Re “A way to housing options for homelessness into a neighborhood” (May 19): I think Lisa Deaderick’s column was very well-written. I think two of the most important points she makes are that in the Austin, Texas, community, “everybody came together,” and in our Spring Valley community, “they didn’t feel like their elected officials were listening to their concerns.”
I think this is the key to success and our failures. I believe that city officials are not listening to the community and ignore any resident concerns that don’t align with their views or priorities across the board. This is not only regarding the homeless situation, but also all other items that come up in our community. Elected officials seem to forget that they represent all of the people in their district and not just the people they agree with.
— Lisa Stone, San Diego
The author’s attempt to dispel the “myths” about the homeless left me a bit confused.
Myth one was that “substance abuse and mental illness are the primary causes of homelessness.” She dispels this notion by pointing out that about 30 percent of the homeless have “severe” mental illness and that another 30 percent have “severe” substance abuse disorders.
The next “myth” is that San Diego weather and generous services attract many arrivals. She points out that 70 to 80 percent of the homeless lived here at the time they became homeless. If my math is correct, it appears that at least 60 pecent of the homeless are due to substance abuse and mental illness and 20 to 30 percent are people who migrated to this area while homeless.
It looks to me as if these two “myths,” instead of being dispelled, are actually proven by her statistics to be the prime cause of most homelessness.
— Jim Mallen, Lake San Marcos
