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Homelessness: We are overdue to focus on families
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Jeffrey R. Lewis

In almost every state across America, homelessness is a growing problem, and in some cases, like California, it is beyond a crisis.

In the California 2021-22 budget, the staggering $7 billion to tackle homelessness was unprecedented. Who truly benefited from this substantial fund? How many were California residents or from out of state? And how many families found genuine relief in the form of affordable housing?

These questions demand more than a casual inquiry; they necessitate an honest conversation about homelessness in California and nationwide.

With a daunting 580,000 people grappling with homelessness every day, 170,000 are in California. Homelessness predates the pandemic, resulting from insufficient housing, unaffordability, and neglect of the needs of middle-income Californian families.

The economy has destroyed families living paycheck to paycheck and impacted every middle-income family. Despite the rising stock market and the slow inflation decline, rent, fuel and food prices are higher and everything about caring for your family costs more money. This means families face difficult and agonizing spending decisions every day.

For example, these kinds of hardships are one of the reasons many families select high-deductible health plans: the higher the deductible, the lower the monthly premium taken out of their paychecks. 

The crisis extends beyond healthcare, weaving a tapestry of despair as rising housing costs displace families. It encompasses the current experience of families in California, whether they have deep roots here or have sought refuge from the brutality and poverty of another country.

The exorbitant cost of rental housing and the lack of available housing for low-income families impact our lives every day. The shrinking housing opportunities have placed lower and middle-income families in economic peril.

The problem is that California has placed middle-income families on the side of the road as part of the forgotten middle: people who have worked their entire lives raised families and paid their taxes but never qualify for Medi-Cal or other income-related programs. The limited access – which requires descending into poverty to qualify – perpetuates the misconception that the concerns of the middle class are being addressed. 

Nonsense! The forgotten middle continues to be ignored by Democrats and Republicans. 

When elected officials talk about people experiencing homelessness, they often speak to an audience whose silence is deafening because middle-income working families fear that the elected officials are only talking about the unhoused individuals living on the street and not families desperate for help.

Elected officials’ focus on people living on the streets is a failed conversation. When you break down the homeless living on the streets, you quickly realize:

• Some have chosen to be homeless because they like their freedom;

• Some need mental health services and medications but do not trust the Medi-Cal or healthcare system due to access that for some became tenuous and fragmented and now live on the streets in fear as their mental health challenges grow;

• Some are drug addicts whose habit has brought them to the street as their new home.

• And then, there are the homeless families actively seeking help.

In Stanislaus County, the impact on families is and remains devastating. The fallout is nothing short of a calamity, as underscored by the rising numbers of homeless students and their families.

• Ceres Unified School District: more than 400 homeless students and families;

• Denair Unified School District, over 9 percent of their student population and families are homeless; and 

• In Turlock Unified School District, more than 120 students are homeless.

These students (and families) are couch surfing, living in their cars, renting motel rooms with multiple families to keep costs low, or surviving daily on the street when not in school. This and food insecurity compound the crisis facing lower and middle-income families.

And for young people leaving or aging out of foster care, they are at high risk of homelessness. According to national studies, between 25 and 50 percent of them experience homelessness within four years. Sadly, homelessness among foster kids is not new; it just keeps being ignored.

These are real problems impacting real people every day. Refugees that come to Stanislaus County and are forced to live in cheap motels because there are limited rental options. The crisis facing the forgotten is not recent. But it continues to be disregarded by Congress and the White House. The challenge is not more rhetoric but re-directing federal funding to help lower- and middle-income families.

The challenges in California cannot be solely laid at the feet of the state legislature. The bipartisan failure at the national level underscores a grave injustice. 

Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have failed to address the nation’s housing crisis for years. This bipartisan problem was neglected in the Obama and Trump administrations. The Biden administration has failed, too. Yet, a bipartisan congress must be included when you look for places to lay blame.

America’s housing crisis is real and impacts the ability of every mayor and city council to do their jobs when the roar from the minority is to care for people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, the silent majority watches families torn apart because they cannot afford their house or apartment. 

Despite the lack of action in Congress or the California state Legislature, Stanislaus County can still act. But the choices are tough to swallow.

First, in 2023, Modesto won a $16.1 million state grant to renovate a rundown motel into 54 studio apartments for homeless people. Imagine the cost per room is $296,296! When will the government begin to require that 10-20% of these rooms be given to families? Yes, it would require the state’s approval, but one would think Sacramento bureaucrats would want to help families.

More importantly, imagine how many families could benefit from rental assistance if the funds were re-directed.

Second, county and city officials across Stanislaus County should ask local members of Congress for housing funds to address the growing needs of homeless families. All the funds flowing from Washington, D.C. to Sacramento and across California allow Stanislaus County to create unique housing solutions for homeless families and others living paycheck to paycheck. The county has the potential to serve as a national model in addressing the housing needs of lower- and middle-income families. 

Third, 2024 is an election year. Voters should carefully watch which members of Congress are helping, how, and if not, why not.

Fourth, the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., continues to talk about caring for our veterans. Today, nothing is more important. We know many veterans from the Iraqi and Afghan wars are struggling and living on the streets. Why not make the model for America by building dedicated housing for veterans created off the congregate care model used for older Americans? This would ensure every veteran had access to medical care, mental health, and food services. 

Lastly, it is time for cities to consider a dedicated city tax to build or renovate housing for low- and moderate-income families. If the president of the United States cannot get it done, or a bipartisan Congress refuses, we could create a dedicated fund to tackle the problem locally. This would allow residents to see their tax dollars at work for any family that has lived locally for more than five years, paid their taxes, and had their children attend local schools. No one likes the word “tax.” Imagine a two-cent sales tax dedicated to housing. And, to ensure that taxpayers like the results, it could sunset after five years unless the voters see actual results.

While these ideas may be controversial, the need for transformative change is urgent. Investing in lower- and middle-income families is not a mere luxury but an absolute necessity for the prosperity of the community, county, state and nation to succeed. 

Helping homeless individuals is crucial, but we are overdue to prioritize families. It is a moral imperative. 

The need is great, and the call for action is now.


— Jeffrey Lewis is president and CEO of Legacy Health Endowment and the EMC Health Foundation. The views expressed are his own.