NATION: You Do Realize They Are Human, Don't You?

Working Theory: I've stated many times that in my anecdotal experience, about half of our SLO population hates the homeless, and about half feel that we need to do more to help them. The high "hate" percentage has always confused me, because basic humanity calls for treating all people with a certain level of dignity, even those we don't like. For instance, the Israelis and America both give 100's of millions of dollars to the Palestinians every year, even though the Palestinians primary reason for living appears to be the killing of all Jews. So why so much hate for our homeless brothers and sisters? That is the topic of this article.

The Spanish Ruled our California Missions: I've been putting together a presentation on the California Missions for a local community service group on 2/3/2016. While thumbing through my extensive library on the California Mission System, I made the connection: the Spanish Conquistadores of New Spain in the 1500's, as well as the more recent Friars and Soldiers of our California Mission system in the late 1700's and early 1800's, both somehow saw Native Americans as less than human. In addition, a theory has been posited that in order to treat slaves in our early days of America so poorly, you had to see them as somehow less than human. 

Let's start with this book I just ordered from Amazon, called Less Than Human: The Psychology of Cruelty, which you can read about by clicking here. 

An excerpt from the book: In ancient Chinese, Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature, the author found repeated references to enemies as subhuman creatures. When people dehumanize others, they actually conceive of them as subhuman creatures. When the Nazis described Jews as Untermenschen, or subhumans, they didn't mean it metaphorically. They didn't mean they were like subhumans. They meant they were literally subhuman."

Above: Our stone age Indians crafted deadly arrowheads from obsidian, as in this beautiful example from California. What are our homeless capable of, if given the chance to be productive? At this rate, we'll never know.

HISTORY: Things you didn't know about our central coast missions - 2/3/2017 Presentation

I will be giving a presentation on the Central Coast Missions to a service group on February 3, 2017. I doubt that it is open to the public, but in case it is, I will post information about how you can attend. I will be collecting some of my concepts for the presentation on this web page, so check back often.

I have visited all 21 California missions, and have studied them all in detail over the years. It was an amazing and transformative time in California history - not necessarily for the better, either! I have never given a presentation on this topic, but that is a good thing. I don't like giving presentations that I have already done before - I like new subjects that allow me to pull together my resources in an area of interest such as this. Stay tuned...

Above: My most favorite mission of all - La Purisima! Why? It's fascinating history, and the fact that it is the most completely restored of the 21 missions. Research continues, as the site is among the least disturbed of the missions, thus allowing new facts to continue to reveal themselves. 

Speaker Biography: Tim Waag has a BS in Math and Computer Science from UCLA, and an MS in Math and an MBA from USC. He has been an adventurer and explorer since the time he could walk, and is a featured speaker at various historical societies across the state. He is an amateur archaeologist and is a member of the SLO County Archaeological Society, and works with various Native American tribes in a variety of social and cultural arenas. He is a trained archaeological site steward for several culturally sensitive sites around the state.

Featured Presentation: While we are all familiar with the California Mission system, there are many surprising facts that have been buried in history and mythology. For instance, Fact or Fiction: There were 21 California missions? Answer: Fiction. There were actually 48, founded between 1697 and 1834, with most located in what we now call “Baja" California. Tim will lead a lively discussion featuring little known facts about our central coast missions, focusing on San Antonio, San Miguel, San Luis Obispo, Santa Ines and La Purisima. While raising his 2 sons, Tim took them to visit all 21 “Alta” California missions, and along the way, was able to dive deep into their rich history.

Definitions. 
New Spain in the 1700's:  colonial territory of Spain in the new world north of the Isthmus of Panama

Truth or Myth? The Spanish created the mission system in order to convert the Native Americans to Christianty? False. During the 1760's, officials of New Spain heard rumors of Russian and British advances towards the west coast of North America - a territory that Spain considered to be "theirs". Though this rumor was totally and completely false, as a precaution, the Spanish crown ordered the colonization of "Alta" (or upper) California. "Baja" (or lower) California had already been colonized and missionized in the region of Mexico that we know today as Baja California. 

