We drove through Skid Row on Monday heading to a downtown destination here. What a disgrace! That block after block of people, some of them veterans, live in such squalor in the United States in 2025 can boggle the mind and sear the soul.
Homelessness is going to get much worse now as the social safety net is being shredded by a cabal of contemptible bastards.
LA County Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell was angry about Skid Row homelessness, too, but he decided to do something about it. He knew the bitter stories of many homeless folks, having as a felony trial judge sentenced many of them to prison over the years.
An avid runner, the now-retired Judge Mitchell started the Skid Row Running Club for homeless Angelinos fifteen years ago. It caught on. He initially ran most mornings in Skid Row, encouraging homeless folks to join him if only for a block or two. The groups were small. The program grew to a point, however, where the judge, court staffers, and area police run several times weekly with larger groups of homeless men and women. As a result, some street people with mental health and addiction issues have kicked drug and alcohol dependencies, improved their physical conditioning and, in the process, learned lessons about setting goals, maintaining discipline, and building community. Some have gotten and kept jobs, too, bidding farewell to Skid Row.
In a nation that values punishment far more than rehabilitation, we honor you, your honor.
Image courtesy of Metropolitan News Enterprise.