This is a great, but pretty small step. $1.4M for homeless housing? That's below the average price of a single home here in Mountain View and they are going to house 50 people with that much money? Seems worthy of a more positive and praising headline. The first line "pouring $1.4M..." seems to imply it isn't a worthy expenditure.

Good for this church, the non-profit, and our Supervisor Simitian.

Rossta,
I agree that Kevin Forestier/ Mountain View Voice should have used a better word than "pouring". It does have negative connotations.

Several years ago the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors allocated approx. $26 million for homeless services over 3 years. The Ballot Measure A will infuse even more money for housing. this Board is committed to addressing the ever enlarging number of homeless in one of the wealthiest counties in the US. And most of the profitable high tech companies are giving very little to help this population.

The $1.5 million is 4 times $350,000/winter season(Oct.15 to April 15). This is what is called "emergency" housing. There are several tiers of housing. Emergency, transitional, permanent. The goal is always permanent housing. However, there is very little available. The homeless who stay in shelters have to leave at 9Am and return around 5P. During the other months they go back to living on the streets.

To run the shelter for 6 months costs $350,000 to pay for staff, food, security, electricity, showering costs, laundry, food, mattresses, blankets, storage of supplies and belongings during the day, heat,etc.

Home First, which is one of the lead agencies that staff shelters in Santa Clara County, does a phenomenal job of treating the homeless with respect and dignity. The guests are screened and must be referred for the whole season. About 10 Santa Clara Cty. non-profits' case workers assess and refer clients to the shelters. There are strict rules for expected behavior. The staff are trained in how to work with people with mental health issues. Local volunteers help with activities. Many org., such as churches, bring prepared foods for meals. Areas for children to play are set aside for them with books, games, toys. They even offer cages for pets.

Volunteering in a shelter is very rewarding. I highly recommend it!

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