5
OPINION
I
'Freezing' to death
By Be amiD F. . ,Jr.
The different kinds of mor­
ta1ity of a society give an indica­
tion of the social priorities of
that society. Across the United
States during this winter season
there is an alarming ina-ease in
the number of homeless persons
who are freezing to death on the
streets, Despite municipal
programs to gather up the
homeless, es�ciaUy when the
temperature plummets, the
number of homeless deaths con- even to Ute city morticians.
tinues to increase, Whether the names of these vic-
Recently in the City of ew tims will ever be known to local
York, five homeless persons or national politicians is a mat­
died on the streets during one ter of how well concerned
week-end. The frequency of citizens of this nation make this
these deaths has not aroused a ISSUe a priority. .
great public outcry. In fact, When we hear of the great
there seems to be a growing so- sUfferings of people throughout
cial acceptance that a fair num- the world, some caused by
ber of homeless people shall die natural disasters and others
during the winter. Many of these caused by the sins of greed and
victims of homelessness are ra- . avarice, we should remember
cial and ethnic persons whose the daily. sufferings of the
names will never be known, not people living on the streets of
America this winter. There
needs to be a comprehensive
and effective response to this
growing problem.
'To depend primarily on the
police and other law enforce­
ment agencies to treat the
homeless, as if their destitute
state is a criminal offense, is
neither a compassionate nor
humane approach. In surveying
how some of the major cities-in
useum .
founder urges
History onth
participation
Dear Editor:
First, let me congratulate you
for publishing one of the most
informative tabloids that can be
found in the area. It is of such
general interest tha one dare
not miss a single p gee Your
coverage of the activities of the
Museum of African American
History helps us to get our mes- .
sage to the public whom we
serve.
Although much is said about
Negro His ory Month, not
enough is done about it. Since
the study .of the f cts and the ac­
quisition of facts of Black his­
tory are the surest and shortest
ways to self-esteem, we en­
courage all of your readers to
visit the Museum of African
American History, during this
Black History month to com­
mune with their ancestors and
pledge, anew, their support for
the institution that is the cus­
todian of the Black Experience,
your Museum.
Our Underground Railroad
Exhibit, telling how our
forefathers were brought here
and how· valiantly they fought
for freedom. A fuller under­
standing of that struggle will en­
courage us to protect and ex-
tend our freedom, with all the
resource at our command
For further information call
or write:
useum of African
American History ..
301 Frederick Douglass
Detroit, Michigan 48202
(313) 833-9800
Char H. Wright, .D.
Founder and Chuirman
BeriJ min
ChaYI
CML
'RIGHTS
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the United States handle the
homeless, particularly during
the winter months, we were
alarmed to find the proclivity to
use police action rather than so-,
cial service support systems.
For example, in Atlanta,
Georgia; Portland, Oregon and
in Phoenix, Arizona the police
routinely cite homeless perso
with violations of city ordinan
ces as a means of moving them ,. v .
off the streets. Yet, this does -r ___,.-�
nothing to solve the problem of ' ......
the state of homelessness in
these cities. It just adds to the
misery of the- homeless. The
criminal justice system is no
place for the homeless.
It appears that many
municipal shelters-are no place ITTousrOUHllU(rALO
for the homeless either. In New
York City alone, the shelter sys- I
tem costs $30() million annually." I
Yet, this system is replete with
unsanitary, overcrowded condi­
tions and violence. Douglas
Lasdon, the director of the
Legal Action Center for the
Homeless, stated, "this system is
by definition inhumane."
We believe that there is only
one solution for the homeless
and that is to provide adequate,
affordable housing for all per­
sons living in -this nation. We
should no longer tolerate per- .
SOJlS freezing to death. We
should no -longer tolerate the.
homeless being homeless.
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