Sunday Musings – April 19, 2020
Most of us have survived another week living with social distancing, making our own coffee, cutting our own hair, and working from home if we were fortunate enough to have a job. Others were quietly dying in nursing homes and hospitals with the comfort of words, but not the touch of those tending to their care or of loved ones. First responders, public works personnel, grocery store clerks and many others were doing their best to financially survive while serving the members of the community. Heating and cooling professional were also working. I, for one, was very grateful to have a professional diagnose the death of my water heater and see to the procurement and installation of a new one. Many other individuals are retooling to create masks and other safety equipment, patiently searching for an effective treatment of Covid-19 and long term, for a vaccine. I was poignantly reminded by Alan Olson whose article “Wheeling Dispersing Homeless Encampments in Response to Crimes” published in the April 18 edition of the Wheeling Intelligencer/News Register that there are many who are not concerned about the lack of open restaurants, the luxury of central heating, hot water tanks, the timely arrival of stimulus checks, small business loans, the timely arrival of Godiva chocolates or a monthly supply of wine. The article reminded me of the fact that many have had less exposure to the homeless since we are not leaving our gilded cages/our safe and warm homes. Some in our community seldom see the homeless or stop to have a conversation with them. Even the volunteers at The Soup Kitchen are not working their regular shifts. Yet, whether we see them or not they continue to exist. Perhaps we are comforted by the delusional thought that the staffs of The Coalition for the Homeless, the DHHS , The Soup Kitchen, Catholic Neighborhood Center, the Nami Drop in Center, religious institutions, Community Mental Health Centers, Youth Service System and the Salvation Army staff are taking care of them and, thus, allowing the rest of us to rest in peace. Mr. Olson reminded us that there continue to be homeless encampments here in the Ohio County which our public servants are dispersing. According to Mr. Olson, The City Manager, the Chief of Police, the staff of Project Hope, and the head of the Homeless Coalition all agree that dispersment of the camps is necessary. Mr. Olson conveys the concern of the police chief that some of those living in the camps are responsible for “repeated criminal activity” including “assaults, drug use and disorderly conducts.”The sadness and “dis ease” I feel after reading the article remains with me. A myriad of thoughts rotate across my conscience. These include:
· Many of the homeless, as my friend William Hogan reminded Facebook readers, are those living with a mental illness.
· Many of the homeless have lost hope in a society which rewards the 1% for legally taking more than they need.
· We assign an impossible job with conflicting directives to the police, city manager, and staff of agencies such as the Homeless Coalition.
· Many of the mentally ill formerly stayed in the snake pits of poorly funded, out of sight, state mental hospital. When we “freed” them to live in local communities we provided a modicum of funding and other resources.
· Many of us continue to believe addiction is a choice and treat those who must commit crimes to feed their addiction as criminals.
· I personally could not accommodate an encampment in my yard. I do not have the resources to provide bathrooms or other services.
· Many of us are a paycheck away or a congressional act (temporary) away from homelessness.· People are not camps any more than neighbor are their neighborhoods. Every neighborhood has domestic violence, people committing white and blue collar crimes, and peoples sharing resources. If it was announced that the police were going to disperse “neighborhood encampments” of those living in any other section of Wheeling, WV the community would revolt.
· What the Lutheran Pastor, Martin Niemoeller, said in 1938 still applies: In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communist and I didn’t speak up because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then then came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.” (Actually first they came for the mentally ill. Health care professional as Jay Lifton reminds us in his book The Nazi Doctors played a central role in the Nazi machine.)
· I do not agree with theft. My friend who works for a company which experienced theft on April 17 and was on his way to identify what was missing said to me, “Times are tough for people so I’m sure the crime rate will go up as more people feel desperate. I will (live with) the cards I am dealt, stay spiritually grounded and love unconditionally.). He is not justifying the theft but he shared more empathy for thieves than I “heard” from, any of those quoted by Mr. Olson. Perhaps Mr. Olson did not notice or include the empathy expressed by those public servants. I hope that was the case.
