As San Diego grapples with the homeless epidemic, Scott H Silverman brings his experience working with homeless and recovering people to many media discussions and public appearances about proposed solutions. Most recently, he’s been talking about the billion-dollar “mega-shelter” that has been proposed in San Diego. In short, Scott is of the opinion that the funds would be better used providing individual interventions and a continuum of care.
From the article:
“We need a place for people to live who don’t want to go to shelters because they are too large,” Silverman said adding megashelters won’t work, partly because the unsheltered population is just too diverse. “The homeless population has single males, veterans, those suffering from substance abuse, mothers with children, etc.,” he pointed out. “We need to customize care for all these different types. You can’t just throw them all together.”
Silverman is convinced the “housing first” model of homeless treatment, as presently construed, is doomed to failure because, he said, “You can’t just put someone in an apartment and say, ‘OK, live it up.’ They need support with a myriad of services. At the end of the day, they (homeless) need that person-to-person contact.”
So what’s the answer?
“The housing crisis needs to be dealt with at all levels of government,” argues Menasche. “We need to put money into government and public housing. Society, and government, need to invest in people. This is an emergency. We need national rent control. Then we need a housing program that’s not for profit.
“Putting money into housing includes subsidizing people’s private rentals rather than creating these monstrous megashelters that have shamefully poor conditions,” continued Menasche adding the homeless situation “is only going to get worse unless some real changes are made that don’t involve scapegoating victims like elderly and disabled people. We need to find solutions that are cost-effective and address people’s mental health.
“We have to have someone in charge, like a homeless czar, to take a leadership role in working closely with all sides,” counseled Silverman about what needs to be done organizationally to thwart homelessness. “We need to have (homeless) intervention programs like the Homeless Outreach Teams (HOT) the police use. We need to find places for people to go where they can feel safe. If we don’t manage the problem – it’s going to manage us.
“The homeless issue is everywhere, not just at the beach anymore,” continued Silverman. “The bottom line is we have to change our thinking. People have to open their minds and hearts. Drugs are being sold everywhere (out on the streets). We can’t just keep arresting the same people over and over and taking the ‘frequent fliers’ over and over again to emergency departments. You need to build a relationship with a person using an intervention model. You need to make sure you understand what it takes to create system change which will provide a continuum of care.”
You can read the entire article here: https://sdnews.com/homeless-advocates-oppose-the-mega-shelter-model-for-san-diego/
If you are facing a situation with a loved one, spouse, or even a child that has started to spiral, please call me at 619-993-2738.
Scott is the Founder and CEO of Confidential Recovery, an outpatient drug rehab in San Diego.
About Scott H. Silverman: Scott has been fighting against addiction for over 20 years, one person, speech, and book at a time. You can buy a copy of his latest book “The Opioid Epidemic” here.
