A homeless services center gets a nod from the planning commission. If the city and CAPSLO were serious about a plan to end the homeless situation, the emphasis wouldn’t be on moving ahead with a shelter to warehouse them. There’s a measure of defeat inherent in the proposal. Think of all the effort and expense required to build, operate, and maintain a so-called campus, and the bureaucracy and staff needed to do so. Five years into a 10-year plan and what will the city have to show for it? A larger facility to cram more people in.
The nearby business owners are right: The site is too small for what’s planned. Of course the status quo is untenable, a fact that helps explain the enthusiasm for the project. It’s a vexing problem, but other communities have found more effective and humane approaches.
This article appears in Aug 12-19, 2010.