Written April 19, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
Most of us have survived another week living with social distancing, making our own coffee, cutting our own hair, and working from home if we were fortunate enough to have a job. Others were quietly dying in nursing homes and hospitals with the comfort of words, but not the touch of those tending to their care or of loved ones. First responders, public works personnel, grocery store clerks and many others were doing their best to financially survive while serving the members of the community. Heating and cooling professional were also working. I, for one, was very grateful to have a professional diagnose the death of my water heater and see to the procurement and installation of a new one. Many other individuals are retooling to create masks and other safety equipment, patiently searching for an effective treatment of Covid-19 and long term, for a vaccine. I was poignantly reminded by Alan Olson whose article “Wheeling Dispersing Homeless Encampments in Response to Crimes” published in the April 18 edition of the Wheeling Intelligencer/News Register that there are many who are not concerned about the lack of open restaurants, the luxury of central heating, hot water tanks, the timely arrival of stimulus checks, small business loans, the timely arrival of Godiva chocolates or a monthly supply of wine. The article reminded me of the fact that many have had less exposure to the homeless since we are not leaving our gilded cages/our safe and warm homes. Some in our community seldom see the homeless or stop to have a conversation with them. Even the volunteers at The Soup Kitchen are not working their regular shifts. Yet, whether we see them or not they continue to exist. Perhaps we are comforted by the delusional thought that the staffs of The Coalition for the Homeless, the DHHS , The Soup Kitchen, Catholic Neighborhood Center, the Nami Drop in Center, religious institutions, Community Mental Health Centers, Youth Service System and the Salvation Army staff are taking care of them and, thus, allowing the rest of us to rest in peace. Mr. Olson reminded us that there continue to be homeless encampments here in the Ohio County which our public servants are dispersing. According to Mr. Olson, The City Manager, the Chief of Police, the staff of Project Hope, and the head of the Homeless Coalition all agree that dispersment of the camps is necessary. Mr. Olson conveys the concern of the police chief that some of those living in the camps are responsible for “repeated criminal activity” including “assaults, drug use and disorderly conducts.”The sadness and “dis ease” I feel after reading the article remains with me. A myriad of thoughts rotate across my conscience. These include:
· Many of the homeless, as my friend William Hogan reminded Facebook readers, are those living with a mental illness.
· Many of the homeless have lost hope in a society which rewards the 1% for legally taking more than they need.
· We assign an impossible job with conflicting directives to the police, city manager, and staff of agencies such as the Homeless Coalition.
· Many of the mentally ill formerly stayed in the snake pits of poorly funded, out of sight, state mental hospital. When we “freed” them to live in local communities we provided a modicum of funding and other resources.
· Many of us continue to believe addiction is a choice and treat those who must commit crimes to feed their addiction as criminals.
· I personally could not accommodate an encampment in my yard. I do not have the resources to provide bathrooms or other services.
· Many of us are a paycheck away or a congressional act (temporary) away from homelessness.· People are not camps any more than neighbor are their neighborhoods. Every neighborhood has domestic violence, people committing white and blue collar crimes, and peoples sharing resources. If it was announced that the police were going to disperse “neighborhood encampments” of those living in any other section of Wheeling, WV the community would revolt.
· What the Lutheran Pastor, Martin Niemoeller, said in 1938 still applies: In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communist and I didn’t speak up because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then then came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.” (Actually first they came for the mentally ill. Health care professional as Jay Lifton reminds us in his book The Nazi Doctors played a central role in the Nazi machine.)
· I do not agree with theft. My friend who works for a company which experienced theft on April 17 and was on his way to identify what was missing said to me, “Times are tough for people so I’m sure the crime rate will go up as more people feel desperate. I will (live with) the cards I am dealt, stay spiritually grounded and love unconditionally.). He is not justifying the theft but he shared more empathy for thieves than I “heard” from, any of those quoted by Mr. Olson. Perhaps Mr. Olson did not notice or include the empathy expressed by those public servants. I hope that was the case.
Written April 19, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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