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Graham: Rules needed to keep Sun City beautiful

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A couple of points, please.

I consider myself a charitable and compassionate person. I support and contribute to organizations that serve the homeless and will continue to do so. My philosophy is that we as a society must help those who legitimately cannot help themselves, and for those who are both physically and mentally capable of helping themselves, we must insist they do so.

I am a retired police officer. In my decades of service, I have encountered many street people and beggars who are allegedly homeless. Some are legitimately in need. However, all too many are where they are by choice. When I have offered to refer them for assistance and even to transport them, they refuse. They beg at street corners because it is lucrative for them to do so. They act and dress to elicit maximum sympathy, but I have found many with large amounts of cash in their pockets, the proceeds from just that one day’s “work.”

I urge you not to give cash to a street corner beggar. Instead, give them a card showing sources of aid for them. As for the “tent cities” of homeless, some need help, but you might be surprised at the number who refuse aid, electing instead to maintain their lifestyle because that’s what they want. I don’t owe those people anything, and I don’t want them in my community, whether they choose to live in a tent or a vehicle. Suppose some decide they like the soft, dry grass in the pristine medians of 107th, Alabama or Peoria avenues and set up tents there. Am I expected to tolerate that in the name of so-called compassion? There is a difference between helping and enabling. I choose not to be an enabler.

I also believe the SCHOA CC&Rs and their proposed revisions are reasonable and necessary. There is no reason to allow unrestricted on-street parking or short-term rentals, which would be de facto unregulated.

Sun City is a beautiful community with a wonderful quality of life. I choose to keep it that way. I urge a “yes” vote in the upcoming process.

Mike Graham

Sun City