The Culture of Life Means Ending Homelessness

A cultural clash has pulled our country into a political tug-of-war over the issue of life. When does life begin and when should life end? Does a woman have the right to choose and does a spouse have the right to end life?

Sadly, these emotional and political battles have overshadowed another group of people who desperately struggle with life—the homeless.

A few weeks ago, I was strolling through a Westside farmer’s market when I saw a young woman standing on the sidewalk, tattered clothes clinging to her small frame, and her hand clutching a small cup in hopes of a handout. She was obviously homeless, and she looked like she was seven months pregnant. Most people ignored her pleas, more concerned about organic zucchinis on sale than this anonymous homeless woman.

Where was the rage over this neglect of life? No rallies or vigils for this poor woman. Apparently, if she is not struggling over the choice of abortion, and instead stuck in one of the invisible cracks of society, we ignore her.

Yes, there is a movement around the country to “end chronic homelessness in ten years.” Even Los Angeles County has put together a Blue Ribbon panel to design a ten-year plan. However, if you are following Los Angeles’s Mayoral election, you have not heard much about the problem of the thousands of people who are homeless in our city. It is because homelessness is still largely ignored. We drive by it, we walk by it, but those people who are homeless are just urban fixtures in a blighted landscape.

Our society debates over whether we should build more shelters, and which neighborhood is “lucky” enough to house it; we argue over whether groups have the right to feed the homeless in public parks; we struggle for additional public and private funding to provide more services. But after decades of homelessness in our community, it just doesn’t seem to go away. So we ignore this life of hopelessness on our streets.

Of course, more dollars, targeted programs, and better prevention are needed to end homelessness. We certainly need to build more housing and shelters, while stopping the flow of homelessness coming out of our county service system.

But we, as a society, need to conclude that homelessness is contrary to a culture of life. We need to do more to stop allowing homelessness to exist. People should not have to resort to life on the streets.

I suggest we impose an Injunction on Homelessness, a court order to stop our society from allowing homelessness on our streets. Let us stop allowing people to sleep on our cold, dirty sidewalks and alleys; it’s just not safe and secure for them. Let us provide dignified options for people to find housing and food, and then halt panhandling and the herding of people into public feeding programs.

Let us, as a caring and responsible society who embraces concern for life, end homelessness by providing enough housing for people who are homeless, and then halting the practice of life on our streets.

I call on Mayor Villaraigosa to impose a city-wide Injunction against allowing homelessness in our great city. No longer should pregnant homeless women resort to panhandling at Farmer’s Market, no longer would people sleep in Lafayette Park or Venice Beach.

Regardless of party affiliation, we embrace a culture of life, a culture that values the life of every person. This culture should also value those who resort to living on our streets by mandating housing, and not allowing homelessness to exist.

When it comes to homelessness, I’m pro-life.