"Circuit Court Judge Sarah O'Brien says the law requiring offenders to register their addresses might be harder to follow for the homeless. "

This is a major problem for sex offenders - and as a consequence, for the community in which they reside as well.  If we don't know where they're at, we have no way to track and locate - or warn others, for that matter.....

Judge: Sex offender registry can cover homeless

Associated Press

3:49 PM CDT, May 28, 2009

MADISON, Wis. - A judge says Wisconsin's sex offender registry law does not discriminate against homeless offenders.

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Sarah O'Brien says the law requiring offenders to register their addresses might be harder to follow for the homeless.

But she says that's an unintended consequence and outweighed by the government's interest in letting police and residents know where sex offenders live.

The ruling came in a case involving Joseph Larue, who is charged with failing to report his address to the registry between July and January.
The 43-year-old says he was sleeping outside of a Madison homeless shelter and the law is unconstitutional as applied to him and other homeless offenders.

"He did not know what sparked the fight."

The single biggest complaint I hear from folks when I mention staying at the mission is the fear of danger they face while in the facility. This is a seemingly universal complaint, as folks from different parts of the country who've come to Nashville have all - to about the last one, in fact - stated that "the shelter where I came from" is always a dangerous place to rest one's head.\

To their credit, shelters do an amazing amount of good work, but one has to consider that at least a portion of the clientele may not be the kind of folks you'd want to take home to meet mom. Don't mean to malign all shelter users here and I think most of them would agree; it's why they make the danger claim in the first place.....

Man critical after he's stabbed at homeless shelter

Suspect taken into custody

By David Abel and Milton J. Valencia Globe Staff / May 29, 2009

Text size – +

An apparent homeless man was in critical condition in a local hospital last night after he was stabbed multiple times in the lobby of a downtown shelter, not long after he had just eaten a complimentary lunch, according to police and witnesses.

The attack occurred at about 1:45 p.m. at St. Francis House on Boylston Street, just steps from the Boston Common. Witnesses said the victim was stabbed in the neck, chest, and back.

The victim, said to be in his early 40s, was undergoing surgery last night at Tufts University Medical Center, police said.

His updated condition was not known last night. Police did not release his identity.

The attack was thwarted when a police officer, working a detail shift at the shelter, was alerted of the fight and rushed over to pry the attacker off the man, said David Estrada, police spokesman.

It was at that time that the officer realized the culprit had the knife, and the man dropped the weapon at the officer's order.

Gary Black, 30, with a last known address of Wakefield, was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, according to Estrada.

Black is expected to be arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court, Estrada said.

Karen LaFrazia, executive director of St. Francis House, said the two men in the altercation were not regular guests at the shelter, which has a day-care service center and provides service and meals to about 800 people a day.

She said the fight was an "isolated incident."

"In my 12 years at St. Francis House, there has been nothing like this," she said. "This remains a very safe place."

Police reported no known problems at the shelter.

"I've seen nastier ones, smellier ones, but this is the biggest one,"

It's simple, really; when we can't provide housing to those on the lower rungs of our society, we end up with....dungeons like this one....

L.A. County raids homeless camp under 10 Freeway

Email Picture

Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Caltrans Michael Gill holds a light inside "The Cave," a vast vault under the 10 Freeway near the San Gabriel River in El Monte. More photos >>>

This week, officials are entering a vault-like netherworld under the 10 Freeway in Baldwin Park, where about 30 people have been living, hoping to close it off for good.

By Christopher Goffard
May 29, 2009

To reach the secret place they call the Cave, its denizens must climb a ladder toward a small, hard-to-notice opening in the tall concrete slab that helps hold up the 10 Freeway. They must squeeze beneath a rusty metal grating, balance on a ledge and descend a second ladder into thick, dead air and darkness. This is home, a vast, vault-like netherworld, strewn with garbage and syringes.

Richard Dafoe likes it here, even with 3-foot cobwebs and the constant thrum of freeway traffic overhead. For the decade or so he has lived here, he has found it a reliable sanctuary against daylight, police and other people.

 

•  

  Photos: Homeless encampment under I-10 freeway

"It's basically a safe place to be because the cops can't get into it," said Dafoe, 56, known as the Wizard for his ample white beard and wild hair. "They're scared."

About the size of two high school gyms placed side by side, the Cave is both an invisible squatter's camp and a shooting gallery for drug users. The California Department of Transportation has tried repeatedly to seal it shut. Police didn't realize people were still living there until March, when a USC journalism student researching homelessness spotted the opening in the underpass near the San Gabriel River in Baldwin Park.

This week, authorities are clearing out the Cave, evicting the few people who live there and trying to close it off for good.

On Wednesday, as a team of deputies and Caltrans workers stood by in protective face masks, a circular saw began cutting away one of the metal doors along the north-facing wall, deemed the safest entrance.

Guns drawn, deputies stepped through the opening into the darkness. Flashlight beams picked up mounds of scrap metal, bicycle parts, knives, syringes and an M-16 ammo clip. They found thick sections of concrete wall had been chiseled away to create little rooms. They found a man sleeping near the rotting carcass of what appeared to be a cat.

Sheriff's Deputy Paul Archambault, who was leading the sweep, found a ladder and climbed up to inspect a series of overhead crawl spaces.

He pointed his flashlight.

"It looks like a baby was living in here. It looks like they had a nursery or something. There's a bunch of rattles and toys and stuff," he said. "I think they put the babies up there to keep them away from the rats."

After the search, standing in the open air and the sunlight, he took off his mask and dripped sweat. "There were two nurseries," he said. "There was a dead cat in one of them. It looked like they had skinned it and ate it. They had a little barbecue set up. It's just wicked in there." He estimated that 30 squatters had been living there.

