Santa Barbara has an involved community and awareness of civic issues is a tradition as well as a habit for the residents of this lovely city. From traffic issues to the homeless, both the government and the people of Santa Barbara are interested, informed, and active.
When it comes to civic issues like parking and urban development, few cities have a community as active and aware as Santa Barbara. Every city has to deal with problems, but it’s much easier to come up with solutions when there are dynamic people willing and able to assist.
There are several departments in Santa Barbara that handle local issues, as well as several citizens groups in town that work to make sure that residents are informed. In addition to keeping local people aware, groups in town also make sure that the issues and concerns of the community are heard by local government.
One of the biggest civic issues currently being discussed in Santa Barbara is the homeless. In 2006, the annual financial impact of homelessness was estimated at about 36 million dollars per year. Families, children, the elderly, the mentally ill, and substance abusers are all part of the many homeless people on the streets of Santa Barbara and finding solutions to the problem as well as implementing them is one of the city’s top concerns.
The city and county of Santa Barbara has several programs in place, including the Housing and Community Development’s Continuum of Care and Emergency Shelter Grants programs. The CoC is designed to identify the housing needs of homeless and apply for federal grants to get funds for transitional and permanent housing. The CoC brings in about 1.5 million dollars in federal funding each year. The ESG program provides emergency grants to homeless people to help them survive, as well as funds to people about to lose their place to live.
Community groups involved in the homeless issue are many, since it’s one of the larger issues impacting the city. Organizations like the Community Counseling Center and the Corporation for Supportive Housing work tirelessly with federal and state agencies. Local groups work within the logistics of local government to find temporary shelter as well as permanent living spaces for the homeless. With literally hundreds of groups and businesses helping in ways both big and small, many people believe that while government involvement is important, the real solution to the homeless problem lies in the hands of the people of Santa Barbara.
The daily problems facing a city are always a challenge, but between the government of Santa Barbara and the residents of this beautiful city, civic issues are noticed, defined, and slowly but surely solved.