See the 2 maps above for the locations of the Alta and Baja California missions systems. Many believed that the mission system was forged in order to exploit gold and other resources in the area - also false. The Spanish had determined during previous colonization efforts in the 1500's that there was no gold or other resources of value in California. Oops! Of course, they got that wrong as well! Oh my. The new world, and especially Alta California, was a big place, and not much was actually known about it by the Spanish during their times of conquest.

Truth or Myth? The 21 California missions were spaced to be “one days ride apart”? False. This is a myth that seems to have been created by the AAA (Automobile Association of America) and perpetuated by our United States school systems, as well as, apparently, the Southern Pacifc Railroad. Interestingly, it’s veracity is actually up for debate for a variety of reasons discussed below. However, at the heart of the matter is the questions: were the mission locations determined primarily or exclusively by their distance between each of them? That claim is, almost without doubt, not true.

All one has to look at is haphazard order in which the missions were built, and the slow and weak funding mechanism from Spanish authorities for creating the missions. Just for fun, I took a look at the “modern driving distance” between the 21 California missions today, with some interesting results. From south to north, here are the distances between the missions today on modern roads, as measured by Google Maps (numbers are in miles): 41, 33, 61, 29, 61, 30, 32, 19, 60, 37, 41, 45, 45, 37, 36, 32, 16, 54, 19, 27. The average of these 20 distances is 38 miles. When using Google Maps, they give alternate routes and mileages. When given a choice of routes, I used the shortest distance and rounded up to the nearest mile. Two types of distance outliers are of interest: those that are much too long for a “day’s ride” and those that are much closer than average to each other.

Missions that are much longer than one days ride apart - distance in miles: 61, 61, 60, and 54. Let’s take a look at an example on our central coast of two well-known missions that are much more than one days ride apart at 60 miles. This 60-mile distance is from one of my favorite missions, La Purisima Conception (the 11th mission, founded in 1787), near Lompoc, to our very own Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (the 5th mission, founded in 1772) in San Luis Obispo. 

In the late 1700's, there is no way you are riding a horse, driving a wagon, or walking on foot and to get from Lompoc to SLO in one day. My research has shown that a prudent horse and rider can cover 20 to 30 miles in a day, thus seemingly to eliminate the longer distances from “one days ride” contention. Modern endurance horse riders often cover more than 30 miles in a day, but horse mortality rates and negative impact on the horse's health increase significantly. It is unlikely that a horse owner in the mission era would risk permanent damage to their horse, just to get from one mission to another in such a short amount of time. Exceptions might be for trained horse and messenger teams of the era, who were prepared for just such tasks.

Asistencias and Estancias:  It would seem that one example alone would blow apart any conception of traveling between San Luis Obispo and La Purisima in a day. Research into whether there were interim facilities between La Purisima and SLO de Tolosa does not indicate that any known assistencias existed along that stretch of the “King’s Highway”. See link to a find web site on known asistencias associated with the California mission system.

Above (click to enlarge): Santa Margarita Asistencia, circa 1906 - author unknown.

Another interesting phenomen with regard to distance between the mission are the outliers that are much closer than the average of 38 miles. These distances in miles are: 19, 16, and 19 miles, respectively. These closer distances are worth investigating another time.

The Franciscan missions didn't start in San Diego. The first few we're already in place Baja California in the Sierra Gorda (today Queretaro state, Mexico) before Junipero Serra ever arrived from Spain. As he expanded the central Mexican churches, he built a series of missions stretching from Jalpan (today Jalpan de Serra) to the northwest, with each mission a days apart at walking speed. Junipero Serra was always known for walking. 

He was later transferred to the California missions, which already were established in Baja California before he arrived. They were spread out along the peninsula and travel between them was normally done by water. Mission San Diego (de Alcalá) was Serra's first new expansion to the already established Baja California missions. From there he moved further into Alta California, establishing the 21 missions in Spanish territory that we know today as "the California missions". 

During Spanish rule and expansion, any road built by Spanish forces (including the church) was known as a Camino Real (royal road). Official Spanish roads extended all across Mexico, including from Mexico City to Serra's nine original missions and on (overland) to California. The Camino Real from Baja California to San Francisco was just one of many Caminos Reales across Spanish territory. 

Works Cited:

Taylor, Alan. American Colonies - The Settling of North America. New York: Penguin Books, 2001.

