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As many already know, the Greedy Corporate Beasts of our World continue to crush and destroy the lives of many in Anaheim, USA and the world. Not only is there a war being waged against the middle class, but also against the homeless and poor of Anaheim and elsewhere. Unless laws change to protect the rights of the homeless and poor, middle class taxpayers will likely lose more money as the city of Anaheim and other cities are sued for violating the rights of poor and homeless Americans.
The lack of change in oppressive laws in Anaheim shows horrible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The Anaheim Council refuses to create laws that protect every right of the American people, and instead has created discriminatory laws that continue to violate the rights of poor Americans(including Vets, the disabled, and the mentally ill) to their own shame. Thankfully more are beginning to see this discrimination and are getting involved in activism in Anaheim, but sadly the Anaheim City Council still has not changed discriminatory laws that attack the poor and homeless. Currently in Anaheim it is still illegal to camp, store property or use essential items such as sleeping bags and tarps in any public space under AMC Chapter 11, so what is a homeless person to do? (See also AMC §§ 11.10.030, 11.10.040, 13.08.20.080, 13.08.20.090, and 13.08.20.190, and/or Cal. Penal Code § 647(e).)
The Anaheim City Council has been confronted by others and myself numerous times on this issue, but no change in law has come. Arrests, property confiscation, and fines have all been levied at the poor and homeless because of these oppressive laws. Of course when people are not affected by oppressive laws since they exist in a higher tax bracket, such people as the Anaheim Mayor and City Council are not placing change high on their agenda. This is why it is also crucial to elect more officials who are not heavily endowed with wealth, people that come from poorer areas of society, including those from the homeless population. Such people will be much more likely to be a voice for those in need especially if they have been involved in activism work in the past. Here is one video showing when I spoke last month against such oppressive laws in Anaheim, and of course I have many more videos after years of speaking at Anaheim City Hall.
Recently various homeless activists also came to join forces to fight against oppressive laws and the lack of affordable housing and home sustaining job opportunities in Orange County. The following video includes a message from Eve Garrow from the ACLU, as well as a clip of me speaking about ideas we had on how to bring change from one group I worked with at the meeting in Santa Ana. This video also has a clip regarding child slave labor, one more horrible result of Corporate Greed. It obvious many with money and power could care less about human life. Like JESUS said, you can’t serve GOD and money. I encourage everyone who cares about those in need to go to both the County Commission meetings and the Anaheim City Council meetings to demand more affordable housing, home sustaining job opportunities and legal protection for the poor and homeless. The more voices we have the better. You can also feel free to join my Facebook group, “Homeless Advocates for CHRIST”, and you can email me at servingjesus99212@yahoo.com to get involved, for more info, to share your ideas or for questions. Your prayers and support are truly appreciated as we work to defend the rights of those in need here and elsewhere. I do hope to hear from you!
– R. Joshua Collins ( Founder – “Homeless Advocates for CHRIST”)
Is this supposed to be an Admin post from the Muslim-hating homophobe? You may want to change the authorship, as otherwise it looks like by the last paragraph it’s you who’s running “Homeless Advocates for CHRIST (and against eaters of shellfish and those men who touch woman during the week after they stop menstruating).”
*Chairman Vern….good post. Don’t care how you spell it, or by who…..with our dearly, soon to be departed, “electeds” of all stripes failing to address the Homeless issue in any meaningful way. If we ever needed “Moon Shot Legislation on Homelessness” ..it is right now. This National disgrace can’t be fixed with “rake off property developer sweetheart deals”. It could be fixed with some suitable Andy Gumps placed where they could do the most good and some Mobile Health Clinics working the the streets of our counties, states and nation. We are still looking for some volunteers to support our GemmeShelter.com project.
Greg Diamond seems confused and hateful as usual. So sad to see what sin does to mankind. Satan has a field day attacking the poor, and then sends people like Greg to attack those trying to help them. Abused Muslim women often complain about Isllam, but what does Greg care? He is not being beaten and beheaded by Muslims. So selfish and blind such people are
I think that it’s time for us to start discussion YOUR sex life, Joshua, as you seem so intent on poking your nose into the sex lives of others. So: last ten orgasms, you old bachelor! List them — when, who, and with or in or on whom? Spilling your seed? Or hiding your own “shameful” so-called “physical corruption” by making such a racket about others’ supposed dishonoring of Leviticus that God won’t notice what goes on within (and from) you? Think that you can fool Satan by moralizing? Sorry, I prefer the Jimmy Carter-type Christians, who know that “Judge not lest you be judged” applies to them rather than to just their enemies.
