Have you
ever heard someone talk about herding cats? Usually, the conversation is
referencing a chaotic situation, and the herding piece alludes to a point
person trying to bring order to the chaos. The reason I bring it up now is that
the cats are running amuck in Chico right now, but there isn't anyone who has
asserted any effort to establish any sort of order.
To be a
little more specific, I'm talking about what is going on with the homeless and
crime problem in Chico and the disjointed attempted responses. For a few weeks
a group called Clean and Safe Chico, who seems to have really good intentions,
has been having meeting after meeting, but they haven't accomplished anything
in relation to addressing the problem. Another group, who has been laying low
thus far, will be introducing their quasi-vigilante approach. This seems to be
a group of people who have strong financial backing, who are not used to be
told "NO," and who apparently intend to force the (ones they decide
are) miscreants to leave Downtown Chico. This group, who calls itself R Town,
has even had conversations with the famous Guardian Angels, who accomplish much
of what they do through threats and intimidation. Then there are others who speak boldly about what
they are getting ready to do....but again, they have really done nothing.
Tuesday night there will be more talk at another community meeting at the City
Council Chambers. It is already agendized in such a way as to almost guarantee
nothing will come out of it but more talk. Clean and Safe will talk about all
the people they have talked to and how everyone is mad about what is happening,
R Town will assertively list their demands, City Council and the Police reps
will sit there quietly, a few cat callers will throw out there own one liner
editorial criticisms. But that’s all that gonna happen, talk.
In the
meantime, the Police Department continues to be gutted. They have virtually
checked out of anything and everything that requires extra effort or money. In
doing so, they are disintegrating what ties they have had with the
community....not because they want to, but because they have to and they are
getting their butts kicked by the team of three outsiders who are currently
running the City (who, by the way, will likely be gone in 1.5-2 years). The
DA's Office has asserted that they will not waste time prosecuting the low
level crimes typically committed by the homeless (trespass, unlawful lodging,
etc.). There is nobody from Behavioral Health to deal with the street level
people who are in need of services, the VA has established that they are like
any other Federal agency: bureaucracy first, and helping clients is way down on
the list. And while this is all going on, the City Council endeavors
perpetually to ignore the problems that are so obvious to everyone else, to
keep their heads buried in the sand, and to avoid at all costs making any
decisions or asserting any leadership that is even the least bit suggestive of
a plan to address community concerns. Sadly, the City Council is the only thing
in this mess we can count on as a community…we can count on them Not
making a decision and NOT taking any action!
And all
of that represents the cats running amuck with nobody attempting to herd them.
And while
all of this has been going on, very quietly, very discreetly, not looking for
attention or pats on the back, the Orchard Church has been trying to make a
difference through their Sunday evening Church on the Street. Unlike Clean and
Safe Chico, who has meetings to talk about "those people," unlike R
Town, who wants to disregard their civil rights and herd them away, and unlike
the City leaders, who are doing nothing, Orchard has been connecting with the
homeless for 5 years. They have established relationships, built trust and
helped many of those people off the street. Orchard has helped 3 people get
back to their families, 3 more into rehab and 3 more into their own homes this
year alone (so far). In addition, they run a men's house with ten residents,
all of whom faced homelessness, addiction or other circumstances in their past.
They have helped dozens of others over the years. Orchard makes their
connection with people on the street by giving them a meal....once a week...for
about an hour...in the downtown Plaza. This happens Sunday evenings, and has
been going on for over 5 years...right across the street from City Hall and
right outside the window of the Police Substation.
Now,
because the order has been issued to "crack down" on the homeless, it
seems the first focus of the crackdown is Orchard Church. The Parks Commission
clearly does not like what they are doing, the poor kids they have working as
park rangers seem to have taken Orchard's efforts as a personal affront to
them, and dozens of uninformed citizens have written angry emails to Council
members, left them calls, and publicly blasted (by way of social media) the
efforts of the Church. And all of this, and the current efforts to revoke the
ability of the church to continue their efforts, has occurred without a single
person taking a moment to ask Pastor Jim Culp or others at Orchard exactly what
it is that they do. Instead, Jim has been called a "ghetto preacher"
by downtown business folks. Others have angrily and hatefully labeled the
church members as co-dependent pseudo do-gooders who are causing harm and
perpetuating the problem.
The
response to Orchard has been disturbing to say the least. Nobody else is doing
anything. They are, and they are being vilified. To me, this is disgusting! If
anything, the other entities could learn from the example set by Orchard, and
the efforts related to helping these folks off the street could be expanded.
Don't get
me wrong...its not that I'm a bleeding heart who thinks that we should leave
the homeless to be. On the contrary....I'm as angry as everyone else. I was
pissed as I saw the crowd of vagrants who has now set up camp on the front lawn
of the Council Chambers when I drove through Downtown today. I am pissed that
Council after Council has let the charming culture of our community slip
away....and now, while it is staring us in the face, they still refuse to
assert a position against what we have become. I'm pissed that they have
disregarded the benefit of having a well staffed police department to help
solve the kinds of community problems like we are now facing. We once had a
department that could do that, but years of neglect have left us with a
department that struggles daily to staff shifts and keep up with calls for
service. In fact, as a side note, I believe a big part of the solution to the
problems this community is facing is to restore and then enhance the police.
