Gavin Newsom has doubled down on his failed policy of sweeps and criminalization as the state’s primary tactics for coping with homelessness. Late last month, California’s Governor called for the United States Supreme Court to overrule decisions that have protected homeless people’s rights to sleep in public spaces when no other options are available. Newsom wants legal authority to roust people from the only places they have to lay their heads.
“There are people literally outside my office here in Sacramento that we cannot legally help,” said Newsom in August. “These are insane rulings.”
Newsom’s definition of “legally help” founders on the hard reality that most sweeps of homeless encampments don’t really help. When there is help, it’s almost always in the form of a bed in a congregate shelter. Since there are far fewer shelter spaces than homeless people and available spaces often have prohibitive conditions, congregate shelters and real help are often mutually exclusive.
San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston said of Newsom’s claims,
“Sometimes we’re offering people a shelter bed at a mass congregate shelter where they can only be for a day and where they can’t bring their pets and can’t go in with their partner and their friend and where they have to leave a bunch of their stuff,” he said during an event last month. “They’re saying, like, actually, that’s worse than what we’ve got right here.”
In Stanislaus County and many other locations throughout the state, shelters are routinely full and sometimes have waiting lists. Even when shelter beds are available, restrictive prohibitions, communicative illnesses and the lack of privacy discourage people from wanting in. Those who do go in often have to stay in the shelter for months or even years as housing shortages prevent moving on.
Despite evidence that it doesn’t work, Governor Newsom’s default policy of sweeping homeless encampments and rousting sleepers has, with few exceptions, become the primary homeless management tactic throughout the state. Nonetheless, court rulings that homeless people have a right to safe ground for sleeping when reasonable options aren’t available represent the will of the majority in any civil society. Decent people don’t punish the ill and needy because they have nowhere to go.
In fact, current policies toward homelessness rise to levels of cruelty most any good citizen would find detestable. They’re tolerated only because homeless people have been objectified, dehumanized and depersonalized by toxic memes about “choosing” homelessness and preferring drugs and degeneracy to responsibility.
Most people have little to no exposure to the human beings who make up the homeless population. As a result of the constant stream of misinformation about who they are and what they need, homeless people are routinely dismissed as less than human.
It takes extensive experience among the homeless to begin to realize what has happened to them. Whether it’s a disabled person whose disability check doesn’t cover rental of a room or an elderly evictee with no close family to help out, the stories of the homeless encompass a wide range of lives broken by fortune and circumstance.
Yes, some — a statistical few — are bottom-feeding criminals with little conscience and less ambition. A great many more are mentally ill or disabled. Still others have become living statistics to the hard facts of housing shortages, rising rents and static wages. Others are birds who have fallen from the nest.
Alan Davis in Modesto I
One such fallen bird was the late Alan Davis. Davis haunted the streets of Modesto for over two years. He showed up outside a local hospital in 2017 or 2018. He’d been sent there from Sacramento to have a leg amputated.
Those who got to know him learned that at some time early on, Alan had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. He’d been homeless in Sacramento for almost thirty years. It’s very likely he was also developmentally disabled, though after almost three decades on the streets, it was impossible to tell how much of his disability was innate and how much determined by life on the hard ground.
Once in Modesto, Alan survived mostly on the kindness of strangers who gave him food and small change. Not long after he was found downtown, the late Randy Limburg began a campaign to get Alan help. Though he was an employed outreach worker, Limburg was constantly frustrated by the red tape and lack of facilities that kept Alan stranded.
Alan got a few months relief in 2019*, when he was taken to the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES), which the City of Modesto had been forced to provide when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that homeless people have a right to sleep in public places if no other shelter is available — that’s the ruling Gavin Newsom seeks to overturn.
At MOES, Alan was part of a community that watched out for him and others of the most vulnerable homeless population. He had close access to the few services available. He was able to stay clean. Randy Limburg got him a bed. A local nurse periodically cleaned and wrapped his one good leg.
When MOES was shut down early in 2020, Alan went into Stanislaus County’s low barrier shelter. It wasn’t long before he was back on the streets.
Randy Limburg and volunteers like Frank Ploof searched for Alan after he left the shelter. They often found him near his usual haunts in downtown Modesto. They returned him to the shelter from time to time, but he preferred downtown. His condition deteriorated. Then a few weeks passed when Alan couldn’t be found anywhere.
Alan Davis in Modesto II
The next time Frank Ploof saw him, Alan was back downtown, near 10th and J streets. His remaining leg had been amputated; he didn’t know why. He appeared to be in more pain than ever. Ploof got him back to the shelter, but Alan left shortly thereafter.
