Chicolandia and Our Homeless – Part II (Update)

by Jack Lee

 The Keep Chico Clean and Safe Task Force met today at the old City Hall building on Main street and we heard a progress report on the homeless problem.  The roving downtown ambassador program has begun their outreach to the homeless. 

They will be informing them of the proper places to seek assistance (to avoid panhandling) and they’ll also be speaking with them about their behavior, personal issues (drug and alcohol addiction) and offering suggestions.   That potentially could avert some criminal behavior or at the very least they could point them in the right direction, away from our downtown  to relieve some of the pressure.  

This was the main reason for the task force or at least this is what I thought.  But, it seems to be turning into something more to benefit the homeless than our downtown merchants.   Those businesses have been besieged by customer complaints over bums, travelers, drunks, druggies, homeless, crazies, whatever the case may be, that are causing a host of problems.   They’re acting aggressive, weird, inappropriate, or just annoying, others are panhandling and demanding spare change.  But, there’s certainly been much worse, and you know that if you’ve been following the headlines.   People have been hurt.  There’s been stabbings, fights and murder.   For the downtown merchants it’s come to the point where many of their old customers have simply stopped shopping in the downtown.  They don’t want to deal with the street people anymore!  Thus the task force.   

The task force’s stated mission recognizes this serious problem (or at least most of them do) and they seek productive ways of dealing with the street people, but, it’s not easy…in fact it’s been one of Chico’s toughest problems that has yet to be solved.   Many of these street folks are drug addicts, alcoholics, or have serious mental problems, or it’s a combination of all the above.   Some can be reached and some can’t, but this task force is trying and for that part, I strongly applaud their efforts.    

They say our Chico Ambassador program is just the start to resolving the problem and more solutions are coming.   Okay, to be candid…I think having roving groups of kindly, intelligent adults asking more or less immature, irreverent and disorderly people to behave and play nice  is probably not going to work.  However, for right now, and absent a better way to start,  I’m in a wait and see mode.   I wish them much luck…I’m sure they’ll need it!

Next:  Unfortunately, the Chair of this Homeless Task Force is coming from a very far left perspective that probably few in the affected downtown area share.    Jennifer Haffner, Esq.,  has a strong belief that creating costly adult daycare centers and constructing yet another expensive homeless shelter (this will be the 4th)  that has virtually no rules, will be very helpful.  She assures us the facilities won’t act like magnets for more homeless.    She’s sure this is what we need…me,  I’m taking the polar opposite view. 

But, why virtually no rules for the new shelter, you may wonder?   Ms Haffner told me that many on the street are there because they were thrown out of the other shelters for breaking the rules.   These were the disruptive, dangerous people who got the boot and they need some place to go.   I can think of a great place for them to go…but I’ll be civil for the sake of a G rating. 

Ms. Haffner doesn’t care about that unruly behavior when it comes to providing shelter.   She believes it’s a cost effective, human right, to have a roof over your head, food in your stomach (and although she didn’t expressly say so…I inferred she wanted quality health-care too) and if this means no personal responsibility, no accountability on the part of the recipient, then so be it.    That’s a lot to ask of this conservative community!   It’s also an extreme view that’s probably not helpful when it’s coming from the lead person who is supposed to be fund-raising,  garnering support and coordinating with many groups.    I can’t see how her views would be anything but a wedge between the left and right when we need a united front…but, maybe that’s just me.

 So her leadership is problematic for me and I told her so, but be assured I did so respectfully.   Now, let me make this part very clear.   I know she has a good heart, but she’s trying to establish a utopian society here.  Common sense backed up by centuries of  history says that won’t work, not here or anywhere.   I can’t fault her for her altruism, but I can fault her for her naivety and eagerness to spend our tax dollars on societies dropouts who will never appreciate it, much less become productive due to it.  

 I think her leadership is therefore counterproductive to this task force.   She should have a voice, but perhaps not the lead voice.   

If she gets what she wants, I believe she’s going to introduce a very dangerous element into naive little Mayberry (Chico) and her soft hearted kindness will no doubt spell disaster for the community now and for many years and decades to come.     

