By Ed Silverstein
Guest Commentary by
Ed Silverstein
While I am sympathetic to the suffering of the homeless population, particularly those afflicted with mental illnesses, I believe the current policies endorsed by the City of Santa Monica are reckless and irresponsible.
They have had a terribly negative impact on the city’s finances, on the quality of life and ultimately on the homeless people themselves.
In the 10 years my wife and I have lived in Santa Monica, we have had our car broken into four times, our two bicycles stolen twice and the garage burglarized on five occasions. I have often skidded through vomit on the sidewalk and have had to clean up after vagrants who have defecated on our lawn, in the garage and in our elevator. I was slammed and nearly knocked to the ground in an unprovoked attack by a deranged man and had to chase off a transient pedophile from a beach bathroom. I can’t remember a month when we have not been awoken in the middle of the night by the hysterical screams of a schizophrenic meltdown or a day when I have been able to walk eight blocks to the Promenade without being solicited, often aggressively, by 10 or more panhandlers. It is no longer possible to navigate through Santa Monica without being assaulted by the sights, stench, foul language and rage of drug addicts, alcoholics, untreated schizophrenics and miscreants of every ilk.
What is a mystery is that a government that is as intrusive as Santa Monica in regard to construction, signage, planters, liquor licenses and a myriad of supposed quality of life issues, and that has spent millions of dollars to beautify the city, neglects what can only be called a blight, which has defeated all their efforts. Not only does the existence of the huge homeless population sully the city, but as Malcolm Gladwell points out in his book, “The Tipping Point,” when a society overlooks petty crime and quality of life problems, it can produce an epidemic of both minor and major crimes. Santa Monica has been sending a message that antisocial behavior is acceptable.
Litter and graffiti have become a plague, and petty and major crimes are increasing. The police spend almost all their time dealing with homeless-related crimes and issues.
Santa Monica is a city that at times seems overly obsessed with safety, as was evidenced when a pedestrian was run down and killed in a crosswalk. The city council determined that it had to make the streets safe for pedestrians with a frenzy of proposals, despite the fact that the driver was 90 years old and likely had no business behind the wheel of a car. Yet this same city council has systematically ignored the danger inherent in a vagrant population filled with criminals and substance abusers. Recently a man in Santa Monica was stabbed after witnessing a transient attempting to steal his roommate’s car. Transients are responsible for sexual assaults on women and children, including one homeless man who raped four women over 75 years old.
Another panhandler fatally beat an 84-year-old woman to death when she refused to give him money.
Though most mentally ill people are harmless, even those that are seemingly benign can become dangerous. Mark Volpa Jr., who was deemed not to be a danger to himself and others by the psychiatric hospital that released him, shot and killed a 47-year-old deputy who was a father of two. Twice in the last year, I nearly ran over a disturbed Santa Monica woman who suddenly darted into traffic. She not only endangered her own life, but the lives of myself and any passing motorist that I might have hit when I swerved to avoid her.
What is ironic is that in their rush to compassion, Santa Monica has likely exacerbated the problems of the very people they are trying to help. The therapeutic community generally agrees that alcohol and drug abusers rarely seek help until they have hit bottom. This “tough love” approach cannot work if the abuser’s family and friends, or society, ignores or supports their destructive behavior. Santa Monica sends the message that substance abuse is acceptable. By taking away the need to find food and clothing, they leave the addicted with the greater financial resources to buy the drugs and alcohol that keeps them on the streets and destroys their lives. By preventing substance abusers from reaching a crisis, Santa Monica has become an enabler and precipitates a lifestyle that is little more than a slow, dehumanizing suicide.
In addition, by feeding, clothing and removing the stigma of addiction and homelessness, Santa Monica has attracted an inordinate share of the Los Angeles area’s transient population. I spoke with one Beverly Hills cop who told me that the day Santa Monica started feeding the homeless at City Hall, nearly their entire transient population packed up and moved west. This influx has not only overtaxed many of the city services such as the police and sanitation, but also totally overwhelmed the city’s already limited social services. The consequence is that rather than developing programs that could actually help the most needy, such as those suffering from mental illness, families and the elderly, the city’s resources are diverted into what is essentially outdoor warehousing of an indigent population that has far surpassed existing health and sanitation facilities.
Businesses are being negatively impacted and ultimately the entire economy of Santa Monica will suffer. The city council must deal with reality rather than a failed ideal. It is essential that Santa Monica pass laws that limit the number of homeless in the city and create programs that help and cure rather than enable their problems.
Ed Silverstein is a resident of Santa Monica.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 7, 2002. Read the original PDF.