Published in the March 5- 18, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life

Mike Wasserman

Mike Wasserman

Silicon Valley can be a world of financial extremes — and Morgan Hill reflects that fact. Not far from multi-million-dollar mansions live families struggling every day to find shelter, often dwelling out of their vehicles. The human cost of homelessness is a high one.

In his state of the county address Jan. 28, District 1 Supervisor Mike Wasserman, who took his seat as president of the county board for this year, committed the county to a concerted effort to help the men, women and children now living on the streets in one of the wealthiest regions in the world.

Looking at South County specifically, the number of homeless individuals here has decreased in the past few years, with a recent county homeless census showing about 1,000 homeless people in our region in 2013. A Santa Clara County Cost of Homelessness Study is now being completed, and the data it will provide will help local elected officials understand the costs associated with homelessness and move toward identifying high users of our homeless system of care.

“We know that addressing homelessness when it becomes a crisis each year often means we are too late,” Wasserman told Morgan Hill Life. “On any given night here in the county, there are over 7,000 homeless individuals and families. And of that number about 2,500 are considered to be chronically homeless.”

Wasserman takes the issue of homelessness to heart. Soon after being sworn in as a supervisor, he became the honorary co-chair with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed of the Destination: Home program. The experience taught him much about the harsh realities the homeless face and it raised his awareness of the enormity of the issue in Santa Clara County, he said.

While no two individuals experience homelessness in the same way, many factors can contribute to this problem including alcohol and drug abuse, job loss, and a range of disabling conditions. Young people and children are particularly impacted by homeless.

“We are finding that the vast majority of youth experiencing homelessness were formerly in foster care and exited the system without the ability to live independently,” Wasserman told us. “In fact, one quarter of former foster youth will experience homelessness at some point as young adults, making that number nearly 1,200 on any given night in Santa Clara County.”

The county is looking at ways to prevent our children from experiencing homelessness. One place it intends to start is with the launching of two supportive housing programs this year specifically targeted for these vulnerable youth.

The county is the principle provider of safety net services to the county’s poorest residents, and it has made it a priority to ending and preventing chronic homelessness through permanent supportive housing. It is combating homelessness by developing strong partnerships with community-based organizations like Community Solutions, EHC Lifebuilders and the Bill Wilson Center. These groups provide many of the most vulnerable homeless individuals with specialized mental health services, as well as transitional housing and rent-based subsidies. And through the Valley Homeless Healthcare program, the county provides medical care to more than 7,000 people each year.

Wasserman also intends to continue to work with Destination: Home in an effort to house 1,000 chronically homeless. The successful Housing 1000 campaign has helped to provide shelter for 590 chronically homeless. The county also dedicates $4 million each year toward permanent supportive housing through a 10-year Measure A pool of money.

The average chronically homeless person costs about $60,000 each year to help. The solution of permanent supportive housing costs about half that. Permanent supportive housing clearly saves taxpayer dollars and, as Wasserman stressed, is “the right thing to do.”