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When Palo Alto rolled out in 2020 a new program that allowed local congregations to host vehicle dwellers on their lots, the Highway Community was the first congregation to step up to the plate.
As the city’s first “safe parking” site, the church at 3373 Middlefield Road held neighborhood meetings and solicited feedback from area residents, some of whom expressed concerns about potential noise impacts, wondered whether the program’s rules would be adequately enforced and questioned the decision by the program operator, Move Mountain View, not to conduct background checks on participants. Similar comments emerged over the following two years as other local churches, including the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto and the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, stepped up to introduce safe parking programs.
In most ways, the program at Highway Community went according to plan. Since safe parking launched in 2021, participants have been quiet and respectful, said Pastor Jake Dodson, who is coordinating the program. The few participants he had spoken to told him that they were trying to hold down a job and piece together a livelihood, Dodson said.
“There’s usually a recognition that this is a safe place to sleep and there’s appreciation for a wash facility and hand-washing station in the bathroom. There’s appreciation to be able to use the garbage cans,” Dodson said.
The most surprising and discouraging aspect about the program two years after it opened is that it isn’t being used more, Dodson said. Currently two vehicles are using the space, which is not atypical. During some stretches there are none at all. All in all, the program has served between 15 and 20 individuals in its two years of existence. Some stayed for a few days; others for a few months or longer.
During recent outreach with area residents, some also wondered why the program’s not being used more.
“We all felt we invested a lot in the conversation. To be less utilized than expected is surprising,” he said.
Highway Community’s experience is not unique. Unlike larger “safe parking” lots that focus on RVs and mobile homes, the church programs are designed for cars. Dodson believes this creates a challenge for outreach workers, who can’t always determine if a person is residing in their vehicle or simply spending time there. Dodson also noted that his church’s parking lot fronts Middlefield Road and, as such, is more exposed than safe-parking lots in other churches such as the Unitarian Universalist Church.
This map shows locations of safe parking programs that Palo Alto has approved (in green) and that the city has received applications for (in yellow). Map by Gennady Sheyner.
Even that church, however, has not seen a surge of demand. According to data it provided to this news organization last August, its program served six participants between October 2021 and June 2022. At the time, two were still using the program.
The relatively low usage has not, however, deterred other church programs for applying for safe parking. The First Congregational Church of Palo Alto started its own program last August after overcoming some opposition from neighborhood residents.
The Congregation Etz Chayim also is preparing to join the effort. In March, it filed an application to start a safe parking program at its parking lot at 4161 Alma St. Its program, like all others in Palo Alto, will be operated by Move Mountain View, which provides case management and security for the parking sites. The congregation plans to operate its safe parking from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m., according to the letter.
The Highway Community, meanwhile, is looking to keep its safe parking for at least another few years. After being the first church to apply for safe parking in 2020, it became this first this month to request a permit renewal.
Dodson said he believes it’s important for the congregation to remain “both aware and considerate of the needs of those most vulnerable in the community.” Vehicle dwelling, he noted, is “the last rung before living rough on the street.”
“Being able to have that safety net for those who need it is a very important thing for faith communities to offer,” Dodson said. “I’m excited for us to be able to continue it and see ways for awareness to grow.”
Thank you Congregation Etz Chayim for joining the effort ????
A complete list of sites, with numbers and follow up data should be available online. The more we know the more we can be happy that these sites are being properly monitored and helping to solve the problem.
The problem here is that the people parking here need to leave by a certain time. Once you get them into the community where do they go? Sit outside the coffee shops or grocery store/ Stand in the parking lot at Walgreen’s? Pickle Ball?
You got the people here and now what do they do? They have no jobs.
While good intentioned they really would be better off at a county / state home that has job counslors. You have to move people to the place where they will get job counciling. A lot of money is been provided for that end result but somehow that end result is not happening. The leap to the end result is not there.
Where are the state/county “homes” with job counselors that @Resident speaketh of?
I think perhaps thou references the poor houses of yore. Middle ages?
Preferably with wall shackles situated in dungeons so no one can hear them screaming?
Pickle balls indeed. Why not subterranean cage matches?
My Feetz – Don’t be a wise guy. We have numerous articles in the papers about locations in hotels/motels that have been remade as temporary housing. They are funded to provide counseling for jobs. However a lot of people do not want to go to those locations because the rules are too structured. Gov has provided funds for these locations but they are not getting a big success. Most in San Jose which has a larger amount of available resources.
