April 23, 2019 — Homelessness is pretty stigmatizing. But one group of homeless people in Mendocino County has come in for a lot of criticism: so-called travelers, who have been blamed for diluting the effectiveness of limited local resources.
Dr Robert Marbut, the county’s homelessness consultant, wrote a report in which he recommended establishing eligibility criterion to deter non-residents from coming to the county in search of services.
Mary Buckley is the interim Executive Director of the Plowshares Peace and Justice Center on the south end of Ukiah, where anyone who shows up at lunchtime can get a free meal. In a recent open letter to Dr. Marbut, she asked for compassion toward strangers in distress. We’ll hear what she has to say about the tradition of hospitality, and her concerns about hostility and xenophobia toward unknown people.
Buckley, who led the capital campaign to move the organization to its current location, has travel plans for this summer and hopes the next director will be in place by then. You can find out more about the position at the Plowshares website.