Chronic homeless includes plenty of physically and mentally disabled folks, medically or mentally unfit to work, or lacking skill levels or opportunities, that's probably a good one third of those I see on the street. If you become medically indigent, there's a good likelihood you can end up on the street. Another significant group is older parolee's, with little or no education nor marketable skillsets. Drug addicts, especially long term users, are another significant component.

We need more mental health intervention, and need to put some of these folks off of the street and into long term facilities, or structured situations, but we closed many mental health facilities that formerly "housed" some of that group. We need more structured "make work" to keep some of these folks focused and out of trouble. And, we need a lot more rental housing, like we used to have a lot of, back when we gave those "evil landlords" big tax deductions, to middle class folks, and there were a lot more rentals, at cheaper rents.

That all really sucks, especially if your one of those poor bastards living in a friggen cardboard hovel, and most of us ain't doing squat about it...... as long as it don't hit too close to home. But, since this is a post about how much LA trains suck because of this....let's talk trains.

I've ridden the trains of "late with my "geezer pass", and have no complaints of urine to report. Compared to when I would commute every day, a few years ago, there have been way more cops riding the trains. And, I've noticed that those cops, both Sheriff's, and now LAPD as well, have been seriously enforcing fare evasion and on-board "behavioral" problems fairly aggressively, including tossing that foul mouthed girl who would not take her feet off of the seat. I've seen very few homeless lately on Gold Line or Red Line trains, or around most stations, because of that high level of visible on-board enforcement.