A Closeup Look at the Homeless Problem

Today is Wednesday, July 13, 2011. Today we will feature the final homeless blog from Doug Stewart of the Martinez Pacheco Homeless Outreach program. I would like to personally thank Doug for his nightly efforts on behalf of this population, and on behalf of the fortunate ones who have homes.

Doug does some pretty amazing things out there, every night. He sees first-hand the despair, the hunger, the cold, the loneliness. He also sees the drinking, drugs, panhandling, fights and piles of refuse. He hands out water, socks, blankets and food. He offers shelter and services. He gives rides out of town to inmates just out of county jail. And he presents a face to these folks they don’t often see — someone out there who cares about them. He doesn’t turn away, pretending not to see.

Most nights, especially during the summer, his offer of shelter and services gets turned down. As he says in his last blog, most people don’t like change, no matter how dire their situation might be. And the homeless shelter environment is fraught with its own challenges.

So the problem continues, and the city struggles with the challenges it presents, just like every other city in America. Some people continue to feed all those who are hungry, and others feel that is just a magnet for drunks and freeloaders. The Fridays on the Main series continues to draw scruffy, disheveled and sometimes drunk people to the music concerts, to the dismay of others who want the event to be more comfortable for a family environment. Merchants are dismayed over the fact that their customers, and potential customers, are confronted with panhandling and people sleeping in doorways.

It’s an issue that faces all of us, everywhere. And as Doug points out, there are no easy answers. But for 30 days, Doug let us into his world, he let us see what he sees, gave us a first-hand glimpse of what life is like when you have no walls to call your own. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s one we should all have the courage to look at, because it’s there that perhaps the answers can begin to emerge.

Homelessness is not one thing, it’s many. Mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, life changes — there are just as many reasons for the problem as there are people living it. So no one solution is going to take care of it. But seeing what it is like can at least get the conversation started from a place of understanding, and for that gift of understanding, I thank Doug Stewart.

WEATHER:

Areas of low clouds in the morning then partly cloudy. Highs in the mid-70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph, increasing to west 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

POLICE LOG: (the information listed here comes from the Martinez Police Department; it is edited and reworded by Martinez Patch)

Monday, July 11

Loud and rowdy early – 3:05 a.m. A group of teenagers on Shell Avenue are said to be very loud every night until 4 or 5 a.m.

Smash 'n' grab – A car on Fountainhead Court was broken into and a wallet stolen.

Fencing neighbors - 9:03 a.m. A resident on Corte Segunda reported that his neighbor was trying to prevent workers from building a fence on his property, despite a court order allowing him to do so.

An intoxicated dip - 1:10 p.m. A man thought to be intoxicated jumped into the Carquinez Strait, but was gone when officers arrived.

Knife attack - 1:19 p.m. Two men pulled a knife on someone on Tarantino Drive.

Random annoying violence - 3:12 p.m. A Talbart Street resident said that people were throwing rocks and exploding paint cans each day about 2 p.m.

Smash 'n' grab, Part 2 - 3:27 p.m. A C Street resident reports that a wallet and ATM card were stolen from his car; the ATM card was used later that day.

EVENTS:

TODAY IN HISTORY: (from Wikipedia)
1863 - New York draft riots: in New York City, opponents of conscription begin three days of rioting that later will be regarded as the worst in U.S. history.
1923 - The Hollywood sign is officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood. It originally reads "Hollywoodland " but the four last letters are dropped after renovation in 1949.
1977 - New York City, amidst a period of financial and social turmoil, experiences a blackout lasting nearly 24 hours that leads to widespread fires and looting.
1985 - Vice President George H.W. Bush becomes the acting president for the day when President Ronald Reagan undergoes surgery to remove polyps from his colon.
2011 - The movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 is released in Israel. This is the final movie of the Harry Potter series.