One of my friends has called 211 a number of times for rental assistance, when they were at risk of losing their housing. 211 advised them that there was nothing local orgs could do if they were *still housed*.

211 told them to put all their stuff in storage & live in their car, if they wanted help.

However, services are stretched so thinly that "quickly" is on the order of weeks, sometimes months, even for those in greatest need.

Tangentially, I learned something about 211 this year that I didn't know before.

Locally, social service orgs prioritize the most vulnerable people. That's as it should be - it's a kind of triage. The people most in need get help the most quickly.

At the same time, I wonder what the homeless encampment along a nearby major arterial will do. I know there isn't room for them all in the local shelters. Will they find space to keep warm?

I read that it may get snowy here this week.

I WFH so don't mind the snow anymore. It's beautiful & quiet & puts a stillness over everything. It also replenishes our snowpack, which will be our water supply for next summer.

@ceorl @Notokay @CoSoTips TIL you can use 2 fingers on a trackpad to scroll. 40 years of using computers & I never knew. Thank you!

@heyrhiannon Hmm not sure, I have it set to Dark Mode now because oddly that's easier on my eyes - I'll try that.

@Notokay @CoSoTips Hah OK so it's not just me! Yeah sometimes it vanishes on me, too. I find myself having to minimize or adjust the zoom on my browser window, & then I might find it but everything is smaaaaallll & I can't see it.

Aging sucks...

@Sassypants0210 Oh good, that will help the daughter a lot.

People shouldn't have to go through this shit with cops. & I'm glad she has resources to help her.

@Sassypants0210 Legal battles are *hard*. They take time & money & energy & can suck your life away. Doesn't mean they aren't worth it, or shouldn't be done, only that it's a good idea to really think & feel about what they *can* do w/o draining themselves. It's perfectly OK if they get fired up & go for it, & perfectly OK if they decide not to.

@Sassypants0210 Political rabble-rousing is also an option, if they're up to it: who's the cops' boss? Who's *his* boss? & up from there - who holds them accountable, in that area? Anyone?

& reassurance that they don't actually have to take this all on, if they aren't up for it.

@Sassypants0210 Not knowing more about their lives, the details are less important than just making sure she has trauma-informed support of some kind.

@Sassypants0210 I don't know what that kind of support will look like - therapy, temporar boost in any meds (under doc's supervision), rest & comfort & plenty of everything she needs to physically be healthy... might be religious support, if that's more their jam...

@Sassypants0210 Yes - if they're so inclined, their local jurisdiction may have some sort of pro bono attorney clinics or service, & they might look for a civil rights atty there.

Also, extra therapy or similar for her daughter. She's been traumatized & will need emotional support.

Hey does anybody else have a bit of trouble seeing the bottom horizontal scroll bar on this site? I sure do. It's this tiny narrow thing, dark gray on black, & my aging eyes can't see it. Guessing there's some accessibility settings somewhere? @CoSoTips

OH SHIT IT'S A REALLY AWFUL BARD

@DumbDonnyDrumpf Yeah I was thinking a 0.5 $B each, that'd probably capture quite a few political figures.

OH SHIT IT'S A FALMER

@DumbDonnyDrumpf I'd buy a few members of Congress & give some SCOTUS justices a financial incentive to change their careers.

@GentlyFeral Hee thanks. I'm sure I'll come up with a zillion more. Feel free to steal & propagate!