Archambault described it as "a hidden city" and said he had not seen anything like it in 27 years with the Sheriff's Department.

On Thursday, Caltrans engineers assessed the freeway's structure, and contractors hauled out piles of garbage.

Nearby, Dafoe was gathering up his belongings and stuffing them into a suitcase, wondering where he'd go next.

"Somewhere around here. It's a big river," he said. Wherever it is, he said, he prefers to stay out of public view. "I don't want people to feel uneasy because I'm around, like kids," he said. Dafoe, who describes himself as a former freight handler from Nebraska, said the baby paraphernalia found in the Cave is just bric-a-brac scavenged from recycling expeditions and that children have not lived there.

He said that only five people have been living there recently but that over the last decade or so, there have been dozens.

At nearby San Angelo Park, booths were set up to help homeless people find shelter. Doctors checked vital signs, and hot dogs were distributed. "This is not to take away their home, this is to give a home," Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

Caltrans workers say they've cleared out the Cave several times before, and that the freeway lights overhead are out because thieves have stolen the electrical wire, scavenging for copper to sell.

Don Griffiths, 47, the Caltrans bridge crew chief for L.A. County, said he's helped clean out 30 or 40 hidden dungeons like this in the last 15 years. "I've seen nastier ones, smellier ones, but this is the biggest one," he said.

Caltrans workers today will seal every opening they can find with quarter-inch sections of welded flat-plate steel.

"Nothing's impregnable with these guys. We do the best we can," Griffiths said. "They can steal a sledgehammer and beat on it all night long, and nobody can hear them."

Dafoe doubted that whatever Caltrans did to seal the Cave would be enough to keep people out. In time, he'd find another way in. "I don't say we're gonna go in right away, but it's gonna happen sooner or later," he said. "The only way they can keep people out of the Cave is by cementing the whole thing in."

ACTION ALERT: COMMISSION MEETING TODAY - 9AM - TENT CITY

The camp will remain open for another couple of months at this point, but it's important to attend the meeting if possible. Unfortunately, I cannot attend due to a staff meeting at my own agency.

Here's the latest on Tent City, and a huge hat-tip to Lindsey G for getting it out to us:

There was a “Tent City Stakeholders” meeting Thursday afternoon to address the pending closure of the camp before Friday’s 9am Homelessness Commission meeting.

A representative from the Mayor’s office was present, several commissioners, service providers and advocates.

Erik Cole, Chair of the Homelessness Commission said that closing the camp June 1st would be “problematic” because there is currently no relocation plan for many of the residents.

Local service providers such as Park Center’s Homeless Outreach Program have secured housing (transitional and permanent) for 25+ residents since last fall, but many remain in the camp (and in our city at large, for that matter) without the resources they need.

Erik suggested that they could give the camp 2-3 more months while community stakeholders and city officials come up with a plan/proposal to help the remaining residents. Clifton Harris, Director of the Homelessness Commission, has asked for people, agencies, churches, and others to come to the table to help the people at Tent City “transition” out of the camp.

The Homelessness Commission meets Friday May 29th at 9am at the Randee Rogers Training Center at 1417 Rosa Parks Blvd. Everyone is invited, and there is a public comments section at the end.

"One In 50 School-Aged Children Living Outside Of A Permanent Home"

Even the most depraved criminal is given shelter; it is unconscionable to me that anyone - anyone at all - must live homeless in the richest country in the world....

A shameful testament to the lack of ability by those who profess to lead us....

The New Face Of Homelessness

One In 50 School-Aged Children Living Outside Of A Permanent Home

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May 23, 2009 | by Kelly Cobiella

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Across the nation, public schools have identified and enrolled almost 800,000 homeless children during last year's school year, and the number could be rising. Kelly Cobiella reports. | Share/Embed

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Recession's Impact On Kids
Know any children -- perhaps even your own -- suffering from the effects of the economic downturn? Let us know, and we might tell their story as part of the special CBS News initiative, "Children of the Recession."

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Children Of The Recession
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Stories

• Young Filmmakers Tell Stories Of Recession

• Growing Up Homeless

(CBS)  When Michael Rotundo finishes school every day, he comes home to a double bed at the Budget Inn - no yard, no neighborhood kids,

"I don't have a lot of thinking room," Michael said. "I can't think straight with math, reading."

"You're having a tough time in school?" asked CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella.

"Yes," Michael said. "I almost failed."

Michael is 12, but talks, acts and worries like an adult.

"We can't get a home because we don't have a lot of money left over to rent a house or buy a house," Michael said. "It's just so hard for me and my family to live here."

Michael, his mom and dad have been living in this motel room for 11 months, ever since his dad lost his job. His parents are working again, and they make too much money to qualify for food stamps or Medicaid and live week to week. Sometimes day to day. Mom Julie can see her son changing.

"He worries," Julie Rotundo said. "He's afraid to ask me for things. He's afraid to tell me that there's a school event that we're going to miss. And I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. It's tough. Just imagine."

Across the country about one in 50 school kids is living just like Michael in hotels or shelters, or with friends and relatives. And their numbers are growing fast.

Although it's difficult to get exact figures, nationwide schools reported an 18 percent jump in homeless kids in the 2007-2008 school year. School districts in California and Florida report an even bigger increase this year.

Many kids lost more than just their homes.

"I have like no clothes anymore because I lost them all," said Breanna Martin, a 13-year-old. "So basically I wear whatever I can find. I'm wearing right now my grandpa's shirt and my grandma's pants. It's really hard not having anything of your own and wearing someone else's."

