I am writing on behalf of our city’s homeless residents. I have written to our city officials with the hope that they will use their power to bring an end to the injustice I have witnessed recently in Mitchell Park, yet I believe even more in the power of the individual and especially that of the community to bring about change.
In the past two weeks I have seen several homeless people arrested in the park. Perhaps they were arrested for having a beer or broke one of our city laws such as sitting on a park bench for more than an hour but many have been confronted for no apparent reason. I spend many hours in Mitchell Park but have never been approached by the police.
Understand, this is not an attack against the police officers but a plea to our city to see and act in the spirit of compassion and love.
I believe that change needs to happen first in our thinking. When you see a homeless man or woman on the street, how do you see him? Do you see her or him as a threat to our city’s safety or do you see him or her as a person who is suffering? The way we see each other will determine the way we treat each other. Injustice to one is injustice to all.
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