By Charles Springer
I am writing this letter in response to the letter by Ms. Brennan (SMDP, June 23, page 4), regarding the park on Euclid being fenced off because of the homeless population overrunning it. I would like to ask this woman this question: Where do you propose we go? One of the problems we face in our community is the NIMBY attitude which keeps us in the parks and open spaces. How you ask, would that affect us? If this attitude, which is based on stereotypes of what the complete homeless community is all about, did not prevail there might be places for us to go. The sobering center, for example, would help immensely to get some of the population off of the drugs and alcohol by exposing those addicted to the 12-step programs and recovery homes. There would be buildings for more shelter beds for us to get off the streets and start our lives over again. All of these solutions have been blocked, in part, by the NIMBY attitude some of you possess. Well, the latest count of the homeless population in LA County is at 90,000 and I would say from my own observations there are more. And 1 to 2 percent of this population lives here in Santa Monica.
While I admit there is a prevailing drug and alcohol problem among the homeless community, this is but a symptom of the greater problem within society as a whole. Some of those within the homeless community do not come to the streets drug and alcohol addicted. They become addicted due to the pain of becoming homeless. They have been broken and self-medicate.
As for the problem of those addicted, alcohol is easily obtainable by anyone over 21, as for the drugs that infest the streets, they do not come from the streets as much as out of the neighborhoods to the streets. While there are street dealers, they do not get their drugs from the streets. The suppliers are in your neighborhoods and neighborhoods across Los Angeles. I have not even met a major supplier on the streets. They make too much money.
As for the urine and feces, well, the city has conveniently closed some of the restrooms around the city because some of the homeless community washes up in them. Yet, we are the ones who stink and smell. I admit there are those who are a nuisance. They are even a nuisance to the homeless community because they are the ones whom we are judged as being like by some of you. But to label and criticize the whole community as being like this is just as bad as saying all African- Americans and Latinos are gang members, or all those form the Middle East are terrorists, or all rich are snobs. These statements are not true for all within those communities. It seems to be the customary en vogue thing to do with the homeless community which is judging us all by the ones who are what you expect this community to be comprised of, instead of looking at the community as you would your own community. We are all human beings and we deserve to be treated as such.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2005. Read the original PDF.