Some myths about homelessness get repeated so often that they become accepted as true. But with more than 31,000 people sleeping in our parks and on our sidewalks every night here in Los Angeles County, we cannot allow fallacies to drive our homeless policies.
“Some people just want to live on the street” is perhaps the most dangerous myth about homelessness. Yes, some people resist moving into short-term shelters because that may require separating family members, losing one's belongings, or submitting to religious proselytizing or demoralizing rules. But that is not the same as wanting to sleep outdoors.
Study after study confirms that money spent providing housing and services to those who are homeless (or at high risk of it) is recouped on medical care, policing and prisons. -
If living without shelter is perceived as just a poor personal choice, punitive law enforcement approaches may seem reasonable. But they are not. Aggressive ticketing for loitering or jaywalking, bans against living in vehicles and sweeps of encampments criminalize daily life for those who have no place to go.
Almost everyone will agree to come inside if they are approached respectfully and offered actual housing, not just temporary shelter. Perhaps the clearest repudiation of the housing-resistance myth is Los Angeles County's Project 50. Begun in late 2007, it sought to house the most vulnerable and chronically homeless adults living on skid row. Four years later, only 20 participants had left the project and 94 people were still living in stable housing.
To continue reading this op-ed by Adam Murray, the executive director of Inner City Law Center, which serves homeless and working poor clients from its office on skid row, go to: http://www.latimes.com/opinion...-20160101-story.html
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