If you really cared about helping the poor, you wouldn’t alienate half of your audience of potential allies. But I suppose that the path you’re on is the better way to build a profitable ministry. So sad to see what avarice does to preachers.
See, you thought that I was being hateful up until now? I’ve been treating you with kid gloves, presuming that you’re a closet case. But you’ve lost that privilege.
I know that you’re online, Joshua, because you just linked to this piece on the Anaheim Democratic Club page. Since you’ve appointed yourself to police the Biblical propriety of other people’s sex lives, including attacking them in public comments at City Council meetings, please submit your own for public discussion.
If you have time, we’d also like more precise information on how you’d like to foster warfare among the world’s religions. Thanks in advance.
Oh, and it is amazing — I mean, truly stupefying — that you can say “abused Muslim women often complain about Islam” without realizing that abused Christian women often complain about patriarchal practices in Christianity. (As Jews, Hindus, etc. do the same within their own religions.) I’d mention something about the mote in another’s eye versus the log in your own, but you’ve obviously already concluded that any Bible verse that might cramp your style must not apply to *you*. You pathetic Pharisee.
Cmon Collins your Hell doctrine a satanic at best. Your Eternal Hell doctrine is the reason Christianity turns a blind eye to most issues and yet you blame another religion get real pal.
What a lousy houseguest Mr. Collins has turned out to be for the people of Anaheim. He shows up from God knows where, and complains about the hospitality while contributing nothing to the greater community beyond misinterpretation of Biblical truth (which WILL be accounted for, but it’s not MY job.)
Who the Hell gave this ass-hat the keys to the family car to post under “admin?” That heading represents ALL of us and degrades the entire collective effort. VERN.
I agree that much more needs to be done for the homeless, whether they are on the streets due to illness (physical or mental) unemployment or underpay, or by choice/poor life choices. Anaheim is a compassionate community and to claim otherwise makes my blood boil. I am tired of hearing we are heartless because we don’t allow others to live as they please at our expense without accountability or rules.
The City of Anaheim’s efforts resulted in nearly 700 people being removed from the streets with a very low recidivism rate. There is more work ahead, but this appears to be a good start, and is FAR from evidence that Anaheim is filled with heartless nimbys who don’t care. I would like a report on how many Josh has removed from the streets? Or is the point of Mr. Collins’ ministry not to get people into housing, but instead to legitimize homelessness as an acceptable alternative lifestyle to be underwritten by the taxpayers who will have our property values and quality of life lowered by the crime and drug infested tent cities that do NOTHING to get people sheltered and simply drag down the surrounding community along with the homeless? Telling people it is OK to live in tents on public land and sit around doing drugs all day is not an avenue to a better society, nor is it compassionate to those living in the tents, INCLUDING those stuck there who aren’t there because of poor choices who have to “live” next to the drug addled loser in the next tent.
Consider this; once a tent city is sanctioned, having nothing but a wall of nylon between yourself and the world will be the “answer” to homelessness. The response will quickly become, “well we gave them the riverbed/safe space etc. what more do you want?” By affirming that a tent is not a suitable shelter and insisting that people come in out of the weather into sanctioned shelter we provide a way out of the shortened life span, exposure to crime and the elements, etc. that come with tent living. It’s not perfect, and it needs work to include pets and significant others, but it is still better than what Collins advocates for.
Is help slow in coming? Yes, it is. The majority of funding comes from Fed sources so the County has to sit on it until an answer might be found that is acceptable for Federal funding. I don’t see many of the activists providing answers consistent with standards we can use Fed dollars for. Yet they are the first to cry “heartless bastards” when the County can’t spend the Fed dollars for their non-answers. I am tired of hearing how we don’t give a damn when WE are the ones working to pay taxes and maintain our homes to provide the funding being demanded by others. Yes I know the homeless pay taxes on their purchases and paychecks when employed but there is a decided loss of property taxes not paid by someone camped on the riverbed or library reading area which means those of us who ARE paying the sales and payroll taxes AND property taxes get to carry the full weight of this cost. How dare you speak to us like that while demanding dollars rightfully meant to provide services to the community as a whole? Arrogance is not a Godly attitude, Mr. Collins. Neither is “homeless by choice” when scripture tells us a man who does not work does not eat. I don’t refer to those who are unable to work or unable to find work, but I speak to Mr. Collins who claims to have walked away from gainful employment as a professor in order to “minister” to the homeless without establishing ministry support. Where in scripture is this advised? Nehemiah never charged the people of Jerusalem for his upkeep, despite the legal right to do so, despite numerous officials he was feeding at his table, and Nehemiah WAS working on behalf of the citizens of his city. Every example in scripture shows the Lord providing for those He sends with His message or His work, without being a burden on others with demands for upkeep.
