Yes, but there is significantly more of it happening, optically, on the west coast than anywhere else in the United States. What is San Diego's unofficial name? "The Home of the Homeless". Before you flame, I spent years touring the United States, living and photographing homeless people and communities. West Coasters should really stop getting defensive and take action, if it actually matters to you all. All that wealth... So greedily spent... All those people... laying in the streets... strung out on cra..."KFC"! Had to tie it back to avoid the rule crazies. ;)
imho it comes from western states not simply rounding them up. in atlanta, before the peach bowl the cops would descend on downtown, arrest all the homeless, bus them up to cherokee, and then the time it took them to return was greater than the length of the event.
now that's a little less common and the yearly doctor conference has noticed the homeless and is complaining about it. i think homelessness is a consequence not of any one area but of the american way of doing things. we treat it as an incurable disease, like addiction, but that we don't care enough about to fix.
> imho it comes from western states not simply rounding them up.
And the supreme court says they should go ahead and do so. After all, there's no discrimination: the police can round up anyone sleeping under a bridge, whether poor or rich.
Thats why I said "optically", I actually agree with the sentiment that homelessness is often much worse and unseen in other parts of the United States- but! CA could do a-lot more given its wealth and desire to be seen as "thoughtful".
> CA could do a-lot more given its ... desire to be seen as "thoughtful".
Uhh, what? The state that produced Nixon, Reagan, Prop 13; the capital of NIMBYism and the state that had more Trump voters than any other?
Sure, California is wealthy and spends a lot on its citizens, especially the needy, but it also has strong countervailing pressure, more influential than you might think given the makeup of its legislature.
A state is a big amorphous group and can't hardly have a "desire".
There was no benefit to anyone, I chose to be homeless and to spend time sharing their stories. I had no capacity to help them outside of small ways, food, shelter, voice.
> West Coasters should really stop getting defensive and take action, if it actually matters to you all.
As a lifetime resident of the northwest and a current resident of Seattle let me say, sincerely, fuck you too.
Your characterization of west coast residents as uncaring and inactive is inconsistent with reality. There is no shortage of people working on homelessness and related issues. Not every person has to spend every waking moment on your pet issue for it to be taken seriously. Everyone has different talents and homelessness isn't the only issue we face.
