March 6, 2018
Liz Writes Life
Homelessness
Several weeks ago, I attended the
Siskiyou Co. Republican Women Federated February meeting held in Yreka. Lisa
Nixon spoke on the recent push to truly understand and affectively deal with
homelessness in Siskiyou County. Lisa is the Siskiyou Co. Supervisor for Dist.
4, which covers the Yreka area. But, basically, she serves independently as a
volunteer on a county-wide coalition.
Ed Pecis is a detective with the
Siskiyou Co. Sheriff’s Dept. and has been working, for years, on the homeless
problem in the Mt. Shasta area – not only through law enforcement, but also as
a volunteer with faith-based groups. He shared with Lisa that a locally-based concerned
residents group was expanding. Its name is Team Shasta and would include representatives
from the cities of Mt. Shasta, Weed, Yreka, Siskiyou Co. Dept. of Health and
Human Services including Behavioral Health, Community Resource Centers, the
county board of supervisors, Siskiyou Co. Sheriff Dept. and Sheriff Chaplains,
Yreka Police Dept., Beacon of Hope and a variety of concerned citizens and bus
owners.
There is a philosophy along with a
goal: How do we give a “hand up” and not a “hand out?” A positive outcome is
needed, so Team Shasta agreed that in order to provide needed services and
life-changing attitudes, they must learn and address the core reasons for
homelessness. Lisa was excited about this prospect and joined the Team.
When I later talked with Lisa, she
sent me a 27-page report from Robert G. Marbut Jr., Ph.D, who was hired by Team
Shasta to survey and research homelessness in Siskiyou County. He has spent
three decades analyzing and working on this complex issue throughout the
nation, including a stint as a White House staffer to President George H. W.
Bush.
As most people know, homelessness
is a national, state and local problem. In July 2017, he delivered this report.
It is eye-opening and provided comprehensive information for a realistic
county-wide discussion. Yes, mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence,
medical issues and more contribute to the problem.
Lisa said that opinions and
emotions run strong on the homeless issue. She, nor I, discount these beliefs
and compassion -- after all we are a faith-based society.
So, here is what the Team learned
from Dr. Marbut’s six-month study on homelessness in Siskiyou. Not only did he
talk to involved non-profit and faith-based groups, government service agencies,
businesses, cities, law enforcement, hospitals, ambulance operators and RV
parks (more than 50 of these individuals), he visited the camps and even
disguised himself going undercover to talk with the homeless.
Dr. Marbut reported there are four
basic groups of homeless in the county.
First are the I-5 travelers. They
stay close to the freeway and are always moving, but are underfunded and
panhandle.
Second are the spiritual and Eco
travelers, who tend to have some money, are generally good stewards, but a
subgroup does beg and panhandle.
The third group is the vagrants
and criminals that stay in an area a few days to all summer in encampments,
where there is garbage, disregard for health and safety laws; and displace
residents and tourists disrupting businesses. There have been several murders,
a drowning; and out-of-control fires from this group in Siskiyou Co.
Fourth are the year-round truly homeless,
who meet the federal HUD housing definition. In July 2017, Dr. Marbut
identified about 85 of these people in our county.
All four groups do take advantage
of street feeding, soup kitchens, voucher systems and primarily faith-based
compassion and generosity.
There are government systems and
services in place, but each group needs a different solution. Believe it or
not, in general, providing hand-outs often continues to enable the same
behavior. The Team’s goal is to transition the truly homeless to a better
situation. Of course, housing, shelter and available beds for the variety of
treatments and services needed are limited in Siskiyou Co. But the Team believes
it now has accurate information to base their next steps.
One paragraph in Dr. Marbut’s
report was particular enlightening to me. The heading is “Individuals
Experiencing Street-Level Homelessness:” and is explained this way.
“Even though the number of
individuals experiencing “street-level” homelessness is relatively low in
Siskiyou County, there are still 12-20 individuals in Mt. Shasta, 15-32
individuals in Yreka and 23-30 in the balance of Siskiyou, for a total of 50-82
individuals within the County. The
number of individuals fluctuates throughout the month with fewer individuals
living on the street earlier in month and more individuals on the street later
in the month. This phenomenon occurs
because many individuals receive Federal support funds at the beginning of the
month and are able to afford short-term lodging for 2-3 weeks. Once the funding runs out, individuals move
back to the street. The harsh winter
weather is the most powerful deterrence to year-round street-level homelessness
within Siskiyou County.”
That makes sense to me, but still
the Team’s focus is to transition people out of homelessness. Management,
updating data and continued tracking of the homeless is a must and recently the
Team received funding for the software to aid this aspect.
Also, there continues to be an
expansion of calls for emergency medical service and law enforcement for the
homeless, which adds a burden to local communities.
Dr. Marbut said we must move from
a culture of enabling to engagement. Yet, it must be done with kindness and compassion.
Hum, not always an easy feat.
He provided a no-nonsense guide
for “Moving from Enablement to Engagement.” It includes the following: Move to
a culture of transformation instead of the old culture of warehousing. Be sure
to integrate as many available services as possible. Customize the management and
tracking system. Reward positive behavior. Have consequences for negative
behavior. Have zero tolerance of encampments. Stop external activities like
street feeding or redirect for the truly poor in the community. Remember that
panhandling encourages the same behavior. Dr. Marbut explained that unearned
cash is very enabling and does not engage homeless individuals in job and
skills training that is needed to end their homelessness.
Lisa is extremely pleased with the
extensive information Dr. Marbut’s report has provided. It certainly is timely
and was an eye-opener to me. This sounds practical and realistic. It feels good
to be pro-active on a difficult societal issue.
Liz Bowen is a native of Siskiyou
County and lives near Callahan. Call her at 530-467-3515.
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