Breanna is one of the hundreds of school children who land in Beth Davalos's office, who runs the Familes in Transition program for Seminole County Schools in Florida.

"Homelessness affects a child emotionally, socially, physically, developmentally," Davalos said. "Their life is not predictable. They're not grounded anymore. They want to feel safe."

Davalos makes sure the kids stay in the same school, no matter where they're living, and helps their parents find a more permanent home.

And every once in a while one of her families gets lucky. Josh Dillon, his sister Alyssa, and his autistic brother Martin lived next door to the Rotundo family in the same motel with their mom Aimee for over two years.

Last December a donor heard about the Dillion family through Davalos' program and came forward with a check for $1,080, enough to cover a deposit for a home and utilities. And that has turned around a downward slide for the family.

"I've seen a world of difference in my kids," said Aimee Dillon. "Maybe not anything substantial that would matter to anyone else but I've seen a change in all of them."

Aimee hopes to get back to work now that her family is stable.

"I feel that they feel they are protected now," Aimee said. "They don't have a lot to worry about."

Davalos also helped the Wega Family. After their home was foreclosed on and bulldozed last year, they lived with another family for 6 months.

"You literally lost everything?" Cobiella asked.

"Everything was wiped out," Richard Wega said. "What we couldn't get out in the 24 hours got left behind."

The Wega Family's three daughters suffered from depression and their grades dropped while they were homeless. The family is slowing turning things around.

"This is much better than what you had a month ago, right?" Cobiella asked.

"Big time," said daughter Kacy Jo. "I had to sleep on a couch. Actually I had to sleep on a loveseat."

Now in an apartment, the family is saving for another home. The girls' grades are improving and they are starting to feel safe again.

"I know we'll have a place to come back to," said Kacy Jo. "If we go somewhere we have a place to go home."

While both of Michael's parents work now, they still can't save enough to get out of the Budget Inn.

"I really wish I had my own room so that I could have friends over," Michael said. "You know being in the neighborhood - go out and play football and go out and have some fun."

"Have a normal kids' life?" Cobiella asked.

"Yeah," Michael said. "I wish I had a normal kid's life. But I don't."

And it's getting harder for him to imagine a day when he will.

"the re-invigoration of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and a new focus on ending homelessness."

"The importance of McKinney-Vento cannot be underestimated."

Yeah baby, go Obama!



Deborah De Santis
Posted: May 25, 2009 04:22 PM
Blogging from a White House Committed to Ending Homelessness

Today I had the honor of attending a bill signing ceremony transforming a major initiative that helps combat homelessness across our country.

With the sweep of his pen, President Barack Obama has accomplished what many of us have been fighting for since the early part of this century:  This significant event was the culmination of Herculean efforts by organizations and advocates from around the country, and by some conscientious leaders on Capital Hill that found common ground and stuck with it. I am humbled knowing that CSH joined others who spent year after year fighting for legislation that will do so much to help so many people. They all deserve our praise.


The importance of McKinney-Vento cannot be underestimated. It has been the centerpiece of the federal government's efforts to end homelessness since 1987. Now, more than ever, with our economy in recession, Washington needs to show its commitment to caring for our vulnerable populations in ways that produce real results for those without a place to call home or proper medical care.


When first enacted, McKinney-Vento had some fifteen programs providing a spectrum of services to homeless people, including the Continuum of Care Programs: the Supportive Housing Program, the Shelter Plus Care Program, and the Single Room Occupancy Program, as well as the Emergency Shelter Grant Program. It also established the US Interagency Council on Homelessness and extended education rights to children of homeless families. Under McKinney-Vento, homeless children are assured transportation to and from school, with their choice of what school they want to attend, regardless of where their family resides. It further requires schools to register homeless children even if they lack normally required documents, such as immunization records or proof of residency. States are given funding to comply with the terms of McKinney-Vento.


McKinney-Vento has helped thousands of Americans free themselves from the despair of homelessness. But the original act needed improving and CSH and its partners have been working toward that end.


President Obama's swift action reauthorizing McKinney-Vento means billions more to help vulnerable people break the cycle of homelessness. But his support and approval does not throw more money at a problem simply with a hope and prayer. The President has assured fundamental changes in the systems and programs designed to help homeless persons, where innovation and accountability will mean lasting progress toward the goal of ending homelessness.


The new McKinney-Vento provides communities with better tools and resources at a time when they desperately need them. It increases prevention resources and changes the current Emergency Shelter Grants Program to the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program. It requires HUD to provide family rapid re-housing incentives so long-term stability becomes the emphasis. This re-authorization continues the chronic homelessness project and adds families with children, and it also designates 30 percent of total funds for permanent housing solutions for families and individuals with disabilities.


McKinney-Vento now incorporates an expanded and more realistic definition of who is homeless, streamlines the US Department of Housing and Urban Development's grant programs for the homeless, and improves homeless assistance in rural communities and gives them more flexibility.

Just as important, the re-authorization requires a much greater emphasis on performance so that states, communities and nonprofits aiming to help homeless people are measured not by their intentions, but by their results.


We can take pride in the quick response of this Congress and President Obama to the many pleas to reform and reauthorize McKinney-Vento. With rising foreclosures and unemployment, the attention and help from Washington comes in the nick of time. I am confident Senator Stewart B. McKinney and Congressman Bruce F. Vento would be pleased by the new, promising direction of their legacy.

"Ten Principles of Effective Shelter Overpopulation Program."

