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

NATION: Government Turns to Excessive Fines for Funding

Finally got around to making a post about this subject, which has bothered me for years. Our government, on all levels (local, state, federal), has turned to excessive fines, not just to deter unwanted behavior, but to fund their operations. This is plain wrong.

In his last years at UC Santa Barbara, my son James was ticketed for running a red light on his bicycle. The fine? $500! We fought it in court and won, since he believed he had not run the red light.  But how many people have the legal skills and the time and money to fight and win? Answer: not many (it helps to have a lawyer in the family!).

Having spent much time at UCSB during my son's tenure there, I observed students running red lights on bikes "right and left". Clearly, a smaller fine would deter such behavior. Given the unlimited opportunities to fine students for this offense, UCSB is clearly raking in a fortune citing students.

Above (click to enlarge): Posts are boring without photos. Here's an image that is unrelated to this web page: Ken spontaneously lifts his arms in awe at the viewpoint overlooking Panamint Valley in Death Valley National Park. Photo by Tim - January 2016.

Which leads me to this most recent "letter to the editor" in the Tribune, which you can read by clicking here. I include the letter below, because the Tribune has so many annoying advertisements on their web site: 

JANUARY 30, 2016 8:35 PM. SLO Laguna Lake Park dog leash ticket is exorbitant, appalling. I am not a resident of San Luis Obispo but was visiting to celebrate my son’s graduation from Cal Poly. I took my dog for a run at Laguna Lake Park, as I have done on previous visits. I was under the impression that SLO was considered dog friendly, and Laguna Lake Park has an off-leash dog area.

However, I was given a ticket for having my dog off leash on the trail. The fee was $561 plus a processing fee. I am outraged at the absurdity and exorbitant cost of this ticket. There is not clear signage that fees will be imposed if your dog is off leash.

How can you call San Luis Obispo the “happiest city in America” when this is how you treat people who come to visit? I have only heard positive things about SLO, but this experience has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, and I would not recommend it as a place to visit and certainly do not consider it a happy, dog-friendly community.

I am appalled that this is how you treat first-time offenders of a ridiculous city policy.
-- CAREY WEBSTER, GRASS VALLEY

There were several comments on the Tribune web site regarding this "letter to the editor". Here are 2 of my favorites from the same person, "Chett Myers":

Chett Myers: Denver just "Cracked down" on leash law violation and increased its fine to $80, Seattle $54, Los Angles $25. Not all dogs are uncontrollable without a leash. Dogs are a reflection of their owner and of their training. The real crime is the disproportionate penalty inflected by a over zealous government that can not otherwise balance their budget.

Chett Myers: A Fee is what the government collects when you ask it for permission to do something. A Fine is what it collects if you did not ask first. Many governmental agencies are trying to balance their budget using Fines. Sorry you had to learn the hard way that San Luis Obispo is one of such govern mental agencies.

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GROVER BEACH: Police Clear Out the Homeless, but You Can Help!

*****************************************
Update 2/1/2016:
Today I spoke with Police Chief Peters of the Grover Beach Police Department. He had previously sent me an email about the situation with the homeless camp at the Grover Beach Train Station site. Chief Peters and I spoke for about 20 minutes. Chief Peters is keenly aware of the fact that the homeless are not just going to "go away", and that it is futile to needlessly cite them for "living in the bushes". However, there is a public nuisance aspect of this that is not going away either.

One thing Police Chief Peters told me really struck home: the lack of cohesiveness he observed between all the parties involved with homelessness and affordable housing issues (note: I am paraphrasing what he said). And I agree. That’s one of the reasons I largely eschew involvement in any group, and do my own homeless outreach - it’s the only way I know, with my limited time and money, that I can be sure I am “doing some good”. 

Also, I have changed my point of view to support all organizations, groups, movements and projects that even “attempt” to move the ball forward on homelessness and affordable housing issues, whether I agree with them (or like them) or not. That means sometimes holding my nose and support people and causes that I have a hard time accepting. An example would be my support of the new Homeless Services Center in SLO, an approach that I do not really like, but I support anyways. I support the “full court press” on homeless issues, so that also includes tangential issues, such as supporting the new private Templeton Mental Health facility. With limited resources, we need to work together to do the most good. 

I left the Chief with this final thought: when a homeless camp is dispersed, we need an answer to the homeless person's question: Where can I legally go to exist?