By Ethan Brown
The cost of living is at an all-time high. It is estimated that a single person is paying $2,433 a month to survive, according to Living Cost. Clearly, not everyone can stay afloat at this inflated juncture.
According to AP News, more than 582,000 people in the United States live without a roof over their heads. There are more people experiencing homelessness now than in any other point in recorded history.
The issue of homelessness has piqued the attention of the Supreme Court in a manner that has not been dealt with in decades.
Grants Pass, a rural Oregon town, enacted a law fining people almost $300 for sleeping outside. In adherence to the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause in the Eighth Amendment, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law.
If the homelessness crisis had a quick fix, we the people would have come to an agreement on how to address the ever-growing problem affecting the U.S. and California specifically.
Rent costs never seem to fall and the taco stand on Clark and Atherton just increased the price for their Taco Tuesday special. Businesses constantly adjust their rates to mirror the economy’s fluctuations, so why are people not afforded the same leniency?
Sometimes this might mean spending a night or a week sleeping outside in a tent. Despite being considered an eyesore, who is this really affecting when we lay our collective head to rest in our small apartment for $800 plus utilities a month?
The city of Long Beach is one of the most diverse big cities in the U.S., both culturally and economically.
I used to notice that, the farther one drives west down Anaheim Street, PCH or 7th Street, the more homeless people one sees, but that is changing. We all know this is a problem.
The Traffic Circle area is a unique place. Close to campus, many students live in the various apartment complexes surrounding it. A strikingly broad collection of popular fast food chains, grocery and retail stores render it unnecessary to leave the vicinity.
It is a relatively safe area, all things considered. It does not possess the dangerous, cramped mystique of downtown Long Beach. However, where there is commerce, those who are less fortunate tend to congregate.
I feel for the guy always asking to wash my windows for spare change as I walk out of Ralphs. What are we doing to help people like him? Fining him $295 for sleeping on the cement is not the solution.
When the Rite Aid on the corner of Ximeno and PCH shut down in late 2023, the lot quickly became a refuge for the unhoused. Multiple times a day, I ride my skateboard through this parking lot, traveling from the Circle Apartments to my truck parked on Outer Traffic Circle Drive. It makes me think about the current economic climate and the cost of living in California.
It has been said before and I’ll say it again, this problem is just getting worse. We need to find places for homeless people to live in instead of fining them hundreds of dollars.
According to the Signal Tribune, 53% of homeless people in Long Beach became homeless within the last year.
Accommodating them involves sacrifices on a local, state and national level. It invokes a sense of sympathy, but a common response is typically that “It’s just not that simple.”
Our city seems to be taking the right steps, at least. Long Beach is planning to invest parts of $4.6 million in excess revenue towards renovating a motel for temporary housing, according to the Long Beach Post.
If Long Beach, with its population of 437,000 people and its hand in many pots, can take steps to help homeless people, then so can Grants Pass. Instead of charging homeless people a fine that they cannot afford to pay, they should be finding ways to help.
The Supreme Court is expected to reach a decision by the end of June.
