Shelters Aren’t the Solution

Re “County Increases Aid to the Homeless,” June 27: As a part-time volunteer at a skid row soup kitchen for the last two years, I’ve talked to many homeless people about their situations.

I have yet to meet a homeless person who would not accept housing if it were offered. Shelters are not a solution.

Typically, to get shelter space, a person has to make a reservation in the morning for a spot that night. That person then has to leave the shelter, with all their possessions, early the following day.

Because of a lack of security and the risk of disease in close quarters, shelters are often more dangerous to a person’s safety and health than a place on the street.

Also, even the poorest person has some possessions and needs a secure place to keep those possessions while they look for work or go about their daily business of collecting bottles and cans for refunds or begging for spare change.

Homelessness will not end until affordable permanent housing is made available. For thousands of people with no income and no savings, free housing must be offered.

As the article alludes to, there are hundreds of thousands of us who are one paycheck away from being homeless.

John Owen

Los Angeles