I'm in the process of writing a story for Change.org that discusses homeless pets (and their homeless owners) because there are a number of pros and cons that accompany pet companionship while living homeless.  One thing I know for sure however, is that I'm sick of seeing abandoned and abused homeless critters that endure hellish existences and if caught, are then unceremoniously slaughtered and disposed of.

My friend and colleage Laurie Green, the ED of SAAW,  has done much to open my eyes to the necessity of spaying and neutering one's pet, although I must say that in my own experience as a homeless pet owner, I lost a dog because she labored to death in childbirth as a result of my inability to get her spayed.   That dog - Little Bear - was a huge part of my life and I've never forgiven myself for not being able to properly care for her because of my situation.

Those who know me know that I will do whatever I can to rescue and assist a critter in need and that will always be the case.  But the collective need is so large that every single animal lover combined wouldn't be able to care for the vast number of strays and abandoned pets running feral and suffering terribly on our streets. 

Spaying and neutering those pets is the single most effective way to slow this horrific suffering and I can't thank people like Laurie enough for getting out there every day and helping homeless pet owners get this done....

Providing low-cost spay/neuter reduces shelter deaths by large percentages

May 21, 12:46 AM

 

Peter Marsh/Best Friends Animal Society

Those who attended the Spay It Forward TN Conference last week in Nashville heard an astounding number — performing five spay/neuter surgeries per 1,000 residents reduces shelter intakes, and ultimately deaths of healthy dogs and cats at animal control, by 20 percent.
The only qualifier on those numbers are the surgeries must be performed on pets owned by guardians who are at or below the federal poverty level and the surgeries must be performed at that rate for five years in order to see the difference in the number of deaths.

Those numbers were presented at the conference by keynote speaker Peter Marsh, founder and president of Solutions to Pet Overpopulation.

Marsh, a New Hampshire attorney, spearheaded New Hampshire's campaign for a publicly funded spay/neuter program. The initiative he helped push through the state legislature is a model of what can be achieved in order to provide a statewide, low-cost program.

Marsh's presentation focused on "Ten Principles of Effective Shelter Overpopulation Program."
NUMBER ONE: "The progress we've made over the years in reducing the shelter death toll has mostly come from reducing shelter intakes." 


According to Marsh, in 1973, 20 percent of the entire household pet population was put to death in U.S. animal shelters every year. By 2007, the death toll had been reduced six-fold to one in 30.
This progress, according to Marsh, comes from reducing the number of animals coming into shelters. Adoptions have very little impact on the number of animals killed because of overpopulation.

"We can't adopt our way out of shelter overpopulation," Marsh said. "Even well-funded and aggressive shelter adoption program can't keep up with the reproductive capacity of intact cats and dogs."

NUMBER TWO: "A community's pet sterilization rate largely determines its shelter intake rate."

Statistics presented by Marsh compare Los Angeles' animals impounded rates to licensed dogs' sterilization rates. In 1970-71, Los Angeles impounded 144,000 dogs and had five percent of licensed dogs sterilized. In 1982-83, 72,454 animals were impounded and sterilization rates of licensed dogs had climbed to 49 percent.

Intact cats and dogs are more likely to enter shelters either as strays or relinquished pets, according to information Marsh presented.

NUMBER THREE: "Programs that increase a community's pet sterilization rate are the most effective way to reduce its shelter euthanasia rate." 

Marsh presented information that showed that low pet sterilization rates equal high shelter intake rates and high shelter intake rates equal high shelter euthanasia rates. Conversely, high pet sterilization rates equal low shelter intake rates and low shelter intake rates equal low shelter euthanasia rates.

NUMBER FOUR: "Well-designed neutering subsidy programs are cost-effective."
According to Marsh, well-designed neuter assistance programs reduce shelter euthanasias at a cost of less than $100 per reduced shelter intake, less than the average cost of impounding and sheltering one cat or dog.

Shelter adoption programs reduce shelter euthanasias at an average cost of $500 per adoption.
Sanctuaries reduce shelter euthanasias at an average cost of more than $5,000 per animal throughout the animal's life.

NUMBER FIVE: "Pet sterilization programs only increase a community's pet sterilization rate if they accomplish additional sterilizations."

Subsidy programs, according to Marsh, have no impact unless they lead to surgeries that would not have been performed without the subsidy.

Examples of ineffective programs Marsh presented include: those that give vouchers to everyone who lives in an area regardless of their income, programs that do not control the amount of co-payment paid by the pet caretaker for the sterilization, programs that allow clinics to require the caretaker to pay for supplemental veterinary services, and programs that do not limit the amount of reimbursement paid to participating veterinary clinics.

NUMBER SIX: "Once a high percentage of pets in a community have been sterilized, the most effective sterilization program target previously under-served populations."

These populations include pets living in low-income households, cats and dogs that enter shelters, and free-roaming cats, according to Marsh.

NUMBER SEVEN: "To have a substantial impact on shelter intake and euthanasia rates, neutering programs must achieve a significant volume of effective surgeries."

Programs in which virtually 100 percent of intact shelter pets have been sterilized at their time of placement are associated with a 10 percent drop in shelter intakes over a five-year period, Marsh stated.

Subsidy programs limited to cats and dogs living in households of indigent caretakers that have sustained rates of sterilizing five pets per 1,000 residents are associated with a 20 percent drop in shelter intakes over a five-year period.

NUMBER EIGHT: "To maximize the impact they have on shelter intake and euthanasia rates, neutering programs must sustain a significant volume of effective surgeries over a substantial period of time." 

Pet caretakers in the U.S. usually have their pets sterilized at an early age or not at all, according to the information Marsh presented.

