Homelessness in Santa Monica is an issue everyone has an opinion on, and the numbers went the wrong way last year: up, while the county and the rest of the West Side went down. On this episode of Meyerside Chats, three guests bring three lenses to the same problem.

Doug Trussler co-founded Bison Capital, owns a small business on Pico, and is running for City Council — he brings the economic lens. Ashley Oelsen is a conservation biologist on the city's Sustainability and Environmental Justice Commission who helped lead neighborhood organizing around the Ocean Avenue supportive-housing fight — she brings the data and neighborhood lens. Lana Negrete is a current councilmember and former mayor — she brings the inside-City-Hall view on policy, public safety, and the day-to-day trade-offs of governing.

Full disclosure: Lana is my business partner at MyGovTools. We agree on plenty and disagree on plenty, and we keep the conversation productive either way — which is exactly the point of the show.

We get into the county's harm-reduction program, the "homeless industrial complex" and the missing data, where the next dollar should actually go, the Ocean Avenue win, public safety and police culture after 2020, the civil-rights questions nobody wants to answer, and the uncomfortable choices that would let us look back in five years and call this a success.

🎙️ Meyerside Chats — civic conversation that bridges divides. 🔗 http://evanmeyer.io



00:00 Cold open: three angles, one problem (+ disclosure)
01:44 What is Santa Monica getting wrong that its neighbors get right?
05:01 Lana on the county, harm reduction, and "needles and meth pipes"
09:35 Models to copy: Bell, Salvation Army, regional support
11:03 Doug: the homeless of today aren't the homeless of ten years ago
12:01 Ashley: other cities are buying beds in Santa Monica
12:43 Lana's idea: charge the states back
13:44 The Ocean Avenue win — why the pushback worked
16:25 Ashley on organizing the neighborhoods (not just NIMBY)
18:58 Doug: a slow-motion natural disaster
19:55 Body brokering, insurance, and the rehab pipeline
21:57 Where should the next dollar go?
25:17 Ashley: the "homeless industrial complex" and the missing data
28:30 Are the numbers even accurate?
30:28 Psychiatric beds, the Manor, and controlling the programs
33:45 Public safety first? Maslow's hierarchy on the street
39:21 SAMO Bridge, Exodus, and police culture after 2020
47:32 The civil-rights question: rights, responsibilities, the social contract
48:45 Ashley on 5150 holds — when help breaks trust
50:30 Doug: we need more friction
52:07 Lana: compassion can't mean tolerating harm
58:10 Lightning round: the uncomfortable choices
01:02:50 Closing

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About Evan Meyer

Tech entrepreneur and civic leader - he founded mygovtools.org, a platform to drive government efficiency, constituent representation, and civic engagement; BeautifyEarth.com, a platform accelerating urban beautification through art; and its sister nonprofit, transforming schools in underserved areas. He also co-founded RideAmigos.com, a platform that optimizes commuter travel globally. Previously, he served as District Director for the California State Senate and led many civic initiatives in Santa Monica. Through seminars and his podcast Meyerside Chats, Evan inspires civic engagement, innovation, and cultural growth.
He loves the outdoors, is a master of creative projects, is an avid muralist and musician, and finds the world fascinating in every regard.