Back on the streets, Alan became weaker. He was frequently found soiled by his own waste. Despite his best efforts, Randy Limburg couldn’t find help. Frank Ploof got Alan a shower in Dean Dodd’s Shower Shuttle as often as he could, but Alan was hard to find and difficult to get into vehicles. When asked how he was doing, Alan always said he was fine. His face registered agony.
Over time, as Alan moved back and forth downtown, he became living evidence of our ongoing failure to recognize the humanitarian crisis posed by people who can’t take care of themselves and can’t even find a place to rest.
It will be said that Alan could have gone into the shelter; for various reasons, he preferred the streets. There are many like him. It was likely that the tent he had at MOES was all he really wanted and needed, especially since he was among a community of peers who watched out for him.
As his pain and misery intensified, Alan’s face became a tablet upon which were inscribed the manifold cruelties of a society that could manage to cut off his legs but was somehow unable to provide an acceptable place to lay his head.
After Alan spent several more months back on the streets, Randy Limburg finally found him a room in a board and care home. He died shortly thereafter. Though details are sketchy, it’s likely he fell out of his wheelchair and suffered a fatal head injury.
For those few who knew him, mostly volunteers and the people who gave him food, drink and spare change, Alan Davis was a quiet little man who long ago found himself adrift on the sidewalk, most likely without fully comprehending why.
He was labeled with the usual terms — beggar, vagrant, transient, bum, druggie — and thus reduced to a negative abstraction, deprived of humanity. For the majority of Modesto residents, however, Alan Davis never even existed. He was, for them, out of sight and out of mind, his condition as a fellow human in tortured distress wholly unacknowledged.
Gavin Newsom would have the law deny Alan Davis the brief rest and respite he found at the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter and other public places he might have been permitted to lay his head. Governor Newsom is wrong.
Law is intended to promote civilization and humanitarian values. When it becomes a bludgeon against the poor, the disabled, the bereft and endangered, it serves the dark side of human potential by enabling cruelty and suppressing compassion and kindness. When indifference and disregard for the poor promote cruel policy, the poor become victims of the darkest aspects of human nature.
The tortured existence of Alan Davis was the kind of thing almost none of us would allow or even tolerate as individuals — but under the cover of local and state policy, with its anonymity, distance and indifference, we too often endorse acts of cruelty. This is in large part because we’ve objectified the poorest among us as something less than human..
Instead of sweeping homeless camps, we should be establishing and managing them. Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis. Civilized societies don’t punish disabled people by denying them a place to sleep. Civilized societies help those who need help.
*An earlier version showed this date as 2018; thanks to a reader for the correction.
I too have been homeless for 40 some years and then I got placed into a nursing facility. I know how hard it is on the streets and the red tape is ridiculous if they helped us more and they can’t miss that we lived anywhere we could and let us stay there until we got permanent housing it would be much easier for us. We wouldn’t feel so unhuman. All any of us really want is just some respect and consideration and the elders just want to be left alone to do as they can until God takes us so instead of looking down on us maybe help lift us up. I pray everyday for all my homeless people out there thank you Kimberly Page
That’s the saddest story I’ve ever read…
Yes it is but for way too many it’s a sad reality!! I have gotten to know many homeless and no they are not all addicted to drugs !! Many just literally cant find an affordable living condition!! Disability is not enough to keep a roof over you head!!
Amen Sister. Been there,homeless on the street for 3 years .
Homeless people only need somewhere to lay their head and keep their belongings safe not to worry about people coming and sweeping their stuff away it’s inhumane to do that to any person cuz everything they have is all they have
I 100% agree with you!! Why not work with them give them some trash bags and a broom and ask them to keep their area clean!! I bet they will do that if given the chance and tools needed!!
I agree with Crystal. Almost everyone has the ability to do something in return for the benefits provided to them. Even as Crystal said, give them a trash bag and ask that they at least keep their area clean in return. Some do take pride in there small area, but most do not.
I agree there are some people that don’t know how to live in society and instead of trying to teach them people throw things at them and talk shit to make them feel bigger and better than. Sometimes it’s not about only money or food or shoes or drugs or any material things I think that some times people should try reading the book a little clearer and than judging it a wise man once told me to listen to the message not the messanger .
