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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forumsbasketball Bill Walton proposes moving homeless away from "civilized taxpayers" to "Sunbreak Ranch"
Summary. Bill Walton, the basketball guy, lives in San Diego and has complained about biking around seeing homeless. Now he and buddy have published this OP ed.The proposed site for Sunbreak Ranch on federal land at the Miramar Way exit on Interstate 15. Photo by George Mullen
Americans who live in or near an urban population center are facing a series of homeless crises that have become the number one issue of our day.
We can either rise to the occasion and tackle this challenge, or we can let the destructive, cruel, and inhumane downward spiral continue. We have a choice.
Most of us can no longer walk or bicycle our downtown city streets, sidewalks, and parks without facing an obstacle course of tents, bodies, human excrement, needles, trash, and a slew of walking-zombies who are impossible to distinguish between those just down on their luck and others who are out-of-control substance abusers about to attack us.
We, the civilized taxpayers of our society, are being forced to cede our cities and parks to lawlessness. And that just cycles ever-downward into only more lawlessness.
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In San Diego we have had enough. We are no longer going to follow other once-great American cities into the abyss of homelessness, lawlessness, and roadside shantytowns.
San Diegans are coming together in a grassroots effort to propose an innovative program of what should be the homeless solution for America. It’s called Sunbreak Ranch.
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Individuals can reside in a community tent, or camp on their own in a series of designated and protected areas for families, single mothers, elderly people, veterans, those with dogs, and others as needed.
https://timesofsandiego.com/opinion/2023/01/14/sunbreak-ranch-is-the-answer-to-san-diego-and-americas-homeless-crisis/
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RockRaven
(18,172 posts)and public places he is referring to. I also crossed paths with more homeless people than I could count or recall (more than crossed paths, my work involved frequent interpersonal interactions with homeless people). There certainly was a dangerous or unsettling minority, but most of them were better people/company upon random brief encounter than Bill Walton was.
If my memory of San Diego is accurate (maybe not) this "plan" consists of forcing all homeless people to live in a camp in recently burned desert scrub land (mid 2000s, but it's fucking desert-y, so shit grows slow) along the interstate (8-10 lanes packed all day long) or face criminalization. So they won't bother "real" people with existing in "real person space." 
That's what I was thinking about this proposed location, they just want the poor to be out of sight, out of mind so they won't have to actually think about them and certainly absolving the communities from doing anything about how these people got homeless.
Aside from that, how would these people be able to get to services and food and other things readily available in the city? Not much forethought beyond where to shuttle them off to. Thing is, there are so many homeless in San Diego that the proposed ranch would be instantly over crowded. Make me think of internment camps.
Walton is just another over-privileged bloviator.
haele
(14,726 posts)A lot of homeless work.A lot of homeless are elderly on Social Security.
I live in San Diego, and most homeless are camping out near trolley and bus stations stations, which are also areas where they can access free bathrooms. They do that so they can clean up and go work at jobs that pay $16 to $20 an hour, which is still not enough to rent a Studio apartment with basic utilities (water and electric) and maintain some form of transportation.
They can get monthly Compass transit cards at many churches due to being low income. They can typically rent a small storage room for $100 a month and a P.O. box for $100 a year. They have to buy their food ready-to-wear or take-out, so they can't save by cooking and storing food "at home". Hygiene is almost impossible, and they have to do laundry at a coin-op whenever they can gather a few coins, so they start looking disheveled and pretty much unemployable. They can't pay for basic medical and dental care, so they start losing teeth or get sick constantly.
Without a home space where they can at least keep food, utensils, clothes, and maintain hygiene - even if they have no furniture other than cardboard boxes for storage and an air mattress with a sleeping bag and wash their clothes in the shower, they eventually lose even the most menial jobs.