I'm pissed there are those in Chico who would even for a minute consider
bringing a group like the Guardian Angels here, and sad about how many high
profile Chico people have gone on record as being supportive of this. I can
tell you for certain: Chico IS NOT a Guardian Angel type town!
But more
than anything, I am pissed that this community and its leaders would attack
Orchard Church for trying to make a difference. I support what Orchard Church
is doing. Until somebody else in this town steps up to the plate and takes some
action (instead of talking tough about what they would like to do), Orchard
Church should be left alone.
Here is
the letter I sent the City Council sharing my thoughts:
October 14, 2013
Chico City Council
411 Main Street
Chico, California 95926
RE: Orchard Church, Church on
the Street
Dear Council Members,
Much has been said recently
about problems caused in downtown Chico by homeless vagrants. In response,
different groups of citizens with good intentions have formed or attempted to
form responses, which are hoped, at some level, to help mitigate the problems.
Street Pastors are out there on the street actually serving citizens in need,
homeless and otherwise, and making a bit of a difference as they attempt to fill
a void that has increased as of late due the diminishing presence of the police
in Chico. Another group, Clean and Safe Chico, seems to have some great ideas
in relation to dealing with the homeless vagrants specifically, but to date
they have really been unable to accomplish anything other than having lots of
meetings and talking about all the great things they would like to do….if they
had money….lots of money.
While all of this attention
and these different discussions and responses have been taking place, there has
been something else going on that most Chico citizens are totally unaware of.
In the furtherance of their mission to serve others, the Orchard Church has
been conducting Church on the Street on Sunday evenings in the City Plaza for
at least the last five years. In doing so, they have established relationships
with many of those who are viewed as the problem in Downtown Chico, and they
have, one at a time, helped many of these people out of their circumstances. In
the last year alone, through contacts made and relationships established at Church
on the Street, Orchard Church has helped 3 homeless people into housing, 3 more
addicts into rehab and 3 more to return to their families. Chico hasn’t heard
about any of this because the church is not doing it to get attention or
credit, and they don’t make an announcement every time they are able to help
somebody. They are just quietly working to make a difference.
As community discussion takes
place in relation to the homeless, everyone seems to be full of ideas about
what to do… drop-in centers, wet shelters, job training, etc. are all suggested.
Unfortunately, what is missing from the community conversation is actual
understanding of the variety of reasons people are homeless, an understanding
of who these people are as individuals, and an inclination by the masses to
come to know these people. Absent relationships with those who are actually
existing in homelessness, it is likely that all the great ideas everyone has to
take care of the problems will go nowhere. Well, the very things I have
suggested a missing in general are not missing in relation to the works of
Orchard’s Church on the Street. Jim Culp, his family and the members of Orchard
Church, through Church on the Street, have helped countless people off of the
streets over the years by having relationships with them, taking personal
interest in their circumstances on a case by case basis and holding them
accountable. They are doing exactly what this community wants done with “those
people,” but does not otherwise know how to do.
Now, we are hearing that the
City is attempting to stop the work of the church. This is most disturbing! We
have an entire community wondering what to do, a City Council that seems to do
everything it can to avoid making a decision or taking a position on community
issues and nothing is being done by the City to solve the problems related to
the homeless in Downtown. And at the same time, we have this apparent sudden new
awareness of the work of Pastor Jim Culp, who now has downtown business people
calling him “ghetto pastor” to his face, and an unexplainable desire to stop
his work. He and his congregation are doing, and have been doing, what the
leaders of this City have failed to do. So, why is Church on the Street being
targeted? At this point, the most anyone can provide in the way of a response
to the question is, “Well, what you are doing is unprecedented.” I guess that’s
what we do in Chico when we are a City leader and we face unprecedented
circumstances: We retreat to a bunker, bungle our own rules, and attempt to
dismantle that which is unprecedented?
The Orchard Church, by the
way, with the full awareness of each and every mayor for the last 5 years (whom
Pastor Culp has met with personally), has implemented a solution (one of many
possible) to help address the problems of homelessness in Chico. For that, they
should be embraced, and the community and its elected and appointed leaders
should seek to understand how Orchard has been successful. Stephen Covey spoke
of the importance of seeking first to understand before seeking to be
understood. Church on the Street has been happening quietly on the corner
across the street from City Hall for over five years. Now, all of the sudden,
in a keystone cop-like response, the Parks Commission and Park Manager are
attempting to shut them down….and all of this is happening without any apparent
effort whatsoever to learn about what they are doing – there has been no seeking
of understanding. Rather, they appear to have become a target for blame about
the problems in City Plaza. That is just wrong.
We support Orchard Church and
what they are doing to make a difference. To force them to stop would be a
travesty, as would allowing them to be blamed for the problems caused by
homeless vagrants in Downtown Chico. They are doing exactly what this community
needs (and needs more of), they are doing it on a shoestring, and they should
be commended for their efforts. Please embrace their unprecedented activities,
and acknowledge the benefit to our community. If they are forced to stop what
they are doing, yet another void in the community response will be created, and
the City will have taken a giant step backwards.
Sincerely,
Mike & Laurie Maloney
Chico, California
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