Links Cited:

Santa Margarita Assistencia
http://missiontour.org/wp/sanluisobispo/santa-margarita-asistencia.html

Wiki Definition of "New Spain"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Spain

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2996553
http://www.californiamissionguide.com/california-mission-guide/california-mission-asistencias/
https://www.reference.com/pets-animals/far-can-horse-travel-one-day-bf5864aa50254c85#
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22722

JUST FOR FUN! Catalina Crazy, 2016!

Above (click to enlarge): Aerial view of Catalina's Isthmus - also known as "Two Harbors". Isthmus Harbor is nearest to the viewer in the photo, and Catalina Harbor, a favorite deep harbor for Spanish Explorers in the 1500's and 1600's is facing away from the viewer.

This walk through California's most amazing water wonderland, Catalina, is dedicated to David Blackford, El Segundo High Class of 1977 (of which I am also a member). Go Eagles!

Above (click to enlarge): our trusty boat, "Turn Key". Anchored on the reef off of Parsons Landing near the West End of Catalina. She's a 1998 26 foot Seaswirl Striper with 325hp Fuel Injected gas V-8 stern drive, packing 132 gallons of fuel, and sleeping for 3 below deck and 2 up on deck. Featuring radar, 2 depth finders, 2 vhf radios, auto pilot (when it works!) and 1 Raymarine Chartplotter Shuttling her owners all over California since 2012.

NATION: Illegal Immigrants Fear Deportation Under Trump?

Disclaimer: I am neither a Hillary nor a Donald fan. Like most folks, I'm not thrilled with either. I'm an issue guy, and this is (yet another) issue-based, not partisan-based, discussion. Like all politicians, Trump makes a lot of promises, not all of which he will keep. Like Obama, let's wait him out and see what he does. How'd Barack do on closing Gitmo? Keeping your health plan if you like it? Etc. If you showed patience for Obama, how about extending it to Trump (or to Hillary if she were to have been elected).

Begin Commentary: Why didn't illegal aliens fear deportation under President Obama? (Answer: They did!). During Obama's nearly 8 years in office, he deported many more illegal aliens than any other president before him. You can read about it on ABC News by clicking here. Sadly, our media propagates this fear of deportation without regard to the facts. Uneducated illegals apparently believe everything they hear on TV and take it as gospel. Sad.

8 years (almost) of President Obama: 2,500,000 illegals deported.
8 full years under President Bush: 2,000,000 illegals deported.
Fully 25% more illegals deported under President Obama, and during a time when the US economy was unfavorable to low income illegals coming across the border. So many, in fact, that many immigration groups refer to him as the "Deporter in Chief". 

Just one quote from the above artcle:

"Based on statements so far, Trump's plan to remove the undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes is similar to what President Obama declared in 2014."

Above: Rick and Chris had a Haunted House in El Segundo again this year. During a break, I took this "Mad Monk" selfie with some kids in line. Blog photos are more interesting with photos. 

I find it hard to deal with all the misinformation put out there by those who know better. Apparently, their intention is to upset (and bring to tears) illegal aliens in our country, and turning them towards their political side. How about some facts?

What will Trump do in regard to deportations? Probably about the same as Obama. So let's wait and see, and not get prematurely upset, shall we?

E-Verify: Hopefully, the Trump administration gets the E-Verify system working correctly (another epic government failure) so that employers have a way to figure out if an employee can work here legally. There have been serious problems all along with E-Verify, as you can read by clicking here.

Here's a quote from the article:

"E-Verify’s accuracy problems mean that Americans are and will continue to be barred from work due to false positives.  Roughly 0.15 percent of all E-Verify queries result in a false “final non-confirmation.”  While that is an admittedly small percentage, if applied nationwide to an American labor pool of roughly 125 million workers, it would result in 187,500 wrongly issued FNCs to American workers each year. "

NATION: Private Unions Good - Public Unions Bad

*****UPDATE: 11/5/2016

I am in favor of unions (under certain circumstances), such as when they are used to correct unfair work conditions and pay, and to deter illegal discrimination. However, public employee unions are a conflict of interest. Union members support politicians with their member donations, and the politicians, in turn, give out generous benefits (too generous to afford, in the case of California!) to the union members in exchange for their politicking and donations. Simple quid pro quo. 

