Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness, One Child at a Time

Ending homelessness isn’t simply a matter of placing a roof over someone’s head.

“The band-aid approach doesn’t work. It’s not cost-effective and it just perpetuates the cycle,” says Mike Johnson, Associate Executive Director and Director of Programs at COTS.

“In the old days, shelters were ‘three hots and a cot,’” Johnson. Now most program funding goes towards case management, counseling, health care and parenting classes.

Government funds account for close to 60 percent of COTS’ annual budget. Now, a big chunk of it is on the table if Gov. Jerry Brown makes good on his promise to cut redevelopment funds, meaning the nonprofit's programs that help children and their families get back on their feet could be severely impacted.

“It’s important to protect those services so those folks have a way of rebuilding their lives,” Johnson says. “We understand that cuts are necessary. But they should happen with a scalpel, not a hatchet.”

Tweve billion dollars in statewide budget cuts are looming on the horizon and Johnson knows COTS will take a hit. But the organization is focusing on one day at a time, helping families break the cycle of homelessness.

That change includes children.

“A lot of these parents didn’t grow up in supportive households,” says Carrie Hess, director of children’s programs at COTS. “Here, they get to practice new skills in a safe place.”

Her twelve-week parenting and child development classes focus on building healthy relationships between parents and their kids, with an emphasis on the negative impact of violence. Together, parents and staff help their children to develop “positive qualities that will make them successful in school, in relationships, and in life."

Now COTS staff are bracing for the impact of the cuts, come what may.

“Like our program participants, we’re resilient,” Johnson says. “We’ll bounce back.”