Im 62 years old, spent 3 years being g homeless 9 months on street and over 2 years 3 months in 1 shelter but got bared for life when my physical pain got so bad I tried to kill myself off shelter property. Spent 3 more months on the street
Then orange police got me into Buena park Mercy House shter where I stayed for 25 months no help with a housing voucher it was the worse experience of my life there in tried 3 or 4 more times to kill myself. Mercy House degrades disabled and mentally disabled people
They serve food mot fit for animals. They steal the residents personal property, they steal donations ment for resident, they dehumanize, discriminate, and just don’t give a damn about anything but a pay check. I after 15 Months there my Doctor told me I had 3 months to live, I told him I did not want to die in a shelter. He got me a housing voucher in 2 weeks, granted it took me 4 more months to find and have housing pass inspection. Before getting a apartment. I have not yet passed dr.s can’tell when your going to die. There not God, only he knows when it your time to go. I had less stuff stolen and felt safer on streets then in the shelter . Mercy House treat mentally and physically disabled like less then human less then trash!! I also got it worse because I am openly gay!!
I believed these people o e chance for a job and place but head. We in America need take stand for the poor. Helping them instead all your complaints.
Gavin GRUESOME strikes again, & he thinks that he’s Vice President ial material? Heaven help us all!!!
Duplicate what Eugene, Oregon and other Northwest cities are doing. Managed micro shelter enclaves that have more flexibility than institutional shelters. There’s also a filter quality as each enclave can serve specific needs and lower the risk of conflict. Community Supported Shelter in Eugene has been doing it for years and Stanislaus County still can’t get moving.
This is a great read. I plan to post it on social media so others can read it. Thank you for your heart. I am appalled at how poorly street people, homeless people, the working poor, and under housed people are treated and judged. I’m trying to reconcile the benefits being offered to migrants and illegal people and the cruelty directed towards the aforementioned marginalized population.
Please name those benefits you are talking about.
Food, shelter, medical services. It all depends upon the county you live in.
I have to second this though You mentioned about the assistance given to illegals and more so, my personal recent discovery where we are literally handing over thousands of dollars at a time including housing to people who are running from their own country and seek citizenship here secondary to them claiming asylum. Why is there not some sort of asylum clause for life for our homeless people? I really couldn’t believe that we pay a supposedly justifiable monthly amount to incoming Afghans for instance, which included a housing stipend amount that completely blew my mind. It was more than any person in the Bay Area could afford and I’m not certain why they are given such a regard… What is it? We’re trying to prove to them while we do our own citizens. Such a disservice of disregard in the same areas? I happen to discover this information while reading a news article about an Afghan family with a total family of four, two adults, two children and they were initially upset because they were put into a two bedroom home. They stated that it was not enough for them that their children each needed their own bedroom. These were same sex, children when you’re apart and in the ages of 5 and 6 years old. Are they not grateful that they have a roof over their head? Apparently not. This family also stated that the monthly living a lotment they were being given which was in the upwards of 1200 and something dollars without food because that was given to them separately and it’s substantial amounts with their living stipend, , was also not enough to sustain their needs because the gentleman was still seeking work and had not yet acquired himself a viable position. I’m sorry but a family of four should be just fine on $1,200 a month for incidentals. What exactly do they do with their time that requires so much? I have less than $20 a month for my incidentals. Where do I sign up for this nonsense? I found through this article, the offered information in the international rescue committees website, which just basically describes a little bit about what they do and somewhat gives a breakdown on what allowances or provided to immigrants who are here under various circumstances. While as a whole, I found the international rescue communities website to be quite informational, I was still left a little bit bothered by the fact that these immigrants are being treated better than those of us who live here. And I don’t understand why a handout is given to them that is substantially more than anything given to our own residents who are under general assistance. If they are considering a living wage benefit for incidentals to be around 400$ per person per month, assuming you have a covered food and housing benefit already, why is it that people on general assistance are given a measly amount less than $200 and they consider that something that is supposed to help them? That’s without housing or anything else. Anything else. The system is set up to fail those of us who actually need it in dire circumstances, the reasons why people get to those circumstances should not be anybody else’s business. Quite frankly. There are very few who choose to live in a degregated society situation, and even more of them who would just like to know where to get the benefits that are eligible for them to apply, and allow them to do so. So. It amazes me that our country does not have a system setup and more in place than what we have now. It’s sad and shows the total human disregard going on. It’s hard to place blame on any single person, but ultimately the amount of inhumane practice is going on at the current state are disturbing. The fact that they do these sudden raises of encampments is disgusting. I wonder when any of them would feel like if