Guest Post by Steve Lamb
After an absence of nearly 40 years, I visited Skid Row in Los Angeles. In my Pentecostal youth, I volunteered to provide services to the folks who lived there. They were predominantly WWII and Korean War male veterans, mostly white, single and alcoholics.
The world has changed. In 1970, L.A. County had a population of 7 million; today it’s about 10.3 million. When I helped on Skid Row, there were about 1,500 people living there, and the population of down & out was largely limited to that area.
Today there are 60,000 homeless throughout L.A. County, with 5,000 on Skid Row, maybe higher. The situation in Skid Row became so dire that the conditions didn’t even meet United Nations standards for long-term refugee camps of one toilet for every 20 people. And compared to other cities, Los Angeles ranks near the bottom of sheltering homeless.
About 35 percent of the homeless in L.A. County are Black American descendants of slaves. The Guardian described the large homeless population in Skid Row as “a patchwork of tents, tarps, boxes and carts, with black and brown faces peeking out from pockets of shade that provide a modicum of respite from the blazing summer heat.”
Skid Row is different too now in that there are families. My heart broke seeing a tall slender Black man walking behind his daughter as she rode her pink bicycle, protecting her from harm.
I sat in an air-conditioned vehicle looking at fellow Americans reduced to living in an incomprehensible and unsanitary situation of danger, insecurity and privation. Yes, there appeared to be substance abusers and those with mental health challenges. But there also were families attempting to remain sane and somehow give their children some sense of normalcy. I wondered how more than 30 years of bad immigration policies and other poor government policies had contributed to the huge numbers of people reduced to living outside – and how much more poor governance lies ahead.
As I looked around, I saw no bathroom facilities, no showers, no laundry and no shelter for so many. I was with my friend, former Army officer Kevin Lynn, and asked him, “Doesn’t the Army have some kind of mobile toilet/shower/laundry units?” Yes, indeed the military does have such equipment, he told me, adding that I would need a State of Emergency order from the Governor and the National Guard to obtain it.
I wrote a former elected official who had been in the Quartermaster Corps. He wasn’t interested and informed me that Skid Row was populated with drug users. So I went to the Board of Supervisors and asked for a letter to the Governor requesting a State of Emergency and military mobile toilets, showers and laundry.
For several months, between the City of Los Angeles and the Office of the California Governor, I tried to get some traction on providing basic hygiene units to the area. Then Gov. Jerry Brown had a long history of directing seemingly the entire government of the state to providing services to illegal immigrants – as does his successor Gavin Newsom. Surely, I thought at the time, Brown could help with such a relatively small request in the whole scheme of things. But I received no response from the Office of the Governor and little from the City.
After that, the anti-Trump messaging machine “discovered” that families from Central America attempting to cross into the United States illegally or by claiming asylum were detained at the border for processing, and by law children and adults were being separated.
The outrage generators propagandized the situation and ramped up the rhetoric to manic levels in an attempt to connect the situation to some of the worst war atrocities in the 20th century. In reality, those attempting to come to the country are being accommodated in the best way possible given the large numbers and necessity of having some order to a chaotic situation. They are in air conditioned shelter, fed and provided medical attention as needed.
This brings us back to the military-style shower/toilet units. America has been providing food, shelter, medical care, education and entertainment for hundreds of thousands who have headed El Norte to the U.S. not just in the more recent arrivals of immigrants en masse, but since the Central American “surge” began several years ago. The cost of providing for the children brought to the U.S. illegally or under asylum claims is $35,000 a year. Yet, we cannot provide even the most basic shelter for Americans living on the streets. And this isn’t just Los Angeles. The U.S. has an estimated 550,000 homeless, a quarter of which are in California.
My progressive friends’ compassion for children from other countries seems boundless, but we cannot continue to ignore how to meet the most basic needs of our own citizens and children.
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
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There should be jobs made available so that people that want to work can do so and lift themselves up. Those that don’t want to work should stay as they are and I wouldn’t give them anything and would make life even more difficult for them.
The jobs should be manual labor for the able bodied, fixing pot holes, scraping and painting whatever needs it, etc. Those with legitimate issues that can’t perform manual labor should be provided with less strenuous work like taking care of children, cooking meals, etc.
If there has to be a gov’t then it should be able to come up with a program to pay an honest days wage for an honest days work for every legal person in the country.
For the illegals, deport them one time with a stern warning that if caught a second time it’s a few years hard labor on a chain gang. Turn off the dirtbag magnet (free stuff) somehow.
The Obvious Solution, if you are a homeless person on skid row, is to go to Mexico and then get caught coming into the US while crossing the border with a burrito in both hands. Bing Bango, all of a sudden you got 3 hots and a cot.
The Doe Fund
That all sounds nice but until you actually become involved in that world you will understand for most it is a chosen lifestyle. What makes it attractive? Well, the substance abuse and not having to work or bear any responsibility. There was way too much about this article that smacks of “Those poor people” when most of them, NOT ALL OF THEM, do it to themselves. And then those bottom feeding politicians who thrive off this suffering to get votes perpetuating a problem they are always out to fix and never fix.
California needs a Red Tide desperately!
How about the govt doesn’t supply anything to anyone since charity is outside the purview of the govt?
Better yet, get rid of taxation and thereby the welfare state, and much of the homeless issue goes away as well as the illegal immigration issue.
