Homeless Help

Contrary to popular belief, the most critical need of the homeless is not food or shelter, but rehabilitation programs to get them back into the mainstream culture. That’s why I commend the Weingart Center and director Maxene Johnston for starting the innovative Homeless Evaluation and Linkage Program (HELP), which assigns social workers as personal counselors for Skid Row’s homeless (“Counseling Program for Homeless Starts,” Metro, June 3).

Especially encouraging is that HELP addresses some of the underlying causes of homelessness, such as alcoholism and drug abuse, mental illness and inadequate job skills. To ignore these is to condemn the homeless to staying on Skid Row no matter how much other help they receive.

With an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 homeless men, women and children on Skid Row, let’s hope HELP wins permanent funding from both the city and the county.

MARK HOLSINGER

Director

Los Angeles Mission