I've read the great book When We Walk By by Kevin Adler. I also met with the author. Adler changed my attitude and perception of the unhoused. And YES, there's a lot that can be accomplished with compassion over punishment.
Well, stated, Bob. As a regular participant in the Love Your Neighbor Van program I can attest that the many homeless folks I’ve met are, in fact, real people like you and me. God’s children whose only “sin” is a lack of resources that most of us consider essential. I once heard a man say, “I used to live in a $400,000 house; now I live under a $4,000,000 bridge”. It’s a situation that can happen to anyone, at any time in this turbulent age.
These folks need care and support - not demonization or condemnation. I’m going to be nagging all of my elected officials, not just my District Attorney. I’ll be contacting my council members, state legislators, and even my congressperson (if I still have one) with the message that if we continue to treat the homeless as “trash” or “criminals”, we might as well build an Ark and take our chances…
Thanks Robert. As we contrast the photos of those on the Red Carpet at the Met Gala with those walking with signs as we exit the interstate on Siegan Lane, one might wonder what investments in all of our portfolios drives the cost of housing, food and other expenses up beyond affordability. We are seeing another "inconvenient truth" that we will see grow with income inequality. "Love thy neighbor" sometimes take difficult public policy discussions that go beyond the easy fix.
Yes get to working with churches and institutions that are professionally competent. Thank you for offering your management skills to help us act effectively, for what we may fear is the first step in dealing with this problem. If we can stop them in some parishes. great!! But I expect this program to go into place in many parishes, especially those with parish jails making serious money. Hopefully, as Trumpism loses support we may be able to place this forward as a good example for general reform and then for real change. This is one more example of the long fight we face, but it should be a winning issue when that struggle gets under way even in our beloved and cursed state.
I believe, Bob, that I’ve read in the Good Book that Jesus said the poor will always be with us. But this book most Trumpers don’t read or if they do they don’t understand and misinterpret it.
Thank you for this excellent and very informative article. I deeply appreciate not only your willingness to shine a light on issues that many would rather ignore, but also the clear, concise information and practical contacts you have provided that give ordinary citizens real tools to reach out to district attorneys, elected officials, and leaders in our local parishes. Information like this helps move concern into action.
I read your article with a heavy heart and deep concern. As a lifelong Louisianian, a person of faith, and someone who believes every human life carries dignity and worth, I find this proposed legislation deeply disturbing.
Poverty is not a crime. Homelessness is not a crime. Mental illness is not a crime. Disability is not a crime. Trauma is not a crime.
The people this bill targets are not faceless problems to be removed from public view. They are our neighbors. They are veterans. They are people living with mental illness. They are individuals with disabilities. They are men and women who have fallen through cracks that many of us have been fortunate enough to avoid.
Some are broken. Some are struggling. Some are unable to contribute in ways society often values. But none of that makes them less human, less worthy, or less deserving of compassion, dignity, and care.
As a Christian, I cannot reconcile legislation like this with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who consistently moved toward the poor, the forgotten, the suffering, and those pushed to the margins. There is nothing pro life, pro family, or morally just about criminalizing people simply for being poor and having nowhere safe to sleep.
This breaks my heart for Louisiana. It grieves me spiritually. It feels cruel, and it feels profoundly wrong.
My question is simple. What else can ordinary citizens do right now to help stop this bill from becoming law? Who needs to hear from us? Where can people of conscience, faith, and moral courage apply pressure before it is too late?
Thank you for being a voice for truth, justice, and human dignity.
I would love to say that I am shocked at how cruel the MAGA super-majority in our legislature is stooping to this low level in criminalizing homelessness. However, it doesn't shock me at all; in fact, the abject cruelty on the part of Trump, Landry, and their supporters seems to know no limits. Jesus is weeping.
Thank you for this great article, Bob! I do have a question. My gut feelings tell me that churches and other religious organizations by themselves do not have enough resources to tackle the full scale of the problem of unhoused people. I'm thinking that government actions, such as providing affordable housing or laws with funding to incentivise landlords to do this and affordable healthcare for all that covers mental health are also needed. Perhaps if every Christian church in our state and in America really followed Jesus' teachings about caring for the poor and marginalized, much less government actions and funding would be needed.
Although my wife would agree with my sentiment , and she did work at Central , i need to get with Bob to change the post attribution from her name to mine .
In 1959 , Central Hospital in Pineville had about 3000 on campus patients in a state with a population of about 3.5 million . This year the "new " Central Hospital adjacent to Pinecrest in the Kingsville neighborhood of Pineville has at max about 200 beds . Our state population is a million more than 1959. So , of our population of unhoused , a large percentage must be "untreated ". Diagnosed, maybe even at some point hospitalized , then released into society with a prescription of our modern psychotropic medicines . But , no family or friend or case worker with decent case load to monitor the continuing function of that person .
Homeless Courts seem like something out of Blade Runner. But don't fuss too much at the GOP legislative majority or even the Governor . They didn't conjure the "court" from a fevered dream or a sci-fi movie. Their constituents support it , even demand it. This is a deeper societal problem than changing R to D , as some may suggest.
Every family experiences a member (s) with emotional or psychological issues. Almost everyone can relate to that family or friend burden and also acknowledge or even observe the outcome of homelessness due to the condition. And almost ALL folks default to an agreement that support for mental health is inadequate . Maybe the first step is to find an issue of commonality that confronts a cause of the unhoused and reach across partisan lines with neighbors to lobby for additional funding for mental health workers. Small first steps which create non partisan alliances are often the most effective in solving bigger issues.
I've read the great book When We Walk By by Kevin Adler. I also met with the author. Adler changed my attitude and perception of the unhoused. And YES, there's a lot that can be accomplished with compassion over punishment.
