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The homeless and the Occupy movement
Oct. 24th, 2011 09:58 amThis article explains what has been revealed by the Occupy movement that has been known by the homeless in this country for a long time. The laws are stacked against you fr even trying to do functions most of us do every day. Being homeless is not often something people chose to do. But cities everywhere have a homeless population. Some deal with it, like Los Angeles, where skid row is allowed to exist and rules do allow for people to sleep on the streets during certain hours. There are services available, and there is a sense of community. The exception is there is also crime, drugs, and various elements that prey on these people. In other cities, like Santa Ana, homelessness is a crime. You can't have a shelter (and the city doesn't allow shelters in the city), they just want the homeless people who are numerous, to just go away. They have made it hard for those who want to provide food, or medical care to provide services to the homeless. We need to face the fact that this economy is adding many more people each day to the homeless population. We need to realize that these people are people, with all the rights to dignity, and the right to live.
While I worked in Santa Ana, some mornings I would give away jackets, or sleeping bags and blankets I had had given to me, a little something to help these people cope, I could see there life was hell. I witnessed city parks personnel turning on sprinklers to drive the people off the grassy areas, and they did this without warning the people of their actions. Life as a homeless person in Santa Ana was not good. Recently I returned to Santa Ana and was shocked to see the homeless population had more than doubled. It is a problem and I was happy to hear the city had finally realized that they needed to address the problem, although the solution is somewhat half assed. They are opening the area around the stadium for feeding and other services and allowing some sleeping in areas under the grand stands, There are restrooms there, if the city does open them for use, and iti will solve the problem for those with sensitive eyes, as the homeless will be moved from view of their office windows and placed between a large parking structure and the stadium.
We need reform, we need to treat people with a bit more humanity. Homelessness isn't so far away from most people as many are just a few paychecks away from being on the street. Give when you can, don't worry what the person may spend the money on, just give. If you have extra clothing, that helps them on cold nights. Clean socks and underwear are like gold to a homeless person. So what if the person spends his money on alcohol or drugs, he's seeking an escape fron the misery he lives every day. You might do the same if you had to live under those conditions.
Posted on Dreamwidth
While I worked in Santa Ana, some mornings I would give away jackets, or sleeping bags and blankets I had had given to me, a little something to help these people cope, I could see there life was hell. I witnessed city parks personnel turning on sprinklers to drive the people off the grassy areas, and they did this without warning the people of their actions. Life as a homeless person in Santa Ana was not good. Recently I returned to Santa Ana and was shocked to see the homeless population had more than doubled. It is a problem and I was happy to hear the city had finally realized that they needed to address the problem, although the solution is somewhat half assed. They are opening the area around the stadium for feeding and other services and allowing some sleeping in areas under the grand stands, There are restrooms there, if the city does open them for use, and iti will solve the problem for those with sensitive eyes, as the homeless will be moved from view of their office windows and placed between a large parking structure and the stadium.
We need reform, we need to treat people with a bit more humanity. Homelessness isn't so far away from most people as many are just a few paychecks away from being on the street. Give when you can, don't worry what the person may spend the money on, just give. If you have extra clothing, that helps them on cold nights. Clean socks and underwear are like gold to a homeless person. So what if the person spends his money on alcohol or drugs, he's seeking an escape fron the misery he lives every day. You might do the same if you had to live under those conditions.
Posted on Dreamwidth