It gets worse…
If you are an American citizen, you are expected to obey ALL laws, even those that are obviously unconstitutional or unreasonable. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
If you are in need of “assistance”, as an American citizen you will be ignored and denied. If you are homeless and do not have proper ID, you will be locked up for vagrancy or other “laws” which do not apply to those who are here illegally
If you are here, showing up at the border with no papers or ID, you will be referred to one of the church groups that is paid by the U S government to “process” refugees.
As a refugee, you will get an immediate payment of $980.00 to do with whatever you want and approximately $3500.00 per month for each person, a nice place to stay, food, clothing and other assistance that is strictly denied to American citizens.
This is much more than the average American “social security” recipient receives, even after a lifetime of paying into the system. If you bring your disabled “parents” or others with you, they can apply and receive SSI almost immediately without going through an attorney. The church groups will see to that.
The church groups may also provide you with a job, bypassing native-born Americans.
As an “illegal” alien, you will be permitted to obtain an American drivers license. You will also be able to drive without insurance, even drive “under the influence” and will usually be “let go” by the “authorities”. You can disregard the laws that American citizens are required to obey.
Of course, you will be able to vote in elections, run for public office and even gain licensing and credentials in the various professions. In fact, in California, there are illegal alien “attorneys” that have been provided with credentials by the bar association and are licensed to practice law.
Us native-born Americans are third-class citizens in our own country, and get to pay for it all…
Where is the outrage??
If you show any outrage anarchyst you will be arrested and fined. You will also be harassed by the local cops in most cases. Our establishment church, schools, federal, state and local governments in most cases has seen to this. The sad part is our children and grandchildren are in many cases lock step with this crap.
Isn’t that the sad fucking truth.
About those college educations…
This was a very well written piece and deserved more attention. Especially WHEN someone in the homeless community ends up getting COVID-19.
That’s a whole new Biblical Ballgame.
Five bucks says some lawyer will pop out of the woodwork saying it violates the civil rights of the homeless infected with Coronavirus–especially if they are also illegal aliens–and they will be left on the streets to infect as many people as possible. But let a working citizen get it and THEIR civil rights disappear immediately.
It was written with WAY too much Drama and WAY too much “Oh the humanity.” How about we face the facts that cause this instead of beating our heads on a wall looking for a solution that will not work when the cause of the problem is being ignored?
Send them to China.
San Fran is screwed.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-01/coronavirus-lurking-in-feces-may-reveal-hidden-risk-of-spread
Am so glad you came back, Blabber!
Ya, sure. I’ll try to keep comments to 20 words or less.
35% of Law’s homeless are are black American descendants of slaves? Ok , but how many of them are white American descendants of indentured servants?
That right there was a Red Flag to me about this “wonderful article.” It it smells like BS and looks like BS I don’t need to taste it to make sure it is BS.
There are tens of thousands of Boomers living in cars and 100,000+ who left for cheap cost of living in other countries because they were faced with much lower living conditions here. Invaders living well while American born living worse than a favela dweller in Rio de Janeiro is unacceptable. Where is Trump on this one?? Not a tweet.
Austin – Offer free shit…………..
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/we-just-want-some-support-austin-business-owner-asks-city-leaders-to-be-more-proactive-in-addressing-homelessness/
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2020/02/17/la-sheriff-and-mayor-take-steps-to-assure-criminal-aliens-they-will-be-protected-over-us-citizens-888156?utm_campaign=bizpac&utm_content=Newsletter&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_source=Get+Response&utm_term=EMAIL
Billions available to import house, clothe, educate and provide heathcare for third world invaders, but Social Security is going broke. Makes prefect sense.
+1000 Flash! I have been preaching this is a criminal cartel for decades, because IT IS A CRIMINAL CARTEL.
Nothing but.
Such is the Democrat Party!
There is no ONE answer to this problem. There is a net CAUSE however. Let us look at cause:
Politics. The Democrat machine that runs things here has thrived off of this misery for years. Instead of answers they pass laws that literally toss gasoline on this dumpster fire with unintended consequences (which seem pretty intentional).
Lifestyle. The fact is that being a Vagabond is a legitimate lifestyle (to progressives). In fact many actually choose the “homeless” lifestyle. The minority are those having homelessness forced upon them.
Laws: We used to have laws in place that addressed this issue but they have been subverted in the name of Civil Rights which has been abridged by politics. People have a “Right” to wander fraught with mental illness and substance abuse issues and no one is allowed to intervene even if that person is a threat to themselves or others.
Entitlement. This attitude is driving a lot of the problem from all angles.
Civil Rights activism. The NAACP and ACLU BOTH have very dirty hands in this mess. THEY have legally caused so much legal confusing how to address the homeless that police forces fear acting from the impending law suits they face from these groups and others. Then come the misguided SJWs who are in themselves given at times to the Vagrant lifestyle.
So what can we really do? Well, the answer is addressing the causes to alter their effects. So maybe people should stop voting for the very political party who HAS been running things and HAS BEEN DOING A HORRIBLE JOB and quit blaming the other political party for all the world’s sins.
As a friend and not your enemy PLEASE do not vote for Democrats or any Communist or Socialist. Progressivism is not progress. The Democrats have openly spited us and treat us all like numbers. Not all Republicans should get the vote either and maybe more of us should try and run just to get the criminal trash out of high office. Remember, Friends do not let Friends vote Democrat.