-Photo by Terry Miller
By SHEL SEGAL
As the city of Monrovia grapples with the issue of homelessness, one city council member said in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the biggest problem to have.
Tom Adams, a member of the Monrovia City Council, said on Monday that there aren’t that many homeless people who are taking refuge in the city.
“I think the police chief has identified roughly 15 people who are consistently occupying Library Park,” Adams said. “The first thing the city did was set up an ad hoc committee to look at the situation and give us some facts.”
Adams said that there is a difference between sleeping in the park and performing some offensive acts.
“Monrovia’s problem compared to the rest of the world is pretty slim,” he said. “I think that it’s a little troubling to some. I think it’s important to separate homeless from some of the acts that people are doing in the park – drinking beer, urinating in the park, abusive language. But it’s not illegal to be homeless.”
He added if those living in the park aren’t bothering anyone, there’s not much that can be done.
“If the people are acting in a responsible manner then there’s really not an issue,” he said. “So, I think the complaints we are getting start off talking about homeless people. But when you’re really getting into what are really complaining about is that nobody is complaining about them being homeless.”
He also said efforts have been made to help out most of those in the park
“They were young adults, for the most part, and most of them were offered places,” Adams said. “Most of them have turned it down. It’s kind of a chosen lifestyle.”
In addition, Adams stressed that homelessness is not a crime; rather, some of their acts are offensive.
“Again, the issue is not being homeless, but some of the things they are doing,” he said. “So, when you get a group of people who stay in the park all day long and lay out their blankets and play music, even that isn’t troubling to people. The complaints I’ve heard have been from young mothers who take their kids to the playground area. It’s a little troubling to some of them.”
(Shel Segal can be reached at ssegal@beaconmedianews.com. He can be followed via Twitter @segallanded.)
