Homelessness has become a major problem in Southern California, but leaders like L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Orange County Board of Supervisors just throw money at the issue without addressing the root causes.
Rehab seems like an answer, but it's become a major scam. Writer Jordan Graham has a piece in the O.C. Register called "Are drug rehab centers fueling homelessness in Southern California?"
Here's the beginning of the article:
"Thirteen-hundred miles from his rural Arkansas home, Tyler McCollough paces across a motel parking lot, veins bulging at his temple, anxiously gripping himself as the pangs of heroin withdrawal intensify.
Newly homeless and dope sick on the streets of Costa Mesa, the 25-year-old says he’s thinking about stealing from a nearby store – anything to scrounge up the cash he needs to get drugs.
Hours later, relaxing in an In-N-Out booth, he’s calmer. He says a friend gave him a hit of heroin. He also wonders aloud how he came to be living on the streets, so far from the place he used to call home.
Migration stories similar to McCollough’s are repeated with varying frequency across pockets of Southern California..."
Costa Mesa City Councilman Jim Righeimer joined us to discuss the topic further: