Page 9 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

#4 - HOMLESSNESS: Everyone agrees that being homeless is not a crime. When the county offers services to homeless people some accept and some reject help. Statistics show us that among the chronically homeless, people with mental disabilities, and people with substance abuse addictions are the most challenging to house and direct toward services that offer lifeline solutions. When
law enforcement is called upon to remove people from public places or from where they have set up camp, will you continue current procedures for interaction and removal, or do you see law enforcement changing procedures in the future? If you think current procedures are appropriate, why do you think change is not necessary? If you think change is necessary – what changes would you make?
Mark Essick
Ernesto Olivares
John Mutz
I do not support homeless sweeps by law enforcement
as they are proven to make conditions worse for unsheltered persons. I support evidence based assistance in the form
We must, with all jurisdictions in Sonoma County, continue moving toward an evidence- based Housing First model along with supportive housing while eliminating barriers to temporary shelter. In short, we must focus on
First, let’s acknowledge
that this is a real challenge
for our business community
and genuinely contributes to people feeling unsafe in our community. Both of these results are unacceptable.
of medical services, mental
But let’s be honest — it isn’t working to just push people, who have no where to
health services, addiction treatment, temporary sheltering and ultimately
comprehensive evidence-based strategies which help to end homelessness, and don’t merely enable homelessness. Homelessness is a community issue which requires a community response and law enforcement plays an important role as a partner. I am proud to have worked to develop strategies to end homelessness as a Santa Rosa Council Member and Chair of its Subcommittee on Homelessness.
go, from one place to another; we need no further evidence than to look at our communities right now. Streets don’t feel safer, businesses are challenged, and the homeless crisis is exploding.
housing and job assistance. However, there must be a balance between compassion for homeless people and allowing bad actors to do whatever they want without any consequences, so there is a law enforcement component in working with homeless populations. Homelessness is a complicated community issue that can only be solved by all stakeholders working together with the support
Key to our strategies was the coordination of services for those being moved from public places. The Santa Rosa HOST program offers a type of case-management strategy to meet the individual needs of homeless clients. Current policy requires that all persons being removed from pubic property be offered temporary housing. I will continue
this approach as Sheriff and ensure all homeless individuals are treated with respect and dignity. In a current situation, the County desires to remove homeless individuals from property they own within the Santa Rosa City limits. The encampment is commonly known as Camp Michaela. The County has asked the Santa Rosa Police Department to remove the residents of the camp but the Police Department is requiring that all individuals be offered temporary housing before any removal processes begin.
This is an extremely complex problem. People live on the streets for a number of reasons and
one solution doesn’t fit them all. Everyone in our community should expect to be treated always with respect and dignity, and deserves a safe, clean place to live.
of our elected officials. Based on local research, we know that homelessness is down overall from a high of 4,539 people in 2011 to 2,906 people in 2016 a 36% reduction. This is based largely on a better understanding of homelessness issues and better targeting of services to those in need. Our community learned that among the chronically homeless population, 64% suffer from a drug or alcohol addiction and 60% suffer from a diagnosed mental health condition. By addressing these needs, our community partners have better served our homeless population and made significant progress in both reducing the total homeless population and increasing the number of that population that is sheltered. Of the 2,906 homeless in Sonoma County, 34% are currently sheltered, while 66% are unsheltered.
There are three keys to beginning to effectively address this challenge:
Local jurisdictions must be committed to increase their spending on mental health treatment and drug and alcohol treatment programs. This includes adding crisis stabilization beds, a public psychiatric hospital, addiction treatment programs, transitional housing programs and day programs. I’m very proud of my work as the founder and program director of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Intervention Training program. I built the Crisis Intervention Training program from the ground up, researching national best practices, consulting with community mental health partners, non-profits and faith based leaders to create a model program that is now emulated throughout the
vital experience to add and often from a unique perspective. Implementing a policy without inclusion of all these perspectives often has unintended consequences elsewhere.
Will: Our community, across the board, has
to be united in the will to find compassionate, workable, effective solutions — and be unwilling to settle for ineffective, temporary acts. (Clearing out an encampment falls into that category.)
Partnerships: We need to be developing collaborative working partnerships among local nonprofits, agencies engaged in this issue (both directly and indirectly), social service organizations and advocates, local government representatives, and - of course - law enforcement. We need every stakeholder’s voice at the table; everyone has
ELECTION JUNE 2018
May 4 ~ Sheriff Candidate Forum - Can- didates: Ernesto Olivares, Mark Essick and John Mutz. FREE, 6-8p, St. Vincent de Paul Church Hall, 35 Liberty St., Petaluma, aqus.com/event/ sheriff-candidate-forum
League of Women Voters Forums
INFO: Chlele Gummer (707) 292-0535 www. lwvsonoma.org
MAY 11 ~ Congressman Mike Thompson,
district representative. 3-4pm, Spring Lake Village 5555 Montgomery Dr, Santa Rosa
MAY 12 ~ Ballot Measures Pros and
Cons. Hear the arguments for and against the ballot measures on the June ballot. Earl Baum Center, Room 3, 4539 Occidental Rd, Santa Rosa
MAY 16 ~ Pros & Cons on Measures. Panel will explain each proposition. Questions from the audience. Rincon Valley Regional Library, 6959 Montecito Blvd, Santa Rosa.
state as an example of how to deliver crisis mental health services in the field. The program, built in conjunction with, Sonoma County Mental Health was designed to train peace officers in de-escalation and intervention techniques to assist those in mental health crisis, while directing them away from arrest and detention in the justice system.
Learning from the examples of others:
This has served our homeless population well
and significantly reduced the number of homeless persons entering the justice system via the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.
the Sheriff should be dedicated to driving this conversation.
Meaningful solutions require commitment and engagement across the community. (And here, I’d like to give a resounding shout-out to the grassroots advocates, church organizations, and social service agencies that are already working so hard to address these challenges with compassion and heart.) The Sheriff is in an excellent position to call for and sustain these partnerships, making sure this conversation moves beyond kicking the can down the road.
Sonoma County is not unique. Many communities across the state are beginning to develop creative solutions that are working. We need to be more pro-active in learning from statewide successes, adapting solutions to fit our community, and
I’m committed to leading this effort as a collaborative, inclusive, and transparent process. We must evolve beyond where we are now, because the status quo is not functional, compassionate, or effective.
5/18 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9