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Are Cities Passing These Laws to Unfairly Target the Poor & Homeless?

Oct. 8, 2012 7:05am

COSTA MESA, Calif. (TheBlaze/AP) — Army veteran Don Matyja was getting by alright on the streets of this city tucked in Southern California suburbia until he got ticketed for smoking in the park. Matyja, who has been homeless since he was evicted nearly two years ago, had trouble paying the fine and getting to court — and now a $25 penalty has ballooned to $600.

The ticket is just one of myriad new challenges facing Matyja and others living on the streets in Orange County, where a number of cities have recently passed ordinances that ban everything from smoking in the park to sleeping in cars to leaning bikes against trees in a region better known for its beaches than its 30,000 homeless people.

Are Cities Enacting Laws That Unfairly Target the Homeless?

In this photo taken Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, a homeless woman rests under a shade tree as children play at Lions park in Costa Mesa, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Cities have long struggled with how to deal with the homeless, but the new ordinances here echo what homeless advocates say is a rash of regulations nationwide as municipalities grapple with how to address those living on their streets within the constraints of ever-tightening budgets. The rules may go unnoticed by most, but the homeless say they are a thinly veiled attempt to push them out of one city and into another by criminalizing the daily activities they cannot avoid.

There’s been a sharp uptick in the past year in the number of cities passing ordinances against doing things on public property such as sitting, lying down, sleeping, standing in a public street, loitering, public urination, jaywalking and panhandling, said Neil Donovan, the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.

“It definitely is more pervasive and it is more adversarial. I think in the past we found examples of it but it’s not simply just growing, but it’s growing in its severity and in its targeted approach to America’s un-housed,” said Donovan, who compared it to a civil rights issue.

“There’s the whole notion of driving while black. Well, this is sitting while homeless.”

Are Cities Enacting Laws That Unfairly Target the Homeless?

In this photo taken Oct. 6, 2012, Don Matyja, a homeless Army veteran poses for a picture with his dog Tyson at Lions park in Costa Mesa, Calif. The posh California coastal town recently passed a law banning patrons from lounging on furniture in its public libraries, having poor personal hygiene or emitting an odor bothers others. The ordinances are the latest in a rash of law-making in Orange County cities that some see as thinly veiled attacks on the homeless. But lawmakers defend the policies as necessary to ensure safety, protect public property and guarantee access to communal spaces.Credit: AP

Denver earlier this year voted to make urban camping illegal despite protests from homeless activists. Philadelphia banned feedings in public parks in June but the ordinance was put on hold the following month after homeless groups sued the city. And there’s a new curfew for pets that help their owners beg on the Las Vegas Strip.

Matyja, in Costa Mesa, has gotten multiple tickets for smoking in the park where he camps out since the law took effect earlier this year.

“When I was in the military, I’m golden. When I was working, I was golden. When I’m not working and I’m out here, I’m a piece of garbage as far as these people are concerned,” said Matyja, 50, as he walked past a row of neatly manicured lawns on a sweltering day. “They figure if they don’t see you, then the problem don’t exist and then they can say, `We don’t have a homeless problem.’”

The Newport Beach Public Library, nestled in a coastal city better known for its surfing and miles of wide beaches, recently updated a policy that says staff can evict someone for having poor hygiene or a strong aroma. The policy also bans lounging on library furniture and creates strict limits about parking shopping carts, bikes and “other wheeled conveyances” outside the premises.

Library Services Director Cynthia Cowell insists the policy isn’t aimed at the homeless, but the action has nonetheless stirred anger among homeless advocates.

“They become very clever about it and try to blanket it because they say “strong aroma” could be perfume also, but in the end it’s an attempt to keep people out of where the neighborhood and community folks feel uncomfortable,” said Scott Mather, director of Haven, a program for Orange County’s chronically homeless.

Are Cities Enacting Laws That Unfairly Target the Homeless?

In this photo taken Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012, homeless people rest under shade trees at Lions park in Costa Mesa, Calif. The posh California coastal town recently passed a law banning patrons from lounging on furniture in its public libraries, having poor personal hygiene or emitting an odor bothers others. Credit: AP

Some cities have seen a legal backlash as homeless advocacy groups sue. Last week, the homeless in Sacramento got checks ranging from $400 to $750 apiece to settle a class-action lawsuit brought after police destroyed property seized during cleanup operations. In a similar case, a federal appeals court ruled last month that the city of Los Angeles cannot seize property left temporarily unattended on sidewalks by homeless residents.

