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Letter to the editor

Today's Letters: Pinellas Hope is a wonderful start

The issue of homelessness

I am volunteering at Pinellas Hope. Each day I see the good this project does in helping the men and women who come here. This program helps to shelter these people while they work out their housing needs. It also puts many back on the road to self-sufficiency by helping them to find employment and assistance they need to improve their lives.

Those who need help for other issues that affect their ability to improve their lives are directed to the agencies where further help can be found. The small group of dedicated employees of Catholic Charities and other volunteers do the best they can with the resources that are available. However, this is where the business community and faith communities have to step up to the plate and help finance these projects. The success of projects such as this one depends on the involvement of the entire communities they serve.

These tent cities are not the answer for everyone; nor are they a permanent solution. The dimensions of homelessness are deeply rooted in changes in the economy of the country, especially in the labor and land markets. We need a whole new way of thinking about homelessness in relationship to how we currently view and make social investments in society's areas of critical needs. These areas include mental illness and substance abuse.

Above all, we must continue to remind ourselves and others that the mere fact that a person is homeless does not make him or her a criminal or a second-class citizen. Mean-spirited statements by people in our branches of city government do nothing but inflame those who would bring harm to these less fortunate ones.

We as a community have to address this situation in a rational and compassionate way so that the needs of all, including business, government and the homeless, are taken into consideration. I, for one, believe a viable solution can be found.

Ed Hotchkiss, Seminole

A beacon of hope for the homelessDec. 25, commentary by Rick Baker, Ronnie Duncan and Robert Lynch

Many bring hope to all

We want to thank St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker, Pinellas County Commissioner Ronnie Duncan and Bishop Robert Lynch for caring about and committing to Project Hope. They bring hope not only to the homeless but to the community.

Last January, our social justice group at St. Paul's Catholic Church in St. Petersburg gave a workshop on the homeless. We were amazed by not only the number of people who attended, but that they were truly interested in the plight of the homeless and wanted to help.

We are proud of our county and city leaders, our charity outreach workers, Bishop Lynch and our community at large for their generous outpouring of time, talent and treasure. How gratifying to see what can be accomplished when we work together to help those in need. We want these leaders to know that we support Pinellas Hope and our homeless brothers and sisters.

Donna Dugan, Diana Jordan, Patty Bitterli, Marcia Scully, Debbie Knippen, Mary Ann C. Holtz and Mary Meza, St. Petersburg

We need solutions, folks

If you didn't have a dwelling to house your "stuff," what would you do with it? If you didn't have a place to clean yourself and your clothes, what would you do? If you didn't have a place to go to the bathroom, what would you do?

Our laws are to help and protect all folks, not just those with the most power. The new St. Petersburg ordinances do not solve the problems; they just make more. For 99 percent of our homeless, this situation is not a choice. We need solutions, folks. We need to listen to our consciences. This doesn't have to be an "either-or" situation. It is possible.

The Rev. Anne Kopmeier, King of Peace MCC, co-chair, Interfaith Shelter Committee, St. Petersburg

Homeless are a blight

I was in the neighborhood of St. Petersburg City Hall to vote last week and was appalled by the disgusting mess left by the homeless people in front of it.

As a taxpayer in the city, I ask of these "advocates" of the homeless, what are you doing? What makes you think for one minute that anyone will listen to what you are saying or will give help to anyone who defaces our city property, as you and your "gang" have done?

Are you getting help for those who are mentally ill and addicted? Are you truly working with them to get them a better life, if that is what they want, or are you simply using them for your own gain? We as taxpayers have rights, too, and one of them is to have our public buildings kept clean.

To city officials I say: Do whatever is necessary to get them off the property and out of the city. I was sickened by the sight of our government building.

To the St. Petersburg Times, I say, use the power of the press to give a greater voice to those who do not want to see our city undermined by these homeless people. Advocate for the taxpayer and those people who want a clean, decent city.

Sylvia Fies, St. Petersburg

No excuse not to recycle

I am a New Jersey resident who visits your fair city several times each year to see my daughter and her family. One of the things that disturbs me on each visit is the fact that your city does not have a recycling program.

I live in Ocean County, N.J., about 50 miles north of Atlantic City, and we have a county-run recycling program that brings about $500,000-plus each year to our town of Toms River. Each town in the county participates in and receives a payback in proportion to how much it contributes.

The only excuse that I have heard from a St. Petersburg politician is that it costs too much to operate the program. Question: How much does it cost you not to run the program? Has anyone ever taken the time to do a study based on the projected growth rate in the coming years by the baby boomers? How much more can the environment take if this situation continues unabated?

Don't let politics impede a clean environment. Save what you have now.

George Scardena, Toms River, N.J.

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[Last modified January 19, 2008, 21:48:38]