Note: The Lawrence Times runs opinion columns and letters to the Times written by community members with varying perspectives on local issues. These pieces do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Times staff.
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It is extremely disheartening to learn that instead of lending our citizens experiencing homelessness a helping hand, there are numerous businesses and homeowners who would rather give them another swift kick while they’re already down and out.
Exactly where are the homeless supposed to go when the shelters are overflowing and their camps are disbanded? Many of our fellow neighbors and friends are just a paycheck or two away from joining them. In case these businesses and homeowners haven’t noticed, rents, utilities and grocery costs have increased at a much steadier rate than salaries, hourly wages, and Social Security — especially since the COVID pandemic hit in early 2020, and so many people consequently lost their jobs and homes.
Now, instead of working with the City of Lawrence and our homeless citizens, these businesses and homeowners would rather sue the city. What a waste of the court’s time and our tax dollars — money much better spent on helping our homeless citizens find permanent solutions to their numerous issues!
Sincerely,
— Diana Marcotte (she/her), Lawrence
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More Community Voices:
Letter to the Times: City should create oversight committee to guide pool renovation project, rebuild trust
”Our petition’s 1,764 signatures, our supporters’ 75 letters, and our research into the extensive flaws in the (pool renovation) community engagement process all indicate that the previously proposed plan did not reflect public opinion,” Holly Krebs writes in this letter to the Times.
Shawn Alexander: Say his name – Fred Harvey Smith (Column)
”Racial violence has been omnipresent in American history, and in far too many of the incidents, the perpetrators of the crime are acquitted or not even brought up on charges. When I think of such cases I am often haunted by the heinous murder of Fred Harvey Smith here in the land of John Brown in May 1936,” Shawn Alexander writes in this column.
Letter to the Times: Are veterans’ sacrifices for democracy worthless?
”My father (Navy), mother (Army), and many other family members served our country in World War II. … They gave of themselves, in countless ways, to stop the spread of authoritarianism, suppression of freedoms and tyranny of the many by the few,” Sandy Sanders writes in this letter to the Times.