For cities struggling with large homeless populations, the solution involves walking a tightrope between complaints from the voting public and the possibility of a lawsuit.

In Costa Mesa, a city of about 110,000 tucked between south Orange County’s famous beaches and the tourist mecca of Disneyland, officials have been trying to figure out what to do about a homeless population of about 1,200 people, including up to 120 chronically homeless with severe mental illness or substance abuse issues.

Residents routinely complain about the homeless in Lions Park, a large green space in the city’s downtown that is home to the library, a recreation center and a community swimming pool. The city has received calls about people masturbating and urinating outside the library’s windows, taking baths in the park’s fountain and leering at children who attend classes at the rec center, said Rick Francis, the city’s assistant chief executive officer.

On a recent day, dozens of homeless individuals lounged in the park on blankets or sat near bikes piled high with plastic bags, bedrolls, sleeping bags and, in one instance, a full-sized suitcase that dangled from the handlebars. A man who appeared to be intoxicated panhandled outside the library, asking passersby for cigarettes.

Are Cities Enacting Laws That Unfairly Target the Homeless?

In this photo taken Oct. 6, 2012, Don Matyja, a homeless Army veteran walks his dog Tyson at Lions park in Costa Mesa, Calif. Credit: AP

Another man listening to a portable radio said he’d been released from prison earlier in the week and had nowhere else to go.

“We get a lot of complaints from residents who feel like, `Hey, here’s a municipal resource that we’re fearful to even use because we don’t want our kids playing in a park where they have to step over homeless people and all their possessions,’” Francis said.

“Look, we’re not asking all you guys to leave but we want to be able to come to the park and enjoy it without the blight of stacks and stacks and stacks of property laying around, without the issues of human waste being scattered about, those types of things.”

Costa Mesa formed a homeless task force last spring and came up with a “carrot and stick approach,” said Muriel Ullman, the city’s housing consultant.

The city hopes to build more affordable housing using federal grant money and county resources and has hired a mental health worker to connect with the chronically homeless. It has also partnered with local churches to set up a storage facility where the homeless can keep their belongings to avoid having them confiscated, Ullman said.

But Costa Mesa has also passed a slate of new ordinances, including bans on parking a bike anywhere but on a city bike rack, smoking in the park and sleeping in the park after dark, she said. The city also spent $60,000 to tear down a gazebo that attracted large numbers of homeless people, asked churches to stop soup kitchens there and hired two rangers to patrol the park.

The mayor last week stoked anger by calling soup kitchens nuisances and asking the city to investigate some decades-old charities there.

Critics say that Costa Mesa is “just trying to get rid of our homeless, but what we’re trying to do is help those who want help and if somebody doesn’t want help – and they have refused help on numerous occasions – we want the courts to deal with them,” Ullman said.

Homeless advocates who have watched the ordinances roll out in Costa Mesa and other, neighboring, cities aren’t so sure.

The high cost of living in Orange County, coupled with a severe shortage of affordable housing and lack of shelter space, make it impossible for many homeless people to get back on their feet, said Bob Murphy, general manager of the local nonprofit American Family Housing. Most wind up migrating from city to city to avoid trouble, he said.

In Costa Mesa, a recent city report found a shortage of more than 1,000 transitional shelter beds for the city’s population alone.

“These are people. It’s not like you can go out with a dog catcher and scoop them up and put them somewhere else,” Murphy said. “They have no place to go.”

In the past, TheBlaze has covered other efforts by various cities to prevent citizens from feeding and helping the poor.

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Comments (64)

1 2
  • freedomofspeech
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:09pm

    Just say I’m with OWS then they get a free ride.

    Report this comment

    freedomofspeech  
  • Owt_Raged
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:06pm

    The city should quit spending money trying to control this problem. What they need to do is repeal ordinances that make it difficult for charities to help them. Let the churches and the soup kitchens do their jobs unhindered by the city. Let them actually help these people.
    But stop spending tax dollars and time trying to control them. They will always be around.
    If you want a true change, make it illegal for people to give them cash. Have people give them vouchers for the soup kitchens and church services. Let’s get the care of people back where it belongs. Back to the people and away from the government.

