SLO attorney, former state senator form commission on homelessness: ‘We want to help’
In response to rising concerns about San Luis Obispo County’s unhoused population, a former California state senator and a local attorney are forming a new citizens commission to explore solutions.
Former California State Sen. Sam Blakeslee, a Republican, and San Luis Obispo attorney Greg Gillett, a Democrat, say they’re launching the independent initiative to gather data and identify needs and shortfalls.
The San Luis Obispo County Citizens Commission on Homelessness will also offer recommendations for effective solutions, the pair said, seeking “accountability and results.”
“The commission will work to identify gaps, redundancies and overlaps of available services by engaging in a system review of governmental and non-governmental initiatives,” Blakeslee and Gillett said in a news release.
Blakeslee, a former state senator and assemblyman and the president of the Blakeslee and Blakeslee financial planning firm, has lived in San Luis Obispo since 1965.
He told The Tribune that problems associated with unsheltered residents seem to be far more serious than in previous years.
“It has been startling to see how far the quality of life has deteriorated in downtown San Luis Obispo,” said Blakeslee, who has an office on Marsh Street and has lived downtown full-time since 1995. “I have lived here for decades and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. ... But I think it can be solved.”
Gillett said he was inspired to join forces with Blakeslee after seeing his Facebook post in which he shared a photo of an unidentified woman defecating downtown, which generated community-wide discussion.
“One person in the homeless services arena told me that was really inappropriate to post the photo,” Blakeslee said. “She said ‘You’re shaming that person.’ But I said ‘Hold on here. Was it inappropriate to take a photo of a dead soldier in Vietnam so the public sees what’s actually happening?’ There are some photos that are very uncomfortable, but they move the public to engage.”
“I saw Sam’s post and it seemed to me community response needed to be more individualized,” Gillett said.
Gillett said he and Blakeslee then met and brainstormed about addressing the complex issue of homelessness.
“When Sam and I looked into it, there’s a pretty large complex of organizations and funding and wonderful people, but there also seems to be inefficient methods in achieving a mission,” Gillett said. “There are some obvious gaps, lack of connection and communication, and some things we need to dive into a bit.”
Gillett said their educational backgrounds — he has a doctorate in education from USC, while Blakeslee conducted doctorate studies in geology from UC Santa Barbara — make them suited to conduct academic research on homelessness in San Luis Obispo County.
“We don’t want to pre-judge anything,” Gillett said. “We want to keep the bias out as we gather facts and then move into ways to provide individual services in the most efficient manner.”
Are SLO County homeless services falling short?
The latest Point-in-Time census, which documents San Luis Obispo County’s homeless population, reported 1,483 unsheltered people countywide and 482 homeless people living in the city of San Luis Obispo in 2019. But the actual current size of the unhoused population is unclear.
A new Point-in-Time survey of unsheltered residents is expected to take place this winter.
County and city officials, as well as local leaders of nonprofit organizations, note that there are a number of programs designed to serve unhoused people on the Central Coast, supported by millions of dollars in spending.
But those homeless services programs either overlap or encounter roadblocks that hinder their ability to help, according to Blakeslee and Gillett.
The commission aims to review the programs’ effectiveness and determine where efforts may be falling short, its coordinators say.
“We both come from a background of running organizations and getting results,” Blakeslee said. “We couldn’t stay in business if we had virtually dozens of different functions running around, crashing into each other with little or no accountability. I think that’s the concern the public currently has. Enormous resources are being expended, but the problem isn’t being solved.”
Blakeslee and Gillett, however, want to make it clear they’re aiming to work with local agencies, nonprofits and community members — not at odds with them.
“We know the people doing this work are all doing it for the right reasons,” Gillett said. “We come at this with love and want to avoid any notion of hate, as we move forward. We see that a problem exists and we want to help.”
Citizens commission to hold audit of funding
As part of its work, the Citizens Commission on Homelessness will conduct an audit of countywide services through a budgetary review and an academic inquiry into all available services; seek input from non-governmental agencies, including nonprofits and volunteer organizations, by using “qualitative research methodology.”
Cal Poly public policy students will help conduct some of the commission’s data-driven work.
The commission aims to share its findings with the public by mid-November with a preliminary report with recommendations for actionable steps.
Blakeslee said a potential public panel discussion could be held at some point, but details and timing haven’t yet been determined.
The commission also plans to “launch a web portal to facilitate the connection of service providers and well-meaning citizens with our unhoused neighbors.”
An anonymous questionnaire for groups and individuals already serving the unhoused population has been set up at auditslo.com so people can share information on current resources.
“We’re looking at this crisis on the Central Coast, and what’s happening (in terms of increasing numbers of unhoused) in Venice Beach, Portland and San Francisco, and we love our community and we’re not going to stand by and let the problem continue to get worse and do nothing to help,” Blakeslee said.
Blakeslee said he and Gillett hope to hold open and honest discussions and address issues openly, as organizational officials sometimes have to carefully measure their words due to institutional practices and sensitivities.
“A misstep can cost a government or organizational leader funding, and so employees often need to protect those relationships, with good reason,” Blakeslee said. “But we want to get to the bottom of what’s going on and truly address the action steps in a way where we can speak openly. This isn’t just performance. We expect to achieve results.”
More information about the commission is available at the website for Help SLO, which has established a food pantry and resource guide as part of its volunteer efforts. Go to helpslo.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Sam Blakeslee’s former political position. He was a Senator.
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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