Response from those on the Streets on the Ordinance

My name is Karole Mcghee and I have been a homeless resident on the streets of Jeffersonville for over 2 years. In that time I have had my Items stolen by the city with no fair warning that they were going to “clean” the area. I have also had encounters with police officers who stopped me walking down the street and were nice and polite talking to me….until they found out I was headed toward a bridge to go to sleep… then it became a very unpleasant conversation. I HAVE BEEN HARRASSED BY POLICE COUNTLESS TIMES! i have also seen churches and KIDS come to our feedings and feed us every single day. i have listen to teens and kids tell me how they hope when they grow up they have enough money to help us all so we don’t have to be homeless anymore. i have seen kids cry because they are sad for us!!!! i have watched as my own life took a turn and even though i myself am homeless i want to do nothing but help..(.so what if I am homeless…as long as i can help this person or that person get closer to not being homeless)… i have been to countless homeless feedings and whereas we do have the occasional drunk or druggie show up…we end up helping mostly mentally ill or physically handicapped persons.not everyone who is homeless CHOOSES to be….some do but that is another mental handicap. weather they battle addiction or secrets…. they are homeless because they do not know another way or they have never been given the opportunity. The city of Jeffersonville has spent a lot of money over the past 5 years or so. in my time here they started the study team….(and first of all im not a lab rat…do not study me…ask me and i will tell you)…. they are still in the process of building a park at the end of the jeff side of the walking bridge..that of which i bet cost a pretty penny…AND NOT TO MENTION THE KIDS I HAVE SEEN HURT ON IT BECAUSE ITS NOT FINISHED YET NOR BLOCKED OFF!!! Paul Stensrud has been nothing but kind to us. yet i have seen him take fists and feet and bottles and sticks to the face (metaphorically speaking….kinda) because he has to kick us out of an area that the CITY does not want us in…. why is the city letting him catch all the flack? why do the city officials not come down here and talk to THE HOMELESS themselves??? they hide behind their desks and file the papers but non of them come to a feeding…non of them see the love that our Exit-0 family has. i came from a very dark place in my old life…Paul and his family… (actual family…like his 14 year old daughter comes to volunteer and i love her to death!!!) they have helped me to become the person i am today. they showed me that love is the most important thing the world. i and my boyfriend was baptized by Exit-0 and i wanted so bad for my family to be there…MY EXIT-0 FAMILY!!! we don’t have money….we don’t have clean clothes. we don’t have shelter…but we love each other…besides needing a place to lay my head at night all i needed was love in my life and that is what Paul Stensrud and his Biological and Exit-0 family gave me. (and let me point out that most homeless people are within the public eye all day everyday roaming around the city…..but when we go to bed at night no one sees us…they are asleep…we are asleep…not bothering no one….but we are an eyesore when we are asleep??? it makes no sense!!) i do believe is that if the city counsil wants to make a fair decision on how the homeless should be treated they should come to some feedings…they should mingle and get to know the people. they should do more than just look at police records and reports about all the bad stuff that comes up. they need to become involved on a more personal level. and then maybe they would get a better idea of how tough it is to be homeless and maybe we would get just a lil bit of help…we would love a building…but if anything all we want is a place to be allowed to pitch a tent…and SLEEP!!! IS SLEEP REALLY TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?!?!?!?