This is 100% accurate. I used to do ministry with homeless people on the West Coast. I stopped a few years ago, after I had numerous homeless people tell me within one evening that they liked being homeless, that they didn’t want to get off the streets and into their own home and to have a job and be able to take care of themselves because “they give us everything we need right here. They come and give us food. We are alllowed to do drugs. They give us needles. If we are sick, we just make our way to the hospital [and get free treatment in the ER.] This is a good life. Why would we want to get off of the streets?”Many of them also communicated that, “Word on the street is to move to this state and city. Because they give you everything you need. So that is why I came here.” Colorado. Texas. Georgia. I don’t even remember all the states they said they came from, to come to this city on the West Coast. They literally had no shame and were acknowledging that they were professional homeless people being enabled by a dysfunctional, broken system.
I’ve even spent my own money to generously buy a venti mocha and large deluxe subway-style sandwich to give to a homeless person to have him snap at me that he didn’t want food, he wanted money. “Do you have cash? What I want is cash.” You can’t make this up. Entitled. Ungrateful. Demanding. Unwilling to work. Committed to being a drag on society and taking from those who are working, when they themselves can work. It is sickening and spitting in the face of God, their Maker.
That’s consistent with my experience in San Diego county. Most don’t want to leave the streets, and some feel entitled. Meanwhile the NGO’s wring their hands, say they need more money, inflate statistics. In California today, if you insist on sober living quarters for the homeless, you cannot get state or federal funding. The NGO’s send contributions to Democratic candidates, then get refunded after being elected in a state that is about as one party as North Korea. The whole cycle is a massive grift.
All that going on just to keep a party in power who can’t win an election on policies alone. You’d think they’d repent of their poor policies, but no.. it’s about foisting ideology on people and forcing a change in society.. making it into a reflection of their own image.
Yes. And it's also about power. Every left-wing government or movement has evolved into an aristocracy that foreswears the equality and democracy they once propounded. The Soviet Union, Maoist China, Cuba, Venezuela under Chavez/Maduro, North Korea.
Also a homeless ministry vet and I concur. The housing first model sounds good but fails in the real world.
CA governor candidate Chad Bianco did an interview here locally (in Sacto) a few weeks ago. What he said was: "Ask anyone in law enforcement who it is that's on the streets. They'll tell you it's 95% folks with serious mental health and drug problems. The family that's socially functional but just down on their luck is so rare, and when we find them we plu8g them into services right away because they're ready. But that 90-95% needs compulsory mental health treatment and/or drug rehab, before they will even be close to ready."
This comment convinced me to vote for him, since it matched my own experience perfectly.
An interesting and well-done study. Even so, the results are 100% predictable, just as there was no surprise that the activists have been lying about it all along.
A good study, but not surprising. It's good to have this all documented. There are many causes of homelessness. The "substance addicted homeless" are drawn to permissive cities and states with sanctuary status and free handouts without any mandatory treatment or accountability.
We do t have homeless campsites in my Florida town. Know why? It’s against the law. And the law is enforced here. We also don’t have protesters blocking streets and traffic, because our governor passed a law saying drivers can run through them if they’re attacked or in fear. We also don’t give out drug paraphernalia or entitlements to people not from here. It’s the simplest solutions that work best. Send this column to Spencer Pratt!
Here in my small city in Georgia, we have a few homeless places pop up occasionally in out of the way wooded areas. However, once the cops are apprised and complained about it, they root them out and scatter them elsewhere. We have always had homeless encampments, but they were called "hobo jungles" and were certainly not catered to like minor royalty. The big blue cities have done this to themselves. I wouldn't care if they went bankrupt except we are all paying for it, so the soft-headed liberals can congratulate themselves on their 'compassion'. I cannot understand why a city allows such degradation and filth to completely destroy their downtown. Open air drug markets, passed out addicts on the feces dotted sidewalks and an area worse than a foul smelling garbage dump.
