Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) ordered state agencies to remove homeless encampments across the state. The order grew out of a recent Supreme Court decision that made it possible for cities to enforce an "anti-camping ban" on the homeless, which gives cities the option of forcing the homeless to take the shelter offered by the city.
Some cities, like San Francisco, embraced the new order as Mayor London Breed has ordered an "aggressive" push to get the homeless off the streets.
But some cities are defying Newsom's order. Los Angeles has about 75,000 people living on its streets. And as far as the city is concerned, trying to remove them is cruel and inhumane.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution opposing Newsom's crackdown on tent encampments.
“Some things,” said Supervisor Hilda Solis, who co-wrote the motion, “are better deliberated at the local level.”
“Being homeless is not a crime, and we will maintain our focus on criminal behavior rather than an individual’s status,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
I can't wait for him to start focusing on any criminal behavior.
Homelessness is not a one-size-fits-all problem. But the state has spent $24 billion on homelessness over the past five years, according to a recent audit. How many houses could that money have built if it wasn't spent on bureaucratic BS and whack-a-doodle ideas? L.A. County and others resisting Newsom's order had the money and squandered it. Why not try something a little more realistic?
Supervisor Kathryn Barger called the notion of issuing tickets to homeless people “ludicrous” and counterintuitive to the work that agencies have already done to establish trust with the community. “I support the county approach that is focused so heavily on compassionate outreach paired with effective solutions,” Ms. Barger said.
Barger talks as if "effective solutions" actually exist in the real world and aren't the figment of her overactive imagination.
"Compassionate outreach" might make people like Barger feel good about themselves. But it's not working. I'll repeat that for the dullards in the "compassionate outreach" community of whack-a-doos.
It's not working, exclamation point, full stop.
“We don’t see adequate delivery of mental health services or drug rehabilitation services,” said Carolyn Jordan, a resident of Brentwood, an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood. “We’re concerned that you are ignoring potential tools that would protect our public space.”
They aren't ignoring drug rehab and simple mental health actions like making sure people take their meds. They're just not very sexy. And in the game of government funding, sexy definitely outsells the obvious and mundane.
“I want to be clear, we are all frustrated with encampments that block sidewalks and the RVs that line our roads,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath. “No one thinks that any of this is acceptable.”
Well, it's been going on for several decades. If it's not "acceptable," what are they still doing there?
As for San Francisco, Breed is locked into what appears to be a tight race for re-election against businessman Mark Farrell and philanthropist Daniel Lurie. Her lurch to the right on issues like drugs, homelessness, and quality of life issues has been shocking. It's an open question whether it will do her any good come November.
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