Our Neighbors On The Streets: A Social Justice Perspective

LIGHT WILL TRIUMPH OVER DARKNESS This is the longest night of the year. Among our ancient ancestors it was a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness. Tonight we are gathered together to commemorate our friends and neighbors who have died on the streets. It is a time for us to acknowledge the role of darkness in our own lives. So many people dying. Oftentimes needlessly. Tonight I remember three friends in particular who died this year: Richard Boden, Ray Lenhart and Lawrence Bauman. These three men were all about my age or younger and all shared some of the same challenges I have. All three died difficult deaths. One was beaten unconscious in a park in Goleta and later died of his wounds. One was tazzed by the police while resisting arrest and died later in the County Jail. One died of an overdose from self-medicating for chronic physical pain. I used to see these three men daily as I rode by bike downtown or while at the library. I will not ever see them ag...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wayne Mellinger, Ph.D. Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice – Santa Barbara (CLUE-SB) waynemellinger@gmail.com Longest Night: A National Memorial Day for those Who Have Died on Our Streets Santa Barbara, CA: On Saturday, December 21, 2013, from 6:00 – 6:45 p.m., Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) and the Interfaith Initiative of Santa Barbara will co-host Longest Night: A National Memorial Day for those Who Have Died on Our Streets at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Gardens. The central purpose of this interfaith candlelight prayer vigil is to commemorate the dozens of our friends, family members and neighbors who passed away while homeless this year and to recommit to the task of ending homelessness. Wayne Mellinger, a key organizer of this event, says: "This past year I have personally known many people who have died while experiencing homelessness.  It feels empowering to transform our profound sadn...

The Gift of Our Wounds http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/wayne_mellinger_the_gift_of_our_wounds_20130911 By Wayne Mellinger, Noozhawk Columnist Our journeys through the darkness of suffering can lead us to find glimmers of light that can not only end our suffering but bring healing to the world. Every wound presents its gifts. A  “wounded healer”  is an individual who is able to draw upon their own experiences with suffering as a resource for helping others through the process of healing. A wounded healer has discovered the gifts of their own wounds. Among our archaic ancestors in so-called “primitive” hunting and gathering societies,  shamans  were the original wounded healers. Existing in a cultural context long before the emergence of scientific medicine, shamans operated more holistically and combined a vast knowledge of plant lore with ancient spiritual insights to enact healings that transcended mere corporeal transformations and als...

Wayne Mellinger: We Must Save the Community Kitchen http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/wayne_mellinger_we_must_save_the_community_kitchen_20130826 By Wayne Mellinger None of us knows when we might need a strong safety net to keep us from free-falling to the bottom. Increasingly, for the poorest residents of Santa Barbara County that safety net is being gradually taken apart. The Community Kitchen at the Casa Esperanza Homeless Shelter in downtown Santa Barbara is an outstanding local resource that serves very healthy and nutritious meals to some of the poorest people in our city. Currently it serves three meals a day to the residents of the shelter and is open to the public at lunch times, during which it serves about 120 other people. Due to severe budget shortfalls, the large public lunch program will be suspended on Sept. 3 and the Community Kitchen will only provide meals for shelter residents. This will be a devastating loss for our community, and it wil...