Forget the Handouts, Come Up With Jobs : The homeless: Work, and the self-respect it brings, is what they need.

I am a homeless activist here in Los Angeles with a message some people may find hard to believe: We don’t want your handouts.

Let me explain why. Homeless people are a mixed bag. Some of us are mentally disadvantaged. Some are chemically dependent on drugs or alcohol. But a majority of us just got lost along the way. We lost our jobs, our cars and even our families. Not only are we between jobs, we’re between homes. Most of us have been homeless for less than a year.

What’s it like being homeless? Well, it has its ups and downs. It’s not all bad. Some people even like being homeless because there are no responsibilities, no obligations. But most people hate it.

Nevertheless, people don’t stop laughing when they become homeless. They take delight in things, just like everyone else. Satisfaction for a homeless person can come from finding a good place to sleep at night, or a full meal, or sharing a joke with a friend. You can be just as happy tucked in under a bridge on the San Diego Freeway as you can in a mansion in Beverly Hills. Our pleasures are simple.

One thing is different for us: Our days are spent constantly on the go, looking for food and shelter. In that sense, we live a primitive life. And homelessness usually means being dirty.

You might wonder what homeless people want. The signs many of us carry scribbled on cardboard say a lot: We want jobs, just like a lot of people these days. That’s vital because a job brings a modicum of self-respect. A job and a stable base of operations--you might think of it as “home base”--are the first rungs on the ladder back into the mainstream. Man is a social animal, and we want to be productive members of society. We don’t want to be thought of as untouchables or liabilities, because we’re not. In fact, upon closer examination, you will find that we can be assets to this society--if given a chance.

For those among us who cannot manage for themselves--the mentally ill, the physically disabled, the chemically dependent--society should chip in and help out. That means using tax dollars and private donations, not a popular suggestion these days. But for them, there is no other solution. They need our help.

For the rest of us, don’t give us a damn thing. Don’t get us hooked on the easy way out, the welfare check that encourages us to be our least, not our best. If you can offer a job, fine; we’ll take that and work hard at it. If not, at least stand with us in partnership and cheer us along to victory. And the next time you get panhandled, you tell them to call me. We homeless are going to lick this one ourselves. And if you want to have fun, come to our daylong rock, jazz and reggae concert at MacArthur Park on Saturday.

Have a great day. “The light burns still . . .” (from “Justiceville,” a song by John Stewart, formerly of the Kingston Trio).