Home Key Project at Milpitas is one of the latest examples of how the CA Government uses taxpayers’ money recklessly. Last Saturday, I was at the Milpitas rally. I am unfortunate to see the amount of money this City/County is spending to create a homeless shelter right in the middle of the city by converting the hotel. Homes/families living near a homeless shelter will suffer the most, which is not fair.
School-going children, parents, and seniors will be exposed to needles and drugs.
I want to help homeless people, but creating facilities without a plan and creating residents’ issues is unfair.
The homeless crisis is a complicated one and recklessly throwing taxpayer money at the problem – without a real plan to address mental health issues, drug issues, etc., is terrible. The county is also creating such facilities at the heart of Milpitas City, where we have children, seniors, and people moving around.
Homeless people will not sit in the hotel rooms at Milpitas; instead, they will be traveling around; we have seen the city of San Francisco as an example; we need to save Milpitas.
I plan to create homeless facilities in cities, which are either thinly populated or on the outskirts, where we can have large ground for them to play, live, and come back to life. We need a medical center to give them treatment, and once they are ready, they can go to the city of their choice and work and rent a place. We can create a special federal program for them.
- I want to provide temporary shelters to homeless people with a six-month residential plan that allows them to receive treatment, training, and finally, returning to society.
- I want to invite non-profit groups to help feed the homeless and work with them.
- I would like to use existing college facilities, which are mostly empty on Saturday/Sunday, and give them training. I’d like to bring volunteers from Silicon Valley and Professors to train these people.
- I want to use medical facilities empty during the weekend to give them medical treatment. Treatment can also be provided at facilities homeless people are living.
- Finally, I want to provide incentives for companies to hire homeless people.
But with $30 million projects at Milpitas plus a $1.5 million maintenance cost per year, it will not fix the homeless issues. The federal government gave $550 million to Sacramento for temporary housing for homeless people in CA and not permanent housing. There is a flaw in this project, and it needs to be immediately stopped. We need to take input from local Milpitas residents before launching any such projects or spending taxpayer money because it impacts people living in the neighborhood.
California’s skyrocketing housing costs and lack of investment in mental health services have made California the United States’ homeless capital. 49% of our nation’s homeless live in California. We are in a state of emergency. The state alone is not able to solve the problem. It is key that the Federal Government steps in. The homeless problem cannot be solved from city to city; it needs to be solved regionally. We need to coordinate shelters and service centers while investing in drug and mental health services. We need to assist our homeless population; however, their rights do not supersede those that work, shop, and live in our communities.
It is time the Federal Government should get involved in this matter.
If I am elected as a congressperson, I will become involved with fixing CA’s homeless issue. For the last twenty two years, I have been involved in non-profit work by helping underserved people.
Thank you,
Ritesh Tandon
US Congressional Candidate, CA17
www.tandonforcongress.com
This is a sponsored post.
Wowwywowwy seems like he has some good ideas