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Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

latimes.com

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Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#21

Todd said she had gone to the overpass to distribute sandwiches, potato chips and water to people living at the freeway encampment. Todd’s lawsuit accuses the city of allowing the encampment at the 101 overpass on Gower to remain for a “substantial amount of time,” Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out?

Very few people want to “throw out” homeless people. The reductionist vitriol is common, but unhelpful for a productive discussion.

> Very few people want to “throw out” homeless people.

you clearly haven't met californians

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#22
post #14
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out? Article is paywalled, but presumably she doesn't want them thrown out. There are, in fact, other solutions to homeless encampments...

I seriously don't know what the solution is. Enlighten us?

Social housing.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#23
As a non-American person living in the US, I fail to understand one thing about its society. When I walk around town I see tons and tons of places advertising jobs, for simple stuff like kitchen, moving stuff around, etc. I even recently saw a store with a "talk to the manager and start working right now" sign. And then I walk around the streets and see all these homeless. It seems like a paradox to me, but I am obviously missing some important detail here.

Of course I understand some drug addicts may not want a job or simply know they can't last more than a few days in one, but I would imagine a lot of these homeless people I see on the streets would actually like to have an income and be able to live anywhere that's not the streets. How do you reconcile that with the fact that there are so many simple jobs with open positions everywhere?

This is not supposed to be a sarcastic or politically loaded question. Where I come from, jobs are simply unavailable and at the moment you advertise it, even if it's just flipping burgers, there are lines and lines of people competing for it. I fail to understand why the US is so different. Anybody would please be able to point me at what I'm missing?

Edit: also, people who can't afford housing usually live with their families for a long time (or the whole life). Tiny houses with entire generations of families living in it are common. I guess this is still miles better than living in the streets.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#24
post #14
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out? Article is paywalled, but presumably she doesn't want them thrown out. There are, in fact, other solutions to homeless encampments...

I seriously don't know what the solution is. Enlighten us?

This is just a personal take but

* House the ones that are functional/capable of taking care of themselves to an extent

* Mandatory rehab for the ones are strung out pm debilitating opiates

* Asylum for the ones are mentally disabled.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#25

Todd said she had gone to the overpass to distribute sandwiches, potato chips and water to people living at the freeway encampment. Todd’s lawsuit accuses the city of allowing the encampment at the 101 overpass on Gower to remain for a “substantial amount of time,” Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out?

I think it’s consistent to both not want encampments in a particular location, and to also care about those who occupy them. I agree it’s a bit weird though. She’s definitely not a pedestrian who just happened to be inconvenienced by the tents, but actually sought them out. Should make for some interesting legal arguments.

It seems very consistent. Many people are also pro-bike but generally agree it is not in the public interest to allow bikes to be ridden on crowded city streets.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#26
Many Californians are struggling with the ultimate internal battle: Posturing about caring for the homeless while doing everything in their power to prevent housing from getting built. Because density "hurts the vibe of the neighborhood."

Outsiders make fun of California for being overly progressive, but it's entirely surface level. Most are conservative beyond performative actions.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#27

Kevin Paffrath has some ideas for solving this. The Democratic Party seems bent on preventing him from having a fair shot.

Looking at his website: "We will immediately house the unhoused. It’s simple. No house? We will provide a roof over their head." Well, that was easy. Obviously there are homeless and there are homeless. Looking back in time, any plan that doesn't involve being mean to some of them won't work.

Reminiscent of Monty Python's 'How to do it' sketch...'Playing the flute, well you just blow through here and move your fingers up and down, that's it really.'

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#28

Todd said she had gone to the overpass to distribute sandwiches, potato chips and water to people living at the freeway encampment. Todd’s lawsuit accuses the city of allowing the encampment at the 101 overpass on Gower to remain for a “substantial amount of time,” Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out?

Presumably the City of Los Angles isn't confronting the problem due to an unwillingness to spend funds. If she is successful, the cost of doing nothing will increase. So her goal isn't to throw them out, it's to force the city's hand.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#29

As a non-American person living in the US, I fail to understand one thing about its society. When I walk around town I see tons and tons of places advertising jobs, for simple stuff like kitchen, moving stuff around, etc. I even recently saw a store with a "talk to the manager and start working right now" sign. And then I walk around the streets and see all these homeless. It seems like a paradox to me, but I am obvi…

You're seeing second and third order effects of our poor healthcare system. Especially the complete lack of appropriate mental health.

Re: Woman sues L.A. after being struck by car on a street where tents block sidewalk

#30

Todd said she had gone to the overpass to distribute sandwiches, potato chips and water to people living at the freeway encampment. Todd’s lawsuit accuses the city of allowing the encampment at the 101 overpass on Gower to remain for a “substantial amount of time,” Why is she distributing supplies to a group of people she wants the city to throw out?

Believe it or not you can feed the homeless and also want the city to do more for them without turning your streets into a slum.

Beyond that, it is arguable that allowing people to live in squalor yield the worse welfare outcomes these people than limiting their agency. Thus, you can both want to provide them with fresh, clean food and prevent them from living in areas that spread diseases like typhus.

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/03/typhus-tu...

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