NEWSBYJENNIFER COOPER

Instead of pretending homelessness doesn't exist, creating new laws to make it illegal to sit or sleep in public, or sending homeless residents on a one-way trip out of town, Los Angeles County may attempt to actually do something about ending homelessness. And the county is setting the bar high; it hopes to reduce its homeless population by 70 percent in the next five years.

With almost 50,000 without a place to call home (pdf) on any given night, Los Angeles has been called the homeless capital of the United States. Providing services for those who are homeless, particularly the chronic homeless who make up 25 percent of the population but consume 74 percent of available resources, costs $875 million a year. That's enough to pay every homeless person in Los Angeles to work a full-time minimum wage job, and still have money to spare.

But, instead of throwing more money at programs that are not working, the plan is to make better use existing resources. An action plan (pdf) released earlier this month by the LA Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way called the way the county has been dealing with homelessness "outdated" and urges shifting to a housing first model. Towards that end, the goal is to move homeless residents directly into permanent housing instead of costly shelters and temporary housing, particularly the chronically homeless.

"Homelessness has existed for so long that we have accepted it as part of our reality. We have become immune to its impact on all of us, and we therefore have needlessly allowed it to continue," Jerry Neuman and Renee White Fraser, co-chairs of the Los Angeles Business Leaders Task Force on Homelessness, wrote in the action plan's introduction. "The most striking characteristic of homelessness in Los Angeles is that it does not need to be this way."

At noon today 12 women from El Paso began a hunger strike in front of the White House to protest the endemic poverty and violence that plagues the United States-Mexico border.

The women, part of the group La Mujer Obrera, are calling for federal decision makers to immediately support long-term community development in the region. The communities along the 2,000-mile border are among the nation's poorest.

At a time when billions are being spent on construction and security at the border, La Mujer Obrera is demanding that women not be left out of the equation, and rightfully so. According to a position paper (pdf) released in August by La Mujer Obrera, the majority of both documented and undocumented immigrants in the region are women and children, many of whom are fleeing domestic violence in their own countries.

Further, female immigrants suffer even more workplace wage discrimination than do their male counterparts — this despite the fact that the average immigrant woman is better educated and more likely to be a student in an English language class than her male counterpart.

In recent years La Mujer Obrera has taken matters into its own hands and renovated four abandoned garment factory buildings for a women workers' development program, as well as created a daycare center, restaurant and a festival marketplace in El Paso to create jobs and help women break free from the cycles of poverty and violence. But a lack of financial and political support has put its efforts in jeopardy. This lack of support has pushed the women to say, "Enough."

Apparently San Francisco Chronicle columnist C.W. Nevius is unfamiliar with the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to an attorney.

With an estimated 10,000 "quality of life" violations a year in San Francisco for crimes such as camping, blocking sidewalks, and drinking in public — a number that is likely to rise with the recent passage of San Francisco's sit-lie ordinance — it is hardly surprising that city courts are having trouble keeping up. Denying the poor and homeless the right to counsel is no way to solve the problem, though. Everyone deserves an attorney. In fact, it is a right.

That hasn't stopped Nevius from faulting law firms for defending homeless clients whose crime is, in his view, "open and shut." In a recent column, Nevius seems to suggest that if you are homeless, and have been ticketed for urinating on the street, panhandling or public drunkenness, you are clearly guilty and should pay for your crime. No attorney for you.

Unfortunately Nevius is completely missing the point. The problem is not that pro bono attorneys are successfully fighting the charges. The problem is that the tickets were issued in the first place — a message the San Francisco Board of Supervisors needs to hear loud and clear.

Yes homelessness is a growing problem in San Francisco, but ticketing those who have nowhere to live and no means to pay is not going to solve the problem. And it is public money that could be put to productive use to provide services for the homeless such as housing assistance, emergency shelters, job training and substance abuse programs.

Rather than do nothing about the rising homeless population in Kitsap County, Washington, Bremerton Rescue Mission is moving ahead with plans to construct a series of temporary heated plywood cabins on 2.5 acres of land in the city of Bremerton.

Initially the group intends to construct six 12' x 12' cabins. Eventually there could be as many as 35 cabins housing 45 adults and 70 children.

Though the cabins are far from ideal housing, they offer more safety and protection from the elements than sleeping in a tent, on the street or in a car. They will also provide families with an address and a stable home from which to get back on their feet and into permanent housing. And it certainly assures them a better fate than many other homeless left to fend for themselves in insufficient shelter. A homeless man in Allentown, Pennsylvania was recently crushed to death after crawling into a recycling container for warmth.

In a letter (pdf) to the community, Joel Adamson, the owner of the land, said he got involved after learning that all 14 of Kitsap County's emergency shelters for families are full and that between 100 and 200 children are sleeping in the family car with their parents. "As we approach winter, there is the very real possibility a child may freeze to death in their car," he wrote.

The site has already been approved for development of 11 homes but Adamson agreed to lease the land for the homeless camp for $1 a year while he waits for the housing market to improve.

Of course the project is not without controversy. Several residents have complained that the site is not suitable for the cabins and that the homeless camp will bring crime and declining home values. Fortunately under recently passed state legislation, local governments in Washington cannot block tent cities and homeless camps sanctioned by churches. But that hasn’t stopped neighbors from crying NIMBY.

Having a roof over one's head is nice. Having a job that will enable one to pay for said roof is even nicer.

Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall helped Erica Merriwether get just that. Merriwether lost her accounting job at an Atlanta law firm in July 2008 and eventually lost her home and her car. By the end of 2009, she was living in a homeless shelter.

