Walking down Santa Monica on my first night in Los Angeles, I
officially met my first homeless person.
Perpetually, and possibly even strategically, placed at the
corner of 3rd Street and Broadway, his grunginess was conveniently
masked by a lone street bulb.
Surrounded by the trademark black trash bags, newspapers and a
pillow, my first homeless acquaintance had decided to make jingling
coins his daily routine.
With the stack of coins going up and down in his palm, he
watched the world passing by with a glazed look in his eyes, never
dropping a single quarter (yes, they were all quarters). My friends
and I had staggered unstably down that street at many odd hours,
but sure enough, there he was, with his coins in his little
nook.
On my last day in Santa Monica, I decided to pay my final visit
to him ““ an homage of sorts, I guess. Armed with a
McDonald’s Big Mac, I headed off with a mission: Feed the
homeless person.
I didn’t waste any words on introductions or explanations,
I just gave the sandwich to him. He took it and then slowly raised
his head. In a raspy, high-pitched voice he said, “Girl, what
the fuck is that? That don’t look like no crack and
ain’t going to buy me any either. Get the fuck
away.”
Speechless and completely taken aback, I scurried away with the
sandwich. I ended up throwing it away, not wanting to risk a
confrontation with another homeless person.
But now, after six months of being around homeless people at
UCLA, I’ve actually grown quite used to them. It’s
funny how I can recognize the regulars in Westwood and on campus
now. How many of you have seen the black guy typing away, or the
sandy-blond-haired woman nonchalantly picking away at the garbage
in Kerckhoff? Yes, they have become a part of the UCLA experience
and an integral part of American life. But since I’m not
exactly used to the idea of homeless people turning down shelters
and instead choosing to live on the street, I’ve seriously
wondered why the homeless population is so large.
After all, there are over 331 short-term homeless shelter
programs in Los Angeles alone. Regarding funding, this year
California was given $228 million to help the homeless. So I
don’t believe it’s a monetary issue ““ in fact,
it’s probably more of a psychological issue.
According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance
Providers and Clients, only 39 percent of homeless people reported
having mental health problems and only 26 percent reported drug
abuse. I was surprised that more homeless people didn’t have
drug or mental health issues, though it does take someone a little
kooky to grapple with a cop in Kerckhoff. So why do homeless people
continue living on the streets?
The first explanation I ever heard regarding the sometimes
bizarre behavior of homeless people was from a bystander watching
two homeless people battle with garbage bags. He said that it was
all a direct result of the Vietnam War, when the government gassed
American soldiers to make them fight.
I’ll admit that when I first heard this, I was compelled
to question his mental state as well. In fact, CNN and Time
magazine said the U.S. government had hunted down and gassed
defectors during the Vietnam War, but this report was later
retracted.
So the question remains: Why are there homeless people in
Westwood doing handstands in front of Starbucks?
Aside from the nerve gas, many reasons have been cited, most
notably lack of employment. In actuality, it might just be that all
homeless people want is some attention. They’ve been driven
““ or drove themselves ““ to the fringe of society. And
now all they crave is acceptance.
Their sometimes erratic actions and rants could just be their
way of manifesting such desires. I’m no shrink, but I can say
that maybe the reason these people don’t want to live in
homeless shelters is because they want to live normally in
society.
Moreover, from what I’ve seen and heard, many here in
Westwood do try to help homeless people. In fact, I even heard
about a UCLA student who regularly takes homeless people out to
dinner.
But at the same time, I’ve seen people who go out of their
way to aggravate them. Just last week while I was at Starbucks, I
saw this homeless woman ranting about something, and then these
obnoxious and immature high school kids decided to make it even
worse by yelling, “You’re ugly!”
The woman and the boys then argued back and forth for a good 15
minutes until the boys left. But this wasn’t before she was
literally ready to do some physical damage.
It’s situations like these that compel me to want to write
an 850-word column. And I would like to end by saying that
it’s important to accept these people, even with all their
quirks. While I truly don’t believe that monetary aid alone
can alleviate their situation, I do believe that if people make the
effort to accept them, there is hope.
Most of these people are victims of circumstances, so the next
time you see a homeless person, try to smile. It may not seem like
much, but it might make all the difference.
Have interesting homeless encounters? E-mail Saxena at
ssaxena@media.ucla.edu.