    Report this comment

    Owt_Raged  
    • acidovorax
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 4:57pm

      You were doing great until you said this: “If you want a true change, make it illegal for people to give them cash.”

      This is just more control by the State. If I wish to give them cash, I have that right and the State should not interfere.

      Report this comment

      acidovorax  
  • normalmom
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 1:28pm

    Here they banned panhandlers in certain areas. There were all sorts of traffic problems. One thing I know is there are ones who aren’t homeless and panhandle anyway and come in at about $800 a week. Always be leary about those sitting saying they need help. Offer food if they don’t accept that more than likely it is a lie.

    Report this comment

    normalmom  
  • txannie
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:28am

    How about a job? Any job? In my case, it was 3 part-time jobs to pay rent and feed my family until a good job was found and cultivated into a career. I cleaned houses and offices, I picked veggies and fruit, I bagged groceries…whatever it took to make a buck. And I didn’t spend it on booze or cigarettes or dog food for a pet I couldn’t afford. There are jobs and places to rent, you just need to look and be willing to work and not sit around in the park complianing. I guess if you went to the middle east you counld count on those countries taking good care of you while you sat and complained…not much sympathy here. If you have time to stand with your hand out begging you have time to scrub someone’s floor for an honest paycheck.

    Report this comment

    txannie  
    • needawhitepresident
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 1:28pm

      I’ve been homeless and know what I’m talking about. One of the biggest problems when a person becomes homeless is the difficulty of staying clean, looking respectable.

      How’s a man to shave and get a haircut without money? How is a person to wash their clothes when they have no access to a washer and dryer, or even laundry soap? Homeless people don’t have the luxury of a bed – they sleep on the dirty ground and they’re clothes are easily dirtied and wrinkled.

      They have skills but who will hire them?

      Where can a person get a simple shower?! Ask yourself, if you had to begin living on the streets day after day, beginning right now, where would you take a shower? Where? How would you stay clean and look respectable? Stop by your friend’s house? Well, your friend is going to get sick and tired of that real quick. Then what will you do? Being homeless is not easy. Being homeless, broke and unemployed is even more difficult.

      If the library doesn’t like people who stink, perhaps the city should consider creating a place where the homeless can wash and dry their clothes and bedding and get a shower – for FREE. Try treating them with the respect they deserve as HUMAN BEINGS. Kicking a man when he’s down makes YOU the disgusting one. Give him a hand up and become a better person yourself.

      And consider providing homeless people with a free bus ticket to wherever they want to go as long as its more than 200 miles away.

      Stop complaining, start understanding and s

      needawhitepresident  
    • digitalist
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:49pm

      @needawhitepresident

      Your ridiculous. Free anything is not the answer. Free only allows those with nothing to get comfortable with nothing. Anyone with any knowledge of the world around them knows that one can get a shower and wash their clothes at any truck stop for a couple of bucks – in most case less than 5$ – which is less than an hour of panhandling from what I’ve seen in my own city. Motivation, gumption, and determination are the things that allow men to overcome their situation, not a handout.

      “The best social program is a job.” ~ Ronald Reagan

      Oh, and road crews hire “walk on” laborers all the time, and they don’t care what you smell like so long as you can use a shovel or pick. Stop making excuses and start finding solutions.

      Report this comment

      digitalist  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:18pm

      @texasannie- digitallist
      Things don’t work the way you think they do.Go to a truck stop to take a shower?Its thirty miles outside town where I live.No way to get there.Anyway you would still need a shower ticket.[A trucker may let you holler for one though].Contrary to popular belief most homeless are truly homeless.They don’t just go skipping into a car and drive off.
      Can’t afford a dog? great you obviously made that choice before you became homeless.The homeless don’t abandon their pets simply because of their living conditions.Not only was the dog a companion before homelessness it still is.Its also a form of protection.
      Work on road construction.Not in my area you won’t.They go through temp agencies for day laborers.
      I don’t expect free anything for them,most of them don’t either.What I ask and what all of you others should be asking is this?Why the hell have we removed all the means to prevent homelessness?We have removed all the answers to self sufficiency.We used to have rooming houses,we had public baths exc.No instead we have sorry ass holier than though freaks that want to remove every self help measure so that they can beg from the government.

