A united front is being forged countywide to address the perplexing problem of homelessness.

The goal is to have an umbrella organization in place to address ways to help the 2,319 homeless living throughout San Joaquin County, as identified in a 2022 point-in-time count, to get off the streets.

What is at stake is not just assisting the vulnerable sheltered population to get at the root causes of their homelessness and work with them to get their lives back on track.

It is also reducing the economic strain that homeless are creating on taxpayers as well as the private sector.

A University of Pacific study issued earlier this month estimated the annual negative economic impact the homeless have on San Joaquin County is at least $130 million. It translates into roughly $60,000 per homeless person.

That reflects hard costs such as:

*Health care services that run the gamut from fire and ambulance responses, emergency room care, hospitalization, and general health care efforts to assist homeless. In Manteca, for example, just under 10 percent of the calls for service deal with the homeless.

*Law enforcement— and judicial system — costs incurred dealing with homeless issues. In some jurisdictions, it is estimated as much as 1 in 5 police calls can be traced back to homeless issues.

*Ongoing efforts of government agencies to clear out illegal homeless encampments and such.

*Private-sector manpower and cost related to addressing property damage.

*The cost of housing, shelters, and other efforts by government agencies and non-profits to assist the homeless. In Manteca alone, the city is spending almost $1 million annually just on the cost of having a temporary emergency shelter/services at 555 Industrial Park Drive.

It is against that backdrop that the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisor voted Tuesday to spend $30,000 to hire consultants to follow-up on an ad-hoc committee report that details the need for the county along with its seven cities to coordinate efforts to help the homeless.

“This is major accomplishment,” said Supervisor Tom Patti, who represents Lathrop and Manteca north of Yosemite Avenue on the county board.

Patti, along with fellow Supervisor Paul Canepa, have led the county effort to find a way to make progress in helping homeless individuals and in turn reduce the problems their cerate for the community.

The two were able to bring together close to 100 stakeholders from nonprofits, cities, government agencies dealing with the homeless, the district attorney’s office, law enforcement, and such to assess the homeless problem and identify how best to move forward.

There was strong consensus addressing the  complex issue of homelessness in a more effective manner would require collaboration and  a multipronged approach to solution.

Patti noted this would:
*Allow the sharing of what works and what doesn’t to make sure best practices are used.

*Filling in gaps that may exist in local efforts in one community with expertise available elsewhere in the county.

*Keeping tabs on individuals that access various homeless services.

“The goal is to have no islands and no silos,” Patti said.

By making it a countywide approach, it avoids potential pitfalls that some fear such as homeless moving from one community to another in order to access services.

It also reflects the reality that dealing with the homeless is not just a Manteca problem, a Tracy problem, a Lodi problem, Stockton problem, or a San Joaquin County problem.

As such, coordinating efforts and building synergy has the potential to make efforts more responsive to the needs of the homeless while reducing encampments along freeways, waterways and in neighborhoods.

It also is a concession that housing first — the approach the state has taken for the past four or so years — is not working.

Patti pointed out that the number of homeless in California has actually increased under a housing  first mindset mind set.

The strategy the county and other agencies are working on elevates identifying — and addressing — the root causes of why individual are homeless as the main focus. It is much like the strategy Manteca is pursuing with the homeless navigation center planned on part of an 8 acre parcel off South Main Street.

It doesn’t mean housing isn’t needed. What it does is concede simply placing homeless into some type of housing isn’t going to change behavior or issues that is needed to keep them off the streets.

Patti said the approach of helping homeless reflects how many would help a stray, hungry puppy wandering along a busy roadway.

Patti believes most would not just simply drive on by or perhaps drop some food off and drive away

Instead, they would likely to try to find a way of helping the puppy so it could have a better life.

That would entail taking it to an animal shelter where there are services available that can address nutritional and health needs as well as making it possible for them to have a better life.

“It is not compassion to leave someone to live in squalor and despair,’ Patti said.

Patti — who ran unsuccessfully for Congress as the Republican nominee in November — said helping the homeless have a better life by making it possible for them to get off the streets is the “right thing to do” plus it will ultimately will reduce the costs and negative impacts the homeless impose on the rest of the community.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com