LETTER: Review-Journal story highlights an ignored constituency
Your Monday report ”Clark County’s homeless deaths go up; coronavirus not to blame” by Briana Erickson provided vital coverage to the largest ignored constituency in our community. It seems that these individuals are only a convenient scapegoat for the mayor and City Council.
From the street it seems the only program is to plant police officers in an area, Foremaster Lane, that is essentially populated only by homeless people. From punishing ‘jaywalkers’ with tickets they cannot pay to the outrageous law to punish homeless sleepers, the passion is only punitive. They even pour salt in the wounds of despair by speaking only through loudspeakers — as if walking and having conversations with us is not worth their time. Besides, we may be diseased. This distance fosters the feeling that the homeless are not fully human.
We are not here to help local politicians to build their resumes to gain political favor from citizens who view the homeless as malingerers. The statistics prove that, beyond the soul-crushing experience of life on the streets, it is in fact a deadly existence. I hope 2021 is different, but I fear that the police and politicians will continue behavior that produces the wrong results. It’s time for a change. I’m one of the lucky ones, as my poor health won me safe housing. I may no longer be homeless, but they are and will always be my people.
