LOS ANGELES, MEANEST CITY TO THE HOMELESS

By Debbie Bulloch



In the past few weeks this blog has turned its focus to subjects such as the Tour de France, Michael Jackson’s music, the charms of California’s Pacific Coast Highway, photography and the birthdays of Canada, the USA and France. In the process, however, we have somewhat strayed from the principal mission of Between Homes and the focus of this blog: advocacy on behalf of the homeless.

I must admit that the temptation of writing about fun subjects, like bike riding and posting photographs of my much beloved Pacific Ocean coast is like a siren call (no pun intended) that beckons to me. But while enjoying all of that Providence has given to us we cannot forget, indeed we must not forget the plight of those who are less fortunate.

The issue of homelessness in the USA and especially in California, the Golden State, was brought back to the forefront by a recent report, jointly published by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and the National Coalition for the Homeless. In that report, these two advocacy groups ranked Los Angeles as the "meanest" city in the United States. The groups cited a Skid Row police crackdown that has criminalized poverty and homelessness there as one of the principal reasons for L.A.’s bad marks.

(Click on images for a larger view.)



L.A.'s so-called Safer City Initiative was singled out in the groups' report as the most egregious example of policies and practices nationwide that essentially punish people for failing to have a roof over their heads. Other measures that unfairly target the homeless include, making it illegal to sleep, sit or store personal belongings on sidewalks and other public spaces; prohibitions against panhandling or begging; and selective enforcement of petty offenses like jaywalking and loitering.

Such measures are widespread in the face of a deep economic recession and a foreclosure crisis that have increased homelessness over the past two years. The report examined laws and practices in 273 cities across the country. Los Angeles topped the list of the 10 "meanest cities" for what the study called inhumane treatment of the homeless. A previous report, issued in early 2006 before the crackdown began, ranked L.A. as the 18th meanest.

Under the Safer City effort, thousands of L.A.'s most destitute residents have been targeted for harsh police enforcement, routinely receiving tickets for minor infractions such as the failure to obey crossing signals. As a result, the study says, many homeless persons are jailed and end up with a criminal record that makes it more difficult for them to find a job or gain access to housing.

Los Angeles officials have touted their Safer City effort for sharply curbing serious crime in Skid Row, a 50-block downtown area inhabited by the biggest concentration of homeless people in the country. "The city's first priority is to protect our most vulnerable residents from violent crime," said a spokesperson for L.A.’s Mayor. By the way, L.A.’s Mayor has just come back from a vacation trip to Africa where he went to kill innocent animals (I mean big game hunting) and to receive a prize for his “humanitarian efforts” - indeed!



Homeless advocates in Los Angeles, however, say that a promised strategy to ease homelessness there, including new housing and services to go with the Skid Row cleanup, have largely failed to materialize. An estimated 40,000 people live on the streets, in abandoned buildings or in temporary shelters throughout Los Angeles; more than 5,000 of them live in Skid Row. Another 8,000 homeless make their home in that area's short-term residential hotels, or flop houses as they were once called.

Tuesday's report cited a 2007 University of California study that found that L.A. was spending $6 million a year to pay for the 50 extra police officers who patrol Skid Row while budgeting just $5.7 million for homeless services.

By comparison, New York City has a "right to shelter" policy and invests about $200 million a year in housing and other services for the needy, resulting in a homeless population half that of Los Angeles.

The question that comes to mind is: why is the City of Los Angeles, the “City of Angels,” using such harsh measures against the homeless?

The answer is simple; all you have to do is to follow the “money trail.”

Los Angeles’ Skid Row area is the largest “skid row” in the nation. (A “skid row” usually refers to a portion of town where the poor and the homeless concentrate.)



Skid Row has been 100 years in the making, but things are changing and the change is not necessarily good for the homeless. With housing scarce and rents high, there is an effort to “revitalize” the bleak Skid row district bound by Main, Alameda, Third and Seventh Streets.



Even in the current recession, real estate in Downtown L.A. remains hot. Investors and speculators know that the recession will not last forever and they are trying to grab as much land as possible, while prices are still “reasonable.” Every one wants a piece of the action: government agencies are moving in; the Roman Catholic Church recently consecrated a $189 million cathedral; and developers have plans to convert fleabag hotels like the El Dorado and the Frontier into lofts and condominiums where yuppies, and the newly minted gentry, can live and play close to the city’s center. Five thousand yuppie-housing units are in the works. By way of contrast, there are no new housing projects earmarked for the homeless.

Of course, Skid Row and its population remains the biggest obstacle to the developers’ and speculators’ big money dreams. The homeless not only take up valuable real estate, but their very presence “scares away” the yuppies now descending upon Downtown L.A. How utterly “inconvenient” for the homeless to live exactly where developers want to put up their multi-million dollar condominiums?

In order to “clean up” skid row, Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton has instituted sweeps against the so-called quality-of-life criminals who, as the theory goes, will graduate to bigger crimes if left unchecked.

But evicting people from the city’s sidewalks, without giving them beds or other alternatives, is immoral and heartless and mean. Chief Bratton defends the crackdown by stating that, ''Many there (Skid Row) don't want help.'' Then the Chief added, ''They'll take food and free clothes, but they want to live on the streets. While I have compassion, my job is to do something about it.'' One has to wonder whether Chief Bratton has ever slept on a cold, hard sidewalk, or whether he has ever used a broken down shopping cart to push his meager possession from one location to the next, or whether he has slept in the back of a station wagon, holding a young child next to him, hoping and praying that when the morning comes both he and the child are still alive and unharmed.

I am willing to bet you that after only one night on the streets, the Chief would not continue to state that. “…they (the homeless) want to live on the streets.”

As a society we cannot go on turning a blind eye to the less fortunate amongst us. I strongly encourage those of you reading this blog to take action to help ease the suffering of the homeless. I have previously outlined steps that any of us can take to make life a little easier for those who do not have a roof over their heads. Those are steps that we can all safely take. Or, if you are not sure what you can do, please contact your local homeless shelter and ask them how you can help. Don’t let the growing magnitude of the problem paralyze you into inaction.

Here is a list of the top ten “meanest” cities in the USA.

1. Los Angeles, California
2. St. Petersburg, Florida
3. Orlando, Florida
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. Gainesville, Florida
6. Kalamazoo, Michigan
7. San Francisco, California
8. Honolulu, Hawaii
9. Bradenton, Florida
10. Berkeley, California

(I am surprised to find San Francisco and Berkeley on the list. I had always assumed these two Northern California cities to be very progressive. I guess that shows that when it comes to helping the homeless, many people, including so-called progressive liberals, don’t give a rat’s ass.)

The National Homeless Coalition is a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that lobbies and advocates for homeless issues across the nation. The list is included in the coalition’s annual report Homes Not Handcuffs that highlights laws in America that criminalize homelessness.

To see the full report, go here: Homes Not Handcuffs



All the images posted in today's article are owned by the various copyright owners who fully reserve all rights to their images.