Laguna Beach Sanctions Safe Grounds

by Shannon Moriarty · 2009-10-08 09:37:00 UTC
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This week, Laguna Beach officials faced a key decision regarding their city homeless population: outlaw sleeping in parks or sanction a designated safe grounds for the city's homeless? The city opted for the latter. Today, this shelter-less city now has a safe, regulated place for the city's homeless to stay without fear of facing arrest or crime.

Finally, a city that got it right. Refreshing.

The tiny little piece of positive tent city news arrives on the heels of several very public and very unfortunate tent city evictions. Seems public officials can't make the connection between 1. homelessness and 2. not having a place to sleep. Any homeless advocate would agree that preserving parks and benches for their intended use is fine, provided an alternative "safe ground" location (preferably near social services) is provided. This is especially true for cities like Laguna Beach that do not have a homeless shelter.

Dismantling a homeless encampment does nothing to improve the circumstances that led people to tent city in the first place. Indeed, one of the surest ways out of that camp is by connecting with a homeless provider to find a job or housing. Connecting service providers and homeless people is much more likely when those providers know where to find the un-sheltered homeless.

Besides, there is safety in numbers. Rather than hiding in dark allies or deep in the woods, these people are staying together, watching each others backs, and helping one another out. That said, no tent city is perfect (although, there are examples of tent cities done well), nor is it a long-term solution for homelessness. But it is a way of ensuring safety and order during this economic/housing/unemployment crisis, as the numbers of people on the street continue creeping up.

Thank you, Laguna Beach officials, for combining a hearty dose of common sense, a heap of reality, and a pinch of compassion to craft a short-term policy that will make life a bit easier for the city's homeless.

But please - don't stop here.

Image from DClemm's public Flickr photo stream.

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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