What is it about our local society and our so-called political leaders when it comes time to decide how our tax revenues are to be spent?

By Bob Casey

What is it about our local society and our so-called political leaders when it comes time to decide how our tax revenues are to be spent? What is it about our county assembly of delegates when they make a decision on human resources spending based on the number of homes sold and on the number of advocates of a particular issue who show up for a hearing?

Is there no one in the assembly of delegates who has the courage to stand up and say, "Enough is enough. We will find solutions."? Can none of these people think outside the box?

We are, first, a nation of people, not of beaches, streets, parking lots, shopping malls, whales or whatever. Why do our political leaders ignore the teachings of Jesus when he commands us to love our neighbors as we would want to be loved?

Why do so many of our "leaders" forget that people come first, and that we must prioritize and set aside sufficient funds to assure the safety and well-being of those unable to care for themselves -- whether they are homeless men and women, abused women and children, families unable to pay for needed medical care or people with limited incomes who are barely surviving?

Must so many of our political representatives wait for the other person to find solutions and make little effort to take the initiative to find the funds necessary to care for so many of our people in need?

Do our political leaders relish the presence of people living and hanging out on the streets and in the woods, dying in the cold or just eking out a living? Do they really care? Do our political leaders realize that we no longer need to warehouse homeless people with serious substance abuse problems and now have programs to provide for the recovery of so many people in need?

Frankly, I am sick and tired of our political representatives saying we do not have enough funds in the budget to care for the least of our brethren. Please, political "leaders," do something positive. Do not just sit there and tell us that we can provide for our needy only when more houses are sold. We all know that there are many excellent programs across the Cape, and especially in the Hyannis area, to help those unable to help themselves, those without homes.

Does anyone care that these programs will disappear or their effectiveness be greatly curtailed if adequate funds are not forthcoming? Of particular interest to me is the Pilot House program in Hyannis, which was established about four years ago for hard-to-reach, chronically homeless adults with active substance abuse and/or occurring disorders, as well as the Overnights of Hospitality program.

I am involved in each of these programs and can speak on the issue with some experience. The Pilot House was established in January 2003, some months after the camps of homeless people were bulldozed in the summer of 2002. Without Pilot House, real people like you and me lived in tents in a state park here on the Cape.

Can you believe that here we are, in the 20th century, and some of our brothers and sisters had to live in tents? These people had no place to go. Maybe some of our leaders should spend a few nights in the woods, or even a few nights on a cot or mattress in one of the churches that house the homeless, in order to appreciate the seriousness of this matter and the need to continue existing programs.

It is so easy for me to forget, after 18 months of visiting Pilot House, that the facility and other comparably effective shelters are residences for chronically homeless adults with substance abuse and/or mental disorders.

After one comes to know these good people and appreciate the effectiveness of this program, it is difficult to think of them as homeless or as having substance abuse problems. Do any of our political leaders take the time to visit and meet the people living in such residences as the Pilot House? Believe me, the people who live in there and in other similar shelters are very real and wonderful people.

As I have come to know them, I have gained much respect and affection for them as they strive to become sober after many years of substance abuse, to recover their health and to better themselves. As one of several volunteers there, I have learned that the House is much more than a place for people without a home. It provides shelter to adults who want to regain their health, sobriety and some stability in their lives.

Of significance is that it serves as a modified therapeutic community shelter, where residents work together and independently with a desired outcome of being able to transition to more permanent housing. We strive to help many homeless people affirm and enhance their self worth and dignity.

These are our people. They live here in our midst, not thousands of miles away. Not one homeless person should be thrown away because the present budget cannot provide. The Pilot House program works. It's effective. Why discard it and have its residents end up on the streets or in the woods? We are a community of people, and the well-being of our vulnerable brothers must come first.

I am curious to know what our county political leaders think will happen to these good people. As I read the newspaper and listen to their comments during televised budget hearings, I get the distinct impression that some of them could care less. One cannot just wave his or her hand and expect the need to disappear.

As I near the end of my seventh decade on this planet, I obviously have no axe to grind. But I would like to think that the people who come after me care about our disadvantaged brothers and sisters. I implore our political leaders to find solutions to the funding problems as they pertain to the poor and the homeless.

Wake up political, business and church leaders. You can accomplish so much. You can move people. Provide some leadership. The funds are out there, but is the will?

The writer lives in Centerville.