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Gateway
(currently meeting
on an as-needed basis)
contact
Clyde Reynolds for info
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The Gateway – The
Concept
In
2005 a group of citizens came together, initially under the umbrella of the
Downtown Ventura Organization, in response to a “panhandling crisis” in our
community. Through dialogue, an understanding began to emerge about the
broader matters of homelessness and the causes that bring many people to
find themselves begging on our streets. The focus of the group turned to
discussion around issues of those with alcohol and substance abuse problems,
and those struggling with mental illness, many of whom are homeless or at
risk of becoming so.
As the dialogue
continued it became apparent that there are many good social services and
agencies in our community, each of a particular focus. But it was also
apparent that these agencies were not always working together, and that
accessing many of them was nearly impossible for certain segments of the
population – often those most in need – and who might benefit the most from
such services. The group began to visualize a central place, a facility that
could bring together several key agencies and services of benefit, not
simply to the Homeless, but to any community member who might find
themselves in crisis – a gateway to hope and to help.
The Gateway emerged as
a concept bringing together, under one roof, multiple agencies and support
services available throughout our community, but often hidden and difficult
to access. |
THE PHYSICAL CONCEPT
The Gateway would combine
Shelter, Sobering Station, Transitional Housing, Drop-In and Supportive Services
in one location. Individuals will find comfort, showers, food, clean clothing
and real assistance in one facility. It may be possible to enter the Gateway,
homeless and destitute, stay for an extended period of time (6 months to two
years), and leave the Gateway able to support oneself in mainstream society. For
those who struggle with mental illness, it will be possible to enter the
Gateway, homeless and destitute, stay for an extended period of time and leave
the Gateway with on-going support in the form of permanent supportive housing
and continued social care.
Through continued
dialogue, discussion and creative thinking, it became apparent that many of the
services identified within "The Gateway" will benefit a large number of
individuals in our community, in addition to those experiencing homelessness and
economic challenges. The Gateway could serve a cross-section of Ventura's
population, combining individual and community resources to meet fundamental
basic human services most cost-efficiently while maximizing community awareness
of their presence and availability to all.
WHO
WE ARE
The
Gateway Committee, comprised of a diverse group of Ventura citizens, including
community activists and various service provider representatives, serves under
the umbrella of the Ventura Social Services Task Force (VSSTF). The Task Force
is a community-based organization tasked by the Ventura City Council to end
(intercede in the cycle of) homelessness in our city. This is part of a broader
effort called the Ten-Year Strategy to End Homelessness, a movement that is
spreading across the nation. There are approximately 300 cities, counties, and
states that have completed or are completing a ten-year strategy to end
homelessness, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
(USICH).
THE
UNDERLYING PURPOSES
In
order to understand the intent behind The Gateway, and why it represents
such a significant part of the solution to our City’s Homeless problem, it is
important to first become familiar with the some of the core issues and causes
of Homelessness in our community.
An Old Problem
Homelessness is a continuing
national problem that persists within local cities and communities including the
City of Ventura and Ventura County. During the past two decades, an increasing
number of single persons have remained homeless year after year and have become
the most visible of all homeless persons in our community. Other persons
(particularly families) may experience shorter periods of homelessness. However,
they are soon replaced by other families and individuals in a seemingly endless
cycle of homelessness. There are many reasons why people become homeless, and
there are just as many misunderstandings about the problem and those caught up
in the cycle.
In a report to the Ventura
City Council in 2008, City Staff cited that “Reactive homeless programming and
treatment, on average, costs a community $35,000-$150,000 per chronic homeless
person annually. Proactive homeless programming and treatment (a housing first
model), on average costs a community $13,000-$25,000 per chronic homeless person
annually. The issue of homelessness is a matter of cost – the cost of human
life, and the cost of that human life on a community.” At that time the Homeless
Count in the City of Ventura numbered around 588 persons. That figure has since
increased
New Solutions
The challenge for any
community is to adopt courses of action that end, rather than manage or
maintain, homelessness. A typical example of managing and maintaining
homelessness involves moving homeless people from food and meal programs to
emergency shelters and back to food and meal programs day after day, week after
week, month after month, and—for an increasing number of homeless persons—year
after year. Managing and maintaining homelessness also involves moving homeless
people in and out of motels, winter shelters, and correctional institutions,
which also contributes to a seemingly endless cycle of homelessness.
Planning to end homelessness
involves a different approach to homelessness. This approach involves focusing
new and existing tools and resources on three (3) sub-populations of homeless
persons that encompasses all homeless and at-risk of becoming homeless persons
within the community.
The three (3) sub-populations
include:
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Chronic Homeless Persons: individuals who are
homeless for one (1) year or more, or four (4) times in three (3) years, and
have a disability, which is often mental illness and/or substance abuse. They
are often the most visible and the hardest to reach of all homeless persons.
-
Episodic Homeless Persons:
individuals or families
who are homeless for a short period of time—days, weeks, or months—not a year
or more.
-
Persons At Risk of Becoming Homeless: persons with limited
income and often have to choose between paying their rent or mortgage and
other daily living costs which often put them at risk of becoming homeless.
In
Ventura County there are at least a few thousand people who become episodically
homeless and replace the episodically homeless persons noted above who obtain
housing. This creates a continuous cycle of homelessness throughout the County
year after year. The persons replacing the episodically homeless persons noted
above are persons who were at risk of becoming homeless and became homeless.
The Ten-Year Strategy
The initial goal is to reduce homelessness within the county by 50% during the
first five (5) years (2008-2012) of implementation.
First it is important to recognize that Homelessness is a community problem, and
that communities spend a great deal of money and other resources every year
dealing with the negative impacts – crime, victimization, abuse, medical trauma,
police and medical man-hours, diminished value of properties in areas impacted
by the presence of homeless persons, and so on. But there are numerous studies
and case-studies that demonstrate how communities that work to intervene in the
cycle of homelessness, through provision of support services, transitional and
supportive housing, can significantly reduce the costs and negative impacts
associated with both chronic and episodic homelessness, while also significantly
improving the quality of life of those so affected.
The
Ten-Year Strategy to End Homelessness provides 22 recommendations that describe
how homelessness can be reduced annually by providing a balanced approach of new
and existing resources for chronic homeless, episodic homeless, and at risk of
becoming homeless persons. These recommendations were made by a Working Group
comprised of representatives from numerous public and private agencies in
Ventura County, that met at least once a month over an 18-month span of time and
helped compile the County of Ventura’s Ten Year Strategy. The full report,
Ventura County 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness, 2007, can be read and
downloaded
here
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