County Supervisors Wrestle with Homelessness
Big Problems Beget Big Plans for Santa Barbara’s Homeless Population
What might otherwise have been another wonky disquisition on the state of homelessness turned into a low-key battle between hope and despair, pitting Santa Barbara County Supervisor Peter Adam, who vigorously staked out the futilitarian position, against the rest of the county supervisors, who argued less energetically on behalf of measured optimism. In the end, no one really won, and the supervisors voted unanimously to accept a planning report that promises to be the first of two such documents to reportedly guide the supervisors’ spending on efforts to prevent homelessness.
Addressing Dinah Lockhart, the county administrator leading the charge for the homeless plan, Supervisor Adam asked how many similar grand plans the county has undertaken. When told the last took place in 2006, Adam all but scoffed, “Yeah, how did that work out?” Explaining his pessimism, Adam noted that in every homeless count undertaken since 2011, the number countywide hovered steadily at around 1,800. “We haven’t reduced the number of homeless,” he stated. “It seems to be a persistent problem, and I’m not sure we’re addressing it.”
Lockhart held her ground, explaining that the last plan got a lot of people talking about homelessness who might not otherwise have been so engaged. About 1,000 units of affordable housing were developed since then, she said.
