Skip to main content

Get reel in helping the homeless


An EXCELLENT blogpost over at SLO Homeless in San Louis Obispo provides what I think is the central unlearned lesson regarding what homelessness is like and what kind of help is most needed.  Read the whole post, y'all; for a sample, here's the core of what blogger michael has to say:
…I am painfully aware that at the "end of the day" the homeless will still be homeless. They will have come no closer to escaping homelessness.

It isn’t because they enjoy living life on the streets for the holidays. It’s just that they presently have no other alternative. They haven’t been provided with the types of assistance which might potentially help them rebuild their lives.

Most folks are perhaps familiar with the adage that, "If you give a man a fish, you feed him for today. But, if you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime."

The majority of the types of services offered to the homeless only feed (and shelter) them for today. The same holds true when members of the community personally engage in charitable acts for the homeless.

Yet, even when services are offered which teaches them "how to fish," the homeless still find it difficult to move beyond homelessness.

The reason: knowing how to fish doesn’t mean that a person will fish – especially if they do not have the rod and reel.

We can teach the homeless "how to fish." We can even show them the "where to fish."

However, due to their economic situation, there aren’t all that many homeless who will be able to acquire the "rod and reel" with which to fish.

Feeding and sheltering the homeless: there is no doubt that these are good things.

Nevertheless, as a society, we must go the extra step.

If we genuinely desire an end to homelessness in our communities, we must begin implementing the types of services and programs which truly offer the homeless with the ability to acquire the "rod and reel" so that they can "feed themselves for a lifetime."

That isn’t to say that society should just provide everything to the homeless without expecting them to do something on their own behalf.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More obstacles revealed in effort to make Mather cottages habitable

Mold, asbestos and lead paint, oh my! The 35 cottages out at Mather Community Campus seem closer to being condemned today than ever again being inhabited. But the expectation that some of the cottages can and will be restored to house homeless families before spring abides. A report in the Sacramento Bee tells us ... Some [of the cottages] have extensive mold, a county analysis showed. It's not clear how the county planned to deal with lead paint and asbestos, [Rancho Cordova] Councilwoman Linda Budge said. Still, hope of getting some of the cottages in shape such that homeless families can move in is in play, though not before New Year's day.  Word of where the money might come from to make needed restorations has not been forthcoming, though it is known that the Winter Shelter Task Force hopes to hold a fundraiser to boost the pool of funds to meet the need to keep homeless people warm and safe. At the end of October, placing families, totalling 105 individuals, was
Post a Comment
Read more

Ron Russell and Summerhills Realty

Readers of this blog should be aware that I am receiving some information that Summerhills Realty and someone named Ron E. Russell is using this blog as a reference in an effort to scam homeless people.  Be aware that Mr. Russell and his business is cited as a possible perpetrator of fraud by a website called Ripoff Report .  See this webpage .  Also, there is this claim of fraud against Ron Russell Properties at the website BizClaims - Latest scams, frauds and complaints . Please be aware that the information of being 'ripped off'' may be coming from only one source is coming from multiple sources, with perhaps as many as twelve persons/couples now pursuing legal action after paying thousands of dollars for services and receiving none of the services that were promised/contracted. While I know neither Mr. Russell nor Summerhills, I do know that an inordinate number of “in links” from readers of this blog have come via summerhillsrealestate.com for quite some time.  I
11 comments
Read more

In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day

Calvin [a "green hat" in Unfriendly Park] makes the argument for continued incompetent management. Hobbes represents me — only, in real life, I don't have that good a coat . In an act of Collective Punishment, Loaves & Fishes closes its park in the morning on New Year’s Day In one respect — and only one — that I can think of, Loaves & Fishes is NOT hypocritical: The management hates the way America is run and wants to turn it into a backward communist country . Consistent with that, Loaves & Fishes’ management runs its facility like a backward communist country. The People’s Republic of Loaves & Fishes. A seemingly minor thing happened on New Year’s Day. A couple of people smoked a joint in Loaves & Fishes’ Friendship Park and one of the park directors, or both of them, determined, at about 10am, that, in retribution, they would punish all the homeless there by closing the park for the day. This is something the managers of the park do all the
7 comments
Read more