Our Neighbors On The Streets: A Social Justice Perspective

 The Homeless Activist Luncheon Community Efforts in Santa Barbara to End Homelessness DRAFT MAY 2023 UNFINISHED So many spiritual activists in Santa Barbara have taught me what I know about the practicalities of transformational politics and social justice work.  UCSB Professor Dick Flacks, campus radical and social movement intellectual, was one of the reasons I moved to Santa Barbara to do graduate work over 30 years ago and I still draw inspiration from his example.  The theology of change I advance emerges from my direct experiences as an activist and community organizer focusing on ending homelessness in my community.   I suffer from some mental health challenges which have left me homeless multiple times in the past 15 years.  While my time on the streets or living in shelters is relatively brief compared to many, those experiences allowed me to bear witness to social injustice through coming to know many beautiful people whose lives were very diffic...