Loving your neighbor is more imperative now than ever.....

A bouquet of tulips were delivered by our next-door neighbor Brad on Monday, just as we received the word that the pandemic was so serious we were supposed to "shelter in place."

Awwwww, how sweet!  Brad''s way of saying "We love you, neighbor." We love you, too, Brad!

When I posted this on Facebook, I got 84 likes, including
a comment: "Greater love hath no man than he
who gives TP to his brother."

We followed his example by making bags of citrus and giving them to three of our neighbors, with a note saying, "This is 'love your neighbor' week."

A young couple who recently moved in next door left a love offering on our doorstep, a hand sanitizer, They texted and told us if we needed anything from the market to let them know, they would buy it for us.

On Saturday, Brad rang our doorbell again and said, " I bring you  not gold or frankincense, but something far more precious: toilet paper!"

Did I mention that Brad is a Christian? Or that he probably deserve sainthood?

Verily we feel blessed to have such wonderful neighbors, whether they are Christian or not. During this time of "social distancing," we need to find new ways to "love our neighbor" and show solidarity and connectedness if we want to stay sane and safe. We can't get through this pandemic on our own. We need panagapic (that's a fancy Greek word I made up meaning "love for everyone").

The reality of the Covid Virus Pandemic has been slowly dawning on us. Jill realized that she was especially at risk because of her cancer maintenance drugs and asked her doctor if it was prudent to discontinue treatment for now. He agreed. Ten days ago we felt safe enough to go dancing in a club in Santa Monica during our "Weekend to Remember" marriage enrichment retreat. Now we dance only in our home.  A week ago the Governor made it clear that people should "shelter in place" and avoid going out except for necessities like grocery shopping. That's when we began rethink our work and our lives....

We decided that we had to go to Zoom and social media in order to do our activism. Our first action was to support the Pasadena Tenants' Union that advocated for an eviction moratorium for those who lost jobs and can't pay rent. We also support helping landlords get through this crisis. We immediately wrote our Council members and urged our network to do likewise. Members of PTU met with elected officials, demonstrated the urgency of the crisis, and the City Council voted for a three-month eviction moratorium during a 6-hour marathon session last Tuesday. See See Rent Moratorium.

This was a partial, but important victory. We need to keep advocating for tenants as the economy spirals down into what will certainly be a very severe recession that will hit renters very hard.

Meanwhile, several of us from the Greater Pasadena Affordable Housing Group (GPAHG) took part in a Zoom call by Faith Partnership to End Homelessness and held several Zoom calls to determine how best to advocate for our homeless neighbors. With the help of service providers like Union Station, we have crafted a letter to our City Council commending them for the city's good policies and urging them to do more to address the needs of the most vulnerable. This letter was sent to our City Council members and  was published on this blog. See Letter to Pasadena City Council. 

Among other things, we are calling for more motel rooms for those experiencing homelessness, trailers, contingency plans for quarantine motels, more personal protection equipment for those serving our homeless neighbors, more hygiene facilities including hand-washing stations, porta potties,showers, etc. We continue to advocate for permanent supportive housing at the Civic Center and other parts of our city to meet a likely increase in homelessness due to the economic effects of this crisis. 

Melissa (center) with her boyfriend Shawn
and a friend named Marianne  

The problem of homelessness is very personal to me.  I have a close relationship with a homeless woman named Melissa who is legally blind and in a wheel chair. She has a progressive, degenerative disease called neurofibromitosis, for which there is no cure. This week her boyfriend and caregiver left her, and she was stranded at a Rite Aid utterly helpless. She can't push her wheel chair or even go to the bathroom on  her own. Fortunately, we have a team who is committed to helping her: a retired director of Doors of Hope, an elder in the Methodist Church, and myself. After a lot of drama, we were able to get Melissa admitted into Harbor General. She is heart-broken that her boyfriend left her, but she is finally safe and getting the food and rest she desperately needs. We are hoping that she can be placed in assisted living or a recuperative care facility.

Melissa calls me her "father in Christ" and calls me several times a day for comfort. She is as dear and precious to me as if she were my daughter.

We also get daily visits from a young African American man who is schizophrenic and has been homeless but now lives with her grandfather. We got to know him five years or so ago when he and his buddies were living in an abandoned house in our neighborhood. (His single mom was a drug addict who abandoned him).  He has adopted us as family and comes around every day for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a dollar. When we give him this treat, he beams at us and says, "God bless you." We feel blessed by this young man's visits. He has nothing but the clothes on his back but is still cheerful.

In addition, a man who was homeless on and off for nearly years lives in our back house as our guest and has become part of our family. We feel blessed by his presence in our life.

In our advocacy work, we partner with many people who were formerly homeless and have turned their lives around thanks to permanent supportive housing, They are now "giving back" by helping those who are homeless to be housed.  Our friendships with those who have experienced homelessness is what motivates us to want for others what we have: a safe, secure home.

Now more than ever, we see the need to advocate for affordable housing for those who are very low income  and permanent supportive housing for those who have been chronically homeless. This is our way of fulfilling the imperative to "love our neighbor."