Use your efforts to support your vision

Twenty years ago, people from our community got together, spent time and effort, and created what has become the Torres Shelter for overnight homeless stays.

Thirty years ago, private citizens took their concept, got grant funding, and founded Esplanade House to help homeless families.

Forty years ago, the Jesus Center organized as a volunteer endeavor to feed the hungry.

People volunteering. People donating. People giving of time and effort to help in ways they can. Maybe the problems are intractable. In any event, they tried.

Unfortunately, some have chosen to attack the volunteer organizations for their efforts. A frequent letter writer complains repeatedly about offering the homeless a protected environment that has not only food, shelter, and clothes — but also pathways to counseling and career guidance.

Because it doesn’t match his vision, he condemns it as “criminalizing homelessness.”

No. It’s not. Stealing bikes, shoplifting, littering our creeks, being a nuisance to others, making permanent camps on our trails is criminal. Having a safe, respectful, quiet overnight stay that conforms to rules is not.

If you don’t like what is happening in homeless services in Chico, do what the successful programs did. Utilize your own passion to volunteer your own time, money, and develop your vision into reality. Complaining to the City Council, writing letters to the editor, or carrying posters is only asking someone else to do what you want. Use your efforts to create your own vision your way.

— Barry Johnson, Chico