Homelessness: Stimulating Resolve and an Awareness of the Solution…

Individuals choose shelter in accordance to the realities that confront them. Ones’ home resides between their ears. No structure or parcel of food are equivalent to the thinker of the thought. No human power, principality or government can alleviate the so-called homeless issue.

Successful civilizations were designed to reinforce and reward preeminent achievement and greatness. Not cater to, or accommodate a segment of society unwilling to take advantage of the plethora of assistance and opportunity that is available for them. For too long, the homeless have been enabled in their plight, rather than addressed with some cold hard facts about themselves (tough love). The rigors of their troubled lives are often manifested in destructive conduct. Many remain in a diseased state of mind far longer than necessary, as they are pampered and coddled by a culture that feigns interest in them. Few possess the courage, integrity and strength to confront these wayward souls with the truth of their predicament .

Homelessness has grown into a profitable industry. Funding is bountiful from a wide variety of sources, as lucrative wages are paid to those directing the operation. They need homeless and distraught clients in order to stay in business.

Citizens not taking shelter in a traditional manner are not entitled to special treatment from the government at the taxpayers’ expense. If a politician or zealot wants to take a homeless person home to live with them, there is nothing preventing that from happening.

A welfare state, along with Key West’s absurd drive to induce and entice vagrants into their city, will wreak havoc upon everyone’s quality of life. It is a reckless recipe for disaster. Key West is a prioritized destination for drifters and transients. The expense of this illogical pursuit will break the backs of every hard working taxpayer. It’s an undertaking that will do more damage than good.

The label ‘homeless’, has been for many a transitory and transformational stage in their development. Reprieving them with the gift of time, while reinforcing the need to process events and their lives in a manner that will be therapeutic and comforting. It is not a catastrophic experience. Society does not need to react nor perseverate on this natural occurrence as though it were the end of the world.

Developing a schematic that artificially alters a natural event mutates the diseased element within the organism into a resistant strain, unable to learn and capitalize upon the infusion of positive alternatives that lie before them. It props them up and shields them from the consequences of their behavior. It gives them a false sense of acceptability. Never challenging or allowing their true potential to be triggered. Handling anyone with kid gloves is not what life’s experience was intended to be. Government intervention is not the answer. The alleged homeless experts are not convincing.

If community members are having a difficult time acknowledging the fact that some people live differently than they do, then perhaps they need treatment in how to properly engage, or not, with these frightening looking individuals.

Alcoholics and addicts suffer from a disease that manifests itself in excessive drinking and drug use. The cause of their illness is treatable. If they adhere to a prescribed design for living, they can permanently recover from their unhealthy state. Individuals with this disease who refuse to partake of treatment that is freely available to all, and continue to break the law, must be firmly punished with ever increasing sanctions.

People suffering with severe mental illness may require forced residential treatment. If a person is suffering from a bono fide illness such as schizophrenia and the like, they belong in a hospital. If the hospital refuses to treat them,  that in itself is a special type of cruelty which will be addressed in court.

Civilizations have devised laws which safeguard society from violent and destructive behavior. This standard is applicable under all circumstances. No one is above nor beneath the law. Violent criminal behavior must be stopped immediately and the person taken into custody. As the situation plays itself out, an attorney (public defender) will have to work with his client and the court to factually determine what role mental health has in determining the alleged perpetrators guilt, innocence or treatment needs.

With regularity, some homeless people are committing violent felonies. They are dangerous people who need to be imprisoned and punished severely. Society must be protected, while these perpetrators are given a chance to learn a lesson from the ‘school of hard knocks’.

There are creative, productive and rehabilitative ways to incarcerate non-violent inmates. Road crews, maintenance, laundry, construction trades, culinary work, cloths making, wood crafting and vegetable gardening are all activities that positively impact the prisoner and society. There has always been a special joy and dignity that comes from hard work. Self-esteem, hope and a belief in oneself are attributes that no government or person can create within you.

Financial ruin and natural disasters happen, often forcing people to radically change their lives. Family, friends, food pantries and government assistance are available to guide them through these challenging times.

Frigid winter nights spent locating a heated subway car to ride in, along with seeking relief during the suffocating summer heat absorbed in the concrete jungles of the South Bronx, brought me to the rooftops of many buildings lining the streets of New York City. This necessary course of action occupied 4 years of my life. Growth can be painfully slow.

