Although I personally was unable to attend the Ventura City Council meeting, I am happy to hear that the city is grabbing the issue of homelessness by the horns and actually doing something about it.
While my attention has been temporarily displaced and focused on code enforcement here, the bigger concern is not those who we think could become homeless, but those who in fact are homeless. And when I refer to those who could become homeless, I am only saying that I personally haven’t met anyone who has been tossed out on the street due to code enforecment and could not find housing .
Anyhow, last night Neal Andrews pushed for the city to make some aggressive decisions and that is admirable. But my fear is that there will be a lot of hot air and hype, and when it comes to making a final decision, it will be just as slow as usual.
I am hoping that is not the case. I heard about the option to use City Center Motel for quite some time. Let’s hope the City moves forward with an aggressive plan to obtain it.
I hope that all the residents of Ventura realize how important it is to fix this problem, to create a realistic plan to help our down and out, especially during this financially topsy-turvy time. Let’s stop the NIMBYism and step into someone else’s shoes.
Although many of us have thought out our life to ensure that we will never see such hardships, some people haven’t been so fortunate. And once you become homeless, it is even harder to get back on track than if you were able to stay in your home during tough times.
Compassion is the underlying theme to all that is civil in the world. I hope Venturans continue to have compassion for the most down and out and be aggressive in actually making these ambitions a reality to end homelessness.
Excellent blog! I am really excited to hear that this county is grabbing the bull by the horns and take seriously the homelessness that seems to be increasing in this community. Let’s hope this isn’t just “hot air” and “hype!” Your ending paragraph is insightfully true (I may quote you a time or two)! Without compassion our world can become self-driven, and at times rather narcissistic. I think with the hardships that many of us are experiencing today, compassion is a most needed human expression.
Thank you!
It is surprising that this city wants to make a homeless center right by the tourist area facing motels. Where is the pride of city when it wants to uplift its image and wants to make this city a better tourist attraction. There will be plenty of economical places available these days on Ventura Blvd. where such a center will be a better option. It might be that this property is in some way owned by the people with interest in city council, otherwise no one will even consider this rediculous idea to make the homeless center at the prime city location.
THIS IS A BAD IDEA.
WE NEED TO PUT A STOP ON THIS IDEA IMMEDIATELY. IT WILL NOT DO ANY GOOD TO ANY ONE.
This needs to be stopped, but is there anyone listening.This is an effort to save the new owners of the troubled City Center Motel property, who otherwise will have to foreclose their property as nothing happened as per their plans, specially in this week economy. So this time it is done in the name of homeless, but it is a plan to salvage the owners. Lets hope the city council is listening or hearing.