Booklets Point Way for Studio City Homeless

Studio City residents and business leaders, some of whom came under fire last year for plans to crack down on transients, urged people on Thursday to give the homeless brochures listing food and shelter resources instead of handing out money.

The “Studio City Cares” program, which was launched by the Studio City Residents Assn. and the Studio City Chamber of Commerce, is an attempt to respond to complaints about aggressive panhandlers, as well as meet the needs of the homeless, association member Ken Bernstein said.

“It’s not going to solve the problem of homelessness,” Bernstein said. “It’s not a panacea. But it’s a first step in many ways.”

Controversy erupted last year when homeless advocates said that an effort by some members of the residents association to have transients prosecuted under a public nuisance law would, in effect, make it illegal to be homeless.

But the community’s latest program for dealing with the homeless issue was lauded Thursday by city leaders and community activists who converged for a news conference in the tony Sportsmen’s Lodge, sipping coffee from china cups while choosing pastries from platters heaped with cheese Danishes, glazed doughnuts and blueberry muffins.

“This is a brilliant idea,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who represents part of the area. “This will help us direct people in need to those who can help them.”

Councilman Joel Wachs, who arrived with a $500 check to encourage the effort, said, “I have never been more proud than now in how the people of Studio City have taken what seemed to be an intractable problem and come up with a solution.”

The brochures, which list resources throughout the San Fernando Valley, will be distributed by the residents association and businesses.

Several speakers said that the new program will help weed out the truly needy from greedy panhandlers.

“The comment was made early in our discussions that if you feed a stray cat, sometimes it will stay forever,” chamber President Andrew Manning said. “We believe that a number of panhandlers have made Studio City their home because of the generosity of people who will give them cash or food.”

Homeless advocates stressed that the referral guide for services would be of little use unless residents pushed their leaders for more services.

“Even though it’s well meaning to want to give people referrals, there’s nothing there to be referred to,” said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of Los Angeles Coalition to End Homelessness. “Either the clinics are closed or they’re full.”

Under the program, merchants will be asked to post red-and-yellow flyers proclaiming “Handouts Are No Solution.” The posters, emblazoned with the image of a hunched-over homeless man pushing a shopping cart, say that “many panhandlers are not actually homeless and make money off our sympathy for the truly needy.”

A list of “DO’s” and “DO NOT’s” on the flyers encourages people to treat the homeless with respect, and to give money or donate time to organizations that assist the homeless. The flyers also discourage people from ignoring the problem as well as from giving money to the homeless.

Instead, Studio City Cares encourages people to hand out English-Spanish, pocket-size booklets with 11 pages of phone numbers--a few of which are toll-free--to obtain necessities such as food, dental care and employment information.

The last page of the booklet also includes a “note of encouragement” saying: “Your self worth is not measured by your current situation. Please do not lose sight of the fact that you are a valued and unique person!”

Studio City residents said last fall that an influx of homeless people in the area was responsible for an increase in crimes ranging from burglaries to rapes.

Los Angeles Police Capt. Charles Labrow, who lent his support to the program Thursday, said he believed there were 100 to 125 people “really in the business of panhandling in the Studio City area.”

But the dispute over who is truly needy is far from resolved.

Robin Baltaxe, director of a network that provides transitional housing for the homeless, had a different perspective on the matter. Baltaxe, who compiled the resources brochure, said that the vast majority of the homeless whom people encounter on the streets are truly needy.

“It’s important to avoid victim blaming and economic prejudice,” Baltaxe said. “Remember that the homeless are people too. They’re people like you and me.”