Any Santa Monica resident can tell you that we have a large, and very visible, homeless population in Santa Monica. What we can do to remedy this situation, however, seems such such a complex and enormous task that many often feel overwhelmed even thinking about the issue -- although numerous stakeholders -- businesses, residents, activists, etc. -- have voiced their opinions as to some steps they feel should be taken.

Now, those opinions have been taken in, statistics compiled, and data analyzed by the Urban Institute in a new report titled "Ending Homelessness in Santa Monica: Current Efforts and Recommended Next Steps" (PDF). This comprehensive evaluation of the City of Santa Monica’s homeless service system serves as the first step in Santa Monica's efforts to revamp its efforts.

The statistics alone will surprise many readers of the evaluation. UI estimates that between 2,300 and 3,000 people are homeless in Santa Monica on any given day, and that about 10,800 people experience homelessness over the course of a year -- quite a high number for a city just 8.3 square miles in area, with a population of 84,000.

Yet Santa Monica also has extensive homeless services programs -- high performing, highly successful programs -- including emergency and transitional shelters, transitional housing, safe havens, and permanent supportive housing. Santa Monica contributes city funds to 13 agencies addressing homelessness issues; many more organizations and agencies operate on a budget independent of city funds.

This seeming paradox -- a high homeless population despite a high level of homeless services avaliable -- has even led some stakeholders to charge that perhaps Santa Monica is putting too much money into homeless programs, thus attracting homeless people from other areas. To this charge, UI's evaluation points out that decreasing services in Santa Monica is unlikely to decrease the homeless population. Moreover, even the 13 agencies that receive city funds receiving funds from the City of Santa Monica derive only 7 percent of their funding from the city: "For every $1.00 of the $1.54 million that Santa Monica invested in these programs in FY 05-06, agencies raised $12.63 from other sources."

What CAN be done? The evaluation lays out its recommendations in a 19-page section, "Issues and Recommendations," grouped under seven "Issue" headings -- each of which address a particular concern that stakeholders have brought up. Issue # 2, for example, asks: "Most people homeless in Santa Monica are from somewhere else – usually from somewhere else within Los Angeles County. What can Santa Monica do to reduce the flow of people into the city so it is handling only its “fair share” of homeless people?"

The evaluation -- and especially the recommendations -- are a fascinating and, in the end, somewhat hopeful and encouraging read that, at the very least, endeavors to answer the concerns Santa Monica residents have brought up and offers some tangible solutions to work towards.

Santa Monica residents have a chance to get involved, if inspired to action after reading the evaluation (A quick, 41-page summary of findings and recommendations begins the report, lest some would-be-readers are intimidated by the 215-page PDF). All interested persons are invited to publicly comment on the report to the Santa Monica City Council during the January 9, 2007 City Council meeting, after which funding priorities will be made and a community meeting arranged to launch next phase of the project.