More than 80 percent of all cat and dog sterilization surgeries are performed before the animal is two years old. On average, household dogs and cats in the U.S. have a life expectancy of 12 years. This means programs to increase pet sterilization rates can take 10 years to have their full impact.
NUMBER NINE: "No single pet sterilization program can eradicate shelter overpopulation."

There are several major sources for shelter intakes, according to Marsh. These include pets from low-income households, free-roaming cats, relinquished pets and lost pets. "Programs that address a single source of shelter intakes can reduce pet overpopulation," he said, "but not end it."
According to Marsh, shelter euthanasia rates in New Hampshire dropped by 75 percent over an eight-year period after programs were established to reduce relinquishment rates and neutering subsidy programs were established to increase pet sterilization rates of low-income caretakers and shelter adopters.

NUMBER TEN: "Shelter overpopulation can be eradicated in every community in America."
Most communities now spend $3 or more per resident per year on reactive programs to impound and shelter homeless cats and dogs. A comprehensive set of programs to address the major sources of shelter intakes would cost $1 per resident per year, Marsh said.

The Things We Do For Others While Living On The Street...

My colleague and dear friend BigWillyC was recently wandering the streets of New Yahk with some of the fine folks at Common Ground when he came across this:

yes, it is an exotic bird and the homeless gentleman has 5 - FIVE - of them living with him in an abandoned car!

I tell ya, the tenacity, love and compassion of so many homeless folk never ceases to amaze me.  Many of my brothers and sisters on the street would - and have - give the shirts off their backs to those who are even less fortunate than they are, and when it comes to pets, you can't find more caring folks than street peeps....

Work Takes Off

I spent yesterday cleaning out my new office and I'm telling you, it was one helluva job, but I'm down to desktop and was able to get a number of things accomplished in the process.

Apologies for the slow posting here but until I get up to speed with the array of new challenges and responsibilities, most of my time is taken up with the duties at hand.

Check out The Tent City News Facebook Page

It'll help keep you updated on what's goin down at the camp as we near the "official" close date.

Hat tip to Lindsey K and the gang for this resource....

What's Shakin With Tent City?

I've been leery of posting much about the camp here for the past couple of months, as it has been my hope that things would shake out prior to June 1st and whatever decision would be made would have a chance to settle among those who are charged with the future of the camp.

Rather than bore you with the "behind the scenes" conversations that have occurred with several of the key players in the effort, I will just tell you that at this point, it has been clearly stated  that no action is going to occur on June 1  (although this is no promise that something won't happen on or around the 1st), simply because everyone is expecting this to take place and coverage will be....significant.

There are some with the ear of the mayor who at this point are stating that the camp should remain open for at least another month as efforts to find housing for them continue.  I know that at least one person who has been adamant about the close has changed positions somewhat and, if not openly arguing for an extension, isn't pressuring for a close.

But I also know there are still some who are fed up to their necks with the whole situation and want the camp to close.   At least one of these individuals is in a position to make life very miserable for the camp residents and because of that, there are still a lot of wildcards in the mix.

Added to this precarious situation are the potential actions of the camp's residents themselves.  It wouldn't take much to change perceptions and the summer is just getting underway.

I am hoping, along with just about everyone involved in assisting the residents, that we don't see one bad apple come in and ruin the whole bunch.  I

t happened last Labor Day and by the way, the person responsible for that situation will be released from jail in early June.

There's a big Commission meeting on the 29th and Tent City's future will certainly be on the table for discussion.

Stay tuned....

Taking The Helm On Tuesday...

Just a quick update on the new job; Kathleen Hoffman's last day is today; she will be moving on to bigger and better things at the federal level and I wish her the best. If you happen to know Kathleen, please give her a call and wish her well! I also have begged her to leave me her personal cell because she's got so much info stored in her head that I'll be picking her brain for many many months to come! :-) I assume the full position when we return on Tuesday and am both fortunate and privileged to be a part of such a respected organization. I hope to live up to their great reputation and can't think of anything I'd rather be doing fulltime than assisting those who assisted us in our time of national need; it's truly an honor...

“Today, we seize a rare opportunity to truly transform the way we help those most in need of our assistance,”

Alliance Applauds Congress and President Obama for

Enacting the HEARTH Act

 Bipartisan bill emphasizes homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing,

and program modernization

Washington, D.C. – Nan Roman, president of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, commended the nation’s leadership today for passing the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The bill, which was included as part of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, reauthorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development's McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs, which represent the largest federal investment in preventing and ending homelessness.

“Today, we seize a rare opportunity to truly transform the way we help those most in need of our assistance,” said Roman. “In these challenging times, we all sympathize with those facing tougher and tougher decisions about how to protect themselves and their families. We thank President Obama and Congress for seizing this opportunity to build upon the hard work and experience of the HUD homeless programs and restore our promise to prevent and end homelessness for all.”

The HEARTH Act is the first significant reauthorization of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance programs in nearly 20 years and allocates millions more to homelessness prevention, rapidly re-housing homeless families, and providing permanent supportive housing for homeless people with disabilities. It also modernizes and streamlines housing and services to more efficiently meet the needs of people seeking assistance.

Roman applauded the efforts of both congressional and coalition partners, specifically thanking Sens. Jack Reed (D – RI) and Kit Bond (R – MO), as well as Reps. Maxine Waters (D – CA) and Barney Frank (D – MA)  for their courageous leadership and persistence on the issue. Roman also thanked President Obama for exemplifying the political will to apply proven solutions to prevent and end homelessness for all.

###

Contact: Catherine An; 202-942-8297, can@naeh.org

Some Local Goins Ons That Will Have Profound Impact OnThe Effort To End Homelessness in Nashville....