they came home and all of their belongings were gone? And there was no true reason why when nobody was being bothered by anybody else. Per se. Campgrounds are a very common thing. Is it too hard to delegate some unused land to a free campsite? For those in need, what would it actually take to maintain volunteers? Perhaps? How about using the people in the encampment themselves to run their system? Seems that they know best what it is they need and if they’re off on their own area where they choose to be and they’re not bothering anybody else. What’s the crime in that? And what exactly is that costing any of us? but what is it that is benefiting them? To me that’s a very simple quick fix and I bet there’s somebody out there that has excess land in abundance that they’d be willing to perhaps donate a percentage of to start this cause. Go private with it and just do it somebody lol. If I had the land I would in a heartbeat because I’m one who stands up for the little guy. I will pull anybody up the ladder with me who wants to come, but I know there’s not a lot like that. The judgment needs to be dropped as a whole, and people need to understand that circumstance is not always a choice. I am a educated person who was raised in a very well established situation at home with guidelines and expectations that we knew not to falter on. I had a good job working for the county and had a situational circumstance applied to me which left me homeless. I was already a survivor of a criminal assault, repeated, and have never been involved in any type of illegal activities or Been in any type of legal trouble. When I found myself with nowhere to go due to circumstances to be on my control it was a very scary thought. I had a daughter who was young and multiple pets. The thought of having to do what my child stay with her father. Who was the perpetrator in my assaults with all I could handle. I was too embarrassed to go to family because they are very judgmental and wouldn’t understand my situation. Plus I didn’t even understand my situation at the time as it was a blindsiding circumstance. Being with a second partner who was dealing with mental health issues at the time was not in my favor. I spent numerous days living in my vehicle with my cats, and my dogs were with friends for a short period of time. Life was incredibly hard and ultimately it is a bureaucracy of red tape when you look for services. In some ways I feel like I still live up against the bureaucracy of red tape with the issues I’m dealing with 12 years later, and mine all originated with one horrible supervisor in Contra Costa county health Services department who literally felt it her place to turn my world upside down. I will probably never see justice for what she caused me but it never takes away from my efforts in humanitarianism and regard for those less fortunate by circumstance. This article was very moving and also very disturbing at the same time. In the end, I just want to say thank you for sharing and I hope it is a pivotal catalyst for those who generally aren’t thinking too much about the less fortunate. Everybody might need help sometimes, just because your job is great and your life is fantastic right now and doesn’t mean it will be that way tomorrow. , I am a living proof statistic of that, And thats my sole reason for disliking judgemental people who are too quick to make malicious comments of disregard to another. Good luck to all seeking solace and prosperity.
I have a 43 year old son who lives on the streets. He has no where to sleep. He’s always out in the elements and gets harassed by police so he has to keep moving. There are not enough shelters for these people to go to. Mental health issues are a lot of the problem. We need programs for these people to be able to get off drugs and become productive in society. I don’t know what has to happen so more of these people can become a contribution to society. My son feels like he should just kill himself because he doesn’t know what to do to get better.
Why can’t you take your son in?
Why isn’t he living with you?
My son was on the streets drug addicted. Then the family took him to Adult teen Challenge and now he is recovered, has an apartment and working. He attributes this to the Christ-centered rehab.
Why isn’t your homeless son living with you? Is it because he is mentally ill and you yourself are unable to take care of him? Or is it because he is an embarrassment to have around? Why do families expect society to take care of their castoffs when the families themselves are part of “society”?
Why don’t you let your son stay with you an show him encouragement so he’ll be encouraged to do better especially if you know where he is at an what he is going through I’m 43 and I’ve been in his shoes want to kill myself knowing your trying to do good but don’t even have family that cares enough to get you out of the elements or assumes your always doing drugs just cause you did in the past. Alot of times this leads people back to doing drugs or to have a criminal record cause being messed with by cops or dead cause of depression cause they feel like not one person gives a crap about them to at least give them a place to sleep ……., especially family!!!!! Just a lil something to think about
Eric Caine…your story is a beautiful and compassionate telling of a disenfranchised human being that rings true for many people in our Country. This is especially true for people in California since our major State Hospitals were closed by Gov. Reagan. A person like Alan, years ago, would have been provided shelter and medical/psychological help in those hospitals. Yes, the public taxes would have to pay for the hospitals, but look at what we have now! Hundreds of homeless living in makeshift conditions on the streets with no real help. It’s a travesty! Undoubtedly, more will end up on the streets and in parks before too long because of low wages, our current economic situation, credit card exposure and layoffs. Until the California government makes a turnaround, for the good of its people, more heartache (and complaints by ignorant citizens) will increase in the near future. I intend to post this.
