By Rodney R. Itier Los Angeles
Let me start by saying I hope this isn’t one of those inboxes where people are encouraged to write in(to) while lawmakers and such having knowledge that no one will ever respond to or for that matter, even read what constituents like myself attempt to offer suggestion on.
If so, this is just another example of Band-Aid government, the type we must uproot and deconstruct.
I read an interesting article by Mr. Ted Winterer this morning on my way to work (SMDP, Dec. 10, page 4). I ride the bus each day, and it helps to have something to read while I wait the half hour or so before I reach my transfer point at UCLA. I could transfer somewhere else but being close to the college reminds me of my own days as an undergrad and the sense of nostalgia consumes me. It is also a welcomed reminder that the Pac-10 is prospering as evidenced by the enumerate Tudor-Saliba development sites drawn up in and around campus. Yes, the Westside of Los Angeles, on the whole, is ripe and fertile land poised for development. I see it day in and day out. On one level it makes me proud to know that I have chosen a community where life is ever expanding, wealth is abundant and, for the most part, harmony exists.
Then I am jolted back to reality by the hard-core truth living just beyond the facade, the other side of the Santa Monica, Westwood, Venice and their neighboring sublet communities. What lives, or more to the point, doesn’t live, brings out a sad truth and an almost immediate sense of repose — the sight of a homeless person panhandling from the median section of some random intersection or freeway entrance. It’s as constant as the white picket fence or flashy luxury sedan pushing its way towards the city’s more northern sections of town. I don’t always give, nor do I feel compelled to, but sometimes I help out. And while I feel a dollar here or a quarter there may not solve the problem, it may be the “over the hump” gesture a homeless person might need to get a decent meal for the day, or better yet, a night’s rent. Which leads me to the next question. Where? I often wonder where most homeless people sleep when it’s raining out or when the temperature dips below 50 degrees. Is there a place they can go for a nominal fee, one that could be earned by performing a duty that will allow for a person to feel a sense of accomplishment for a job well done? Alas, there doesn’t seem to be. The all-day struggle to clutch but a paltry sum more suited to finance a bottle of whiskey to aid in withstanding yet another restless, cold night on the urine-stained concrete of the princely city by the sea.
Some feel throwing money out the window of their cars or donating clothing to the local shelter is the way to cover up the problem. I’m sure their efforts are very much appreciated, but the real issue here is restoring the faith of the downtrodden and giving a person a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of themselves. I’m not naive, and I do see the very real possibility there may not be a solution to 100 percent of the problem but a plan — a substantial and comprehensive plan to help all of the citizens of Santa Monica and its neighboring communities to bring an end to this plague. I don’t mean the homeless themselves but our inability to come face to face with our fears. Homeless people are not the problem more than — and I mean this — it is the fault of us all, a community filled with creative, smart, aware, humane and affluent (though some not so much) people, that we have not taken on this challenge.
Mr. Winterer touched on something that sparked an idea that could at least, for the moment, kill two birds with one stone. The Veteran’s Administration’s property presents a viable opportunity to begin the process of identifying who, of our homeless, are willing to work their way towards habitation. The property needs some overhauling and for the most part it is vacant so why couldn’t we start a work-to-live program where our homeless could enroll much the way an employment agency has people do and based on their ability and relative contingencies be placed in a temporary home situation in exchange for an assignment on the site that will allow for the city to offset some of the costs. A program could be put in place to rehabilitate people. I think most of the homeless just need to be reintroduced to society as someone worthy of acceptance. There could be a credit reform program and labor force recruiting program established on-site. Of course there would no drinking or drug use allowed, and those admitted who have had trouble in the past will need to enroll in a corresponding program. Essentially, it will be a community sustained by the homeless for the homeless, with help of administrators. Yes, this will cost and part of the $2 million being spent by the city per year would be a good place to start, but I also feel taxpayers would support a program like this if it were well organized.
I think we could also put in place a fund that the homeless could support that would be used to finance themselves so that at some point the project would be in and of itself, thus empowering the homeless even further. You could think of it as a halfway house for the homeless because at this point it is more than an epidemic. This may all be very convoluted but the point is to give the city’s homeless a chance to build a life for themselves without having to succumb to the streets, and as idealistic as it sounds, there will be shortcomings, but an effort attempted far outweighs perpetual denial.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 13, 2004. Read the original PDF.