[img]1302|right|Goran Eriksson||no_popup[/img]While he was discussing this afternoon what stoked his introductory interest in the ubiquitous homeless problem, everywhere, business leader Goran Eriksson remarked that Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti has promised to house all homeless military veterans by the end of the year.
Diplomatically, the former president of the Culver Chamber of Commerce stood neutrally on the question of whether Mr. Garcetti can achieve such a career-making objective.
This newspaper has been reporting that 20,000 veterans go homeless every night. The Los Angeles Times last week pegged the number at 38,000.
To many, Mr. Garcetti’s boast sounds like headline-seizing campaign braggadocio, although the Times fairly ignored the size and difficulty of such a feat.
The president of Los Angeles United Way glibly announced that technological advances have created a computerized model that matches up homeless veterans roaming the dark streets and matches them up with needed services.
That is not exactly conquering vets’ homelessness, but this is only the 35th day of the year.
County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas included in a press release this afternoon a sunny headline loudly applauding Mr. Garcetti’s unlikely scheme.
Lofty chatter about instantly rescuing homeless military veterans heated up after the much-criticized VA, which has contributed mightily to veteran homelessness, struck a lopsidedly ballyhooed agreement last week to suddenly get religion and swiftly build long-term housing for vets in the streets – the 20,000 or the 38,000.
Giving themselves plenty of elbow room – and macaroni – the VA has until October, at least, to merely hire a maven on housing for the homeless.
He probably will draw up a plan in his first 15 minutes. The housing will be built in the next 15 minutes.
And then Mr. Garcetti still will have two months to round up the elusive 20,000. Or was it 38,000 by Dec. 31?
