mywolf, I have contributed. I have had meetings with Pastors..I have called the Salvation Army, I have worked at the shelter for men only, but I COULD NOT go on there knowing that if a woman showed up with or without children, I would have to turn them away. I could not do THAT! You say I am on a soap box...but I have been trying to bring attention to this problem...especially the point that there are NO places for women and children! I have talked people who want the same thing I want..I have asked for a bldging donation..and was told one was just donated. I found out later it was donated to a church group who now has it up for sale!! I wish I had the money to get a non-profit tax ID number..but I don't! I have the United Way! I have been lead to think I would get all this support, and was lied to and didn't get it. All I know is that I need those who know how to get a Tax ID number...I need someone who knows how to do grant writing...My dream..my vision was a place for all who needed help, even if it was just a night's stay! My dream was and still is the "Broken Ones Rescue Mission"!! I am not ashamed to say I need help..I get an awful lot of talk but no one willing to help me. Call it soap boxing if you will but if the county will not help...then I will keep crying out and I will keep bringing this to the forefront until someone will help me! I have heard the women have started going back under the bridge at night. I wish I could bring them all into my home so they coulod lay on something soft, be fed and stay warm. I pray for the homeless. Why open a shelter for men but not women? They are most vunerable of all. Take in men but turn away the women? I cannot understand. Thank you for all of your understanding to those of you who feel the same as I do about this. God Bless.

Lisa,

I champion your cause and respect your endeavors. I am also sorry for the flack that you will encounter here as I have found through many letters and comments here,no matter the cause, or issue, you will be slammed and critized by your neighbors and others who cant wait to post opposing views, no matter the issue. We seem to take a lot of pride these days in a smart mouthed attitude. Good luck on getting your message out.may God bless for the caring heart.

I do not agree that some are homeless "because they want to be". Most are faced with the difficulty of just surviving. Some left due to abuse, lack of family support due their "choices" and others have fallen through the cracks. The idea of a homeless shelter is something each community needs. You would benefit in expanding your "research" on the functions of homeless shelters. Here are some of the basic, common ground rules:

1) Out of the shelter regardless of weather or children in tow from 7 am to 5 pm, lights out at 9 pm. No visiting in another person's room.

2) Mandatory drug testing even with no drug history.

3) Laundry facilities may or may not be available but you need to have detergent, bleach and money.

4) No skills are taught.

5) You are allowed to stay provided you follow the rules. Otherwise you are "kicked" out and not eligible to re-enter the shelter for a period of one year.

These are just a few of the rules. It is impractical to spend time out on the streets looking for a job which requires you to have access to a phone and mailing address. How does one get ahead? Along the same note, those on welfare are allowed/encouraged to work but have to report their earnings and the amount is taken out of their welfare check. So please tell me what hope someone has to get caught up on bills let alone get ahead? The homeless need more than shelter. They need support, counseling, education, job skills and medical care. Where is the free clinic in Hamlet or Rockingham? In Richmond County? The cost of child care is very high compared to the hourly wages earned. While I commend you for your concern regarding the homeless, I need to ask "What have you contributed to ease their suffering?" With few exceptions, the majority are "hurting". You might want to step off your soap box and actually contribute something. You could volunteer for the Back Pack Program during the third week of each month. Back Packs are delivered to the schools filled with food so that kids can have a little something to eat during the weekend. There is a shelter in Rockingham, a soup kitchen in Rockingham and Hamlet. Perhaps a clothing drive?

The rules and regulations to establish a shelter are wrapped in governmental red tape. Which is why I appealed to the local churches myself. Like you...no response from there! What is it I frequently here...."The Lord helps those who help themselves"? Yeah, right.

I am thankful the shelter is there..as I wrote, I am a lover of animals..I hope you read that also. My point was contrast! Time and time again building a shelter, for those who need and want help to get off the streets, has been brought before the county and city councils...and time and time again, it has been ignored! Why is understanding and empathy so hard for some people? "Until you have walked a mile"..sure, I know some of the homeless are there because they choose to be but some are not! Stop being so judgemental and throwing all the homeless in one basket. You mention the word "homeless" around here, and the judgements spew out. Some are in impossible situations with no hope in sight and no family to take them in until they get back on their feet. Your life must be nice, citizen, and I am happy for you, but some folks are simply "broken". There are no jobs in this county and what jobs there are no longer fill you with a sense of " job security" as they once did. Some of these people need hope and a helping hand..what is so wrong with that? You sit on your horse very very high, citizen..and I pray you or none of your loved ones ever have to face being on the streets.

And since you are so good at quotes..I have one for you, citizen...

"Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself" ~ Jesus Christ

God Bless you all.

Talk about 'being "blown away"'....

.You obviously have never taken the time to see the animals enjoying their 'lovely, fenced-in "playground"'

just before they are euthanized..

Maybe that is what you have envisioned for 'the homeless'?????

Yes, the Richmond County Humane Society & Animal Shelter do a wonderful job, and that was only started in approx. 1997, thanks largely to the efforts of the Dieffenbach's..and PRIVATE contributions..(after decades of locally sanctioned, illegal cruelty, that will never be admitted to..)

And, although I can understand the plight of the homeless, and especially women & children....The adults made DECISIONS...Maybe, they were bad, or uninformed decisions - but they were (or, should have been, CONSCIOUS CHOICES)...and they are now teaching their children with their limited resources, how to survive via 'hand-outs' from

one agency or another..Am I now obligated to support someone else's kids??? (other than the 40% of my salary that goes to taxes already??)

Animals, on the other hand, have NO voice...The same 'human' individuals that can't support their own offspring choose to have and breed animals -

often for profit (unreported, of course) - and others just from mere ignorance and irresponsibility.

Is it now MY responsibility to compensate & reward bad decisions?

Life is not about 'entitlement' - You deserve no more than what you earn..Pregnancy is no longer a mystery, and it's a well-documented fact that over 50% of marriages (remember marriage??)fail...

and this isn't news that came out yesterday...

Make your decisions carefully & with much thought

& chances are - you won't find yourself in such a desperate situation...

So, you tell me - WHO are the innocents??

Humans have the ability to affect their outcome..Innocent-born animals are just another display of human's ignorance..

Who should we protect?? Those that have a voice,

(& 'benefits & Medicare & SSI') - or those with none??

I think my choice is obvious...I will speak for the animals.....

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals" ~ Anonymous

“Men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”

Mahatma Gandhi