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PEGGY: SAN DIEGO COUNTY HAS THE THIRD LARGEST HOMELESS POPULATION IN THE COUNTRY, BUT WE
RANK ABOUT 18TH IN THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE RECEIVE FOR HOMELESS SERVICES. HERE ON THE
DISCREPANCY AND BENEFITS OF A FEDERAL BOOST ARE DAVID ESTRELLA, AND PROFESSOR PAT LESLIE.
PAT, HOW MUCH MONEY DOES THE COUNTY GET FOR THE HOMELESS AND WHY ARE WE SO MUCH LOWER
THAN NEW YORK AND L.A.? KIRKS WHY DO WE GET. >> >>PAT LESLIE: WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT THE
FORMULA IS BASED ON GEO CODES, GEOGRAPHIC AREA RIGHT NOW. THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE
WANT TO EXPLORE FURTHER. >> >>PEGGY: WHAT ARE THESE FORMULAS AND HOW
ACCURATE ARE THEY AS FAR AS DETERMINING OUR IN NEED HERE?
>> >>PAT LESLIE: THAT'S REALLY THE CRUX OF THE QUESTION. IT'S NOT PERFECTLY TRANSPARENT
TO US EXACTLY HOW THE MONEY'S ALLOCATED. THAT'S WHY THIS BOARD IS ASKING THAT HUD RECOGNIZE
OUR NEED AND OUR REGION HOPEFULLY ADDRESS THAT NEED BY CORRELATING FUNDING FOR OUR AREAS.
>> >>PEGGY: I UNDERSTAND, PAT, THEY FAVOR THE EAST COAST.
>> >>PAT LESLIE: AT LEAST THERE'S A THEORY THAT THEY FAVOR THE EAST COAST BASED ON THE
AGE OF HOUSING STOCK. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ACTUALLY A CORE PART OF THE FORMULA OR NOT.
WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT CALIFORNIA HAS A FIFTH OF THE NATION'S POPULATION, AND WE DON'T HAVE
A FIFTH OF THE DOLLARS. >> >>PEGGY: EACH YEAR THE COUNTY DOES A HOMELESS
COUNT TO DETERMINE HOW MUCH FEDERAL MONEY WE NEED. OUR HOMELESS EE EVERY YEAR IS RISING
HERE, WITH RETURNING VETS. HOW KM THE DOLLARS AREN'T FOLLOWING THAT?
>> >>DAVID ESTRELLA: THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT WE'RE ADVOCATING FOR IS WE HAVE AN IDENTIFIED
NEED WN OUR REGION, THOSE DOLLARS SHOULD CORRELATE TO THAT NEED.
WHAT IT DOES IS REDUCES OUR ABILITY TO ADAPT AS THE REGION FOR SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS,
PARTICULARLY VETERANS, WOMEN VETERANS AND THEIR CHILDREN PEOPLE HAVE NEED FOR MENTAL
HEALTH SERVICES. >> >>PEGGY: HOW MANY LOCAL PROGRAMS ARE FUNDED
THROUGH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF FUNDING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT?
>> >>DAVID ESTRELLA: THERE'S A VARIETY OF PROGRAMS DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS,
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT FUNDING IS AVAILABLE FOR THESE TYPE OF ACTIVITIES
AND THE LARGEST PROGRAM FOR HOUSING FOR IS THE HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM, SECTION
8. >> >>PEGGY: OKAY, AND PAT, HOW MUCH MONEY
ARE WE ASKING FOR AND HOW WOULD THAT EXTRA I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH HOW WOULD THAT HELP
OUR HOMELESS HERE? >> >>PAT LESLIE: WE'VE LOOKED AT SOME COMPARISONS,
AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT THIS YEAR IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE REALLY DO WANT TO HELP MOVE THE
NEEDLE OF HOMELESSNESS ACROSS THE NATION. AS THE THIRD LARGEST COMMUNITY, IT'S A TIME
FOR US TO TAKE ACTION. >> >>PEGGY: SPECIFICALLY, WOULD YOU BUILD
MORE LIVING UNITS LIKE WOULD THERE JUST BE MORE FILTERING TO SERVICES WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED,
MAYBE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES WORKS WOULD THIS MONEY, LET'S SAY THE GOVERNMENT SAYS YES,
WE'RE GOING TO GIVE YOU THIS MONEY. WHERE DO YOU SEE IT SPECIFICALLY TARGETED
HERE? >> >>PAT LESLIE: THERE ARE THREE POPULATIONS
THAT WE KNOW. ONE IS THE RETURNING VETERANS AND VETERAN HOMELESSNESS. IF WE'RE GOING TO
END BY 2015, WE'VE GOT TO FOCUS THERE. CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IS BAD FOR BUSINESS,
IT'S BAD FOR HEALTH, IT'S BAD FOR ALL KINDS OF THINGS. THAT'S ANOTHER FEDERAL INITIATIVE,
CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS. AND THEN THE 2020 INITIATIVE TO MAKE SURE
THAT WE END FAMILY HOMELESSNESS WE'RE AHEAD OF MANY PLACES IN THE NATION ON THAT ONE,
AND AS A COMMUNITY WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
>> >>PEGGY: DAVID, SO LET'S SAY THESE FORMULAS ARE CHANGED OR YOU KNOW THAT THAT'S THE GOOD
SCENARIO, THE OTHER SCENARIO IS THAT AREN'T WE FACING TWO BILLION DOLLARS IN CUTS THROUGH
HUD BAW BECAUSE OF SEQUESTRATION SPH. HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT US? AND HOW LIKELY IS
THAT TO CONTINUE? >> >>DAVID ESTRELLA: OUR HOUSING AUTHORITY
ANTICIPATE AS 5% CUT TO A OVER A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET. IT'S UNCLEAR WHAT SEQUESTRATION
WILL LOOK LIKE INTO THE FUTURE. HOPEFULLY IT WON'T IMPACT OUR AREAS THAT HAVE
THE GREATEST NEEDS. IT'S MAKING SURE WE'RE FLEXIBLE, WE WORK IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL, AND REALLY BEING AWARE OF OUR NEEDS AND EXPRESSING
THOSE NEEDS AS QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY AS WE CAN.
>> >>PEGGY: THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME.