Approaching the Homeless Problem

I am writing to express outrage at the county’s recent decision to place rocks beneath several street overpasses to prevent the homeless from using them for shelter. I am reminded of a time when a city on the East Coast covered heating grates to prevent the homeless from gathering over them during the winter.

The “solution” of giving the displaced individuals 25 cents for a phone call and a list of resources is particularly disturbing. Anyone who has worked on any resource hot line in the country knows that it takes numerous phone calls to locate a shelter, if any, with an available bed. It was a poor gesture on the part of the county to offer such a thinly disguised empty hand.

It again becomes painfully evident that this problem must be addressed at a national level.

LINDA SCHATZMAN

Anaheim