WH Let 14: A-Team “Hey Ms. Schneider, an update for today, etc.”

Greetings Ms. Schneider, Shalom!

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 04:28:23 PM PDT, Wayne Fishback <waynefishback44@gmail.com> wrote:

Good afternoon Director Schneider and others with the Council.

Comments related to Ted and thanks for his introduction.

It’s my hope you had a chance to review some background material I sent to you. My intent was to summarize the main points today. However, I have discovered information published by USICH in the past 24 hours that supersedes my planned comments.

My discovery was actually triggered by information sent to me by John Bollinger. It is the USICH document titled 7 Principles Addressing Encampments. I want to note the collaborative relationships this team of thought leaders have. It is not easy for highly accomplished people to set aside highly developed egos. There is a high degree of mutual respect within this team and none greater than that given to Ted Hayes.

What I discovered in addition to what John sent were many documents linked to the 7 Principles. These documents contained their own links and some caused me to drill down 4 or 5 levels to follow a point of interest.

While I don’t pretend to be an expert on USICH, HUD, and HHS programs, policies, funding, etc. I do understand certain overarching concepts such as Housing First and Continuum of Care. I have also spoken with many experts that house the homeless and provide social services such as my good friend Herb Smith, the recently retired CEO of LA Mission. They all say it is regrettable that HUD restricts its funding to Permanent Supportive Housing, aka PSH. It is just one of the many reasons that the growth of the homeless population is far exceeding the growth rate of PHS units. And one of the reasons for this is that PSH units are not affordable.

Ted Hayes quickly put this all together in 1985 when homelessness was a small fraction of what it is today. His solution was MANAGED ENCAMPMENTS until AFFORDABLE permanent housing became available. However, It took 10 years before LA got the “memo” and supported Ted’s Dome Village. After years of successful operation LA County proposed Dome Village and the Exodus to affordable housing to President Clinton as a National Plan. That 1999 initiative has yet to be implemented.

It now appears that homelessness is so disastrous that Ted’s vision can now be embraced if only because it’s the only option left other than, God forbid, out of sight internment camps. But in every bureaucratic setting there is always a cacophony of opinions.

An example is the 7 Principles referenced document, CAUTION IS NEEDED WHEN CONSIDERING SANCTIONED ENCAMPMENTS OR SAFE ZONES. This document is five years old when homelessness was far less than today and the and the increase in homelessness is accelerating. There are several highlighted quotes that reinforce the need for permanent housing. Another quote states the ultimate need is “housing that people can AFFORD”. But California has been calling for affordable housing for over 50 years without results.

This attack on even sanctioned encampments that require rules, management and security and first accomplished by Ted seems to contradict other referenced documents. For example the May 25, 2022 document by Katy Miller based in Seattle. The title, Responding to the Growing Crisis of Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments implies the need for encampments until permanent affordable housing becomes available. Most important is her acknowledgement, “We also know that removing encampments without providing access to low barrier shelter and a range of housing options DOES NOT WORK! Katy also states, USICH will soon release a set of guiding principles and practices to help communities address unsheltered homelessness and encampments specifically.

Lastly, as one of the first pioneers of green building practices that started a few weeks after the 1973 Oil Embargo, I want to give a shout out for the referenced document THE CURB-CUT EFFECT. The idea is the needs of handicap people started with making curb cuts between streets and sidewalks. This exploded into barrier free design and placed handicap people into a protected class. A Section is titled CURB CUT EFFECTS, from Streets to Schools to the Sky. This reminds me of our slogan

Hey Ms. Schneider, an update for today, etc.

Ted Hayes <ted@tedhayes.us> To:Helene Schneider | Cc:Wayne Fishback | Bcc:John Bollinger

Greetings Ms. Schneider, Shalom!

Well, have been preparing ourselves for our tomorrow zoomer at 3:30 pm PST.

We have cut down attendees considerably, as we know that you understand that there are high quality experts on the Team poised to assist USICH, to present to the POTUS a very solid and achievable strategic plan.

Our “crown jewels” for this Objective the Tri-City Collaborative consisting of the Honorable Mayors of Compton, Ms. Emma Shariff; Beverly Hills, representing Ms. Lilley Bosse, is Council Member, Mr. John Mirisch, former Beverly Hills mayor; and Malibu, Mr. Paul Grisanti, whom you can also research online.

Note: Mayor Shariff is out of town and can’t attend, but is with us in principle, etc.

