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Yakima resident urges county to revisit historical approaches, stronger homelessness surveys
Summary
A Yakima resident told commissioners he believes current homelessness strategies are ineffective, called for studying past programs, and asked for clearer, larger surveys and accountability on missing funds.
Javier Gutierrez addressed the Board during the general public-comment portion of the July 15 meeting to raise concerns about homelessness policy and evaluation in Yakima County.
“I come here for 1 reason only, problems with homelessness,” Gutierrez said, adding that he believes the direction of current programs “doesn't seem to work.” He said he had reviewed historical responses, including a newspaper article from 1932, and suggested the county study what worked and what did not.
Gutierrez said much of his information came from internet research and criticized what he described as small or unclear surveys. “If you do a 5 question survey, that's horrible. That's inexcusable,” he said, and recommended larger surveys with 10 to 25 questions to justify use of taxpayer money. He also voiced concern about reports he had seen online that “$5 to $7 million earmarked for homelessness is missing” in California, and said he would be upset if taxpayer funds were misplaced locally; he did not provide documentation to the Board during his remarks.
Commission staff reminded Gutierrez of the three-minute time limit for public comment and thanked him for providing a newsletter article to the Clerk of the Board. The comment was recorded during the public-comment segment that precedes the consent agenda.
The Board did not take action on the matters raised in the comment; Gutierrez's remarks were received as public input for commissioners to consider.
