Uncovering homeless situation in Long Beach

By Michelle Devera, Special to the On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, December 3, 1998

Beneath newspaper blankets, within broken-down cars and inside the back alleyways of downtown Long Beach, sleep the silent victims of poverty: the homeless.

About 700 to 800 people call the streets of Long Beach home, according to the Rev. Leon Wood Jr., executive director of Christian Outreach Appeal on Third Street.

According to the 1997 Continuum of Care for Homeless Assistance, published by the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, Wood is right. Nearly half of the Long Beach homeless population has an alcohol or drug addiction.

"People are going where the resources are," Wood said. "The downtown area is where the bulk of the liquor stores, drug sales and shelters are."

Wood has been working with the homeless for 30 years, the last three in Long Beach. He said he has seen many of the same faces with the same problems: drugs and alcohol.

Echoing Wood's sentiment is Commander Steve Bonswor of the Long Beach Police Department. If a bed was made available for every single homeless person, there would still be some that were left empty, Bonswor said.

"Some like living like that because of psychological or drug problems," Bonswor said. "They know where the shelters are. We just talk to them when there's a disturbance to calm them down and get them to move along."

And it is the penal system, according to Wood, that is constantly feeding the stream of homelessness.

"Because of the lack of a support base, we're recycling them and keeping them on the streets," Wood said.

Substance abuse is only one cause of homelessness. Natural disaster, loss of employment, domestic violence, mental illness and criminal records are other causes as well.

Wood ultimately blames society and its approach to the problem for the growing number of destitute people.

"They get far too much individualized attention," Wood said. "We have to treat this situation as we would any other serious problem: with a carefully planned, strategic effort that utilizes all segments of the community."

Contrary to popular belief, Wood said that building more shelters is not the answer. The misconception is that employment availability will liberate the poverty stricken from their slum-like lifestyle.

"We're disabling them by not requiring any effort on their part for these services," Wood said. "If you've been out of work for more than a year and out there on the street, working doesn't become appealing anymore."

There are many places to go for assistance. The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services has a pamphlet with a map that shows where the shelters are located, including a free detoxification center on Seventh Street. The pamphlet can be obtained from the DHHS on Grand Avenue or from any police station.

"The homeless don't pay for anything except drugs, alcohol and cigarettes and we pick up the tab for everything else," Wood said. "The change needs to start within the individual and the process can be long and difficult. We need to start requiring them to go to detox, put in some community service, and behavior will change."