Yesterday, while I was out running errands, I noticed two backpack carrying males fighting right in the middle of the parking lot. The clerk asked, "Are they fighting or playing? Should we call 911?" I said, "I have never seen anything like that before." We didn't know what to do. Just as Chris and I were leaving the store a police car showed up. Good, I thought somebody called the police.
This made me think about the news report we watched last week. KOMO TV presented an in depth report on the homeless and drug addiction problem in Seattle. Seattle has tried everything from building tiny houses, opening safe lots for camping in cars, and sent social workers into the camps to find out if any of the people would accept help. Most would not. With this report my eyes were opened to what the problem is--it is really addiction or mental health. At the end of the report it was suggested that the law against living outdoors on public property should be enforced. The people who try to camp on public land should be offered jail or treatment.
So when I saw what had happened in the mall parking lot--I said, "Those guys should be given the choice of going to jail or going to treatment. They need to be off the street for their own good." Click on the You Tube above to see the report.
A popular policy for helping the homeless has emerged over the past decade and a half. It’s called “housing first.”It’s an approach that grants housing to homeless persons… usually without requiring changes in behavior—like sobriety.Welfare reformers point to rising homeless numbers as evidence the policy doesn’t work. Here is a news story about something that does work.
Here is a white paper on "How Seattle's Homelessness Policy Perpetuates the Crisis and How We Can Fix It.
Here is a white paper on "How Seattle's Homelessness Policy Perpetuates the Crisis and How We Can Fix It.
call upon him while he is near;
Hello Mrs.Flyaway and Chris. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am glad to stop by your profile on the blogger and the blog post. I am also blessed and feel privileged and honoored to get connected with you as well as know you and about your interest in godly things. It was good to go through your blog post on Homeless in Seattle. We have thousabds of people in the cities of India who have no shelter but footpath to sleep and cook their food. To be homeless is a choice for the drug addicts in the United states but hear in India even poor people have not choice but to sleep on the footpaths in the cities because they do not have a place for shelter of their own. I love getting connected with the people of God around the globe to be encouraged, strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 39 yrs in this great city of Mumbai city with a great contrast where richet of rich and the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adult from the west to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. We would love to have your grown up kids or grand kids who are int heir late teens and above to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. I am sure they will have a life changing experience. I have been to Spokane and Seattle good number of times. I love making friends. I have some good friends living in Spokane who are the members of Church of the Nazarene. I have preached in the Nazarene churches in Spokane
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