Bornstein Law Alarmed By Growing Homeless Trend

By DANIEL BORNTEIN, ESQ.

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This Memorial Day weekend, we should pause and consider the difficult situations homeless veterans face and revisit the debate on how to solve this intractable problem.

 
Daniel Bornstein started his practice over 23 years ago and has had an imprint in literally thousands of landlord-tenant disputes and real estate litigation cases, so let’s say that having been in the trenches for over two decades, we have seen every manner of troublesome housing situations. None more alarming, however, than the chronic homelessness in the Bay area.

 
We were disturbed to learn in this article that the homeless population is on the uptick. It’s estimated that there are 2,761 homeless people living in Oakland and 5,269 throughout Alameda County.

 

“The dignity of not only the people experiencing homelessness but the dignity of our neighborhoods and our communities is at stake here.”

~ Elaine de Coligny, Executive Director of EveryoneHome

 

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has lamented that “homelessness has reached a crisis level” that requires the city to articulate a “bold new plan” to address the problem.

 
At Bornstein Law, we have weathered many cycles of the Bay Area’s homeless problem, which has been over three decades in the making. The crisis can be traced back to the 1970’s, when there was a collision of events that made for difficulty. Massive cutbacks to mental health, a wave of struggling veterans, a rising cost of living that spawned rent control and a brutal recession were some events that formed the perfect storm for chronic homelessness. All of this happened at the same time when the Nixon Administration cut back billions in affordable housing funding.

 
To put the many cycles of the Bay Area’s homelessness in perspective, we found a video that chronicles this problem and the forces at play over the course of many decades.

 

 
That was then, this is now. Enter upwards pressure on regional housing costs, another dynamic that stands to exacerbate an already vexing problem.

 
There are several initiatives that Mayor Schaaf has proposed or is considering, but many ambitious proposals are tempered by budget considerations. Should we spend more money on solving the homeless crisis, or should we do better with the resources that we already have?

 
These are tough questions but at Bornstein Law, we welcome the debate because those suffering without stable and safe housing or shelter cannot be left by the wayside.

As the founding attorney of Bornstein Law, Broker of Record for Bay Property Group and expert witness, Daniel Bornstein is a foremost and well-respected expert in landlord-tenant disputes and other property management issues with over 23 years of experience in handling real estate and civil litigation related disputes.

CONTACT BORNSTEIN LAW
415 409 7611