Removing Homeless Encampments

19th August 2024

Dear Governor Newsom,

In relation to the policy of aggressively removing homeless encampments I feel that my insight on the subject may be of help. The homeless need to be somewhere but finding the right place is key and getting them to move there is a goal that has proven harder than expected.

In an ideal world we would bring the homeless back into society as full members. We want them to enjoy their rights, vote, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy. In that vein, building tiny homes and homeless shelters will do little but cement the idea that this is a permanent problem and not one we can move past as a society.

In the great depression homeless encampments were tolerated because there was little option. Again, the ideal solution would be to resolve the homeless situation and see the encampments shrink of their own accord. This is unrealistic but this does not change the fact that we need to work with not against the homeless.

Where the problem lies is that homeless shelters are places of high theft, little freedom or privacy, and to move to one the homeless are asked to toss away all that they own or a good amount of what little they have. Living in a dorm may look better than living in a tent, but they have a tent and can come and go as they please.

Why not designate tent encampment sites where food, sanitation, and civil services are rendered? Let them keep their tent or motor home, but place these things in an old parking lot or the like and provide them with bathroom and laundry services. This would likely be less of a burden on the taxpayer.

They need to be somewhere and so we should give them a place to live where they can live as they please out of the way of the industrial and commercial engines that will pay for their water and power.

Much as I understand that there will be no easy solutions to this problem I recognize that we need to give these people the stability to vote and pay taxes. We want them to participate in our society rather than live on the fringe.

Give it a thought,



Richard Leland Neal

Construction Site in Hollywood

25th April 2023

Gentle Persons,

Your ad states that you’re looking for security for a construction site in Hollywood. I’m a guard with more than twenty years experience who has reliable transportation. I’ve worked a few construction sites in the past and know the ins and outs of that kind of work.

I have just taken a part time job which is on call and few hours a week so I need do no more than call them and inform them of a change in my availability. I have no hours scheduled past the twenty eighth, but I would like to give them as much notice as possible.

The jobs they have me on I’m sitting in my car using a portable toilet which is much like construction. Normally on a construction site I have a folding table and chair that I use. I tend to work the night shift and it’s best to be out in the elements to keep eyes and ears on the site.

Past that, well, I’m a man with bills to pay and I’d never take a day off until I get them paid if I could. You want to hire a man with bills to pay, because such a man comes to work every day no matter what.

I can tell you that during the pandemic I came down with a case of pneumonia. I didn’t miss a day of work. I already had to have a mask on and taking time off would mean losing overtime so I worked six days with the illness taking my patrols and filling out my reports.

If you’re looking for dependable I’m your man.

Best,


Richard Leland Neal

I am Bettering Lives

12^th June 2020

Dear (Social Service Provider),

Over the past year and a half I’ve been sent to a number of worksites ranging from truck lots to homeless shelters, and that’s where I ran into your company. I have always taken great pride in working with the homeless population, and many of my clients say they feel safer working with me than with other members of my team.

In the last week I have been complimented on keeping calm, and conducting myself with consistency and care. It isn’t always easy to keep your cool when you’re dealing with a mental health issue, but I always tell myself that adding anger to the situation will only make it worse. As a result, I’m often called to deal with difficult residents. 

However, in the cores of my employment the company feels I am more valuable to them working with large trucks rather than with our homeless population. To me, this work is just not as satisfying. 

When I work with the homeless I’m often told how I am bettering lives. My residents tell me how I help them get sober or find what they need to get a job. When I work with trucks they tell me I keep the yard in good order. It’s just not the same.

Now, I know I’m applying for a temporary position. My work in security will always be there for me when I’m finished, and if I miss my sixty hour work weeks I’m sure they will be willing to throw me a shift from time to time.

Don’t get me wrong, I like what I do, I just feel I can do something with more meaning.

 

Best,

Richard Leland Neal

 

Hat in the Ring

26^th October 2016

Hello there Folks,

I saw your Craig’s List ad and figured that I should throw my hat in. As I’m sure you can tell from my Resume I’m a Security Officer by trade, but I have an interest in film and theater. I took a good many theater and film units in college and I presently have a BA in Psychology. My highest grade in school was an A+ in screenwriting.

In (Jr. College) and (University) I worked in the scene shop as a student carpenter. I’ve used a boom mic on shoots as well as DSLR cameras. In short I’m more the fellow who is good to have around when you’re filming because I deal with problems.

I’ve been on work sites where I was the go to guy for problem solving, computer acting up, they call me, toilet won’t stop flushing, they call me, can’t get a door to shut, they call me. So I’m sure you can find a place where I’d be a good fit for your company.

If all else fails at some point you’re going to need a Security Guard and I’ve got eighteen years of experience in the field.

Best,

Richard Leland Neal

Putrid in My Clothes

30^th November 2017

Dear Cassi,

I am putrid in my clothes not having washed for almost three days being hard at work in the drafting of comics and such. The nature of my garments is a disgrace as they are raggedy and stained with cat fur bristling from them. I have discarded my undergarments some hours ago as they had grown too saturated with the substances of the body.

The washer hums and so does the drier with the items scraped from the floor after the garage had been cleaned. I sort them finding in there long idle nature they had found detritus. Little bits of things fall to the concrete as I go. Long stained garments and towels, things you would revolt to touch, are a constant company to my work.

It has been longer than six hours since I took food, but still I feel no hunger in this less than an hour past midnight. I dine only when my hands become too shaky for the drafting table as I draw comics as I work on other things.

