Page 6 - Sonoma County Gazette - October 2017

DREAMers and Immigrants
Sometimes we talk about Indivisible as a marathon, because this is a long struggle, and one that won’t be won by a single victory. That does not mean we cannot embrace our victories. Sometimes we speak of it as if it were a relay, with one person passing the torch to another, stepping back, and renewing her or his commitment before joining the race again.
Neighbor Neighbor: Homeless people are not the problem, they are the result of the problem
Indivisible is not a race. There is no nite moment when all the battles will be won, and all the issues resolved. And let’s celebrate this, because we won’t all wake up some morning and learn a miracle has occurred. We will work for our miracles.
We won all of the battles over a ordable health care so far. We know there may be another battle, and another battle aafter that one. But we won – because we were active, and assertive, and spent our time making certain Congress members know that we want a ordable health care.
We have challenged appointments – and have seen some of those candidates withdraw their names, because they were clearly un t. This is a victory. We have challenged e orts to harm immigrants and restrict refugees. We will do so again. We have seen our bonds with other organizations grow tighter, and together we have fought for science and voters rights, for schools and for the environment. And we have supported resistance wherever it arose, and have supported each other in doing so.
By Angela Conte
I have been volunteering in the local community care system for the past 17
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meant we had to learn. We had a
months trying to understand the homeless crisis problem in Sonoma County. What I have learned so far is that the community care system is flush with money, professional paid labor, and public and private programs to help people get back on their feet, but it’s not working for thousands of residents still living on the street.
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Why? Some like to blame the homeless, but it’s not their fault. The fault lies with a lack of a complete Vision from the top down with a well-organized system of collaboration, coordination, communication, benchmarked goals, accountable responsibility when there is a lack of results within the system.
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There is no one in charge of a TOTAL PLAN, and no one who understands the complete needs of people today to solve their problems.
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here is still much to learn as we h
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A n n d d , , w w e e’ ’ v v e e l l e e a a r r n n e e d d t t o o c c a a r r e e
However, there are hundreds of organizations working on the issue of homelessness and poverty in Sonoma County, and new ones forming each year. Even the county and city governments are constantly creating new committees, task forces and boards to work on issues, and still homelessness continues to grow.
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with passionate hearts.
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gs continue to move quickly –
Why? Because just talking about it is not enough, nor is throwing money at it like thousands of tiny buckets of water on a forest fire.
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afting this text, the news came from Washington that the Republican President had reached an agreement with leading Democrats that would protect DREAMers and improve border security
If the local “community of care” wants to truly end homelessness, they need to work together from one complete and balanced system of care that believes in everyone’s right to thrive, and they need to include everyone in the process including all city administrations working together with the county, the educational system, public and private medical providers and local businesses.
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– but not by building a wall. Building a wall to keep people out makes us think of the Berlin Wall. And that’s not who we are.
Indivisible Sonoma County will support legislative compromise, but wants that legislation to make the route to citizenship for DREAMers and other immigrants possible.
Then word came that 45 had, in fact, reached no such agreement. The misinformation campaign begins. Lets watch this legislation carefully!
If we want to end homelessness we need to efficiently combine all the money and resources together and apply them to A PLAN THAT WORKS.
I know that some coordination is happening, like the new county’s Coordinated Entry Program to organize the information for those who
need help, but this is only happening because it’s a federal HUD mandated requirement for continued funding. It’s not an idea the local system came up
NEIGHBOR cont’d on pag 7e
6 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 10/17