I have a few comments, made while listening to your sanctuary video: TRANSITIONAL PLACES, NOT TEMPORARY SPACES The sanctuaries being made need to be designed as transitional and have numerous pathways out from it. This means citizens taking the problem into our own hands. It would mean 1,000’s of people, not just a few, would be lined up to support helping the homeless. The problem is so entrenched into our economics that an effort by citizenry, not agency, is the only way to break beyond the pull from a system that actually creates homelessness by design. USING PRINCIPLES, NOT RULES ‘No’ anything works well, but in the wrong direction. A list of ‘tough love’ rules is not they way. ‘No’s only encourage the thing you are trying to stop. Try to not think of a pink elephant right now. No pink elephants in the Sanctuary! (lol) Turn rules into guiding principles that the whole sanctuary community practices, rather than rules to abide by because the staff say so. DRUG USE MISUNDERSTOOD It has been shown in studies, such as in Fresno, that people who are given a home, a real place that they can call their own (not a tent in a camp at the fringes of town), are far more likely to reduce or stop their drug issues. Give them a home and watch addiction drop through the floor. THEY ARE US More and more, the homeless are going to be middle class people. Your slide showing percentages of how many homeless have been local citizens ‘with’ homes, is key to understand that homeless people are us. Most of us are far closer to being homeless than we know. I know; scary thought. That’s why we keep pushing solutions away, in my view. It’s because we’re afraid if we touch anything to do with homelessness that we might catch the disease. Overcoming the myths of homelessness is so important to be apart of your project. BUILD THE CAMP AND THEY WILL COME .. AND COME, AND COME, AND COME These camps can, in no way, solve the homeless problem. I strongly support our need to create places for the immediate homeless. However, your project will be a failed effort unless the camps are systemically tied to - not just agency-based programs, but more importantly they must also be tied to citizen-based interaction. HEALING RELATIONS It was terrific to hear that some are moving out of the sanctuaries and getting back to families. What percentage are repairing connections? I think a family orientation is a key part of the solution for camps to support. Is this part of your plan? LIVING IN A CAMP IS NOT ‘CEASING TO BE HOMELESS’ I completely support your amazing efforts. However, until we define and apply systemic solutions that address BOTH the crisis itself, while also creating projects for ‘’eliminating’’ homelessness all together, we will only continue to support homelessness itself. I understand this is a challenging statement. HOMES, NOT CAMPS, AS THE MISSION The only way we can make sanctuaries a success, is an integrated (w)holistic solution made of a triad-partnership between camps, agencies, and citizens. I am available for conversation and look forward to your comments. Vic D. MORE AT: https://facebook/VicDesotelle/posts/10152773781583383
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 16:33:02 +0000
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