San Diego’s mayor is making news about a problem that faces a lot of big cities, homelessness.
Mayor Todd Gloria’s action is being described by some as being too tough on the homeless, but the early signs are that more people are saying it’s about time.
As KOGO News has been reporting, the mayor is telling people who are homeless living in downtown encampments on roadsides sidewalks and parks to accept offers for shelter or else. What he is doing is actually pleading with them to do that.
Todd Gloria, like other city leaders, say there is no easy, or quick fix to reducing homelessness. But after pointing out that the city has gotten at least 12-hundred formal complaints from citizens in recent days about the homeless encampments, something has to be done.
So now there will be more arrests of people living in these encampments and refuse to accept shelter.
And there hopefully is also going to be even more attention and more efforts to finally address the homelessness problem with more of a willingness to do what it is going to take and to spend the additional money it is likely to take to actually make significant progress.
The homeless problem is a huge problem that demands compassion, creativity and most of all, a commitment on the part of government leaders, homeless advocates and citizens to solve.
(Photo Getty Images)
Photo: AFP via Getty Images