Hauling Conscience Out of the Cold

The folly of closing the National Guard armories in the face of bitterly cold weather is inescapable. It has been legally mandated that when these quarters are not being used for military purposes they must be used to shelter the homeless.

Surely when dealing with the lives of helpless men, women and little children we do not gamble that the night will “have warmed up” when weather predictions can be so wrong, as indeed they were! And as Tom Byrne is quoted in The Times’ article (Dec. 28) as saying: “There are not enough facilities in Orange County for the number of homeless here. Even if it’s not freezing, many people get colds or flu, and they have no place to go.”

Andy Anderson, formerly in the Marine Corps, illustrated this bitter fact in your report when he said, “It was cold, I was close to pneumonia.”

Let us not forget that in addition to the fact that the fastest-growing segment of the homeless are women with little children, 40% of all the homeless men are Vietnam veterans. How readily the armories were open to them only a short time ago. I’m sure this irony is not lost on them now as they freeze outside in the cold in a “gentler and kinder society.”

Anderson, a former cook in the corps, is dead right when he says the armories should be kept open all the time “because the places where we can stay are so limited. In Orange County, there are no options.”

Let capable and suitable members of the homeless be given work by helping supervise the meals and the premises. In other words, help them help themselves and utilize their skills.

In this wealthy county--where millions are spent on museums, theaters, sport palaces and the like--we must all take a good look at our priorities and bring our conscience in out of the cold!

SYLVIA EASTON

Irvine