Monterey, CA What Do We Do About The Large Homeless Population?

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California Homelessness has become a huge problem following the recession, and the number of homeless people in Monterey county has increased dramatically since someone walked into a local merchant and murdered them in Santa Cruz.  Following this incident, there was public pressure on the authorities in Santa Cruz to reduce the population and many of them were driven out of town and ended up here.  The latest statistics show that there are about 2,500 to 3,000 homeless people in our county, and about 250 families living on the street.  Roughly half are classified as chronic homeless after they have been documented with a disability or been homeless for a year or longer.  What a sad situation.  The United Way put on a forum last week called "Hungry and Homeless in Paradise" to highlight these statistics and come up with ideas on how to address this pressing issue.  Another problem which was discussed was the number of those with homes who are barely able to get by, something which I have written about numerous times on my blog.  I was surprised to read that more than half of the jobs in Monterey County pay only minimum wage or even less.  In order to afford a studio apartment in Monterey County, one has to work 83 hours a week, 94 hours to live in a one bedroom and 108 hours to pay for a two bedroom apartment.  That's just for the apartment and doesn't include food, utilities, transportation, etc.  The county is now taking a similar tact as Santa Cruz, considering making it a crime to sit down or lie down on the pavement or other public spaces.  This doesn't seem to me to resolve any issues.  Where are these people to go?  They are discussing other options such as providing access to housing and transition services for those just released from jail, medical facilities and foster programs.  But this won't solve the bigger problem of these 2,500+ people that are already on our streets.