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