Thursday, November 16, 2006
Can Government Solve the Homeless Problem?
As the new kid on the block, I am still coming to grips with the range of issues confronting the Skid Row community. It seems every day a new twist on human depravity occurs in this neighborhood. Hospital patient dumping, shootings, stabbings, teens attacking teens, police abuse or lack of police presence, sleeping, standing, sitting and that most natural of human needs being deposited on the sidewalk! How does a reasonable person make sense out of any of it? Why not go back to watching reality TV. After all, what woman wouldn’t like a rose from an Italian prince or someone to pimp their ride!
I see well intentioned public officials attempting to address the issues. Some such as Councilwoman Jan Perry (whose district includes Skid Row) approach the issue from a personal human perspective and seek changes through legal means. Some see the problem as simply the lack of a real roof over someone’s head. Still others say it’s just a lack of jobs. Others see the extremes of neglect due to mental or physical illness without resources for treatment.
At the Los Angeles Mission we believe the issue really is all of these things and the solution is as complex as the individuals we deal with every day. Our best efforts start with a sense of dignity for the individual. A core value is that all persons are created in God’s image and we have a moral obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
We fulfill our mission in three primary ways. First, we attempt to share God’s love by conveying that God cares for each of us. We do this by providing for the physical needs of our guests providing for emergency services to those in need.
Second, we address those issues of education and jobs that many of the homeless have missed in their development. We work with Belmont Learning Center and others to provide a GED or other needed academics. We also work with employers to provide on-the-job-training and we provide in-house work time to teach structure, accountability and skills development.
Third, we offer limited transitional housing where people can get back on their feet financially and are able to reenter the community with a changed life, a job and the ability to sustain a life off the streets.
And that’s not all. In a future post I’ll examine this topic more.
--Herb Smith, President
I see well intentioned public officials attempting to address the issues. Some such as Councilwoman Jan Perry (whose district includes Skid Row) approach the issue from a personal human perspective and seek changes through legal means. Some see the problem as simply the lack of a real roof over someone’s head. Still others say it’s just a lack of jobs. Others see the extremes of neglect due to mental or physical illness without resources for treatment.
At the Los Angeles Mission we believe the issue really is all of these things and the solution is as complex as the individuals we deal with every day. Our best efforts start with a sense of dignity for the individual. A core value is that all persons are created in God’s image and we have a moral obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.
We fulfill our mission in three primary ways. First, we attempt to share God’s love by conveying that God cares for each of us. We do this by providing for the physical needs of our guests providing for emergency services to those in need.
Second, we address those issues of education and jobs that many of the homeless have missed in their development. We work with Belmont Learning Center and others to provide a GED or other needed academics. We also work with employers to provide on-the-job-training and we provide in-house work time to teach structure, accountability and skills development.
Third, we offer limited transitional housing where people can get back on their feet financially and are able to reenter the community with a changed life, a job and the ability to sustain a life off the streets.
And that’s not all. In a future post I’ll examine this topic more.
--Herb Smith, President
