One may find themselves asking as of late why is the love in our community growing so cold for the poor, the homeless, what Jesus calls"The Least of these My Brethern ?
Surly no city official would very publicly say in one breath "Nobody
tells me what to do" at his last quarterly town hall meeting and yet have the audacity to tell God in the next
how His ministries and charities need to be ran and by what amount of love and compassion may be applied to His people?
One without
a doubt would find themselves very directly opposing the desires and
direction of that very same God.
Homeless people good, Transients bad
Redding California Police Chief Robert Paoletti?
For we are directed quite clearly
by his son Jesus Christ that we are NOT to separate or differentiate
who is worthy of His Love ...and who is not.
Who is good? ... Who is bad... Who is Wheat? And who is a Tare Redding Police Chief ?
Oh thanks due to in large part to police chief Robert Paoletti the talk in Redding California as of late has reached a fevered divisive pitch.. What is a homeless person ? What is a transient ? Is one worthy of love and another is not?
Should a policeman dictate to the Christian organizations that serve them who should stay, and who should be gathered up and removed?
Now homeless Lester who's pictures you see is a perfect example of what is called hospital patient dumping.
Will Lester possibly see any justice from the Redding Police Department and chief Paoletti and his seat on Prime Healthcare's Hospital Board ?
Not Likely...
Who is Wheat ... And who is a Tare?
Shasta County Mental Health Center Director Dean Germano recently was quoted in the news as saying chief Paoletti's recent town hall comments on the local homeless population were "Bizarre", and his perceived by many as a negative comment about the Shasta County Hope Van for poor and homeless left many in the community shocked and dismayed.
A wonderful compassionate resource retired Redding Police Chief Peter Hansen helped develop in the City
No one really can imagine a government official directly opposing the commands of Jesus Christ and of all things expecting HIS Christian Charities to do the same ?
One again cannot imagine this same Redding Police chief AGAIN directly
opposing the desires and commands of Jesus Christ wanting the Good News
Rescue Mission tostop serving three free meals a day ?
Sometimes we love people nobody else will in hopes that they survive just another day... And that God will provide a Healing Miracle.
Who is good? ... Who is bad... Who is Wheat? And who is a Tare Redding Police Chief ?
At a recent city wide so called Safe City Project , with its leader April LaFrance , and interesting admonition was made, and Tweeted by a Redding Record Searchlight Reporter.
With the Good News Rescue Mission being the ONLY nightime rescue mission shelter in all of Redding and Shasta County California this fact, if reported... this crucial Tweet... if turned into a news story would rally the generous and caring community Redding has become, and positive steps surely would be taken that would change the dynamics of homelessness in our community, and quite possibly SAVE LIVES.
Not only that, If the facts and truth were released, to be ticketed by Redding Police Chief Robert Paoletti and his department for homeless sleeping now would be more than ever a very real violation of homeless persons civil and constitutional rights.
A situation here in Redding already determined to be cruel and unusual punishment in other California cities by a Judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Needless to say, in those cities positive changes were made, services added, lives saved....
Indeed one would think the Record Searchlight / Redding.com as a whole would be interested in the health, safety, and well being of our local homeless families, children, and veterans.
With temperatures that can dip to single digits in the winter here you would like to believe there is a news reporter somehow, somewhere with the courage and compassion to report on this crucial Tweet information.
Tweet information that Redding California's desperate homeless have long been painfully aware...
Good News Rescue Mission turned away 500 people last year due to staffing and resource shortages. #SafeRedding
— Katie Gillespie (@KGillespie_RS) November 14, 2014
"Redding Good News Rescue Mission turned away 500 people last year." 14 Degree Wind chill 7 a.m.
Its shocking that “Redding’s Good News Rescue Mission turned away 500 people last year.”
Especially since City Council member has heard threats of baseball bats against homeless and their camps.
Redding California city council person Missy McArthur receives messages from vigilantes wanting to go out into the homeless camps and send them a message with baseball bats.
Seems a police and city official created dynamic hardly conducive to the health, safety, and well being of our local homeless men and women, as well as the growing numbers of our homeless families, children, and veterans.
And the worst part of all is other than a tweet from a so called ” SafeCity ” meeting by a relatively new reporter who momentarily forgot her marching orders no local news media would have ever reported it.
And its now clear to me the reporters of the multiple Safe City Record Searchlight series ad nauseam are deeply in the pockets of the homeless hatred crowd and have become nothing more than the mouth piece for Redding City Officials, and its ever increasing militaristic, seems to answer to nobody police chief.
Sure, like every year, homeless will die on the streets of Redding this winter from the extreme cold.
And you and other local news media outlets will do the usual tragic annual we gotta do something about this stories…
Has the so called “Safe City founder addressed this?
Noooo
Has our local news media addressed it ?
Redding Record Searchlight - Redding .com, KRCR TV Channel 7 News, Action News Now ?
Noooo
Nor will you report on what could very possibly put an end to many of these needless tragedies if you would only stop the cover up and report the facts as you claim.
I quote your Tweet and admission from Record Searchlight reporter Katie Gillespie,
It appears this Christmas season the holiday sentiments "peace on earth goodwill towards men" we wish to one another does not include our everyday neighbors the poor and homeless we see languishing up and down our streets as if trapped in some kind of modern day World War 2 Bataan "forced" death march.
Of course the American Indians and how we "forced" them down far more than one trail of tears as well also comes to mind, a form of torture to be sure.
Keep um moving...
What a shame on the streets of Redding their poor and homeless are treated just shy of how we treat captured enemy combatants on the streets of Fallujah Iraq.
