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HOMELESSNESS - Sometimes the best solutions aren’t new—they’re just forgotten.
There’s an old episode of The Andy Griffith Show that’s been on my mind. The kids in Mayberry were playing Robin Hood when they ran into a drifter in the forest. Before long, the man had the kids sneaking him food and running errands—until Sheriff Andy Taylor stepped in.
But instead of looking the other way or locking him up, Andy did something different: he confronted the problem head-on.
Andy told the kids what was happening, and then he told the drifter plainly: “We’ll help you find work. We’ll be with you every step of the way until you can stand on your own two feet.”
It wasn’t a handout, and it wasn’t cruelty. It was firm, steady, and human.
Now think about Los Angeles today. Billions of dollars have been poured into homelessness—funding NGOs, handing out hotel rooms, and spinning up endless programs. And yet what’s the result? Tents keep multiplying, sidewalks turn into campgrounds, and the city is essentially paying people to stay homeless. If you reward the problem, you’ll get more of the problem.
Andy had it right. The answer isn’t endless handouts or revolving-door shelters. The answer is persistence and accountability. Show up every day. Not once a month, not once a week—every day. Send teams out saying: “We’ll help you find a job. We’ll walk with you to treatment. We’ll be back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.”
That isn’t harassment—it’s assistance without an escape hatch. If someone’s main fear is work, then work has to be part of the solution. If the problem is addiction or mental illness, then treatment must be mandatory and consistent. Either way, it can’t be optional, and it can’t be ignored.
The current system treats homelessness as a taxpayer-funded lifestyle. That’s not compassion—it’s destruction. By contrast, Andy’s way preserved dignity by pairing help with responsibility. He didn’t hand the drifter a hotel key. He gave him something far more valuable: a chance to stand tall again, with people willing to walk beside him.
Los Angeles needs the same today: daily contact, firm expectations, and real follow-through. That’s how you turn a crisis around—not with blank checks, but with boots on the ground and accountability in hand.
The lesson from Mayberry is as clear in 2025 as it was in 1964:
Show up. Stand firm. Stay human. But never, ever pay people to remain broken.
(Michael Barone is a retired LAPD Sergeant, Serial #33210, with 23 years of service. He writes about public safety, law enforcement history, and civic accountability.)
Author’s Note: This article is part of a continuing series on LAPD and civic accountability. In “Why Veteran Cops Are Leaving the LAPD Early — and What Los Angeles Is Losing,” I explored the human cost of losing experienced officers. In “Why Los Angeles Needs to Revisit Civil Service Protections,” I argue that real reform requires insulating chiefs of police from political pressure. And in “How CompStat Failed Los Angeles — and Why the Numbers Can’t Be Trusted,” I show how data manipulation undermined public safety and accountability. Together, these articles expose how Los Angeles has failed both its officers and its citizens—and what needs to change to restore integrity.
