Redding Mayor and Bethel Mega-Church Elder Julie Winter recently sent a letter to Governor Newsome asking the State to fund what is basically a concentration camp for the area's three thousand homeless people, where they would be forced to stay until they can somehow manage to become housed and "self-sufficient"
Under this proposal homeless detainees would also be deprived of whatever meager income they may have until the government agents in charge are convinced that the homeless person will only spend their money on what these agents deem acceptable.
The obvious illegalities of her fascist proposal aside, she failed to acknowledge that Redding's rental market is nearly non-existent, and that the local rental vacancy rate was less than two percent even before last year's devastating fires. Nor did she mention that the thousands of Bethel adherents who have flooded the area in recent years are - to a notable extent - responsible for Redding's severe housing shortage. More than a few local families and what are often elderly and/or disabled individuals have lost their housing to crowds of Bethel students, who bring in far more money for greedy property owners than many locals can afford to pay.
This heavy deluge of outsiders into our small city has contributed directly to local homelessness. It has also raised the cost of whatever housing remains, which makes the poor even poorer (and closer to homelessness), and creates a situation where fewer people working in the area's many low-wage jobs can actually qualify for a roof over their heads.
I have a two-fold alternative proposal. Bethel provides no housing for its several thousand "supernatural" students, or the countless other Bethel groupies who invade the area every year. Neither will we be seeing any housing included in Bethel's upcoming $148 million 39-acre mega-church complex. I would suggest that Bethel use some of its $60.8 million annual income to provide housing for its students and other followers, which would free up existing housing for the actual locals, and potentially lower rents.
Secondly, the Redding City Council has chosen to ignore recommendations from Housing First program experts, who made the provable case that supportive housing - however minimal - has dramatically reduced chronic homelessness and improved prospects for the mentally ill/substance-addicted (often one and the same) as nothing else can. It has also saved participating cities millions of dollars a year in the process.
Perhaps Bethel could get the ball rolling on that program locally, since it does little else to help address a crisis it's at least partially responsible for creating except pass the plate on occassion for Shasta County's single vastly over-crowded fire-and-brimstone homeless shelter, with its largely failed punish-the-sinner approach.
Purging its world-wide base of operations of unsightly homeless people has been high priority for Bethel. However, there's a right way and a wrong way, and forcing people into a prison/concentration camp facility until they accomplish the impossible (without the addition of more humane and practical solutions) is definitely the wrong way.
Patrecia Barrett
7 comments:
I agree Bethel church doesn't seem to even like the residents of our town. During the carr fire I would have thought they would be the first to open there doors to all evacuees. They chose not to open there doors at all. Oh ya the did allow use of the parking lot days later. Not very Christian like in my eyes.
Regardless of housing opportunities in Redding , the homless problem will continue because these people do not have the mental capacity to maintain a household or pay rent or bills etc .
Their Drug usage on top of their mental health is the barrier to them living the life of a productive citizen.
How do I know? because my family member is homless in Redding and nomatter how many cars they are given they loose them, nomatter how many places they live they are kicked out or evicted because of their conduct and drug use, nomatter how much money they are given they use it fir drugs, they have lost their children and did nothing to get them back .
This is not about Bethel or anyone else its about them and their lack of desire to live a healthy productive life . Its about their mental Health and drug use which they cannot handle and has consumed their lives.
Without being locked down and forced to be sober they will never be able to get better.
Locking them away and forcing them to get help is the only way they will ever get help these people are in too deep and will never be able to make the choice to change on their own.
Your family member may be struggling but you know NOTHING about treating people with addiction and mental illness - I do, however, I struggle with both and have worked for mental health with the county... Um, locking people away and forcing them to get help has rarely worked and for the record, I know tons of people who have made the choice (on their own) to get help and live successful & happy lives - don't state things that you know zero about especially when you are totally wrong
Bethel is taking over low income housing from people who need housing the most. The elderly and struggling families. Bethel & the Bethelite members are cold hearted & spiteful people. Kicking out low income people, who are good long term renters, so they can put their own cult member's in that housing. Bethelites are ruining the Redding single family housing market by renting single family homes and cramming 5-6 bethelites into them, clogging up the streets with illegal out of state vehicles, especially when they have their supernatural meetings. Bethel & it's leaders, Bill Johnson & Kris Volotoon spread hate by teaching & endorcing gay conversation therapy while they make money doing it. Bethel currently has brought themselves some major public Shame by creating a cult circus out of a dead 2 year old that they were attempting to raise from the dead. Again, Bethel & their DRT ( Dead Raising Team) failed but the parents of the dead baby still collected over $80,000 for the parents living expenses!!?!?!?!? With Bethel, it's leaders & members, it's clearly ALL about the greed for money.
The vast majority of homeless people are NOT drug-addicted or criminal (according to local social services and medical providers who work with the entire spectrum of the homeless on a daily basis). The mentally ill/substance addicted may be the most visible element, but they are still a minority. Lack of affordable housing and wages that don't support housing are far more often the culprit.
I agree with you I think Bethel should have open their doors but they kept telling everybody that they couldn't open their doors because it was in the way of the fire which I don't believe but whatever
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