Chico’s Homeless Population Continues to Grow

by Jack

When it comes to the homeless Chico has a serious conundrum. On one side, we have the people who say the needs are greater than the demand. They want to build more low income shelters and provide medical services, food, clothing, spare change, bicycles, and whatever else we can.

It’s hard to even pose a rational argument, with the above side, why all this unrestricted giving may be counterproductive, because the “giving” side is dedicated to charity and they are emotionally invested. To call for any sort of limit on charity, no matter how reasonable, is to begin the discussion with hostility and revulsion.

However, reality says the overwhelming majority of so-called homeless are not from our area and they come here because we do provide many free things for the indigent. When we are tasked to care for out of county and many from out of state, we find our giving resources severely stressed.

This is exactly what we are seeing currently in Chico and the politically correct reply is, build more shelters, give more, give, give, give. To resist this giving is to be labeled as some kind of uncaring, curmudgeon, who hates poor people. Which is not the case at all, but this card gets played a lot.

Our generosity has been our undoing because it only attracts more needy. The more we give, the more that ask, we can never catch up. And in the process of trying care for everyone, without regard to residence status or physical need, what happens to our long time Chico residents who are in need? The answer is they must compete with those pouring into Chico looking for free stuff. Our needy are lumped into the same line as the young, able bodied traveler, who living a lifestyle of choice. And they are also lumped in with other categories, from people on the run, people with mental problems, drug addicts, illegal immigrants, alcoholics, etc., who can travel a thousand mile to Chico for free stuff, but can’t find help anywhere else? Something is very wrong with this picture.

The answer may not be as difficult as we think. It will require a multi-prong effort, involving our local shelters, the police and the community in general. We begin by registering people eligible for assistance at the police department. Right off about half won’t go near the cops. Then there should be a 1 year wait, unless proof of residency can establish they have been here for at least 3 years. That’s it. No entry to shelters, no free stuff, just because they arrived here yesterday on the freight train. They can just keep on travelling, because there’s nothing here from them! And there shouldn’t be, if we are going to have the resources to continue to care of our own.

We’ve seen the results from trying it the progressive’s way. They just give free stuff and money to anyone, without any qualifications, because they feel good doing it. But, our local poor have suffered because of it when the supplies ran out. And our community has suffered too: Bums bathing in the downtown fountain, turning park benches as permanent campsites, the car break-ins, bike thefts, vandalism, stabbings, tons of trash dumped in Bidwell Park.

Enough is enough. It’s time to wise up and direct our charity to its original intended target, i.e., those from our community who are truly in need because they can’t care for themselves.