This is becoming such a frustrating issue. As an advocate of public spaces and parks, it's kind of heartbreaking that maybe 1/3 of public spaces in our town are no longer usable for all - they have more or less become private spaces for the homeless.<p>I don't have much respect for communities that solve the issue by just "kicking them out" and passing the problem onto others, but it is almost becoming unacceptably common in America.<p>It's a pity - this used to be a problem that was mostly solved by the private market. The rise of homelessness is almost equal to the decline of single occupancy housing (flophouses, chicken wire hotels, etc). But in our quest to eliminate slums and "bad neighborhoods" we ended up just spreading them across cities.
A lot of people who are homeless have mental health issues and are homeless due to those issues, it's almost like they need to be cared for in a mental health environment because being homeless isn't actually their problem.<p>A lot of people who are homeless have substance abuse issues, and are homeless due the those issues, it's almost like they need to be cared for in a substance abuse program because being homeless isn't actually their problem.<p>Once we whittle away the people who have issues that cause their homelessness other than just being homeless we can get to the people, who are either unemployed, under employed, or so debt ridden that they can't find a place to live.<p>This may be a coarse filter, but IMHO it's better than just shoving people into a "living space" and being done.
I've almost been hit by cars in SF for the exact same reason. Cities need to designate places for encampments to stop them from blocking sidewalks or disrupting residential areas. And they need to rapidly remove any that do block public access or disrupt residences.
This morning there was a tent on the 2/Santa Monica 101 off-ramp not just taking up the entire sidewalk but IN the street. I had to swerve to not hit it.
Larry Elder has a real chance of winning the Governor recall election at this point. I was going to ignore it as just opposition party flailings, but now that the opportunity is there its not so far fetched.
Side walks aren't for camps.<p>With mental health incarceration being voluntary in many states the segment of mentally ill homeless will always remain.<p>Even offering the nicest accommodations for all other segments you still have a big problem.
Why do homeless people in the US concentrate in a few big cities with good weather?<p>In Denmark there are fewer of them and they are more spread out and you can also find them in rural areas.
L.A., like most major US cities, does not harbor slums similar to those found abutted to some other major cities around the world. The growth of informal housing arrangements within public spaces, a la L.A. homeless encampments, maybe a reflection of this. Its possible that slums do indeed play a vital role in urban housing? Since slums have always been viewed a third-world thing, western policy makers may have neglect paying them due consideration.<p>Where Are The World’s Worst Slums?
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q67gldZ1P_8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q67gldZ1P_8</a>
With millions facing eviction, it is really sad that many people still see the homeless as needing drug counseling to fix their homelessness. It couldn't be that the cost of housing has skyrocketed and now in many places it costs upwards of $1500 a month for rent in a small apartment and the punishment for losing a job and falling behind on debt is having to pay even more for rent or just not being able to have a safe place to live. Makes you wonder if drugs is the cause of homelessness or if the way people treat those facing economic hardships often results in drug usage.
non paywall <a href="https://ktla.com/news/local-news/woman-struck-by-car-on-street-where-tents-were-blocking-sidewalk-is-suing-l-a/" rel="nofollow">https://ktla.com/news/local-news/woman-struck-by-car-on-stre...</a>
<i>Todd said she had gone to the overpass to distribute sandwiches, potato chips and water to people living at the freeway encampment.</i><p><i>Todd’s lawsuit accuses the city of allowing the encampment at the 101 overpass on Gower to remain for a “substantial amount of time,”</i><p>Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out?
As a non-American person living in the US, I fail to understand one thing about its society. When I walk around town I see tons and tons of places advertising jobs, for simple stuff like kitchen, moving stuff around, etc. I even recently saw a store with a "talk to the manager and start working right now" sign. And then I walk around the streets and see all these homeless. It seems like a paradox to me, but I am obviously missing some important detail here.<p>Of course I understand some drug addicts may not want a job or simply know they can't last more than a few days in one, but I would imagine a lot of these homeless people I see on the streets would actually like to have an income and be able to live anywhere that's not the streets. How do you reconcile that with the fact that there are so many simple jobs with open positions everywhere?<p>This is not supposed to be a sarcastic or politically loaded question. Where I come from, jobs are simply unavailable and at the moment you advertise it, even if it's just flipping burgers, there are lines and lines of people competing for it. I fail to understand why the US is so different. Anybody would please be able to point me at what I'm missing?<p>Edit: also, people who can't afford housing usually live with their families for a long time (or the whole life). Tiny houses with entire generations of families living in it are common. I guess this is still miles better than living in the streets.
Many Californians are struggling with the ultimate internal battle: Posturing about caring for the homeless while doing everything in their power to prevent housing from getting built. Because density "hurts the vibe of the neighborhood."<p>Outsiders make fun of California for being overly progressive, but it's entirely surface level. Most are conservative beyond performative actions.
None of this makes sense to me. In Fort Worth it is a misdemeanor to panhandle or sleep in a public space without a permit. As a result I almost never see homeless people, even downtown. Homeless encampments certainly don’t exist or if they do they are places far away from residences or roads. I know there are numbers indicating there are homeless about though, so they just aren’t visible in areas where people would walk, drive, or sightsee. This is the 12th largest city in the US.<p>On the other hand look to our neighbor to the south, Austin which is almost numerically identical. They appear to have homeless people everywhere that non homeless walk and do business. The difference is striking. I don’t understand why any city would allow homeless to congregate like this outside managed care.
> <i>Because of the encampment, you couldn’t walk on the sidewalk. You had to walk on the street,” she said.</i><p>Does not logically follow. LA is a big place; you can choose to walk completely elsewhere, unless someone is telling you to go the unsafe route at gunpoint.<p>> <i>she and another person, a homeless man with whom she was walking</i><p>So she is knows the blockaders. Effectively, her friends blocked the sidewalk, leading to the alleged problem and incident.<p>Wow, good friggin' luck with the suit, lady.