Well, stated, Bob. As a regular participant in the Love Your Neighbor Van program I can attest that the many homeless folks I’ve met are, in fact, real people like you and me. God’s children whose only “sin” is a lack of resources that most of us consider essential. I once heard a man say, “I used to live in a $400,000 house; now I live under a $4,000,000 bridge”. It’s a situation that can happen to anyone, at any time in this turbulent age.
These folks need care and support - not demonization or condemnation. I’m going to be nagging all of my elected officials, not just my District Attorney. I’ll be contacting my council members, state legislators, and even my congressperson (if I still have one) with the message that if we continue to treat the homeless as “trash” or “criminals”, we might as well build an Ark and take our chances…
Thanks Robert. As we contrast the photos of those on the Red Carpet at the Met Gala with those walking with signs as we exit the interstate on Siegan Lane, one might wonder what investments in all of our portfolios drives the cost of housing, food and other expenses up beyond affordability. We are seeing another "inconvenient truth" that we will see grow with income inequality. "Love thy neighbor" sometimes take difficult public policy discussions that go beyond the easy fix.
Yes get to working with churches and institutions that are professionally competent. Thank you for offering your management skills to help us act effectively, for what we may fear is the first step in dealing with this problem. If we can stop them in some parishes. great!! But I expect this program to go into place in many parishes, especially those with parish jails making serious money. Hopefully, as Trumpism loses support we may be able to place this forward as a good example for general reform and then for real change. This is one more example of the long fight we face, but it should be a winning issue when that struggle gets under way even in our beloved and cursed state.
I believe, Bob, that I’ve read in the Good Book that Jesus said the poor will always be with us. But this book most Trumpers don’t read or if they do they don’t understand and misinterpret it.
Bob,
Thank you for this excellent and very informative article. I deeply appreciate not only your willingness to shine a light on issues that many would rather ignore, but also the clear, concise information and practical contacts you have provided that give ordinary citizens real tools to reach out to district attorneys, elected officials, and leaders in our local parishes. Information like this helps move concern into action.
I read your article with a heavy heart and deep concern. As a lifelong Louisianian, a person of faith, and someone who believes every human life carries dignity and worth, I find this proposed legislation deeply disturbing.
Poverty is not a crime. Homelessness is not a crime. Mental illness is not a crime. Disability is not a crime. Trauma is not a crime.
The people this bill targets are not faceless problems to be removed from public view. They are our neighbors. They are veterans. They are people living with mental illness. They are individuals with disabilities. They are men and women who have fallen through cracks that many of us have been fortunate enough to avoid.
Some are broken. Some are struggling. Some are unable to contribute in ways society often values. But none of that makes them less human, less worthy, or less deserving of compassion, dignity, and care.
As a Christian, I cannot reconcile legislation like this with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who consistently moved toward the poor, the forgotten, the suffering, and those pushed to the margins. There is nothing pro life, pro family, or morally just about criminalizing people simply for being poor and having nowhere safe to sleep.
This breaks my heart for Louisiana. It grieves me spiritually. It feels cruel, and it feels profoundly wrong.
My question is simple. What else can ordinary citizens do right now to help stop this bill from becoming law? Who needs to hear from us? Where can people of conscience, faith, and moral courage apply pressure before it is too late?
Thank you for being a voice for truth, justice, and human dignity.
Peace,
Molly Ann
Beautifully said, Molly! I agree 100%.
I would love to say that I am shocked at how cruel the MAGA super-majority in our legislature is stooping to this low level in criminalizing homelessness. However, it doesn't shock me at all; in fact, the abject cruelty on the part of Trump, Landry, and their supporters seems to know no limits. Jesus is weeping.
Thank you for this great article, Bob! I do have a question. My gut feelings tell me that churches and other religious organizations by themselves do not have enough resources to tackle the full scale of the problem of unhoused people. I'm thinking that government actions, such as providing affordable housing or laws with funding to incentivise landlords to do this and affordable healthcare for all that covers mental health are also needed. Perhaps if every Christian church in our state and in America really followed Jesus' teachings about caring for the poor and marginalized, much less government actions and funding would be needed.
A good start is to discontinue the all-too-common practice of assuming that unhoused persons are in their predicament because "they want to be."
Although my wife would agree with my sentiment , and she did work at Central , i need to get with Bob to change the post attribution from her name to mine .
In 1959 , Central Hospital in Pineville had about 3000 on campus patients in a state with a population of about 3.5 million . This year the "new " Central Hospital adjacent to Pinecrest in the Kingsville neighborhood of Pineville has at max about 200 beds . Our state population is a million more than 1959. So , of our population of unhoused , a large percentage must be "untreated ". Diagnosed, maybe even at some point hospitalized , then released into society with a prescription of our modern psychotropic medicines . But , no family or friend or case worker with decent case load to monitor the continuing function of that person .
Homeless Courts seem like something out of Blade Runner. But don't fuss too much at the GOP legislative majority or even the Governor . They didn't conjure the "court" from a fevered dream or a sci-fi movie. Their constituents support it , even demand it. This is a deeper societal problem than changing R to D , as some may suggest.
Every family experiences a member (s) with emotional or psychological issues. Almost everyone can relate to that family or friend burden and also acknowledge or even observe the outcome of homelessness due to the condition. And almost ALL folks default to an agreement that support for mental health is inadequate . Maybe the first step is to find an issue of commonality that confronts a cause of the unhoused and reach across partisan lines with neighbors to lobby for additional funding for mental health workers. Small first steps which create non partisan alliances are often the most effective in solving bigger issues.