Homeless and Society

Re “Rights of Homeless,” letter, Feb. 12: It is against the law to loiter. On Dec. 17, a homeless woman and her friends set up camp on Fairfax Avenue near Sunset Boulevard. After they lived there for a couple of weeks, I called the police. The next day the friends were gone, but one woman remained.

Recently, the police were doing a sweep of a drugstore parking lot to get rid of panhandlers. I asked them why they couldn’t get the shopping carts, trash and individuals who feel they can do whatever they like out of my neighborhood. Basically, their answer was “homeless advocates.”

There has to be a balance between individuals’ and society’s rights. My community’s right to have a clean, respectable neighborhood shouldn’t be dismissed because of a couple of people who don’t want to live in a shelter. I welcome the police here every day and night. The ACLU may call it harassment; I call it long-overdue help.

DEIRDRE SEXTON

Los Angeles