The L.A. Times has had several articles in the past week about homelessness on Skid Row in L.A.
An alleged “dumping,” the practice of hospitals or law enforcement agencies taking patients or inmates and dropping them off on Skid Row, was captured on videotape.
The city attorney has filed lawsuits against two Skid Row hotels accused of practicing the “28-day shuffle,” in which people living in residence hotels are evicted after 28 days so that they don’t get legal rights as residents by living somewhere for a month.
Columnist Steve Lopez states what should be the obvious and says that the homeless need homes, not police harassment.
Lopez also pens a hopeful story about a homeless man named Ernest Adams who’s recently been able to get off the streets and into his own apartment.
The Mayor, businesses, and the ACLU find themselves in agreement over a plan to crack down on crime on Skid Row but not sweep up homeless people.
An editorial on this approach.
Letter writers express their opinions.
“Have we really become so heartless, materialistic and inhumane that we consider the problem of skid row to be one of cleaning up trash rather than finding a solution to a human tragedy? “
It’s quite shocking to visit the Skid Row neighborhood and see how many people live such a desperate existence. None of the police approaches to the problem address the core issues of mental illness and addiction that lead to chronic homelessness. The poor will always be with us, but the problem on Skid Row won’t be minimized until we can treat these mental and spiritual problems to help restore these men’s and women’s dignity.