Every now and then good things happen for the homeless via agencies that are trying to help.  Today a couple of things are shaking; first, the Homelessness Commission's team of administrative folk are having an open house at their new location on 6th, in the "little grey house" across from MDHA's main facilityat 701 S Sixth.  Come see Clifton, WillyC and the gang if you have a free minute - there will be FREE FOOD (the siren-song of all those who work in non-profits!)

Also, the "Room in the Inn" (formerly the Campus for Human Development) BREAKS GROUND today on an 11 mil facility that should do much to assist the folks in our area struggling with issues related to, caused by, and perpetuating homelessness!!!

Congrats to Rachel, Charlie, Rob and the folks at CHD on the start of a great new journey!  

If you can make it to either, go; if you can make it to both, I want YOUR job!

Minnesota: "The 60-unit project, designed especially for homeless vets, is slated for construction on the 128-acre Hastings Veterans Home campus near the Vermillion River."

As someone who recently moved into the arena of serving homeless veterans, I have to say this is stupendous news; I would have said that anyway, since homeless folk, regardless of their former status in our society, would be receiving much-needed housing.  

But given the treatment of vets in this country over the past four decades, help like this is a Godsend and will definitely make a difference in the lives of some who fought for us and our country.....

May 19, 2009 1:13 PM CDT

$10 million housing project could provide relief for homeless Minnesota veterans

by Brian Johnson Staff Writer

A planned $10 million apartment building for homeless vets is shown. The building, to be built on the spacious Hastings Veterans Home campus, could be under construction as early as next month. (Submitted art: Horty Elving)

A planned $10 million supportive-housing project in Hastings addresses a growing concern: homelessness among military veterans.

The 60-unit project, designed especially for homeless vets, is slated for construction on the 128-acre Hastings Veterans Home campus near the Vermillion River. If all goes according to plan, building could begin as soon as this spring.

One among a handful of planned construction or renovation projects on Minnesota Veterans Homes campuses across the state, the project expands on an existing supportive-housing program that provides shelter for veterans in a five-bedroom house on campus.

“That has been our pilot program and we have had very good success with that,” said Charles Cox, administrator for the Hastings Veterans Home. “It has fit the need that is out there, so we are going to expand this program to another 60 veterans.”

The Hastings Veterans Homes campus provides 200 beds for veterans “meeting the requirements for care,” according to the home’s website. Residents at the new building will have access to on-campus services such as 24-hour nursing care, nutritional help, sobriety maintenance and vocational counseling.

“A lot of guys come through our facility, take care of their issues … and they get ready to discharge and can’t get good, affordable, safe housing,” Cox explained. “So they end up being in the environment they came from, possibly, and the cycle starts again.
We hope to break the cycle.”

Soldiers old and young

Veterans homes used to be known as “Old Soldiers” Homes. The Minneapolis Veterans Home traces its roots to the 1800s, when it provided shelter for down-on-their-luck Civil War vets. They were “havens of rest” for soldiers’ in their twilight years, according to the Minnesota Veterans Homes website.

But those campuses aren’t just for old soldiers anymore.

With younger service men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, there’s an increasing need for housing and social services more typically associated with those who served in World War II, Korea or Vietnam.

Last year, the St. Paul-based Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV), which assists homeless veterans, directly served 870 vets throughout the state. Seventeen percent were from post-9/11 conflicts, up from 10 percent in 2007.

Many are struggling with homelessness.

The MACV says that up to 4,000 Minnesota veterans are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The organization points to a 2006 Wilder Research Study, which shows that more than one of every four homeless males is a veteran.

One of the problems: medical and mental-health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries are on the rise, making it tough for those vets to hold down jobs and maintain homes, according to the MACV.

The council maintains eight “transitional homes” for veterans (seven in the Twin Cities and one in St. Cloud) and 11 units of supportive housing for disabled vets in Mankato. An MACV project under way in Duluth will offer 12 units of permanent housing and five units of transitional housing.

Last year, the MACV served 58 percent more vets than it did in 2007, according to Kara Cornils, the organization’s program director. Part of that increase may stem from the boost in funding the organization received last year, she said.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that supportive-housing projects like the one in Hastings address “a big need,” Cornils said.

“Sometimes just getting someone an apartment is not enough,” she said. “Everyone needs a place to live and a job, but if there are other issues they are dealing with, two months down the road they maybe have lost their job, lost their apartment, and they are back in the same place.”

Funding sources include Minnesota Housing ($7.8 million in general obligation bonds and $2.29 million from Minnesota Housing’s Ending Long-Term Homelessness Initiative Fund) and the Dakota County Housing Opportunity Program ($300,000 grant).

Cox said he hopes to have the project out for construction bids next week, with construction wrapping up in July or August 2010.

“We are pretty excited to get this going,” Cox added. “We have been working on it for a while now.”

The Minnesota Veterans Homes, a division of the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, provides housing and social services for qualifying veterans on campuses in Minneapolis, Hastings, Fergus Falls, Luverne and Silver Bay.

"This is a Third-World area in a First-World city,"

Charlie Strobel stands so tall among homeless advocates and champions of the poor that to many of us, he is the guru of compassion and kindness in a world of indifference.  He's done more for those experiencing poverty and homelessness than most entire agencies do over a lifetime.....

Room in the Inn grows as need rises

By Harriet Vaughan • THE TENNESSEAN • May 19, 2009

William Miles, 47, leads a riches to rags life.

The once big-time dope dealer went from the top of the game to the bottom of society after becoming hooked on his own product. Marijuana, crack and alcohol became his vices.


