An editorial from the Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Mayor Danny Jones was right to move homeless people from the property of Waste Management along the Elk River. We could have wished that he had done it before the bitter cold temperatures settled in. And that the people settled there might have had more notice.
Then when City Council members and others asked questions on Tuesday, Jones reacted in typical, blustery fashion. He shot back unhelpful retorts instead of answering reasonable questions from concerned people.
But there is a larger, more complex problem to solve. Charleston has resources to help homeless people. Not everyone can or will use a homeless shelter. So, there are clearly unmet needs.
Jones himself has pointed out in the past that homeless shelters have rules, against drug and alcohol use, for example. People who don’t want to live by the rules, or who may have some other issue, are free to go somewhere else.
But they are not free to stay on just anyone’s property…