Above: blog posts are boring without photos. "Abnormal Activity" Haunted House, 2016, El Segundo, Calif. Click to enlarge. Scene from the 1973 movie, "The Exorcist".

The government does not oppress it's workers - just the opposite. It coddles them, then pays them more than private sector workers (when you add up the lifetime pay AND benefits). I'm not saying that public workers don't perform necessary services - indeed, they often perform them well - I'm saying that public taxpayer-funded unions are unnecessary, based on the traditional union role to right the wrongs inflicted on the workers. With a government job (even more so with a government UNION job) you are in for life, you can never get thrown out, unless you do, as Donald Trump famously stated, "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody".

SLO Homeless Update: "50 Now" Program and the New "Homeless Services Center" (HSC)

*****UPDATE 10/30/2016: The Tribune ran a column in the Opinion Section on 10/30/2016 which you can read by clicking here. They are promoting the new homeless services center (HSC), and asking for the final donations needed to bring it into fruition. The foundation needs the final $250,000 in donations to build the center, which could be completed as soon as October 2017 (doubtful).  To donate, go to www.40prado.org/donate-now. The center should be called an "Emergency" (i.e., short term) Shelter, because it only houses 100 of our 2,000 homeless in the county. The only more permanent shelter after the HSC is the "50 Now" program. 

Above: Image from the above Tribune article, which I "borrowed" from them - I hope they don't mind!

The emperor has no clothes: we don't have any ability to help more than a handful of our many homeless in the most meaningful way possible: providing them shelter (permanent or semi-permanent). We have to do better than this, people! Step up! If you have a home, a bed, and food, then help those who do not! Set your pre-conceived notions of the homeless aside and help a fellow human being. Please! Peace.

Also, the various programs in place around the county to "help" the chronically homeless simply are not effective, likely due to insufficient resources. Occasionally I refer a homeless  person to these services, but for a variety of reasons, they are unable to help them, even though they desperately want help. Unless I follow up with these non-profits and government agencies, I never hear back from them. When I do follow up, they report that they were unable to help that person, leaving them to walk the streets and live in our creek beds and hidden homeless camps. 

AMERICA: Government Prevents Tiny Homes from Being a Solution

It's true. Check out this article from the Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-tiny-homes-20161014-snap-story.html

A few quotes from the LA Times story:

“There are so many roadblocks out there to selling them,” said Saenz, 75. “If they want to buy it, they don’t have the land. If they have the land, it’s not zoned for a tiny home. Or they don’t have enough cash.”

At first glance, the tiny home movement seems like a perfect multipurpose solution. Often priced at $50,000 or lower, they could be affordable to millennials burdened with student debt and baby boomers with skimpy retirement savings.

Above: Years of effort, thousands of hours, and so far, no "Tiny Home Village" in San Luis Obispo. Our government gives lip service to a tiny home village, but doesn't actually do anything to help make it happen - why? why? why? One possible answer: they already have a home, so tough luck for the poor and low income unfortunates. Also, the poor and the homeless don't vote, so why pander to them?  It's the "Let them eat cake" solution. Photo: "Cabin on Wheels" from HopesVillageofSlo.com

The LA Times story continues:

Travis Saenz of Adventure Cabins, a San Bernardino company that makes tiny homes, has had trouble selling the dwellings because of [government] zoning restrictions. 

SLO COUNTY: 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness is NOT WORKING!

My blog is filled with things that people can do to help the homeless. Remember, "there but for the grace of G*d go I", which means - it could be you that is homeless, instead of them.  So do something helpful.

Our public officials display no sense of urgency in dealing with our unhoused crisis. I have no doubt that they are well-meaning, but: They write goals in annual plans to "end homelessness", then just worry about re-election. That's what I observe, anyways. At government meetings, I just want to stand up and scream: 8 years into your 10 year plan to "End Homelessness", there are MORE HOMELESS PEOPLE THAN WHEN YOU STARTED - doesn't that bother you just a little? Enough to do something - anything - about it?????

On July 15, 2016, the San Luis Obispo Tribune ran this letter to the editor about how we should be doing much better on our 10 year plan to end homelessness, given that it is now year 8. Please read the letter from Karen Wyckoff Bren entitled: SLO County Can Do Better for It's Homeless Population. I have been saying this so long that my tongue is bleeding.

