Unusual Step

The Los Angeles Police Department took the unusual step Thursday of urging homeless people to get off the street and seek shelter at night after three transients were stabbed in their sleep by an assailant who left behind rambling “death warrants.”

I guess it is unusual for police departments to urge homeless to get off the street and seek shelter at night,  yet it seems usual that municipalities want homeless people off the streets.  Here in Long Beach city government does not want shelters because they think providing safe places for those without homes to sleep will draw homeless people to the city. 


The article also says homeless should at least find groups; safety in numbers. When I go downtown during the day, I wonder where people sleep now that the spots homeless grouped are gone. It is possible what some peers called "the cut" and I called "the group sleep" still fills with homeless sleepers overnight.

Police routinely rousted groups of homeless sleeping around the library and city hall area and at Chavez park. Sleeping outdoors in the open, unprotected, is scary, even when part of a group or sleeping near other homeless people. I consider myself lucky that I survived with only one robbery attempt and a few scary moments where I packed up and left fearing for my safety from homed people. Oh, and a couple of my peers who were not trustworthy types.

Homeless, handicapped, elderly and children are easy targets for bullies, that is for sure.