To the Editor:
There are homeless people in Cape May County. No, we don’t have thousands like big cities, but we have a problem of homelessness here in paradise.
The last Point-in-Time count documented 193 homeless individuals. Many of them are children.
There are families living week to week in motels, families living in cars and sleeping in parking lots. There are young people and adults “couch surfing,” bouncing from relatives’ and friends’ homes to have a place to stay.
Then there are men and women, like Richard Mutumba, who live in the woods and try to survive. Sometimes they don’t.
On the weekend of Dec. 10, Mutumba was found deceased in a makeshift tent behind Walmart on Route 9 in Rio Grande. No one should have to die in this manner in Cape May County. No one should have to die like this in our great United States.
Mutumba came from Uganda, Africa, and worked here for 15 years. When he died, he was living on $239 a month from Social Security.
He was sick and rundown. He was waiting for his green card to be replaced and renewed.
His waiting is over. He will be going home now, but not in the way he wanted.
There are groups trying to help the homeless. We have no shelter for them.
The Branches provides hot meals and hotel vouchers. Cape Hope helps with rent, housing, and food. Voices for the Homeless raises money for hotels, sleeping bags, and tents (which they can no longer distribute). That is another story.
Please support these organizations. They all need donations, volunteers, and members.
Put pressure on our politicians to help end homelessness and to provide low-income housing to all who need it. Attend freeholder meetings and be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
There are veterans who are homeless. Some of the homeless have mental health issues. Others are battling addictions, and some are just down on their luck.
Every life is precious. Each of us has a purpose in this world.
We all need to reach our potential. We don’t need any more senseless deaths due to homelessness.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
