Homelessness is actually caused by our obsession with "welfare for the wealthy". Until we fix that, and have the money for real change, we are limited to "quick fixes", which long-term, fix nothing.

"When one looks at all of the problems that contribute to homelessness, the common element is that people don't have a home"

"Santa Clara County has the highest per capita of physically unsheltered population in the United States,"

did not know that...wow.

@Genius

You'd be surprised, there are still many people can't seem to wrap their heads around how the housing shortage could be in any way related to the rise in homelessness...

The housing shortage is less related to the shortage of housing than it is to the imbalance of wealth.

We could build a lot more housing, and people could still not afford them because they don't have the money.

But really, with 75%+ of the money tied up by the extremely wealthy, we couldn't build them anyway.

This is a very big problem and will only get worse as the baby boomers get into their seventies and eighties. For the elderly greed takes over in the senior care properties which are virtually all privately owned and will take only cash, no insurance, no Medicare. At the Local Palp Alto Commons it costs around $110,000 yearly if your loved one is in "focused care", and even then you're nickel and dimed for everything extra. Inheritance soon will become a thing of the past.

It is a beautiful area, but if people cannot afford the rent here, why not move and get a job somewhere else.

The laws of supply and demand are currently at work with massive numbers of apartments being built. I've no doubt the financiers of these buildings - banks most likely or foreign investors - were told that rents were sky high and they'd make a ton of money.

I beg to differ. As these units are completed and come on the market that rents will likely plummet, especially if there's a downturn in the Tech Economy (Yahoo . . . for sure. Perhaps HP). That old pesky law of Supply and Demand will be hard at work.

So seniors living on a fixed income will find affordable housing available . . . that is unless the builders of these new apartments determine they'd rather leave 'em empty and take a loss. Oh it's that pesky greed again . . . don't you just hate that!

I measure the health of a community by how it takes care of its citizens. I also measure the health of a community by its diversity. And while Mountain View is a lovely town, in a beautiful location, with access to healthy outdoor activities and great food, my overall health rating for Mountain View is a D-. Until the leaders of this community come together to develop a robust plan for providing housing for people of all income levels (and not just the tech wealthy) it will not be a healthy place to live.

And to 'heide's' comment of 'why can't people get a job elsewhere if they can't afford to live here', exactly what type of job should a 70 or 80-year-old get? And who is going to help them move to their new location so they can go to their new job?

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HELP FOR SENIORS & OTHERS

HI ALL,
Neighbors Helping Neighbors is here to help. Yes, we would agree things are getting worse for people of all incomes. general info.
NeighborsHelpingNeighbors2013@gmail.com
650-283-0270 (No Texting, please)
P.O. BOX 113
Palo Alto, CA 94302
Facebook: Web Link

Peer Counseling Team
​Phone: 650-283-0270 (No Texting, please)
NHN.FamilyAmbassador@gmailcom

HOUSING COORDINATOR
NHN.HousingProgram@gmail.com ​
Phone: 650-283-0270

Home Sharing Program -
Housing Coordinator
Landlord Inquires – Room Rentals/other rentals.
NHN.HomeSharing2015@ gmail.com
"Everyone deserves a suitable place to live. Both landlords & tenants can have good outcomes." All renters are assessed, screened, vetted and both landlords & renters provided with support services.

Come get to know how we can help at the
Community Resource Fair
MV Library in Pioneer Park
Sat. May 7th @ 11am to 1pm

heide a resident of Old Mountain View said
> It is a beautiful area, but if people cannot afford the rent here, why not move and get a job somewhere else.

That's kind of glib and a bit nasty isn't it?

Assuming whatever someone is doing doesn't pay enough here
to pay rent, why do you think that moving elsewhere is going to
be different?

Are you saying that there is someplace other than here where the
job*pay/rent ratio is going to be better?

The urban areas are where the jobs are, and to maintain those
jobs people have to live reasonable close. I know a lot of tech
people who lives hours away and for the sake of housing,
communities and children drive hours a day, but that is not
cost effective for what are mostly lower income people.

What if all the janitors, cooks, waiters, bank tellers, mechanics,
ie blue collar people moved away? Are you serious or you just
do not care?

For me I guess the question is, how hard is life for people in these
sectors and what, if anything, can the cities do about it and in what
kind of time frame?

We could solve many of these problems by not putting a cap on social security contributions and by provlding
better evaluation of veterans' needs upon their release and following up quarter after quarter to make sure that they are housed, and receive appropriate mental health counseling.

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