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:23pm

      Not all of them have the health to do so.They also many times don’t have the health and energy to panhandle either.Its called falling down through the cracks.Hope you never have a health problem or some sob to make it worse.Oh who am I kidding I hope like hell that you do.I hope you lose everything and in the most horrible way possible.That is what should happen to those like you.Freaking know it alls can’t wait for you to find out yourself the hard way.

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
  • JimCS
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:04am

    “When I was in the military, I’m golden. When I was working, I was golden. When I‘m not working and I’m out here, I’m a piece of garbage as far as these people are concerned.†Herein lies the issue. Perhaps, to another person, you have innate value because you are funny, or smart, or interesting. But to society, you are valuable based on what you contribute. Society is a group of people bound by conventions. When you do not share or contribute to those conventions, you lack value. It’s not that you are “garbage” per se…. It’s that you bring nothing to the table. Get a job and begin to contribute again.

    Report this comment

    JimCS  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:27pm

      You are part of the problem.The point is he has contributed.He needs help to become a contributing member again.Then again I see you are another one who thinks that only those who produce an income count.How about your wife?Got one?Does she work and if not is she a freeloader too?

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
    • normalmom
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 4:17pm

      objective, that is rude just because a wife doesn’t work doesn’t mean she or if roles are reversed the husband. I decided to go back to work part time cause I was bored and we are not getting assistance. Don’t go and make other halves of relationships feel like crap cause they stay home.

      Report this comment

      normalmom  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 11, 2012 at 9:56am

      @normalmom
      Sorry I didn’t mean to be rude to you or the rest of the posters.It wasn’t my imtention to make you feel bad about any choice you made.I meant to be rude to him.I meant it as a wake up call to his ridiculous perception that people are only worth the money they bring in.Its a type of tunnel vision that if not stopped ,though ,will be shown to his wife ,if he has one.It shows a shallowness on his part even if that isn’t what he meant.

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
  • Thornyrose13
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:12am

    This is a problem that has existed for decades, and transcends both parties. At one time, many homeless could(and should) have been put in institutions. Now it is much more difficult to lock up the mentally ill for any length of time. Meantime, you have several catogories of homeless Those who cannot function well enough to hold a job, those who have slipped down the economic ladder and can’t get hold of a rung, and those who simply prefer to live that way.
    The question becomes, how do you help those who really want help? Cities don’t tend to encourage the type of housing these people might be able to be moved into. Only a few organizations offer ways for these people to get back into the mainstream.
    And some of those rules are an insult to all of us. No sitting in a park? No leaning on a tree? No smoking? I don’t care where he gets his cigs, that rule hurts everyone. pee in the park, sure, illegal. But chasing away homeless is only a temporary solution. Whoever figures out how to truly solve this issue is the one who deserves the peace prize.

    Report this comment

    Thornyrose13  
    • Mil-Dot
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:45am

      I will tell you in a nutshell how to fix it. Quit giving them ANYTHING. And, do not accept their “lifestyle” as being legitimate. No free money, food, or shelter-NOTHING. That will fix it. They either straighten up and fly right or they perish. That simple.

      Report this comment

      Mil-Dot  
    • digitalist
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 2:51pm

      Mil-Dot is absolutely right. Natural selection works, unfortunately we have too many pandering hippies in office to let those at the bottom suffer the consequences of their own decisions.

      Report this comment

      digitalist  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:31pm

      Those of you think that homelessness is a completely self created situation need to grow up.While there are a few.Most of the time its a series of events that lead to it.Many not in the homeless persons ability to control.Or at least in the timeframe needed to prevent homelessness.

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
    • acidovorax
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 5:19pm

      “At one time, many homeless could(and should) have been put in institutions. Now it is much more difficult to lock up the mentally ill for any length of time.”

      If a person has not violated the rights of others, what compelling reason should we incarcerate them? Because they act “funny”? Cause they don’t hold a job?

