Sick Without Comfort or Hope

Beloved of God,

I’ve been sick for the past three days, but I am thankful that I live in a warm house, have plenty of chicken soup, and a loving wife who puts up with my whining. Upon thanking God for the comfort He provides, my thoughts turned to the homeless people that I used to serve in Ventura County.

Last year, 2022, 158 homeless men, women, and children died, and some died on the very streets they call home.

Take a look at the graphic above, this is the count of homelessness in Ventura County from 2009 to 2020, 2020 is the year I retired.  Do you see how homeless went down to it’s lowest point in 2017? That was the lowest count of homelessness in years! That was the year of the Mission’s 45th anniversary, and it looked like we were making an impact, recovering the homeless from the streets, helping them detox, and training them for gainful employment.  

But then…

To our shock, the number of homeless on the streets began to spike! Why? What happened to cause such a jump? It was due to one Organization which policies were responsible for the rise of homeless on the streets. What was the name of this Organization? The A.C.L.U., The American Civil Liberties Union. What they did was to file lawsuits against the Ventura County Sherriff, The Oxnard Police Department and others to stop them from “harassing” the homeless. The ACLU demanded that the homeless be left alone and if they choose to be on the streets, that’s their right. This meant law enforcement agencies could no longer demand that the homeless  get off the sidewalk in front of businesses and homes.  It was no longer a crime to be drunk in public, to urinate in public or to set up homeless camps, etc. No longer a misdemeanor crime, it was a infraction, a “ticket,” which the homeless would just laughed at.

At one time the judges could order a homeless man or woman to be jailed for one year, or instead, to spend ten-months at the Ventura County Rescue Mission in the Life Recovery Program. Most asked for the Mission and we would helped them detox from drugs and alcohol, get them medical and dental help, and train them for gainful employment. It was a win-win for everyone, the people, the homeless, and the courts.  

But the ACLU came in and said, you cannot force anyone to go to the Mission and since the jails were often full, the homeless would be back on the street.   

The ACLU promised freedom, but delivered bondage.

Now, we have twice as many homeless on the streets, as you have seen on T.V. and when they get sick, they do not have a warm home, nor food and medicine.

Consider giving to a Rescue Mission of your choice, to help Rescue the men, women and most importantly, the children! Getting them off the cold and dangerous streets.

Also, pray for their salvation, if a person is very poor, but has Christ as Lord, then he is rich.

Take care beloved,

John E. Saltee