SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

Dear Mayor of San Jose, Matt Mahan and City Council -from (me!) sandra harrison kay

i am inspired to respond in a thorough way to the recent email sent by Mayor Matt Mahan:

MARCHING ON

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 specifically to the video with the beautiful young mommy-to-be

initial reactions; processed assessments; a lot of repetition from prior blog posts on the topic.

   [keeping in mind, i did vote & support Mahan for Mayor; i am entirely opposed to these densely populated caged tiny home sites  -already written about]

initial reactions    -not another mascot story, honestly..  stop it.    and mascot is my own vocabulary, to help me distinguish between sales pitches/propaganda and truth of the larger picture

that is, if you want to find public and funding support for these tiny homes [failing everywhere, the results are in and being ignored]  but if you want to continue the failing trend, then you show the public the one, or two, or maybe even 5 out of hundreds of people who are most likely to elicit compassion  --as if (said person) represents the entire demographic of who will benefit from these failing tiny home sites.  -your best example if you will,    -featuring..   a young woman whose original home was so toxic/dysfunctional she fled to the streets,   -there does not appear to be a drug, or alcohol, or mental illness issue [which is the population of homeless lining our streets, and sidewalks, and storefronts..  parks & school yards   - and the populations we most need addressed..  comprehensively; not expensively/temporarily..   

anyway,   -and she was working at mcdonald's  -commuting by bus, until that became too difficult because of how far along in her pregnancy..

[pausing here to pray blessings on you, your baby, your husband, your life journey]

now,  it bothers me still, that we are presenting some of these problems like they have never existed before..   like none of these services already exist, and we are all just now figuring out what to do..

-nothing is new here:  poverty; drug addictions; mental illness; criminals/prematurely released inmates..

and i'm going to,  for a brief moment, discuss, in an isolated way, financial hardship  -i have already written about rent control and how that could help enormously -preventing!-  the HTLC Community from being forced out on the streets..  and then having the city pay gazillions to temporarily shelter them, and then land them back in subsidized housing..

     /of course,  yes..   what does HTLC stand for?    

Hard-working, Tax Paying, Law Abiding Contributors.    -where you have a community of people who have a track record of working, contributing, and paying rent successfully, but increasing that rent forces a move..    this can and should be prevented.   we, on the whole, would spend less subsidizing rent in the first place, than allowing it to increase; scramble for what to do..   re-place everyone rent dis-placed..

I was especially struck in this video with the young mommy-to-be, when our Mayor asked how we could help.. one of things she mentions is how hard it is to come up with first and last month rent to get into an apartment.    "I second that motion sister-in-need!"    As i have also already written about, I am no stranger to financial struggles, working multiple jobs, living cash-advance to cash-advance, trying to graduate to paycheck to paycheck...   and one day, eventually -save!

what she says IS TRUE.   -sometimes you can have a person who is working full time, contributing,   -and the hourly wages meet monthly requirements, but trying to save, save, save..   when really every dollar is already exhausted with rent, food, daily expenses..   -this 'lump sum' requirement becomes a gigantic hurdle; often insurmountable   -eliminate the 'lump sum' required and these same people are able and will and do successfully pay rent monthly. 

and i'd like to pause here and dedicate a song to all the HTLC out there...   "cheers! & amen!"

in the bigger picture for me.. i believe we should create every incentive we can, and positively reinforce the genuine efforts of HTLC's..

and we want to create every disincentive we can, and have significant consequences for selling/using drugs; any type of criminal behavior; for freeloaders; for anyone who manipulates the system.. and takes without giving

   -and over and over, i realize the scope of our crisis is so tied to economics.. the cost of living vs. wage earning potential even for HTLC's

-and over and over..   write now, in our day to day lives, both my husband and i..  and anyone/everyone we talk to about it

no one has ever seen as many 'hiring now' signs  'we are hiring' signs than we are seeing every day, everywhere we go..  in fact, over the p.a. system at our local safeway, they made an announcement for shoppers to hear  "we are hiring..."

when we look around, we cannot understand how any young person could possibly be unemployed..  opportunities are everywhere!

   [thinking here of course, of that perfectly able young man, in front of safeway with his sign, 'i'd rather beg than steal'   -and i am still upset with myself for not doing what went through my mind, which was to go sit next to him with a sign that read, 'and he'd rather beg than work'

keep also in mind,  i am someone who worked 3 different jobs just to rent a room..     

and this is what we want to see  -write..   people making an effort..  doing what they can, with what they've got..    not entitlement..   not,  i'd rather steal, or beg, or collect welfare than work..

we have to pay close attention to incentives/disincentives..     pay close attention to helping vs. enabling

pay close attention to what is..  and what is NOT successful..    

am i wrong in believing that we want to DECREASE our homeless population, not watch it continue to exponentially grow..

we want to INCREASE our workforce, and DECREASE welfare..

sometimes i wonder...  

and i do wonder..   how many people living on the streets in different cities, neighboring cities of san jose,  -how many more will come as a result of these free offerings?  what is the plan when your plan attracts even more homeless?

and i wonder..    when can the public see an audit of how the services san jose already offers?

and what i would LOVE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE..  is the results

the success stories (or not) from places like Mercy Multiplied,  or Joyce Meyer Ministries, Dream Centers..  

vs. the services san jose has been offering

who is getting it write?   remember none of it is new..   the results are in:

where do we see the highest number of people succeeding? in what programs?   -so many have been around for scores and decades..      WE ALREADY KNOW 

where do we see real success?  -freedom from drug addictions?  freedom from alcohol addictions?  freedom from mental illness.. and/or a hospital/home vs. street     -freedom from a life of crime..   and/or jail, to prevent more innocent victims    -freedom from abuse; freedom from abusers..

our united states of america, and cities within are PACKED with PROGRAMS that have been in existence for very long times..   which ones are getting the best results? government? church? private?   let's audit them all and compare and share with the public at large

let's duplicate what has been working; cut what hasn't..

