A writer's direct experience working the night shift at a Los Angeles homeless shelter prompted a significant shift away from far-left political ideologies, according to an account published in City Journal.
The author, using the pseudonym Lee Kuan Yimby, described a desire to engage in meaningful work helping others, which led to a position at a shelter near MacArthur Park, an area known for open-air drug markets.
Initially holding beliefs influenced by figures like Bernie Sanders and the idea that societal wealth should be redistributed to address suffering, the author encountered a reality that challenged these views. "A society wealthy enough to produce billionaires, yet willing to tolerate Skid Row five miles away, seemed morally bankrupt," the author wrote. "Tax the rich, redistribute the money and everyone could live with dignity — it seemed obvious."
Upon starting work, the author observed significant issues within the shelter system. Approximately half of the 70 packaged meals delivered nightly were discarded. Residents were engaging in illicit activities, including operating a theft ring that targeted local stores, with some using stolen high-value electric bicycles. The author also noted the pervasive use of drugs, including fentanyl, and the visible despair among many individuals.
Discussions with shelter management, the author states, focused more on systemic injustice and victimhood rather than on practical solutions like deterring drug dealers, preventing drug use within the shelter, treating severe mental illness, or facilitating residents' move toward independence. The author also noted that nonprofit managers appeared to earn substantial salaries without being present at the shelter.
"Once, a resident showed me an expensive specialized electric bicycle. A nerd for e-bikes, I was familiar with the model and knew that it cost thousands of dollars. When I asked where it came from, she casually described traveling with other residents to the West Side to steal bicycles. Buyers sometimes met her outside the shelter," the account reads.
The experience led to a conclusion that the problem was not a lack of resources or compassion, but rather how the system operated. "After watching this endless incineration of tax dollars, I concluded that the problem was not a lack of compassion or money. I came to see the shelter as part of a calculated system disguised as a compassionate philosophy," the author stated.
While maintaining a belief in societal obligations to the vulnerable, the author asserted that effective help requires addressing the truths of what harms individuals and sometimes necessitating change. "Compassion without order and accountability is deeply unserious," the piece concludes. The author entered the shelter expecting to align with the compassion of the far left but departed with the view that genuine aid necessitates structure and accountability.