ADDRESSING THE HOMELESS ISSUE

Thank you to the Times Delta for publicizing my recent Donuts and Discussion, held last Saturday morning at the community center at Lincoln Oval Park.  We had a great turnout,  approximately 30 local citizens in addition to city representatives.  A number of the attendees were from the immediate neighborhood.  We had a frank discussion, not only about the homeless issue, but also about the city’s new shopping cart ordinance, planned road modifications for and improvements to the park.

When I arrived for the 8:00 a.m. meeting, I noted that all the shopping carts in the park were gone, although some homeless still remained along with their bagged possessions.  Last week was the first time Visalia has implemented the new ordinance that prohibits shopping carts in our city parks and trailways.  The carts were retrieved by code enforcement to be returned to local merchants.  Approximately 100 carts have been retrieved from the Oval Park area.  At the same time, about 40 of the homeless have taken advantage of the new, secure storage facility at the Rescue Mission where they can store their possessions 24/7 free of charge.  This is intended to get rid of the shopping cart blight in our parks and trails, and at the same time to compassionately give our homeless another alternative.  We need to give this new project time to work.  As we gain the trust of the homeless, and as the weather gets colder, we hope the homeless will take advantage of this new storage resource.

From the lively discussions at our D & D meeting, it became clear to me that most people in the community want to help the situation, but just don’t know how.  I’ve asked the city to compile a resource guide, listing the available agencies and non-profits who can help in the following seven service areas: food, shelter, clothing, drug addiction, mental health, physical health and employment.  It is my recommendation to post this information on the city’s website, as well as to make it available to the public as a handout.  Hopefully, we will get this information out directly to the homeless so that they can seek necessary assistance.  We’ll try to update it regularly.

After the D & D meeting, I, along with some city staff, went out to visit in the park with the homeless who had congregated there.  They seemed genuinely pleased that we would take the time to come and speak with them and get their views.  I found them to be bright and articulate.  We had an interesting dialog and learned of some of their concerns.  I’m hoping that we can plan additional visits directly with the homeless to keep that dialog going.

In my opinion, the city should not attempt to reinvent the wheel by duplicating the services already being provided by our non-profits, churches and agencies.  Instead, we should continue to support them in their projects and services for the homeless.  May I again recommend that citizens not give money directly to panhandlers.  Our public safety officers maintain that a large number of those soliciting money are not homeless, but rather are panhandlers making a good living off of such donations, which donation the giver cannot monitor to know how it’s spent.  Instead, particularly with the holidays coming up, may I suggest that we all donate generously, and direct those donations to the service organizations, such as the Rescue Mission, the Bethlehem Center, the Salvation Army, and the Visalia Emergency Aid Council.  By so doing, you can rest assured that these professionals will be better able to feed, clothe and shelter the truly needy.  If you are approached by a person seeking monetary assistance, instead provide them with a piece of fruit, power bar, or coupon to a local food restaurant, and soon to be available city resource guide.

Many of the homeless are serious about seeking help and improving their situation.  For those, we should be willing to provide assistance.  For instance, a recent report I received from the Rescue Mission indicates that they helped 92 homeless men off the streets through their Next Step Program, finding them jobs and housing.  However,  others are not ready to accept such help, whether it be because of mental illness, drug addiction, or otherwise.  As to those, we must insist that they obey the law and respect the private property rights of others, and we must enforce the law.

Also, let’s support our Oval businesses.  Two such successful businesses include Pho and Seafood (I ate there today) and Carlos’ barber shop.  The City of Visalia is aware of these homeless issues, and while we don’t pretend to have all the answers, we’ll continue to be at the forefront of finding creative solutions.

Published in Visalia Times Delta 10/24/13

                                              

THE NIGHT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN VISALIA

Monday, August 19, 2013.  I arrive early at City Hall for the 4:30 p.m. work session of the city council.  We slog through that agenda, then confer in closed session from 6 to 7.  At 7 p.m., we reconvene in council chambers to hold our regular city council meeting.  As we begin the meeting, the lights flicker, go out momentarily, then come back on. We continue with our meeting until 8 p.m. when city manager Steve Salomon steals up behind the dais where we are deliberating to whisper that the Rector power station in southeast Visalia is on fire and that power is out around the county.  Councilman Bob Link leans over to share his wife’s text that not only Tulare County but all of Kings County is without power.  In the midst of this realization, my high school daughter Lora, who is home alone, rings my cell phone so I step out to take the call.  She indicates that all the power is out at home.  I reply that City Hall is on emergency generators, we still have lights and some air conditioning.  She asks if she can come down and finish her homework by the lights at City Hall. Glad that she is okay, I step back into the council meeting.  We finally conclude our deliberations a little before 9 p.m.  By this time the council chambers have emptied, most city personnel having left to address this city emergency.

Lora is waiting for me in the foyer of city hall.  She hasn’t had much for dinner.  I suggest we cruise around to see if any place is open.  There is almost a full moon on this muggy evening.  We drive around downtown.  The hospital lights are on by way of back-up emergency generators.  Some stop lights are likewise on, powered by battery back-ups.  Otherwise, downtown has a dark, eery feel to it, may be a good place for the next film noir or zombie movie?  All restaurants and businesses are empty and closed.  We find one gas station/mini mart miraculously open on Mineral King, but there is a line of cars trailing into the street.  We decide not to wait.  We then try Mooney Blvd. and find it likewise completely dark, other than a few stop lights that are still working.  Next, we stop at my law office to check on our server, I retrieve my trusty dictaphone.  I suggest to Lora that we visit the city’s Emergency Operations Center to investigate what is happening there.  As a dad, I take every opportunity to give my daughter a civics lesson.

The EOC is located at Station 55 on the corner of Shirk and Ferguson.  We pull in to find all the lights on, again due to emergency generators.  Inside, we greet the city manager, some council members, fire and police staff along with some department heads and miscellaneous city staff.  A t.v. news channel is describing the recent storm and power outage.  People are huddled around computers and communication equipment.  Lora heads to a table that has some frozen burritos, peanut butter-filled pretzels, biscotti, uncrustables, and drinks.  At last, Lora is able to satiate her appetite.  The new Fire Chief, Doug McBee, indicates that 120,000 Edison Company customers are without power, he estimates it could be as many as half a million people!

We speak with Police Chief Colleen Mestas and some of her staff.  She indicates that they have officers and reserves patrolling the streets.  There is no looting or criminal activity related to the power outage. After visiting a bit more and observing how efficiently the EOC is being operated, I head home with Lora and let the city staff take care of the city.

Back home, the house is stuffy, it is actually cooler outside than in.  With my flashlight, I head upstairs and change, trying to decide whether to sleep indoors or out.  Lora, being ever inquisitive, tries the whole-house fan switch once more, this time it comes on!  We gratefully flip the power switches on and re-set the clocks.  The time is 10:21.  I check the fridge and freezer, food is still safe  for Lora’s future consumption.  I telephone assistant city manager Mike Olmos to report that our part of town has power back on. He relates that our city fire department has extinguished the Rector station fire.  Thankful to have power resumption, and knowing our city is in good hands, I decide to end this dictation and get some sleep.