The morning began yesterday (as I write this) with your correspondent perusing the local online publications when my eyes landed on this editorial at calmatters.org by P.W. Robinson: “California’s homeless shelters aren’t for everyone. That doesn’t mean they don’t work.” Basically, Mr. Robinson presents the flip side of Patrick Hogan’s Op-Ed in Cal Matters and The Desert Sun last month, touting the virtues of shelters. Said virtues boil down to clean toilets, sinks and showers for personal hygiene, a bed to sleep on and some help with finding housing.

I have said on numerous occasions that I agree with this list. Food, clothing and shelter are non-trivial things that help form the base of Maslow’s self-actualization pyramid. And a decent warm meal is always welcome, especially in fall and winter. But, as I have also repeatedly pointed out, shelters can fall short in these departments. And while a full belly and a clean, clothed body are a tonic for anyone who’s been sleeping on the sidewalk or in the woods, they won’t do anything towards getting housing. And all too often, it seems that task is left solely to the homeless person, with little or no assistance from shelter staff.

But I’ll start with something that is not under the purview or authority of shelter staff and is my bête noire: the much-despised “lock-in/shut-out” policy that prevents clients from using public or self-powered transport (bicycles, scooters, skateboards, etc.) when leaving the shelter for the day. The thing that grinds my gears about this policy is that it means that if you don’t have a car, or can’t get up early enough for a shuttle because your bunkmate was talking in his sleep or having nightmares all night and was screaming his bloody head off–you’re SOOL. (You know what I’d like to say, but this is technically a family newspaper.) Result: You get to spend the whole day at the shelter, whether you want to or not.

I understand why this policy was enacted: to appease local business owners and residents’ fears about hordes of homeless people swarming around their places of business and residence. But I have to call BS on this one. (“Won’t someone please think of the children?”) And yes, I’m going to land squarely on the side of us unhoused: this policy is part of what keeps us feeling, as Patrick Hodge put it so well, ”warehoused, controlled and off-balance. It makes you totally dependent on the whims of the shelter’s shuttle service, whereas allowing residents/clients to walk or pedal to nearby bus stops is a simple thing that can restore a great deal of personal autonomy.”

Now to housing assistance. Short version: Slim and none. Long version: Every resident/client is assigned a housing navigator. (I’ve had five since I came to the shelter in November 2022; I am now on #6 and wondering how long they will last.) This person is supposed to keep their eye out for housing opportunities for the unhoused as they pop up, including the much-vaunted housing vouchers, which–to no one’s surprise–are being phased out by numerous OC cities due to the withdrawal of federal funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Sidebar: HUD Secretary Scott Turner is a former developer and NFL player, who’s expected to slash the department’s multibillion-dollar budget and overhaul affordable housing vouchers, as well as programs for unhoused people. Turner is the only African American member of Trump’s Cabinet. I can think of numerous expletive deleteds I’d like to direct towards Turner, but let’s just say he’s one of Trump’s bestest lackeys to a wannabe despot and leave it at that.

Back to housing. (Yawn.) As I mentioned in a previous column, based on the research by CalMatters’ staff, shelter residents can expect an average stay of eight months, but usually longer. The absence of vouchers will undoubtedly increase the length of one’s stay. And once again the onus is put on the homeless, rather than the people getting paid to help them.

As Patrick Hogan pointed out in his Op-Ed, “It’s no wonder people are in shelters three to five years before they get housing vouchers. And there is literally no help once you receive a voucher. It’s up to you to find a place that will accept it.”

None of this is acceptable. If we’re going to keep bragging about how civilized and innovative we are as a country, we had better start acting and stop talking. And it is crystal-clear that any new housing initiatives are going to have to come from, and be funded by, the state legislature. Lord only knows when any further federal help will come. Probably not until after Trump departs this vail of tears.

Next time out I’ll say some more about what’s wrong with shelters. That’ll be fun.