Venice, CA—In this strange area of Los Angeles’ West side, the rich, poor and homeless exist in very close proximity to each other. This is an artsy beach community that has been undergoing a decade of gentrification.
Historically Venice has been awash with violent Black and Hispanic street gangs that are currently in somewhat of a truce. The violence seems to be tentatively under control.
The violence has been replaced by an overload of idle, unwashed homeless people. The blight is everywhere now and there is not a solution in sight.
Roving bands of homeless illegal aliens “borrow” the grocery carts from the supermarkets and fill them with recyclables taken from the blue recycle bins on private property and the alleyways. The end result is every cart in every Venice store is covered with disgusting sticky paper and goo.
There is a mechanized battalion of homeless living in poorly maintained camper, vans and cars. They take up residence in the parking places in front of expensive homes. These homeless people use the local business restrooms to bathe and make an incredible mess. It’s beyond ugly and out-of –control.
The LAPD does not enforce theft, parking or trespassing laws involving the smelly unwashed homeless population. It is less about sympathy and more about having to deal with the smell of these small time lawbreakers. Imagine arresting a couple of these hobos. Officers would have to frisk them and inspect their belongings. Then they must transport, and book them. It’s a contact the police will avoid at all cost.
The churches, charities, government and local politicians need to give relief to the taxpaying residents of Venice. They need to move these lost souls to an industrial area of Los Angeles. Toilets, hot showers and a place to wash clothes is every bit as important as food to these people. Services designed to help the homeless find jobs and training need to be nearby. The illegal aliens need to be bussed over to immigration officials for deportation.
With our current economy disaster this type of living will become more prevalent than ever. Letting these people lower the property values of Venice is no answer at all. The proper and charitable thing is to deal with this mess before it gets worse.
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