Dear Editor,

An article in the Aug. 16 Sierra Star advised the Madera County Behavioral Health Services and the City of Madera Housing Authority were accepting applications for permanent supportive housing for homeless mentally ill people.

Eligibility requirements in the Madera County Health Services Act Housing Program included "Provide an official ID or driver's license, proof of Social Security number, and third party proof of income."

Where are the cries of outrage from the ACLU, NAACP, Rev. Al and Rev. Jackson, and Eric Holder and the DOJ lawsuits? No ID is necessary to vote in California, or in many other states in this country, supposedly because it creates a hardship to obtain the necessary documents. Yet Madera County requires the mentally ill to obtain three types of documentation to possibly qualify for shelter.

In Madera County it is easier to vote than it is for the mentally ill to qualify for shelter. That's not fair. If the mentally ill are required to produce three types of documentation to obtain shelter, then American citizens should be required to produce one photo ID to vote in local, state and national elections.

Gail Workman, Bass Lake