This is me in the odd twilight of being a man of employment and yet still surviving off an unemployment check. The company for whom I work has no hours for me, and in the low point I work every day as if I will never return to my labors. I work every day as if I will never get another job.

I draft my comics as if my livelihood depends on them. I draft hard and long, but as always I am behind in my work. With some it is a matter of months with another it is more than a year of work waiting for my hand to lift a pen.

The long hours are hard on my body and my gut lives in me as some parasite digging into me and causing pain in my back. My body groans as I rise, but I can only sit so long before my blood demands motion.   I know I need water as the skin of my cheeks is cracked beneath my unshaven beard, but again I will soon need to force myself to eat.

For the whole of my life I have struggled with depression and this is only another battle in that long war. I fear I will fight until my dying breath, but what else can I do.

Live strong, little sister,

Richard Leland Neal

Great Benefits I Can't Afford

18^th December 2017

My Dear (Ma’am),

Having received your email regarding my Indeed resume I feel it only proper to inform you of my last dealings with your company. I interviewed with you folks sometime in November 2016 after passing all your tests and such.

I politely informed the man who interviewed me that I was not interested in the position I was offered, because it paid too poorly to justify my leaving my current employer. None the less he moved forward with my application.

Now, I know enough about your company to know what kind of benefits you offer and know enough about math to know those benefits are of little interest to me if you pay to little for me to take advantage of them. Before I go and fill out another application I would think it best that you check your records regarding my past applications.

If, after this inquiry, you would still like me to move forward with your company I would require clear parameters as to which job you are offering. When I see twelve to sixteen dollars per hour I will assume you mean twelve.  I’ve been in security for nineteen years, and I’ve seen enough to know that I need clear answers. I mean no disrespect, but I have no wish to waste your time or mine.

Best,

Richard Leland Neal

Movie Man

27^th October 2016

Hello Friends,

I saw your ad on Craig’s List and I happened to be a YouTube movie critic. It’s not that I’m famous or anything like that but having more movies to review would certainly help me out some and posting on your website should help promote my existing work.

Now, am I great at what I do? No, not really, I’ve tried to up my game over the years but I’m still a nobody in the business. I think this is a great opportunity for me to expand my review list with newer films.

I’ll enclose a link to my channel and you can see it for yourself.

Best,

Richard 

As a Life Continues

 

This is an essay from a summer school class I took when I was seventeen. To the best of my understanding it lasted a total of twenty eight days. Each day we would write an essay and it be graded. On the last day we would submit an essay to be evaluated by and independent body.  If the Essay was not good enough we would not graduate high school. I had to take this because I suffered from a learning disorder that I was in therapy for when my mother passed. The old man was unwilling to keep taking me to this therapy.                                                                  

‎June ‎23, ‎1997

As a Life Continues

 

 

I was born in nineteen seventy nine. I am told that my (Yule) cut the umbilical cord but could not remember it later. My mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer within months of my birth. Due to this I have never been shocked by the progression of the disease. At three years of age I encountered one of the most complicated and common parts of modern life, divorce. My (Yule) has often reflected on my misunderstanding of the situation, "you asked why I did not come home anymore," and he would chuckle about it as if it were funny. I spent the majority of my young life in a pool, it was a small pool but adequate. My (Pony Girl) and (Pickle) were often there with me. (Pony Girl) was always the thinner of the two. (Pickle)  was a pudgy white fat child with a real attitude problem. He was spiteful and hated honor students. It will be my belief for all time that my mother’s death was the end of my childhood. When you stare in to your mother’s cold dead face, you grow up. The truth is you have no choice in that matter; you just can’t go on without a change.

         

One thing that has always been part of my life even when I was very young was school.  You see my mother was a science teacher as well as a pharmacist. She had graduated from a four year university with two diplomas in mildly related fields. As a three year old I was teaching mother's class with her and, of course, listening to many teachers’ discussions. The early exposure probably gave me some kind of an advantage over other children. In North Whittier elementary school I had problems being understood by other children. This may have had something to do with my vocabulary, as it tested to be three years advanced. I was miserable at Catherine Edward's Jr. High, this was due to the activities of PE. For example Stones were hurled at me during athletics and racial slurs were a common part of life. I will never forget the time some fool called me a Nazi. Being a Jew, I easily explained his folly to him but he failed to understand, "you’re a dirty Jew and a Nazi," he said to me. For this reason, I have ever since tried not to explain things to the grotesquely stupid. Finally I went to Pioneer where I had experience in drama, music, and photography. The overall experience of Pioneer has been very wearying physically and mentally.

 

For the future I would like to put forth the skills I have learned in the Theatre. I worked on lighting sets for some time and found it intriguing. It was this that sparked my interest in technical support and organizational tech. Moreover, I have gained skills in the field and even now I would make an excellent grip. What is a grip? Well he is the man that carries heavy equipment for theater and film production. In other words, a grip is a human pack animal that is renowned for his strength and endurance. However if the field for any reason does not fit my lifestyle I plan on adding engineering to my abilities. Electrical workings are already an important part of my life and taking the next step from repairing is designing. Most of electrical engineering is color coated and ultimately very simple to work on. The knowledge I have obtained should make mastering this field no more difficult than any other of my interests. If even that proves poorly matched there will always be related fields or other areas of interest for me to follow. I'm not concerned about finding a suitable occupation.