It's a basic fact - working (and retired elderly) homeless can afford the small things, but they can't afford the big basic things like the all-important housing. And if they work shifts or off hours, they're not able to follow "shelter" rules, they're pretty much stuck living rough, hoping they can get to a spot where people will watch after their stuff while the work and the city won't sweep the camp while they're off working.
Watching someone who got priced out of housing slip into a mental health crisis or substance abuse problem within 6 months of living on the streets is not at all unexpected.
A 'village' out by Miramar Marine Corps base doesn't help a lot of the current crop of homeless folk in the long run. It actually hurts those homeless with jobs by pushing them out away from where their jobs are. Maybe it can help those with mental health issues or the elderly if some housing can also be turned into free pensioners housing, but that type of assistance tends to be short term for the "able bodied", who still have problems finding permanent housing for themselves after they graduate from whatever program was pushed on them as part of the price for free housing.
Not to mention it doesn't at all help with the rather large tribes of transients who wander out here seasonally to beg, steal and scam (i.e., Travellers and Rainbows),
Homelessness in working people can be solved only by providing free or subsidized housing specifically for them near transportation and suitable jobs for their talents and capabilities (as in, not just lowest common denominator jobs).
One of the solutions I would like to see is a program where low income workers can rent to own rehabbed and subsidized no-interest added apartments or houses from the city or county in mixed income neighborhoods or complexes that will eventually become theirs after five to ten years, depending on how fast they can pay the basic mortgage.
Haele
Hekate
(99,808 posts)It’s enough to make the angels weep —
riversedge
(78,371 posts)
CloudWatcher
(2,127 posts)Well kudos for attempting to think of a solution. After that ... omg this proposal is so bad.
Is CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) an issue with pro-basketball players too?
2naSalit
(98,089 posts)His privilege so much and thinks it is so far above average that only certain classes can look upon him, you know, the ones who might give a rat's ass about him passing them by and being blessed with a sighting. I mean, if you're riding past homeless people on your bike, they probably don't give a fuck who you are and therein lies the rub, they don't care who he is or that he's blessing them with his presence. It must be cramping his style which seems to be some kind of valued currency in his small circle of friends.
former9thward
(33,424 posts)You don't know how Walton thinks. His entire life has been the opposite of your mocking.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)We can't just warehouse people in the middle of nowhere. A lot of these folks have serious mental health issues. They need mental health care, not internment camps.
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(11,698 posts)2naSalit
(98,089 posts)Right now that area is going through some massive erosion during these storms. If that place were a thing today, all those people would need to be rescued on the first day.
San Diego is a severe snobtown and the level of wannabe supremacy is beyond anything I could tolerate.
cannabis_flower
(3,909 posts)If they don’t have jobs, they won’t get them out there. Some (maybe most) don’t even have cars. And do buses even go out there.
2naSalit
(98,089 posts)Not on any bus route and the trolley doesn't have a track nearby. It's so far from anything, food, services... San Diego is no place to try and survive without means. Most of my family lives there and it's a struggle even for the ones with upper level careers, cost of living is so it is one of the major causes of homelessness in the county.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)There's been some really sad reddit posts of UCSD students asking for tips on living in their car. https://www.reddit.com/r/UCSD/comments/prcxi5/for_those_planning_to_live_in_your_car_for_this/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
My son is a Freshman at USCD and is living in the dorms, but you are only guaranteed housing at UCSD your first 2 years. Then you are on your own. I'm already worried about where he will live when he's a Junior. A 1-bedroom apartment in the area goes for over $3k, and they're snapped up by tech workers who score way better than students on their income verification. It's hard for a student to get an apartment even if they have the money.
Mr.Bill
(24,906 posts)2naSalit
(98,089 posts)Where would all the wildlife go?
If he got washed away in the rains I would not shed a tear.
Zorro
(18,022 posts)It's located on the other side of the interstate from Miramar Air Station, and actually is a relatively easily accessible spot close to a variety of destinations.
