Thank you, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for supporting the staff recommendation to purchase La Quinta Inn in Millbrae to provide permanent housing for formally unhoused seniors and families. At its recent meeting, some Millbrae residents expressed concern about safety. It happens, communities are safer when formerly unhoused are safely housed. I can speak from experience that the residents will be vetted before being placed at this location. And, those with mental health or substance abuse issues will be placed elsewhere, where they can get the support they need.
Redwood City hosts two permanent and one interim housing sites, plus the Navigation Center, and there would not have been enthusiastic agreement to enter such a partnership if there had been concern about public safety. Many of us express concern about the unhoused living on our streets. In my view, we cannot be concerned without being part of the solution. The La Quinta project will give the Millbrae community the opportunity to host seniors and families, unhoused through no fault of their own and never dreaming they would be in this situation.
Supervisors will soon consider a tenant protection ordinance. I would be remiss not to add that the loss of stable housing is at the center of the homeless crisis across the Bay Area. Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home. Supervisors will again be asked to courageously support the most vulnerable in our community.
Diana Reddy
Redwood City
The letter writer is the former vice mayor of Redwood City.
Good morning, Diana. Thank you for writing an LTE re: the La Quinta Inn conversion project in Millbrae.
You wrote, "Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home." In the eyes of many Millbrae residents, they have not been included in the "everyone" you write about.
There are real safety issues connected to the county's purchase of hotels. You want to assure others that persons being placed will be properly vetted. While you were serving on the Redwood City Council, the NGO staff managing the conversion project in Redwood City placed two registered sex offenders in that facility. A facility next door to a childcare center. Vetting?
Local law enforcement has responded to the Redwood City conversion site with greater frequency since that site was converted to a Project Homekey facility. So, it appears Millbrae residents' safety concerns are real.
I hope everyone agrees that supportive housing is a good thing. However, the Board of Supervisors should not take state money and shoehorn housing in locations where it easy to do so, then turn over management of that housing to unresponsive NGOs.
Let's use available funding to create living spaces that look like homes instead of hotel rooms. Suitable acreage for such projects is at a premium, but that well may be the cost we must bear to provide homes. Perhaps a good first step would be city councils across the Peninsula to stop rubber-stamping commercial developments that include a fraction of the affordable housing needed in our county.
Diana - perhaps you have an explanation but for as long as I can remember, the homeless population appears to be in a steady state. SFco seems to always have between 8000 and 10000 folks without a roof over their heads. The 'unhoused' term is pure woke and you know it. No matter what we do, the homeless will flock to areas where they are most welcome. Building dwellings, opening hotels, etc. will just attract more of them. Why is it that in certain cities, where law and order prevails, homeless populations are virtually nonexistent? When asked, most homeless will answer that they are here because the community is accommodating. Of course, those who are homeless because of no fault of their own should be provided shelter but should be charged somehow. Anything free is never appreciated. But the rest, the addicted, the mentally challenged should be forced to undergo treatment in designated facilities. Giving a nice hotel room to a vagrant is not the answer as they have found out in SFco and now in NYC. Tough love is a better way. By all means, limit the proliferation of NGOs that have a stake in keeping the homeless population thriving. and thus have an ulterior motive.
The people pay the taxes,the Public Dolers are the ones the people employ, they are paying your checks, you are not the taxpayers boss . They do not want the hotel being converted, so do what you are being told to do and do not convert hotel. All the do gooders who cannot get hired, stop trying to interfere and get a job, oh I forgot, no one will hire you.
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(3) comments
Good morning, Diana. Thank you for writing an LTE re: the La Quinta Inn conversion project in Millbrae.
You wrote, "Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home." In the eyes of many Millbrae residents, they have not been included in the "everyone" you write about.
There are real safety issues connected to the county's purchase of hotels. You want to assure others that persons being placed will be properly vetted. While you were serving on the Redwood City Council, the NGO staff managing the conversion project in Redwood City placed two registered sex offenders in that facility. A facility next door to a childcare center. Vetting?
Local law enforcement has responded to the Redwood City conversion site with greater frequency since that site was converted to a Project Homekey facility. So, it appears Millbrae residents' safety concerns are real.
I hope everyone agrees that supportive housing is a good thing. However, the Board of Supervisors should not take state money and shoehorn housing in locations where it easy to do so, then turn over management of that housing to unresponsive NGOs.
Let's use available funding to create living spaces that look like homes instead of hotel rooms. Suitable acreage for such projects is at a premium, but that well may be the cost we must bear to provide homes. Perhaps a good first step would be city councils across the Peninsula to stop rubber-stamping commercial developments that include a fraction of the affordable housing needed in our county.
Diana - perhaps you have an explanation but for as long as I can remember, the homeless population appears to be in a steady state. SFco seems to always have between 8000 and 10000 folks without a roof over their heads. The 'unhoused' term is pure woke and you know it. No matter what we do, the homeless will flock to areas where they are most welcome. Building dwellings, opening hotels, etc. will just attract more of them. Why is it that in certain cities, where law and order prevails, homeless populations are virtually nonexistent? When asked, most homeless will answer that they are here because the community is accommodating. Of course, those who are homeless because of no fault of their own should be provided shelter but should be charged somehow. Anything free is never appreciated. But the rest, the addicted, the mentally challenged should be forced to undergo treatment in designated facilities. Giving a nice hotel room to a vagrant is not the answer as they have found out in SFco and now in NYC. Tough love is a better way. By all means, limit the proliferation of NGOs that have a stake in keeping the homeless population thriving. and thus have an ulterior motive.
The people pay the taxes,the Public Dolers are the ones the people employ, they are paying your checks, you are not the taxpayers boss . They do not want the hotel being converted, so do what you are being told to do and do not convert hotel. All the do gooders who cannot get hired, stop trying to interfere and get a job, oh I forgot, no one will hire you.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
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Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.