Holy Crime Fighters
Pastors become newest action heroes.
By Rob Moll
July 1, 2004
Hunger Striker
Tired of the sex shops, drugs, and crime in his neighborhood, Roger Huang decided to get city leaders' attention. He sat outside city hall 33 days on a hunger strike.
Huang runs the San Francisco Rescue Mission in the Tenderloin district, so named for its rough character. At least 48 liquor stores and 14 porn shops do business in the 35-block neighborhood. Some 10,000 homeless people pass through the neighborhood each night. With three major crimes per hour, Tenderloin averages two crimes per resident per year.
Huang was employed in the neighborhood in 1985 when he felt led to minister there. Leaving work one day, he found his car had a flat tire. While waiting for a tow truck, Huang watched a group of teens pick on a younger boy, and he wondered what he would do if it were his son. For the next eight years, Huang worked two jobs to support the mission. Huang also started a Christian school.
Huang's hunger strike impressed the city hall crowd. Mayor Gavin Newsom initiated a "scrubdown": the police department assigned more officers to walk the streets to detain those suspected of drug-related activity. The public works department ordered more street sweepers and sidewalk steamers to clean up. One city supervisor is considering a limit on liquor licenses, and another introduced legislation to prohibit new strip clubs and porn shops within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds, and daycare centers.
Huang ended his hunger strike after 33 days when he felt the city had made enough progress.
Anti-porn Outreach
Jim Norwood of Kennedale, Texas, found an unorthodox way to encourage people to attend his church while fighting pornography in his town. The pastor of Oakcrest Family Church began taking photos of cars parked at ...
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