Get involved and make a difference

Editor: In a response to a recent article on Officer Ryan Holz, I commend Officer Holz, who has done a lot to reach out to the homeless in and around Lodi.

The homeless situation has gotten worse in Lodi in the past few years, but it takes Lodi residents to get involved as well. Officer Ryan Holz is one man making a huge difference. Imagine what 1,000 Lodi residents can do?

A wealthy Lodian can fund/donate a multi-unit building to house homeless to get jobs and into society again. I commend Mark Armstrong and others for forming Take Back Lodi which is a huge group of Lodi residents who are cleaning up trash around town, picking up carts, etc. On Jan. 6, Take Back Lodi spent three hours picking up trash and carts around town. I got involved.

Get involved with Take Back Lodi via Facebook or attend meetings. We are trying to get Caltrans to construct strong fences/locks along Highway 99 to stop homeless camps. I helped a homeless man get off the streets and into a job. I contacted Officer Holz about this homeless man I knew. He reached out to him very fast. My cousin and I convinced him to get into trucking school in September 2017. The man is no criminal or drug addict nor sick. He needed a job. Long story short, this man is now a successful truck driver with a trucking firm saving money. I keep regular contact with him. With Officer Holz, I'm working on another to get off the street and into the military. Each one of us has the power to make a difference. Help a homeless person get off the street, find him a job, encourage him to get off drugs into detox, obtain medical help, fund s housing unit, or clean up our Lodi. Get involved.