Very well said dear Sir, thank you.
It is just awful the way the city can not find a way to ameliorate some of this pain the homeless are suffering. It seems to me this is a California crisis. There has to be some fair negotiation to strike a deal between these people. We all know there is a great monetary divide between the poor and rich. The gov. throws money at charitable programs but their CEOs strain the budget with their ritzy needs and destroy the progress. CEOs are paid almost five or six times what professors got in college thirty years ago. That is the problem. Houses and rents are ostentatious. The people at the top have been selected by a lit of police who threw the poor off welfare and their social security and made them criminally homeless. Ethel Hays AA/BA. ( Abraham Lincoln Family).
You can’t know the story of the homeless person or people until you treat them like people. My boyfriend and I lived amongst the homeless for 5 years as advocates.
A lot of homeless people are homeless because of circumstances beyond their control. I really appreciate this story, because it’s reality and told in a way that people can understand .
Thank You for knowing and posting this. I became homeless in literally in an instant, due to circumstances beyond my control …and once you are without a home you get labeled, judged and treated like your trash. I was able to keep myself clean and in clothes bc for several a months in the a beggining of my time on the street. I lived in a town
that has a campground with showers about $1.25 for a hot water shower. But I had to be very careful to not get caught by the park ranger, its a state owned campground in California.but that didn’t last forever due to several factors, running out of money, no transportation .etc .I would hear “why dont you just get a job”… well, that sounds like a good idea but can you tell me how and where I can sleep before going into my company saw nd where and how can they reach me . Where and how can i charge my cell phone bcuz any outlets outside, the city went around and covered them up so no homelessperson could charge there phone, and most gas stations and restaurants would not let you use there bathroom “”it out of order”” so where can I use a bathroom if all the bathrooms are “out of order” and people that are not homeless dont know this and wonder why people are pooping outside. where can I eat? No where to store or refrigerate any groceries, no where to prepare anything so I will spend what little money I have on some fast food. Oh I did buy a loaf of bread and pb&J now I have more stuff to carry and not squish the bread. And another thing how am I going to get up at a specific time my cell phone is out of charge. So now WTF,…. Its a terrible place to be for most people.
I agree with Newsome. We have a big problem and the current policies have been ineffective.
We don’t do enough for the homeless regardless of what led them to be homeless.
I have no words that can say it as well as it has been said. I have a person who is homeless, she is like family to me, but she chose drugs and homelessness over a home. I worry about her everyday. So whether or not they choose to be or it was chosen for them, most of them have a form of mental illness and we should treat them as humans as they are. We treat our pets better.
Although the majority of the homeless population are in California, My thoughts have always been its time to step up and all homeless persons that possibly can and who are able-bodied to take more control of our situation and band together and register to vote!!!! You see we feel the humiliation that comes officers and program directors
The horrible inflection that these so called shelters put you through, is beyond most persons imagination
No- one who yells there are shelters have no idea what danger lies inside of them. No state dept
Regulates shelters, and there polices. You feel like at least outside you can run away or maybe seek help or protection. When ur on the street you can’t leaves the little Belongings unattended to do a full day’s work, either the police and/ or a thieves will take what you have. San Bernardino, CA. Never gave a sh-,t about what the judges ruling are or were! The city uses all of the allocated homeless funds to pay workers to up-root and arrest homeless persons for loitering, trespassing, or vagrants! Scooping all your belongings, walkers and personal items(I.D,purses, wallet ,food) then tell you oh well , get your homeless ass somewhere else or maybe just die! Again it’s time to band together and vote for persons who understand the struggle, people who understand homeless people can’t bust into dust and blow away, but we can take a stand and show unity among situation and hire officials that can help fix the problem not talk about the problem.
LYNN,
I ask that readers glance over Eric Caine’s post and community comments more than once. We do not always have time or need time to mull over in our minds an appropriate reply to something read. Just as my reply to your comment comes possibly too late to be noticed by you, I am willing to take a chance that you see this.
I think you have excellent ideas on how to proceed forward. Voting out the wrong fit by voting in the righteous are vital for any city and county to steer in the correct direction. Keep priming that pump. Let us hear from you more, K?
I absolutely get what you mean when pointing out these officers and program directors. Add to the list, to include city managers and mayor’s, etc. Modesto’s spokesman is missing heart.
I understand the danger that lurks inside most shelters. Where do they come up with these people? Temperaments are scoring towards the I, S, T, J, side of the Myers-Briggs temperament scale, as opposed to the I or E, N, F, P. side. Research: Myers-Brigg, if you have not yet.
