Los Angeles finally about to crack down on homeless camps (Burbank: to live, law)

[V8 Vega]

I have noticed more of the filthy bums in my neighborhood in Sylmar than a little while ago. There were only a few until reciently. A neighbor said Cal Trans rousted them out from along the freeway and now their up amongst the decent people.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Your lead officer is lying to you or misinformed. Many times what cops term "help" is a print out with phone numbers for homeless shelters. I'm not making this up, I don't have a dog in this fight. I just get tired of LE lying to the public for whatever reason.

Not likely they're lying or misinformed. Here's a page with quite a few resources, many of them more comprehensive than just providing shelter:

Homeless Los Angeles California: Shelters and Resources

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

Not likely they're lying or misinformed. Here's a page with quite a few resources, many of them more comprehensive than just providing shelter

I was told once by a person who was homeless twice (but not in CA), that homeless person can always count on getting enough to eat from a food pantry or church. But getting into a shelter is totally another story, they are crowded and have long waiting lines.

I assume such is the case in CA, they are probably either are full, or want to charge some fee.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by Exitus Acta Probat

Not likely they're lying or misinformed. Here's a page with quite a few resources, many of them more comprehensive than just providing shelter:

Homeless Los Angeles California: Shelters and Resources

That's real nice, however:

"In Los Angeles, there are enough shelter beds for less than one-third of homeless people, the lowest percentage of any large city in the country. That leaves nearly 18,000 people — an increase of 18% in the last two years — to fend for themselves on the streets."

Stop punishing and start helping L.A.'s homeless - LA Times

[MItoBH]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Your lead officer is lying to you or misinformed. Many times what cops term "help" is a print out with phone numbers for homeless shelters. I'm not making this up, I don't have a dog in this fight. I just get tired of LE lying to the public for whatever reason.

It's a complex problem, the homeless aren't generally out there committing felonies so it's not reasonable to expect the problem to be 'fixed' by arresting them. That is a costly and time consuming venture with very little payback. LA county is spending 100 million a year on 'managing' the homeless, 87 million of that is spent on patrolling, arresting and mental health interventions (how's all that get tough on the homeless workin out for you? L.A. spends $100 million a year on homelessness, city report finds - LA Times

Are the homeless refusing assistance? I guess that depends. There are certainly some hard core homeless who are mentally ill and refuse help, but that's not the case for most people. Here's a story about one of them:
Lessons of the street - latimes

Salt Lake City has been able to house all but 178 of their chronic homeless population

Chronic homelessness in Utah down 91 percent under decade-long 'Housing First' initiative | Deseret News

The Shockingly Simple, Surprisingly Cost-Effective Way to End Homelessness | Mother Jones

Another thing to consider; when I worked with the homeless in Nevada a large number of them had lived in their cars before they ended up on the streets. In some cases their car broke down but in many others they lost their car from getting repeated tickets for illegal camping (sleeping in your car). Wouldn't it make more sense to find a big parking lot put in some porta-potties hire a private security guard and allow people to park there at night and sleep in their cars? Maybe LA could keep people with cars from ending up on the sidewalks by having a program like Santa Barbara's safe parking program: Mobile homes: Many 'hidden homeless' Americans living in vehicles | Al Jazeera America

Crikey! If LA County is spending $100 million on managing homelessness, it's failing miserably. What needs to happen is to have homelessness become straight up illegal! I do believe that a great majority of the homeless are mentally ill and we as a society have to help them, and to start, we need to get them off the street for their own good. Many other homeless people are indeed social outcasts whose own family don't want them. If homelessness were illegal, those people would have to participate in some sort of social program that helps them become self-sufficient and productive members of society. And for the hippie homeless, those who just love the FREE lifestyle of camping out in front of $4 million beachfront homes and doing drugs, they will have to reform their attitudes and behaviors and accept the initial help of residing in a communal home until they find a job - any job, to support themselves. Otherwise, if they love living outside and not following the rules of society, they need to make like Grizzly Adams and go into the wilderness somewhere.