It's actually an idea with some merit and worth debating. Having an organized encampment for the homeless certainly seems better than having homeless camped out at random locations across the city.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)He is suggesting people with mental health issues be forced to camp out there, in that heat. It's a recipe for disaster. The reason homeless people congregate in rich coastal neighborhoods is because the cooler weather makes living on the street possible, plus there's tons of fancy restaurants that throw perfectly good food out every day, and there's lots of people walking around that the homeless can panhandle.
Zorro
(18,022 posts)and all the other proposed amenities Walton described government could provide at a centralized location.
The area is adjacent to the upscale Scripps Ranch neighborhood, whose citizens would certainly take exception to being described as "the middle of nowhere".
It sounds as if you're not really that familiar with the area, and that you think a better solution would be to create a homeless community somewhere in La Jolla. That's not a realistic or practical solution; like it or not, Walton's suggestion is more practical and worthy of debate, instead of being dismissed reflexively as elitist.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)They're not going to get that in what Walton is proposing. That's why we have not been able to build any significant housing for the homeless in California, despite voters approving numerous initiatives to provide millions in money for housing for the homeless. That money just sits there in bank accounts because everyone is a NIMBY in California, especially the rich.
And please don't assume you know what I know. My son goes to UCSD. I am very familiar with the area.
And no, I don't think there should be a homeless community in La Jolla. These folks need mental health care and safe single occupancy housing. Forcing a bunch of mentally ill people to share a barracks or tent is a recipe for disaster and is inhumane. What Walton's really saying is let's just make them move their tents to where I can't see them.
It's a tough problem, and it won't be solved by internment camps outside of the city. The homeless won't stay in them. The housing needs to be small scale and spread out throughout San Diego. But NIMBYs won't even let small transitional housing in their neighborhoods.
EX500rider
(12,038 posts)Is it somehow cooler, I was under the impression cities were heat Islands due to all the asphalt holding in the heat.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)Highs rarely go above 77 and lows rarely go below 50°F. https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/California/Places/san-diego-temperatures-by-month-average.php It's nothing like the desert.
EX500rider
(12,038 posts)Having lived in La Jolla I'm aware however I doubt the parts the homeless are in are on the water.
EarnestPutz
(2,843 posts).....through $500 sunglasses as he bikes down a paved cycle path paid for by taxpayers who see that as a priority over housing and mental health.
Delphinus
(12,451 posts)
Roisin Ni Fiachra
(2,574 posts)
twodogsbarking
(16,203 posts)Poor Bill.
Raine
(30,974 posts)an idea. I just don't see as you can have people living in tents in the desert. It seems it would be too hot in summer and freezing in winter. Also lots of danger like rattlesnakes, scorpions and all sorts of wild creatures. Then there's the need for water, ways to cook etc. It just doesn't seem practical unless a huge amount of money is spent to put up some sort of housing with the necessary amenities.
And who would be paying for that? is the very next question to emerge.
hatrack
(63,755 posts).
2naSalit
(98,089 posts)How tight-fisted they are in San Diego when it comes to social benefit.
GreenWave
(11,782 posts)Yeah, that's the picture Bill! Ostrich solution. We'll stick our heads into the sand, just pretend that all is grand then hope that everything turns out ok. (Steppenwolf)
dembotoz
(16,922 posts)the final solution did not happen overnight
Magoo48
(6,643 posts)Wait, this sounds vaguely familiar, and oh boy does it stink.
I’m late to this thread, but it sounds exactly what you said. Next stop, sterilization
Johnny2X2X
(23,500 posts)Oh yeah, that's too hard so people would rather criminalize the homelessness our system guarantees.
There are no easy answers. And one thing I learned at a young age while volunteering at a kitchen for homeless people was that you never know it can happen to you until it does, everybody has a story.
hunter
(40,069 posts)Nothing fancy, just safe comfortable shelter, a place to keep yourself and your stuff, a place you can call your own.
