DAVID HOPKINS was addicted and living on the streets most of his teen and adult life. He prayed daily for his own death. Stacy came along and convinced him get off the streets. Ultimately, a shattering event drove him to get sober and return to school, where he earned a drug and alcohol counseling degree. Currently, Hopper trains and leads a team to help Vets, addicts and the mentally ill on the streets of his Santa Barbara.
Mureen Brown’s film, showcased below, makes the case that the SB Restorative Court productively and efficiently works to reduce chronic homelessness at a fraction of current costs.
Santa Barbara is home to one of the more progressive programs that deals with the chronically homeless, many of whom are drug dependent and/or mentally ill.
According to Police Chief Cam Sanchez, everyone on the streets is ‘someone’s father, mother, brother, sister or cousin.’ Starting with that basic philosophy, the SB Restorative Court bring all service providers dealing with individual client needs and to eliminate the familiar cycle of arrest, court, jail and release, only to repeat itself over and over again.
