.775.5639
Are Homeless
Death Exegerated-Topic #23
What is the normal attrition rate for a city wide
population composed of alcoholics, drug users, disabled....? We asked a local organization in San Francisco for their
candid opinon:
"The reports are NOT exaggerated. actually, the preface to the SF Dept. of Public Health's annual
homeless deaths report contains a caveat where the Dept. states that each year's count is actually
an undercount -- the half-time position to do the legwork to confirm the housing status of the
decedents was eliminated from SF-DPH's budget. the current counts reflect only those whose
homelessness could be confirmed by the M.E.'s staff, or by police reports. if you're interested, check out
SF Medical Examiner
it's the text of the Director of Public Health to the Health Commission regarding homeless deaths in 1999,
and has a link for the 1999 report, which I co-authored. it was, as they say, a record year.
chance martin
Coalition on Homelessness
Tue, 26 Jun 2001 17:48:36 -0700
468 Turk Street,
San Francisco, CA 94102
415 346.3740
415 375.5639-fax
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City of Phoenix
City Council
Phoenix City Hall,
200 W. Washington St.,
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Phoenix City Council
cody.williams@phoenix.gov
mndailyreporter@hotmail.com
Subject: Question on
http://nemd3.tripod.com
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 15:36:39 -0700
Dennis, The problem is vast and complex, but substantially solvable. Divide the number of projected homeless in
any metro area by the number of citizens who reside in that metro area. Ratios of 1 homeless person to
200 or 300 residents is not uncommon. Effectively, housing 40 individuals in a community of 8,000 should
not e too difficult or noticable. You'd think, however, that a toxic waste site was moving in if a
transitional or affordable housing development were proposed in just about any community in the nation.
Providing mental health evaluatins and treatment as well ass substance abuse treatment helps to impact 40% to 60% of those
considered homeless. It is very expensive and for the most part, non-existent. No place to go and no help when they get
there. $250 billion could easily solve the problem if distributed within the context of a national homeless strategy where
levels of consistency in service could be measured. $250 billion can fix a lot of problems or be wasted like any other big
pot of money.
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Pima Association of Governments
177 N. Church Avenue, Suite 405
Tucson, Arizona 85701
(520) 792-1093
Fax (520) 620-6981
From: "Lynne Potler"
lpotler@pagnet.org
mndailyreporter@hotmail.com
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 2001 11:08:20 -0700
City Of Phoenix
Mr. Stringer,
Your e-mail about a study of homelessness in San Francisco was forwarded to me. I have no direct knowledge of the study or the situation of the homeless in San Francisco so I can't comment on that. While I do not work directly with the homeless in the Tucson metropolitan area, I am aware that life "on the street" is difficult and that it can hard to move to a more "mainstream" existence. In our community it has been reported that a substantial proportion of the homeless have mental health, substance abuse and/or physical disabilities which certainly are barriers to changing their status. Lack of job skills and educational attainment also are barriers.There are programs here that seek to help the homeless, particularly with a focus on moving them to employment, but it still is hard for some of these individuals to make the transition and then to maintain a job which often is low wage and low status and leaves relatively little discretionary income. Some of the homeless are unable or unwilling to comply with the requirements of these programs which require individuals to show up regularly for job search training, appointments, etc. Living "on the street" and having to scrounge for meals, etc. certainly could make it hard to keep a regular schedule and appear clean, well groomed, and focused each morning. There are some beds in homeless shelters set aside for those who participate satisfactorily in job search and related employment activities. However, many of the homeless do not feel they can afford to spend weeks or months participating in a job training program when they have no income during that time.
The $250 billion you mention may relate to the proposal to allow faith-based organizations to seek funding to provide a range of social services. That apparently is existing funding for a wide range of services, for many population groups in addition to the homeless, and
represents little or no increase in the overall amount curently available. I'm certain you are aware of the concerns raised by some about whether allowing faith based organizations to receive public (government) money could constitute government support of organized religion.
Lynne Potler
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