Letter: Government must help, not hurt, homeless

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

How many editorials and letters to the editor will have to be written before local governments "Stop abusing the rights of the homeless," which was the headline on your Feb. 22 editorial.

Elected officials take an oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution. As far as the homeless are concerned, however, the officials selectively apply the Constitution's guarantees, or ignore them.

There have been successive outrages over the past four years, such as the recent sweep of a homeless camp in North Las Vegas. In all of them, the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments have been violated. Property owned by homeless people has been confiscated without due process. There is only one recourse available to the homeless -- file a civil suit against the government. But, of course, the homeless are powerless to do this.

Shouldn't all government employees make sure that any action they take is constitutional? You would think so, but you would be wrong.

I thought when the Nevada Transportation Department received criticism for its sweep against the homeless on F Street last month that that was the last of the sweeps against the homeless. There had been a process set up where social workers and government workers would attempt to help the homeless gain access to housing and services. Instead, North Las Vegas acted without this process.

Now is the time to ensure that before punitive and unconstitutional actions are taken that regional governments and nonprofit homeless providers will work together to help the homeless. Our fellow citizens deserve no less.

FRANK PERNA