From this morning's "Letters to the Editor:"
Editor:
The phrase “criminalization of the poor”
is simply a mask for the removal of all laws that protect residents from
the noxious behavior of transients.
The Times spouts this misleading
characterization of modest controls that once protected residents. In
the process, it turns a deaf ear to residents who find it unbearable to
live with the harassment, loud nighttime noise, trespassing,
thefts and defecation, urination and inebriation that spring from
homeless encampments, which are often right next to our homes.
There is no evidence to support the
federal homelessness task force's contention that breaking up
encampments makes it harder to get homeless people into permanent
housing. The voiding of vagrancy laws and tolerance of encampments
actually make the homeless more “service resistant,” as they become
habituated to their outdoor lifestyles and the drugs that are often a
part of it.
Mark Ryavec
Venice
