That’s the accusation of the Rapid City Police Chief.

The Mayor “supports the position of the Police Chief”.

You may wonder how a warming shelter could be responsible for someone freezing to death under a bridge.  You would be in good company.  Such a ridiculous allegation is hard to comprehend.

Four people have frozen to death in Rapid City so far in 2018.  Yes, four people.  Yes, frozen to death.

Concerned citizens banned together to do something about it.  The plan was simple enough.  Any time the temperature dropped below twenty degrees, there would be a warm shelter for homeless people to find refuge.  During some brutal winter nights, the plan may have already saved some lives.  These Warming Centers have provided shelter for men, women and children in the area.

One of the challenges is dealing with drugs and alcohol.  Many homeless people are deep in the bondage of addiction.  That isn’t any surprise.  The organizers of the warming shelters hadn’t established policies on exactly how to deal with that problem.  They just wanted to keep people from freezing to death.  It would be hard to be very critical of them for their well intentioned efforts.  Apparently not for the Rapid City Police Chief.  He suggests that these good Samaritans are actually encouraging drug and alcohol abuse and creating a “safety hazard”.  Just how the chief connects those dots is difficult to understand.  It would seem, to a reasonable mind, that freezing to death might be a safety hazard.  One might question how providing protection from freezing to death “encourages” alcohol and drug use.  The chief obviously has a different way of thinking than many people in the community.

The media is happy to broadcast the chief’s accusations.  It’s a great story line.  Too bad if it presents a false narrative.

To suggest that these warming shelters are partly to blame for the freezing to death of the latest victim is incomprehensible and inexcusable.

The chief (and Mayor) suggest they would “be supportive” of warming shelters that have policies on alcohol and drugs.  That’s just wonderful.  Maybe they could help by providing guidelines they deem appropriate.  That would certainly be better than their current policy of finding fault and accusing those who are actually doing something to save lives.

Rapid City should support, encourage and celebrate those who have stepped up to prevent the homeless from freezing to death in an alley or under a bridge.

Blaming and accusing is NOT appropriate in any way!

*** Gordon Howie *** is an author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media

Follow me on Twitter @GordonHowieSD

“friend” me on facebook for daily updates.

See more about Texas Longhorn Cattle, Real Estate, Music and Politics at www.ghowie.com

Our mission is to promote Conservative Christian principles, help the hurting and provide truth and information to a lost and dying world.

“It’s not about right or left, it’s about Right or Wrong.”