The SFC is featuring stories of people who are in temporary housing in San Francisco – front page for them. At least the people have a place that is theirs and they don’t have to leave at a certain time. Maybe they are not as choosy as the san Jose people that want to live by the river. They are looking at a different criteria for what goes on overnight. Location, location, location.
The question still remains that churches provide overnight parking but the people are at odd ends during the day – they have no place to hang out that is theirs. There needs to be one place in this city where all of the available information on housing, locations, type of services – laundry, showers, is available. If we have a school that is closed that could be a good location – they have showers, lots of rooms. A gym that is no longer is use has showers and lockers for people’s personal items.
A lot of money dedicated to these efforts but do not think that we are ahead of the game and losing ground. There are so many empty buidlings that could be used but that is also not working very well.
Thank you both for stepping up. This is good for everyone in our City
I disagree with this practice.
happy to see churches serving the community to help homeless. To earlier comments, the goal of the program is to support these people with temporary safe locations and help them transition into permanent housing. Many are employed but have lost housing due to reduction of hours or medical expenses.
The City of Palo Alto and Santa Clara County should also consider issuing vouchers so that the homeless can stay at one of the many motels along El Camino Real.
As someone who was initially very skeptical of the idea of “safe parking” programs in our community, I now fully concede that my initial concerns have been proven unfounded. The experiences at Highway Community and other participating congregations have shown that participants in the program have been quiet and respectful, and that the program has provided a much-needed safety net for those trying to hold down a job and piece together a livelihood. This positive outcome demonstrates the value of offering support to our most vulnerable community members.
That being said, it is disheartening to learn that the program has not been utilized to its full potential, with fewer participants than expected. This underscores the need for a more comprehensive and permanent solution to address the housing crisis in our community.
As we continue to develop and expand safe parking programs, we must also focus on creating more permanent, affordable housing options for our residents. This will involve exploring innovative housing models, streamlining the permitting process for affordable developments, and fostering partnerships with local organizations and developers to create a more inclusive housing market.
While I am now convinced of the benefits of the safe parking program and excited by its expansion, I strongly believe that our ultimate goal should be to develop long-term solutions to address homelessness and housing insecurity in our community. I hope we can all continue to work together to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for all our residents.
We shouldn’t be doing anything that lures ever more people. The community should help that percentage of the community that typically needs additional support but not encourage those in need from other communities. All communities should do their part. ‘Rescuing’ the homeless has become a minor industry in the Bay Area which, at this point, may be more responsible for extending homelessness than reducing it by solving individual problems. SF has become no-go because political decisions have grown the needle population and the lying on the street problem and the shoplifting problem and the crime problem. Scott Weiner laments the effects, Nordstroms, etc. are closing, but he and those policies caused a mess which is getting worse. We shouldn’t confuse a real desire to help with policies that reward, enable, and attract more homeless. Opening every parking lot so that people can live in cars is to create a new and forever layer of sub-standard living. It doesn’t solve anything. Creating mini Portland in Palo Alto is not a solution.
@Hinrich, people don’t come from miles around for the great benefits for homeless people in PA. There are so few services for them you can hardly call them services, let alone benefits. People become homeless where they fell out of the safety net and lost their housing. For instance if someone becomes homeless in Washington D.C. they aren’t going to stand on the corner with a sign saying “Need Busfare To Get To Palo Alto” — which, I think, could help them collect lots of money because DC has more than their fair share of homeless people and locals would like to help them go far away. I wish we had more people like @Brian Hamachek who can see the benefits of the church parking lot programs and just maybe if enough like-minded people get on THAT bandwagon, there could be some progress made in long-term housing. My sis’s Bro-In-Law just recently got housed after 18 years of homelessness. 18 long hard years. His mother cried daily for that long time, too. His illness is PRIDE. He refuses to accept any help from family. Some of the “services” offered don’t offer options like dignity and respect as part of the program. The church program in PA does. And it’s a similar program the BIL got into, where he began helping lift his comrades’ spirits. The meek shall truly inherit the earth. They already have. Just look at any freeway in California. No, this is not “if you build it they will come”. It’s “they will land wherever life kicks the spit out of ’em.”
It laughable that anyone would think a safe place to stay overnight is a “reward”. Who in their right mind thinks struggling on a daily basis to secure safety and shelter is a preferred way to live?
@MyFeelz You are absolutely wrong to claim that providing services does not attract the homeless.
