Dear Governor DeWine,
I am writing because I don’t know where else to turn.
Perhaps you have heard about the mulit-year fight we have been having with the city of Akron over the right to shelter our homeless citizens.
Here are a couple articles that do a good job of covering the issue at hand:
Why a Private Landowner Is Fighting to Keep the Homeless on His Property – The New York Times
Remember Tent City – Cleveland Magazine
And here is a documentary that was in the Cleveland International Film Festival about our story:
Inside Akron’s Tent City – a documentary by PressureLife
I have never said that tents are the final solution to ending homelessness. But what I have said is that there are men, women, children, veterans and senior citizens freezing and unsheltered on the streets of Akron and most major cities of Ohio.
It is cruel and inhumane to allow these people to linger and suffer while there are people who are more than willing to take care of them and shelter them.
We were forced by the city to shut down not only our tent village, but also our day center which had showers, food, clothing, computers and a thriving community of homeless people and supporters.
Additionally, in December of 2018, 277 people sent emails to our mayor asking him to save our tent village using this form:
https://sagerock.wufoo.com/forms/m10jg5qr06djug4/
He did not acknowledge a singe one of those messages.
Then in October of 2019 another 121 citizens asked Mayor Horrigan what his plan was to shelter the homeless this winter using this form:
https://sagerock.wufoo.com/forms/qjg3psz1f9orim/
He did not acknowledge a singe one of those messages.
A very recent Akron Beacon Journal article featured the stress our homeless shelter system is experiencing. The article says that a group of homeless service providers will send a letter to Mayor Horrigan asking him to open up emergency warming centers in our city. We are already in the throws of brutally cold temperatures. We need shelter solutions in Akron immediately.
You can see that article here:
Shelters tackle bed shortage as temperatures drop and chronic homelessness surges in Akron – News – Akron Beacon Journal – Akron, OH
If you aren’t aware, I would like to bring to your attention what the Republican Governor of Texas recently did.
He will be creating a temporary homeless campsite on state land in the capital city of Austin. You can read more about it here:
Texas Gov. Abbott opens homeless campsite on state land in fight with Austin | Fox News
We have seen Democratic leaders run our large cities for decades while homelessness, opiate overdoses, shootings and even Hepatitis A plague these large communities.
Mayor Horrigan has done nothing to work with us or any homeless service provider to address our critical need in this area. The only thing he has done is chastise me and our supporters in op-eds like this:
I don’t know where else to turn.
Homelessness is increasing as the divide between the rich and poor continues to expand. We have a serious life or death emergency on our hands and our leaders in Akron are doing nothing.
PLEASE help us. We have nowhere else to turn. PLEASE.
At that very least, it would mean a great deal to me, our supporters and the homeless citizens of Akron if you could acknowledge that you received our message. We are alone and seemingly hated by our own city government.
Thank you for listening.
Sincerely,
Sage Lewis
If you’d like to contact the governor of Ohio about this issue you can do so here:
https://governor.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/governor/contact
Comments
One response to “Dear Governor DeWine – Please Help Us.”
From: JOE BIALEK
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2019 5:34 PM
To: Akron Beacon Journal ; Akron Beacon Journal
Cc: Sage Lewis ; Mike Dewine ; Mike Dewine ; Mike Dewine
Subject: Re: Letter to the Editor—Dear Governor DeWine Please Help Us.
