Wednesday, August 20, 2008

No Bright Lights...People Are Not Roaches

I have been told that I am a pretty laid back, even tempered person. I like that about myself. However, I do get upset. And some things that make me upset are things that I deem "stupid" for a lack of better words.
At night, the Pierce Elevated becomes home to many people who do not have any other place to turn to. Many business are complaining about this issue, and the city has decided to spend a half million ($500,000) on lights. Yes, on lights! They plan on putting lights under the Pierce Elevated to deter homeless from sleeping there at night. Here is a little news clip, http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou080818_mp_pierce_elevated.e2aecfe.html.
All I'm saying is, doesn't that sound like something people do to make roaches scatter, turn on the lights? Have they decided to treat human beings like roaches?
I fully understand that people sleeping under a bridge can bring down property value and deter customers from visiting a business, but if you have $500,000, a half a million dollars to spend on lights, why not spend it on a shelter?
Let's look at a few things.
First, as someone who served as a Program Manager for a homeless shelter in the Greater Houston Area, there are not enough shelters in Houston to accommodate people who are homeless. There are substantially more homeless shelters for women than there are for men, and most of the time they are full. I just ask you to pick up the phone one day, and call a Houston area shelter and see if they have room available. Most the time they have waiting lists.
Second, and most importantly, what if it was you? Working at the homeless shelter, you see so many people and so many stories. It is so much easier to distance yourself from homeless people and blame it on drugs, or their unwillingness to work. The truth of the matter is, that isn't always the case. Think about what might have happened to you if you didn't have loved ones to go to in a time of need. What would have happened to you? What would happen to you if you lost your job, your car broke down, and you have no family or friends. What would happen to you? How would you want others to treat you?
My point in all of this is, if we have $500,000, a half a million dollars to spend on lights, why don't we have $500,000, a half a million dollars to spend on more shelters or grants to existing shelters to provide more services.
People are not roaches. You can't just turn the lights on and think the problem is solved. All that's going to happen is, they are going to find somewhere else to sleep, and then the city is going to want to spend another $500,000 on lights.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Is Your "Rightness" Getting in Your Way??



We all may be familiar with Dr. Seuss' story about the North and South going Zax, (if not, click here). I started thinking about the story and it made ask, "Can my "rightness" get in my way?" Sometimes the truth, is simply just your truth and what you perceive it to be. So what really is important are the facts. Let's take the Zax's. Their truth was that they always go North or that they always go South. The fact is that they were trying to get somewhere. They were so focused on the fact that they thought they were right, that they let that get in the way of what they really want. All they had to do is take one step to the left or the right. I mean to be real with you, they could have jumped over each other's back or crawl between one's legs and still be going North and South. I am not at all implying that you should compromise yourself or your values, but sometimes compromise is needed to achieve your initial goal. It was funny, the other day I was leaving school, and trying to get out of the parking lot. The way that I was trying to leave people often enter and exit from. Well, there were 2 cars in front of me, and I patiently waited, even though I could not see any cars coming from either direction. After a while of waiting, I decided to use another exit. What I discovered as I was leaving was that one car was trying to leave the parking lot, while the other was trying to enter and neither one was willing to move to let the other in or out. So not only were they preventing each other from going home or getting to class, they were also affecting others as a result of their "rightness." Essentially what I am saying is, don't get so caught up in who was right and who was wrong, and forget what it is that you really want. Don't get stuck in your "rightness" and let the world grow around you.