Heck, a lot of the homeless are capable of building housing on their own -- they just need a place to do it. If they don't know how to build homes and community they can be taught.
Once you've got a safe place to live, a place to shower and wash your clothes, finding work is much easier.
We've also got to accept that some people will always be unemployable for one reason or another, and may not even be partially functional without some sort of mild supervision. Currently we put many of these people in jail or prison at great public expense, or let them die on the streets, which is also expensive.
There was a low spot in my own life when I was living in my car in a church parking lot, mostly because of mental health issues. That was after I'd been "asked" to take time off from college, the implied threat being permanent expulsion. I ended up living in the garden shed of a PTSD Vietnam war vet who probably saw me as a kindred spirit, and that made all the difference. I was still in the habit then of biting any hands that fed me and we didn't part on good terms, but amazingly I was eventually accepted back to college, graduated, started to get some good jobs, and haven't been a crazy homeless guy since.
My mind went a little sideways in adolescence. For too many years after that I put everyone who loved me through hell.
All this drama is so damned unnecessary. Build homes where the work is. Make accommodations for the unemployable. The Nimbys are always wrong.
GoCubsGo
(34,447 posts)The Grateful Dead have always preached "Be kind." It seems that message has been lost on this particular fan, because these complaints show that he is anything but kind.
niyad
(127,882 posts)elocs
(24,486 posts)As someone who retired from a Salvation Army homeless shelter, I don't believe we should criminalize homelessness but I have no problem whatsoever in criminalizing the homeless criminals, the ones who use their homelessness as a cover for committing crimes. Yes, they're a minority, but they give all homeless people a bad name.
Last winter our mayor put up the homeless in a local motel because his pockets were full of federal money to do it. We had homeless come from the other side of the state to be housed for the winter. The motel incurred $60,000 worth of damage last winter and said no-thanks to the homeless staying there this winter. But then there was no federal money to put them up in a motel this winter so they're wandering around wearing big backpacks.
There is no single answer for helping the homeless, but alienating the non-homeless in a community is no answer either and actually makes the plight of the homeless worse there.
newdayneeded
(2,493 posts)actually made a homeless community with small apartments, gathering area, recreation area, etc. And hardly any of the homeless even showed up or stayed there.
That's the huge problem, you can spend millions on a complex, but they (a big %) want to remain homeless (free).
elocs
(24,486 posts)but they have rules such as passing a drug test as well as staying inside once you are there for the evening since it's not a motel. But a motel is what some of the homeless want so they'd rather be out on the streets.
But when my city paid to have the homeless be able to stay in a motel last year, they came from hundreds of miles away to be here. Meanwhile long time city residents would struggle just to pay their rent.
Ultimately, a minority percentage of the homeless spoils it for the majority who truly need help and do what they can to do the right thing and cause no problems. They were the ones who stayed at the motel here last winter and were scared to death because there was sex and drug trafficking going on. The motel had to close for weeks after the homeless left last year to repair the damage which is why they didn't want to have anything to do with it this winter even though it would provide them with a lot of income when they are mostly empty in the winter otherwise.
aocommunalpunch
(4,538 posts)
LessAspin
(1,708 posts)A sports writer once wrote about Phil Jackson going from revolutionary to reactionary. Looks like that could be applied to Bill Walton as well..
That said I have actually had some similar ideas recently. I-96 exit here in Michigan between Lansing and Holt has blankets hanging up in the trees where some homeless people must live. Just a few blocks away there are some old State of Michigan offices that haven't been used in years. Why not open those up to the homeless?
Link to tweet
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1275975
MurrayDelph
(5,648 posts)interrupting my classes us UCLA (notably ones he want enrolled in) to try to stage a walkout in protest against the Vietnam War.
PatSeg
(51,124 posts)is HOUSES Mr. Walton, affordable housing.
What a jerk. Too bad all those people are making his life so uncomfortable. Maybe HE should move out to the desert to get away from them. 
