> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Freeloaders take help from needy
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/freeloaders-take-help-from-needy-editor/
- Published: 2007-04-06T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:24:16.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless

*By Santa Monica*

This is my home for 58 years. I’m a Santa Monican. Getting back indoors here is a nightmare. The lines (at homeless shelters) of travelers, drugged, drunk and free-loaders make you just one of the numbers. It’s more often the loudest are the first to befriend a caseworker and get anything more than a bag lunch.

There are hundreds of beds and many programs that could help, but are filled with people from across the land.

Why not a point system, so the people most deserving get something back from the system they supported?

How’s this: 2 points — disabled 20 points — women with children 10 points — battered/ abused women 2 points — veterans 2 points — recognizable hardship cases 5 points — Santa Monica resident Drew Feldman

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 6, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/040607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)