Reading the Laney Tower for the first time has given me an appreciation which I had not expected to find. 
I would like to thank the Tower for its approach to the issue of homelessness. 
I’ve spent many nights on the streets even when I had a roof to hide under. 
Like many of your staff, I was once in a state of poverty and on the edge of being without “proper shelter” for longer than a few nights at a time. 
Luckily for myself, I found a supportive family through an old neighborhood friend. The family that took me in had given me time and support to get myself back on track. 
I knew I was lucky in this situation so I decided to try and give back what I could while earning my keep. 
I decided to work as a Personal Client Advisor for high-functioning adults with special needs. Most of them were born with disabilities. Other clients had acquired mental illness through traumatic experience or drug abuse. 
When I worked with my clients I saw that all they needed was honest support. The only thing that kept them out of jail or on the streets was our program. 
Years after I left the company, I heard that the program was dissolved and I had no way to find out what happened to my old friends. 
I really respected Alice Feller’s story (“From Pipe City to Tent City”) which taught me the history I had never learned. 
The misdirected “progress” of economic policies towards the current state of our country’s mental health system is something that I know the population needs to see. 
I was also drawn to KR Nava’s story (“A tale of two newsrooms”). 
If I can give my answer to his last question: I believe large newspapers are not capable of actually getting a proper message to their readers.
I am a firm believer that true journalism is the last thing the media giants will ever again do. 
To myself, reading the major papers feels very plastic. 
I don’t blame the writers or the editors: they are only working to keep their jobs and stay as far away as possible from a descent into real poverty or homelessness. 
I do, however, believe in never giving up on hoping that someday papers like the Laney Tower will be read by the masses.
I look forward to reading this paper: both its past and future issues.

Christopher Morin is a student at Laney College. E-mail him at 
christophermorin88(at)gmail.com.