Fresno has recently received positive national attention for our aggressive efforts to address the complex problem of homelessness, particularly the hard work we're doing to put people into stable housing and connect them with essential services that give them a chance to permanently get off the streets.
But you would never know that by reading The Bee's Oct. 12 editorial ("Fresno must stay on top of homeless camps"), which proved to be a tremendous disservice to Bee readers and an undeserved rebuke to people throughout our community who are intensely working to come up with permanent solutions to this issue.
The truth is that the city of Fresno is committing more resources than ever before to address homelessness, and we're doing it at a time when the numbers of homeless people are on the rise.
The economic downturn has changed the face of homelessness -- we're seeing more families, more women, more children, more former homeowners, and more people who are recently unemployed.
That means we have to change the way that we attack this problem, and that's what we're doing in Fresno. We've met this challenge head-on with a comprehensive three-pronged approach.
First, we're working aggressively to clean up encampments or any area where large numbers of homeless people are congregating.
We've done that by closing the H Street encampment, where we found housing for 103 people in more than 70 sites, and we're now moving to F Street and other parts of the city.
Second, the city is orchestrating efforts across more than a dozen social service agencies to assure that we're dealing with the wide array of issues that contribute to homelessness.
For the first time anyone can remember, the city and our partner agencies are taking steps to assess our homeless and to link them with appropriate services such as counseling, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, mental health and job searches to help them get back on their feet. Without that essential coordination, we don't have a real chance to break the cycle of homelessness.
Third, while we're cleaning up encampments and doing everything within our means to provide wrap-around services for our homeless, we're also working with the Fresno Housing Authority and other public and private partners to develop more transitional and affordable housing. We simply cannot have a long-range solution to our homelessness problem unless we increase housing opportunities for our residents.
At the heart of our comprehensive approach to addressing homelessness in Fresno is getting every responsible organization to work together to create long-term change in our community.
Lasting solutions to the homelessness challenge depends on the city, county, federal and state agencies, faith-based and nonprofit providers working in unison and not against one another.
One final point about The Bee's editorial. We strongly object to any claim that homelessness is an "acceptable occurrence" in any part of our city.
The Bee should know better than to further perpetuate, without justification, the false notion that City Hall has a preference for one part of the city over another.
We have a responsibility to get it right in solving our homelessness problem. That's why we're being strategic and thoughtful in our approach.
It's hard work, and it's going to take time, but we're on the right track.
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