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CAPSLO parking program becoming permanent

October 28, 2014

capsloThe Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo’s practice of allowing select homeless individuals to sleep in vehicles overnight at the Prado Day Center is becoming a permanent city-sanctioned program, despite fading interest among the homeless population. [Tribune]

The San Luis Obispo Planning Commission voted recently to convert the safe parking program from a two-year pilot venture to a permanent practice. The commission also voted to increase the number of parking spaces allowed from five to seven.

However, only one of the spaces is currently occupied, CAPSLO’s deputy director Grace McIntosh said.

When city staffers constructed the safe parking program, they modeled it off one in Santa Barbara that provides spaces for more than 100 cars. But, unlike the Santa Barbara program, CAPSLO requires clients to turn over a large percentage of income to gain permission to sleep in their vehicles.

CAPSLO staff says, in turn, that it helps clients find permanent housing.

In the first year of the program, 13 households enrolled and four found housing, according to CAPSLO statistics.

In 2012, a homeless outreach coordinator with the Santa Barbara program told CalCoastNews that it is wrong to require homeless participants to sign over income.

“These people are living on $1,000 a month, and you don’t take money from these people,” Nancy Kapp said. “It’s highway robbery and wrong.”

A city ordinance currently restricts all individuals and organizations, except for CAPSLO, from letting the homeless sleep in vehicles on their property.

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In 2012, a homeless outreach coordinator with the Santa Barbara program told CalCoastNews that it is wrong to require homeless participants to sign over income.


“These people are living on $1,000 a month, and you don’t take money from these people,” Nancy Kapp said. “It’s highway robbery and wrong.”


CAPSLO continues it’s outrageous theft from unfortunate folks without housing.


The Santa Barbara program and any reasonable person knows that the CAPSLO demands are only to line the coffers of CAPSLO, not help the homeless.


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Could it be that Santa Barbara simply has more financial resources to pay for their program or that CAPSLO wants the program to be self-funding? Or does it have to be a conspiracy of greedy, evil people so that you can have something to get indignant about?


Their may be a basis for criticism but it would be nice to see it made on the basis of a full knowledge of the facts.


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The SLO Planning Commission doesn’t go far enough with this practice. Why not reclassify vehicles as homes and dramatically reduce the homeless population?


Citizens could then use their vehicles as rental properties, as long as they are equipped with a large cup, of course.


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Seriously! Is the best we can do to help our homeless neighbors?


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Now that you bring up CAPSLO taking people’s money, what ever happened to Cliff Anderson’s money? (See http://calcoastnews.com/2013/02/alleged-homeless-advocates-accused-of-stealing-from-the-poor.) Did he every get it back? Was there ever an accounting for the money that was spent?


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oops… ” Did he EVER get it back?”


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You are refering to Lisa Niesen and Capslo’s “Family Ties” ripoff housing program that Ciff paid $600/mo in cash to for staying at Capslo’s old and disease-infested night shelter, waiting 5 years for Lisa to come through and find him permanent housing.


http://calcoastnews.com/2013/03/family-ties-fails-to-provide-money-or-accounting/


Since the paperwork and meeting protocols with Niesen/Family Ties is incredibly shady, all that can be done for victims who give up and leave is to state their claims to a local attorney.


The program continues to this day: Family Ties (805) 931-9814.


This scheme by this multimillion dollar nonprofit Capslo, of which SLO City Council member John Ashbaugh is a boardmember of, targets and steals from homeless people like Cliff living on Social Security. Suspicion runs deep concerning the new 200 bed facility planned by Capslo on Prado Road.


Capslo capitalizes on the disabled.


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That’s it! Does anyone know whether Cliff got his money back with an accounting for what was spent?


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This was the story that made me suspicious of CCN’s objectivity and/or competence. If what someone familiar with the reality told me is true, I think that CCN may not want to do a followup because it would reveal how badly Josh Friedman got conned in the initial reporting of this story. His report was a case of biased half-truths at best.


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It’s a homeless magnet. Thanks for keeping it south of the grade.


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There but for the grace of God go you and I.


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I went to public school, you will have to explain that to me.


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Physical and mental disabilities are not necessarily caused by bad choices and actions. They can be genetic in origin or sometimes just the result of an accident. Such disabilities are a major contributor to homelessness. Medical bills can wipe out assets. Some disabilities make it impossible to hold down a good job and a few make it impossible to hold down any job. Without jobs or savings, rent and mortgage payments (especially in this area) may be impossible.


I am not saying that all the homeless are without fault for their situation and perhaps even a majority of them aren’t. But there are many who end up that way through no fault of their own. It can happen to just about anyone without substantial wealth prior to bad luck. I suspect that was MaryMalone’s point.


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Nancy Kapp hit the nail on the head with her past statement.


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INDEED. I have added it to my list of quotes. I believe it is actually T-shirt material.


———


“These people are living on $1,000 a month, and you don’t take money from these people.“It’s highway robbery and wrong.”

–Nancy Kapp, Santa Barbara homeless outreach coordinator


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I thought Dee Torres-Hill had disappeared?


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This reminds me of a quote I heard from a divorced gynecologist I was dating. His wife was a *itch-on-wheels. After one particular foul tirade I asked him what her problem was. He replied: “She is like a bad case of genital warts…she never really goes away.”


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Someone who should know told me she was on “indefinite leave” and has been uninvolved with CAPSLO since the re-organization of their Homeless Services Dept.


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What a joke this program is. If we knew the cost to administrate this program, we would be really pissed. It’s not even implemented in a way that makes sense!!


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It is like the Mad Hatter is running CAPSLO and has turned it into one long Tea Party.


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Why does CAPSLO change its name every few years?


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It was EOC from 1965 to 2008 (09?) and then it’s been CAPSLO since then…


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