To the editor: To effectively mitigate the crisis of the lack of housing, we need more than a spooky dispersion of houses of sober life (“A new impulse to bring recovery houses to the” First Housing “model of State”, “ May 13). We need to develop large and inclusive institutes (due to lack of a better word) and campus that can address substance abuse and mental health problems in a cohesive way.
Some examples of things that the State could do: build a massive hospital and a residential community at the base of the vine and house people there while requireing attention, whether a month or a lifetime. Open a nearby university that focuses on careers in medicine, mental health, occupational therapy, etc. Asocate with the big corporations that have nearby stores and compliance centers to provide job training to residents. Subsidize housing in the nearby Bakersfield and Tocon Ranch to attract qualified personnel to live in the area.
As they say: “If you build it, they will come.” It may require a bit of compassionate coercion (certainly a challenge for legislators and the application of the law), but drastic times require drastic measures. And these are drastic times.
Risa Slavin, Porter Ranch
