How will candidates for LA City Council and Board of Supervisors respond to the Supreme Court stating the homeless have a right to sleep on the sidewalks AND in public parks due to the lack of shelters?
The city of Inglewood is touting the opening of a multi-billion dollar NFL stadium and a multi million dollar NBA arena with ZERO committment to build shelters in the city. In nearby city of Los Angeles, as city owned property remains undeveloped, there is much conversation about building “affordable housing” but no new buildings to house the homeless.
Candidates like Mark Ridley-Thomas and Herb Wesson like to wax poetic like they are champions of homeless initiatives, however, they are too eager to garner campaign publicity by holding umpteen panel discussions and campaign videos looking for their son on the streets of Skid Row as opposed to erecting more homeless shelters that are desperately needed.
Residents of LA County are expected to see more homeless encampments, on city streets, freeway underpasses and the like until our elected officials get serious about addressing the issue. Some homeless encampments have been the direct cause of widespread fires throughout the region, landing the offender in jail, as opposed to a safe shelter with proper heating.
The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that protects homeless people’s right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available.
The justices without comment or a dissent said that they would not hear the case from Boise, Idaho, which challenged a ruling by a federal appeals court.
The outcome is a significant victory for homeless activists and a setback for city officials in California and other western states who argued the appeals court ruling undercut their authority to regulate encampments on the sidewalks.
Read the full article on LATimes.com
