A plea for the homeless
Mayor Emanuel, please reconsider your decision on Catholic Charities and homeless LGBT youth.
Why is the mayor not supporting homeless LGBT youth on the streets? While the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) understands the mayor's need to cut wasteful spending, we don't understand why he is dismissing the needs of LGBT Youth by turning over some services to Catholic Charities.
Now, homeless youth are encouraged by local none Catholic Churches on the North Side to ride the Blue Line during late hours in order to get sleep in a safe environment. Some of these Churches are opening their facilities to homeless LGBT/Straight youth to provide showers on the weekend. Lakeview Presbyterian supports a Cafe Pride that gives LGBT youth a safe space for about 4 hours every Friday night.
Have you heard about The Crib? It's Chicago's only overnight, low-threshold shelter for homeless gay and straight youth ages 18-24. Staffed by The Night Ministry, it is located at Lakeview Lutheran Church, on Chicago's North Side. What is the Catholic Church doing around this issue absolutely nothing and that includes Catholic Charities. This facility was recently closed for the summer because of lack of funding. [Editor's note: The Crib is closed until the fall.]
The RSM is concerned that Emanuel is willing to turn over the operation of providing rides to these homeless youths to Catholic Charities an organization that has already closed down it adoption agencies across the state, and has decided not to reopen its Chicago operation because the clients were LGBT. We do not think it is unreasonable to ask if LGBT youth will get a fair shake from Catholic Charities if they already refuse to serve LGBT families.
We understand the mayor will use money saved by this transfer to Catholic Charities as a way to save $1.7 million annually, and that would allow for the city to provide more beds at area shelters—but at what cost to LGBT youth? We should not be robbing Peter to pay Paul.
We do not believe the needs of LGBT youth should be dismissed in order to get Catholic Charities on board with this program. We are calling on the mayor to reconsider his decision, or to guarantee that Catholic Charities will serve all youth regardless of their sexual orientation.
Rainbow Sash Movement
Hate speech
Letter to the Chicago Defender Editor:
I am astounded that David E. Smith, the executive director of the Illinois Family Institute (IFI), would publicly express his hate-filled demagoguery in the editorial page of the Aug. 1-7 issue of the Chicago Defender. Obviously, David Smith isn't aware of the Defender's long history or its first platform plank disavowing "prejudice and racism in all forms!"
That's why I was briefly perplexed and sadly disappointed that the Defender's editors would allow Smith's right-wing propaganda to pollute the publication's editorial page!
His comments concerning Ald. Proco Joe Moreno's position on the Chick -Fil-A restaurant are another example of how many within conservative political circles continue to regurgitate the narrow-minded "take my country back" statements often expressed by the simple-minded!
I reviewed Smith's LinkedIn page, which states the "IFI works within the state of Illinois to promote and defend Biblical truths to foster an environment where families can thrive and reach their full God-given potential to serve and glorify Him—making the most of the opportunities afforded to each of us by His gift of life and liberty."
It is my position that if Smith were sincere in his efforts to "defend biblical truths" and "foster an environment where families can thrive and reach their full God-given potential to serve and glorify Him," he would simply follow the only known Biblical truth directly professed by Jesus and biblically referenced by his apostle John.
I specifically refer to John 13:34-35, where Jesus stated, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Michael O'Connor
Chicago
