There are rumblings that the problem of homelessness may be coming up again in Glendale.
The problem never really goes away, of course. But it's one of those intractable human conditions, not unlike day laborers lining the city streets, that few people enjoy talking about. So they don't, until the burden of silence becomes too great and someone finally speaks up.
That happened a few years ago when the City Council briefly toyed with an ordinance that would have declared it illegal to be homeless in Glendale. As it deserved to, that proposal died, but more from the absurdity of its syntax than any lack of constitutional authority, it seems. Recently, Santa Barbara resurrected the idea in more logical language, prohibiting the homeless from sleeping in public places.
Now a downtown realtor who announced her candidacy for the Glendale City Council last week has spoken up on homelessness.
In the context of preserving Glendale's small-town charm, Mary Ann Plumley said she would like to review the Santa Barbara ordinance to see if it would apply here.
It could be a volatile issue.
To say "the problem of homelessness," by the way, is to be perfectly ambiguous, and there are those who use the phrase to mean the opposite of what Plumley did, referring to the problem experienced by those who are homeless.
That is how the subject was cast Tuesday when about 100 members of the Glendale Community Coordinating Council confronted the problem during a lunch meeting at Glendale Adventist Hospital.
A pamphlet on display, "How to Get Food and Money: The People's Guide to Welfare, Health and Other Services in Los Angeles County," left little doubt as to how the day's panel would lean.
Among those speaking were representatives from Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, the county Department of Public Social Services and Interfaith Hunger Coalition. Glendale Police Lt. Wayne Williams, who rounded out the panel, did his best to be non-confrontational.
There wasn't much new to report. The old news has just gotten more dire. The number of homeless is still on the rise in Glendale, and more than ever the new homeless are families.
"The population that is growing by leaps and bounds are those that you do not necessarily see," said moderator Lynda Rocamora, who oversees community social services for Temple Sinai of Glendale.
"We're looking at families, little children. They go without resources."