That all changed in February when, with the help of First Step Staffing, she was hired as an administrative assistant for Hall. The job gave her an income and the means to continue looking for a job as an accountant, which she eventually landed at the Rosewood Hotel at the Mansion on Peachtree in late August.

Now Hall is calling on his fellow City Council members to consider hiring those who are homeless through First Step Staffing or similar programs. Some 7,000 residents of the Atlanta Metro region are homeless. First Step, and other programs like Boston's Work First, focus on putting the formerly homeless on a path to financial independence.

Those who are homeless often have trouble finding a job because they lack an address and phone number, have long periods of unemployment, have a criminal record, or lack transportation to and from work. First Step Staffing provides not only job training and transportation to the work site if no public transportation is available, but it also assists in securing affordable housing.

When cities and towns enact laws that prohibit loitering, panhandling, camping, eating in public or otherwise make it a crime to be homeless, the justification is often that public safety benefits.

As it turns out, violent crimes against homeless people are more common in areas that criminalize homelessness. A study (pdf) conducted by the National Coalition for the Homeless found that not only is violence against the homeless on the rise, but that there is a well-documented connection between increased police action and hate crimes against the homeless.

Consider the fate of 53-year-old Gerald Wudarski of Eugene, Oregon. On June 28, 2009, Wudarski, who was homeless, wandered onto private property in search of returnable aluminum cans. The property owner, Corey Freeman, confronted Wudarski, chased him, and then punched Wudarski in the head.

When a neighbor called police, Wudarski was charged with criminal trespassing while Freeman's aggressive act resulted in no charge. It was not until later, when Wudarski died as a result of his head injuries, that Freeman was indicted on second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault charges.

Perhaps Wudarski erred in entering private property, but there is certainly something very wrong when someone finds it acceptable to chase and assault a man who was merely attempting to make an honest buck by collecting cans. Even more troubling is the response by law enforcement, that it is not OK to be homeless, but it is OK to hit people who are homeless.

It is hard to expect the general public to consider homeless people to be worthy of the same rights, privileges and protections when there are laws that make life-sustaining activities, like eating and sleeping in public, a crime.

Despite a known lack of shelter space, San Diego may soon once again issue tickets to those sleeping on the city's streets.

The practice was popular until a lawsuit was filed against the city and, under the terms of a settlement in 2007, the city was ordered by a federal judge to halt issuing illegal lodging citations to people sleeping on city streets at night.

However, with last week's unanimous decision by the City Council to move forward with a $31 million service and housing center for 225 people, ticketing may soon resume.

The decision to once again issue tickets may have been a condition of approval of a new homeless shelter. Though the tickets come with conditions — they are only to be issued if shelter space is available and the person in question refuses to accept the space — efforts would be better spent helping homeless residents get housing assistance and other services such as job training, drug and alcohol treatment and medical care. Tell the San Diego City Council that sleeping outside is not a crime!

It is understandable that the city would want to encourage its homeless residents to fill every available bed space. But the sad reality is that there is not always enough space — the new shelter is not expected to be completed until the end of 2012. And there are many residents who, for whatever reason, do not want to sleep in a shelter. Earlier this week a homeless encampment in San Diego was dismantled, with the police citing health and safety violations.

Giving a homeless student a roof over his head should be considered a good thing. Instead, Florida high school football coach Bill Buldini could face thousands in fines for letting a player with nowhere to go live with him.

As a means of curbing unfair player recruitment, Florida High School Athletic Association rules prohibit student athletes from living with school employees. Buldini was initially suspended by the Osceola County school district Sept. 24 and returned to both his position as social studies teacher and his coaching job the following Monday. The FHSAA is still conducting an investigation and the player involved, whose name is not being released, is being held out of all practices and games.

Wanting to curb recruitment is understandable, but that is clearly not the issue here. It should be a no-brainer that the rule doesn't apply in this situation, particularly as the student was already on the team. Surely helping a kid avoid a life on the streets or in the foster care system is important than a team's win-loss record.

It has been suggested that Buldini should have allowed the school and foster care system to address the student's precarious living situation. But children who have been through the foster care system are known to have a higher risk of becoming homeless later in life. Some 40 percent of children who have gone through foster care will experience homelessness before age 24. Foster care children also have lower rates of employment and higher rates of incarceration.

If you think politicians aren't paying attention to the needs of the poor, you'd be correct.

According to a study of roll call votes under the 107th and 108th Congresses by FairVote.org, legislators were three times more responsive to high-income constituents than middle-income constituents. No surprise, they were least responsive to the needs of low-income constituents.

Before you start crying into your Ramen noodles, ask yourself: when was the last time you voted? Are you even registered to vote? (If the answer to one or both is yes, carry on as you were.)

It is no secret that the poor of this nation are frequently absent on Election Day. When you're working three jobs just to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, finding the time to get to the polls somehow doesn't seem like a priority.

The good news is that there is still time to register to vote for the November elections. The deadline to register varies from state to state; in some it's as early as Oct. 2. To find out the cutoff for your state, as well as a list of candidates and other useful election information, check out RocktheVote.com.

Now for the bad news: voter turnout, particularly among those with low incomes, is abysmal. A report (pdf) by the U.S. Census Bureau found that in the 2008 elections, just 52 percent of those earning $20,000 or less voted, while nearly 92 percent of those earning $100,000 or more made it the polls. Overall the 2008 elections saw 64 percent voter turnout.