IF I COULD, I WOULDGIVE«JOE»(THEPASTOROFTHEFIRSTFRIENDSCHURCH) A «ZEROSTARRATING». This church DOESNOTCARE about it’s neighbors or it’s community. They have been feeding the homeless at this First Friends Church now for over 10 years. Since they started feeding them, CRIME in the neighborhoods around this church has sky-rocketed! People don’t want to live here anymore because what they see on a daily basis are numerous homeless people who walk around and loiter on everyone’s property. They use our alley’s as toilets. If you say anything to them, you are subjected to having your car vandalized. If you complain to the First Friends Church all they do is put an 8×10 note on their front door that reads«Please respect our neighbors». Yeah, like that really means anything to these people — who are drug addicts, criminals and alcoholics and prostitutes. What’s the requirement to receive a free meal at this church? All you have to do is sit through one of their sermons. Yeah. That’s it. And this church honestly believes that what they’re doing to help the homeless REALLYMEANSSOMUCH! While the RESTOFTHECOMMUNITYSUFFERS! Cars are being broken into around my building. Transients steal bicycles, anything and everything from your back yard so they can sell it to make a buck! My garage has been broken into twice! The building I live in has been burglarized 4 times in the past 3 years, they break in while we are at work. DIDN’T THISCHURCHREALIZEWHATWOULDHAPPENTOTHESURROUNDINGAREAWHENTHEYSTARTEDFEEDINGTHEHOMELESS? WHYDOTHEYONLYCAREABOUTTHEHOMELESS? WHYDON’T THEYCAREABOUTTHEPEOPLEWHOLIVENEARTHEIRCHURCH? ANDABOUTWHAT’S HAPPENINGTOTHEIRNEIGHBORHOODS? Why hasn’t the City of Long Beach done something about this VERYSERIOUSPROBLEM? Don’t we have rights to live in a clean environment that doesn’t put us at risk of becoming a victim of a crime? Our neighborhoods are being over ran by transients. They’re living out of old campers, dilapidated Winnebago’s, old cars and Mini-Vans, turning our alley’s into homeless camps. They are routinely committing crimes. Everyone who lives around here or has a business near this church is suffering! Property owners can’t keep their units rented. And the ones who have stayed are afraid to go to work each day wondering if their home will be the next to be burglarized! The First Friends Church DOESNOT live up to their name(they are NOTFRIENDS) because they don’t care that what they’re doing is destroying the communities and the areas around them. Why doesn’t the city force them to rent or purchase a different property/location to do this? We’re all living in HELL because of what this church is doing! And the Pastor at the First Friends Church DOESNOTCAREATALL that they’re destroying the surrounding area with what they’re doing. They absolutely DONOTCARE! If they care SOMUCH about the homeless, then they should ALSOCARE about the people who live in this area and HOWWEARESUFFERING! There is no peace anymore where I live! There is no safety! All you see and hear are the drug addicts and the alcoholics; people that are hard core criminals roaming around in our neighborhoods. They get into fights with each other. The drunks beat up women in broad daylight, I’ve seen women fight each other. The Meth addicts stay up all night trolling the alleys and streets looking for garages and back yards to break into! I’ve found used hypodermic needles in the alley behind my house! I go to take out my trash only to find a transient going through my neighbors trash, spilling out its contents with no intentions of picking it up. There is a First Lutheran Church just across the street from the First Friends Church and during the week all you see on the lawn of the Lutheran Church are sleeping bags filled with homeless people; and transients standing around on that corner. Yes! Believe it or not. .. the First Friends Church does not allow them to sleep or loiter on THEIR property! The First Friends Church has a large empty parking lot behind it, but they don’t allow the homeless to set up their make-shift tents or lay out their sleeping bags on THEIR property! I guess it’s okay with them that the rest of us have to suffer? Just as long as it’s not them! 10 years of this has been TOOLONG!!! Why doesn’t the City of Long Beach DOSOMETHINGABOUTTHIS?!! Why haven’t they regulated what can be allowed and not allowed at this church? Someone at City Hall needs to help us! I pay my property taxes each year. I’ve worked hard all of my life for what I have and this church is single handedly destroying my peace of mind, mine and my children’s safety and my properties value. No one leaves their shades up around here anymore or dares to open their windows to even let in fresh air! No one goes for walks in the evening around here anymore. We are all being held hostage by the FIRSTFRIENDSCHURCH!