As I’ve stated, its my intention to highly impress you, Mr. Olivet and staff with this unprecedented collaboration of government and private sectors individuals of great asset and skill sets, etc., with the visionary hope that USICH will gladly allow us to assist the POTUS in this matter.

Please view the below letter that Mr. Fishback sent to you concerning the paradigm shift away from “affordable” housing, and/or ‘brick & mortar” sheltering, etc,. to the policy of encampment “management”, which is well within my unique experiential “wheel house” in this “perfect storm” matter.

Get this matter when you can, given the lateness of this and other work load matters.

Thanks and blessings upon us in this great epic and endeavor,

Ted

Of the 3 present,

On Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 04:28:23 PM PDT, Wayne Fishback <waynefishback44@gmail.com> wrote:

Good afternoon Director Schneider and others with the Council.

Comments related to Ted and thanks for his introduction.

It’s my hope you had a chance to review some background material I sent to you. My intent was to summarize the main points today. However, I have discovered information published by USICH in the past 24 hours that supersedes my planned comments.

My discovery was actually triggered by information sent to me by John Bollinger. It is the USICH document titled 7 Principles Addressing Encampments. I want to note the collaborative relationships this team of thought leaders have. It is not easy for highly accomplished people to set aside highly developed egos. There is a high degree of mutual respect within this team and none greater than that given to Ted Hayes.

What I discovered in addition to what John sent were many documents linked to the 7 Principles. These documents contained their own links and some caused me to drill down 4 or 5 levels to follow a point of interest.

While I don’t pretend to be an expert on USICH, HUD, and HHS programs, policies, funding, etc. I do understand certain overarching concepts such as Housing First and Continuum of Care. I have also spoken with many experts that house the homeless and provide social services such as my good friend Herb Smith, the recently retired CEO of LA Mission. They all say it is regrettable that HUD restricts its funding to Permanent Supportive Housing, aka PSH. It is just one of the many reasons that the growth of the homeless population is far exceeding the growth rate of PHS units. And one of the reasons for this is that PSH units are not affordable.

Ted Hayes quickly put this all together in 1985 when homelessness was a small fraction of what it is today. His solution was MANAGED ENCAMPMENTS until AFFORDABLE permanent housing became available. However, It took 10 years before LA got the “memo” and supported Ted’s Dome Village. After years of successful operation LA County proposed Dome Village and the Exodus to affordable housing to President Clinton as a National Plan. That 1999 initiative has yet to be implemented.

It now appears that homelessness is so disastrous that Ted’s vision can now be embraced if only because it’s the only option left other than, God forbid, out of sight internment camps. But in every bureaucratic setting there is always a cacophony of opinions.

An example is the 7 Principles referenced document, CAUTION IS NEEDED WHEN CONSIDERING SANCTIONED ENCAMPMENTS OR SAFE ZONES. This document is five years old when homelessness was far less than today and the and the increase in homelessness is accelerating. There are several highlighted quotes that reinforce the need for permanent housing. Another quote states the ultimate need is “housing that people can AFFORD”. But California has been calling for affordable housing for over 50 years without results.

This attack on even sanctioned encampments that require rules, management and security and first accomplished by Ted seems to contradict other referenced documents. For example the May 25, 2022 document by Katy Miller based in Seattle. The title, Responding to the Growing Crisis of Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments implies the need for encampments until permanent affordable housing becomes available. Most important is her acknowledgement, “We also know that removing encampments without providing access to low barrier shelter and a range of housing options DOES NOT WORK! Katy also states, USICH will soon release a set of guiding principles and practices to help communities address unsheltered homelessness and encampments specifically.

Lastly, as one of the first pioneers of green building practices that started a few weeks after the 1973 Oil Embargo, I want to give a shout out for the referenced document THE CURB-CUT EFFECT. The idea is the needs of handicap people started with making curb cuts between streets and sidewalks. This exploded into barrier free design and placed handicap people into a protected class. A Section is titled CURB CUT EFFECTS, from Streets to Schools to the Sky. This reminds me of our slogan for the 2019 LA Homeless Housing Initiative, FROM STREETS TO SHEETS.

Consider this. Climate change is another crisis. Americans live large and produce a carbon footprint far larger than any other country. Homeless people live small and use almost no natural resources. I see homeless people teaching us how to live small and being happier than those people living in $million high density apartments. Joel Kotkin characterizes this as “pack and stack” living without any alternative at least in LA.

It seems extraordinary to me, if not by divine intervention, that USICH’s policy and presumably HUD’s to accept the need for encampments until affordable housing is available, has occurred just days before our meeting on this subject.

Let us make history today!