The following letters are a cry against the injustice I have seen in our social systems against the homeless. I believe God's heart is so very tender for the 'least of these' and that He has shared His burden for the poor with me and I will spend the rest of my life responding to it.
The first letter was sent to those who hold the most power in San Luis Obispo. The second letter was published in the city's newspaper and the 3rd letter along with the first was slipped into the offering of my church.
1st letter
March 11, 2009
To those who protect and serve,
I am writing because I am angry about the injustice I have witnessed towards our city’s homeless primarily in Mitchell Park. I do not intend for this letter to be an attack against people or their respective jobs, but the injustice that is deeply rooted in our social systems. I recognize that the police officers of San Luis Obispo are simply doing their job and I want to extend my gratitude to them. I also recognize that I don't see or hear of everything that goes on, for I know only what my eyes show me and my heart tells me. Yet, I must speak out against what I see.
One of the things I love most about Mitchell Park is the sense of community there. I find joy in the mother strolling through the park with her baby and in the father who is teaching his little boy how to throw a baseball, but more than anything I find the most joy in those who are ‘homeless.’ Many afternoons have I been filled with joy in hearing their laughter and listening to their tunes. NEVER have I felt threatened by their presence. Over the last two weeks, I have witnessed several occasions where police officers have approached these homeless people and have questioned them, searched them, handcuffed them and placed them in the back of their police cars. These homeless people at the park are citizens just like you and me, however they seem to be denied the simple pleasure of sitting in one of our city’s beautiful parks. Yesterday, I saw a man sit down at a picnic table and within minutes he was confronted by a police officer. This man had no alcohol nor was he smoking anything, he carried with him a garbage bag and appeared to be homeless. It appeared to me that he was confronted simply because of his appearance. This stigmatization against the homeless here has taken nearly all of them out of the park. Placing our city’s poor behind bars and essentially making them invisible is not solving the problem of homelessness, it is only hiding it and robbing these people of their rights and their dignity. This problem cannot be ignored.
To me it seems that as a society we have allowed the hardships of our time to fill us with fear. This fear seems to place lenses over our eyes and causes us to see people as threats and diseases rather than human beings. When we allow fear rather than love to govern us, it becomes easy to forget that these people here in the park are suffering as many of them are lacking the basic needs that most of us take for granted. We need to see each other through eyes of compassion, compassion that goes beyond trying to institutionalize the homeless and worries more about their present needs. Perhaps we could bring an extra lunch on our picnics or motivate the city to allow us to plant a community garden for them in the park. However, it can be even simpler than that and it must start with our thinking, for our thoughts govern our lives.
We need to start thinking less about ourselves individually and more about our communities collectively. Many people are struggling right now and life would be easier if we struggled together for we each have different gifts and blessings that we could contribute to the greater good of our nation. Nannette Miranda from ABC7 News reports that 1 in 10 people have lost their jobs this month. In December, unemployment was at 8.7% and in January alone it jumped to 10.1%. Nearly 2 million people in California are unemployed and the threat of foreclosure and thus homelessness is becoming more of a reality to many. The Economic Opportunity Commission in San Luis Obispo reports that between 2500 and 4000 people in San Luis County will be looking for a place to sleep tonight. In a time where so many are struggling, we must be able to look to one another for help. Most likely the state of our economy will continue to get worse before it gets better. Let's not make the mistake as a community to rob the homeless of their dignity for simply sitting in the park and let's do what we can as individuals and as a community to take care of the basic needs of these people on the streets. Injustice to these people is injustice to us all.
This letter was given to the San Luis Obispo Police Department, the Parks and Recreation Department, the Chief of Police, the Community Development Department, and the city’s mayor.
Thank you for your time, my hope is that my words may bring forth reform and justice,
A concerned citizen
2nd letter
To the citizens of San Luis Obispo,
I am writing to each one of you on behalf of our city’s homeless. I have written to our city’s officials with the hope that they will use their power to bring an end to the injustice I have witnessed recently in Mitchell Park, yet I believe so much in the power of the individual and especially in the power of a community to bring about change.
In the past two weeks I have seen several ‘homeless people’ arrested in the park. Granted I’m sure the ones that were arrested had a beer or broke one of our city’s laws such as sitting on a park bench for more than an hour, but I have witnessed many others of our city’s homeless harassed and confronted in the park for no apparent reason. I know I myself have spent 5-6 hours in a day sitting in the park and I have never been confronted for being there too long.
Understand, this letter is not an attack against the police officers, but a plea to ask the citizens of our city to see the injustice towards the poor and realize that we can make an impact in the lives of those who are struggling and we must act out of compassion and love and resist the spirit of fear that the hardships of our time have seemed to plague us with.
I believe that change needs to happen first in our thinking. So let me ask you a question, when you see a homeless man or woman on the street how do you see them? Do you see them as a threat to our city’s safety or do you see them as a person who is suffering? The way we see each other will determine the way we treat each other.
Injustice to one is injustice to all,
A concerned citizen
3rd letter which was attached to the first
To the members of Grace Church,
I have attached a letter of concern that I have sent to the people in our city who have the potential to make change. The letter is in regards to injustice I have witnessed in Mitchell Park towards the homeless. As someone who has attended your church on multiple occasions and as a sister in Christ I urge the congregation to consider the needs of those who are suffering right outside the church doors.
In a time when so many are suffering we need to cry out to God and ask Him what we can do to better love our community. I pray that more than the mayor, or the police force, this church can make a difference. For then not only will the dignity and basic needs of these people be better provided for, but they will know that there is a God who loves and cares for them.
Let's speak out against the injustice we see and pray for God and trust that one day He will make every wrong right.
