‘Guide to the Genuinely Homeless’
The Rev. Larry Arce (Oct. 30) makes a distinction between “vagrants” and the “genuinely homeless.” Writes Rev. Arce: “Vagrants … scam well-intentioned and gullible people who have sympathetic hearts but lack discernment as to who is truly needy. … Any solution [to homelessness] must be preceded by first determining who sincerely wants help in turning their lives around.”
OK. It is now incumbent on Rev. Arce to use his long-developed and honed discernment to inform the rest of us how exactly to discern “vagrants” from “the genuinely homeless.” Is there a “Guide to the Genuinely Homeless” like there’s a “Guide to North American Birds” that we can use to determine to whom to give out of our compassionate hearts?
Wendell Stephenson, Fresno
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 11:40 AM with the headline "‘Guide to the Genuinely Homeless’."