By Samuel Strait – April 19, 2022
Over the past couple of years, Governor Gavin Newsom has invested $4.8
million in State funding for two projects which would enable Del Norte
County to house, once the Klamath version of Project Home Key is up and
running, about 60 of the County’s total population of homeless of 400.
The governor’s ambitious plan to spend $14 Billion of the State’s money
to house the homeless is off to a rather expensive start. The question
becomes, will $14 billion be enough? If Del Norte County’s venture into
Project Home Key is an example of government success, it seems it is
hardly likely to be fruitful.
At the local level in Del Norte County, Health and Human Services has
spent $1.9 million on the purchase of the Coastal Inns and Suites, an
elderly motel currently housing thirty seven homeless In a “temporary”
fashion. The motel, now known as the “Legacy” is slated to become
permanent housing with the installation of kitchens, a laundry, and
storage facilities as a part of Project Home Key. Likely the entire
$2.6 million will be exhausted at that point. The Yurok Housing
Authority has recently been graced with another $2.2 million to purchase
another motel in the Klamath Glen to offer further permanent housing for
Klamath residents for a total of $4.8 million in Project Home Key
grants. The funding for staffing at each location has not been
revealed; however, it is likely that will become the problem for later
County budgets.
If this is a sample of sensible fiscal policy by both the State and
local governments, one shudders to think what else the tax payer in
California has to face in the future. By the numbers, Del Norte County
will have spent $4,800,000 to house less than sixty of the County’s
homeless. This equates to $80,000.00 for each person removed from our
streets. If the County, should it become possible, were to spend that
kind of money on the roughly 340 remaining homeless in the County, the
total would become a staggering $32,000,000. If Newsom, the empty suit
he is, were to extend this logic to the entire homeless population in
the State, 150,000 souls, the tab would reach $12,000,000,000, if, it
was possible to extend the $80,000 per homeless in urban areas. This is
clearly not the case, nor is it proving to be as simple as the governor
wishes it to be.
When it comes to the issue of “doing” something about the unhoused,
throwing money at a tiny fraction of the problem seems to be Governor
Hair Gel’s answer for every thing, but does it solve the problem, or
make it grow? The State is claiming the homeless population has shrunk
(It actually has grown by over 20,000 between 2021 and 2022.) in the
past year giving credit to Newsom’s efforts at the problem. If we use
the local numbers of 216 unhoused, it would appear to be the case. A
one time count study in January of 216 for the County’s homeless
population, have those that are directly involved with those populations
saying that isn’t an accurate number. They claim the number is much
higher at about 400. If this is a reflection of state wide estimates,
the homeless population is more likely to be closer to a quarter of a
million. In which case $14 billion, a very large number, would not be
enough.
In any event, the idea that the governor’s spending on the homeless will
“fix” the problem is unlikely to be realized. In fact, this spending is
more likely to encourage those in other parts of the United States to
relocate to sunnier shores. As with most of the left leaning
politicians, Newsom’s “fixes” will engender plenty of praise until it
fails to solve the problem. Then there will be silence. Local
governments will be left with the problem of a lot of money spent to
start and no further state money to pay for what comes next,
maintenance, management, and the cost of services to be provided. A
future to look forward to and not without a sense of dread. Then there
is the problem of where the remaining $27.2 million is to come from to
“solve” the entire problem? Some what obvious when you think about it,
Sacramento will be missing in action.
Bieber and Dennison, thank you these are great letters, I didn’t have all this information I always hand out a few dollars here and there, a friend of mine told me send them to the welfare office for food stamps instead of money I did that and the one man got upset he wanted money well I won’t hand out money.
Great Comments Holly.
Instead of economizing our homeless problem, we should start extraditing all these freeloaders to their County and State of Origin. Politicians are effectively regulating capitalism out of the State, and attracting people looking for a hand out. When will the GOVERNMENT OVERREACH STOP?
One of the biggest problems with Project Home Key in Del Norte County that No One is addressing at the “Legacy” motel is the number of overdoses, acouple deaths, fights and the amount of people who are using and Dealing drugs out of their rooms. There are rules and regulations that every resident has to follow and not many of them do. In fact almost no one there does. I believe they had to sign contracts before moving in. Police and Sheriff’s Officers are there on a regular basis. Management does inspections every few (4-6) months when it’s time to spray for bugs, but all they check for is that all furniture is pulled 6 inches away from walls, damage to the property or repairs needing to be done. Now, I understand the need for privacy but when you get to live somewhere for free with free power, water, heat and cable, I believe you have to give a little as well. I believe everyone living there should not only be drug tested but that the Sheriff’s Office should come by twice a month, randomly, with a K-9 unit, no notice and granted entry into half the rooms. A few days later, again randomly, they get to check the other rooms. Anyone caught with anything illegal loses their spot. There are homeless people out there that don’t do drugs and just need a helping hand. Those people, those families, deserve a place to stay more than a drug dealer or a drug user.