Dear Gordon, our thoughts are continuously with you as you complete your journey. Each of your entries has been more enlightening and touching than the last. You have raised more than money. You have raised hope and community. May those sentiments/movements continue long after you reach California! Love, Ann and Jack, Rochester

Thanks for the comment Bill. Actually, a) only about 30% of the homeless suffer from substance abuse--and for half of those it's an effect--not a cause; more than 15% of the general population suffer substance abuse; b) I was surprised to discover how many homeless people are actually working and/or have/had successful careers, as professors, teachers, police officers, in the hospitality and construction industries, etc. c) isn't it the saddest cases, i.e. those suffering from addiction, mental illness, or unemployable, that we're supposed to help the most?

Agreed, but by only addressing housing, you are merely picking leaves from the homelessness tree without getting to the root.

They need to be encouraged to get jobs, on how to get jobs, encouraged to stay employed once working, encouraged to quit drugs, encouraged to avoid alcohol and much more getting to the core reasons they are homeless. I know plenty of homeless here in Dayton. Most have behavior or alcohol or drug problems. Others just do not want to be bothered to get up and go to work.

One guy specifically said that he does not want to get a job because then he would lose his benefits. He does odd jobs for cash. Another guy panhandles for the same reason, and then runs to the liquor store when he's got enough for a good drunk. Both of them "live" locally. All the wooded areas along the bike path are encampments. Trash and clothes thrown about. If what they wear gets dirty, they go to a shelter and get handouts and throw their dirty stuff along the bike path. Sad, sad.

Granted, there are legitimate homeless who are just trying to survive, but they are the minority, and eventually break free.

First, sorry for the delayed response--I've been on the road:). A voice of wisdom/experience. Of course, when it comes to welfare-type benefits, we know now that the problem isn't so much people scamming the system (though a few do--it adds up to pennies relatively speaking). The problem is the billions in benefits that don't get distributed due to complex bureaucracy--as you alluded to. In fact, as you probably know, this has resulted in case management positions largely consisting of helping people in need navigate and access the benefits they are entitled to. As I like to say, we do live in a welfare state, but the benefits mostly go to people who don't need them, i.e. we bail out bank executives, etc. Thank you for following.

Following your tour, I agree with much of your sentiment.

I believe after 78 1/2 years of wandering the planet myself and observing there is one problem with the idea of sharing. It should be on an individual basis. Every public assistance area I have ever been around is wonderful for a few years, but the residents overwhelm the system and the system deteriorates as the beneficiaries begin to work the system and it corrupts, falling into disrepair and becoming a magnet for malcontents.

If the government gets involved, it will eventually be a mess, full of rigid rules indiscriminately applied, often hurting the very ones it is intended to help.

By the way, I retired from working for the government and saw all the kingdom building and well-intended rule making that causes it to fail.

I'm excited to read and follow your new adventures 🙏

I've been traveling a bit, but meant to write that I've been following some of the news coming out of California re. homelessness. It is a problem, and the fact that it's a relatively easy problem to solve does not mean it's easy to solve. Hope this finds you well.

Thank you--appreciate the kind comment. My journey feels like it's coming up soon (though not soon enough:), but yours is right around the corner. Enjoy the ride. By the way, I have a few British cousins living in London.

I've just started reading through your journal, I'm absolutely loving it and it's helping me to get motivated for my own 7 day tour in the UK England. I'll take your journal with me along the way and pick up some tips. May 5 I'll be setting off for my first cycle tour 🙏
Thank you for sharing your wonderful journey 🙏❤️🙏

First, thanks again Karen, for reading my journal entries and your thoughtful comments. Sorry to hear Rowland's idea backfired. Of course, I'm not a betting person, but I'd bet $100 that his idea(s) were not exactly the same as mine, because I haven't told you my ideas yet:). Seriously, I've been involved in districts that have virtually eradicated homelessness, and lived in places where none existed. There are many ways...

Ha! To some extent gloves are gloves.

You sound so promising. Rowland Rebele had the same idea as yourself, but it has backfired terribly here. “If you build it, they will come”, and they have. I also believe our too small police force coupled with no viable mental or drug solutions has allowed the escalation to become too large to solve in this “small” city of mine.
The temperate weather along the Pacific Coast is also another draw.
We as a people are going backward and not forward with this situation all over the world.

My husband, Michael wears his old canvas painting gloves..😂

Awesome Bontrager pick!

I haven't been to Santa Cruz in a while, but I enjoyed the couple of times I was there. Would love to help: homelessness is a relatively easy problem to solve--not solving it is extremely costly.