      Report this comment

      acidovorax  
    • Deuteronomy22
      Posted on October 9, 2012 at 4:13am

      Amazing. I read the replies in one article and all the posts are from Christians claiming Jesus as their salvation and then read these and the message is exactly opposite of Jesus Christ’s message to help the poor. Other times I will read about death panels and people arguing that every life is a gift from God and should be preserved.
      Have any of you hateful bigots ever heard of charity? Have you no compassion?

      Report this comment

      Deuteronomy22  
  • ShyLow
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:07am

    The solution to the homeless problem, is to build inexpensive condos and sell not rent the rooms. If only government would get out of the way and some compassionate contractors would step-up to the plate.
    A room the size of a nice hotel room,fully furnished could be built under 10 grand.The greed these days is sickening, renting one-bedroom apartments for $500.00 a month is evil and one of the main reasons for Americas downfall.

    Report this comment

    ShyLow  
  • usafaux102
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:52am

    While it is disturbing that the powers that be seem to be comming down extra hard on the homeless, it must be noted that there are limits to what the homless can be allowed to do without infringing on the rights of others. I hope we can reach a reasonable state of affairs on this issue. One thing I would say would likely help would be to loosen/remove most of he regulations restricting private parties/charities from helping the needy. Another great idea wuld be to get the economy booming again an provide opportunities for those who want them. Bottom line is this, unless you are prepared to execute truly helpless and indigent people,and I for one am not, we MUST provide some way to house and care for them. It is just the “cost of doing business” as they say. For those who are able bodied and able minded yet refuse the best opportunities offerd, they should be warehoused in shelters that are not the greatest place to be,making them uncomfortable in their choices. Truly HELPLESS/mentally/physically incapable people should get the best care we can provide.

    Report this comment

    usafaux102  
  • RIGS
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:51am

    If you are truly homeless go to nancy pelosi’s house or vineyard to live and rest or to barbra boxers home also since they care so much for the middle and lower class citizens,They will feed you etc. they won’t try to have you removed.

    Report this comment

    RIGS  
  • DWilliams08
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:34am

    I’d like a better definition of ‘veteran’. Someone who serves a 2 year hitch and works admin at an air force base at 18 is technically a veteran. It doesn’t preclude you from ever getting a job and taking care of yourself. The reason the American population is so in awe of the word veteran is, unlike generations before us, 90% of the citizenship has never done a damn thing to serve their country.

    Report this comment

    DWilliams08  
    • Conservative2
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 3:41pm

      I too am a Veteran, V Nam era. There are two items wrong with your analogy, the term veteran, yes it hold a significance. I don’t hold any anger against it’s supposed overuse, to be called one, one has to of served their country, ie military service.

      Since you point out that over 90% have never served in the military, any branch, then the term Veteran does hold quite significance of value, at least this person felt some kind of loyalty to serve his country.

      Next your point of 2 year term as an administrative person doesn’t have value if your only 18, check the previous paragraph above. It take all the Jobs of the Military to make those wheels spin. With out that person you might not get enough ammunition for that weapon when timing is critical.

      Two year commitments are just as important as the four year, currently only the Army is offering two year enlistments for certain jobs only.

      Personally I’d like to see our Draft back, every citizen needs to serve their country in the Military, either Active or Reserves, all our citizens need some skin in the game. Then we’d all be allot carefuller backing these wars with out full out war commitment by our politicians.

      Report this comment

      Conservative2  
  • jungle J
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:32am

    Give them an institution.

    Report this comment

    jungle J  
    • ShyLow
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:18am

      Central planners to the left of me, self-rightous to my right.
      Why can’t anyone think of a solution that involves BASIC AFFORDABILITY

      Report this comment

      ShyLow  
    • Mil-Dot
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:47am

      More giveaways huh? More free stuff for the bums right? Yeah, that will solve the problem-Pffft…

      Report this comment

      Mil-Dot  
  • objectivetruth
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:25am

    No you will rarely see a leech let go easily.The government agencies see a dollar sign every time a homeless person disgraces their doorstep.Its a bloody racket and one that the government goons don’t want to let go of.If they didn’t then why all the stupid laws directed at them.It just causes fines the homeless can’t pay and just makes their life even harder.Its nothing but massive control of the most evil kind.Protecting their rackets.Its the name fo the game.

