By Susanne Trimbath, Ph.D. Santa Monica
Since “Few residents weigh in on homeless plan,” (SMDP, Jan. 28, page 1) I suggest the first step in the plan has to be to improve communication with the residents. Then, take a tip from a New York city program — Inform the public about their role in homelessness. Every time they — residents and visitors alike — give cash handouts, they become part of the problem by enabling someone to live on the sidewalk. Few people that I talk to on the Promenade even know what the dolphins are for. Volunteers stood in Grand Central Station in the 1980s handing out cards with the address of a drop-in center, which commuters were encouraged to give to panhandlers rather than cash.
I’ve done the math. There are enough programs in Santa Monica to support the homeless that you’d run into one walking just eight blocks from any point in the city. It’s got to be easier to walk eight blocks than to sleep on the sidewalk.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 30, 2004. Read the original PDF.