Letter to the editor - Aug. 11

Ordinance only punishes impoverished

“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

The city of Clovis has put forth an anti-homeless ordinance that does nothing but punish those impoverished.

We cannot ban homelessness to eliminate homelessness.

This proposed ordinance (final vote is scheduled Aug. 22) only serves to sweep a widespread issue under the rug, criminalizing those whose only crime is not having a permanent residence. 

Not only that, where do our city officials expect these people to go? Local non-profits offer temporary assistance, but what about those that fall through the cracks?

Where do these people go? 

It’s dehumanizing our most vulnerable population, sending the message “You can suffer, but not in front of us.”

Stop for a moment and imagine your average unhoused individual. What are they like? How do they appear? How old are they? The statistics of America’s unhoused population, as compiled by safeharborcenterinc.org, will shock you:

n About 29% of homeless families are headed by a working adult, usually the mother.

n About 40% of the homeless population in the U.S. are under the age of 18.

These are our neighbors, friends, and sometimes family.

They live in their cars, in a tent, in any place that could maybe provide some sort of temporary shelter.

I don’t know if empathy can be taught, but I do know we are all one, two, or even three bad months away from homelessness. There are other solutions to this issue, but this ordinance isn’t one of them.

I can only hope that you, the reader, and our city officials realize this before we kick a person while they’re down.

Victoria Robledo

Clovis