Playing Social Hookey Today

At the moment, I am sitting in Starbucks, bottom resting comfortably in a chair, taking advantage of that post-workout boost of creativity that seems to come from putting my body in motion.

In twenty minutes, there is a town hall meeting across town to unveil the Public Safety Blueprint.  I won't be there.  Because honestly, the costume change required almost doesn't seem worth it with everything else I have going on today.  Also, I'm pretty much losing my normal optimism for what we can collectively get accomplished in Redding.

Let me start by saying some positive things:

It's GREAT that city council members Brent Weaver and Kristen Schroeder heralded the charge, and that the Redding City Council moved the concept of a blueprint forward.  Without a vision, little can be accomplished.

It is important that dialogue continue among community members, leaders, agencies, and others.  We can't continue operating in silos and expect positive, realistic outcomes.

These things being said, I've lost patience, and I've lost hope.  Here's a slice of why:

In a nutshell, we continue to throw money at the wrong pieces, the wrong planks, of the problem-- even at the community, philanthropic levels, the place where the grassroots girl inside me thinks the best stuff gets accomplished.  Remember a few months ago, when there was a big push in the community to collect blankets for the homeless? In the past few weeks, I have picked up more than a dozen filthy, wet, damaged, unkempt, covered-in-God-only-knows-what blankets in the twelve-block area that is my 'hood.  I have heard other friends complain of same in other parts of town.

While I know that some of the blankets are actually assisting people who need them, it seems a significant portion have become another part and parcel of the symptoms of the mental health problem that is a foundation of what ails our town.

Another similar aggravation of mine is the folks that are digging around in dumpsters and trash cans, seeking whatever treasures they may find.  Yesterday, I helped put trash back into a large dumpster behind Sherven Square (the building next to mine).  Someone(s) had taken out all of the trash from a nearly-full dumpster, took what they wanted, and left the rest of the trash scattered about the ground.

Later in the day, on a quick walkabout between clients, I found an abandoned shopping cart with, among other things, a cardboard box addressed to one of the businesses in the Sherven Square building.  The cart was nearly full with an odd assortment of stuff-- boxes, plastic bags, recycling, two wet and broken-down blankets, and what appeared to be possibly stolen items, including electronics, make-up, and food items.

I reported all this to the proper authorities.  Not that anything can be done, but at least it's statistical data as to the problem.

My car has been broken into a total of ten times now since December 26th of 2013.  My suite has been broken into, and even though I had $600 in cash taken, it doesn't amount to a 'crime' under the guidelines of Prop 47.  It wasn't until added to the theft of rent checks (and actually, the entire drop box) from my building a week later, that the potential to capture the suspect was a reality.

I receive an online alert from businesses in town who share information about thefts and other crimes to businesses.  Multiple times a week, the folks at the Ace Hardware Express on Eureka Way are reporting thefts or vandalism in their store.

What I keep hearing at these community meetings is that there aren't enough law enforcement resources out on the street.  But even if there were enough cops or community service officers, there's not enough space in the jail to put 'real' offenders, and thanks to Prop 47, many of the property thefts, damages, etc., are no longer crimes the courts will consider.

It reminds me of that song we all sang as kids, "'Round and 'round the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel..."

If we aren't going to address the mental health problems in a legitimate way, i.e., more court-ordered, community-based drug rehabs, in-patient facilities, and other programs; and we aren't even going to prosecute crimes in the community, it really doesn't matter how many Adopt-a-Block programs there are, or how many blueprints we construct, or how many "homeless" initiatives we develop.

The problems will continue to persist.

So, I made no effort to go to the meeting.  I know my friends will update me.  I've eloquently stated in public meetings what I feel the problems are, and what could and should be done.  Instead, I wrote (this blog, and another hilarious piece I'll be sending along to an editor by the end of the week), and now, I'm going to go to the market and pick up the items I've pledged for supper this evening with My Guy, My Bestie, and Her Guy.

And to be honest, an evening with friends is really part of the answer to the problem.  Stick together.  Socialize.  Live life in a way that trumps the negative things in town.