Safe Space was a response to a dire need in the Chico area of below freezing temperatures and Arctic winds. However, people living on the streets has been an on-going issue since before 10years ago when the Torres Shelter came in to housing the homeless and the more recent economic decline, which I am sure is not unlike many other spaces all around the country and the world. The marginalized population in our world which is cast off to being a product of capitalism or in other places in the world a destiny of their cast; in the United States we call it 'homeless'; in India it is referred to as "the untouchables;" at any rate people who are from the very sake of my understanding are biologically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and all other things that make us human the same are given much less then a run of the mill second class status. These fellow humans are blatantly ignored.
For what reason? Maybe it is to difficult to address the needs of a surmounting populous of people diagnosed from here to the moon, aging, drug addicted, emotionally scarred, and in many accounts given up on themselves.
FEAR from the folks receiving the services because of past disappoint, being shun or kicked out of places, legal ramifications, and basis judgement.
FEAR from those providing services because of lack of knowledge, possible violent outbreaks, mental health outbursts, or contagious illnesses. It runs the gamut, it is all there. The reality that there is an endless road of rationalizations for fear and also misgivings about the work of unconditional love.
Love is action, we think, speak, move, and do in love. Love is work. Love is continually adapting to the moment. Love is humanity. Preoccupation with a lifestyle that allows an acquisition of a mini empire of our own has left little value to the engrained necessities we each possess.
One of my first nights here at Safe Space, I got caught up in a conversation with a guest about such the topic of philosophical discourse. A treasure in my existence truly. Our conversation was on the pragmatics of homelessness and the ability to properly assess the vast population that reside on the streets. Our conversation took many a course, but eventually landed on the topic of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. It was as though a chime had rung through the room, many other occupants of the space began to listen intently. Nearing the end of our short, in-depth conversation, crossing time, space, and economic status, this gentlemen and I validated a truth for one another about the dignity and self worth of a person to access their basic needs, which includes being sheltered and fed. If only, this was evidently valued and necessary to all the Julius Caesar's & Napoleon Bonaparte's that live within each of us.
It is a challenge to be present to yourself in others in the face of great adversity, but it is also a pleasure. In these moments we have opportunity to see each other as we authentically are and the potential of what may come.
Dive in to the mystery which is your own humanity. Challenge yourself to grow. Remember we reap what we sow.
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