Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Any Hope For the Homeless Problem ?


Pepe is a very pleasant young homeless man that I occasionally see in my neighborhood, usually very near the doughnut shop that I visit probably too often . . . says my belt! He would have graduated high school in 2012, but he never actually graduated. When I asked him why he doesn’t get his G.E.D, he said, “No need, as the U.S. is not going to be here for long.” I have no idea what he meant by this, but to my way of thinking this kind of thought process is not normal. I do not think that he is on drugs, and can only think that his bizarre ideas about the future represent some sort of paranoia.

Now keep in mind that even though Pepe never graduated from high school, he appears to be pretty smart. Every time I approach him, he is always either reading paperbacks or reading something on an iPhone. When asked, he tells me what his present book is about, and that he gets his books from the library. These days it is winter, and even though it is San Diego, when I go out at around six in the morning, the temperature is often in the mid-forties, and very occasionally in the high thirties. Without question being homeless is no fun in a place like Chicago where it gets really really cold, but it cannot be pleasant sleeping outside when it’s 45 degrees. I feel bad for Pepe, but when I mentioned that maybe he could get into the program down at Father Joe’s, he wasn’t interested. I again mentioned that he could get his G.E.D. down there, and in the future the G.E.D. might real come in handy. His response, “Why would I need to do that if we are not going to be around that long?”

For years I have avoided commenting on the steadily increasing problem of the homeless in California, and more significantly, to me, in San Diego where I live. I have not commented as I do not have the answer to this problem. 

However, a few months ago, I received a mailer from Scott Sherman, a termed out councilman who was now running for mayor His potential solutions seemed pretty reasonable.

He started out by saying, “In the seven years I’ve been on the City Council we’ve increased homeless spending from $18 million to $102 million for this present year – it’s not working. Compassion without consequences is enabling, and we have people suffering from mental illness or drug addition living on the street. They need our help.” He goes on from there with specific points.

He certainly seems right concerning the obvious failure of our present predominately Democrat City Council’s idea of throwing more and more money at the problem without getting any results in return.

As best I can tell, Pepe is not breaking any laws by sleeping at night in the sheltered area outside the front of the library. However, I feel bad for him, and hoped that Mayor Sherman could do something in the future to change the steadily increasing trend of homelessness in San Diego.

Unfortunately there will be no Mayor Sherman, as he lost, and consequently I see further increases in spending for the homeless in years to come!

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