Reflections Of My Life

Sometimes my thinking processes are linear and follow some logical progression. At other times they seem to jump at random from one point to another seemingly without any real sense of order, but that usual occurs when I’m trying to find a solution to a problem. Then there are times, like today, when my thinking moves from one thought to the next by pure association.

This morning after I showered, I turned on the television to see what the weather was going to be like and then to see what was happening in the news.

During one of the commercials someone said the word "reflections." I didn’t think anything about it until about an hour later when I was standing in line to get a cup of hot chocolate at a fast food restaurant.  

Residential Status Pending

Like many other people, I try keeping up with what is happening in politics: both nationally and locally.

Locally, one thing that has come into question in the media is the "residential status" of one of San Luis Obispo’s city councilpersons, Allen Settle. It seems that although Councilperson Settle has a "legal" and "primary" residence in SLO, he doesn’t appear to actually be living there. He seems to be living in another city elsewhere in SLO County. That’s a no-no.  

Got A Quarter?

"Excuse me, can you spare some change?"

It’s a question most of us have heard at one time or another. Or, if we haven’t been asked, then we’ve seen a person standing on a corner holding a cardboard sign telling us that they’re homeless. Anything helps. God Bless.

Sometimes we’re not sure how to respond – or even if we should.  

Assumptions

All day I’ve been thinking about something I wrote in yesterday’s post.

Because the homeless do not have housing, the majority of their activities occur "in public."

Although the homeless are "out in public" most of their day, there is very little true interaction between them and other members of the community.  

Root Causes?

On page 1 of the 2006 Homeless Enumeration Report for SLO County, it states that on the date of the enumeration count – October 26, 2005 – there were 2408 persons who had been identified as being homeless.

On page 10 of the same report there is what is referred to as the "Primary Results Table." The number of persons who were identified as being homeless just within the city of San Luis Obispo was given as 473!

The Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter has the on-site capacity to provide overnight shelter to only 49 persons, with a potential of 20 to 30 additional persons – generally women and children – provided shelter at the "overflow facility."