The city is establishing a low-barrier homeless resource center downtown. The newly formed Safe Schools Fort Wayne Alliance has issued a thoughtful but, I believe, misguided statement of opposition.
They note the proximity of the proposed resource center to area schools, churches, businesses and visitors. In my view, the location on East Washington Boulevard is appropriate, reasonable and practical. It does not intrude on the focus of downtown development.
The Rescue Mission, Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities, Matthew 25 Health Care, Brightpoint, St. Mary’s Soup Kitchen, the Ave Maria House and other service agencies are already located within several blocks. These are excellent organizations but are limited in their ability to serve all in need.
The city’s vision for the resource center, as described on its website, includes a forward-thinking plan to not only provide services to the unhoused of our community, but to reduce homelessness with assistance toward other life choices and opportunities. The resource center will be guided by a respected board of civic leaders and is supported by a number of downtown businesses and religious congregations. I am confident that security issues will be carefully addressed.
I applaud the city for this innovative, thoughtful and compassionate response to a critical community concern.
The Rev. Terry Anderson
Fort Wayne
Hey, Democrats and your radical progressive (paid for?) hooligans: About your behavior at the New Jersey ICE facility.
What does that teach your children about conflict resolution? Or do you not care about what your children learn from your conduct?
If you do not like a law, then work within the system to change it. Rioting and hoping for an incident that will further inflame your low-information followers is rather base, foolish and very sad.
Bruce Cynar
Leo-Cedarville
The legal status of marijuana should be reclassified by the federal government to Schedule III, a less-restrictive category that recognizes some medical uses.
Although I agree with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, on some issues, I strongly disagree with his decision to join the lawsuit challenging the federal reclassification of marijuana.
The use of cannabis is not without some risks. Many legal pharmaceuticals also have risks. We often wonder who would prescribe or ingest a drug that has such adverse potential effects as heart attack, stroke, suicidal thoughts, sudden death, etc. But the FDA has determined these pharmaceuticals are OK with a doctor’s prescription.
Similar to alcohol, marijuana can cause impaired driving as well as some health problems also associated with tobacco. The 18th Amendment was ratified in 1919, only to be repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Why? Many reasons that include popular demand, money and the fact that bootlegging helped lead to the rise of organized crime in America that is still with us today.
Marijuana as medicine, especially for pain relief, is cheaper and likely much less dangerous than opioids. The time is overdue for its reclassification to a less-restrictive category.
Big Pharma and organized crime will continue to make a bigger profit if cannabis continues to be lumped in with Schedule I drugs such as heroin. We should question the real motives behind the current legal status of marijuana.
Rick Grieze
Fort Wayne
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