Voting out and in is a slow, drawn out process, though vitally important. In the meantime, have you considered looking into locating support to legally form a land trust? First do your research into various forms of land trusts, then locate a free or close to free knowledgeable attorney and perhaps a certified tax consultant. How could you set it up to legally to be able to have numerous unhoused ppl live there, who can take partial ownership to equal out costs. How could it be formed with the least government intrusion, if any?
Did you ever think a time would come when people would be placed under arrest simply for existing, because they are too broke to afford land, taxes, and, obey building regulations?
Check out what Salt + Light, in Visalia and/or Goshen are doing. Click on linked sites they are affiliated with. Gov. Newsom, has put up funding toward purchase of housing for the unhoused. Read over all sites, even in Texas, and, watch videos, all have info you won’t want to miss. Take notes.
When Gov. Newsom was disappointed with cities who came up with bland ideas for what they can do for the unhoused among us, he had to have been comparing and contrasting what groups such as Salt + Light are doing. There are many more exciting pilot programs happening outside of Modesto. Do not wait on Modesto to catch up. They are way behind on everything, especially on anything for the unhoused. You know!
Great article about homelessness in Modesto, CA, as always. Hopefully our politicians downtown will have the time to read your article, City and County. And maybe with help from our state representative, they can agree on a solution for this crisis. Enough with excuses. It’s time to find a solution. Show us you are worth our vote! 20 Billion dollars in five years for homelessness and there is nothing to show for it in California. Putting 50 people every year into a new housing project, isn’t a solution. Seems to me politicians don’t want a solution to this crisis because it is a money maker. By the way, this is the only issue Gavin Newsom ran on, fixing the homeless crisis. Now Newsom wants to outlaw, the only law that kinda protects the homeless.
It is becoming very apparent that Newsom does not care about people, even children. I won’t vote for him again.
Great point! There are new bureaucratic departments in California Counties; departments of homelessness. Is this where the government money for the homeless finds a home? I am developing a nonprofit to provide homes for elder homeless people. My county of residence does not provide any sort of support for this homeless population. Support for homeless families with children is where they stop caring.
Newsom has turned this state into a shithole!!! The guy has no brains and wouldn’t give two shits about the homeless if they weren’t camped outside his office. Look at San Francisco, businesses are packing up and leaving and the community is singing a different tune after the homeless took over.
They say they want to be treated like humans, Well act like one. A dog or cat won’t go to the bathroom infront of a business on the sidewalk.
Some do need a hand up but most want a hand out, everything handed to them and they don’t want rules to obey like everyone else. That’s why they’re homeless. They don’t want structure, they want to do whatever they want with no rules to follow… what a joke you people are. In my day the bums (homeless people) didn’t want attention drawn to themselves and they bought you beer. Nobody bothered them and they didn’t bother us.
All they do now is leave huge messes for others to clean up in town, completely destroy the river bottoms and ruin recreational areas that are meant for family’s… Family’s that paid taxes and tax money was used to create those areas.
They cost us millions in resources and tax dollars and it only gets worst.
The laws aren’t enforced when it comes to them but for people with anything going for them we get the shaft and are held responsible if we break any laws.
I feel descimitated against because I have a job so I get held to the full extent of the law. Meanwhile they do whatever the hell they want with no repercussions.
If you think differently go to Santa cruise boardwalk with your family. For that matter go anywhere downtown of along the river for a family outting and tell me how safe you feel.
Ah, another person(?), Like Newsom, who couldn’t survive one week as a true homeless person. Most likely be dead in a day.
It’s hard to live anymore even if you have a job we are all a pay check away from being homeless I live with 8people on a 2bedroom duplex because rent is out of control plus electricity I use too have my own 3hrs room in a nice neighborhood 800.0 no we’re paying 1700.00 for a 2bedroom slum house and that was a great story I worked cleaning parking lots I was around the homeless a lot some of them are really nice most of them they would help us we would bring shoes to this guy who did nt have any at all they are human beings and need to be treated that way it’s not newsman’s fault either I don’t no what the answers are even with a lot of money everyone needs to come up with a solution that makes everyone happy. Our shelter lets you keep your dog with you I wish I new the answers newsman Jo’s getting a lot of pressure so he’s lashing out but rent needs to get stable no one’s buying houses because they are so high I make 17.00 and hr and have another nite job we’re I get 1950 a month and 2400 for the landscaping and I still can’t pay rent by myself or with a partner , I wish everyone happiness I. This mean cruel world and be kind to each other and everyone being homeless isn’t a choice everytime I had a house fire me my mom and my z2sond and boyfriend were all homeless for a few months it was the worst time in my life , and I never want to be I. That position again needless to stay my mom worked at the prison at the time I had a job my son had a job my boyfriend had a job and we were still homeless. ,but now my sons a truck driver and my other son is a 911 operator it made them humble and they understand humanity and treat the homeless well they aren’t buns ,or skum they are people that are down on thier luck that’s all I have to say stay safe and keep the peace e everyone
“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
-Mohandas Gandhi
Your date on M.O.E.S. is incorrect. It opened Fed 2019. I was there and remember when Alan first came. His tent was a few tents from mine.
