Community Responsibility

Occasional letters to the editor regarding the homeless and views advocated toward the homeless sometimes disturb me. In one, an author stated that 90% of homeless were mentally ill; in another, that the vast majority of the homeless do not want jobs and refuse any constructive help.

I understand the apprehension of the public whose only perception of the homeless are the chronically addicted lying around in neighborhood parks, panhandlers accosting downtown shoppers, street people with signs, “Will Work For Food.”

These letters, however, expose naïve, simplistic and narrow-minded views. The growing homeless or near-homeless population is made up of men, women, and families who, without our help, quickly become homeless statistics. They are not the picture of homeless that we see on the street.

A young mother loses her job, can’t pay the rent, and is told to vacate her apartment without notice; she packs some clothes and takes the hands of her two toddlers and walks to the Mission. We assist her in getting her apartment back.

A successful CPA falls into alcoholism and is brought to the Mission by a pastor friend and finds spiritual recovery.

A man with several warrants is found to be a participant in the Mission’s New Life Program, goes before a judge and is remanded to the program; the judgments are dismissed upon his completion of the program and his subsequent gainful employment.

A young couple loses their son, and the mother; filled with despair, takes her own life, and the man wanders into the desert to die, but finds himself at the Mission, and ultimately goes on to Bible school and a ministry.

A young man who finally desires a life free from drugs, successfully completes the Mission’s New Life Program, finds gainful employment, is reunited with his pregnant wife, and they both get custody of their children from foster care.

The average American family is three paychecks away from homelessness. Women and children make up over 50% of the growing homeless population in Riverside County; of those, 38% are children. These statistics paint a vastly different picture than the recent letters portray and most of the public perceive the homeless to be.

Do we as a community want these to go on without choices for rehabilitation and basic human necessities? I have seen several communities decide stray and abandoned animals require a multimillion dollar facility, but can’t decide where to permit a facility for services such as meals, showers, mail, and counseling for people.

Daily support services will be meaningless for many homeless if they have nowhere to sleep, bathe, get clean clothes and prepare for work. Close proximity to public transportation and other support agencies is critical for those desperately wanting to break the cycle in which they have found themselves. We need to be ready with a safety net and effective solutions for those who will wind up chronic homeless statistics without such support.

Would you want any less for your own children if they found themselves in a situation over which they had no control?