Supervisor: State housing proposal for homeless could take mental health funds from Stanislaus County

Jan. 06--Even though an initiative is underway to tackle homelessness in Stanislaus County, at least one county leader expressed doubts Tuesday about a proposed $2 billion statewide bond for providing housing for the homeless.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, unveiled a plan Monday to provide permanent supportive housing for homeless people with mental illness. His plan would redirect as much as $130 million in Proposition 63 funds to pay debt service on construction of the housing.

At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Vito Chiesa said he's concerned the county could lose control of Proposition 63 funds, which have been used to expand services for local families and individuals who struggle with mental illness.

The proposed state legislation would set up a competitive process for awarding housing grants to battle homelessness, which in places has reached crisis levels in California.

"There will be winners and losers in the money game because of the competitive bidding," Chiesa said. "If they take half a million dollars from us and give it to San Joaquin County, how does that serve our residents?"

Chiesa, who was president of the California State Association of Counties last year, said CSAC board members will stake out a position on de León's "No Place Like Home" initiative and discuss the issue in talks with Gov. Jerry Brown next week. The association representing the interests of the state's 58 counties gives an equal voice to small and large counties, he said.

The Stanislaus County supervisor said he is not against the proposal to house more of California's 114,000 homeless people, but wants to make sure smaller and medium-sized counties are not adversely affected by losing Proposition 63 revenue. The state assesses a 1 percent tax on millionaires' income to pay for community-based mental health services.

"How do we make sure L.A. County does not end up with 60 percent of the pot?" Chiesa asked.

Stanislaus County has seen a groundswell of interest in reducing homelessness, with about 500 people attending the Oct. 1 "Finding Our Way Home" Focus on Prevention summit at Modesto Centre Plaza. The 10-year prevention initiative, which also will focus on families, youths and crime recidivism, has been spearheaded by the county chief executive's office.

In December, a 60-member action council approved its final recommendations for reducing homelessness, which in part called for permanent supportive housing for the homeless, additional temporary shelter space and transitional housing to help people get off the streets.

The proposed statewide housing bond could create a source of money for construction of some of that housing, though local projects would have to compete for grants.

"What de León is proposing is the 'housing first' model," said Ruben Imperial, the county's community development and empowerment manager, who works on Focus on Prevention.

A permanent supportive housing center would subsidize the rent of tenants and provide energetic staff support to help the tenants continue with mental health treatment, overcome addiction or take advantage of other services to keep them housed. De León cited Project 25 in San Diego, a joint effort of the United Way and the St. Vincent de Paul society, as an example of how the chronically homeless can be transitioned back into society.

County Chief Executive Officer Stan Risen said at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting that Focus on Prevention could well position the county to pursue competitive grants for housing the homeless.

Imperial said the stewardship council over Focus on Prevention, and working groups, will refine the action council's recommendations to determine how much housing is needed and the types of housing that would do the most good.

Brad Hawn, a former Modesto councilman and stewardship council member, said he believes the panel wants to see projects to house the homeless, as long as they're combined with other services to assist those individuals.

"It's not just housing, but it's housing plus recovery and job-training services, mentorship and relationships," Hawn said. "Housing is difficult because it costs so much. There are cities such as Denver and Salt Lake City that have done a good job with 'housing first.' "

Staff members with county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services said they didn't know how the "No Place Like Home" initiative would affect the county's revenue from Propostion 63 but will try to find out.

De León's legislative package includes:

-- $200 million from the state general fund for short-term housing and rental subsidies until the permanent housing for the homeless is constructed.

-- Support for special housing programs to keep families in the child welfare system from becoming homeless, and additional support for families in welfare-to-work who are in danger of losing housing.

-- An increase in Supplemental Security Income and State Supplementary Payment program grants that assist low-income seniors and people with disabilities, plus incentives for local government to get more people enrolled in that program.

The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.

Ken Carlson: 209-578-2321

Board of Supervisors watch

The Board of Supervisors took the following actions Tuesday:

* Appointed Supervisor Dick Monteith as board chairman for 2016.

* Approved a county mental health request to increase hours for a drop-in center for teens and young adults. Supervisor Bill O'Brien dissented in the 4-1 vote, saying the staff report was short on information about the fiscal impact.

* Approved a contract with the California Department of Aging for supplemental nutrition assistance, education and obesity prevention.

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