Santa Barbara County Supports United Homeless Services

Santa Barbara County is supporting efforts to combine both government and non profit services for the homeless. A new plan also provides for accountability and on going reviews.Supervisors Salud Carbajal said it would mean, “savings, savings, savings” for the county.Efforts have been underway for months to pull the services together. Supervisor Doreen Farr said there would be a cost effective and efficient response under the new program. She also said a coordinator similar to an “air traffic controller” could keep a close watch on the different groups involved to make sure they were communicating and providing services that weren’t duplicated.A recent study by the group “Common Ground” showed most of the homeless in Santa Barbara were living in the area when they became homeless. It also showed 73% were male, 27% were female and 15% were veterans.KEY News Senior Reporter John Palminteri has our story.