Hope you enjoyed the holidays and the New Year. I wanted to take a moment to update you all on the Alliance’s recent progress and what’s coming up next.  In particular, we are planning a press conference for Tuesday, February 11h at 10 am to coincide with filing the complaint that day. We have made significant progress and this is something that should be celebrated by all of you who have helped make this happen. 

Over the past few months, we have been meeting with elected officials as well as the County Counsel and City Attorney. Based on those conversations, we are hopeful that once we have filed the case, we may be able to reach a mediated resolution (consent decree) with the City and County.  

Just to remind everyone, our strategy for breaking the gridlock is to use the Federal courts to empower our elected officials to address the homelessness on our streets. While we have many ideas for how the city should shelter the homeless, we cannot dictate how the City chooses to proceed. We will demand it be done expeditiously. We will be seeking immediate identification of appropriate sites for temporary shelters, including a combination of public and private property. Board and Care facilities may be used as well.  We are prepared to show that such property is available, and shelters can be erected at a far more reasonable cost per bed than currently is being spent.  Plans must include security, maintenance, and site-specific appropriate wrap-around services (hygiene stations, drug/mental health/employment counseling, housing assistance, etc.).  Different sites will be appropriate for different types of shelters. A court order would enable local governments to expedite permits and approvals for these projects. The plan would be to have these facilities open and operational within six months.  The court would determine details, such as the number of beds required. As these facilities come online, local governments will be empowered to provide people the services they need and to enforce their ordinances to ensure public safety.  

I have attached a one-page overview of the Alliance which I encourage you to share with your friends, neighbors and colleagues. 

As mentioned above, we will be filing our complaint in Federal court on February 11th. We plan to hold a press conference at 10 a.m. on that day at a location to be determined.  We encourage attendance by those interested. We would like a substantial group of supporters to be present; feel free to reach out to me with questions. We will update everyone once the details of the press conference are finalized. Thank you again for your support. Attached: Overview Jan 2020.