[Announce] Please help us in Oklahoma City

[Robert Waldrop]

This news, although local (and thus is a heads up 
for Oklahoma folks subscribing here), can also be 
of interest to others elsewhere.  I think it would 
help if letters/phone calls/emails were generated 
internationally regarding this situation.

An 18 year old young man, from an impoverished 
household, got into an argument with his parents 
and they kicked him out.  Homeless, he was 
sleeping in various places around the high school 
he attended.  Driven by hunger, one morning early 
he broke in to the school, and took some food. 
Despite having the opportunity, he did not take 
any valuables, only food.

Because he is 18, our District Attorney is 
pressing felony charges against this young man, 
even though the principal and teachers of the 
school are appealing for clemency.

It is certainly not a crime for a hungry person to 
steal food.  That's in the Catechism.

Below is an email that is circulating regarding 
this situation, which has the District Attorney's 
fax number.

Bob Waldrop, Romero House, Oklahoma City

URGENT Message for DA Wes Lane

Hungry NW Classen High School Student Arrested for 
Taking Food

WES LANE INTENT ON PRESSING FELONY CHARGES
DESPITE APPEALS FROM PRINCIPAL AND TEACHERS!

PLEASE TAKE ACTION!

Despite appeals for leniency from NW Classen 
Principal Tammy Sanders, Oklahoma City District 
Attorney Wes Lane is pressing felony charges 
against an 18 year old NWC Senior High student, 
whom I will refer to as Johnny Doe,  arrested for 
taking food from the desks of his teachers.

For a complete video report from KWTV 9 reporter 
Stacey Cameron click on www.NewsOK.com , scroll 
down to the bottom right and click on 'TV 9 
Videos' and then click on the date 09-23-06 and 
the video entitled "Free Meal Only Meal For Some 
Students".

I have just this afternoon (9-29-06) confirmed 
with Oklahoma City Public School Spokesperson Mr. 
Cordell Jordan that he and teachers and the 
Principal are troubled by Wes Lane's determination 
to pursue this impoverished young man whose only 
crime was trying to stay alive.

Johnny Doe had been told to leave his own home 
after a dispute with parents, and with no place to 
go, he turned to his school. After school hours, 
he climbed to the top of an outdoor stairway and 
made a bed there for three cold nights. During 
this time, Johnny could easily have broken into 
the school and made off with valuables, but his 
intentions were never criminal. Succumbing to 
hunger, he eventually tapped on each window 
looking for one that would open, clearly to avoid 
damaging school property. Once inside, he went 
straight to where he hoped to find teacher's snack 
foods. He did not loot or raid student lockers. He 
did not graffiti the walls or vandalize property 
or steal valuable computers or other office 
equipment. He didn't hang out in the gym shooting 
hoops. He wouldn't even sleep inside the building 
where it was warm. He entered, took the food, and 
left through the same window.

When authorities learned of his offense, he was 
arrested. Because he is 18, juvenile hall was not 
an option. Johnny's case is being handled as if he 
is a serious adult offender. He is a boy from an 
impoverished family who became homeless, as 
Principal Sanders claims many of her students are, 
and who made some improper decisions. He is not a 
criminal.

There are 40,000 OKC students living in abject 
poverty with 86% eligible for subsidized school 
lunch programs, with lunch often being their only 
meal. That is Johnny's reality.
According to Stacey Cameron's report on KWTV 9, 
many children in Oklahoma Public Schools are 
starving. It may seem shocking to hear the word 
"starving" used, but that's what is happening. 
Cordell Jordan says that the schools are in 
business to teach but that because of these 
serious food insecurity issues it becomes so much 
more difficult to accomplish that objective. Many 
parents do not avail themselves of existing hunger 
programs to insure a proper diet for their 
children and Jordan agrees that apathy in these 
cases is illegal, constituting abuse and neglect.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Contact Wes Lane and express your concern for this 
young man. Life for him is already a struggle, 
without a felony conviction!
Please fax your concerns to: Wes Lane, OK County 
DA # 405-235-1567
Contact Cordell Jordan, Spokesperson for OKC 
Public Schools at #587-0000 or e-mail 
ctjordan at okcps.org . Mr. Jordan is accepting ideas 
for a program to provide direct aid to kids like 
Johnny, and he is also interested in meeting with 
members of the community in hopes of developing 
long term strategies.
Contact me -- Jacklyn Brink-Rosen 
horseldy01 at aol.com -- and share your interests. I 
am the founder of the hunger task force known as 
the Malnutrition Coalition and am presently 
organizing a statewide hunger initiative. We need 
your help!

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE ON YOUR MAILING 
LIST -
THANK YOU, ON BEHALF OF THE HUNGRY.