M.O.E.S. was a good way to help the ones that wouldn’t confirm to the cookie cutter that society tried to force the long time homeless into. Too bad they had to shut it down.
Since California has great weather, we attract a lot of homeless folks …California an afford to build tiny homes, and maybe require the able people to contribute by doing city jobs ..and clean up the highways or other chores ….no able person should just be given a Free Ride …some of them might be drug addicts and need help …or mentally disabled ..we need more compassion for these folks ..this is just a reality that we must give more attention to.
A very bitter-sweet story: Bitter because of our cold and callous systems and sweet because of memories relived about the time I was able to spend with Alan.
Alan was a man that displayed an immense tolerance to pain and suffering, both emotionally and physically that is easily visible in the many pictures shown here.
Behind that pain was a kind and gentle human being, let us all not forget that! Alan will live on with me as an example of a great human being in crisis.
NASCAR MARK:
To quote you, “In my day the bums (homeless people) didn’t want attention drawn to themselves and they bought you beer. Nobody bothered them and they didn’t bother us.”
Your day has come and gone. The only constant is that nowadays, they still do not want to be bothered, YET they are bothered, very much so. Now it is viewed as a disgrace for people to be homeless. So, they bother back even if their intention is not to. Who owns the problem? Those who view them as a disgrace are the problem. Those who are viewed a disgrace are burdened with others’ view.
To guote you, “They say they want to be treated like humans, Well act like one. A dog or cat won’t go to the bathroom infront of a business on the sidewalk.”
In your day there were bathrooms that could be used, if you had enough to buy a beer they were welcome to use the public rest room, or, there were often toilet doors that opened with a few dimes placed in coin slots, no questions asked. If they could not afford a beer, cup of coffee, or a few dimes, they were plumb out of luck. Not that luck had anything to do with it. I doubt you knew many homeless, especially ones capable of buying you a beer, until the month ran out.
Now adays, there exists what is known as planned engineered environments, such as sparse, to no, access to toilets and clean running water, for the public. Homeless or not.
While on the subject of acting human, let’s be frank with one another: how human is it to know there exists hundreds and thousands of the public who are camped out in public with no where to run to in a hurry to use a toilet and wash their hands? We are all familiar with the human feeling that can suddenly come upon us that we have no choice but to evacuate our bowels or empty our bladders. We cannot get any more human than that can we? I doubt a human exists that has not soiled or trickled urine in his or her pants, at some point in time, once out of diapers. When one has to go, one has to go, right? Some would jokingly say that proves we are all human.
Perhaps there exists some symbolic justice to relieving oneself right smack on the sidewalk, in front of a business, or not. Or, is it poetic justice? Especially, if that business has a toilet that is witheld
To quote you, “Newsom has turned this state into a shithole!!! The guy has no brains and wouldn’t give two shits about the homeless if they weren’t camped outside his office. Look at San Francisco, businesses are packing up and leaving and the community is singing a different tune after the homeless took over.”
Have the homeless truly took over? Or have the majority not been offered a sanitary place to do their own business, a safe place to rest out of the public eye? Where is it safe for all of the unhoused to congregate without calling attention to themselves? You tell us.
How human have the local government, civic organizations, & churches acted in haste to assist these human beings to a place known as “SAFE GROUND” for them?
The unhoused are your siblings, your parents, your parents’ parents, your children, and, YES, your babies. Due to the lack of enough housing and landlords who will choose to close up shop rather than maintain their rentals, expect many more to be forced into the public streets and parks, while those who are fully capable of making all the difference, chose to meet, year. after year, to flap their lips, and, scratch their heads, to little or no avail.
We need to change what is foul about Capitalism, that alone will clear up our nostrils from the foul air in the gutters and walkways. We must change our selfish, self-centered opinions and attitudes with lightening speed, or else, more of the same, and, worse, IS coming.