    Report this comment

    objectivetruth  
  • noslave
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:15am

    just remembered THE OWS CREW??if he had crapped on a police car,broke windows and looted for what he wants??the democrats especially pelosi,etc.would hail him as a hero of the revolution??

    Report this comment

    noslave  
  • Landfill
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:09am

    The taxpayers will pay for the homeless problem, one way or the other. Often times, homelessness is directly related to being jailed for minor offenses, losing the ability to be employed and being assessed court fines and costs beyond the ability of the homeless person to pay. They are re-arrested for failure to appear, driving without a license, DUI, public intoxication, unpaid child support, unpaid fines, etc. and the cycle begins again. The taxpayers will be paying for the homeless problem indefinitely unless the system chooses a “final solution” to execute them all as human garbage which is how they are viewed anyway. If all the self-righteous were to consider how close they themselves are to that fate, there might be found a better solution.

    I remember the historic arguments that the mentally ill and addicted do not belong in public institutions. That was considered a cruel and inhuman solution. Right now, they just end up in and out of jail. What do you call this present approach?

    Report this comment

    Landfill  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:30am

      Yeah I agree with you.On all accounts.Too bad that the self rightous can’t seem to see it,Well I can pray that they find themselves in the same situation.I hope their self rightous attitude bites them in the azz.

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
    • txannie
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 11:32am

      Ummm….kind of like we are going to have to buy medical insurance or pay a fine….Tell me, if you can’t afford to pay medical insurance premiums how are you going to be able to pay for the fine for not paying your premiums….Get the big gov out of our lives and let the free market fix itself. Could be painful, but it will cull the herd.

      Report this comment

      txannie  
  • noslave
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:00am

    i think the liberals who tell us how loveing toward their fellow man they are??, compared to conservatives,should “crap or get off the pot already?” gov moonbeam?, should be the first to offer room in his house?use HIS MONEY FOR A CHANGE?they always seem to have “DEEP POCKETS AND SHORT ARMS?”when it comes to spending their own money??what really get me is SHAKEING DOWN ,FOR MONEY, PEOPLE DOWN ON THEIR LUCK??yet in california they can blow $40,000 a plate dinners for obamas re-election??,also about liberal creeping communisms goal?? it was originally to stop smokeing in CROWDED ELEVATORS??my how that has expanded??i guess they always start with small steps so you dont see the whole picture??

    Report this comment

    noslave  
  • Landfill
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:53am

    This is Obama’s America. There were not supposed to be homeless under this pharaoh of redistribution. Obama wants to send $450 million to Egypt. Why not help the homeless?

    Obama holds $30,000-dollar-a-plate fundraisers in Hollywood. He should take the money and buy hots and cots for the California homeless just a stone’s throw away from the lavish parties.

    Liberals always ignore and step over the reclining homeless on their way to parties where they wine and dine with wealthy friends.

    Report this comment

    Landfill  
  • diskinetic
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:49am

    Why was he evicted? Why not move to a smaller outlying town and get a job/apartment? Why keep and care for a dog when you haven’t even provided a roof for yourself. Homelessness is a word that disguises a suite of decisions that these people make to maintain their chosen lifestyle, but the community that provides the parks and streets has the reasonable assumption that they will be used by productive people with homes. And for the truly indigent, there are shelters, programs, churches, etc.

    Report this comment

    diskinetic  
    • loriann12
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:00am

      Well, moving is expensive. And changing apartments is expensive, too. You usually have to have last month’s and this month’s rent plus sometimes a security deposit. I had to move in a weekend once because the house I rented had a gas leak in every joint in the house…moved to a smaller apartment and had to come up with all three (2 months rent and a security deposit).

      BUT, that said, why is he still smoking? How does he afford that?

      Report this comment

      loriann12  
    • Wango
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:36am

      Yes, why not stop the bad things happening to you and have good things happen to you? That’s Mitt’s plan, too. It’s so obvious.

      Report this comment

      Wango  
  • nurseheidi
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:37am

    It is becoming more if a problem in my city as well. If people are truly down on their luck, none of us begrudge giving them a hand up. However, many have psych and drug issues and refuse to comply with meds or treatment programs. The rest of us should not have to deal with the public health issues and devaluation of property values. Not sure what the answer is but know making people comfortable in their poverty isn’t the answer.

