Homeless effort needs to be focused

The county wide task force designed to tackle the homelessness problem needs to first focus its effort on those who will accept the help.

Homelessness is a problem. It is not limited to any one city and certainly is no worse in Tulare County than any other county. What concerns us is the effort will be too broad in trying to assist everyone labeled as being homeless by design instead of those who are homeless because of unfortunate circumstances.

There is a difference.

We have seen homelessness increase over the years not because of a downturn in the economy, but because of drugs and alcohol and a lack of mental health services. Those who select to live along rivers or on the street because of drug use are going to be difficult to help and some, frankly, don’t want the help. There are many who would welcome the help and those are the ones the task force should focus on first.

There are, and have been, programs out there to assist people down on their luck. There are programs out there to assist those suffering from alcohol or drug addictions. We hope the task force will utilize those services and get people living on the street connected so they can get the help they need to clean up their lives and get off the street.

We do not agree that homelessness in Tulare County is mainly caused by unemployment. The unemployment rate today is not much different than it has been for decades and even during the boom years of the early 2000s when employment was the best we have seen in years, there were still plenty of people we labeled as homeless.

For some, living on the street is a chosen lifestyle and the task force will have little success with them. And, there are those homeless who move from community to community, depending on what free services are available or the time of the year. Tulare County’s climate is very conducive to living outdoors.

We wish the task force success and hope it will help to clean up our streets and riverbanks. But, don’t expect miracles that homelessness is going to disappear.