|
A Voice for the Powerless
Sister Libby Fernandez leads battle for the homeless in Sacramento
By Cynthia Hubert - The Sacramento Bee - Wednesday, April 22, 2009
For years, Sister Libby Fernandez worked mostly in obscurity on behalf of her scruffy homeless "guests" at Loaves & Fishes in Sacramento.
The public seemed apathetic and even hostile about people, many of them mentally ill or addicted, who lived on the streets and in scattered encampments and shelters. Politicians were less than enthusiastic about a disenfranchised group with little clout.
Then Oprah Winfrey discovered Sacramento's down and out, airing a program featuring a tent city, and suddenly the capital's homeless had a national profile.
Fernandez seized the moment. She spoke to whoever would listen. She attributed the growing ranks of tent city residents to recession and the mortgage crisis, making the homeless seem like the men and women next door. She chided political leaders for failing to come to their rescue.
Within weeks, desperate city leaders led by Mayor Kevin Johnson scrounged up more than $1 million to devote to the issue. They found extra shelter beds and promised more permanent housing. They dismantled the tent city but agreed to seriously discuss a legal campground for homeless people. In addition, more than $4 million in federal stimulus money has been earmarked for homeless projects in the city and county, where some 1,200 people are without permanent shelter.
"This is more than we were able to accomplish in the previous 15 years," said Fernandez, who credits a collaboration of individuals and groups for the achievement. "It is extraordinary."
Now she and fellow advocates are taking their fight to the next level.
On Tuesday, they rallied with more than 500 people at the state Capitol, demanding a safe and legal encampment for those unwilling or unable to live indoors. Sacramento Catholic Bishop Jaime Soto led the group in prayer. Activists roiled the crowd. "We can do this! We must do this! We will do this!" shouted Greg Bunker, who runs Francis House, a refuge for the impoverished.
Fernandez urged the audience to inundate political leaders with calls and messages demanding such a project. "Safe ground!" she led the crowd in chants. "Safe ground!" She told the audience she planned to unroll a sleeping bag on the south steps of the Capitol and risk being arrested to prove her point, but police never pressed the issue. The time is right for such dramatics, Fernandez said in an interview.
"This is the first time in 20 years that the homeless in Sacramento are visible," she said. "This is our opportunity to step up to the plate and do something about it."
The effort to uplift Sacramento's homeless population has become a full-fledged political movement. But whether it will result in sound public policy remains to be seen, said Barbara O'Connor, a professor of communications at California State University, Sacramento.
The movement has a charismatic leader in Fernandez; a new mayor – Johnson – who wants to leave an imprint; conflict and controversy that have attracted intensive media attention; and economic conditions that have created public empathy for people who are jobless and impoverished.
"This issue appeals to the media and their audience on an emotional level," said Sacramento public affairs strategist Donna Lucas. "Personality, accessibility and visuals of tent city help tell the story and make for good TV and photos. Also, the individual stories are very helpful."
Fernandez, a former Air Force cadet turned Sister of Mercy and executive director of the area's largest provider of services to homeless people, is a perfect face for the campaign, said O'Connor.
"She is passionate, articulate and empathetic, and she has a liltingly wonderful voice," the professor said. "All of that combines to make her very powerful and credible."
But the homeless issue churns negative emotions as well, Lucas said, so the activists walk a fine line.
"Certain actions can backfire and turn the media," Lucas said. "That's always a risk when you have strong emotions on both sides of the issue."
Fernandez said she is hopeful that a legal campground will become a reality.
"I believe that we can do this in a way that will work for everyone," she said. She envisions a series of smaller, legal campgrounds with sanitation services, running water, and access to resources such as mental health and drug counseling. "If we do it right," she said, "it would be a model program for across the country."
Fernandez said she is somewhat overwhelmed by her new role as political activist. It's overtaken her life in recent weeks.
"I have 85 employees at Loaves & Fishes and I have that job to do," she said. "But I am willing. God called me to this point. I am being asked to do this for the greater good, and I am going to do the best I can."
On Tuesday afternoon, Fernandez looked out at her people and their advocates and urged them to fight to turn her cause into reality.
"We are tired of our homeless guests being criminalized!" she said. Then she grabbed a sleeping bag and marched up the Capitol steps, followed by a gaggle of reporters and photographers.
|