Here are just a few excerpts from Ms. Bren's letter:

We are now in year eight of this plan. And given what I see on our streets and in our parks today, I question our progress toward this goal. I’m educating myself about homelessness, and I know how severely our state is being impacted by it — 22 percent of America’s homeless reside in California. [with only 12% of our country's population].

I call upon the Leadership Council Committee that generated this impressive 10-year plan to hold a meeting to update our community about our progress toward housing San Luis Obispo County’s homeless.

Finally, here is a link to SLO County's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness, so that you can educate yourself on how poorly we are doing compared to the plan's "goal".

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JULY 2016: This and That!

I've been spending a lot of time with the homeless lately, and our law firm is VERY busy, so haven't had time to do much posting. Wanted to put out some general thoughts while getting ready to put on a 4th of July BBQ and Party for 35 homeless guests at the CAPSLO's Homeless Shelter Overflow.

1. WE CAN DO BETTER! We need to do better with helping the homeless!  This month at the overflow there are about 9 babies under the age of 3 living in the homeless shelter, including 4 babies under 1 year old. Babies should NOT ever live in a shelter - sorry, they just shouldn't. We have to do better than we are doing!

2. THEO AND I ARE CONFUSED ABOUT TRADE: Fascinating that it used to the Republicans in favor of trade and the Democrats against it. Now its just the opposite. Except Hillary is against Obama's TPP, so maybe both parties are against Free Trade. Of course, Hillary was in favor of TPP before she was against it. It's hard to keep track sometimes. Personally, I am in favor of Free Trade, but then, nobody cares what i think (except my wife) which is fine with me! Photo of Theo the Dog - he is both confused about trade and all wet!!!

3. FAILURE TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON BREXIT? I have a libertarian bent, so I wouldn't like living in a country (such as the UK) where a faceless bureaucracy from another country tells my country what to do, so I tend to favor BREXIT. Go BREXIT! However, right now, I believe the odds are strong that the Brits will never invoke the BREXIT notification to the EU. Why? Because nobody expected it to pass, and Britain's political Brexit crowd has no idea what to do, and is running away from it as fast as their little British legs will carry them. Sure is entertaining to watch from our vantage point on the "other side of the pond"! Will the Brits pull the trigger on Article 50 and start their 2 year exit timetable? I doubt it. Time will tell, but I think I'm right!

4. HILLARY WORKS THE SYSTEM BETTER THAN TRUMP! For years, I had a Top Secret Clearance, as well as HIGHER classified clearances. One time, many years ago, I left a piece of classified paper out on my desk overnight in a completely classified building with armed guards. The result? I got written up! Indeed, I was told, 1 more violation, and I would lose my clearance and be fired. Oh, and never be able to get a Security Clearance EVER AGAIN! What makes something classified is the information itself, and not a "Classified Stamp". Anyways, months ago, I called it that there was no way that the FBI or DOJ would go after Hillary, no matter what they found. Could you imagine how the world economies would crash if Clinton was indicted? Anyways, I was right. Clearly, there are those who will get away with it (the big guys) and those that will get prosecuted (the little guys; i.e., most of us, like me).  If I did what Hillary did, I'd be in jail - period. And its not even close. The system IS rigged - it always has been - you just didn't know it! Mr. Comey's boss (President Obama) was out publicly campaigning with Hillary on the day that Comey released his findings. If Obama didn't know the outcome of the investigation, is there any way he would have been with Hillary when the results came out? No way! Plus, he endorsed Hillary while the investigation that might criminally indict her was still under way - would he do that if he knew she was headed for Jail? Think about it, people.

5. HILLARY TO ENTERTAIN US FOR 4 MORE YEARS! It's come down to this: I no longer think it really makes a difference who is in the Oval Office, with a few exceptions, such as nominating Supreme Court justices. Since Hillary is like nails on a chalkboard to me, and she can't seem to keep her foot out of her mouth, I want her to win, simply for the entertainment value that she will provide to us. Yes, even more entertaining than "The Donald"! Hardworking Americans will continue to make the country function, even if our leaders are clueless and continue to work against our interests. Go Hillary!!!!!! (You gotta love that face - you better, because you'll be seeing a lot in the next 4 years!)