Those of us who oppose sanctioning tent cities are not heartless. We expect our community to provide a better answer for those less fortunate than a place to put a tent and use a portapotty. We also understand that if we permit our own property values to decline we take in less property tax to help fund the answers. There is a connection that eventually benefits the homeless if you do the math. This is why I have advocated for a SHELTER in my area or even innovative tiny-houses type communities (with rules) because those are NOT shown to degrade neighborhoods, but the hodgepodge collection of tarps and trash advocated by you as a humane answer to the suffering of humanity is not acceptable, and we need to do better.
Many of us are busting out butts looking for answers. I have not weighed in very vocally because I wanted to check best practices around the country and see what WORKS and to that end I have spent numerous hours and dollars searching publications (and paying for them) to educate myself. I have cited the “housing first” initiatives that are successful in Utah, but that works because they have housing to put people in. Here in OC the cost of building new units is prohibitive, and we have low wage employment as the biggest job creator, which pushes families usually in higher end housing down into the “entry level” housing that is usually available for the truly low income/subisidized population, straining existing housing even worse. When even multi-million dollar homes are opposed by nearby residents any effort to build low-income shelter is going to be a political quagmire. You can say officials should do the right thing anyway, but it doesn’t help if the leader who is helping you gets voted out by angry residents before the project is built! There is no easy answer here, and to demonize the rest of us because we haven’t yet found a shelter model that serves the homeless without dragging down the rest of society for something that is NOT THE FAULT of the residents expected to both pay for the answers and take the hit on quality of life issues doesn’t help the discussion.
I don’t know anyone who does not want to do all possible to aid those who are homeless by circumstance, and the vast majority are also willing to pony up for those who are homeless by their own decisions. But I notice that for all the finger pointing, Josh, you never assign responsibility to those who are homeless by choice (like yourself, adding to the problem rather than alleviating it) or homeless by poor choices, (drugs, alcohol, criminal acts that make them unemployable) ALL of which are listed as sins in the same Bible. So the homeless (by action, not talking about disabled etc.) get a pass for the voluntary actions that resulted in their becoming a drain on the system, but those of us fighting to maintain a solvent system are demonized by someone who has NOT ONCE, EVER, OFFERED A VIABLE SOLUTION other than to blame others!
Good work there, Josh. Vern, what were you thinking to let this guy represent the OJB family? You want to associate with Josh and Fitz don’t drag us down with you.
Exactly
Wrist seems to be improving!
(That was addressed to Cynthia, not to Joshua.)
Nah, that can apply to Josh too.
Collins is a rare breed of the religious extremist nature who has established a significant lack of discernment, and education of that which he speaks. His words, and actions are inconsistent, are most often oppressive, suggest possible separation from reality, and therefore should not be a guideline for resolve of the homeless dilemma in our community. To rely on his example as representation of the entire homeless population, and homeless outreach organizations is to do our community a disservice. He takes one step forward and two steps backwards, and does not represent me, or my mission.
Nancy, when will you do a first-person piece on “Al Fresco Gardens” for us?
Josh is building up a rep as a craftsman-like deployer of bigotry that will eventually pay off for him handsomely some day. I’ve come to think of his as little more than a huckster for whom advocacy of the homeless gives him cred.
His friend Lou Noble, by contrast, seems admirable and entirely sincere.
Thank you Greg. I’m working on it. The article/circumstances keeps changing, lol.
So last night Fitzgerald gets up and calls Josh a black prophet of God and Cynthia Ward is a racist. As my husband likes to remind me, all the right people hate my guts. What scared me was for a while there Fitzgerald claimed to LIKE me. I had to seriously examine my moral underpinnings to see how that could have happened. Thankfully it didn’t last long.
The man certainly knows how to pull off a prank, to an Andy Kaufman level of duration and insufferability. I don’t know if even Fitz knows what he actually thinks anymore — but brush it off, to offer you some unnecessary advice.