Los Angeles finally about to crack down on homeless camps (Sacramento: bankruptcy, salary)

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

You think that it's not mean to help an elderly person who does not have permanent housing? Ok then I'm not sure what you call mean but I don't think I want to get to know you well enough to find out.

I think they are enabling her though.

Does she have social security? So if she has social security she should be able to take that and rent a room SOMEWHERE. It might not be in LA though.

I think the "help" they are giving this woman makes the people in the motel feel good about themselves, and has nothing about genuine help. She genuinely needs a social worker who specializes in elderly. Is this woman going senile?

What if the hotel allowed 100 old people like her to park in their parking lot and get a similar deal? They would have a disaster on their hands.

Giving this woman this kind of help isn't a long term solution.

[NyWriterdude]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

WTF who is enabling her? The motel allows her to park in front of the managers office so that she will be safe, they let her eat breakfast for free every day. Are you so rotten mean that you call those actions 'enabling'? She is doing the best she can, she isn't laying on a sidewalk or begging- she was avoiding all those behaviors that people find so reprehensible but you still find fault with her?

As would I. This isn't a long term solution. Who wants a bunch of cars parked near them that are housing people.

This woman needs to rent a room somewhere with a social security check and social services can help her with that.

I do think the motel is enabling her. She wants them to watch out for her because she apparently doesn't feel safe parking in random neighborhoods. But she is avoiding her responsibility of doing all she can to find a room appropriate for her.

She likely may need to leave the area and screw the roots, because clearly she either has none in the area or they aren't that close.

[UB50]

Originally Posted by MItoBH

Oh please. If she has roots in the area, she shouldn't have to sleep in a car and check into a hotel once every 3 days.

This ridiculously sad situation is being made worse by this poor woman not a) seeking the assistance of her "roots", and b) not seeking assistance from social services so that she doesn't sleep in her car.

If for whatever reason on this Earth, my whole life goes ass up and I don't have my own place to live, you can best believe that my "roots" in the area will provide housing for me. I just fail to understand why people cling onto staying in an area when it has failed them in allowing them to be able to live like a regular person. I would get the hell out of there and never look back. But that's just me.

Keep in mind, she's an older woman. She may have lived in that area for 30, 40, 50 or more years. She may have paid taxes in that area for more years than you've been alive. Those are roots. Why should she leave? Where would she go?

[Tulemutt]

Sweet Geezuss, y'all just keep chanting about a "solution". There isn't any solution, as I wrote earlier. There is only management. Homelessness has been a reality since Homo sapiens started living in small cities. This isn't new. There have always been and always will be people whose lives fall between one crack or another. Management for best possible outcomes for all parties affected: the homeless themselves, the public that is impacted by their homelessness.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

I think they are enabling her though.

Does she have social security? So if she has social security she should be able to take that and rent a room SOMEWHERE. It might not be in LA though.

I think the "help" they are giving this woman makes the people in the motel feel good about themselves, and has nothing about genuine help. She genuinely needs a social worker who specializes in elderly. Is this woman going senile?

What if the hotel allowed 100 old people like her to park in their parking lot and get a similar deal? They would have a disaster on their hands.

Giving this woman this kind of help isn't a long term solution.

I don't know if she had social security, the motel manager said she's sweet and does pretty well except that she gets confused at times. It was not in LA, it was in Sacramento. If you want to go cross examine her let me know I will give you the address of the hotel, unless she passed away I'm sure she's still there. And yes, of course you're right- never enable anyone, push them in front of a truck so they don't disturb your sensibilities.

With your reasoning, how can you advocate homeless shelters, or shelters for domestic violence victims, or disabled vets- aren't we just "enabling them"?

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

Agreed. But for those incapable of independent living put them in a mental institution or group home.

One more time.. you cannot commit people involuntarily to mental institutions or group homes unless they are gravely disabled and in imminent danger of harming themselves or someone else. As far as I know we still live in a nation of laws

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by NyWriterdude

As would I. This isn't a long term solution. Who wants a bunch of cars parked near them that are housing people.

Isn't it up to the business owner to decide what he wants parked near his hotel? I don't think there are hundreds of 80 year old women in cars who will find out about this one lady and move to the parking lot. geezus

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by MordinSolus

Oh boy, here we go.

Why ditch a strawman when it's still so popular, eh guys?

Face the facts. The crimes being committed against the homeless people in shelters are committed by other homeless people. And note my use of the word 'other' here and in my previous post. I can't be treating them as monolithic entity with no individuals if I acknowledge from the start that they're all individuals but hey, what's a few facts between friends? You can't argue the facts so you erect a strawman to argue against. I'm not playing that game.
The homeless are a problem. There is no simple solution and not a single solution involves coddling them all and hoping for them to stop being homeless and/or dangerous. The ones that aren't dangerous need assistance to get off the streets to stop being a nuisance to upstanding members of society. The dangerous ones need to be dealt with as any dangerous individuals would be dealt with.

/groan

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by KazChasey

There's a big difference between an 80-year-old who fell on hard times and the 20-something-year-old druggies camped out in Venice with their guitars and pet dogs. Is there a reason these 20-something-year-old druggies can't get their s**t together, clean themselves up, and do something productive with their lives?

huh? I talk about an 80 year old and your respond with a comment about a 20 year old druggie?

[UB50]

It seems like some of the posters here have missed some of the news stories from the recent past. Here's a good one for you: Web Exclusive: Employed and homeless - KiiiTV.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend