Stop complaining online; take action to help Fresno

In response to Mark Johnson’s letter “Fresno has turned ‘totally ghetto,’ ” (May 28) I believe that Fresno has not turned “totally ghetto.” Fresno, just like other cities, has its issues concerning panhandlers, homelessness and poverty-stricken people, but is striving to become a better city. No city is perfect.

The police officers he saw on our streets in no way define the city as a whole. The city is growing constantly including the plan to revitalize Fresno. If this was not reason enough, the Fresno Police Department has a lot to deal with, including gang crime, drugs and human trafficking. Putting people in jail for petty crime is not a valuable use of our resources.

Instead of arresting people who may be struggling, we as a society need to step up and deal with the root of the problem. We need to have more social programs and volunteers instead of a quick fix trip to jail.

A better way to approach this situation would be getting involved with joining organizations or groups like the Fresno City Council, the Poverello House and others who help people in need rather than writing online about people who are experiencing hard times.

This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Stop complaining online; take action to help Fresno."