**an unposted golden oldie

Usually I just pay no heed to Jeffrey Hanson-Carlson’s drivel with no more than a stray thought as to how much he must be paying the newspaper (www.abbotsfordtimes.com May 11/07) for the privilege of demonstrating to the community his total inanity and lack of understanding on issues.

However, the level of ignorance about the issue of homelessness he has established with his latest printed nonsense is so vast it demands correction and education; lest anyone be fooled into thinking he has any vestige of understanding of homelessness.

From the pompous comfort of his home Hanson-Carlson prattles on about “policy” and his moral superiority to Americans.

Minimum wage? Got no job, no prospects of job as homelessness raises major barriers to becoming employed. A $50 per hour wage level makes no difference to the jobless, prospect-less homeless person.

Health care? One of the major hidden costs of homelessness is the extra demands a person who is homeless places on the health care system. It follows that reducing homelessness reduces the demand on the health care system and is thus good health care policy.

Education? The level of ignorance of reality that is shown in that word is Jovian (planet Jupiter) in scope. A Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan, a Chartered Accountant designation after articling with Coopers & Lybrand. All that education did nothing to prevent my becoming homeless.

It was the support and opportunity championed by Mr. Mangano that presented me with the chance to move off the streets into housing.

I have been championing a course of action that my business background and personal experience with homelessness have led me to believe would result in reducing, even ending, homelessness. I welcomed Mr. Mangano’s visit because he brought this course of action to the attention of local, regional and provincial policy makers. Mr. Mangano’s visit provides an opportunity to stop the insanity of doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result and to set out on a new course of action that will actually end homelessness.

I am not a fan of George Bush for the same reason I am not a fan of Hanson-Carlson – an inability of either of them to see reality as it is rather than the way they want it to be. But anyone who, thoughtfully, checked Mr. Mangano’s background in the field of addressing homelessness would know that he has the experience to speak with authority on the issue of homelessness – unlike some who choose to shoot of their mouths.

The best evidence for listening, really listening, to Mr. Mangano and giving careful consideration to his words lies in the results that have been and continue to be achieved by US cities under his czarship”. By using sound business practices these US cities have begun to achieve solid, measurable, verifiable reductions in their homeless populations. Some cities such as Portland Oregon have achieved incredible results – a 70% reduction – because of the political will to DO, not try.

The real treasure Mr. Mangano brought to our attention is the opportunity to practice “the art of legitimate larceny”. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Rather we have the opportunity to examine the wide variety of “experiments” US cities have been running for the last few years and cherry pick the best practices for adaptation to our local homelessness reduction, getting right on with the job of ending homelessness.

Although I must concede that the proof that we can, through intelligent, results oriented investments and actions, reduce and even end homelessness is a pretty valuable jewel he also brought with him to Abbotsford.

This so-called no-name community advocate considers it a privilege to have had the opportunity to hear, meet and speak with Mr. Mangano. For what he brought with him to town and to us no-name advocates is support and opportunity to end homelessness, echoing the support and opportunity that permitted me to move from being homeless to a no-name advocate on homelessness.

Finally – should Hanson-Carlson have remember that there is a good reason we have two ears and only one mouth, however big and inappropriately open it may be, he would have heard Mr. Mangano repeatedly point out that he was not the “expert” we should be consulting on what is needed locally to end homelessness. Rather he repeatedly pointed out that the experts on what is needed to end homelessness in Abbotsford are those citizens who have been there and done that, moving from homeless to homed.

Evidently in Abbotsford hunger takes the last summer long weekend off. What else explains the “meal gap” from lunch Saturday August 4th through lunch Tuesday August 7th, a gap of 72 long hungry hours – if hunger was not taking a Holiday that is?

Usually lunch is available Sundays and Mondays, but with hunger on Holiday the fellowship of the organizations that had taken responsibility for serving lunch on those days joined hunger on Holiday.

Imagine my surprise at finding Hunger on Holiday, as my personal experience with homelessness was that hunger was a pretty constant companion, a gnawing worry.

A simple phone call was all that was needed to set in motion the provision of lunch on Monday, that and a willingness to ask some people to volunteer some time to set up and serve lunch.

Which is what made Hunger Sunday so frustrating – another simple call and Sunday 41 for the year could have been covered with those simple, but hunger appeasing bagged lunches.

I suppose that if the sacrifice to serve lunch on this holiday weekend was to much, I should not expect the effort to give warning so those who understand the meaning of commitment could step in and serve lunch.

Hunger, need, suffering and our host of other social ills take no Holidays.

That is not to say that those who give to their community and the less fortunate in that community do not deserve holidays. It is just that being responsible adults requires making provision for those depending on us for sustenance to be served and not left hanging – and hungry.