Westwood does not have a homeless problem ““ it has
homeless people, but they are not present in numbers large enough
to present a nuisance to a reasonable, socially-conscious
person.
But many Westwood business owners disagree ““ about 25 of
them met with police officers this week to discuss how the homeless
may be hurting their business. In other words, they discussed how
potential customers may be discouraged from entering a restaurant
or store if a homeless person either goes inside or stands in close
proximity to the entrance.
Westwood owners proposed some solutions that may alleviate their
situation. One idea was to ship the homeless off to homeless
shelters in other parts of the city. But the homeless probably
wouldn’t appreciate that. Not only does Westwood have fair
weather, it has students ““ many of whom are likely to be
empathetic enough toward the homeless to give them money.
Non-students will likely be the affluent local residents who, more
often than not, do have some change to spare. A homeless person can
hardly be blamed for desiring this almost ideal combination of
factors. It’s a wonder that Westwood doesn’t have more
homeless people.
Homeless people who present a physical threat ““ and are
therefore dangerous ““ should be removed. But this rule
applies to anyone who presents a danger, and is not limited to the
homeless.
It would be unethical to arrest homeless people on minor charges
such as loitering. After all, they have no choice. They have
nowhere to go where they are not in public. If they are not
loitering in Westwood, they will loiter somewhere else. And when
they’re removed, more will come and replace them.
Homelessness itself is a large social problem. Eradicating it
will take money and effort many cities and the government are not
readily providing enough of. It seems cities are more concerned
with hiding the homeless because of pressure imposed on them by
business owners.
This week in another part of town, business owners complained to
city officials about Skid Row, a make-shift camp community for a
large number of homeless people. They believe their presence hurts
the economic revitalization of the city, given the potential health
and public safety issues it creates. Chief William Bratton also
complained Skid Row led to overly widespread panhandling ““ he
recounted to a news agency how he and his wife had an encounter
with an “aggressive” panhandler. On Wednesday, a few
days after the complaints, the Los Angeles Police Department
coincidently raided Skid Row for parole offenders.
Los Angeles is not the only one baffled by its homelessness
problem ““ New York has gone so far as to consider buying old
cruise ships to serve as homeless shelters.
Solving the problem is not easy. Estimates of the number of
homeless people living in the streets of Los Angeles range from
9,000 to 15,000 ““ with about a third of them on Skid Row.
Westwood’s problems are grossly exaggerated compared to these
numbers.
Reversing homelessness trends overall requires a government
committed to spending the time and funds necessary to stop the root
of homelessness, rather than temporarily improving the city’s
image by sweeping destitute fellow city-dwellers aside in an
attempt to hide a problem that will not go away anytime soon.