San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury
• 2009-2010
Homelessness in SAN Luis Obispo County:
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 13 findings
F1
With public and private funding, CAPSLO (by far the largest non-profit serving the homeless) operates the Prado Day Center and the Maxine Lewis Shelter. CAPSLO provides case management for homeless clients in the north and south county and the City of San Luis Obispo.
No recommendations for this finding
F2
The Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter is not large enough to provide beds in San Luis Obispo for all who seek them. The facility is in poor physical condition.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The “overflow” shelter program that CAPSLO runs with the Interfaith Coalition provides beds for homeless women and families each night of the year at local churches and synagogues. This arrangement has logistical challenges but also provides the important advantage of engaging many volunteers to serve as chaperones, thus giving hundreds of citizens some awareness of what it means to have no home.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
Among private non-profit groups serving the homeless, ECHO, in Atascadero, is exemplary.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
In Paso Robles, which has a large homeless population, there is no shelter.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
Non-profit organizations, including churches, and the City of Paso Robles should establish shelter and meal serving program for people who are homeless.
F6
The South County People’s Kitchen, in Grover Beach, serves lunch daily and the recently created Five Cities Homeless Coalition wants to have a comprehensive day center for the population they serve. As presently contemplated, the vision for that facility does not include overnight sleeping accommodations.
Related Recommendations (2)
R6
The county, south county incorporated cities and appropriate non-profit groups should vigorously pursue joint efforts to build and operate a facility that provides both day services and night time shelter for homeless persons in the five cities region.
R7
Cities in south county, the county itself and The Five Cities Homeless Coalition should begin to work with local churches and service groups to provide temporary shelter until the facility is operative. ECHO in Atascadero provides an excellent model.
F7
No single county official or agency is charged with overall responsibility for assisting the homeless.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
A full-time Homes Services Coordinator (a senior official who is more than the currently contemplated HSOC “Executive Director”) should oversee the implementation of the ten year plan. This person should be supplied with a staff, including a grant writer.
F8
The County Departments of Social Services, Mental Health Services and Drug and Alcohol Services assist homeless persons who are eligible for their programs, but simply being homeless does not qualify an individual for any particular service.
No recommendations for this finding
F9
The extent to which the key county agencies (DSS, Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol) integrate services to the homeless is uncertain. Agency leaders offer differing assessments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Homeless Services Coordinator should monitor funds directed towards helping the homeless and make recommendations and offer guidance to all involved agencies and groups throughout the County.
F10
Some homeless persons who are afflicted with drug and alcohol problems or mentally ill are not well served.
Related Recommendations (2)
R5
The Homeless Services Campus should be built as soon as possible. The coordinator and appropriate staff from DSS, County Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol should also be stationed there. These professionals need to meet with the homeless where they eat and sleep. Each department should have one or more staff assigned to the Prado Day Center on a regular basis until the campus is occupied. Appropriate arrangements should be made to address issues of client privacy and confidentiality as required by law, but such requirements should not provide a rational for not delivering services.
R9
Because ECHO has a system that works, their ideas and methods should be expanded to other areas within the county. CAPSLO, Five Cities Homeless Coalition and other groups now working with the homeless should meet with the staff of ECHO and be mentored in the areas of recruiting, training and effectively utilizing volunteers.
F11
The widely endorsed Path to a Home: San Luis Obispo Countywide 10- Year Plan to End Homelessness has been accepted, but not “adopted,” by cities and the county.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The county and all the county’s incorporated cities should “adopt” and begin to implement the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.
F12
The county, with support from cities and private groups, wants to build a homeless service campus in San Luis Obispo.
No recommendations for this finding
F13
The need for low cost housing in the county substantially exceeds supply.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The county and all the incorporated cities should establish and fund a line item in their budgets specifically supporting services, including more housing for homeless persons.
Conclusions 1
-
CL1At last count (January 2009) more than 3,800 people in San Luis Obispo County were homeless. That number included 1,300 under the age of 18. Most sleep on other people’s couches, in cars or outside. About a hundred find beds in shelter in Atascadero (ECHO) or San Luis Obispo 2009-2010 San Luis Obispo Grand Jury Page 9 (CAPSLO and the Interfaith Coalition). The volunteer “peoples kitchens” provide meals in various locations. The Prado Day Center offers laundry and other services in San Luis Obispo. The county and most city governments help fund these programs. All of these efforts are commendable but insufficient. No one is in charge; no government takes more than partial responsibility. Based on its investigation, the Grand Jury concludes that for the situation to truly improve, the responsibility and authority for coordinating and managing all the various available resources needs to reside with one person, independent of city or county control, but funded by them. Unless local governments and private organizations join together and expand available resources, the homeless adults and children of San Luis Obispo County will continue to struggle and far too many including hundreds of our children will remain homeless.