Well, here we are, the day before Thanksgiving when we should all take a moment and be thankful for the tings we have; health, home, family, love.......but what about those that have no home to go to, or family to take them in, or do not feel love?
What about them?
They have, at least in San Luis Obispo, California, Dan de Vaul to thank. de Vaul, a rancher, has, for years, illegally housed homeless people on his own property. And how do we thank Dan de Vaul for doing what so many simply couldn't, or wouldn't? He was arrested, tried, fined, and after refusing probation, sentenced to 3 months in jail for two misdemeanor violations of building and safety codes at his Sunny Acres ranch.
But Dan De Vaul refused the terms of his probation because he said it would mean he could no longer provide shelter for about 30 people who reside in his sober-living facility. For eight years, he’s operated the program on his 72-acre ranch, housing clients in mobile homes, tents, garden sheds and an aging Victorian home.For a time, he also housed people in a three-story stucco barracks until it was shut down last year.
So, why won't Dan de Vaul take probation? “The first condition of probation is obey all laws,” De Vaul said. “I’m proud to go to jail for housing the homeless.”
Sometimes doing the right thing gets you a big fat thank you, and sometimes, in San Luis Obispo anyway, it gets you jail time.
What a sweetheart!
ReplyDeleteNice story to hear at this time of year. There should be more like him doing the Civil Disobedience thing in support of common decency and common sense.
ReplyDeleteHave a great Thanksgiving.
Gobble Gobble.
What a generous man! Its a shame 'the rules' are not on his side.
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