The Kindness of Strangers : City Smart / How to thrive in the urban environment of Southern California : Those on the Street Confirm Poll's Finding That Most Americans Want to Help the Homeless. But Solutions Are Harder to Find Than Sympathy.

L.A. Times Archives

Jan. 5, 1996 12 AM PT

John Rico had twice been homeless when he scraped together the money to open a one-man auto shop last year. He worked night and day scrounging customers and putting together a decent tool set, he said.

Unable to afford an apartment, he lived in the back of his Pomona shop. Word got out in the community that he was struggling--and honest. Business rapidly picked up.

“People started bringing in their cars for work, even when they weren’t broken,” he said. “They really wanted to help me.”

Rico’s luck soon ran dry and he was forced out of his commercial space. He became homeless again.

But the Pomona native remains convinced that people he scarcely knew sincerely wanted to help him.

“Every person wants to give [to homeless people],” said Rico, 37, who is enrolled in a downtown job training program. “I truly thank God for people that do. I would still be out there if they didn’t.”

Rico is not alone in his faith that people want to help the homeless.

According to results of a national poll released last month, the overwhelming majority of Americans remain sympathetic to the problems of the homeless and are committed to combating the problem.

The poll, conducted by the Gallup Organization and funded by the Los Angeles Mission, revealed that the public’s steady support for the homeless is accompanied by a palpable fear of economic catastrophe: one in six Americans feared becoming homeless themselves, the poll found.

Most respondents indicated they were ready and willing to support homeless people, with 55% saying they donated money to an aid organization in the past, and 66% advocating such private donations--not government aid--to fund homeless aid programs.

Los Angeles’s homeless attested to a mood of sympathy and generosity from the public.

Of those interviewed, all said they felt the public was generally compassionate to their plight, emphasizing the remarkable random kindness of people.

“People are nicer than you would think out here,” said Earl Ray Childers, 53, who panhandled at a Santa Monica gas station late last month. “They don’t really want to see us out here begging.”

Only occasionally did people lash out in anger or irritation when they were asked for food or money, the homeless said.

Although public compassion seemed overwhelming, the Gallup Poll--which surveyed about 1,000 residents nationwide and an additional 500 in Los Angeles in October and November of this year--found that public views on homelessness sometimes contradicted the reality of the problem.

“Perhaps the most glaring inconsistency in results,” the poll summary said, “was that despite an apparently good understanding of some of the problems of homelessness and possible solutions, there is a very high lack of awareness of programs already available.”

Fewer than 20% of respondents said they knew of long-term rehabilitation programs in their hometowns, and only 11% of respondents named funding for such programs a top priority.

But these numbers stood in stark contrast to findings from a 1992 Gallup poll in which a majority of homeless people said what they needed most was job training and substance abuse rehabilitation.

At least part of the problem, said activists who work with the homeless, is a disturbing gap between how the public perceives the homeless and how the homeless view themselves.

And, while immediate food and shelter needs are pressing, long-term solutions that deal with the complexities of homeless life are most crucial, activists said.

However, such rehabilitation programs tend to be expensive and cumbersome, they said.

“The public often looks at [homelessness] and says we need to fix this problem quick, right now,” said Mike Edwards, executive director of the Los Angeles Mission.

“But deep-rooted issues are harder--dealing with the pain these people feel. Many times it’s an individual feeling that ‘I just can’t [get off the streets].’ Long-term efforts like job training and substance abuse treatment are desperately needed.”

Other major findings in the poll (the numbers reflect national opinions, unless otherwise noted):

* 92% of the respondents said they were more compassionate toward the homeless because they had become more aware of the problem in the last five years.

* 95% said they believed it was possible for homeless people to be productive and self-sufficient.

* About 30% said they felt homeless women would more readily respond to rehabilitation than men. More than 80% said they felt both whites and people of color would respond similarly to treatment.

* Nearly 90% of the respondents said their sympathy for the homeless was the same or higher than it was five years ago.

* In Los Angeles, 94% of respondents said they had been approached by someone asking for a handout at some point in the past, but nationwide that number was 77%.

Such widespread contact with homelessness throughout the nation may have swelled the number of those who said they feared being forced to live on the streets, homeless advocates said.

“People see [homelessness] going on in their neighborhoods,” said Michele Smollar, director of People Assisting the Homeless on the Westside.

“They see the budget crisis in Washington and they are more and more fearful that they too might be homeless someday soon. I think people may say they are more sympathetic because of that fear.”

Homeless people agreed, saying that people who gave handouts often told tales of economic hardships and increasing debt.

“People looked at me and thought, ‘One day that could be me,’ ” and they gave, said Mark Coburn, 40, who recently entered a homeless rehabilitation program after being on the streets for three years.

“They are the working homeless,” Coburn said. “The people who are one paycheck away from losing everything. And there are a lot of them. They tell me they have nothing to give and I believe them. They can barely survive themselves.”

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Gallup Poll on Homeless

According to results of a national poll funded by the Los Angeles Mission and released last month, the majority of Americans remain sympathetic to the problems of the homeless. It also revealed that the respondent’s support was accompained by their own fear of economic catastrophe. Among the findings:

Of Those Asked For Money By Panhandlers

* 43% said they gave money

* 30% either refused to donate or ignored panhandlers

* 12% said they gave food

Reasons For Not Giving Money

* 32% feared panhandler would buy drugs and alcohol with money

* 15% said they couldn’t afford to give

* 12% reported no sympathy for homeless people

Other Findings

* 52% said they viewed alcoholism as a major cause of homelessness

* 39% of those who feel more sympathy for the homeless reported that they knew someone who was or is homeless

* 60% said psychological counseling was very important in getting the homeless off the streets