Help needed with real human rights offenders

Congratulations to the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force for the large financial windfall. Since there really are not any pressing human rights offenders threatening our peaceful existence, might I suggest you use some of that money to fight some of the real human rights offenders in Bonner County?

Hunger: Let’s gift some of that money to the local food bank.

They do a great job of feeding families and individuals in are area who need help with what I think is a basic human right. The food bank is always in need of help especially with our economy in shambles.

Housing: We have families that due to some unfortunate past actions can’t rent an apartment or house for them and their children.

Why not set up some kind of grant program that provides some bonding for landlords so they are more likely to rent to these families who are trying to rebuild their lives? We have families with small children paying day-to-day rent at some of our local motels because they either have a record or other issues. Certainly a roof over their head is a worthwhile human rights issue.

Children: This is a broad area of concern.

They need coats to stay warm so let’s use some of that money to purchase some coats. There are a number of organizations that can identify children in need and provide their coat sizes.

With Christmas here and so many local families trying to provide their children with some sense of normal, why not call Walmart and other stores who have layaway programs, ask which ones have children’s toys and offer to pay them off. Certainly this could be a helping hand that might just pay off in the future and keep these kids from joining a hate group.

Local school district: Seems to me like there are a number of needs within our schools for some financial help.

Let’s use some of that money to offset the continued rise in costs for our schools, maybe direct some money into their food program that serves the children of our community.

There are a great number of ways to use that money for positive and proactive human rights issues that plague our community every day. I think it’s time we put that money to good use … don’t you?

Besides, the Bonner County Sheriff and the FBI are tracking the haters so you can focus on supporting the real issues in our community.

DAN McDONALD

Sandpoint