HOMELESS IN THE NEWS

By Debbie Bulloch


Should We Give Money To Panhandlers?

I am often asked whether it is a good idea to give money to panhandlers (who are usually homeless) out on the streets.

My answer usually is: well, it depends.

Whether to give money to the homeless out on the streets or to simply look the other way and walk on by is a highly personal decision. Regardless of what you do, let compassion and understanding be your guide.

Here is a very interesting piece from Slate.com on this particular topic.

Sister, Can You Spare a Dime?
I don't give to my neighborhood panhandlers. Should I?
By Patty Stonesifer and Sandy Stonesifer
Updated Friday, Jan. 23, 2009, at 7:03 AM ET

Dear Patty and Sandy,

Every day I pass at least a half-dozen homeless people on my way to work. I feel terrible for them, worse when they ask me for money, and worse still when I turn up my iPod and walk away. I struggle every day with whether to give them some coins or a buck but don't want them to get used to me giving them money, and I don't want them to spend it on drugs or alcohol. It's not that I can't afford it, but I don't want to become an enabler. Your advice?

For the entire article, please follow the link below:

http://www.slate.com/id/2209038/?GT1=38001

Homeless Living In Their Cars Need a Safe and Secure Place To Park Overnight.

With the increase in the number of people losing their jobs and their homes, the newly homeless have taken to livin in motor homes, trailers and even in their cars (not an easy life, trust me).

In Venice, California local residents have been complaining about homeless people parking their vehicles overnight, on city streets. While I can understand the position of local residents, we need to act more compassionately towards our brothers and sisters. Local government is getting into the act, trying to find a humane solution to this "problem."

From the Los Angeles Times.

L.A. Councilman Bill Rosendahl says the sites could be city property, church parking lots, industrial areas and other places away from neighborhoods.

By Phil Willon and Martha Groves
January 22, 2009

Tough economic times have spilled onto the streets of Venice, which has become a favorite place to park for scores of otherwise homeless people living in cars and campers. The practice has ignited a mini-uprising among residents living in the pricey coastal community.

The number of cars and recreational vehicles has swelled so much over the last year that Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who represents the city's coastal areas, has proposed creating special zones away from neighborhoods where people can sleep in their vehicles.

"The community has been going ballistic," Rosendahl said. "They can't park their own cars. Some of the folks who live in their cars and in campers defecate and urinate outside and create other issues of quality of life and health."

His proposal, similar to programs in Santa Barbara and Eugene, Ore., would allow the cars and recreational vehicles to park in select "municipal properties, parking lots of churches or community-based organizations, industrial areas and other areas that would have minimal impact on residential communities."

Current city laws prohibit sleeping in a car or RV on the street.

For the full article, please follow the link below.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-rvzones22-2009jan22,0,7892116.story

Copyright Spencer Weiner/L.A. Times

I want to encourage all of you, to call or e-mail the appropriate authorities and let them know that you support special zones for the homeless to park their vehicles overnight. Thank you!