Now, I understand that the merchant’s association in this story is just trying to create a comfortable place for people to shop. I bet they view this in the same light as making sure the sidewalks are repaired and that there are plenty of parking spaces.

Bench-warmers sought to block homeless | Article Link

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A community activist thinks a few couch potatoes, strategically placed on sidewalk benches in an upscale shopping district, will keep transients on their feet and on the move.

Esther Viti, who oversees the donation of public benches for a merchants’ association in La Jolla, sent an e-mail to 45 other activists last week asking them to sit in three-hour shifts, no bathroom breaks allowed.

“After all, you MUST OCCUPY THAT BENCH continually for three hours to prevent that homeless person from sitting on that bench,” the e-mail said.

Donors weren’t happy that transients were sleeping on benches they had provided for the public, Viti said.

The group previously tried installing benches with metal dividers that split the seats. Transients simply began sleeping upright, said Deborah Marengo, president of Promote La Jolla.

No one has offered to sit a shift yet, Viti said. Some potential recruits expressed concern that the bench brigade could provoke retaliation from displaced transients.

In 2006, the Regional Task Force on Homeless estimated the homeless population at 9,600 countywide, which included 4,400 people within the city of San Diego.

However, it seems to me that they are instead, treating the homeless, who continue to be human beings last I checked, the same as they would mice or stray dogs. La Jolla, for those that don’t know, is an coastal shrine to materialism and excess. So heaven forbid that the homeless wreck the parade.

Here’s an idea. Maybe La Jolla needs a homeless shelter. Next time, instead of donating money for benches, donors could kick in some money for a shelter. I’m not saying drop the shelter in next to the A/x Armani Exchange… put it someplace out that won’t interfere with everyone spending money and then send a shuttle out every couple of hours. I bet there will be plenty of homeless people that would be willing to take a free lunch and a bed for the evening. I’m not saying that I’ve got it all figured out, but treating people like people is probably a good first move.