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FODHS
01/15/08
Picture of the 3 shelter busses used
to bring additional homeless into DHS each night.
County
Homeless Shelter Takes Over Town
Story
by Dean Grey
as appears in this weeks addition of
The
Valley Breeze Newspaper
Buses are arriving nightly in Desert Hot
Springs. They are not bringing tourists but instead are
bringing the homeless from Palm Springs and Cathedral
City to spend the night in our town. It’s an arrangement
created by Mayor Yvonne Parks without the knowledge of other
city leaders.
Housing other
cities homeless here is a situation that also has many people
upset. Some council members are ready now to put the brakes on
to stop any more buses of homeless coming to Desert Hot
Springs from other valley cities.
City Manager Rick
Daniels only discovered the program last Friday, and only
learned of the location Monday the 14th. "I've instructed
Code Enforcement to look into it right away." said
Daniels, "Obviously, this is a problem. The problem now
is that we have to be careful how we go about it. If we force
them out, they can sue the city for loss of income."
Surprise over the
arrangement was expressed by council members Karl Baker,
Russell Betts, Al Schmidt and Mayor Pro Tem Scott Matas when
this writer contacted them for their reaction. None were aware
the program was in place.
The homeless
night-time shelter operates out of a Dr. Bingham’s old
clinic on Mountain View near Hacienda. The building is
occupied by The Community Task Force headed by Judy Shea. It
is situated in a residential neighborhood with homes all
around.
Each night at about
6 pm the buses of homeless arrive, having been picked up in
Cathedral City and Palm Springs earlier in the day. They
homeless spend the night, are given a cot and a shower and the
next morning are bused back to where they were picked up. Some
have expressed interest in staying in DHS.
Surprisingly, use
of the facility as a homeless shelter is not in compliance
with city ordinances and county codes according to information
obtained from the city. The shelter has been set up without
the knowledge of our Planning Commission, the Public Safety
Commission or even our City Council. It is not known if Mayor
Parks even notified the Police Chief.
Noisy school buses
are used to pick up the homeless who are brought into Desert
Hot Springs after dark. Neighbors complain about the noise of
the operations with big diesel buses driving through
residential streets and nighttime vehicle repairs. They also
have more serious complaints of burglaries, break-ins and
theft in the neighborhood since operations took effect.
Neighbors were not
notified about the secret homeless shelter operating in the
building. Several that this writer contacted said crime has
increased in what was a quiet residential neighborhood. One
resident across the street from the facility said, “I’ve
lived here five years and never had any trouble until the last
three weeks. We've been robbed.” Many of the homeless are
mentally challenged and have criminal history. Recent reports
substantiate that many sex offenders are also now listed as
homeless.
Other neighbors a
short distance away confirm additional robberies have suddenly
dominated this quiet residential neighborhood. “I’ve lived
in this very house my entire life,” said another resident.
“We never had crime… ever…. until now. I’m afraid to
come home to my own house after dark these days.”
Linda Barrack with
Jewish Family Services of San Diego and the director of the
County funded SOS homeless housing program that is arranging
the bus loads of homeless, said “They’re in after dark and
out the next day at six in the morning,” she explained. “I
don’t know why this is a problem.” The problem is that the
homeless are not locked in and are free to wander away.
The only reason I’m doing this is to pay the rent and
utilities,” said Shea. “If the city had given us the CDBG
funds we wouldn’t have to be doing this.” Shea had earlier
requested money from the city for her facility from the city
and failed.
Responding to
complaints about crime, Shea said. "it's not possible to
do drug tests or criminal background checks on the people who
are brought here for overnight. They are supervised and I’m
sure that the neighborhood crime has nothing to do with our
people.” Without proof, the sudden increase in crime is just
conjecture.
Shea said the
contract in excess of $20,000 is paid for by the County covers
the cost of rent for the facility and that it does not
directly benefit the Community Task Force. The total costs for
the program are in excess of $80,000 and the City of Desert
Hot Springs was requested to contribute to that amount.
“This is a good
program,” said Shea, “It uses tax money for staff and to
buy things for the homeless shelter.” Shea said she did not
know if the four-month program would be extended. Others are
hopeful that it will end immediately.
Councilman Al
Schmidt said he wants the operation to follow the law. “This
kind of thing needs careful review and a conditional use
permit just like any other operation. They have to have the
correct zoning and they have to follow the correct procedures.
It doesn’t appear that this was done.”
Schmidt added, “I
had no idea it was even there. We have to get rid of that
small town way of thinking that keeps these things secret. I'm
not against helping our homeless. It's another story taking on
the burden of other cities and them not paying for it.”
Councilman Karl
Baker expressed support for the idea of providing a cold
weather homeless shelter but is concerned that this operation
may not be managed well by The Community Task Force.
“No one told me
this was happening. I’m outraged. The people in that
neighborhood deserve to know what kind of operation is going
on there,” said Baker, "No one should hide behind this.
The secret is out and there's no turning back."
Councilman Russell
Betts said he too is concerned. “A neighborhood can not be
imposed upon like this. It is the wrong place,” he said.
“As for our city, we are not in a position to shoulder the
burden of valley-wide efforts to house the homeless. This will
take city resources we can not afford. Other cities are in
much better financial position to work on this issue.”
Councilman Scott
Matas expressed similar sentiments. "This kind of
operation needs to be shut down. I'm disappointed no one told
me this was going on. For years I've been opposed to us taking
on the homeless burden of other cities. We have our own
problems to solve first."
Mayor Parks who was
instrumental in bringing the program to Desert Hot Springs,
said, “This is not an issue.” She repeatedly suggested
that this writer not pursue this story. “I don’t
know why you want to write about these kinds of things,”
said Parks incredulously, "It was never secret. We just
didn't want anyone to know about it because we didn't want the
homeless here in our city to be able to simply walk right
in."
Parks who
successfully ran for mayor on a platform of staying positive,
with many of her supporters wearing “positive buttons”
also said, "This has nothing to do with Desert Hot
Springs. It's paid for by Riverside County and this is a
positive for the city." Apparently some homeowners and
fellow members of the City Council disagree.
Meanwhile, buses
continue to bring the homeless for another night in Desert Hot
Springs.
Dean
Gray
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