Kind Of Easy
Agood life is achieved with habits that bring happiness and well-being. Eat healthy. Move your body. Sleep well. Develop meaningful relationships. To those time-tested strategies I’ll add another. Cultivate kindness.
Three years of pandemic and lockdowns didn’t help a society well on its way to being far less connected and more self-absorbed.
One way out of this mess is for each of us to reconnect with the idea of shared kindness. It’s all about being aware of your impact on the world.
The Real Cost
Strategies and services offered to homeless people are varied, depending on the situation. In Sacramento, the city and county provide services. So do numerous nonprofits and faith organizations.
Sacramento Steps Forward created a coordinated entry system. It starts with access from three sources: street outreach, partner agencies and 211—the primary entry point for homeless services. The pathway starts with assessments and prioritization.
But every program requires homeless people to accept intervention. It’s important to understand a huge proportion of homeless individuals prefer life on the streets over help.
Street Injustice
In late June, Mayor Darrell Steinberg received a letter from Michael Bowman, presiding judge at Sacramento Superior Court. The message was clear. Homeless conditions surrounding court facilities at 720 Ninth St. prevented justice from being served.
Bowman cited the disheartening environment and numerous encounters between unsheltered people and members of the public who need to be in court, including court employees.
“These daily incidents include, but are not limited to, physical and verbal assault, public sex acts, open fires, nudity, urinating and defecating on walkways,” Bowman wrote. “Court security removes unsheltered individuals, who have no business with the court, from the main courthouse daily and our facilities team must regularly remove feces and other waste from our entryways and grounds.”
Be Afraid
Artificial Intelligence is going to affect us all, sooner than we think, and not for the best. The World Economic Forum predicts 20% of all jobs will be negatively impacted in the next five years.
Many companies welcome AI. They want to employ fewer people. If AI programs handle the work, organizations don’t have to pay salaries or benefits, just maintenance costs. Robots won’t file workplace lawsuits.
Get A Job!
My late husband Jim and I had a simple plan for raising our son Alex. For the first 10 years, our goal was to help him develop a love of learning. Before schooling began, we taught reading and numbers. We learned through play and fun.
The second decade focused on helping Alex develop a love of work. That was easy. We both worked at home and as community volunteers. He watched us run our business. He did simple jobs, sent faxes, opened mail and unloaded newspapers.