the simple way again

... is facing the aftermath of a city authority that has forgotten them.
Keep them in your prayers. Make a phone call. The simple thing to do is apparently not the easiest.

URGENT APPEAL: After the fire, police assured us that they would remain on the block to keep things secure and to keep kids from playing in the ruins. Unfortunately that did not last. Within days the fire-damaged block was left open, and now at least 3 of the nicer homes have been broken into. The affected houses have large orange “Condemned” posters on them, and homeowners have been threatened with arrest should they prematurely enter their homes (with no communication from the City since the fire on June 20). However, during the evenings the homes have become a prime target for burglary, as folks know they are currently uninhabited and filled with valuables, or at least copper piping. So they are currently being stripped. This week we will be securing and boarding up the homes that are not set for demolition. And unless the City and License and Inspections steps in we will cover the bill ourselves, and we may develop our own policing to secure these properties (but it is disappointing that people are paid with tax dollars for these very jobs, and it’s hard to imagine that homes would be left in such disorder in other neighborhoods). This is very discouraging, to say the least. It is easy to see how people become homeless after situations like this, though we will do our best to make sure that doesn’t happen.