-there is NO NEED to spend gazillions, colonizing otherwise healthy land space [destroying middle class/creating a tiny class] with 

 densely populated caged tiny homes sites which provide free housing to drug addicts, mentally ill, prematurely released inmates, freeloaders..

and with our small percentage of HTLC who are experiencing exclusively financial hardship

    -rent control..    helping with first/last rent payment 'lump sums'...     subsidizing proactively to reduce displacement, increase stability    -it's a phD level economic issue, i realize..  but addressing living wages..  cost of living... 

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and i mentioned before.. where you have exclusively financial hardship..  but an otherwise, good, hard-working reliable person..   let san jose screen and assess..   and create a screened/assessed list of qualified candidates for renting rooms..   and connect people who have rooms to rent, with this qualified population..    -potential win/win..

****

-drug addicts need rehab..    not a free tiny home shelter while they remain a slave to drugs and jeopardize the safety of others

-mentally ill, need medical attention & hospital homes    -not a free tiny home shelter, where they jeopardize the safety of others

-criminals belong in jail..   not free tiny home shelters where they are free to claim new victims

a number of times during open forums regarding NOTonNOBLE.blogspot.com we heard [staff] who work with homeless say 'stop criminalizing the homeless'   and, i did not think of it in the moment, but had i, i would have said, 'yes, but let's also stop decriminalizing the criminals'

  -if you only listened to this staff, it would be as if we exclusively have a population of saints down on their financial luck.     -what san jose citizens are witnessing is much more seattle is dying than i just can't find affordable housing.. 

p.s.  what rules/principles/guidelines are we employing?  i know several individuals and families who moved out of state..    -because they can't afford it here..     

i know individuals and families who moved within california, but to cities further away     -because they could afford it there

is everyone supposed to be able to afford living anywhere they want?    

when i was working a variety of jobs, i rented a room, because i could not afford an apartment..   i chose to rent a room instead of driving the distance i would have to drive to afford an apartment or studio and for proximity to my children. 

there are countless homes, neighborhoods within california, and the USA out of our financial reach; knowing this, we do not entertain the idea...

lots to consider, when it comes to the affordability factor and where we permanently or temporarily live...

****

and i will close with my recent experiences..     1.  berryessa community park, -a young teenage girl, was it drugs? mental illness? some combination?   this i dont know, but i do know, she was waving her arms all around, cussing up a storm, yelling at the sky..  a plant..    the sidewalk..

and every passerby reacted the same..   noticing..   walking waaay around her to avoid conflict/risk of potential violent outburst..       -and it kept flashing in my own mind,  seattle is dying..  this is really happening..

we are just letting high risk populations grow, and nothing is being done about it.   i imagine a time in the near future, that when we see/come across a person, like the one mentioned above   -instead of everyone noticing/going waaaay around   -while she just stays there.    -there is a number to call, and first responders with training/authority can and will relocate her immediately to the appropriate facility based on professional triage assessment. 

****

driving to and from the grocery store..    a tent/homeless camp in the middle of a sidewalk; and then a few blocks, another tent/homeless/grocery carts/garbage..   go up, and another one on the left side of the street; one on the curb, where cars are forced to drive around..

we cannot accept this.   it used to be that litter/garbage/loitering/vagrancy/disturbing the peace  -blocking a public sidewalk, taking up a bus stop, making cars drive around you, when you are the one illegally on the curb.. 

once upon a time, we did something about it.  they were removed..  relocated; placed appropriately somewhere other than the middle of the sidewalk, the entry to a small business,  -leaning against a public bathroom at a local park..

and i am not fan of 'equal distribution' thinking i hear the city of san jose employing..

-sounds so fair initially, each district sharing the burden/responsibility.. but each district is not equal when it comes to open land space, the ratio of businesses/schools to open space, etc.   amount of hospitals, services, churches, libraries, volunteer resources, etc.       

i am a fan of,  -one place [santa clara fairgrounds comes to mind, with acres and acres available]; to relocate people living in tents..  one place, the city/staff/volunteers can go to provide services; one place our garbage trucks go for garbage pick up, one place for portable toilets; supplies/maintenance; one place for food donations, etc.     this makes sense economically.. for efficiency..     and would eliminate the guess work for what to do, when we do return to allowing our law enforcement, healthcare providers, first responders in general, to proactively RELOCATE homeless away from our sidewalks, schools, parks, businesses, restaurants, parking lots, creeks, etc.

****

for wisdom, discernment, guidance

a prayer, we see San Jose restored! beautiful, safe & clean..  a great place to live, a desirable place to visit..       a city we are proud of..     a leader 

in Jesus Name,   -amen. 

posted by SANDRA HARRISON KAY @ 11:12 AM