Sympathy and scorn for those on skid row
After reading the fourth installment of Steve Lopez’s series on skid row (Oct. 16-20), I’m writing to thank you.
It’s a real eye-opener to view the way we neglect the mentally ill and addicts. So much suffering is difficult to even imagine; it’s no wonder so many of us pretend it does not exist.
Many Californians feel the homeless issue is not their problem. Human dignity is everyone’s issue.
Kudos to Lopez for having the guts to do this assignment, and thank you to the Los Angeles Times for the Page 1 coverage.
JANICE BELSKY
Camarillo
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I just want to commend Lopez for giving me a better understanding of the people’s lives on skid row.
I remember riding the bus to work at 6:30 a.m. down skid row to get to Olive Street, and it is so sad to see people lying in corners in filth with no blankets.
But what gets me the most is to see single mothers with their children with no direction and the look of desperation and hunger on their faces.
Isn’t there anything we can do? All of us can easily fall into bad situations, and some worse than others, but these people are human too, and some of them even once served our country.
I am hoping that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa can take his experience and truly find a way to implement funds to establish ways to accommodate the poor.
The men or women on the street can easily be anyone’s mom, dad, brother or sister. I think it is our city’s responsibility to clean up the mess and live up to our name, the City of Angels.
CRYSTAL DEL POZO
Los Angeles
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Your relentless articles about the homeless in Los Angeles would be newsworthy if it were something new in the world. It is not.
The earliest Greek and Roman writings contain endless gripes about the poor and homeless wandering about the major cities and temples looking for handouts.
The sad truth is that a certain percentage of any population is always living hand-to-mouth.
Despite all the millions upon millions of dollars “invested” by this country to help this slice of life, nothing, absolutely nothing, works. You should find a better use for newsprint.
DAVID K. HILL
Murrieta