I’ve spent the last 5 years lurking on various homeless social media forums. A very common question is some form of “Where is the best place to be homeless?” Answers include Seattle, San Francisco, and Southern California, particularly San Diego. Arizona comes up frequently also. Nobody wants to be homeless in upper Minnesota due to the winter temperatures.
The factors involved? Food banks, good weather, and not being harassed by the police or citizens.
The problem is exacerbated by certain states and counties that actually provide free bus tickets to homeless people to ship them out of town, so they don’t have to provide services.
When is there going to be an Federal investigation in to the real estate industry (association) scamming renters, desperate home buyers with the way over bidding for the ownership of “something”. Larger and larger mega property companies consolidating land assets. A close friend/single mom with a teenager was evicted from her one room home last night in Rohnert Park for complaining about the landlord illegally running a unsafe shoddy Air B&B out of an hallway alcove, plumbing a toilet with no doors, in the garage. All done without notice to his long term roomers out of She has nowhere to go. She has very little. The landlord owns a Tesla and three other properties.
The state of California Bay Area, Palo Alto etc are foreclosing on life long residents and renters. Oppressive bullying tactics by extreme capital land hoarders demanding proof of credit, income, no evictions, no dogs, no to subsidies. Horrible are these corps, preying on the fears of an insecure population who are shaking on the uncertain soil which we reside on roof or no roof — hoping the floor will not be pulled out under us. And what little income we have barely pays 70 o a landlord –. Our congregations are at least answering a prayer by not preying on the desperately needy. There has to be a turnover. AirB&B app cooperation removing viable long term rentals, luring homeowners into a way above costs for a short term rental market share. Is AirB&B paying their share of the transient tax that could help to supplement the outlandish home shortage??
@Jerry, have you ever known a homeless person? Aside from “lurking” on websites? I can’t even imagine what the value is of lurking where you don’t have a vested interest. Unless you do. So I will ask, are you now or have you ever been homeless?
You presume every homeless person has a computer or smartphone and they’re flocking to CA because google maps showed them the way. Nobody wants to be homeless and people in Minnesota know they will die if they remain unhoused in the winter. Have you been living here very long Jerry? The weather here is not sunny 365 days of the year. You can get hypothermia anywhere, it happens even on the west coast. The tent cities that have proliferated along the highways are a testament to GREED. You think those people are getting some kind of BENEFIT? It might have been a novelty for the Swiss Family Robinson but the novelty has worn off in the 21st century. Now, what was considered “pioneering” is now called “HOMELESSNESS” and those people are considered to be pariahs. To quote a famous movie line, “Look, it’s been swell, but the swelling’s gone down”. We no longer honor the pioneering spirit. One cage per person, and if you can’t afford it we kick you to the curb. I guess the Donner’s story was just another folk tale. They left the Midwest, too. To be in the land of sunshine. In 1846 it was a “Party” They were homeless and living in an encampment at Donner Lake. They were “rescued” and lived to tell the tale. But in 2023, you’d have them arrested and deported back to the Midwest by Greyhound Bus. This country (stolen from Natives) was created to provide opportunity (only for white people). Though Natives suffered the most egregious crimes in history, they once lived freely on the land. Everybody has a right to live where they want. Your very freedom here was paid for with Native blood. And you would deny anyone a bed to sleep in or a hot meal? We’re worse off than I thought.
I’m in favor of this program, but providing services attracts the homeless. It’s common sense. I’ve never been homeless but I’ve volunteered helping the homeless since I was a teenager in the 70s. Out our way Walnut Creek has more homeless because of the Trinity Center. Concord has more homeless because of the homeless shelter. Liberal cities have more homeless because of their tolerance level. SF is a perfect example. San Diego has more homeless because of the weather. I rarely see a homeless person in our town because of the town’s conservative, wealthy reputation. They don’t feel welcome. Palo Alto has more homeless than surrounding cities because PA is a liberal city.
Nobody is homeless by choice. They’re homeless by circumstances. Some remain homeless by choice while others get back on track with their lives.
@MyFeelz I’ve switched to “Wayz” app.
