RE: Response to August 23, 2021 Editorial.• On Homelessness, recall candidates offer hot air, not real solutions
Dear Editorial Board, This is Gubernatorial Candidate David Lozano. I am writing to correct your statement made in your August 23, 2021 Editorial: On Homelessness where you claim that none of the Gubernatorial Candidates have anything to offer in regards to solutions to homelessness.
Well, you are wrong because I do have a plan. On August 17th, a week prior to the release of your article, I unveiled my step-by-step solution to homelessness called "A New Hope" in which I announced that I will be able to house and care for every homeless person that lies in the streets of California today within two years or less. This is based on my 28 years experience as a financial expert, as a Federal attorney and negotiator, my years as a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff in South Central Los Angeles, and my years working around the world.
And although I am quite familiar with the incredible success of the homeless project known as Housing First that originated in Finland under the direction of the great Housing Minister Jan Vapaavuori, the program was destined to fail or falter here in the United States when it was brought over by HUD and attempted to be used here because one cannot bring over a Socialist type program developed and designed for a European type mentality and expect it to work the same here in the U.S. We're simply different. We act differently, we think differently. This was supported by authors David M. Flanagan and Michele Steeb of the book Answers Behind the Red Door: Battling the Homeless Epidemic.
My project, "A New Hope" which took me over three years to develop, allowed me to take a few of the best elements of "Housing First" and adapt them to the American lifestyle, specifically, the Californian lifestyle, and then adding hundreds of my own ideas and shaping it to what is a revolutionary way of thinking about homelessness. Although it will take me approximately three to four hours to explain to you exactly how this entire plan will be implemented, let me give you this extremely short version.
The plan will build – from the ground up - not one – but three major metropolitan/residential cities – one in the Northern part of California; the second Northeast of the Antelope Valley outside of Los Angeles; and the third in the Southern tip of California with each having not just upper and middle class areas, where regular citizens will thrive and prosper with regular jobs and careers, (but whose focus remains the homeless) but also having a moderate class area with the capability of housing over 50,000 homeless each.
You make a comment in your article that by forcing people into any place they don't want to go, or any place without a certain amount of privacy and autonomy, is ineffective. I absolutely agree! My project - "A New Hope" accommodates for all that. A New Hope makes the desire of the individual homeless person to want to move into the housing of my project so appealing, so alluring, so enticing - that those that are drug addicted, mentally ill, or alcoholic, or those that simply do not wish to return to society WANT TO COME TO THIS COMMUNITY because we make it so beautiful, warm and inviting.
And the homeless who have pets, partners and their personal belongings? BRING THEM ALL!! THEY ARE ALL WELCOME!!
No curfews. No rules (of course regular citizen rules). These will be beautiful, divided, secure gated communities.
Please go to my website www.Lozanoforcalifornia.com for further details about "A New Hope" and all my Political Platforms as well as the opportunity to see the News Broadcast video that was shot last week from downtown L.A. Skid Row that formally announces the unveiling of the project "A New Hope".
And then, if you determine that what I am telling you is worthy of a rebuttal, I would appreciate a re-write of your article to say that there is ONE candidate with a Homeless Plan that is worthy of offering it as a real Solution to the people of California.
- David Lozano