Deminpenn
(17,034 posts)is the new model for dealing with homeless populations. Walton and his concerned buddies probably have more $s than they know what to do with. Perhaps they could fund the construction of several similar buildings in SD
Aristus
(71,082 posts)But other than that, this is pretty standard "I hate homeless people" horseshit.
This is going to come as a huge shock to the blithely dismissive "Why don't they just get a job?" types. But a lot of homeless people have jobs. Does this smelly, disease-ridden douchebag want to take these people away from their jobs? Take them away from their medical care, their mental health care, their lifelines for getting off the streets?
The homeless problem is a complex one, and requires complex solutions. But two easy ways to begin addressing the problem include instituting a living wage for everyone. And bringing back comprehensive, state-level in-patient mental health care programs, the kind Ronald Reagan spent his governorship and Presidency gutting into uselessness.
Marthe48
(22,086 posts)Like Lebron James, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin Durant. walton comes off as a turd
LiberalFighter
(53,544 posts)
Ilsa
(63,443 posts)peggysue2
(12,215 posts)We all know homelessness is a growing problem, both for the homeless and city dwellers. At the very least, this is someone broaching the subject, throwing an idea out into the ether sphere. Even though it's bad and gives no thought for homeless themselves.
We need more suggestions, more civic participation with better ideas that will serve the homeless, the working poor and city residents. One such proposal I read about was the construction of tiny homes for people to get started in getting their lives back. Not situated in a barren desert but built on vacant lots within the city. Wouldn't work everywhere but at least it's a start.
We also have to delineate the homeless population. Drug addiction and mental health require additional services. If I remember correctly, the tiny house community was vetted before acceptance. For others? We need to have facilities brought back to fight the scourge of drug addiction. What we're doing now isn't working. Same for mental health patients living on the street. We cast these individuals out of poorly run and inhumane institutions with no back up. The money that supposedly was being put aside for out-patient services never materialized. It was easier to empty the institutions than deal with damaged, sick and/or drug-addicted people.
There's an old saying that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, the least among us. Right now? We're doing a lousy job.
There must be better ideas out there than this one. The first thing is a willingness to talk about the problem, admit that it exists, and then start brainstorming solutions.
Initech
(106,535 posts)What could go wrong there? 
Mosby
(19,104 posts)The location is 12 miles away from downtown SD, and there will be free shuttles.
Doing nothing is not going to fix the problem. Building free homes and Apts will not fix the problem, and where will they be built anyway, not 12 miles from SD.
SunSeeker
(56,933 posts)There are better and more humane way to disband homeless encampments. There are are no perfect solutions and certainly no easy solutions, but places like Boston seem to have the right approach. Instead of trying to warehouse the homeless, Boston is taking a "whole person approach," looking at each homeless person as an individual with different needs and issues, and getting them the help and housing they need, one by one. It is a much more labor intensive approach, but it seems to be working. https://www.usich.gov/news/what-other-cities-can-learn-from-bostons-public-health-approach-to-homelessness
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(11,698 posts)schedule.
nini
(16,805 posts)That word speaks volumes about where he is coming from.
riversedge
(78,371 posts)umm... water? bathrooms? showers? maybe the stuff needed to live a dignified Life??
His solution is to throw up a few tents in an dessert. whow. whow. 
Just A Box Of Rain
(5,104 posts)"There will be portable toilets and portable showers, mess halls, medical tents, storage facilities and onsite service providers including dedicated teams of mental health professionals, substance abuse rehabilitation specialists and vocational trainers."
JHB
(37,838 posts)Walled-off dumping grounds for the homeless, unemployed, "vagrants," and assorted other "undesirables."
From one of the time-travel episodes. The year is 2024:
BlueWaveNeverEnd
(11,698 posts)Only watched on through once, so most of the eps are fuzzy to me. Maybe due for rewatching. Thanks for this.