EDITOR’S VIEWPOINT/A long way from home

There’s a new war on poverty, this time focusing on the homeless, but I’m not sure if the assaults are on the homeless or on the roots of their homelessness. For example, the Santa Monica, Calif., City Council passed a law in 2001 that prohibits sitting or lying in downtown doorways overnight if signs to that effect are posted. Also, groups feeding more than 150 people a day for free must get a city permit.

In an ordinance passed last year aimed at panhandlers living in Santa Cruz, Calif., beggers cannot come within 14 feet of pay phones, water fountains and entrances to buildings. Other cities are simply advising their residents not to give panhandlers any money. “If you don’t feed them, they’ll go away,” said a spokesman for the mayor of Madison, Wis.

Probably the most notable shift in combating homelessness occurred in San Francisco last November when residents passed Proposition N, which cut the monthly stipend paid to homeless people who register with the city from $395 to $59. The savings, estimated at $13 million, will be redirected to provide housing, food and other services for the city’s homeless.

Unfortunately, while some cities are “motivating” the homeless to move away, homelessness isn’t going away. In fact, homelessness and hunger are increasing, according to a Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey released last month. The survey of 25 large cities noted that requests for emergency shelter assistance grew by 19 percent in the 18 cities reporting an increase in 2002. The survey’s respondents also identified the factors that cause homelessness — a lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs, substance abuse and mental illness. Addressing those factors will help solve the homeless problem eventually, but cities need immediate assistance.

Some help is on the way with the recent allocation of $1.1 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care and Emergency Grant program. Even though the federal money includes an increase of $28 million over 2002 funding, will it be enough considering homelessness increased last year and is predicted to increase again this year?

One good long-term solution to the homeless problem might be found in the “Bringing America Home Act,” a bill being introduced next month in Congress. Cited as the nation’s most comprehensive bill ever to address homelessness, the measure would send local governments federal funds to expand public transportation, to create job apprenticeships, to help the working homeless buy houses, and to provide childcare vouchers and emergency funds for families facing eviction from their homes.

Homelessness, like homeland security, must be addressed nationally but managed locally. As America’s front line of defense in our war on homelessness, local governments must have the resources to do more than chase America’s homeless from city to city.