HomeMy WebLinkAboutAllisonHTFCommentFrom:jillster
To:Housing Taskforce
Cc:Shelter4jc@outlook.com
Subject:shelter for homeless
Date:Wednesday, June 9, 2021 7:51:33 AM
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A few years ago I did volunteer acupuncture at tent cities in Seattle. I can tell you that there
was a definite structure and commitment to policing the area by the people who lived there.
There was a tent at the entrance that was 'manned' by people who lived there and they
screened people before letting them in. There was a policy about not letting in visibly
intoxicated people. The encampments were often in the parking lots of churches. Then the
Seattle government outlawed tent cities. I thought this was a terrible idea. Has anyone been
to Seattle and seen the results of people without homes having nowhere (safe) to go? I
think Kai Tai is the best solution. It has water, bus access and grassy areas that would be
suitable for tents, etc. Now is the time for our towns' government to move past litigation
concerns and try to help fill this need in the most sensible way. The Cape George area
location seems like a bad choice for many reasons -no access to water, fire hazard
potential, no public transit access. To be clear, I am not a resident of Cape George, I live
near the Kai Tai.
My concern for my own safety is also real. I will be carrying my pepper spray more often
when I walk. It is a shame that this town is losing it's feeling of being a safe place to live-but
it is also true that we are in unsafe times. We must help each other AND be ready to protect
ourselves. Intoxicated folks, homeless or otherwise can be a threat. People with nothing left
to lose can be a threat. If we try to provide some place with dignity and hope, there will be
less of a threat to us-not more.
Respectfully, Jill Allison
--
Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “Somewhere somebody
must have some sense. Men must see that force begets
force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it
is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction
for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough
and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the
chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.”