SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

always exceeding word and character limits (me!) ~topps

 don't you know i wrote my little heart out, responding to liccardo's opinion piece in the mercury news.  way the programming is, the box will let you write your heart out; there are no hard stops.

but when i went to post it..    this little red -2082 at the bottom.   

so i did 'join the conversation'  but then had to cut my entire conversation; leaving only the very first two paragraphs, and then posted successfully.   -but, that is exactly why i love this blog,  -no word or character restrictions.  "thank you! again and again

*****

Mayor Sam Liccardo,    IN response to your recent Mercury News Opinion Article

   

 Any misleading narratives come directly from you, sir.  To use the umbrella word, ‘unhoused’ when you are in fact describing some people experiencing financial hardship; some people addicted to drugs; some people with mental illness (manageable to severe); some prematurely released inmates with dangerous criminal backgrounds; a percentage of freeloaders, and then still some with any combination of the above, and some yet to be identified   -to say ‘unhoused’ to describe this very diverse population is dangerously and negligently vague.

      The term you ‘loosely’ employ in your article, NIMBY, is about as misleading as it gets.  For you to use this inaccurate, outdated ploy to falsely pit hard working class, tax paying, contributing citizens and protective parents against people with financial hardships, drug addictions, mental illness, and/or criminal backgrounds.  We will not be pitted against the homeless, or be pitted district against district, paying for your very costly, failing, non-solutions. 

I learned why the problem keeps getting worse when I received a response from Omar Passons. My question was, WHO EXACTLY is solving for homelessness?  It usually says, "The City of San Jose.."  but without specific names or positions.  Answer: a substantial number of people.  This includes, staff in Parks, Rec, Neighborhood Services; Office of Economic Development, Housing, Public Works, Library and Office of Race and Equity, and collaborations with County's Office of Supportive Housing and Behavioral Health to name a couple examples.

 This (non) problem solving team is severely lacking.  Again, I implore City of San Jose to create a new, much larger problem solving panel, with more voices and disciplines sitting at the table; at the same time!  You need to include law enforcement, ER & healthcare workers, firefighters, CHP,   -you need to include parents, include the voices/experiences of people who currently live and work near tiny home sites and/or homeless encampments,  -you need to hear the voices of small business owners, -have leaders from the various faiths; some artists, poets, college students.   You need a giant roundtable, where each person/profession gets to share their truth; their experiences; their ideas.  You need authorities from city, county and state. You need to solve group by group; issue by issue and obstacle by obstacle, and make the problem solving activity public.  

 

GOAL:  Solve for homelessness where the absolute most amount of people thrive.  

             Let us avoid a repeat of Measure A, in 2016, where you get $950 million, to watch the homeless population grow.  (despite your pretty & colorful graphic art charts and posters.)

I support the withholding of funding for the homeless by Gov Gavin Newsom.  Having the crisis has proven very lucrative for some, and has created a disincentive for actually solving the problem. It's been such a cash-flow, funding, grant and bond friendly issue..     but let's actually solve.   Tiny homes are researchably failing.  Anyone can do minimal research and learn that truth.  Do not pretend; do not turn a blind eye and just keep on investing in failing trends; investing in densely populated caged tiny home sites.  LEAD! SAN JOSE..      Stop. Cut your losses.  Create the larger problem solving panel.  You have hard, but rewarding work in front of you.   BE AN EXAMPLE!   RESTORE SAN JOSE TO ITS FORMER GLORY. 

 We do not need another census of the homeless, we do not need another outsourced 'study' by expensive/biased organizations.  We need a new problem solving panel and we need to drive, or walk, or bike, from here to there and NOTICE THE ABSENCE of homeless encampments, the absence of garbage, the absence of graffiti, the absence of transients and loiterers.  We want to see our San Jose safe, clean and beautiful.

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posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 3:56 PM