I feel we need to stop using "homeless" or "unhoused" as descriptors for these folks.
they are primarily alcoholics and drug addicts and mentally unstable people.
As numerous studies show, as this one does, they come to cities that promote free stuff with no responsibility or accountability for your actions.
Shut down the free shit and start locking folks up who commit crimes. If they dont agree to treatment or comply then they stay in "housing" aka as jail.
This article reflects a growing frustration many residents are feeling across Los Angeles County. Cities are increasingly being asked to absorb large-scale affordable and supportive housing projects while any questions about operational realities are immediately dismissed as “anti-housing” or anti-homeless.
Just last night, Pasadena approved a 133-unit supportive housing project adjacent to established single-family neighborhoods, yet many residents left feeling there was little meaningful public discussion about long-term management, behavioral health realities, security, oversight, or how the project will function in the area over time.
What makes the issue even more concerning is growing evidence that many individuals entering Los Angeles County’s homeless system are not originally from the communities now being asked to absorb these impacts.
People should be able to ask legitimate questions about operations, accountability, safety, and neighborhood compatibility without automatically being labeled anti-housing. Compassion and thoughtful planning should coexist.
Well it's a big source of kickback money to the DNC, so no matter how much the problem increases, you'll never find the DNC trying to truly solve it, But actively opposing proven solutions.
Their situation is being used to defraud the public purse and likely their names and fictitious addresses are being used for dem votes so very advantageous to keep the status quo
I remember as much as 20 years ago there was a circuit on the West Coast between Seattle and LA. When it was rainy and cold in the winter, the homeless would head south and when the weather was hot, the homeless would head north. They only needed a bus ticket. They certainly take a lot of effort to do nothing but stay on drugs and the street. Seattle, Portland, California all have the same policies. End sanctuary states. End housing first policies. Rehab, jail and mental care housing, that's where the money should be spent.
This weather-related nomadic flow of homeless north & south, depending on the season of the year, has been going on for at least 45 years, to my limited knowledge ...
What is the implication of the following statement in the article? It wasn't written accidentally, and its relevance also wasn't explained:
"Nearly 40 percent told us they were from other states, mostly from states that voted for President Trump in 2024"
So, about one-third of them came from red states, and about two-thirds of them came from blue states. This is about what I expected, although the way the sentence was written seems to imply something else. Maybe it's just me.
The implication is that the red states don’t enable and reward homelessness. You apparently have not worked with the homeless in one of these blue cities, or you would know this.
I think you misunderstand my point. The majority are coming from blue states. The minority are coming from red states. It would be interesting to know the per capita statistics. I infer the statement as being critical of President Trump, which I don't understand. Do you?
Thank you for this article!I live in Austin and have been asking our council to consider the place our growing homeless come from. I am happy to help Austinites down on their luck but I'm afraid we have created a community that is here from somewhere else to take advantage of our liberal policies.
Just like the massive numbers, illegal or legal, flooding into this country. Benefits like medical care, housing, SNAP cards etc. All paid for by American taxpayers It's no mystery why they come here, but it will wreck all our governments, city, state and federal. They also bring murder and fraud. We have enough of that here by our own natives.
It's like the line in the movie, "Field of Dreams, build it, and they will come". Well we built it, and they came by the millions from the s*** countries they built and now want to run away and come here, legally or illegally.
This is 100% accurate. I used to do ministry with homeless people on the West Coast. I stopped a few years ago, after I had numerous homeless people tell me within one evening that they liked being homeless, that they didn’t want to get off the streets and into their own home and to have a job and be able to take care of themselves because “they give us everything we need right here. They come and give us food. We are alllowed to do drugs. They give us needles. If we are sick, we just make our way to the hospital [and get free treatment in the ER.] This is a good life. Why would we want to get off of the streets?”Many of them also communicated that, “Word on the street is to move to this state and city. Because they give you everything you need. So that is why I came here.” Colorado. Texas. Georgia. I don’t even remember all the states they said they came from, to come to this city on the West Coast. They literally had no shame and were acknowledging that they were professional homeless people being enabled by a dysfunctional, broken system.
