The Homelessness Saga of Eric Garcetti

(By Ted Hayes, 500 words, 01/17/2018)

“Homelessness isn’t an issue…homelessness is the issue.” “Homelessness is the moral issue of our time”

“It is a bigger problem than it’s ever been,” “We’ve had the right strategies, but we’ve never had the master plan, and we’ve never had the resources,”  “We finally are convening those together.”

 “We had to work to listen to people on the street and change our approach,” Mr. Garcetti said.

Los Angeles Mayor’s Political Future Tied to Plan to Solve City’s Homeless Crisis ‘If there’s any hope of running for president, that’s the problem he has to fix

This January marks thirty-five (35) years of my voluntary, and personally expensive, Civil Rights activism to resolve chronic, sidewalk, beachfront, public parks, etc., encampment homelessness.

It was part of the Justiceville to occupy municipal, county, state and federal property, including that which was privately owned to draw much needed attention to said homelessness, as well as how to rectify it.

During this time, while various and extremely few high level local officials made some advocacy addressing the conditions and state of homelessness that US citizens, particularly those whom are black, including military veterans were entrapped in, none of them has never come near to the level that the young, Los Angeles Mayor, the Hon. Eric Garcetti has dared and courageously reached.

Note: However, of the six (6) mayors that I have interacted with over these decades, since the end of the Tom Bradley era, was Richard Riordan and James K. Hahn, each played a very significant role in the advancement of Justiceville matters.

The young man whom I now dub, “The Great, National, Homelessness Resolutionary Mayor of America”, i.e., “Mayor Homelessness”, has done the unthinkable by making ending homelessness his “hill to live or die on”, even making it the primary reason for his US Presidential bid.

Whether right or wrong in his polices, plans, strategies, and actions, Eric Garcetti has my deep respect, because he courageously dared to do the righteous thing, not considering political votes, i.e., “damned the votes, full steam ahead!”

His father, the Hon. Gil Garcetti, who as LA District Attorney worked with my on creating the land mare, ad hoc non legal binding, 1999 prophetic JSAP document, now revised as the Unified Action Plan (UAP) should be very proud on him.

Whether perhaps with well intention, he attempted to express what he thought was serious advocacy accidentally “fell” into what other cognizant politicians recognized would touch, as it potentially being a foolish, immature venture of political career suicide; or he intentionally decided to make himself the greatest champion of the poor ever, by utilizing his high elected authority and power to end homelessness…or, politically perish.

While on certain political issues, he and I may on surface disagree with other, but with open, objective, civil dialogue between us and all concerned, no doubt we can arrive as a workable and amenable relationship for the good betterment of all.

This is the primarily reason that I seek his honorable appointment to serve as his non-government salaried Czar Homeless, i.e., Special Mayoral Envoy, as that is the best way that he can be helped.

“We had to work to listen to people on the street and change our approach,” Garcetti

Remember, my commitment was to conscientiously dwelled eight (8) dangerous years in the streets-sidewalks, in order to gain first hand experience knowledge as how to properly address, thereby, making me the most qualified for the position.

Mayor Garcetti has yet to listen to me, the most qualified and experienced, therefore knowledgeable person on this “moral issue of our time.”