Sheltering Westside’s Homeless: From Bad To Worse

Looks like the National Guard may be forcing the closure of the Winter Shelter program in West Los Angeles.

Every year, emergency shelter beds throughout the County are set up during three months of winter—it is called the Winter Shelter program. On the Westside of Los Angeles County, these shelters have been developed in the National Guard’s armories. One in West Los Angeles and the other in Culver City.

Here’s what a local Santa Monica paper says:

The Army Reserve-owned property -- an old armory located near the southeast corner of Federal Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard -- would not be sold. Instead it would be swapped for land elsewhere to the highest bidder in a June internet auction, raising concern among many officials that the site will be developed, for profit, with little or no public input.

This basically means that shelter for 150 homeless people in West Los Angeles will be eliminated.

And when it rains, it pours… last Tuesday, Culver City Councilmember Carol Gross announced at the Westside Council of Government’s homeless sub-committee that the lease on the Culver City armory may not be renewed in 2007.

That means an additional 150-bed Winter Shelter could be closed. 300 beds total!

Councilmember Gross said it is up to the Culver City Council, whether they want to renew the lease. She said it is not a done deal.

Sadly, when we already know there is a tragic gap between the number of homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles County and the number of shelter beds, we should not be reducing existing shelter beds, we should be increasing them.

Teen Thugs Get Sentence

Does 35 years of prison equal a homeless man’s life?

That is what a judge in Florida has decided. Four teenagers were convicted of murdering a homeless man.

Here is the news account:

A judge decides the fates of four Volusia County teenagers convicted of murdering a homeless man.

Fifteen-year-old Christopher Scamahorn and 19-year-old Jeffery Spurgeon each were sentenced to 35 years in prison for the beating death of Michael Roberts.

Eighteen-year-old Justin Sterns received a 27 year sentence, while 16-year-old Warren Messner was sentenced to just over 22 years.

Last week, their families spent days trying to convince a judge not to give the four the maximum sentence.

All four pleaded guilty to beating Roberts to death with sticks, fists, and logs.

The four were charged as adults.

Is Illegal Immigration Causing African Americans To Become Homeless?

That is the accusation of a new group called Crispus Attucks Brigade. The group was formed last week by Ted Hayes, a long time homeless advocate here in Los Angeles, who is partnering with the Minutemen group. They are the people who are “patrolling” our borders.

Hayes says that most people who are homeless in Los Angeles are black. And that illegal immigration is compounding the problem of homelessness, because “blacks refuse to accept ‘slave wages’ that many illegal immigrants accept.”

“Finger pointing” has become a natural response to the problem of homelessness. I think to blame illegal immigration for the plight of the homeless is not accurate. It is just another “finger pointing” perspective on homelessness.

This “blame game” is a sick cycle that only perpetuates homelessness. If we concentrate our efforts on blaming each other, we take away the efforts to end homelessness.

I write about this cycle in my book. Here is an excerpt:

Our communities point the blaming finger at each other, saying: “It’s the fault of the caregivers—the social service agencies—who attract more homeless people into our neighborhoods.” “The police should be arresting homeless people because they blight our neighborhoods.” “The government should be spending more money on the problem.” “The politicians only listen to powerful business communities and neighborhood associations who vote them into office.” “Local city officials argue with regional county administrators blaming each other for not providing enough funding.” “Wealthy developers gentrifying blighted neighborhoods are expelling the poor onto the streets for the sake of redevelopment.”

Round and round the blaming finger goes. Where it stops everybody knows. The fingers are pointed at one and all. From the homeless person, himself, to the caregivers who help. From businesses and neighborhoods who fear the affects, to the political officials who hold the purse strings.

It is a constant cycle of blame. So the creative energies, political influence, and vast resources that could be used to house the homeless are instead used to defend one’s position. The community is fighting one another rather than fighting the problem.

The cycle is simply absurd.

I Endorse Political Candidates Who Support Ending Homelessness

Although I like to be “apolitical”, I am compelled to support political candidates who are actively involved in ending homelessness.

There is a candidate in the State Assembly’s 44^th District who I have personally worked with, in developing plans that seek to end homelessness in Los Angeles County.

His name is Brian Center , who is currently running for the State Assembly district that includes Highland Park, Eagle Rock, La Canada, Altadena, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Temple City, Duarte, Monrovia, and Arcadia.

Brian is currently the Crime Prevention and Program Specialist for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. He has also worked on the County’s plan to end homelessness.

It is an interesting combination to include experience as a crime prevention specialist with experience in developing end-homelessness planning. I personally think it is a winning combination.

Here is his campaign website for more information… Brian Center For 44^th District.

Chain Stores Will Not Move Into Grand Avenue Project:Until Homeless Issue Is Resolved

Interesting response by the project director of the Historic Downtown Retail Project. He is basically saying that stores like, Barnes & Nobles, Trader Joe’s, and In-N-Out Burger will not move into the downtown L.A.’s new Grand Avenue Project unless the homeless problem goes away. (Here's an article.)

"The chains aren't interested yet," said Warren Cooley, project director of the Historic Downtown Retail Project, a city-funded endeavor to attract businesses downtown. "There's not enough population and critical mass. There are still challenges. The homeless issue on the street is a concern when real estate investigators from big chains look. That's sometimes something that concerns them."

If true, I think these retail chains are making a big mistake. The concentration of homelessness near Grand and First Street is not even close to the concentration in Central City East (“skid row”).

I also have the perspective that homelessness will be reduced in downtown L.A. in the next five to ten years. So these stores will just lose out if they don’t get into the project at the beginning.

Furthermore, these corporations should be playing a leading role in solving a community’s social woes—they shouldn’t be running away from it.

I think redevelopment can become a win-win for everyone. Especially, when these new projects also include new resources for the needy. The Grand Avenue Project has included 100 new units of affordable housing. At $200,000 per unit (it is actually a lot more than this, but I’m proposing a conservative number), that equals a $20 million investment into affordable housing.

That’s $20 million of private funding. Not money from the tax payers…

Name Calling Will Not End Homelessness

I guess Bill O’Reilly (Fox News) thinks calling homeless people names will increase his ratings. In an April 18 radio broadcast, he calls homeless people “drunks”, “they want to get high… or they don’t want to work”, “they’re too lazy.”

Here’s what he said about the recent 9^th Circuit Court ruling:

The ACLU wants to force society to house people who will not support themselves, who will not do it, because they want to get drunk, or they want to get high, or they want -- they don't want to work, they're too lazy. They say, "OK, that's a person's choice. The government should give them a house, and food, and walking-around money, and everything else." That's what it's all about. This is the hidden agenda.

Frankly, I have no respect for a man who insults hurting people. In fact, he also has little respect for his own staff—I experienced this firsthand.

Last year, I was interviewed at the local KABC radio station. I was sitting in the “green room” waiting to go on. There was a woman who was busy organizing papers and writing on a note pad. I thought she was a station staffer.

All of a sudden, Bill O’Reilly comes barging into the “green room” (he was being interviewed in another studio), and starts screaming at this woman. “F---“ this! “F--- that!” “F--- you!” etc., etc. She was his staffer. And he was screaming at her because he was unhappy with the interview.

As soon as he saw me sitting in the room—obviously my shocked face showed horror, seeing this “good” Republican talk show host berate his staff—he stopped talking, smiled at me, and said, “How’re you doing?” He left the room quickly, with his staffer on his trail.

I guess if this journalistic diva calls his own staff members insulting names, it is not surprising for him to call homeless people names.