Page 4 - Sonoma County Gazette October 2018

LETTERS cont’d from page 3
time the worms came up and tilled it in. It takes longer to reap the benefits
- but compared with your garden catching on fire and flying through the air as embers to catch your neighbors house on fire - compost has benefits as mulch. Just sayin’. ~ Vesta
As the anniversary of the October 2017 wildfires nears, I am reflecting on how far our community has come over the past year. In the face of disaster, people from across the region united in an remarkable show of strength and resilience.
Graton Homeless Community
There’s another individual who works 7 days a week and supports his girlfriend and her mother. They are both not well. There is one individual whoI think makes us all look bad, but I cant speak for him. There are also people dealing with serious injuries who can’t work.
(I’m part of the community)
I am one of the individuals that stay on Bowen St. I read your article (September Gazette) and can appreciate all comments and points of view on this matter.
Fire Anniversary
Everyone down here has a different story and I assure you everyone is harmless. We have even chased people out of the neighborhood who were in the back yards of these people saying bad things about us.
I find that communication is the key to any and all relationships and without it there is too much space for one to make up their versions
of what’s going on. So I thought I’d reach out.
And yet, the physical progress we have seen over the last year belies
the struggle that continues for many members of our community as they heal emotional trauma and settle into new schools and neighborhoods. This struggle is especially pertinent as October 8 approaches—for survivors, the anniversary of a traumatic event can trigger fresh feelings of fear, anxiety, anger, and depression.
When here ,I enjoy a parade of hurtful and uneducated comments from sun up to sun down as we are on the bike trail. As well as interactions with CHP and Sheriff. I work at the Day Labor center across the street, and even the illegal, undocumented workers look down upon us.
The fact of the matter is that we are within the law and know how to play the game. We are all well-versed on our rights in this area despite CHP’s lies and what feels like harrasment. One officer even said he didn’t want to hear about the constitution, he dosent care about the Constitution. That was just one guy though. I have to say that that the law has been very respectful when they come around.
Fortunately, the anniversary of a disaster is also an opportunity to provide emotional healing.
I do not agree with the late night tinkering on vehicles. I think we should at least respect some kind of curfew and I was just hollering at the guy next to me about all his junk/ trash overflowing into the street. RV’s and trailers are ugly enough, we don’t need to add to it.
Nobody is going anywhere until they can. There’s not one person that wants to be down here, believe that! We are all here cause we have nowhere else to go at the moment. Nobody wants to be treated like dirt all day, every day in the community they live in.
In that spirit, Sonoma County Office of Education (SCOE) is working diligently to provide schools and districts with resources to help guide educators in supporting affected students during this sensitive time. This work is part of our larger commitment to assist with school
I am working on getting everyone together to discuss. I am going to have a little birthday get together and spring this out on them there.
I want to sum this up by saying: we are within the law and we are U.S. citizens. If they can give the illegal aliens a place where they can work, get food stamps, financial aid and medical, why can’t they find a spot for us? We are willing to put some money forth and build it ourselves if need
fire relief. See the list below for a summary of SCOE’s efforts over the last year.
● Raised $500,000 in grants from
Granted everyone, including myself, looks a little rough. There isn’t one person down this line that wouldn’t give you the dirty shirt off their back (that’s hilarious because we are homeless) or their last quarter if you needed it. And I repeat, nobody would harm a soul, especially women children and animals.
be. We need a voice and I guess that’s going to be me. You want to come down and speak with any of us or have any questions feel free to contact me. It’s funny... There is a lot of hub- bub about us, but not many have ever bothered to say much directly to us.
multiple generous foundations to support sustained efforts that help local schools deal with the impact of fire trauma
I’m interested in working with the community to try to alleviate some of their concerns, address some issues, give them a name and a face they can hate. People that live here do a lot of passive aggressive things to us like burn outs and throwing stuff, but in the end there is no one to address.
● Provided a variety of ongoing crisis-response trainings for teachers, administrators, and counselors outlining how to care for themselves and the students they serve
As I mentioned, we all have our own stories. I myself have just returned from 1 year in Cambodia where I was teaching year round. Prior to that I lived and worked on Flag Ranch which is a non-profit organization. I do have a culinary degree, but have a hard time finding
a living wage because of severe carple tunnel. This is why I work at the Day Labor Cemter. If I blow my hands and forearms out from over working, I can take a day or two off without getting fired. I also have a side business that is starting to do well. (Totally legal). I’m saving so I can take my trailer down to Mexico and continue teaching English.
Kealii
Death of long-time mail carrier...Cam
For many years our beloved Forestville area mail carrier was Cam. Today I learned from Jeff at
the Forestville Post Office that Cam passed away about 3 weeks ago. We never worried about or heard about mis-delivered mail when Cam was our carrier. Jeff said that Cam has no family-----that breaks my heart.
Thank you for writing this letter. We have passed the news among us on his route but not to the community in general. I appreciate this!
LETTERS cont’d on page 5
● Created resources to guide parents and educators in addressing childhood trauma
To learn more about SCOE’s
endeavors, as well as the collective fire relief efforts of the educational community, visit scoe.org/ schoolfireanniversary.
Thank you for your patience with our county’s children and families as they continue the hard but important work of healing from this life- changing event.
Thanks for all you do, Arlene Irizary
Steven D. Herrington, Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools
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