Is This Arrogance or Ignorance?

I always find it interesting when God and I are aligned on the same path, or I am on the path He wants me to travel. I am talking about Project Bring Joseph Home my son who is homeless and how we are doing all we can to scrape the money together to purchase a place where he will feel at home and comfortable.

Yesterdays article in our local paper, the Aberdeen Daily World screamed:
'HOMELESS FUN
Dilemma: What to do with $1.4M COUNTY NEEDS TO SPEND IT OR IT MIGHT BE SWEPT UP BY STATE'
By: Steven Friederich The Daily World. November 13, 2011. www.THEDAILY WORLD.COM. Don't bother to read the story on line, you can't unless you are a subscriber. If you would like a copy of the article, let me know.

It talks about the County having an account that has only been tapped annually to pay $10,000 to help the point-in-time homeless count local social services groups do every January. Really, they charge $10,000 to count the homeless? I can do it for less than $500 and get a better count. That is outrageous, arrogant and stupid!

The money comes from a fund through the county auditors office, then it filters through the state and back to our county and these ignorant county commissioners are worried their money is going to be taken away. Fact is, it isn't their money, it belongs to the homeless, it is meant to help the homeless and here they are sitting on a positive amount of money that can positively help others and they won't spend a penny.

They are so arrogant during their meeting one of the commissioners stated, 'God knows there must be homeless people who need help.' Do these people live under a rock? I see them huddled at night in store frons staying warm and yet, they honestly aren't seeing these people or don't drive around at night.

The wonderful thing is, they have to use the money to help the homeless, they are locked in by the state to do so and can't use for anything else. However, these commissioners are worried because the money could be taken away because the state sees they are not doing anything with it. I say, give it to the state!

I have lived in Grays Harbor since 2007 and was an Americorps from 2007-2008 and during this time, we sat with the homeless people and asked what they thought was needed. They told our group way back when that there was some kind of committee made up to help them or at least that is what they were told and yet, nothing happens. All remains status quo because the haves in our area pretend there are no have nots!

There is also another find with over $348,000 in it to help low-income residents and help supplement the budges of local social services groups and they may, the money seems to go to the same organizations for homeless prevention and case management. However, in our area, which happens to be the highest in the state for unemployment, they better start acting and stop sitting around and do something!

Once again, last year they (the committee) crafted a 10-year homeless plan with goals of how to spend the grant funds of which have simply not yet been implemented...such as constructing lockers to help the homeless store their belongings, a gardening plan to grow and sell food.

As always in Grays Harbor it is smack talk. Talk about doing this, improving that, talk in my book is cheap, you either walk the talk or talk the trash and that is what is happening, they are talking trash because honestly, they do not care about the homeless.

So, in my opinion the money needs to go back to the state towards the budge deficit, because if it sits here, more homeless this winter will freeze while waiting for their 10 year plan.