    Report this comment

    nurseheidi  
    • The_Jerk
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:45am

      End welfare.

      Report this comment

      The_Jerk  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:19am

      This is a misperception that perpetuates the problem.Once a pun a time you may have been right.What is fueling homelessness is true working poverty.Its cities that have their visions of the future.Richmond VA even calls it that.Part of the plans for these cities is to remove all rooming houses.Its unsightly its unseemly exc.This act in itself cases a rise in the homeless population .
      Many times it becomes illegal to rent a room in your home as well.Many do so anyway.Their tenent has no recourse.They live at the whims of their landlord.[Creating working mans poverty]
      The concept that the homeless are mentally ill or addicts are also fueling the problem.There is money to be made by federal and state agencies by doctoring the results.Fraud coercion forced drugging.Its all a money maker for the feds and state.It doesn’[t help the homeless and in fact hurts it.Then you have the same agencies telling people not to give money to the homeless.They can’t stand the fact that the homeless actually have money to take care of their own needs.They want you to give to them so that they can redistribute it to themselves all the while leaving the homeless homeless.Stop and think if there isn’t a problem anymore their money dries up.
      Enter the churches.Many of them saw what I just described to you.They have actually tried to help.This is why its being made rough on them,They are competing with the leeches.Ever see a leech let go easily?Continued

      Report this comment

      objectivetruth  
  • RGB
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:26am

    Most major cities have unused beds in homeless centers run by church groups. Problem is the homeless would rather live on the street than give up their booze.

    Report this comment

    RGB  
  • swkimbl
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:52am

    Notice that most of the regulations aginst the homeless are in dominant tolorant libral parts of the country.

    Report this comment

    swkimbl  
  • ThePostman
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:44am

    If you are smoking, drinking, have a pet, and/or doing drugs, you are not homeless, you are a hobo.

    And cities should not have public spaces if ALL of the public cannot use them. This problem is created by government seizing tax dollars and then using it for frivolous purposes.

    Report this comment

    ThePostman  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:44am

    “getting by alright”? He’s homeless!

    Report this comment

    Gonzo  
    • diskinetic
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:50am

      Bang. That perception alone is worth a million words.

      Report this comment

      diskinetic  
    • Wango
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 9:37am

      Here’s another . . . “lounged in the park on blankets”

      Report this comment

      Wango  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 10:53am

      Wango, in Obama’s America, living in a park is “getting by alright†LMFAO

      Report this comment

      Gonzo  
  • Cataclysm
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:22am

    But the left loves the poor… we need to feed them, give them Obama phones, give them housing, and many other things that the poor in most countries don’t have.

    Just they can’t be in our back yards…. Along with those wind turbines

    Report this comment

    Cataclysm  
    • The_Jerk
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:44am

      Can not have street people live where they choose. There must be order.

      Report this comment

      The_Jerk  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:19am

    Again we see the crafting of Marxist policies; push people away that are deemed worthless, useless and non-productive. All too soon, if Obama has his way, he will have them ‘disappear’ once and for all.

    Report this comment

    Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Magyar
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:30am

      Preceptive again…. Yes, the tolerant left— eugenists all!

      Report this comment

      Magyar  
    • RJJinGadsden
      Posted on October 8, 2012 at 8:00am

      MAGYAR, Just wait a short time. If any of this hits the LSM, they will naturally fail to mention the names of the locations such as Denver, Dem Mayor, Dem heavy city council. The media will start casually pointing fingers at conservatives. I do remember the media blaming the woes of the homeless on Reagan, Bush 41, but only a little with Bush 43. There was so much other stuff to blame on him. But, the media is ubber quiet when a Dem is in the White House. It took Rush and some other talk radio shows to let us know how the homeless were being rounded up and shifted to certain parts of cities when visited by Clinton, so they did not show in photos and video. Now, its just rampant, and being done still by the Dem-wits as usual.

      Report this comment

      RJJinGadsden  
  • Leadthemtothelight
    Posted on October 8, 2012 at 7:15am

    The results of 4 years wasted at the hands of a marxist. More poverty…More debt…More destruction of the American people.

    Report this comment

    Leadthemtothelight  
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