Homelessness Takes Toll on All of Us

To the Editor:

"Sidewalk Living, Once Again" (news article, Jan. 28) reports that homeless
people and their advocates, as well as business owners and ordinary New
Yorkers, say that a "certain ad-hoc process" of accommodating the homeless,
who are once again visible in the city, has evolved.

But make no mistake: no one should be living on the streets. Street life
takes its toll on the body and spirit. Homelessness also chips away at civic
order and community morale.

For people driven to chronic homelessness by mental illness and addiction,
living on the street is a daily nightmare of psychotic delusions and
physical illness. Health problems, risk of assault and accidents are threats
that loom large. Homeless people have a life expectancy that is 20 years
less than the national average.

Hiding the homeless and providing temporary help to make life on the streets
more bearable are not solutions. But there is hope. City agencies and
nonprofit groups that provide housing and services to treat underlying
problems offer effective and affordable solutions to homelessness.

RICHARD SALYER
Pres., Volunteers of America, New York, Jan. 30, 1998