http://www.sagelewis.com/dear-governor-dewine-please-help-us/?fbclid=IwAR0TYU_icsprwLoplz3FK0eucWkqu_E-lzzZEmwaBoOPfLx06u9OkMDz0gI
With all the debate recently for amending the United States Constitution in
favor of certain issues and/or those constituencies, perhaps a
more appropriate amendment should guarantee each citizen of the United
States the right to food, clothing, shelter and medical care. Poverty is
defined as the condition of being poor or lacking the necessary means of
support to live or meet needs. Today we read of enormous corporate tax
breaks, outsourcing of jobs overseas and outrageous salaries “earned” by
athletes/entertainers. More recently came the revelation of the billions
of dollars spent by the U.S. on two wars. In the meantime, the
number of those in poverty continues to increase. The Old Testament of the
Bible often makes references to the promised land flowing with milk and
honey. All one has to do in this country is take a trip to the grocery
story or department store and bear witness to the fact that if anywhere was
close to exhibiting the characteristics of “the promised land”, this country
is it. Yet somehow we are still unable to meet the four basic needs every
citizen has. Some would argue that this proposal is an extension of
Socialism/Communism. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Socialism/Communism is a political or economic theory in which community
members own all property, resources, and the means of production, and
control the distribution of goods. No one is suggesting the replacement of
Capitalism; an economic system in which the means of production and
distribution are privately owned, and prices are chiefly determined by open
competition in a free market. What is being suggested is that in this land
of surplus “milk and honey”, there is absolutely no reason why the four
basic needs of every U.S. citizen cannot be met. Some would argue that food
stamps, thrift stores, public housing and Medicaid already meet these needs
but in the words of President John F. Kennedy, “this country is divided
between those who have never had it so good and those who know we can do
better”. I think we can do better. Resolved, it shall be the right of
every United States citizen (in order to further guarantee the right to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) to receive food, clothing,
shelter and medical care that is adequate to meet their basic needs.
Now, that being written {uh oh here it comes} everyone in this great country
of ours would agree that the most effective anti-poverty solution is gainful
employment. This Administration {along with Congress} didn’t take it’s eye
off the ball; didn’t drop the ball and certainly didn’t fumble the ball.
They kicked it down the road in the form of a onside kick. It has now
mutated into the form of a hot potato that no one wants to touch.
Well folks, it’s time to prime the pump. One solution is Workfare whereby
those able bodied citizens are required to perform some type of labor in
order to receive assistance. This will help restore their dignity {as they
continue to search for even more meaningful work} while at the same time
allowing a large group of people to start purchasing various goods and
services.
As for getting people back to work the solution is not as complicated as it
may appear to be. We need to bring back a agency similar {but not
identical} to the Work Progress Administration {WPA} which should take a
two-pronged approach. One is the most obvious; hire people to perform the
very services {and more} that the private sector will never engage in simply
because it is not profitable to do so. The second approach is a wee bit
more complicated but can be successful by utilizing private-public
partnerships. Let the governments {at all levels} develop a plan to share
{temporarily} in the salary expense of unemployed people so that they could
work full time, re-gain their lost skills and eventually retain a full time
position paid by the private company. This would result in a immediate
restoration of lost government revenues as well as help to prime the pump
for the new found consumer demand. Increasing demand will result in the
need for increased supply and hence a increase in production which will
result in increased employment. You could think of this stimulus plan as
a rocket booster that slowly fades away as the economy picks up. Isnt this
what government is supposed to do beyond providing safety for its citizens?
Is it too late now? I hope not; but to continue to waste time over which
side wins {while the rest of the country goes to hell} risks moving Americas
dissatisfaction with government to the disbelief of the legitimacy of those
who do govern. The question before us all is this: how far down must this
country sink before it becomes clear and apparent that current government
officials have forfeited their right to govern?
Government was never intended to be a ongoing circus act of constantly
handicapping the next election while nothing gets done due to this self-
perpetuating form of gridlock. I strongly suggest that members of both
branches and parties start making a better effort to get to know each other
more personally. Whether it be over breakfast, lunch or dinner on the golf
course, in a restaurant or the local disco tech you the leaders of our
nation need to familiarize yourselves with what is at stake in the other
person’s life and realize that compromising on a policy is not the same as
compromising your values. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s get to work by
getting this country moving again. And no, I’m not running for office but I
am Joe Bialek and I approve this message.
Joe Bialek
Cleveland, OH
“Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.” Bertrand Russell
MATTHEW 25:31-40
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, “I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?
The King will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. (NIV)