What Do We Do Now?
In September, I wrote the following email to a friend whose emails I hadn’t responded to for months:
“I don’t remember how much I’ve told you since July, but on July 28 one of my employees and someone whose friendship I cherished dearly was tortured and killed, probably by the gang he was trying to leave (and who he knew would hunt him if he tried to leave). It set off a fire in me and an urgency that I haven’t felt before. I’ve been on the streets being the hands and feet of several organizations delivering services directly to people experiencing homelessness and suffering in poverty and disenfranchisement. I’ve seen what doesn’t work, and I know what will work. But I’ve been too afraid to stand up and make my voice heard. So I’m taking a little time to gather my thoughts, heal my soul, and consider how to enter this conversation.”
The grief over Wardo’s death (and the ongoing struggle to raise enough money to give him a proper burial) grounded me like nothing else has since my dad passed in 2009. I realized I’ve been watching people suffer needlessly for years now. Suffer at the hands of a culture that doesn’t value them. Suffer because greed, politics, and self-dealing are the focus of those in power—those who take it upon themselves to decide how others will live.
And this grounding has given me the courage to say things I’ve never felt able to say before. I’ve seen successes, seen hundreds of people recover from being unhoused and return to happy, productive lives, but they are too few. So, after years of watching people struggle needlessly and lose hope, after seeing thousands of people overwhelm the systems we’ve set up to help them,
I know two things to be true: 1) We can end homelessness, and 2) It’s going to take all of us
I’m not an expert in housing policy or the myriad other challenges our unhoused neighbors face, but I have seen countless people recover from homelessness, regain dignity and hope, and, in every case, the success was achieved through a mix of repeated, direct interaction and community. And while this will not be easy (after all, I’m asking for direct action from people all around LA), the solution to ending homeless now and forever can only succeed if we work together. Our institutions are overwhelmed by the scale of this problem. The shear human resources needed to effect real change have never been possible. That’s why we’ve failed so far and that’s the change we need to realize, this will take all of us.
For the next few months, I’m going to share what I’ve learned working with thousands of people on the streets. I’m going to highlight the work of the most innovative and successful programs serving the unhoused residents of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. And welcome. I promise the rest of this blog won’t be as heart-rending as these first three pieces were. At least I’ll try.