Unify Homeless Strategy

A string of recommendations for improving the way Ventura County handles its homeless population represents one more step on the long, rough road to resolving this perennial problem. It’s a problem that the county government and all 10 cities must work together to solve.

Proposals by an ad-hoc committee of the Ventura Council of Governments (VCOG) include:

* More year-round emergency and transitional housing shelters.

* A phaseout of the motel voucher program.

* Expanded housing for the mentally ill homeless.

* Creation of a permanent committee on homelessness.

The recommendations are the result of discussions that started last year when the city of Ventura balked at continuing to shoulder much of the burden of this countywide problem. In search of a better way, Supervisor Kathy Long and Ventura Mayor Jim Friedman chaired a committee made up of representatives from VCOG, the Commission on Human Concerns and the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition.

The next step will come when VCOG holds its next meeting Sept. 23. By then each member of the committee must enlist the support of his or her city council and be prepared to support a unified strategy with financial support as well as creative ideas.

We urge all of them to get together and follow through on this important task.