How to Help 47,000 Homeless in L.A. County? Vote Yes on Measure H
January 31, 2017
by Gary Toebben
Yesterday, I stood with Los Angeles County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas, Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, L.A. Councilmember Curren Price, mayors and councilmembers from other cities throughout L.A. County, labor representatives, social service and non-profit leaders, religious communities and environmentalists in support of Measure H to tackle the crisis of homelessness in L.A. County. This quarter cent sales tax on the March 7 ballot will create a dedicated stream of revenue to provide an array of services, including outreach, housing, mental health care and job training, to the 47,000 homeless individuals in our region.
The business community strongly supported Measure HHH in November to construct 10,000 permanent supportive housing units for the homeless in the City of L.A. We helped to lead that effort and now support this companion measure to fund services. Ending homelessness in L.A. County has been a priority of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and the United Way of Greater Los Angles for seven years. Together, we developed Home for Good to urge L.A. County and the cities in L.A. County to create a collaborative effort to end chronic and veteran homelessness. The passage of Measure HHH by 77 percent in the City of L.A. was a strong start. Now we need the services to go with the housing.
We realized early on in this process that additional financial resources would be necessary for success, and we are grateful for the strong public support that has coalesced around that priority. We are proud of the comprehensive plan that the County has developed to address homelessness by taking the lead and collaborating with all 88 cities in the County. There was a time when every governmental body and every non-profit service provider was operating in a silo and doing its own thing. Today, we see a collaborative effort that leaders at the federal government say is the most exemplary in the nation.
This quarter-cent sales tax for 10 years is an investment that is worth the money. Neither business nor anyone else wants to pay more taxes, but we support Measure H because it is the right thing to do and it is far more cost effective to get people off the street than it is to treat them while they are living on the street.
Business realizes that the cost of doing nothing is not nothing. We also realize that investing in the future is essential. Measure H is a wise investment. I urge you to support this measure to help improve the quality of life for everyone in L. A. County.
And that's The Business Perspective.
Comments
i'm a Marine who suffered many years of homelessness and being on skid Row still because my disabilities
I wrote this paper on the perpetuation of veteran poverty
The "perpetuation of veteran poverty" is about nonprofits, contractors, & "investors" etc.: who make millions & billions of dollars from monies that are supposed to go toward helping veterans: but we who put our lives on the line for democracy; we are not really helped but stripped, blindsided, and robbed of the monies given to help us while being made to be codependent on those who really profit, the landholders.
http://wp.me/P2HqKX-GV
I am hoping students who are interested in Veterans and Wellnesss will take interest to this ? I will make myself available for further research projects if permitted
I have a bachelors in social work, but my PTSD difficulties has made it impossible for me to gainfully make inroads to my career. This doesn't mean that I don't want to engage in the process of making wonderful changes for those who have given everything for our nations democracy, Because I do.
also, maybe you know somebody who would publish this ? I just hope to get the word out to make a change in this nation for the better.
I know i focus on Veterans here, this is my family. But the same is true for the civilian population... it is just that there are many more contributions as far as i surmise, that are given to help Veterans with their struggles. I have no stats but i am certain i am right just from the observations i have made being homeless for as long as i have
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