In the article As Homeless Line Up for Food, Los Angeles Weighs Restrictions written by Adam Nagourney writes about the problems with giving free food to the homeless and the collateral damage they have to deal with afterwards. The Los Angeles City Council's only solution is to ban the feeding of homeless people in public spaces or restrict the amount of food given to them. After 27 years of giving food to the homeless by the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition to give the unfortunate ones food to keep them from starving to death. Somehow Its decided its not right because of the two calls from two Los Angeles City Council members to banned them from giving food to the homeless.
The article is biased towards the comfort of people who has money and power in the society. In one paragraph of the article, an actor says, "If you give out free food on the street with no other services to deal with the collateral damage, you get hundreds of people beginning to squat" then he goes on saying how his neighborhood is looking more like a mental ward. How can an actor call the unfortunate one's mental when their just trying to survive? I can understand the frustration but its not reasonable enough to want to starve people just because you feel uncomfortable with another human being. Also its hard to believe when the complaint is coming from an actor who has money and power.
My parents has always taught my siblings and I to always help each other out no matter what. Isn't that what were suppose to do? As a person we are suppose to want to help those in need and especially when they are at their lowest. How is banning food a solution? I thought as a government they are suppose to help situations better not make them worse. The author focuses on only the negativeness about the homeless. The homeless people are only perceived as collateral damage to the communities. What about the other homeless people who does not cause any problems? Nagourney only focuses on the problems. Also instead of complaining the two council members could have used its power, money and influence to make the situation better not get rid of.
If banning the food is their solution it is only making matters worse when numerous of people die on the streets because we decided not to help them. No one can understand the problems and struggles the homeless people go through everyday. We are not to judge and call them collateral damage. As humans we are suppose to help those in need not turn our backs.
2 comments:
I have decided to write a rebuttal to Ms. Karla Cariaga and her commentary “Homeless left to Starve.” I feel that Ms. Cariaga might have misinterpreted what is being stated in this article. I would like to state that I agree with Ms. Cariaga personal feelings and applaud her compassion for those individuals in need. However, I believe that her personal feelings and passion on this topic, like many of us share, often closes our minds to what is really being stated. I ran into this same scenario when I surveyed opinions on the participation #4 issue.
In her first paragraph, Ms. Cariaga quotes from the article As Homeless Line Up for Food, Los Angeles Weighs Restrictions written by Adam Nagourney and published in The New York Times. Ms. Cariaga paraphrases part of the article and states the following “Somehow Its decided its not right because of the two calls from two Los Angeles City Council members to banned them from giving food to the homeless.” Nowhere in the article is this stated. What they are saying is the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition, who provides this service, may have to relocate to continue providing this service. And, this would not be the first time they have had to do this. They were forced out of a prior location in 1990.
Paragraph 2, Ms. Cariaga quotes the comments made by an “actor” and then criticizes his comments. I do not believe that Alexander Polinsky meant that the homeless themselves were mentally challenged but that their behavior of walking around aimlessly, congregating for their next meal is much like a “mental ward.” He talks about the “collateral damage,” but not in reference to the people. The collateral damage is the trash left behind. The paper plates, plastic forks, spoons and knives, Styrofoam cups, napkins and even food scrapes not eaten. And, when people eat they soon are in need of restrooms. If there are none around guess what your hedges and trees become. In this regard, I will tell you first hand, he is not incorrect in his assessment and they are not just because he has money and is in power as stated by Ms. Cariaga.
My experience. I live in proximity of the Braker-Lamar, Braker-35 neighborhood. Several years ago we tried an outreach program for the few local homeless in this area. Food and other services in conjunction with the neighborhood church, which is also a listed homeless shelter under extreme weather conditions, were offered. The problems that we encountered and are still dealing with years after stopping the program are unbelievable. First, the number of homeless multiplied within days and they did just as stated in this article. They stayed. All day, all night, laying wherever they wanted.
Petty theft within the neighborhood soon followed. Trash, as in beer cans, wine bottles and even some of the personal hygiene supplies (our donated dollars) and garments given were discarded everywhere. We soon had to organize additional clean-up parties to deal with the trash. Drugs moved in and hypodermic needles were found by the neighborhood children walking home from the school bus stops. We had to petition the city and local businesses to have pay phones removed as they were now being used to make drug deals and bring unwanted characters in our neighborhood. We then lost a hundred year old oak tree, which according to the arborist, had been urinated on so much that it killed the tree. I did not even know that was possible. One volunteer was followed home and two of the homeless that we tried to help, moved in under this elderly woman’s home, sleeping there at night. After defecating for weeks they were discovered. Property values dropped. A local cemetery of African Americans dating back to early 1900’s was almost destroyed. We are still dealing with a large number of these problems and have even videotaped homeless individual’s drunk and shooting drugs in their arms (real footage shot in broad daylight) and yet, the Austin Police department can do very little in helping us. In one month, we had over one thousand 911 calls made in regards to the activities of our once invited now regretted visitors.
Again, I agree with Ms. Cariaga that we must continue to show compassion to those less fortunate. And let me clearly state that not all homeless individuals are responsible for the disregard that some homeless choose to repay the kindness shown them. But this article highlights the need of a central location for the provisions of taking care of those less fortunate without interfering or infringing on those who are often the one’s helping and providing for.
Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition is providing a great service for a great cause, please follow the link to donate if you can. However, at the end of the day, they pack up and leave and the problem shifts to the businesses and home owners of that area. I understand their needs to have this program relocated but no one in this article is suggesting the program be banned or the homeless starved.
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