No home, no sympathy

California has its fair share of problems right now. One of them, specific to Sacramento, is homelessness. Sacramento has a large homeless population, and no room for it. Mark Merin thought he had the solution. The Sacramento attorney is the owner of a vacant lot on C street. Merin has been letting homeless people sleep on his property for the last 10 days. This has been great for the homeless people, but it hasn't been such a hit for Merin's neighbors and the police.

Last Wednesday the police showed up to the C street lot with a search warrant, issuing citations against illegal camping. The police came in response to calls from neighbors who claims the campers insulted them, left trash in the neighborhood and disrupted their lives. Although the neighbors believed this to be true, the homeless people were mainly just showering or having breakfast at Loaves and Fishes homeless complex down the street. The police seized 32 tents, sleeping bags, and cots.

Merin plans to take action on this issue with the support of Loaves and Fishes and dozens of members of religious and advocacy groups. He has vowed to go to court next month to challenge a city ordinance that prevents people from camping in non-designated areas for more than 24 hours at a time.

The government needs to do something about the homeless people. It's not fair to leave them to fend for themselves then kick them out of any place they try to sleep. However, I do understand where the neighbors on C street are coming from. I wouldn't really want dozens of homeless people residing a few yards away from my family and me. But what should the government do? Should they be responsible for providing food, shelter, and healthcare to them? It's an issue.

In times like these, homelessness is becoming a bigger problem. With more and more people losing jobs everyday and homes getting foreclosed, people around the country are becoming homeless. Something needs to happen to solve this problem.