I’ve even spent my own money to generously buy a venti mocha and large deluxe subway-style sandwich to give to a homeless person to have him snap at me that he didn’t want food, he wanted money. “Do you have cash? What I want is cash.” You can’t make this up. Entitled. Ungrateful. Demanding. Unwilling to work. Committed to being a drag on society and taking from those who are working, when they themselves can work. It is sickening and spitting in the face of God, their Maker.
That’s consistent with my experience in San Diego county. Most don’t want to leave the streets, and some feel entitled. Meanwhile the NGO’s wring their hands, say they need more money, inflate statistics. In California today, if you insist on sober living quarters for the homeless, you cannot get state or federal funding. The NGO’s send contributions to Democratic candidates, then get refunded after being elected in a state that is about as one party as North Korea. The whole cycle is a massive grift.
All that going on just to keep a party in power who can’t win an election on policies alone. You’d think they’d repent of their poor policies, but no.. it’s about foisting ideology on people and forcing a change in society.. making it into a reflection of their own image.
Yes. And it's also about power. Every left-wing government or movement has evolved into an aristocracy that foreswears the equality and democracy they once propounded. The Soviet Union, Maoist China, Cuba, Venezuela under Chavez/Maduro, North Korea.
Awful….
This is spot-on.
Also a homeless ministry vet and I concur. The housing first model sounds good but fails in the real world.
CA governor candidate Chad Bianco did an interview here locally (in Sacto) a few weeks ago. What he said was: "Ask anyone in law enforcement who it is that's on the streets. They'll tell you it's 95% folks with serious mental health and drug problems. The family that's socially functional but just down on their luck is so rare, and when we find them we plu8g them into services right away because they're ready. But that 90-95% needs compulsory mental health treatment and/or drug rehab, before they will even be close to ready."
This comment convinced me to vote for him, since it matched my own experience perfectly.
Enabled is the right word to use.
An interesting and well-done study. Even so, the results are 100% predictable, just as there was no surprise that the activists have been lying about it all along.
Yep, if you enable bad behavior, you get more of it.
A good study, but not surprising. It's good to have this all documented. There are many causes of homelessness. The "substance addicted homeless" are drawn to permissive cities and states with sanctuary status and free handouts without any mandatory treatment or accountability.
We do t have homeless campsites in my Florida town. Know why? It’s against the law. And the law is enforced here. We also don’t have protesters blocking streets and traffic, because our governor passed a law saying drivers can run through them if they’re attacked or in fear. We also don’t give out drug paraphernalia or entitlements to people not from here. It’s the simplest solutions that work best. Send this column to Spencer Pratt!
It's against the law in Austin but sadly not enforced.
And did the ... 'NON-enforcement' happen to begin about 15-20 years ago ... or even longer ago ???
Here in my small city in Georgia, we have a few homeless places pop up occasionally in out of the way wooded areas. However, once the cops are apprised and complained about it, they root them out and scatter them elsewhere. We have always had homeless encampments, but they were called "hobo jungles" and were certainly not catered to like minor royalty. The big blue cities have done this to themselves. I wouldn't care if they went bankrupt except we are all paying for it, so the soft-headed liberals can congratulate themselves on their 'compassion'. I cannot understand why a city allows such degradation and filth to completely destroy their downtown. Open air drug markets, passed out addicts on the feces dotted sidewalks and an area worse than a foul smelling garbage dump.
I feel we need to stop using "homeless" or "unhoused" as descriptors for these folks.
they are primarily alcoholics and drug addicts and mentally unstable people.
As numerous studies show, as this one does, they come to cities that promote free stuff with no responsibility or accountability for your actions.
Shut down the free shit and start locking folks up who commit crimes. If they dont agree to treatment or comply then they stay in "housing" aka as jail.
its not too late. enforce our laws.
The proper term is “derelict.”