Many homeless continue to use a Obama mobile. Given out during the long past (haha) Great Recession. Yet it “don’t” support the “homeless” shelter start app like “Clarity”. The only way to help is to help. Every fifth person on our road is unhoused, pushing a cart of precious finds, belongings, the only control is the control of pushing/pulling a cart of where they are. Remember the history of the “trail of tears” or citizens of Berlin gripping a suitcase handle, pushing a cart, holding tight the hand of a loved one and then too he or she was yanked away. Every human we pass who is unhomed, in crisis, marked psychologically / emotionally, economically “worthless” is a mark against us, other homes humans. How about the Gestopo like tactics prevailing because “homeowners” are sick and tired of the filth that thier property taxes are supposed to mitigate, clean the streets. Proposition was just the baby now we have a bath of despair ty which have no choices but a visual dump of what what the capitalistic greed has produced. A human, living (barely) bi-product of our creature comforts. Cringy is the “co-exist” or “live simply so others may simply live” . How about this one: my anger makes me real. Are you really going to help? Again. Wall Street and Main Street are a metaphoric Beijing, 1989 Beijing. At a stand off, until the bulldozers come to clear the “encampments”. Or in 1990’s lyric. “The Streets have no names”.
If you want to see a huge population of homeless people that were PUT THERE by an agency, go to Woodland. It’s the Yolo County Seat, so it’s where the county jail is. Yolo is a huge county. Most of the people who get arrested anywhere in the County are taken to Woodland. Most of them are penniless. They can’t afford bail, so they wait out their term of punishment for whatever petty crime they committed, and then are released to the streets of Woodland. Bike thefts are so prevalent, because that’s how many of those street warriors can get some money to get a bus back to Davis or wherever they came from. Sell a stolen bike. I was there last year, waiting for a friend at a little strip mall and witnessed a guy who stole two bikes. One he rode away on, while holding the other one up as if it had an invisible rider. I videotaped the episode and later went to the Police station and asked about the bike thefts and people spilling out of the shelter by day, because they are not allowed in the building until night. I wasn’t complaining I was asking how can we fix this? The desk officer said it’s just the nature of the beast, and said most of the Woodland cops have moved out of Woodland. They don’t even want to live in the community due to the criminal element and so many of them have kids. So, until we FIX THIS people will just keep moving to a more promising locale. So much reality in your post, @Native. Keeping it real for the super well heeled is your mission in life 🙂 ps I don’t do apps! Probably why I didn’t know google maps isn’t a thing anymore.
What percentage of Palo Alto churches are actively participating in this program? I would imagine the number is relatively low.
And why doesn’t Los Altos have a homeless problem? Is it because as Jennifer noted, “I rarely see a homeless person in our town because of the town’s conservative, wealthy reputation. They don’t feel welcome.”
“Many homeless continue to use a Obama mobile.”
@Native to the BAY…if you are referring to free, low-income qualifying Obamaphones, this program was initiated by the Bush administration and implemented during Obama’s first term.
It was designed to provide everyone regardless of income with a basic means of communication.
The only issue is that these free Obamaphones are poorly-made, low-end offerings with minimal RAM and storage.
Apple, Samsung, and Google should consider donating their phased-out smartphone models to the Obamaphone program so that the homeless can enjoy the quality and conveniences of current models.
@MyFeelz Wow, that’s quite some screed, borderline ad hominem. But it doesn’t address the question at hand, namely “Does providing services attract the homeless or not?”
My goal is to educate myself about the reality that homeless people face. Lurking on homeless forums is one of the ways I do this. Talking to homeless people directly (when I feel safe) is another way. Just knowing one or two homeless people does not make anyone an expert, since every person has a different story. Lots of homeless folks have cellphones and many living out of cars/RV’s have laptops also.
It seems that whenever doubts are raised about the prevailing narrative on either side, people get completely triggered. I understand that this is an emotional issue but we won’t fix it by clinging to the same old myths. The problem is really, really complicated.
You assume that I’m somehow completely against homeless services just because I’m doubting things. I’m in favor of providing services to homeless folks but I’m against throwing gobs of money at it and not getting results– which is what I see with a lot of these programs. And indeed, this very news story backs that up.
Although I don’t feel compelled to defend myself to a complete stranger on a public forum, I’ve lived here for 38 years. I was homeless for 6 months after school, albeit couch surfing not rough sleeping. My nephew is currently living out of his van in North Carolina, not by choice.
