Arson & Catastrophe Coping Group Startup Meeting on November 4th

Arson & Catastrophe Coping Group Startup Meeting on November 4th

Hello Los Angeles! My name is Omar Pena and I am a proud 20 year resident of SoCal.

I was victimized, (as many of you may already know), by a 'team' of rental fraudsters who arranged an attempt on my life by ARSON, after I reported their illegal business practice activities to authorities. My personal story is at https://arsononburlington.word... . I also publish journalism articles through the Santa Monica Patch.

https://patch.com/users/omar-pena , and various website blogs that I have created over the years.I am also listing this group at Facebook, (see bottom comment).

My reason for contacting you today is as follows. My hope is to start a fire awareness, advocacy and coping group in the local area that may provide assistance and leads to others in similar predicaments. I have no intention of using this timeframe to promote any type of political agenda or anarchistic propaganda. I want to speak openly about fire victimization from a first person perspective and allow others to do so in a climate that will make them feel inclusive and safe from frustration, time constraint & discrimination.

That is all very important and yet it is simply, invisible and not available at this time on any level for persons of the L.A. community. This opportunity could very well serve as the bedrock for a very crucial development in community response.

FIRE , has long been known to be both a blessing to man and a curse, preceding canonical script and ever popular as a point of climax through ambitious productions for profit and spectacle, as witnessed through the lens of Hollywood. My insinuation that a new war is being waged on our American homeland is not by any means unparalleled, over-emphatic or far too far a stretch for the contemporary mindset.

Of course, I have felt a great deal of stigma as an arson victim that is often, I sense, credited by advocates for justice, only to victims of sexual assault. Yet, arson victims are ALSO repressed by the system, by the legal advocates, by the police and law enforcement community, by administration and political boards, to not be overt, to not speak up and to not disturb process. I have personally been muted and shunned from many lawful avenues of due process and from my victim's rights and sadly, I am very emotionally hurt every day yet I remain fluent in my predicament.

And, I want to share the better half of my understandings with those who are in similar situations who may benefit from each other's candor and the social reflection of ourselves. In order to do this, I would require a for those persons interested from the Los Angeles / Santa Monica community, and potentially other university campuses in the area as well to reach out to me via e-mail at usbox121@gmail.com

I would expect as few as two persons and as many as 150. I would like to keep a preparation time frame of approximately 4 weeks and aim for the 4th of November 2017 for a first group assembly. I would like to meet two or three times, once every other week, prior to winter holidays. By then 'we' could resolve with community affairs how to proceed as a movement that need branch off into the neighborhood activities.

Victims' of fire should not be made to feel judged for a lack of stability. The real problem is encased in by the fact that victims of natural catastrophe or major violent crimes-ARSON are suffering by no fault on their part or making and this is why ( a ) coping group is largely needed.

As I can tell, this is a very good idea considering that ARSON now is on the rise as is ...'emergency' 'accidental' catastrophe...Also, we see, this is a very powerless situation that unduly challenges the emotional and physical wellness of beings whose lives are contributions and, otherwise would be ill spent, for many instances, through decades of hardship and recovery. Most frequently, fire victims do nothing to deserve this twist of fate. It is simply, a most horrifying experience.

I would appreciate any leads or advice from the public, business proprietors and entrepreneurs, insurance agents, grief counselors, justice advocates and the church clerisy. But most importantly, I want to reach out to the professional and student body as well as the LA regional community to let others in situations as myself know that people who continue to live directly and confront the challenges fire victims face are desperately few in this time of great and staggering crisis.

Many others are still afraid to talk and it is becoming a pervasive aspect of this style of victimization. That threats and violence can censor. We must continue as an institution to put undemocratic bully tactics into an emphasis of criminality so the related inquiries into civil process, like DACA or sanctuary state status, such as social justice lectures, much like performance arts pieces that challenge our ideals have substance.We cannot HONESTLY continue to claim to be an open air conversation community and yet BLOCKADE against a specific type of community participant due to the egregious burdens and sweeping implications that misfortune creates by appearance and heartbreaking events can have on 'the cool factor'. Bad times are happening and in the thick molasses of discontent the morsel of catharsis does in fact reside.

The fact is that few communities in the US maintain a steady and active fire advocacy and coping group, although groups like AA and NA and so many other groups are round the board applauded for their contribution to changing mainstream social perception of those who suffer from disease. It is very easy to be in ( a ) 'recovery community' because it is a choice. They have enfranchised opportunities, coffee and tea.

However, like sexual assault victims, victims of Arson & Fire catastrophe don't choose to be victimized. It is a cruel joke and victims of fire catastrophe need to be embraced on a community scale, before they become drunkards or suicide statistics or homeless perpetrators. Law abiding community members should not and moreover need to not ever be left to homelessness and suffering for their sustenance and mental clarity. Looking at today's (10-10-2017 ) L.A, TIMES, I am sure that now you can understand how dislocated the endemic fighting with fire has become.

Dr. Martin Luther King said , "No lie can live forever." We shall overcome because William Cullen Bryant is right. "Truth crushed to earth will rise again." We shall overcome because James Russell Lowell is right. "Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne." Yet that scaffold sways the future. We shall overcome because the Bible is right. "You shall reap what you sow." With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood."

This group agenda could also potentially lead to a greater grassroots stronghold on the community and I feel that a stable and reliable foundation is more than just a backdrop. If 'community' can provide for these requests as a blessing to constituent involvement, wouldn't people be the better off for it ?

A community should be an environment that is a safe harbor for freedom of expression and assembly. Community members deserve to request accommodation to access for those intents and purposes that are lawful, and therefore I submit a request to speak freely with you by all by the most convenient opportunity to discuss this matter in person to person.

I will post an update when a secure venue has been located. If you are able to provide a venue such as a classroom, committee room lobby or speaking hall, please contact me. Your consideration is greatly appreciated.

Omar PENA