6. ALL ABOUT POLITICS: SUPREME COURT, IRS, DEPT. OF JUSTICE, FBI, YOU NAME IT:  The current Supreme Court makes decisions based on the political beliefs of the individual justices, and not the law - they simply ignore what the law says, and vote their political persuasion. Witness the recent utterances of Justice Ginsberg made on separate occasions during July 2016, calling Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump names and saying she would move to New Zealand if he was elected. The Supreme Court, along with all other courts, are supposed to maintain an air of impartiality. That ship has now sailed: the Supreme Court is just another political body that is rigged against us. Yes, justices can hold political beliefs - they just need to keep it to themselves. Sad, indeed.

The IRS goes after conservative groups, government IRS employees plead the 5th, and it's business as usual - nobody is held to account. And on and on it goes. Why did Comey let Hillary off the hook? Read about some potential answers by clicking here. What's in it for Mr. Comey, head of the FBI? Perhaps he is promised a plush job by the Clinton machine after he leaves government, or even better, $500,000 speaking engagements like those Bill C. gets, perhaps? Here's a new one: Comey actually wanted to provide evidence of HRC's extreme guilt, yet, uncharacteristically for the FBI, gave a recommendation not to indict, thus ending the suspense. Had Hillary been indicted, then a much more electable Joe Biden would have stepped in and beat Trump. So, by Comey's actions, he produced a storm cloud over Hillary's election, yet ensured that Biden would not have to step in - very clever! Yep. Against Hillary, Trump has a small chance to win - against Uncle Joe - no chance! It sure appears that the system is rigged, though we'll never know for sure, because they are never going to tell us what is going on behind the scenes.

7. My Recent Affliction - I Have a White Savior Complex!  Now, I have had my issues with the police over the years, but I still consider myself a "law and order" kinda guy (even when it comes to homeless issues). After the "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" mantra was revealed by a multitude of minority witnesses to be completely false, it is still the narrative of a group that only believes one racial class "matters". We quickly learned that insisting that "All Lives Matter" makes you a racist. That same group occasionally chants for the killing of law enforcement officers (or "pigs"), without any consequences. Law enforcement has largely caved in to their demands, allowing looting, burning, and overturning cop cars to go on without consequence, and now we have increases in violent crime, particularly murders. How can this be good? Anyways, I'm a white male so I am automatically a racist - fine, if you insist. For the last few decades, I've been helping a lot of homeless people, many of whom happen to be minorities, and now I find out that I apparently have a "White Savior Complex" too! So what am I to do? Answer: continue to do the right thing, and try my best to ignore the PC crowd, no matter how "in my face" they try to be.

8. BEING IN FAVOR OF "LAW AND ORDER" IS JUST A "DOG WHISTLE" CALL FOR BEING A RACIST: Well, it's a new one on me, but okay - if I'm for "Law and Order", then I'm a racist. I'm really getting tired of this. Not convinced? You can read about how I am even more of a racist than I was before, because in no. 7 above, I said that "I consider myself a law and order kind of guy" - read about the twisted logic by clicking here.

Peace and have a great 4th of July.

SLO: Seeking Volunteers for the Homeless Shelter Overflow for July 1 - 31, 2016

Seeking volunteers as Overnight Hosts: I am a member of a team that manages the homeless shelter overflow in SLO for every night during the month of July. We are looking for volunteers who can spend the night with another volunteer at the overflow, which is located at a church in SLO. You will sleep half the night, and stay awake the other half of the night while the homeless sleep. You will get no more than 4 hours sleep that night. You arrive at the church no later than 7pm and leave between 6am and 7am. Lights are out at 9pm for the homeless to get to sleep.

This is a demanding but rewarding volunteer assignment. Should you be interested, please phone me ASAP at 805-544-2109 or email me at TimWaag@gmail.com so we can discuss this volunteer opportuntiy. 

Above: "Text only" post are boring, so I like posting photos. I'm shown above on a recent backpacking trip to the ghost town of Beveridge in the Inyo Mountains. May 2016. Photo by Larry.

I have been volunteering for the homeless overflow for over a decade, and can testify to the fact that it is the most rewarding volunteer work you could ever take on, but it's not for everyone. The overflow is staffed entirely by volunteers, but without volunteers, our local homeless would be sleeping in the streets. 