My Uber driver referred to them as “urban campers”
I use the term urban camping often. It's appropriate because it exists. Even here on Maui.
I think the word you are looking for is bumb.
D I T T O .... !!!!!!!!!!
This article reflects a growing frustration many residents are feeling across Los Angeles County. Cities are increasingly being asked to absorb large-scale affordable and supportive housing projects while any questions about operational realities are immediately dismissed as “anti-housing” or anti-homeless.
Just last night, Pasadena approved a 133-unit supportive housing project adjacent to established single-family neighborhoods, yet many residents left feeling there was little meaningful public discussion about long-term management, behavioral health realities, security, oversight, or how the project will function in the area over time.
What makes the issue even more concerning is growing evidence that many individuals entering Los Angeles County’s homeless system are not originally from the communities now being asked to absorb these impacts.
People should be able to ask legitimate questions about operations, accountability, safety, and neighborhood compatibility without automatically being labeled anti-housing. Compassion and thoughtful planning should coexist.
Well it's a big source of kickback money to the DNC, so no matter how much the problem increases, you'll never find the DNC trying to truly solve it, But actively opposing proven solutions.
To be said ... OVER AND OVER AGAIN !!!!
Their situation is being used to defraud the public purse and likely their names and fictitious addresses are being used for dem votes so very advantageous to keep the status quo
YES ... Indeed !!!
Pretty difficult to be unhoused where there is bad weather. Much better in LA. Plus all the free govt bennies LA offers.
Just like business-friendly states attract business, homeless-friendly states attract homeless.
Who would’ve thought?
I remember as much as 20 years ago there was a circuit on the West Coast between Seattle and LA. When it was rainy and cold in the winter, the homeless would head south and when the weather was hot, the homeless would head north. They only needed a bus ticket. They certainly take a lot of effort to do nothing but stay on drugs and the street. Seattle, Portland, California all have the same policies. End sanctuary states. End housing first policies. Rehab, jail and mental care housing, that's where the money should be spent.
This weather-related nomadic flow of homeless north & south, depending on the season of the year, has been going on for at least 45 years, to my limited knowledge ...
What is the implication of the following statement in the article? It wasn't written accidentally, and its relevance also wasn't explained:
"Nearly 40 percent told us they were from other states, mostly from states that voted for President Trump in 2024"
So, about one-third of them came from red states, and about two-thirds of them came from blue states. This is about what I expected, although the way the sentence was written seems to imply something else. Maybe it's just me.
The implication is that the red states don’t enable and reward homelessness. You apparently have not worked with the homeless in one of these blue cities, or you would know this.
I think you misunderstand my point. The majority are coming from blue states. The minority are coming from red states. It would be interesting to know the per capita statistics. I infer the statement as being critical of President Trump, which I don't understand. Do you?
The blue states they come from have lousy weather that doesn’t support their outdoor lifestyle. The red states don’t allow it.
The blue states they come from have lousy weather that doesn’t support their outdoor lifestyle.
Thank you for this article!I live in Austin and have been asking our council to consider the place our growing homeless come from. I am happy to help Austinites down on their luck but I'm afraid we have created a community that is here from somewhere else to take advantage of our liberal policies.
Austin is headed to the same place unfortunately. I only live an hour away, but rarely go there because of the crime and filth.
Includes areas like D/FW, Houston, San Antonio, etc. just to talk about TX.
Just like the massive numbers, illegal or legal, flooding into this country. Benefits like medical care, housing, SNAP cards etc. All paid for by American taxpayers It's no mystery why they come here, but it will wreck all our governments, city, state and federal. They also bring murder and fraud. We have enough of that here by our own natives.
It's like the line in the movie, "Field of Dreams, build it, and they will come". Well we built it, and they came by the millions from the s*** countries they built and now want to run away and come here, legally or illegally.
Court enforced substance abuse treatment. Cut the benefits by half. Then evaluate.
Sadly, unless Pratt pulls off a home run, nothing’s going to change. Suicidal empathy, meet wholesale graft and corruption.