What do we talk about when we talk about homelessness (with apologies to Raymond Carver)?
At the most recent Santa Monica City Council meetings, the Council has focused on the intersection of homelessness and public safety, motivated partially by the recent violent assault of a 17-year old girl by a homeless man. Fortunately, the girl was saved by a woman who came to her rescue by tackling her assailant, and this past week the Council awarded a commendation for bravery to that woman, Jenna Wilker. The twist is that Ms. Wilker is also homeless.
The commendation calls Ms. Wilker a hero and with good reason, given that she put her own life at risk to save someone else’s, suffering lacerations around her throat and a bite wound to her ear. "The only thing I was thinking is she needs help," Ms. Wilker, 25, told me, as she described seeing the teenager being strangled. "I know those screams," Ms. Wilker said. "I’ve made those screams."
Ms. Wilker, who was molested as a child, has been homeless on and off since she aged out of the foster care system at 18, so she knows what it feels like to be in danger and that overpowered thoughts of self-preservation.
We’re not used to thinking of unhoused people as heroes. More often they get demonized as drug addicts and criminals. Some of them are. But some housed people are also drug addicts and criminals. It’s easier to blame the homeless as a group for the urban blight we’re suffering through than to deal with them as individuals with individual virtues and risks.
Ms. Wilker’s altruism forces us to examine the complexity and contradictions of the situation. I’ve heard many complaints from local business owners about the threat posed by homeless people who assault customers or destroy merchandise. Those incidents are all too real and too frequent, but the people responsible for those destructive actions have greater problems than just being homeless.
The fact is that Ms. Wilker’s equally concerned about public safety and described living in constant fear of violence from mentally unstable people on the streets in Santa Monica, where she has lived for nearly a year.
"There’s a simple solution," she said. "Recriminalize methamphetamine use." This seemed somewhat surprising coming from an admitted former addict, who has been sober for more than three years, but as a former addict and someone living on the streets, she has first-hand experience. "Methheads don’t care. They do it in public. They do it in front of children. If they’re charged, they’re out the next day. There’s no consequences."
It’s time for our city’s leaders and public safety managers to separate the issues and address them without political dogma. Those insisting that all we need is more affordable housing to solve our city’s problems are either uninformed or insincere, since housing won’t solve the threat someone with mental illness poses to themselves or to society. But those in our city who are against affordable housing and want the homeless swept off the streets are also lacking clarity and compassion. "I’m a U.S. citizen," Ms. Wilker said. "I’m not a felon."
Credit goes to the Council for honoring her and to Mayor Phil Brock for tracking her down, as he told me the previous week he was trying to do. "I want to bring her to City Hall and make sure she gets all the huzzahs she can get because she saved a girl’s life," he said.
Huzzahs are great, but what she really needs is a job and a home. Thanks to the attention, Ms. Wilker now has a GoFundMe page. "I’m now eating daily," she said, but she’s been told there’s a five-year wait for Section 8 housing in Santa Monica. "The idea of being on the street until I’m 30 is daunting."
She’s also been unsuccessful finding work. "There’s a stigma on hiring homeless people," she said. However, coincidentally, the Department of Transportation Director, Anuj Gupta, told the Council last week that Big Blue Bus is actively recruiting new employees. Is it possible that Ms. Wilker or others like her could be candidates? If not, is there someone out there with other public or private sector suggestions?
I doubt it will be an easy transition for any homeless person seeking employment. But Ms. Wilker shared the motto that she lives by: "Your past is called your past because you must move past it or it will drag you down for the rest of your life." Perhaps Santa Monica also needs to move past old habits and find new solutions for a healthier future.
Devan Sipher