After 30 years of drug use, failed relationships and the death of his mother, two brothers and an unborn child in one year, he says he's tired, fed up and ready for a new life.


He credits Nashville's homeless centers for that, particularly Room in the Inn human development center, where he's currently seeking help.


"The more I kept coming to Room in the Inn, the more I wanted to get cleaned up," Miles said.


He said the friendly and welcoming environment has encouraged him to do better in life. The determined and quietly intelligent man is halfway through the center's three-month alcohol and drug recovery program.


Miles is counted among the 300 to 400 people who seek help from the center daily, according to the Rev. Charles Strobel, founding director of the center.


Because the need is growing, soon the center will, as well. Thursday morning, Room in the Inn will break ground on a new five-story Day Center that will include 38 affordable housing apartments, 13 classrooms and 11 beds for those recovering from illnesses or injuries.


The $11 million project will add close to 45,000 square feet to the 20,000-square-foot facility. The additional space also means the expansion of currently offered services such as employment classes, an on-site Human Services office, showers and laundry facility, free public telephones and a legal clinic.


"This is a Third-World area in a First-World city," said Strobel, pointing to the area immediately behind the existing building where the Day Center will go.


"What that means is that we'll be able to create a path for a person to make the journey home, by going from living on the streets to securing permanent homes, all by guidance and support of our Room in the Inn community."


The group is asking churches and individuals to sponsor an apartment for $50,000.


That includes the build-out of the apartment, built-in furniture, linens and other materials needed to complete the apartment.

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Contact Harriet Vaughan at 615-259-8048 or hvaughan@tennessean.com.

"Former and current Shur-Brite Hi-Speed Car Wash workers have reached a $130,000 settlement with the West End Avenue business' owners"

Whatever you may think personally about the Nashville Homeless Power Project and their many trials and tribulations, this is one thing they did that should be shouted high and wide from every rooftop.

Congrats to the workers, who may now have enough cash to make it into an apartment or boarding house, and hopefully this will send a message to those employers who try to take advantage of the poverty-stricken.  

Upton Sinclair would be proud......

Car wash workers settle wages suit

By Chris Echegaray • THE TENNESSEAN • May 20, 2009 

Former and current Shur-Brite Hi-Speed Car Wash workers have reached a $130,000 settlement with the West End Avenue business' owners.

Three plaintiffs sued the business, but the settlement will be distributed among 120 people who were earning minimum wage and weren't paid for hours. Managers clocked them in and out throughout the day, depending on how busy it was, according to the federal lawsuit.


The federal judge signed off on the settlement April 28, but the workers and their representatives held a rally celebrating it Monday at the Cathedral of the Incarnation Catholic church on West End Boulevard.


Owners of the car wash, brothers William and Glenn Smith, declined to comment.


The Nashville Homeless Power Project, a nonprofit that advocates for the interests of homeless people and low-wage earners, connected the plaintiffs with a lawyer who filed the lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act.


"They didn't have anywhere to sit or eat," said Megan Macaraeg, director of Middle Tennessee Jobs With Justice. "To a large extent, the company has cleaned up its act. But the stealing of wages is a massive problem."


Wage theft is a national problem exacerbated by the bad economy, said Kim Bobo, executive director of Interfaith Worker Justice, a group that advocates for low-wage workers in Chicago.


Bobo, who was in Nashville on Monday for the rally, is the author of Wage Theft in America. "The fundamental cause is greed in society and inadequate push-back forces," she said. "Over the last decade, we have seen an abdication of the role of the government enforcing labor laws."

"This is actually harder"

When a person tells you that fighting homelessness is harder than fighting in a war zone, it ought to give us pause for thought.....


Former Marine Fights Homelessness In Face Of Economy

Posted: May 18, 2009 06:26 PM

Updated: May 18, 2009 08:17 PM 

 

Video Gallery <1> Former Marine Fights Homelessness In Face Of Economy 3:10

MARINA, Calif.- For 37-year-old Raymond Lavorico, life nowadays is far different from the battlegrounds of Iraq, where he fought both as a Marine and worked as an Army Reservist. 

"This is actually harder than that," said Lavorico, referring to the challenges he faces now as a father and husband looking for work during a time when the U.S. unemployment rate is at the highest since the Great Depression.

Lavorico said these are the toughest times he's facing now as he looks for a full time job and tries to keep his wife and three boys off the streets.

"I work very hard, constantly hitting the pavement, going and calling and seeing people who might have a job, I go to job fairs, show my resume."

Lavorico said he applied for everything and anything. During the last two interviews he's had, Lavorico said he's been turned away because of his time in the service.

"In another interview I had, they told me I didn't have enough civilian experience in my job," said Lavorico with his voice catching.  

Lavorico currently lives in housing provided by the Veterans Transition Center on the former Fort Ord military base.

"At first I was hesitant because this is the first time I had to ask for help and I can't ask my family for help, not that they won't help me, but they're in tough times as well."

A Godsend, as this non-profit and private organization exists solely to help veterans like Raymond get back on their feet.

"They had the idea of veterans helping veterans and the idea of helping veterans that were homeless," said Veterans Transition Center Executive Director Ronald Holland.

Holland said they offer families and single men and women veterans aid, housing, and help. Lavorico said it's hard to think about where he would be if he hadn't found the VTC.

"More than likely I would be homeless, selling everything we have and asking parents to take my wife and kids in," said Lavorico.

Lavorico makes a little money off his part time job at Sears and he gets a monthly stipend from the Army Reserve, but it still isn't enough to survive on his own especially during these unstable economic times. For now, he's grateful for the help he does have and he's waiting for better days.

