I know, I know, I will get splinters in my feet if I don't hop off the soapbox soon . . .

but . . .
 Talk of "Drop In Centers" and "landing zones" that hospitals and jails can drop off homeless people at sounds alot like a Dog Pound to me. I half ecpect the HUMANE SOCIETY to troll down San Julian and Towne with nets, catching homeless poeple and putting them safely inside until a happy home can be found for them. But, there are no homes available. Does that mean homeless people should then be "put down"?

MY POINT IS:

Building only  part of the solution just creates a larger problem.

Once you havea a mass of homeless adults and families inside and fed, where are they expected to go? The funding did not cover :
1. Drug Rehabs (preferrably OFF the row)
2. Semi-indi housing - with built in social workers and life skills training
3. Permanent Dorms for adults who will never be able to live alone but don't deserve to live on the sidewalks
4. Low Income Indi apartments and housing
5. More Social Service Outreach centers
6. Supportive Employment agencies where those re-entering the workforce can recieve training and work short hours and recieve Employment support

Ending homelessness is NOT the same as pulling people in off the street and puttnig a roof over them

Ending Homelessness successfully will involve
1. A VARIETY of housing solutions. Not everyone can live alone and grab a job to pay thier rent
2. Lots and lots of support - Case Managers, Social Workers, Therapists, Psychiatrists, Medical  professionals, Supplemental Education resources, and Life Skills classes
3. Understanding. 15% of all homeless poeple will ALWAYS be homeless. Their lives are resistant to change so our tolerances may have to adapt.

On the loo with nothing to do? Sudoku!

I live in Arcadia, California. This is in the county of Los Angeles but not the city. I love it here. I enjoy this city and frankly when I see the name arcadia, I read it as HOME.

Growing up in the 91006 (now half of that is the 91007) I believed that Los Angeles was a far away exotic place and that I probably could not get there from here.

As it happens, Los Angeles is 11 miles away and I can get there on just one side street: Huntington Drive. From the North Eastern border of LA to LAX is a long drive. When I was driving back on Friday the trip took a sudden and unfortunate turn.

My tire blew out on the 10 freeway just before it split into the 10, 101, and 5.
If you are into Cosmic Goofiness, you might think that I worked all over LA in preperation for this moment. I was not scared and for once I knew exactly where I was and was able to pull off the freeway ASAP safely.

I called AAA, got my tire changed, (HEY, I was wearing a skirt so I wasn't going to be getting dirty) and was on my way home.

This is making me second guess my idea of working on the other side of LA.

As I am out and about in the world looking for something new to do with my days, and hopefully finding something that pays I am confounded and amazed by the philosophy of service agencies.

Myself, I am a Client Centered type of girl.... I believe in meeting the client and understanding their needs and wants and working with that as a starting point. I want to know what the client thinks they need to be happy, healthy and as well adjusted as possible.

Some agencies have this as their guiding principle. I understand it and I get it.

Other agencies are much more of a regime.
They want to be paternalistic, control all the money of the client has and dictate how often they see their therapists, Case Managers, and families. While I often think that I COULD  run someone else's life better than they could... I do not believe that I SHOULD.