Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Former Lake Worth commissioner praises West Palm Beach for their tremendous effort to aid the homeless

Former Lake Worth Commissioner JoAnn Golden, at the 40 second mark in the video below, praises the City of West Palm Beach for all their incredible work to help the homeless there. Unfortunately, at the 1:15 mark she goes off the rails with a terribly unfair characterization of the caring and giving people of Lake Worth:
The Palm Beach Post beat reporter for Lake Worth has this news about efforts to aid the homeless here in this City. This is a concrete example of one of many organizations, Gulfstream Goodwill Industries, doing the heavy lifting to solve homelessness. This news stands in sharp contrast to the silly theatrics at past Lake Worth City Commission meetings such as the reference above by Golden to the City and citizens of Lake Worth.

Which begs the obvious question: Are the loudest critics of the City's homeless efforts really about helping those in need or just political pandering? I think we all know the answer to that question now. And since when did the rights of the homeless trump the rights of people and families to use City parks in peace? Business owners and their customers who frequent these businesses?

The debate about homelessness in the City, after the facts were presented sans the mis- and disinformation, has mostly faded away. And think you'll find this interesting—what happens when citizens, even those most supportive of solving homelessness, get pushed to the breaking point over single-issue, wedge political issues.
A tourist takes photographs but has to walk past homeless passed out on a pier in a City park despite all the services and programs available.