LUMBERYARD LOGS: City improves on homeless front

Laguna Beach is getting major props for being one of the few south Orange County cities to really help homeless people, even though the city has a minuscule number of street dwellers by comparison with other municipalities.

Still, there’s a feeling that Laguna could — and should — do more, not only to help those who end up sleeping on the city’s beaches and benches, but also to make it easier for affordable and attainable housing to be built here.

At a Homeless Forum on June 14, there was a lot of reason to believe that even more will be done.

The statistics, reported by homeless activist Don Black, are pretty sobering.

There are 3 million homeless people in the U.S., or 1% of the population, Black reports.

In Laguna Beach, there are about 50 homeless people. That’s .002% of the population.

Santa Ana — with a population of about 350,000 — reportedly has 2,500 unhoused, many of them families. That’s about .007%.

There are 35,000 homeless in Orange County today, 8% more than the 28,000 reported eight years ago.

“There is not a big problem with homeless families in Laguna Beach,” Black said. “Our 50 [homeless] people is not a big problem for us, especially with a city as wealthy as we are,” he added.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Laguna’s homeless are a particularly difficult bunch of people, according to the panel of experts. They tend to be the chronic, long-term homeless, those who have given up on “normal” life, have mental health issues, and most of whom also use alcohol or drugs, making them part of the problematic “dual diagnosis” population.

They are drawn to Laguna Beach because of its easy-going, laid back atmosphere and large transient population.

Well-meaning people, especially tourists, tend to act as “enablers” of this kind of lifestyle, by handing over cash upon request.

The counties of Los Angeles and Orange are embarking on a 10-year plan to “end homelessness,” of which Laguna’s efforts are one small piece of the puzzle, which must include every single city in order to make it effective — and fair.

Today, Laguna Beach is following many of the same steps that other cities pioneered: a homeless liaison police officer; a “change for the homeless” program to discourage panhandling; providing 24-hour toilet facilities, and now, a proposal for an emergency shelter to replace the cold weather shelter system at local churches.

On the legal front, the city is looking at its anti-camping ordinance — which apparently could be challenged in court — and possibly a measure to prosecute aggressive panhandlers, if that becomes necessary.

The city is also planning to participate in a Homeless Court, which uses a carrot-and-stick approach to give homeless offenders a way out of the cycle of arrests, jail and back on the street.

Believe it or not, an arrest for a minor offense such as sleeping can have dire consequences for someone dependent upon social security, a pension or disability payments.

Once a person has a warrant for an infraction, they lose their right to benefits and are even worse off than before, we were told at the forum by Jean Wilkinson, a public defender who represents homeless people in the special Homeless Court.

“I call it the Court of Seduction,” Wilkinson said. “We meet the clients where they’re at, and start with basics, like getting them a birth certificate so they can get services.”

Wilkinson told of one of her success stories, a man called “Capt. Starship.”

Capt. Starship didn’t want to get off the streets because he believed the “big one” — an earthquake — would hit soon, so being inside was dangerous. He also thought he would then be called upon to spread the word of God to the afflicted.

Then Wilkinson found out Capt. Starship was an astronomy buff, so he was signed up for classes at a community college. He is now getting straight A’s in astronomy — and talking about maybe getting a place of his own.

One of the most difficult tasks for those seeking to help chronically homeless people is convincing them not to be homeless.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 494-2087 or cindy.frazier@latimes.com.