A city, especially one the size of LA is not suppose to be a damn camp ground for life losers or poor schmucks down on their luck. They are fellow human beings and need to live like modern human beings. I'll be willing to pay more in taxes if that means I can walk down any street in LA and never, ever come across a homeless person, or someone begging for money. A civilized society should not have fellow citizens living out on the streets to do as they will. Wild dogs behave better than most of these people. Screw the "civil rights' of the homeless to be, um, homeless... sometimes the needs of the many override the needs/rights of the few, especially in the case when the help being offered is good for them. And like I said, if some homeless prefer to be homeless in the event it becomes illegal to be homeless in LA, then they should leave area.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by MItoBH

Crikey! If LA County is spending $100 million on managing homelessness, it's failing miserably. What needs to happen is to have homelessness become straight up illegal! I do believe that a great majority of the homeless are mentally ill and we as a society have to help them, and to start, we need to get them off the street for their own good. Many other homeless people are indeed social outcasts whose own family don't want them. If homelessness were illegal, those people would have to participate in some sort of social program that helps them become self-sufficient and productive members of society. And for the hippie homeless, those who just love the FREE lifestyle of camping out in front of $4 million beachfront homes and doing drugs, they will have to reform their attitudes and behaviors and accept the initial help of residing in a communal home until they find a job - any job, to support themselves. Otherwise, if they love living outside and not following the rules of society, they need to make like Grizzly Adams and go into the wilderness somewhere.

A city, especially one the size of LA is not suppose to be a damn camp ground for life losers or poor schmucks down on their luck. They are fellow human beings and need to live like modern human beings. I'll be willing to pay more in taxes if that means I can walk down any street in LA and never, ever come across a homeless person, or someone begging for money. A civilized society should not have fellow citizens living out on the streets to do as they will. Wild dogs behave better than most of these people. Screw the "civil rights' of the homeless to be, um, homeless... sometimes the needs of the many override the needs/rights of the few, especially in the case when the help being offered is good for them. And like I said, if some homeless prefer to be homeless in the event it becomes illegal to be homeless in LA, then they should leave area.

Did you even bother to read what I posted? Most of that $100 million is spent on law enforcement. Arresting the homeless doesn't solve the problem, it never has it never will. As far as your assumptions as to 'who' the homeless are, or 'why' they are homeless. You offer ZERO support for anything you say, so it ends up being just another baseless opinion, and unfortunately opinions don't fix this problem either.

Just one more thing..I'm really getting bored hearing about your "make like Grizzly Adams" solution. Where in the 'wilderness' would the homeless be allowed? Just name a few places in California where you can live without paying camping fees or having property rights. And don't claim BLM land because that is a max of 21 days with a permit.

[MItoBH]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

Did you even bother to read what I posted? Most of that $100 million is spent on law enforcement. Arresting the homeless doesn't solve the problem, it never has it never will. As far as your assumptions as to 'who' the homeless are, or 'why' they are homeless. You offer ZERO support for anything you say, so it ends up being just another baseless opinion, and unfortunately opinions don't fix this problem either.

Just one more thing..I'm really getting bored hearing about your "make like Grizzly Adams" solution. Where in the 'wilderness' would the homeless be allowed? Just name a few places in California where you can live without paying camping fees or having property rights. And don't claim BLM land because that is a max of 21 days with a permit.

Yeah I read it, and the money spent on law enforcement is going towards management of homeless people, don't you get it?

Since you're so quick to criticize my Grizzly Adams analogy (which is an accurate comparison), and you so empathize with the plight of the homeless, what in the hell is YOUR solution? Just another baseless opinion I reckon. It's people like you who want to kick the can down the street and act all high and mighty with your views of how things should be, or should remain.

[MordinSolus]

Originally Posted by V8 Vega

I have noticed more of the filthy bums in my neighborhood in Sylmar than a little while ago. There were only a few until reciently. A neighbor said Cal Trans rousted them out from along the freeway and now their up amongst the decent people.

What would you know about that?

[HyperionGap]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

What would you know about that?

I don't know any decent people that live in Sylmar.

[UKWildcat1981]

They actually had homeless people when I visited Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Westwood and other rich west side LA places which surprised me a bit, they need to start addressing mental health problems in the USA its really sad people get to that point of being homeless.