Homeless in Paradise

SERIES:

MONTEREY

PENINSULA

MAKEOVERS

(At right, Wanda at her 85th Birthday Celebration, 2020. Photo by Rev. Elaine Gehrmann)

Part 20 - Invitation To The Launch Of The "Homeless In Paradise" Website

MAKING history is easier than preserving it. If facts are to be believed, accurate records should be kept. So, I am delighted to announce launching the Homeless in Paradise website that now contains complete archives of the current 20-part series "Monterey Peninsula Makeovers." Construction is ongoing... (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 19 - Does the Governor's Recall Hinge On Those Who Don't Get Checks?

FOLLOWING publication of last week's column, "Recall the Governor? The little red oracle weighs in!", this question arrived from HC, Marina: "If Governor Gavin Newsom was sincere in his promise last January (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 18 - Recall the Governor? The Little Red Oracle Weighs In!

THROWING her hat into the political ring, Caitlyn Jenner announced last week she'll be running to replace Gavin Newsom as Governor of California in the recall election that's shaping up. (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 17 - Will Homeless Tenants Live in Huts if Project Roomkey Ends?

SUGGESTING a thatched round hut and a wood coffin-style body box as sleeper spaces for homeless folks on March 26 drew worldwide response. If you're intrigued (CONTINUE READING)

Part 16 - Difference Between Dying Alone and Lonely Dying?

MEMORIALIZING one or more homeless people began as a tradition in this column back in 2015. If you don't remember or weren't yet a reader... (CONTINUE READING)

Part 15 - Would Free Money Handouts Get the Homeless off Streets?

RESPONDING to the headline, "Do you believe homelessness should be illegal?" Gretchen Nicholas e-mailed... (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING)

Part 14 - Do You Believe Conversion Can Save "Savage" Souls?

CONFESSING my Pfizer vaccine acted like truth serum created a storm. If a metaphor defines what happened...

(CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 13 - Do You Believe Homelessness Should Be Illegal?

SURVIVING my second dose of Pfizer vaccine last week wasn’t expected to hurl me into a social justice crisis, but it did. If six words describe the vaccine’s effect, they’d be “it acted like a truth serum.” Ouch! (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 12 - Would Thomas Jefferson Sign The "Save Jruistac" Petition?

SAVING Juristac is the Amah Mutsun tribal band’s goal, and you can help them reach it... (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 11 - What Can You Do To Restore Native Americans' Indigenality?

BEING homeless along the coast of California isn’t new. If history books told the true story, you’d have learned in elementary school that first homeless Californians were indigenous people uprooted by Spanish Catholic monks of the Franciscan Order. Between 1769 and 1833, under the aegis of Spanish viceroys, the traveling monks and their forced-labor crews erected 21 missions over a 600-mile stretch of space between San Diego and Sonoma. Most were less than 11 miles inland. Today their tourist-mecca route is gilded as “El Camino Real”, aka The King’s Highway. (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 10 - Will The Forthcoming Religious Revival Save Or Sink America?

WRITING about homelessness isn't the same as solving it. If I could resolve it, I'd be nicknamed "Savior" instead of "Peeper Parrott." ... As a nose-for-news snoop, (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 9 - Does Pebble Beach Hold The Secret To Solving Homelessness?

ENDING last week's column with a challenge by Chris Minglana of Seaside's Lower Hilby area means opening this week's report by repeating his dare:

"If you feel so inclined to help the homeless..." (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 8 - So, You Say You Wanna Get Rid Of Homelessness?

FOLLOWING former President Donald J. Trump's impeachment-trial acquittal on February 13, this message appeared on Nextdoor in response to last week's Homeless in Paradise column: "I see you snuck in Trump to blame for California's problems." (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 7 - What Would You Do If Handouts Were Up To You?

DURING this week - when attention has been focused on the second impeachment proceedings against now-former-president Donald J. Trump - only minor attention has gone to local homeless issues... (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 6 - If You've Never Experienced Karaoke, Now's Your Chance!

THROWING a karaoke-style birthday party online combines fun-raising and fundraising. If the idea appeals to you, my true experience should help you get started. (CLICK TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 5 - Are You Ready For The Wrangling To Begin?

RECAPPING the last week is impossible in just one-thousand words! If we weren't facing local rain that threatened to destroy post-fire properties with mud flows and debris, we trembled with trepidation about transition of power in Washington DC, as Donald J. Trump's presidential clock ticked down on inaugural day, Wednesday, January 20, 2021... (CONTINUE READING...)

Part 4 - Will 14 Million Renters Become Starfish On Our Beaches?

LOOMING in less than two weeks is expiration of the federally-mandated moratorium on renters protected against eviction during the Covid-19 crisis. If new life isn't injected like vaccine into the plan's veins... (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 3 - What To Do When Questions Hang Like Old Glory At Half-Staff?

WONDERING what's next? If so, welcome to transition week! By this time next week, Joe Biden should be the 46th President of the United States, Kamala Harris should be Vice-President, and Democracy should pick up where it froze on January 6, 2021, when the eyes and ears of the world focused on the U.S. Capitol under siege... (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 2 - Where Are These Women Sleeping Now That They Have Cars?

FOLLOWING last week's question about where five local homeless women are sleeping in vehicles given them by Change a Heart Foundation in December, I meant to provide the answer(s) this week... (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...)

Part 1 - What Will Mayors Do For Homeless Women Who Sleep In Their Cars?

CHANGING how to deal with local homeless populations is a major problem all mayors of the seven Monterey Peninsula cities now face, since many pre-pandemic ways are obsolete.

If I were a mayor, I'd start by memorizing these shortcuts to successfully attaining results, which I gleaned from my mentor, John D. Rockefeller, more than 40 years ago... (CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING...)

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