I’m beating a dead horse here, but until the state of California can bring about some real reform in addressing homelessness, that deceased equine will continue to get whipped. The trigger (pun intended) was reading CalMatters’ (a nonprofit news agency covering California state politics and policies) latest report,” ‘A volunteer jail:’ Inside the scandals and abuse pushing California’s homeless out of shelters.” As you can guess, they minced zero words in finding fault with shelters statewide. From Fresno to San Diego, evidence was collected of black mold, sexual harassment of staff and residents, embezzlement of funds and resources, facilities being forced to act as geriatric/psychiatric wards, and other abuses and issues.

First off, kudos to Larry Haynes, the CEO of Mercy House, for honestly addressing that last point: “So then I have to ask, as kindly and as respectfully as I can, ‘Well, what the f— did you think was going to happen?’” Since the Grants Pass decision by the Supreme Court gave states carte blanche to round up unhoused people–whether or not they had shelter space available–shelters have become the repository of choice.

On the surface, the original concept of temporary shelters seemed promising: along with protection from the elements, residents would get mental and physical health services, assistance finding permanent housing, at least one hot meal a day, showers, toilet facilities, and a bed to sleep on. As the CalMatters report discloses, however, not all those services are available at all shelters–and, sometimes, they come at too high a price. I am not speaking of mere money. I am talking about innate self-esteem and dignity–two things too many shelter residents find threatened in their environment.

The two scarcest resources are housing assistance and mental/physical health services. CalMatters found that, even at the best shelters, only 1 in 4 residents were able to get permanent housing within a year. They also found that the average–the average–stay in a shelter is 245 days, or 8 months. Many end up staying for years, being passed from housing navigator to housing navigator while trying to keep their bodies and minds together. Patrick Hogan’s recent Op-Ed for the Desert Sun brilliantly and hauntingly recounts his own experiences with frustration and demoralization in Shelter Land: https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/2025/02/27/in-a-california-homeless-shelter-my-hope-turned-to-despair/80522116007/

But the most chilling statistic by far was the number of fatalities: 2,007 deaths were reported in California’s shelters between 2018 and 2024–nearly double the number of deaths in state jails during that period. Let me rephrase that more bluntly: California’s jails are SAFER than its homeless shelters.
Thankfully, human ingenuity truly knows no bounds. I laughed with delight to learn that an unhoused encampment in Oakland had gotten itself listed on Google Maps as a storage facility, replete with 5-star reviews for, among other things, offering “42 hours (a day)” access to the facility.
While it may come too rarely to suit us, such healing and lenitive laughter is anodyne in our current SNAFU situation. We are–as Vincent Price once intoned in his most sepulchral voice on an Alice Cooper album–dealing with “a demented child-king” and his slavish, simple-minded subjects, seemingly endlessly eager to feed his delusional states of mind. Witness the recent horror show when Rump decided to expound on his warped vision of realpolitik to–of all people–Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The very sight and sound of a Russian asset Resident having the temerity to lecture a man whose country is at war with Mother Russia is so far beyond the pale, I’m not sure even Noam Chomsky, at his sharpest, could find a word to fit such a hideous display of hubris.

The poison icing on this urinal cake was provided by JD Vance, who demanded to know when Zelenskyy last thanked the US for its aid. As if he and his country owed us unending obeisance for outdated military equipment and government cheese, the utter gall of it left us speechless. It was all I could do not to cover my laptop with vomit. At least he left with Ukraine’s mineral rights intact–for now.

Add to that–weighing like an elephant on the mind of millions of Americans–the impending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and SNAP. The former commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Martin O’ Malley. has warned that due to DOGE’s interference with the SSA, there might be an interruption of payments within the next 30-90 days. I have zero confidence that the Senate will vote to protect these services, but I have some hope that our Governor will find a way to deal with any shortfalls that result.

Meanwhile, I am still breathless and appalled that so many Congresscritters willfully–and gleefully! – voted for these cuts, even knowing the grievous harm to their constituents. Every time I think that the depths of sheer human rottenness and cruelty have been plumbed, Marjorie Taylor Greene and her ilk find new Sargassan depths to plunge into. The Republicans of yesteryear are as dead as the dodo.

“These are days of blood and sorrow. If only there were some light” –Harlan Ellison