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IN PERSPECTIVE
My name is Stacy and I am homeless. I do not have any substance abuse issues so I thought it'd be a good idea to write and let your readers know how we all feel about St. Elizabeth Shelter. I read the article [Cover story, Nov. 23:
] and although the points made were valid I was amazed at the different perspective a homeless person has of this shelter!
I thank God for St. Elizabeth's! I was dropped off in Santa Fe a month or so ago at a large mall. It was dark and cold outside. I went to Starbucks and a manager there helped me get to the shelter. This place was warm, out of the elements and the atmosphere was a friendly one. The folks staying there are like family and they share what little they have with one another. There's plenty of food and clothing. You are off the streets and safe if you have found St. Elizabeth's!
I wrote my 22-year-old daughter who lives in Boulder, Colo. She has lupus and I worry about her becoming overly concerned for me and having a flare-up of her disease. She was so comforted to hear about a shelter where she could picture her 51-year-old mother safely tucked inside.
Again, I thank God for St. Elizabeth's! I know many in town feel as I do. Though the current concerns they have should be addressed, we need to keep it all in perspective-this shelter is a blessing to many. Sincerely safe and warm,
Stacy Denton
Santa Fe
ST. E'S BLUES
I am well educated and have been resident manager of a homeless shelter as well as working in domestic violence shelters.
A few years ago I applied to be a resident volunteer at St. E's. After being interviewed I did not hear back for so long that I moved on. A few weeks later they called to tell me I got the job. This year I applied again and initially was met with enthusiasm and then never heard back again. Now, I understand that the turmoil there may explain that, but it does not excuse it.
It is absolutely unacceptable for St. E's to never respond to a concerned citizen, with experience, who is offering to work for free. The dysfunction of St. E's has led to discouraging rather than cultivating talent. Above all, it has led to an unsafe and inappropriate environment, as Melissa Rodriguez pointed out. I admire her attempt to work to improve conditions. She was fired because a dysfunctional system was threatened by a functional employee pressing for change. As a community, we are responsible to the homeless persons who live in our midst. The shelter needs a citizen oversight committee. I'll sign up.
Elis Wilson
Velarde, NM
NO SHOCK
I read the Dan Frosch piece [Outtakes, Nov. 30:
] and was mildly surprised that allegations of police brutality in Louisiana, particularly those involving a white officer and an African-American suspect, are still considered newsworthy.
I like Louisiana. Yeah, it's hot and sticky and the cockroaches are the size of George Foreman's thumb, but the spirit of the place is undeniable. The men with whom I lived and worked in the offshore oil field had overcome extreme poverty, piss-poor schools, drug and alcohol addiction, rampant government corruption, unchecked corporate greed and now the wrath of an eight-month hurricane season to scratch out a marginal living in what amounts to a backfilled swamp. HOWEVER, talk of "the new South," circulating since the early days of the Carter administration is, if not an outright fabrication, then certainly where the Bayou State is concerned, an unjustified exaggeration. In Louisiana and Mississippi, one still hears the profanity
nigger
used so often in casual, "friendly" conversation with white men and women that what becomes clear almost immediately is that Lincoln never really freed the slaves.
He just arranged for them to get paid.
Kevin Threadgold
Santa Fe
CLINTON RHYMES?
This year's Poetry winners [Cover story, Dec. 14:
] reminded me why I rarely pick up the Reporter. I am looking forward to reading the winners' offerings of next year's Poetry category: "Hillary Clinton."
KC Mosier II
Santa Fe
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