Two years ago when I arrived in San Diego, La Jolla to be exact, that's where I was dropped off by the guy who gave me a ride from El Centro, I wound up at the Big Tent. They gave me a blanket and although I was too late to get a bed, they treated me with respect. I felt safe under the watchful eye of the Alpha Project volunteers.

I do not understand, this idea, that Homeless people are a danger to children. There are many homeless children. Is it reasonable to assume that homeless children should not go to school because they are a danger to the children who are not homeless? Of course not. Perhaps the fear is that sex offenders, in an effort to avoid detection, have mixed themselves into the homeless population. That, I believe is a reasonable assumption.

I am experiencing some outrage right now. We continue to punish a population of human beings based on the bad behavior of a few.

It happens with alcoholics, the disabled, the mentally ill, drug abusers, ex-cons, and yes, sex offenders. Whoever represents the lowest common denominator sets the bar that the rest of us have to overcome. We not only have to carry the stigma of our mistakes and illnesses, we have to carry the stigma of every mistake made by every human labeled as a drain on the economy.

The poor are not a drain on the economy. The poor are the people who give all they have everyday just to survive.

Crime rates do not tell the whole story. With the decrease of government-operated mental facilities, our population of mentally ill is partly absorbed into the homeless population. Sad though it is for them, their behavior is also unpredictable. The label "homeless" does not give the whole story on this population, their needs, and society's responsibility to them and for them.