@Jerry, it wasn’t ad hominem and I aspire to “screed” but mostly only succeed at “diatribes” with upwardly mobile potential. Your insistence that “if you build it they will come” has not been my experience with any homeless person I’ve ever known (and I have known a lot, in my family of origin and my chosen family and through advocacy programs) and like you I was there after graduation too, though not couch surfing. At that time I chose to live in the woods, legally, at state and local parks. I was camping before it was cool, and there wern’t many people doing it due to fees. Now there are fees AND stay limits, which puts homeless people even further away from NEEDED services to get back on their feet. Most people become homeless where they lost their housing. Many times it’s a choice between rent or a car. Then the car dies and they lose the option of being mobile. At that point they are at the mercy of society. Any services are barely enough to keep them alive. Food stamps are about the only “services” to be had in California for homeless people. You’re preachin to the choir about money spent on homeless services — that money is spent to keep people on the phone saying “NO” to people in need all day. We’d be better off closing all those pipelines to payola and just put people in motel rooms. It would be cheaper than the “administrative cost” to keep agencies alive. But not here in PA! We can’t admit we have homeless people. In the Palo Alto VA there are fewer homeless people than I have ever seen at any other VA. Because it’s remote. Hard to reach. Other VA’s in more urban areas are teeming with homeless veterans seeking help who offered the ultimate sacrifice to this country and were kicked in the shins when they became homeless. There’s no fair starting point but if I had a say in it, thats where I’d like to see change. Nobody is throwing gobs of money at homeless veterans, or any other homeless people. And yes it’s an emotional issue.
Speaking as a current homeless person, life on the streets is tough and it cannot simply be divided into convenient categories such as mental illness, substance abuse, and/or a loss of income/housing.
It is oftentimes a combination of elements and behind each person’s life is a story of how things came to be that way.
In my case, I was evicted from the family house when a sibling acting as trustee tossed me out and confined my late parents to an elder care facility against their wishes.
With Bay Area residential real estate prices escalating at the time, the sale of my parent’s home allowed my sibling/trustee to manage a large amount of financial resources stemming from the home sale and my parent’s investment portfolio.
Fast forward to five years later…I am still homeless but due to inherit close to $2.25M as part of my late parent’s trust provisions. During that time, I have never been dependent on illicit drugs and the commission of petty crimes nor am I mentally ill.
The 2020 COVID year was an especially rough time to be homeless because of the various lockdowns and nowhere to go.
There is a significant homeless population in need of further public assistance (e.g. rehab and temporary housing) and it is society’s obligation to provide these services.
Though I was able to subsist on food stamps, GA (work for welfare), an Obamaphone, and Medi-Cal, for others the path towards survival is far more difficult and challenging than it was for me.
That said, I count my blessings and perceive this latter financial inheritance as a reward for my intrepid preserverance through tough times.
Everyone should experience homelessness…it might make them more humble and grateful for what they do have.
Unfortunately, much of the monetary resources allocated towards curtailing homelessness is spent on administrative costs and salaries…no different than the CA Lottery which was supposedly implemented to improve public school education.
From time to time, we will give cash directly to homeless individuals rather than to the organizations professing to help them.
And since it is a gift, we have no say as to how the money is spent because it is none of our business whether they buy clothing, food, alcohol, or controlled substances. It’s called unconditional gift giving.
Life is hard living on the streets and one does whatever it takes to survive.
Speaking as a homeless person who still resides in an RV, 2020 was a horrendous year not only for those who got ill but also for those who were homeless.
Many facilities and businesses deemed non-essential were forced to shut down for five months and as a result, many of the conveniences that we take for granted were no longer accessible.
I used to shower at the YMCA or at a JC gym and their closures created a major inconvenience from the standpoint of personal hygiene. During the pre-pandemic timeframe, many homeless people were able to bathe in public library and restaurant restrooms or at a public park with shower facilities.
I ended-up using Clorox wipes during these closures to towel bathe in the privacy of my van and it was a less than stellar way to keep clean.
I once knocked on a stranger’s door in a Palo Alto neighborhood and asked if I could use their outdoor hose to wash-up and was rudely told to leave the property.
There is very little humanity left in Palo Alto because the city has become a wealthy community and the majority of its residents could care less about those less fortunate, no different than the rich people living in Los Altos, Danville, and Atherton.
Mountain View provides better community services and their police have been instructed not to harass or arrest homeless people unless an actual crime is taking place.
The key is to move one’s vehicle during the day so as not to attract unnecessary attention from homeowners and businesses. At night, there are many parking options available and I have found that parking at hospital parking lots (pre-COVID) provided the safest and most secure locale for an overnight stay.
It is also important not to have too shabby a vehicle which in turn attracts scrutiny. It doesn’t have to be a Mercedes Sprinter but something plain and simple.
In closing, living in an RV is no different than our forefathers traveling about in covered wagons in search of a place to finally settle.
Kudos to the local churches helping to alleviate the homeless situation in Palo Alto…others could do the same.