Just so there’s no misunderstanding, maybe I should back up and clarify exactly who we’ve been focusing on here?  These are generally the healthy, mentally competent, younger adults who see themselves as modern-day vagabonds.   They’re living the life of a Jack Kerouac, on the road, where life is an adventure and working people are suckers.   They’re determined to take the path of least resistance and I just can’t respect that and I don’t think they deserve one whit of our charity.   They don’t have a job and can’t pay their own way, because they don’t too.  And actually don’t have too either, they have plenty of codependents that will give them all them need…for now.   There’s plenty of us that think they deserve to be cared for and that we should cover the bill.    Those folks would gladly provide all those needful things, with no questions asked, albeit with your money.  

She (Haffner) rationalizes her form of charity because she says she has studies that say it costs taxpayers $35k a year to have people on the street, but only $14K to place them in a shelter ( I strongly disagree with this number).   I’m sure there are those studies, just not sure they’re right.   Here’s a big flaw,  you can’t just “place” them in a shelter anymore than you can arrest them for being a derelict.   No, that’s against their Constitutional rights!   This has to be 100% voluntary deal and this brings us back to the hard reality.  This reality has to do with the idea that things given away freely are rarely appreciated or cared for.   That free clothing, food and shelter allow an unmotivated person to stay unmotivated and dependant on some one who is productive.     

 But, moreover the people we’re talking about are those who want to live their lives unfettered by the conventional rules and laws the rest of must.  They take what they can, when and where they can, and life for them is pretty good… as long as that charity lasts.   They’re what I call, “the charity predators” that play the system for all they can and deprive the real needy when the charity runs dry.   There’s ample free things to be taken too, so much free food, free clothing and free lodging…and that’s just the beginning of what’s out here!   There’s a long list of freebe’s for those who know the game and where too look. 

The pro’s know you can get free housing, free Internet and free cells phones or even a free laptop computer.    There are websites, government published leaflets and a myriad of underground ways, all communicating this  info to our reluctant-to-work homeless takers.    This is why it’s said so often, (and rightly so) that America’s poor have nothing in common with the poor in the rest of the world.   By comparison, our poor are quite well off.   But, when it comes to our poor, some people still think we can never do enough (these folks are the codependents, the bleeding hearts, and soft headed fools ) and of course  I strongly disagree with their thinking, well, almost completely - and instead I believe accountability and responsibility go a lot farther to rehabbing one of these young adults seeking a free ride.

Now back to Chico and what to do about our homeless.  

First, lets look at the reality in statistical terms.  Most of them have found a way to get on welfare, Medical or Social Security, the small number that are left out are presumably what we see on the street.  Well, I better rephrase that one,  the rest may also be drawing some of these  benefits, but they use the money, food stamps, etc., inappropriately.  They squander it on in casinos, booze and/or drugs.  So, they wind up in trouble, back where they were before we put them on assistance…and they’re still homeless, still looking for a handout and make no mistake there’s plenty like this on the streets.   

Some in the task force think they can be shown love and compassion to the point they will naturally want to become productive citizens.  Then there are some, like me, think tough love is the answer and anything else is just prolonging the problem.   

My bottom line is, the travelers who refuse to play by the rules in a shelter deserve to be on the streets and shouldn’t get any more handouts until their attitude improves.   This would be a great lesson in life, one they’ve apparently been able to avoid up till now.   Instead they’ve learned how easy it is to get away with bad behavior.   They’ve become acclimated to being professional takers.   Look  folks, there’s absolutely nothing in it for us to have these types hanging around Chico!  I could care less if they are deprived or hungry or whatever, it’s on them.    And if there’s nothing here for those types they will go seek out places run by the Jennifer Haffner’s of this world.  Portlandia, Seattle, San Francisco…these are just a few of the really great places to live for free…while their programs last, before the tax money dries up and the cities go broke.   

This brings up Chico’s finances.  We must be doing really well to afford those proposed adult daycare centers to keep the bums off the streets and build a new $1.4 million dollar homeless shelter…and here I thought we were broke?