A vigil titled “No Place to Call Home,” was held on Dec. 24 at 12 noon in front of the Federal Building at the Civic Center in Duluth. These people hold the names of people who died in Duluth while homeless this past year.
By Prophetess Naomi-Tamar
For that single mother stuck in the shelter system with her young children for months on end. There’s a housing shortage. The rent is too high, your credit is inadequate. Your rental history is not good enough. Your application fee is non-refundable. We don’t rent to people on welfare. Your income has to be three times the amount of the rent. (Survival is what it’s all about.)
For that family fleeing to safety from domestic violence. You only have 30 days to find a new job, and get an apartment. There is no childcare. Your kids have to be with you at all times. No transportation can come to the shelter for you. So, you walk two blocks to meet your ride. Your children are crying because they’re cold. You get there, the apartment has been rented, just 15 minutes before you arrive. It’s not fair, you’re absolutely right. (Survival is what it’s all about.)
People with mental illness going untreated, misunderstood in every way. Wandering aimlessly. People who are forgotten in this cruel society. They need more treatment programs, more counseling, more funding for halfway housing and independent living programs. They struggle from day to day. (Survival is what it’s all about.)
Three hundred and forty billion dollars is funded for highway construction and remodeling a sports arena, but people, human beings walk the streets homeless and hungry. People get so desperate when they’re homeless and hungry, depression sets in, then crime and chemical dependency are on the rise. Instead of spending more millions to build penal institutions, why not start more adequate programs for homeless prevention and welfare-to-work transition. Affordable, safe adequate housing. More domestic violence prevention programs. (Survival is what it’s all about.)