Unable to assimilate and integrate back into society, I needed time to discover and deal with the things that were troubling me. A kill switch had been flipped on within me and I couldn’t find a way to turn it off. Wandering the streets wasn’t pleasant, but it was required of me so I could work through the troublesome experiences that bound me, while keeping a safe distance away from the establishment.

No government interference was sought, welcomed or entertained. It would have destroyed or damaged the cathartic journey that I had embarked upon.

I wasn’t confrontational nor an annoyance to the public at-large. Operating within the confines of the law, I went about my business in a non-descript manner. I had at one time stable and unshakable examples of how to live successfully in the civilian world. Individuals who made demands of me, and would not accept any excuse for failure. They would not intervene nor disrupt the healing action that had begun to reconstruct my life. Disabled and confused, it took some time to get back on my feet.

Time did heal all my wounds. However, it was an experience I had to go through for the most part on my own. Internally, it built strength and confidence, as I advanced through a series of successful approximations that brought me closer to my goal of self-realization.

First, I had to be brought to my knees and broken as a man. Although I did not want to suffer anymore, no progress could be made until I surrendered the only way of life that I had known. I had to experience all of the discomfort that came from my way of existing, before I became willing to change. As had occurred once before, I had to submit to my God, re-acquiring the clarity and open-mindedness of the dying. Long standing pain and suffering had been my instructors. They were the touchstone of my growth.

Human beings are resilient and beautiful. When the student was ready, the teachers appeared.

Open-containers are not a problem in Key West. It’s the effect that the intoxicant being drunk from the container has upon the individual drinking it. If dangerous, destructive or lawless conduct is the result of partaking in any substance, then it’s off to jail you go. These offenders can be worked into some type of road gang, picking up litter or perhaps volunteering with some type of labor on the Roosevelt Boulevard project. Jails were designed to punish (decrease the frequency) of inappropriate behavior.

Listening to learn, regimentation, discipline and structure are self-management styles that breed success. If someone is hell bent on destroying themselves there is not a thing that can be done to prevent it  from happening. However, we should not be forced to suffer and made to watch another’s self-destruction. Giving them an audience on their terms, further weakens them and sickens those witnessing their demise. Radiating love and encouragement, while placing people into positions to succeed, is a far more pleasurable and attractive alternative.

Reinventing the wheel, by pretending that we don’t know what is required to live a successful life, is a ridiculous mockery to the human race.

Sheriff Rick Ramsay is an extraordinary leader. He and his deputies are responsible and credible law enforcement officers, who have outstandingly served the citizens of Monroe County for many years. Sheriff Ramsay has a brilliant and creative mind. Why not allocate to him and his staff the funds that you appear to be willing to throw away at this homeless issue? He and his staff will devise a wise, prudent and measured response to those who are brought to his jail with a homeless designation.

Judges working in concert with prosecutors are responsible for not placing violent and repeat offenders back into our communities.

For 43 years I’ve mentored individuals journeying the road less traveled. I am one of them. I do not purport to know all the answers. However, I know my answer and I’ve seen it create solutions in the lives of many.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Donnelly, a resident of Key Largo was born, raised and went to high school in the South Bronx. Upon graduation he was awarded several scholarships to college.  He chose to enlist in the United Sates Marine Corps.

While serving in Vietnam John was wounded in action. He received two meritorious promotions, one during combat.

Upon discharge and return to America, John had a difficult time transitioning back into civilian life. He found himself homeless for the next 4 years.

As he worked out some troublesome concerns, he began to yearn to make some sense of his experiences via education. He sought and received his GI Bill benefits. He applied and was admitted to New York University. He later transfered to the University of Miami where he graduated on the President’s Honor Roll.

John secured a teaching position at a Maximum Security Prison Facility for criminally insane adolescents. While working there he earned a Master of Science degree from Florida International University. He graduated Summa Cum Laude.

John spent the next 20 years teaching elementary and high school students, while doing some coaching and instructing as an adjunct college professor. John was the recipient of the Mayor Stephen P. Clark award, which recognized him as an “Outstanding Educator”. During this time he continued his work clothing, feeding and counseling the homeless.

John has been acknowledged by the Disabled American Veterans, the Miami Vet Center and the Veterans Council of Monroe County for his efforts on behalf of homeless and addicted veterans.

Recently, John was privileged to spearhead the successful release of a wrongfully accused inmate who faced 3 life sentences, without the possibility of parole, for crimes that he did not commit. This young man has since been returned to his twin sons and graduated with honors from one of our nation’s premier vocational colleges.

John continues to research and write on issues facing our ‘One Human Family’.