I learned that Columbus mayor was going to visit the 3rd Shift Warming Center and I was suspicious that he was doing so just for another Facebook “photo opportunity.”

Yeah, I was correct. He and his staff members (plus police bodyguards) arrived with pizzas so that he could be photographed giving them out. He also walked around to shake hands, but I don’t think he learned anything from the experience.

I sat at a round table watching his entourage coordinate his movements, all while a few boxes of pizza were sitting on a table. The smell of the pizza was everywhere, but instead of allowing people to eat they had to wait for the mayor to get photographs of himself walking around. Ever movement was choregraphed.

The funniest thing I heard was from an older man sitting next to me, “Great. We have to sit here smelling pizza and on top of that I’m allergic to tomatoes!”

The mayor’s chief of staff made sure that he made contact with specific people, but it was 3:30 in the afternoon and not late at night when the basement would be packed.

Therefore, he only had to see a few dozen of the residents. He is more used to talking with the rich and wealthy who have real influence inside City Hall. It was like watching a penguin talking with a camel – nothing in common whatsoever.

The mayor used these people as props for his own needs.

That’s the lack of empathy that rules City Hall.

Will visiting the only 24 hour “warming center” in Columbus motivate our mayor to care about other people? Probably not. Then again, he has a new photo opportunity almost every day to post online. When does he sit in his office doing any work?

The city government that we pay for still has no plans to improve services for the unhoused. Why? Perhaps these reasons:

1. The unhoused may not vote.
2. The unhoused likely don’t make campaign contributions.
3. The unhoused are busy trying to survive.

There is no strategy other than throwing money at the problem every now and then and manufacturing these “photo opportunities.” Human life just isn’t as important as the needs of developers and real estate investors.

And the next day the expected Facebook press release happened:

Dangerous cold is on the way, and every resident deserves a safe, warm place to go. First English Lutheran Church is open now as an overnight warming center, offering a comfortable place to rest, a meal, and connections to outreach teams who help people take the next step toward shelter and stability. The city’s $2 million investment expands warming options and strengthens extreme-cold response across the Community Shelter Board system. LEARN MORE https://bit.ly/3Mp3mxr

Columbus needs a permanent 24-hour unhoused shelter instead of only trying to solve the problem by depending on non-profit organizations.

Columbus has only ONE “warming center” that is open 24 hours a day, but we have thousands of unhoused forced to suffer in the cold.

Would a permanent 24 hour warming celter be cheap? Of course not. Running a 24-hour center would be expensive, but worth it in the long-term.

Unfortunately, our elected government gives away over a hundred million dollars in tax abatements to wealthy developers and real estate investors every year. The city government exists to serve the needs of business and real estate development.

Maybe you were one of the 11 percent of Columbus citizens who voted last November but just remember: they don’t work for you.