EDITORIAL: Homeless forum on tap

June 14 there’s an opportunity to have your voice heard on an issue that has been around for many years and isn’t going away soon: street dwellers.

The Housing & Human Services Committee is holding a public forum starting at 9 a.m. in the City Council chambers on “Issues Surrounding the Homeless.”

Some progress has been made in moving vulnerable people off the streets and into housing and treatment, but with the economy in a tailspin and no end in sight, we can expect to see more — and have been seeing more — folks in dire straits ending up on the streets of Laguna.

It has been almost six months since the City Council approved a 14-point plan for handling homeless issues. Since then the only one to be implemented has been the designation of a “homeless” police officer, charged with contacting and keeping track of every street dweller in the city, with an eye toward helping them into a better situation.

Officer Jason Ferris has done an outstanding job, backed up by the caring help of members of the Laguna Resource Center, who are available day and night to give food, clothing and other assistance to those in dire need.

The council has also approved a plan to use old parking meters to collect change for homeless services, in an effort to induce good-hearted folks not to hand cash to panhandlers — where it most likely goes for some kind of intoxicant — and use that money instead to help fund services that really help people.

The forum will give people another chance to “check in” with the committee responsible for advising the council on these matters, and see where the city stands in terms of making progress in these issues.

We hope many Lagunans will plan to attend this meeting.

Making your voice heard and views known is the key to helping create a beneficial situation for the homeless — and the businesses and residents of Laguna Beach.