To Whom It May Concern
Hope you are enjoying this hot Thursday afternoon. I am writing in regard to homelessness. I am currently homeless in Oregon. Last week, it rained. So, I sought cover under a commercial building’s awning to sleep to avoid the rain. And this resulted in being woken up by a police officer and given a ticket for trespassing. I go to court next week.
Sleeping outside has basically been criminalized since the Grants Pass case last year. I have been homeless since March 2021. I do not do drugs. I have not been in trouble with law. I do look homeless and people walk past me everyday as if I do not exist. But here I am, existing and writing to you. I even voted in the last election. Most homeless people would never think of writing to politicians. But as Hunter S, Thompson said,
“Politics is the Art of Controlling Your Environment.”
If anyone can address this issue, it is you. There are not enough places for us homeless people to go. There are currently no openings in the shelters near me. And addiction and drugs are a big problem on the street and in shelters. Most people do need some sort of treatment. If homeless addicts were given the opportunity and treated humanely, I believe most of them would take it. Personally, I would love a program or shelter that does not treat us all as if we have a drug problem. I understand most people believe that all homeless people do drugs and break the law(a lot of them do). However, this leads them to not wanting to deal with us and/or to treat us humanely. They look at us as a threat. A threat to their good lives. They think they are different than us. And maybe they are, because we all are different. But we all are human. Everyone has problems. We all just deal with them differently.
I would love to know what you are doing to address the issue of homelessness, locally and statewide? And I would love to know what I can do and what other homeless people can do to help? If we all work together this issue can be resolved in a more time effective manner. I appreciate your work and your time and consideration.
Talk Soon
Nicole Graves