June 30, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Guest Opinion: The energizing, warm feeling from 'helping build the dream'

by Trina Lovercheck

Standing in the warm sun during the May 5 dedication of the Opportunity Center of the Midpeninsula, I felt a[LRL1] warmth[LRL2] on the[LRL3] inside as well[LRL4][LRL5]. We had succeeded in raising $1 million to close the gap between grants, gifts and government funding to make the $23.8 million center an imminent reality, due for completion at the end of 2005.

After the shared warmth of the dedication, where speakers celebrated the project's physical beginnings, I began thinking about my longtime interest in and involvement with homelessness in the Palo Alto area, increasingly referred to as "the unhoused." My direct involvement began when I was appointed to the Palo Alto Human Relations Commission (HRC) in March 1988. We immediately began a study of homelessness in Palo Alto, which was becoming a community concern. We established a committee, which included key service providers and members of the community.

The members were to explore the issue and identify ways to address it. After a year of much research and many meetings, they issued a report. Being the packrat that I am (much to my husband's dismay), I recently found and reread this 1989 report. I was struck by how similar the recommendations were to other efforts over the years since then.

The HRC commissioners and city's human services staff, continually tried to find ways to assist. Every year, we identified the most important human service needs and made recommendations to the City Council on how to allocate the approximately $1 million human services budget, through the Human Services Resource Allocation Program (HSRAP) -- a very Palo Alto name. We never thought there was enough money to go around and were constantly frustrated in our attempts to stretch the budget. One HRC member proclaimed in frustration one night that it seemed we were "only rearranging the decks on the Titanic."

But we kept trying. Every year we talked to the city manager and individual council members. We lobbied the Finance Committee and the full council. Small increases were occasionally made -- but never enough for everything we considered important.

Meanwhile the homeless problem grew, approaching the present estimate of about 600 persons in our area. We established and participated in several committees formed to address it. All of them made earnest attempts to find solutions. One of the more concrete ideas -- actually put into place -- was the "Another Way" campaign. It combined an educational effort to inform people about homeless services already available with a way to give money to a collection fund that would be used to support local resources.

This collaborative venture, believed to be the first of its kind in the country, was a positive way to respond to the community's needs. "Another Way" still exists and is now managed by the Clara-Mateo Alliance in Menlo Park.

In 1995, I served on the City Council's "Aggressive Panhandling Task Force" and in 1996 on the HRC's Homelessness Task Force. I was naively surprised at the many negative comments that came from some community members. People were increasingly upset as more panhandlers were on the streets.

Seeing panhandlers and visible street people made the rest of us feel uncomfortable in different ways. Some simply didn't like the dirty, unkempt look of the street people. Some didn't know what to do: "Should I give them money or ignore them?" Others didn't like feeling guilty at how much better off they were. People couldn't understand how others could let themselves get into that situation[LRL6] [LRL7]. After all, this is the USA, where anyone who wants to can make it. They didn't know, or want to know, why the homeless were there.

But as I got to know some of the unhoused, or nearly so, I learned each had their own story. Some were in their current situation by choice, most by circumstances -- a substance problem, bad economic luck, poor job skills, mental/emotional illness, or all the above. Their histories are as varied as yours and mine.

I discovered that most are longtime residents of the area and consider Palo Alto their home as much as we do. Contrary to the popular belief that Palo Alto is a magnet, people didn't come to this area because they heard it was a wonderful place with great benefits for homeless people.

Each committee wrote its own report, which was accepted with thanks and then put on the shelf. Again, all our efforts seemed to be in vain. In 1997, the City Council passed the controversial "sit/lie" ordinance, which I and many others felt was directed against the homeless. I was one of the primary organizers of the protest rally and march down University Avenue. I kept hoping for a [LRL8]more positive action.

Then came the El Nino flood of early 1998. The Urban Ministry's outdoor drop-in center behind the Red Cross building was severely damaged and the Ministry was flooded out. That galvanized a group of people in a way nothing had before. They organized and pursued their vision of a comprehensive indoor space where all the necessary services would be together.

While initially met with great skepticism, their perseverance and determination overcame many obstacles -- from finding the land and money to the ever-present NIMBYism. But they kept going. I watched from the sidelines, until I was asked to join their Capital Campaign committee in 2003. Then I was tapped to co-chair the Community Capital Campaign to raise the $1 million needed to complete the $23.8 million required to break ground and build the facility.

Thinking back over the long, often discouraging years of effort, I realized how I've been energized by being able to help ensure the financial success of this unique community partnership. When completed, it will offer comprehensive social services and 89 units of very low income housing, all designed by award-winning architect Robert Quigley. I came from a decidedly middle-class background, but one that somehow led me to stand up for the underdog ever[LRL9] since I was in junior high school. The Opportunity Center is the latest in a long list of things I've helped with. I'm grateful for the good fortune I have and feel privileged to have made a contribution to "Helping Build the Dream," our fundraising theme. What a pleasure to see it launched and underway, under the warm sun and people's heartfelt enthusiasm, after years of talk and frustration.

Trina Lovercheck describes herself as a "community volunteer, etc." Among other things, she is a former Executive Director of the Palo Alto Area Bar Association, Human Relations Commissioner and Palo Alto PTA Council President. She can be e-mailed at TLoverchk@aol.com. [LRL1]delete "a" [LRL2]delete "th" [LRL3]insert "on the" [LRL4]delete "as well" [LRL5]insert "too" [LRL6]delete "that situation" [LRL7]insert "such circumstances" [LRL8]delete "a" [LRL9]delete "ever"

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