Thanks to @Jesse and @Clark for your honesty. It’s hard to talk about pubicly because there is so much stigma around homelessness, where there shouldn’t be. It’s about circumstances, not illness or substance abuse. I agree with Jesse’s sentiment that everyone should be homeless to feel what it’s like, because it would stir empathy. And Clark, in 1848, it was called “pioneering” and now that all of the land that was stolen from Natives has been “sold” to rich white people, there’s nothing left to discover or sit down on, let alone settle.
There’s a fictionalized narrative that was written by Allan W. Eckert that details how the west was won (stolen). Called The Frontiersmen. Most of the data was culled from archives, which contain original documents showing that everything Eckert wrote was true, and he constructed narratives to show the westward migration through some fictional characters. He wrote the truth about the great Native Chiefs and the brutality of the white armies who looted and burned all of the tribal homes. The Natives were dependent on Buffalo, which is why they are almost extinct now. One of the tools the armies used to control Natives was to remove their food source — buffalo — and hides for clothing. Buffalo didn’t just die out like dinosaurs. They were killed and left to rot in the open. Natives were burned out, and starved, and forced to march on not one but many Trails of Tears. Our constitution was formed by Native systems of honor. So, whites even stole the Native beliefs, and twisted them to suit their desires. That is the foundation for our “democracy”.
When I think of homeless people now, housed people are being encouraged to see them as something that needs to be eradicated, like the Natives were. We do everything but put up a bounty for every homeless scalp to be sold at the federal offices. It’s as if we have no conscience whatsoever. Tragic. The churches are the only salve left.
Some other solution is required. Palo Alto is already targeted by outside groups to burglarize stores, homes, cars and people and the district attorneys are on the sidelines with regard to law enforcement. We now have to pay for alarms systems, police alarm monitoring and motion flood lights. Great business for the security companies.
For years, some local church organizations have announced their sanctuary position as local homes are burglarized. And now we have the parking over nights that churches can do without permission of the local residents. I have had to confront people looking over yard fences early in the morning and urinating in yards. The churches do not conduct background checks on these people as all companies do nor do they contribute to the tax base to hire additional police or support personnel.
There is no end game or measurable success metrics.
I am very sorry to see and read your post @Archer . We are here in Cali, the fifth largest economy in the world, at an apex of a Humanitarian crisis. Help those in need. In the 21 Century here. Our poor are being subjected to a punishing, cruel, mis-informed totality of extreme capitalism. Call it what you will. Yet many, many of our own born & bred residents are suffered iG from a corporate rule of law. Individual rights is now the corporation. The human on on our street w carts, cans, piles of personal belongings. is just, eh. Gross neglect of us reeks within.
@Archer…I cannot believe that providing a simple overnight parking sanctuary for the homeless breeds all of the societal crimes you have cited.
Being African American and homeless is even more precarious due to systemic racism and the inherent fears of many white citizens who view black people as an ongoing threat to their personal safety and well-being.
@My Feelz…good points. In many ways the homeless population is similar to the nomadic Native Americans who did not have a concept of land ownership and title deeds. The Native Americans viewed themselves as caretakers of the land rather than takers of the land.
Manifest Destiny and the westward expansion of white settlers was an entirely different concept that involved
land theft and ongoing deceit…nothing to be proud of.
I don’t understand it at all. Why do the homeless insist on living in the most expensive area in the nation? If we couldn’t afford our mortgages, we’d go live elsewhere. Why don’t the homeless move to the midwest where they can afford the rent? Such pride and entitlement, do any of them even try to better their circumstances? Get two jobs, perhaps? Many immigrants start with nothing yet they work hard, go to college, and then work hard again, eventually affording a house somewhere. We have U.S. citizens who take for granted the opportunities in our nation. They were born and raised here, speak the language, yet they didn’t take advantage of the capitalism. Look at all the migrants who want just the chance at a job. Meanwhile, our homeless expect our taxes to bail them out and find them housing because they refuse to get jobs and have excuses for their lifestyles.
@My Words…many of the homeless have issues that prevent them from holding gainful employment.
Only through government subsidized housing, rehabilitation, and treatment can they be better prepared to tackle what you are proposing.
This is a big topic with a lot of moving parts. A lot of investment by a lot of people. It is unfortunate that the rise in crime at the residential level is rising which complicates unknown people in the area. We are reading about sexual assaults, stolen car parts, home breakins. If someone is complaining about the inhumaity of the people here then we do have an inhumity problem in the number of people who are committing crimes. People now have to be aware of who is in the neighborhood and why they are there.