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Letter

Take a Deeper Look at Homelessness Problem 

How dare you speak about these people who have nothing to lose now

By Lynne Ann Kogut

I find it hard to believe that the recent letter writer, in his viewpoint, actually feels empathy for the homeless folks he calls “lost souls.” What is lost is how humanity treats each other. When he speaks about “what we hard working citizens have to endure.” Seriously? 

When many or possibly the greater portion of homeless human beings are veterans, what are you talking about having to endure, sir? Our veterans have endured lost limbs, lost comrades, lost marriages, lost families, lost friends, and a country that does not care any longer for what they gave, including their lives. How dare you speak about these people who have nothing to lose now! Because they have nothing, does not mean they are less valuable than you. To even suggest running people out of town tells a lot about your soul sir. There are no pink unicorns here.

I too am turning 70 and we have a lot of work to do! Most Americans have fought battles of one kind or another as did our folks and their folks and so on. We all had tough bosses, too, and some of us were smart enough to quit that job! This is not a shotgun wound. The game is rigged. The issues are many. Mental health problems that many folks deal with were swept under the rug or sent out into the streets by institutions. Families were not available to take those issues on. 

Some like myself lost a home to eminent domain and decades later the state still did nothing with that land, except to grab it. Some of us lost houses and all our savings in the 2008 financial crisis. Many could not recover. Some lost jobs during the COVID pandemic and then lost the ability to pay their bills and rent. Some choose the life of the streets. For most, that is not what they want. Especially our teenagers on the streets. Family life is so horrendous for them that this is their only way out! The war on drugs does not work. Our country imports drugs like candy. Take a deeper look. And I am just touching the surface. Don’t get me started on battered women and children who must escape with their lives and nothing more. Go deeper sir!

Lynne Ann Kogut
Columbia Falls