News
Prop. 1C will provide shelter for the most vulnerable
By Robert Freiri
San Jose Mercury News
Published: October 06, 2006
On Nov. 7, voters across California will have a rare opportunity to bring important improvements to thousands of lives and make a tangible difference in the overall quality of life in their communities. We all have an opportunity to create safe havens for our most vulnerable neighbors in need, without creating new taxes to pay for it.
Proposition 1C, the $2.85 billion Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2006, will provide shelter to homeless families, battered women and emancipated foster youth. It will enable more seniors and disabled people to live independently, and help families with low incomes to afford their first homes. It will do so in communities throughout our state -- and right here in Silicon Valley.
Many of us take pride in the quality of life in Santa Clara County. But even here, far too many homeless families with children and too many victims of domestic violence lack safe places to live. County officials estimate 20,000 people are homeless in Santa Clara County at some point each year, nearly 8,000 of whom are chronically homeless. But the county has only 735 year-round and 586 seasonal emergency shelter beds for single men and women, and dozens are turned away on cold winter nights.
Similar problems are found throughout the Bay Area and California. Shelters turn people away every night; last year, more than 5,000 battered women and children could not find space in domestic-violence shelters. Many working families still can't afford market rents for basic two-bedroom apartments; many seniors on fixed incomes are forced to accept a drastically reduced quality of life just to afford a roof over their heads.
Overflowing shelters erode the quality of life for everyone. Homes that are unaffordable to all but the richest families damage the area's economy by raising costs for businesses and hindering their ability to attract and retain skilled employees.
Proposition 1C is not a handout and does not include rent subsidies. If approved by voters, Proposition 1C would provide funds for new shelters that would get families off the streets and reduce the backlog of people waiting for shelter space. It provides funding for brick-and-mortar construction of shelters: single and multi-family housing that will last for generations and house thousands of Californians.
In addition to helping our most vulnerable people find shelter, Proposition 1C will help working families buy their first homes and stimulate California's economy by helping employers recruit and retain qualified workers. It will create thousands of jobs and will protect public funds by requiring independent audits, limiting administrative expenses and imposing strict accountability provisions.
While the high cost of housing makes it tough for businesses to attract top employees, it is toughest on those who are in tough situations -- homeless families with children, women escaping violence, and seniors and others on fixed or limited incomes. When seniors have to choose between prescription medications and paying their rent or mortgage, something is terribly wrong. And we have the power and the ability to change it: Proposition 1C won't solve the problems of homelessness and domestic violence overnight, but it will provide safe and affordable housing to thousands of Californians for years to come.
Every new shelter space means one more battered woman and her children can escape daily violence. Every affordable rental home means one more senior couple can afford to eat and afford their prescription medications. Every new affordable home built means a family can move toward self-sufficiency.
Every person has a right to affordable housing. For our county's most vulnerable people, Proposition 1C offers hope. It's a big step toward a California where no one has to sleep in the streets or choose among paying for rent, food and medicine. On Nov. 7, the voters of California can choose to take that step toward a solid future for our neighbors in need.
ROBERT FREIRI is the executive director of Silicon Valley Habitat for Humanity. He wrote this article for the Mercury News.
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