BLEEDING HEARTS

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

My friend David is no longer homeless. Out of sheer force of will he lifted himself up, got a decent job, made a lot of sacrifices, and has become one of the success stories. David is the exception, of course. Most homeless people have not the will or the life skills to do any such thing. When I knew David as a homeless man, he was the single most clean cut person in the room. He cared about his appearance, his manners, knew what he needed to do on any given morning, went out, and did it. He had some support, you bet, but no more than I or any other homeless person in Livermore has. Nobody got him out of being homeless other than himself. I spoke with him the other day, having connected with him again through this blog and had a nice chat about his hopes for the future and my own.

People have blasted me for using terms like “Bleeding Hearts” in the past. I'm not talking about Open Heart Kitchen, or the Livermore Homeless Refuge or Cornerstone's Serve the City Project. Those efforts by people who do make a difference. They actually save lives, and provide means by which people can function positively. Does everyone who uses these services function positively? No, but the few that do make them worth the effort, in my opinion, and, it seems, in the opinion of those who volunteer and do all the hard work. (And make no mistake, volunteering to help the homeless is HARD WORK!)

No, those are not the people I'm talking about. When I talk about “Bleeding Hearts” the best example I can give are found on this website: http://www.cohsf.org

The Coalition on Homelessness is a political advocacy outfit. If they do anything other than political advocacy, I can't seem to figure it out. Maybe someone can help me there. I'm not saying they do nothing at all other than political advocacy, but if they do, it's well hidden.

What the good folks at the Coalition on Homelessness seem to believe is that Government can solve everything. Let's write a law! Yes, folks, you property owners, you have to allow the homeless to camp on your doorstep. Yes, you have to create affordable housing, and pay the rent too. And you know what? Businesses that discriminate against you (because you are homeless) are evil!

Does it occur to these folks that discrimination against the homeless has more to do with personal hygiene and appearance than being homeless? If I can smell you ten feet away, I'm not going to be hanging around that coffee shop you sit in, sorry. The guy who's trying to run his business knows this.

Now, I'm pretty ignorant of what kinds of services are available to the homeless in San Francisco, where the Coalition on Homelessness is based. Being homeless in San Francisco sounds a little like hell to me. Why anyone would be homeless and stay in San Francisco is beyond my ken.

But if I were forced to be homeless in San Francisco, the very first thing I would ask is this: where's a bathroom I can use, does anyone let me take a shower, and where do people eat? Is there a way to wash my clothing?

If I go looking on the various bleeding heart sites that cater to the San Francisco Homeless I find little in the way of answers. St. Anthony's Dining Room provides food, as does Glide Memorial Church. Reverend Cecil Williams of Glide Memorial is a bit of a legend, you've probably heard that name. Glide Memorial figured prominently in the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness.”

Providing a place to sleep is great. Feeding the homeless is fabulous. Giving the homeless a place to take a shower is beyond generous. All these services are available here in Livermore, and much, much more.

But Political Advocacy?

Excuse me, but how is that going to change lives? What is that going to do for that guy down on the corner flying a sign, who, if you find in an encloses space attacks your sense of smell to the point that you don't want to breath?

What good does “Affordable Housing” do if you don't have money in the first place? Who's paying the bills? What good does it do to force businesses to accept people who will chase away their paying customers, except to decrease the tax base? And what, pray tell, do the Police having Tasers have to do with the homeless?

I keep talking about behaviour. I have to watch my own behaviour to make sure I don't have problems here in Livermore. Why? Because Livermorons have standards. Those that don't watch their behaviour are those who have all the problems.

You know what, Livemorons, I'll take those of you who hate my guts for being homeless any day of the week over these morons in the Coalition on Homeless.

To anyone connected to the Coalition on Homelessness, please name for me one person you've helped out of Homelessness, and how was this achieved?

And don't try to name my friend David... he did that on his own with no help from you're stupid marches...