Los Angeles County Wants to Ban Feeding Those in Need in Public

Los Angeles has the second largest homeless population in the country (over 57,000 homeless people accounted for in 2013), but many residents in LA want the homeless out of their neighborhoods. LA city council members Tom LaBonge and Mitch O’Farrell have filed a motion, 13-1238, that will potentially restrict people and organizations from feeding homeless people and others in need in public spaces. Many charity groups, including the Dream Center, want to retain the right to feed those in need outdoors.

For the past 20 years, the Dream Center has been helping those who can't help themselves. The center currently serves over 50,000 people each month, including in LA’s Skid Row, through their various programs. Their monthly service to their community adds up to serving over 36,000 hot meals, providing groceries to 40,000 people and 1,000,000 pounds of food to relieve hunger If this ban is successful, single parents, young families, veterans, the elderly, the homeless, and those who don't know day to day if they will be able to eat, called "food insecure individuals," will go hungry.

The motion itself says, "The City of Los Angeles, LAHSA and neighboring municipalities have had measurable success with permanent supportive housing, which provides housing, food, social services and other needs to homeless people." Yet the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and Feeding America have reported that 1,636,100 people were "food insecure" in Los Angeles. Included in this number are 643,640 children, 31% of whom are likely ineligible for federal nutrition programs. Although the federal government funds seventeen food assistance programs, 52% of food insecure individuals in Los Angeles County do not qualify under federal guidelines for these nutrition programs. These 1,636,100 people are not homeless - they're simply hungry. The motion by LaBonge and O'Farrell doesn't address them at all. If the government isn't feeding them and they don't want nonprofit organizations, churches, and compassionate people doing it, how are they supposed to survive? Should the nearly 200,000 kids go to bed hungry because letting them eat in an outdoor, public area, may lead them to stray onto the sidewalk?

In a press release, Matthew Barnett, founder of The Dream Center, talked about the motion and the need, saying, "The last thing our city needs, in the midst of rising homeless, is to restrict the goodwill of people. We have noticed that feeding people leads to encouragement, nourishment, permanent housing, education, jobs and personal growth. When we encounter people, the opportunity for change is always possible. We pray that the city of Los Angeles reconsiders this as they continue to push this reckless agenda further." He continued, "Compassion is not something to be regulated but celebrated without harnessing the free will of citizens. We have great hope that our city leaders will change their course and support the freedom for people to 'love their neighbors as themselves.'"

The Dream Center has started a petition on Change.org. You can join over 4000 people in asking Los Angeles City Council to retract Motion 13-1238. You can also chime in on social media with #dontstoppublicfeeding.

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