San Diego's Dreams for Change lets you sleep in your car

Good article. Shows that there are many faces of the homeless issue and different ways to bring about solutions. The Safe Parking Program run by Dreams for Change is an excellent example of this. By simply providing for a safe place to park (live) a homeless individual or family can now concentrate on working to improve their situation. By having experienced family advocates at the location every night improves the persons ability to quickly navigate the services needed to get employment, healthcare, shelter and basic needs. My understanding is that this is all done with just a small amount of money which makes it that much more impressive. Keep up the good work.
— December 1, 2011 10 a.m.

The Water Man check-in center in East Village

This is one of the most effective, efficient projects I have seen. You have to go there to truly understand how well it works. It helps people keep there belongings safe and clean while cleaning up the downtown community all for a relatively small amount of funding. Their funding is leveraged by using volunteers to work with the small staff. The office they mention was already there and to my knowledge was furnished with second hand stuff. These folks waste NO money. As a resident of East Village I commend them for their efforts in helping our community. It would truly be a shame if this small amount of funding was not continued to allow this project to continue helping people help themselves.
— August 11, 2011 8:44 a.m.

El Cajon Looks To Reduce Abandoned Shopping Carts

This is interesting. I can see both sides of it but seems a little extreme to put so much burden on the business.
— August 9, 2011 6:26 p.m.

Starbucks, the new street corner

I agree it is better to give to the agencies with good records of helping people and spending our money wisely. You can check out charities at guidestar.org or charitynavigator.org. If you are homeless and not already receiving a govt check with a food component you almost always qualify for food stamps and you get expedited service. Plus if you are in need of food there are many places to get hot meals downtown for free. Homeless people need help but I think the money you give out only makes you feel good and in most cases is not aiding the individual.
— August 6, 2011 6:41 p.m.

More Questions for the United Way in Their Involvement in CCDC Sponsored "Registry Week"

If you want to follow their progress you can go to: 100,000 Homes National Campaign - Downtown San Diego on facebook For info on the organization that started this model go to: www.commonground.org You will at least see what they are doing and how it has been successful elsewhere. Also you mentioned storage and showers as the best solution. This is a good idea for temporary solutions to the basic needs part of this. You will be happy to know that a group is doing the storage part and would like to add other services. They do this at a very low cost and I think you will be impressed. Check them out at: The Water Man Fan Page on facebook or helpthewaterman.com I understand your issues with the funding and conflicts that go on and that this does not address that but you will be able to be better informed about the programs and where the money is going and who it is coming from. Plus you keep mentioning that this $469k went to LeSar for the Registry Week. I believe that is for them putting together the whole project that is for a much longer period of time. Part of that is for them to coordinate all the different government agencies that are participating in this program. Probably not an easy achievement to get everybody on the same page. I hope this helps a little and I look forward to reading more on what you find out.
— June 18, 2011 7:23 a.m.

Did the United Way Commit Tax Fraud When it Collected Donations for CCDC Sponsored "Registry Week"?

I think this type of public/private partnership is exactly what we need. It sounds like they did an excellent job of leveraging the funds to get a lot accomplished. It is my understanding the work is ongoing and going very well. Updates on their progress is easily obtained if you have an interest in finding out more. I think we need a different way of working on this issue and this program is a great start. I think when people research what is going with this and other new programs they will be very pleased that finally we are thinking outside the box on a very difficult issue. As my user name suggests I am interested in learning about waste but also promoting good programs. I am a resident of East Village and a volunteer for orgs that deal with homeless issues.
— June 17, 2011 11:25 a.m.

South Bay Community Services Looks Good on Paper

Just curious what kind of work are you doing now?
— February 27, 2011 1:11 p.m.

South Bay Community Services Looks Good on Paper

You can research any nonprofit by going to guidestar.org and reading their info and tax filings which list salaries and assets owned by them. It will also list revenue and what it is spent on. Obviously these allegations are serious and if true there is no excuse. But in general most orgs are trying to maintain their programs with less money because of a decrease in funding due to the economic downturn. This may lead to this kind of behavior not because of personal gain but because of a desire to serve the community. Once again no excuse but look at their track record to see what good things they may have accomplished also before possibly getting off track. I have no personal knowledge of them but do of many others and wanted to offer this personal observation.
— February 27, 2011 8:39 a.m.