Open letter to Justin Keller
Good morning Justin. You being an entrepreneur, developer, and the founder of startup Commando.io, you probably awoke this morning in a warm bed and had a nice breakfast before heading in to your job you’ve secured with your education and “can do” attitude. You’re a fortunate man to have made your way and be where you are today. This morning I myself woke up in my comfortable bed and made myself a cup of coffee. I then pulled up my internet and the first thing to hit me is your open letter to Mayor Ed Lee expressing your opinions regarding our city’s homeless crisis.
Just….wow. It appears you are projecting some strong egocentric criticism and assumptions toward the human beings who have fallen through our societal cracks and have hit their rock bottom. How fortunate you and I are to have support networks in place should we find ourselves on hard times… but the reality is many people — mothers, fathers, young adults, children, do not. It seems your judgments are expressed without you having made any real personal connection to these humans or any attempts at understanding the vast broad situations and causes creating the homeless plight. I’m here to extend my hand to you and ask you to walk a mile and place yourself in someone else’s tattered shoes.
I am Brian Jillson, founder of San Francisco Shares, an organization whose mission is building and strengthening community through direct public sharing and volunteering. I began a once a month direct cooking, feeding, clothing, and caring for the homeless walk last December which is now a small volunteer group of friends. We canvass Division Street and surrounding neighborhoods giving soup, gloves, socks, coats, and other items to our neighbors living on the streets. Most importantly, we listen to their stories and let them know we see them. We let them know we love them. We care for them. They are someone’s mother, father, son, daughter, friend. They are human beings. I believe our social contract humanely obligates us as American citizens, as San Franciscans, as fellow men and women, to care for the least of us. We are not enabling — we are simply applying a band-aid until proactive solutions are created to heal this wound. While walking we have met gourmet chefs, barbers, disabled fire fighters, people who have been evicted from their apartments, and some with possible mental disorders or drug addictions. I believe if you come walk with us, your mind, your eyes, and your heart may open up so you can see the reality of what being homeless truly means.
We are walking again Sunday, March 13. We will be up early cooking soup and making gallons of Kool-Aid. We welcome you to join us and spend some time making human contact and perhaps developing a better understanding of what homelessness entails. Come be the change you seek.
Respectfully,
Brian Jillson
