California is a beautiful country. Home to the Golden Gate Bridge, Disneyland, Hollywood and a lot of other places you can visit whenever you visit California. However, there is one problem in California that still, to this day, have a problem with homelessness. As of January of 2020, there are over 151 000 homeless people in California. There are even homeless people sleeping along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s sad, really. To think that a home in California is already so expensive and so many people are homeless.
The terrible rise in homelessness in California can be a result of social inequality. They used to say that homeless people are just like you and me, only poorer. However, it’s more than just that. Although social inequality is one of the many reasons, it is bigger than that. It has even become a danger to the public or to tourists.
A simple check on Area Outlook can show you a good example showcasing how dangerous it can be to walk the streets of California, in L.A. to be exact, through the infamous Skid Row. Skid Row is the hub of drug dealers, murders, muggings and a lot of other crazy things a person does not really see on a daily basis. A police officer part of the Elisa Lam case in the Cecil Hotel near Skid Row said that he was doing a drive-by through Skid Row when he saw a man bite off a pigeon’s head while looking him straight in the eye. Yes, very horrid. That just proves my point about how dangerous a street full of homeless people can be. I feel like if California had more shelters, they could at least keep track and monitor these people so they do not have to call for desperate measures when it comes to surviving. So, here are a few reasons why California should open up more shelters:
To Lessen Drug Abuse
As mentioned, most of the homelessness in California is possibly caused by social inequality but it may be bigger than that. Homelessness advocates and experts in California are leaning towards the fact that they have never seen a homeless sane person. Most of the people that are homeless have a drug problem one way or the other. The point is, the liberalization of drug use in California has affected a lot of the people that are homeless, maybe even caused some people to become homeless. When people get addicted to drugs, any type for that matter, they will do anything just to get some in their possession. Spend all their money, all their savings up until they even sell their own home to get money to get more drugs. Thus, they are homeless as well as not in their right mind. In my opinion, healthy drug use exists but it has to be monitored. If they monitor drug use and type of drug use in California, they could probably control this situation in a couple of years.
To Avoid More Outbreaks
You see, with over a hundred thousand people on the streets, with no healthcare and no protection form the ongoing pandemic, there is a big possibility that the virus would spread faster with people out on the streets with no protection for them and at the same time, there is no way of telling how widely homeless people are spreading the virus. It’s a lot more dangerous when you don’t know where the source is and with over a hundred thousand people, it’d be really difficult to keep it under control. Thus, that’s why California should have more shelters for the homeless to take them in and at least keep the threat inside and controlled for the time being.
To Ensure The Safety Of Everyone
You see, if California had more shelters for the homeless and help them get back on their feet, everyone will be safer. As mentioned, there is a problem with drug abuse and a virus spread with homeless people remaining homeless. If the homeless are brought in and taken care of while drug use is monitored, surely a lot of people are going to be safer than they are now.
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Yes, it is going to take a long time and a lot of effort but people are going to be safer with more shelters being brought up. Not only that but California will be a better place to visit as a vacation location too. At least there will be less of a chance for a case like Elisa Lam’s of happening again in the future. Places like the Cecil Hotel and Skid Row are accessible to just anyone and anything could happen. An innocent vacation could turn into a morbid ending. Thus, let’s try to make California a better and safer place for everyone.
To know more about shelters and rehab centres in California, visit our website.
