Why Do We Kick Homeless People out of Winter Shelter During Bad Weather?

The media is saying Los Angeles is experiencing the worst rain in a decade. The Los Angeles Winter Shelter System is currently in operation, however, homeless people are asked to leave during the day.

When the weather is extremely bad, a decision is made to leave the National Guard Armories open all day. The people who make that decision decided on Friday to have a meeting on Monday to see if we leave the doors open on Tuesday. That is unacceptable.

Credit Mark Horvath Today is Monday and the media has been reporting the worst weather. Freeways have even been closed because of flooding. It is nasty outside! Saturday, Sunday, and again today, approximately 600 homeless people were and will be kicked out into the rain with no place to go.
I sure would like to know why!

A few hours after I recorded this video on Sunday, the Winter Shelter opened for the night. Paul, a 63-year-old man, came into the shelter with his hands all white and rubbery from being soaked by the rain all day.

Credit Mark Horvath

The KCBS/KCAL News showed up and broadcast the story on Sunday, but hundreds of homeless people, who have literally no place to go, will still be kicked out in the rain today.

 

 

 

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Comments

[llozano]

04:42 PM on 12/26/2010

It is more than a security issue. There is nothing for these people to do at the shelters during the day and there are no programs or people to staff the programs. Maybe that is what we need to look at. There are other issues involved in this and one is that some communities don't want the homeless hanging around during the day. Shelters have to go through great lengths to find places to put the shelters. In some cases the locations are kept secret so even those using the shelter have to be transported there from other locations and no one is allowed in a shelter that is not transported there by their buses. We could do more but that would take an investment that our city government is not ready to make.

[flowermeja]

01:26 PM on 12/22/2010

I was once told that it was a security issue: that there were enough people who would use the facilities to engage in questionable activity during the day that there was too much liability in allowing people to be there.

So, if that's still the "why" then the next question is how we're going to deal with this. Not all people who need the shelters are sketchy, and people are still humans regardless of their circumstances (and with the recession and unemployment rates being what they are, I think it's especially wrong to think that the homeless are "other people" and "not like us"). So, what do we need to do to keep providing shelter to those who need it?

[lletaa]

01:04 PM on 12/22/2010

A society is judged by how well it treats its most unfortunate citizens. Need I say more.

[Don Paschal]

01:22 PM on 12/20/2010

It is amazing. LA county is supposed to be making a decision abot making the shelters open 24 hours during this storm. And past a couple of mentions on the local all news station this is the only coverage of this. One now understands the meaning of the term "less than human."

[alreadybad]

09:00 PM on 12/21/2010

Not until it directly affects them and this tide of grief and despair may one day do that.