We need overnight volunteers for all 31 nights of the month (although some nights may already be full, most nights should still be available). To all of our volunteers: Thank-you for giving so much of yourself to members of our community that have so little.

No experience in this area is necessary in order to volunteer. The only requirement is that you care about providing shelter for our local homeless population. Otherwise, most of these folks would be sleeping under overpasses and out in our creek beds.

About the Homeless Shelter Overflow: The homeless shelter overflow is a system of 12 houses of worship (11 churches and 1 synagogue) in SLO that provide overnight sleeping facilities for our local homeless 365 days a year. It is administered by CAPSLO, who screens all the homeless ahead of time. In addition, the homeless use the shower facilities and eat dinner before being van-pooled from CAPSLO's Maxine Lewis Memorial shelter in SLO to the house of worship.

Location of the Overflow for July: Note that for security purposes, we are not allowed to disclose the location of the homeless overflow to the general public. However, the location is a church in SLO, and (obviously), should you volunteer, you will be told the name of the church and the address.

4th of July BBQ and Party for the Homeless: Also, every year, we put on a fun 4th of July BBQ and Party at the church for our homeless friends, and we can always use some help. 7/4/2016 from 5pm to 9pm. You can help with: bringing a food dish, helping serve food, bringing or helping with 4th of July games, etc. Please contact me if you want to help - Thanks!

Why We Are Here (at the Homeless Shelter Overflow)

This was included this year in the material from CAPSLO guiding how we are to manage the overflow for the month of July. Perhaps this could sway your decision to help those less fortunate, by volunteering at the overflow with us in July 2015.

We are here to listen

Not to work miracles.

We are here to help people discover

What they are feeling.

Not to make feelings go away.

We are here to help people identify

Their options.

Not to decide for them

What they should do.

We are here to discuss steps

With people

Not to take steps for them.

We are here to help people

Discover their own Strengths

Not to rescue them and

Leave them still vulnerable.

We are here to help people discover

That they can help themselves,

Not to take responsibility for them.

We are here to help people

Learn to choose

Not to keep them from making

Difficult choices.

We are here to provide

Support for change

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NATION: America Headed Towards Europe

I try hard to remaining apolitical. I try to find solutions, and not dwell on whether the objective is highly desired by one political team or another (Team R: Republicans, or Team D: Democrats). It's hard to argue that we are not heading down a path to look suspiciously similar to Europe. I, for one, want no part of it. I love the American spirit and energy, which derives in large part from our work ethic and our drive for innovation. 

Let's look at some details in France - a beautiful country - similar in many ways to the semi-socialist state of California, where I live. France has realized the opposite-of-America dream: 35 hour work week, extreme restrictions on business and employment, voluminous and complex laws and regulations, ever-expanding free services from the government (health care, college education, pensions, etc.) 

Above: Theo the Dog resting on a recent backpacking trip to the Inyo Mountain Wilderness - his first time wearing a backpack for 5 days! Blog posts are boring without photos, and this one is totally unrelated to this blog post! Click to enlarge.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: Homelessness: Government Does Nothing, but Does Get in the Way!

I was recently asked: "What one subject would you write about homelessness in a Viewpoint Article in the Tribune Newspaper?". Here was my reply (word for word):

"It would be that government is not only unwilling to take action to curb homelessness, but through its laws and actions, prevents us (the citizens) from helping the homeless. There are actions the government can take to help the homeless, but they refuse to do them."

The very next day (today 5/13/2016) this article appeared in the Tribune Newspaper (click to read the article, then come back to this one): Mayors want to convert Paso youth camp to homeless center 

Let's cover some of the facts in this article:
• The former California Youth Authority center near Paso Robles covers 160 acres and has at least 40 buildings. It has been abandoned since 2008, and costs the state government $730,000 per year to maintain the unused facilities.
• On April 8, 2016, all 7 of SLO County's mayors sent a letter to the state, requesting that the property be used to run what they call a "Beyond Homelessness Campus".
• The effort is being spearheaded by Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin, who stated that the mayors have not heard back from the state of California.

Posts are boring without photos. Starting out on the Lonesome Miner Trail (LMT) in 2013. Will be heading back again soon. Click to enlarge. Photo by Tom.

• Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian is willing to talk about it, but is he willing to take any action? He speaks as if he will take action, but so far he it appears that he has not. Meanwhile, thousands of homeless people in SLO County hide out in our creek beds and under our overpasses. When does it get so bad that action is warranted?

• Here are some quotes from the article attributed to Achadjian:  He is willing to consider the idea; I [Katcho] am committed to find a solution to homelessness; exploring all avenues is necessary. From these comments, it is not clear whether any action will be taken by our local government official.

• Note that I am not picking on Katcho; there is no apparent action on the part of other SLO County officials either.

• The proposed homeless facility would be used for counseling, education and training for the homeless, as well as providing transitional housing.

• Though the state of California has found no use for the property since it closed 8 years ago, it can't simply turn over this surplus property before studying alternate uses for the property. They have had 8 years - that should be enough time to study the use of the surplus property? IMHO, yes, it should have been enough time. Now, let the 7 mayors have their way and use it for the truly needy. Do we need another study that may take many years, while in the meantime, the homeless are still living under our bridges and in our creek beds.

The article goes on to praise Paso Robles for spending $41,300 dollars removing 40 homeless people against their will from the Salinas riverbed. What it does not say is that none of that money was spent on housing them - just removing them out of their crude shelters - the only home they currently have. As always, they left the homeless to simply move their camp somewhere else Paso Robles, until they are asked to move again.

Here is the quote about this behavior in the article linked to above:

"Paso Robles and other cities in the county have made the issue of homelessness a high priority. In March, Paso Robles spent $41,300 to remove some 40 homeless individuals who were camped out in the Salinas riverbed in advance of an anticipated powerful winter storm.

The city also removed 20 tons of trash and debris from the riverbed. On April 5, the City Council voted to form a North County Homeless Coalition to promote potential long-term solutions to homelessness."

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SAN LUIS OBISPO: Friday March 4, 2016 - Walking SLO Homeless Camp Report

WS = Prado Day Center Warming Station, located at 43 Prado Road in SLO.
Last Friday, March 4, 2016, I spent some time walking the homeless camps in San Luis Obispo. My intention was to notify as many homeless people as possible about the opening of the Prado Warming Station that evening. If you don't know what the warming station is, I cover that in the 2nd half of this article.

The reason I was doing this was because of a recent conversation between the many homeless service players in SLO county about why so few people showed up at the warming stations that open up here during inclement winter weather. A long list was developed identifying the reasons our many homeless folks skip the WS. 

Above: I frequently found stashes of homeless gear, carefully bagged and secured in the various homeless camp areas - mostly the creek beds areas around SLO.

SAN LUIS OBISPO: Friday 3/11 and Sunday 3/13 - Monday 3/14/2016 - Seeking Help!

*****TENTATIVE!

CALL FOR WARMING STATION VOLUNTEERS  - Friday 3/11 - Monday 3/14/2016: 
Saturday March 12, 2016 Warming Station CANCELLED because it is not forecast to rain. Friday 3/11 and Sunday 3/13 and Monday 3/14 are still on (For Now)

San Luis Obispo, California: Prado Day Center (43 Prado Road, San Luis Obispo, CA) seeking volunteers to staff the overnight Warming Station serving the homeless, as well as supply dinner meals and supplies. 

Please read the email below from Amanda Bailey, Volunteer Coordinator, Community Action Partnership of SLO County, Inc. Ms. Bailey's contact info: abailey@capslo.org (805) 534-3668. Note that there is a new way to sign up online to volunteer using "SignUpGenius" (see below) link.

Hello Faithful Volunteer Crew,

Once again, we have a wet weekend ahead and we need your help. We will tentatively be opening the Prado Road Warming Center beginning Friday and running through Monday night. 

We need shifts covered 3/11 - 3/14/2016 (shift times 4:30pm - 11:30pm and 11:30pm - 7:30am) and we need a hot dinner each night (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, & Monday).

Since we are a small (but mighty) crew, I am testing a new system. Below is a link to an online sign up form. Just click on the link and fill in your name on the shift you'd like to cover or the meal you'd like to bring.

SignUpGenius Link:  http://www.SignUpGenius.com/go/30E0A4BA8AA29A3FE3-prado