May God Almighty renew our minds and soften our hearts toward our fellow humans. We are all in this together, in one way or in another. No one escapes unphased. We are at the point of reckoning.
The social engineers have had their time to play at managing society. They have served to make things worse by serving themselves. A certain amount of wealth must be redistributed amongst the whole. We must appoint ourselves experts over corporations, and, governments, and, unelected officials. We must best control the purse strings.
In the meantime, bless the poor, even if that means rounding up the drug addicted and mentally compromised, for their own good. Giving into their own self-afflicting harmful behaviors is not humane. Neither is it humane to force them to all live together in a single encampment. The able minded must be allowed their own Safe Ground, in order for it to be Safe. The mentally challenged must be allowed what it will take for their Ground to be Safe. I am inclined to agree with the latest thinking that psychiatric drugs are seldom the answer, BUT, more harm than good. The addicted must be allowed what they need to assure no illicit drugs, including alcohol, are available, PLUS, Numero uno, a Safe Place to detox, without drama, imposed on them immediately. No opting out. I hear mixed messages about how Newsom’s Care Court will operate. Sluggishly I can presume. Neither they nor we have time left.
Their are organizations such as Delancy Street, Teen Challenge, Homeboy Industries, and, others, who have succeeded in turning lives around for the betterment of them selves and society. Let’s reach out to these groups to learn, enough of this reinventing the wheel. Not only do they take on drug addicts and hardcore criminals, such as gang members at Homeboy’s, some have started their own businesses from scratch, in which to train and employ men and women to establish lifestyles that give back to society. For hope, you can easily locate these groups online
Last I knew, Delancy Street holds trainings for people with interest in obtaining some knowhow in setting up their own way of reaching out to otherwise throwaway groups, of whom most society would otherwise write off. If there is a will, there is a way. I hear, ALL things ARE possible!
Homeboys’ has books easily obtainable, on Amazon, for instance, and the latest book is written by a business executive who got involved more recently in the operations. He is currently putting the idea out in front of investors to spend money on turning lives around, while, turning a profit at the same time.
It turns out, society’s outcasts are not REALLY expendable, try as some of us may want to believe.
First thing: I love your name. I say this because I believe “THE ROOTS MATTER”: meaning getting to the ROOT of homelessness is the only way to solve it. Each situation and individual is UNIQUE. By understanding the individual and their unique situation, their needs can be evaluated.
Severe mental issues: Medication.
Druggie: Perhaps by getting to the ROOT, the CAUSE of their addiction, they will CHOOSE to be sober. MOST druggies use drugs to deal with pain, (either emotional or physical).
I agree with the kind hearted, HUMAN way of handling this.
The red tape just to get into housing is crazy!
After being shuffled, and losing everything many times, most dont even have ID.
No money to get one at DMV.
EVEN IF you had the money to get ID, you need documents to prove identity.
No safe place to have these mailed to you.
These documents cost, also.
No safe place to leave your things to go to DMV.
How about simple things we ALL take for granted, like having a good night rest, being comfy, safe, dry, warm, have a full, happy belly, without fears of police raids, fears of being sexually assaulted, or all your things stolen, a close, clean place to shit, shower, shave, clean clothes…
I think a roof, to bring people back to the “ROOT” is first step to getting ANYWHERE with this issue.
The Governor says his plan will help build trust with homeless and get mentally ill people help?!!!
HOW? After You uproot them from a spot they feel safe, steal and trash everything that is everything to them, separate them from pets and partners and peers that they are banding with to try to survive?!!! VERY FEW will accept help.
Many would choose to get help, if their basic HUMAN DIGNITY AND RIGHTS weren’t at issue. (That list of things we ALL take for granted!)
Then case workers can develope TRUSTING bonds and understand each INDIVIDUAL’s needs. Maybe make a Homeless not Hopeless Bucket list of things they NEED/WANT to accomplish to bring them back to the “ROOTS” & what “MATTERS”, and be productive.
If it’s health, go to medical and get help, or surgery, or meds.
Mental: go to psychologist, therapist, counselor, get diagnosed PROPERLY, and on meds, or behavioral therapy or both.
Set goals, help them stay focused, encourage them…..
ISHI:
INDIVIDUAL SOLUTIONS FOR HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS….
Someone mentioned handing them a broom and bag, or having them contribute to running, cooking, cleaning…. YES! Giving them a purpose, a meaning, a reason….
Sorry, I’ve rambled enough.
True Blue Eyes:
ISHI, because we ARE each unique, no one wants to be glanced over…
Thank you!