Opinion

Home is where the sobriety is

California faces a difficult question: Should the state fund homeless shelters if those shelters require homeless people to be sober?

Well, it’s a difficult question for California.

Two assembly Democrats have introduced bills that would allow California to fund shelters that require sobriety, which is against state law. California’s current homelessness regime is considered a “housing first” plan, which means homeless people get housing with no strings attached, but only if they want it, and with no further incentive to get them into housing or treatment programs if they refuse.

Lying on a urine-stained sidewalk, two homeless drug addicts, high on drugs, hallucinate in Los Angeles’ Skid Row area, home to the nation’s largest concentration of homeless people. According to Midnight Mission’s Joey Weinert, a former drug addict who now helps homeless people fight their addictions, said many homeless use drugs and alcohol to cope with their lives. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Is it really a surprise that California’s homelessness crisis, already easily the worst in the nation, has only grown worse year by year?

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Now, it seems that even some Democratic legislators in the Golden State recognize that making a dent in the homelessness crisis by any means necessary is much better than its current pie-in-the-sky attitude. It isn’t quite the realization that sobriety-focused housing would be better for dealing with rampant fentanyl overdose deaths, but hey, you can’t lead California to water and make it manage it in a responsible way. It is a miracle that California is even considering breaking the grip of ideological homeless “advocacy” groups. Consider it a small step in the right direction.

On the bright side, it is hard to see California’s homelessness policy getting worse. Between the billions spent for no progress and the various scam projects the state has fallen for, the status quo may just be the lowest the state could go. The fact that California is having this debate at all is a step in the right direction. Now, let’s see if it can finally make a good decision.

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