Indeed the Iraqi combatants would receive food and water and shelter. As for Redding and that matter California's growing homeless Families, Veterans, Men, Women and Children...?
Keep um moving...
We have another phrase Americans hold dear, "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Unfortunately forced marchers weary of torture and sub freezing temperatures, and loss of necessary survival gear die. From Redding City Council communications to Redding Police and its Army Reserve Police Chief Robert Paoletti , orders appear and seem abundantly clear and to be carried out at no matter what the cost.
I knew Robert when he took refuge under the covered entrance to Trinity Lutheran Church on Hilltop until they kicked him off the property several years ago. I have never witnessed him panhandling. Robert told me he was a Vietnam veteran, who often could be seen with a guitar. Apparently Robert spent the last years of his life sitting in front of the Target Department store. It is my understanding somebody ran over Roberts foot, and infection set in.
Folks in Target can tell you more, and they have been nice enough to purchase this memorial stand where this well known and loved homeless man dwelled.
Robert died of esophageal cancer which jives with what the folks told me at Target because they were not sure if it was the cancer or the gangrene or both that killed him.
*Folks working at Target gave him things periodically to survive and in the process monitored him.
*Folks working at Target noticed he was starting to fail healthwise and called help for him, so this homeless veteran didn't have to die on the street, but in the relative comfort of a health care facility.
*Folks working at Target bought and placed the thoughful memorial you see now next to the entrance of Target.
*Folks working at Target have proved again by their Love and Compassion that "Handouts Do Help"
No matter what the heartless have to say...
*******
I came into contact with Robert Moore several times. During conversations around town in his lucid periods he was very soft spoken and at times you could see a sparkle in his eyes. He would always seem to make it to the food bank just about when we were ready to close, so I waived the 2x a month rule for him. He often needed sleeping bags, blankets, and other basic survival gear.
He was always so thankful and appreciative, and if he were still alive im sure he would tell you handouts do help.
Another poor soul fallen through the ever expanding cracks in Redding's social safety nets.
A touching personal tribute to an all to common tragic tale...
Please meet Tony, a homeless man who has spent day and night during Redding's
exceptionally cold winter outdoors. As hundreds of people a day pass by Tony
across the street from the downtown post office, many of them leave love
offerings... clothes, food, blankets, .......money.
Usually he can hobble over to the covered Raba bus station when it rains but he
could not even get up when Fire and EMS arrived. He was hunched over all day
which was very disturbing .
We noticed he was starting to fail healthwise and called help for him. I looked at the paramedic and said he was dying on that bench... He agreed
Redding Police and businesses are very hot to do a "Handouts Dont Help" campaign to try to drive some
of the homeless out of town, As a Christian we are very much against as we could
gage Tony's condition through out the day as we gave him love offerings
Tony spent over 2 weeks in the hospital.
As you can see, and if you were to ask Tony, handouts do help...
*******
A homeless senior citizen in her 70's who often panhandles to feed herself and feed her stray animal friends, Barbara or "Catwoman" camps out in the wooded area by the Sacramento River known as the Henderson Open Space. Recently she alleges that Bob Brannon, community work program officer for the Redding California Police Department has threatened to arrest her if she dident leave the Henderson area, and that she would loose her beloved pet dog.
She also alleges, as many homeless folks do, that Officer Brannon has taken her personal possesions and has cost her a great deal of money to replace. She loves to feed and take in unwanted stray dogs and cats, and it is said that she has developed a relationship with wild animals as well, feeding turtles and baby skunks as they rub up against her like baby kittens.
Unfortunatly when Bob Brannon discovers and raids her camp, he throws away any survival homeless camping gear she has managed to obtain.
Many, many homeless folks that live away from the Good News Rescue Mission wish to be self sufficient and panhandle for the most basic of survival needs, ( Tents, Sleeping Bags, Cooking Stoves, etc. ) which Officer Brannon of the Redding Police Department confiscates on a regular basis requiring folks like Barbara to panhandle to continually replace.
In order for many homeless folks in Redding and Shasta County to survive, your generous Handouts Do Help...
Redding Olympic hopeful Ryan Hall's Bethel Church and Redding California Police join forces to destroy homeless camps, "cut high grass and low hanging branches" to drive them out of hiding.
Please listen to the Redding California police chief on KCNR Radio (starting about 1:10 minutes in)...about Bethel church, homeless encampments, and their civil and constitutional rights.
It is shocking.
Shocking for the fact that a huge Christian Church is joining forces to help destroy homeless camp areas that they find refuge in. Why are we seeing so many homeless in the downtown area? because this new police chief Robert Paoletti from Stocktonhas no compassion for the homeless and is forcing them out of their camps and into the streets, with many reports of their survival and personal possesions illegally thrown away.. If every city in California took his approach, where would the homeless go?
"Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?"
James Chapter 2
Please Call Bethel Church and register your complaint today !! (530) 246-6000
UPDATE - 7/18/2012 - I just received a return call about my complaint from a representative of Bethel Church saying that to join forces with Redding police and destroy homeless camps, "cut high grass and low hanging branches" to drive them out of hiding is "doing their civic duty".
UPDATE : 7/26/2012 - Most folks come to Bethel Church and School of "Supernatural" Ministry from other Continents and Countries.
Do we really need foreigners coming into our country and community from New Zealand, Australia, Saudi Arabia, etc... driving out American homeless and destroying their camps and basic survival shelters in our town?
Especially when Veterans make up one in four homeless people in the United States !!
Shame on local media for not bringing this to light.
Shame on Bethel, for what they are doing is not only Un Christian, but Un American as well...
Community clean-up crew find human bones while clearing a transient camp
