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# City Hall perpetuates the problem of homelessness
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-hall-perpetuates-the-problem-of-homelessness/
- Published: 2004-06-08T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:31:18.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness

*By REALITY BY MATTHEW GLASSER*

W hat comes to mind when you think about life in Santa Monica? Do you revel in the beauty of its beaches and its wonderful weather? Do you ponder the plethora of leisure time activities? Judging from many of the articles and letters that grace the pages of this paper, many of you equate Santa Monica with homelessness.

The reality is that Santa Monica is a great town if you are homeless. The city has great weather, an abundance of places to sleep, tons of tourists and visitors who willingly donate their spare change, and plenty of restaurants who dump their left over food in places that are easily accessible.

Even if City Hall ended all of its public and private social service programs that feed and assist the homeless, the city would still have a lot to offer to those who are destitute. So if you want to end the problem of homelessness, you will have to offer the homeless something more appealing than the status quo.

There seems to be two schools of thought concerning the city’s response to the homeless situation: City Hall is doing too much to help the homeless and has therefore become the community of choice for the homeless. Or City Hall doesn’t do enough to help the homeless and should be more concerned about this portion of the population.

While the two sides spend their time arguing who is correct, the homeless continue to be homeless and the rest of the community continues to deal with the consequences of living with a large homeless population in their backyard.

Here’s my take on the situation. City Hall is doing too much of the wrong thing and not enough of the right thing when it comes to really solving the homeless situation. Passing out food at the park may make us feel good about ourselves, but it only perpetuates the problem. These programs don’t address the root causes of homelessness and they don’t do a thing to help people improve their lives. It offers the homeless their next meal and little else.

Some argue that law enforcement does-n’t do enough to move the homeless out of Santa Monica, while others believe that they should adopt a “live and let live” philosophy when it comes to enforcing homeless ordinances. Again, relocating the homeless from location to location or city to city is not a solution. It’s a perpetuation of the problem and it’s a cowardly way to deal with this issue. Let’s not pass the buck. Santa Monica has a history of progressive thinking and social action. They should use it to help those in need.

The problem is that Santa Monica has been looking for a simple solution to an incredibly difficult dilemma. Homelessness isn’t a lifestyle — except for those still following the remaining members of the Grateful Dead. People are generally homeless for one of three reasons: They can’t afford a place to live, they are addicted to drugs and alcohol and spend their money on those vices, or they are mentally ill and incapable of living a normal life without medical assistance.

A few years ago, City Hall conducted a census of the homeless population. They found that more than 1,000 people were homeless and living in the city limits. But they didn’t take the time to find out why these 1,000 people were homeless. They missed a great opportunity to understand the causes of homelessness. And as a result, they are now unable to develop solutions to address those causes.

If Santa Monica wants to solve its homeless situation then officials are going to have to do more than simply offering food programs and implementing law enforcement initiatives. They are going to have to understand the people who live on their streets and determine why they are homeless. Only then will we be able to make progress in improving the lives of those living on the streets.

If someone is homeless because they can’t afford rent, the solution is to provide these folks with affordable housing and job training. If they are addicted to drugs and alcohol, the city will have to get them off those drugs and teach them how to make a living. And if they are mentally ill, we need to make the tough decision to institutionalize them until they can be treated by medical professionals.

Unfortunately, even with the best intentions, there are those who will choose not to get help and will continue to be homeless. Santa Monica will never completely solve the problem. But if it understands the people behind the homeless label and develops programs that actually offer these people a future, they may actually make a significant dent in the size of the homeless population. (Matthew Glasser can be reached by e-mail at mediamatthew@yahoo.com).

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 8, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/060804.pdf?ref=smdp.com)