Courage is required to end homelessness

I am responding to a recent article focusing on the 2016 Thurston County homeless census. I was gripped by the poignant photograph and accompanying quotation by one of the women experiencing homelessness, “I don’t want to die homeless. I’m 62 years old. I can’t do this forever.”

Nor should she or any of the vulnerable of Thurston County be allowed to languish.

I am reminded of the wisdom of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Jesuit priest and philosopher, “Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We should like to skip the intermediate stages ...” Ending homelessness absolutely requires trust in the slow work of God.

And indeed, much progress has been made in the first decade of documented homelessness with some projects and programs developed. Still needed is the courage and perseverance of the service providers and funders to radically propose the appropriate specialized housing to eliminate chronic homelessness in our country.

Let us taxpayers support these brave community leaders, who have the pragmatic vision and are armed with viable statistics, to terminate local homelessness by ensuring appropriate and loving “therapeutic communities” thus holistically meeting the myriad need of vulnerable adults. Yes, “above all, trust in the slow work of God.”

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Courage is required to end homelessness."