Camping ordinance solves nothing
I read the Aug. 15 Bee article about the new ordinance aimed at the homeless problem. The San Francisco Chronicle had an article about Fresno and it mentioned there that the homeless population is around 5,000 to 7, 000 people around town; not the small figure mentioned in The Bee article.
Apparently all the folks camping out in the northwest along Shaw Avenue are making Councilmember Steve Brandau uncomfortable, as well as his constituents, who no doubt have been calling him. There is no mental health available for these folks. They are the frequent flyers that American Ambulance talks about.
Corona Health at the old Valley Medical Center campus stabilizes them, and lets them back out on the streets.
As for housing, I’m a volunteer for Westcare and attended a housing meeting at the old Glen Agnes senior housing project. I learned that there are few rooms available at various senior/disabled adult facilities in town. The Fresno Housing Authority has a two-year waiting list for any housing.
To help with the problem, the community has to get involved in working out a solution. The ordinance serves no one and solves nothing.
Saul P. Reyes, Fresno
This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "Camping ordinance solves nothing."