| City of Ventura survey invites community members and businesses to share insights on homelessness |
| Ventura, Calif. – In a proactive move to address homelessness and enhance public involvement, the City of Ventura has initiated two public surveys. These surveys aim to gather insights from residents and local businesses to shape the city’s plan to effectively combat homelessness. “Together with the local government, businesses, community members, and nonprofit organizations, we can address and combat homelessness,” stated Leona Rollins, Ventura Housing Services Manager. “This survey allows the community to provide feedback and recommendations on future initiatives and programs to improve the lives of our most vulnerable community members.” The surveys aim to gather input, experiences, and potential solutions for housing and homelessness challenges in Ventura from community members and local businesses. Topics range from homelessness initiatives, funding priorities, and views on existing housing and homelessness programs. Additionally, the business engagement survey focuses on understanding the impact on local companies. It explores difficulties faced and solutions considered from the perspective of business owners. Topics include difficulties faced, solutions considered, and opinions on who should be responsible for addressing homelessness from a business perspective. “This is an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to a collaborative housing and homelessness solution,” said Ventura Mayor Joe Schroeder. “We encourage everyone to participate so that diverse perspectives are included in our efforts to develop an inclusive and impactful Homelessness Plan.” Ventura acknowledges homelessness as a multifaceted issue affecting individuals, families, and the business community. Feedback from the surveys will be instrumental in crafting an effective strategy to address homelessness, aligning with the City Council’s 2023-2024 goals of establishing a comprehensive City-wide homelessness plan. Residents and businesses are urged to participate actively, contributing valuable insights to inform policies, programs, and initiatives targeting the underlying causes of homelessness. The surveys are available online now through January 19, 2024. To participate, visit the City’s website at www.Cityofventura.ca.gov/HousingServices.# # # |
Montalvo Community Council, District 6 
I just completed taking the city’s homelessness survey and I was dismayed at how most of the questions were skewed towards more funding and more housing and didn’t bother to separate out the service resistant vagrants from the episodic homeless. Below is the comment I left at the end of their survey:
The problem with this survey and homelessness in general is that you’re lumping all homeless into the same category. I’ve been tracking Ventura’s homeless issue for years and most of what I see are service resistant drug/alcohol dependent vagrants who live a predatory lifestyle to support their habits. I walk and run in the Montalvo area close to the Santa Clara riverbottom average 4 times a week, been doing it for over 25 years, and I have a pretty good sense of what goes on in that area. I’ve seen drugs injected right on the bike trail, tents, campers, discarded theft items, alchohol containers, etc. I’ve been yelled at, even chased. We will not do anything to help them until we make it harder to live on the street than to get help. We have funded so many programs that enable this lifestyle that there is little incentive to change. Props 47/57/109 have fueled the increase in this lifestyle and to do nothing to change this only dooms these people to a slow death on the street. We’ve thrown ever increasing amounts of funding at solving the problem, but yet it’s worse than ever. Current policies are not working and the citizens just see a continual request for more funding with no success. At least 50% of first responder calls are involving vagrants which is a drain on our resources.
On the other hand the “episodic” homeless deserve help so they can get out of homelessness and rebuild their lives, but we’re throwing so much money at the vagrant issue that there’s never enough for the people who want a hand up. I review the crime reports every day. Those arrested on vagrant related issues have a huge list of priors because there are no effective policies to prevent them from repeating. Stop funding the vagrant lifestyle and enforce the laws, stop doing the cite and release, work on implementing mandatory drug rehab. Until we make a dent in the vagrant problem we will never solve the homeless problem.
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