Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502160007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAL THOMAS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
IT'S THE dead of winter. During recent Republican administrations this has meant numerous network television reports on the homeless. These reports usually linked the ``insensitive'' and ``harsh'' policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations to the plight of those who slept on heating grates and, on occasion, froze to death.
With the exception of a few local newscasts, the homeless watch is virtually over for the networks. There have been no suggestions that President Clinton is to blame for those foraging in trash cans and eating out of Dumpsters or sleeping in cardboard boxes.
One man is trying to rise above the political battle by actually doing something to help the homeless. Not only is Ohio Congressman Tony Hall a Democrat, he is proposing a solution that might work and wouldn't cost the taxpayers any money - something that ought to appeal to Republicans.
Beginning in his home district of Dayton, Hall has persuaded the local Democratic Party to open its headquarters to homeless people. Sounding like some of his Republican colleagues, Hall said, ``Government alone cannot solve these problems. Private organizations must also bear the burden.''
The chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party, Dennis Lieberman, announced that empty upstairs rooms of the party's building in Dayton will be equipped with bunk beds to house as many people as possible. Most will be the overflow from the St. Vincent Hotel, which currently pays through the local shelter program for overflow residents to sleep in other hotels.
Lieberman says the party's offer should reduce or eliminate those expenses, currently running between $10,000 to $15,000 per year. Local Democrats estimate it will cost the party between $1,000 and $2,000 a year to maintain their building as a facility for the homeless. They say they will bear the cost, whatever it is.
Hall also wants doctors, dentists, lawyers and other professionals to donate their services to needy people in the community. If the homeless are able to work, they will receive job counseling, resume help and, it is hoped, be directed into the Job Training Partnership program and develop the skills they need to find jobs.
The executive director of St. Vincent, Jim Butler, told the Dayton Daily News: ``This is an ideal solution to a problem we've been facing for the past five years. The community didn't want to create another shelter because of the financial burdens that would have resulted.''
An ``ideal situation'' is not a phrase usually associated with the homeless problem. But if Democrats and Republicans could get together on this significant social concern, they might become a model for other groups and individuals that political and philosophical differences don't mean people can't work together in true compassion and charity.
The Republican rap is that Democrats see problems as opportunities to create new, expensive and unworkable federal programs. The Democratic rap is that Republicans care too little about the poor and hungry. Hall is providing by example a way to bridge that philosophical gap and to demonstrate that where compassion and humanity are concerned, party labels should be checked at the door of at least one party's headquarters.
Democrats are showing the way in Dayton. Can Republicans afford to be left behind in that city and in other communities?
- Los Angeles Times Syndicate
by CNB