Plus and Big Minus for Homeless
Ten homeless men on Los Angeles’ skid row got a chance for a brighter future last week under an innovative program modeled after a successful San Diego scheme. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan drove the few blocks from the downtown Criminal Courts Building to the Union Rescue Mission to gavel the city’s first homeless court to order. This worthy program deserves a repeat run, but unless the city curtails periodic sidewalk sweeps directed against the homeless, the court’s well-intentioned efforts will be only a drop in the bucket.
The men appearing before Tynan last week had worked hard to turn around their lives but needed a last bit of help. Each had an outstanding bench warrant for minor “quality of life” infractions like public urination or sleeping on the sidewalk. Those warrants, carrying fines that can multiply into hundreds of dollars, often dash chances of employment for homeless people applying for jobs that require background checks. Tynan came to dismiss outstanding charges against men who had demonstrated they were trying to break the cycle of homelessness, crime and addiction.
“What happened to you is not your fault,” Tynan told one man in dismissing a charge of riding a bicycle without brakes. “However, recovery is your sole responsibility.”
Each man had already completed at least six months of rehabilitation and was accompanied by a rehab counselor who vouched for the sincerity of his efforts. Lawyers from Public Counsel and the Pepperdine Legal Aid Clinic, who represented the men, organized this first homeless court in Los Angeles. They hope it will be a regular event, an example of bringing what they call “restorative justice” to people whose fear of going into regular court stands in the way of dealing with important problems.
But the good that Tynan did may be overshadowed by the homeless sweeps that police have conducted downtown, charging ever more down-and-outers with minor violations.
A day after the judge went to the Union Rescue Mission, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California filed suit against the city and the Los Angeles Police Department. The federal lawsuit charges the LAPD with civil rights violations in conducting homeless sweeps and seeks a permanent injunction against police stops, searches or interrogations conducted without probable cause. Homeless advocates consider the sweeps to be harassment, but many downtown merchants say they are the ones being harassed, by the homeless. The case won’t be resolved immediately, so in the meantime expect more “quality of life” charges, more outstanding warrants and more obstacles to employment and stability.