"amidst the glitter and glamour of the fabulous show gardens, there is a fascinating and stunning social experiment."

The website Treehugger never ceases to amaze me.  From a big piece on the EDAR to this story about a homeless garden, they have consistently shown where their hearts are.  I'm always looking forward to what they're going to do next.....

Chelsea Flower Show Garden Created By the Homeless

by Bonnie Alter, London on 05.19.09

Food & Health (botanical)

The Chelsea Garden Show, now in its 86th year, is a high point in the horticultural social scene, with the Queen and all sorts of celebrities attending on Opening Day. But amidst the glitter and glamour of the fabulous show gardens, there is a fascinating and stunning social experiment.

The Key is a major garden developed through a collaboration between a government agency working with the homeless, prisoners and the Eden Project. It more than holds its own amongst the glitzy show gardens surrounding it.

We spoke to Paul Stone, the designer, who is with Architecture sans Frontieres--U.K. He developed it with Places of Change, a capital improvement programme funded by government agencies which seeks to improve services for people who are homeless. He wanted it to represent a journey that anyone might be forced to take during these difficult economic times.

The garden is laid out in a very serious and thought-provoking way. At the front, It starts with a foreboding and jungle-like feeling. It is overgrown and decaying, with narrow winding obstacle paths. It was meant to be dark and scary and impenetrable. This was purposeful to make one feel that they are working through the hardship of the place.


Some patches of the garden have brambles and thorns and poisonous plants, reflecting the difficult journey that prisoners must take.

Mid-way are huge reclaimed timber pieces set into the ground. They are the storywall and painted onto them is a poem by a homeless person about homelessness. They form a striking entrance and transition to the back area of the garden.

At the back it turns into a large, open, welcoming social space with a big table and chairs. There is a feeling of inclusion, abundance and bounty. There are vegetables growing and herbs in a shelf unit with a car's windshield as a protective roof.


There are old keys spread all over the garden floor. They represent a key into society and an opening back into the real world. Thus the name of the garden, The Key.

Ninety per cent of the plants were grown from seed by the homeless. They also built the garden physically on site, dug the holes and made the structures. The garden is completely sustainable, the materials are from recycled sources and it will be broken down and reused afterwards.

It will be fascinating to see what the judges make of this when prize time comes around... RHS Chelsea Flower Show

"In the richest country in the world, 2% of children, excluding runaways, are now homeless. "

How we can say this and not demand and more importantly take immediate action is simply beyond my comprehension......

Casualties of the Foreclosure Crisis - Millions Facing the Pain of Homelessness		Printer-Friendly E-Mail This
May 18, 2009 By Ann Waddell
While the ranks of the unemployed are increasing steadily by over 500,000 per month (5.7 million have lost their job since the start of the economic downturn), millions of families and especially women and children are facing the harsh reality of poverty and homelessness abandoned and alone.  According to a March report by the National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH), 1.5 million American children have lost the security of sleeping in their own bedrooms. In the richest country in the world, 2% of children, excluding runaways, are now homeless.  Three states have the highest number of homeless children: Louisiana with over 200,000, California with almost 300,000, and Texas with over 300,000. According to NCFH, those that are lucky “are imposing on family, friends, and relatives. The less fortunate are sleeping in the family car or finding themselves in crowded, noisy, oft-dangerous shelters.” The same organization reported that 3.4 million Americans are likely to experience homelessness this year — a 35 percent increase from 2007.  Slowly, the corporate mass media are now forced to start to report the tent cities and the crisis of homelessness that are enveloping large parts of the country as the shaky economy, budget cuts, unemployment, and mortgage meltdown continue.  A recent Reuters article spoke about the “hidden homeless,” people who sleep in their cars, vacant storage units, or other makeshift shelter. The numbers of these hidden homeless are extremely unreliable, but a recent article in the Sacramento Bee reported that shelters across the country are forced to turn thousands of people away for lack of space and resources, and quoted experts who believe that the working poor and families with small children are facing the worst crisis.  A tent city in Sacramento recently was shut down by police threatening to arrest those who refused to leave. Tent cities, or “Hoovervilles” in reference to the shantytowns that developed during the Depression, have re-emerged in Phoenix, Arizona; Olympia and Seattle, Washington; Reno, Nevada; Portland, Oregon; Nashville, Tennessee; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Fresno, California, according to the New York Times.  All this continues as hundreds of thousands of houses remain boarded up, abandoned, or taken off the market by the banks. Nothing shows more clearly the priorities of Geithner and the Obama administration than the gentle assurances of providing trillions for the bankers and other Wall Street gangsters while infants, children, and families are forced to face the harsh realities of capitalism.

Housing Those We Loathe

Regardless of what you may think personally about those who commit sex crimes, one thing is very clear: housing them is critically important in tracking and keeping tabs on their whereabouts....

Homeless Sex Offender

(ABC 6 NEWS)--- Rochester Police plan to hold a meeting this week to alert the public about a level three sex offender who currently doesn't have a permanent home address. The Police Department says 37-year-old Christopher Loving has served his sentence and was released on Friday, but he doesn't have a permanent address, which is required by law. Loving has a history of sexual contact with young girls. Police say this is the first time a level three-sex offender has been declared homeless. They'll hold a public meeting on Wednesday at city hall, to address any concerns.

"Destitute people living in the streets and in homeless shelters are not so different from the rest of us. They never have been."

The piece speaks for itself....

What it's like to be homeless

By David Lanier Special To The Daily Record

Posted on Sunday, May 17, 2009

Daily Record file photograph David Lanier rode an Ozark Regional Transit bus in January 2007. Lanier carried his belongings with him as he traveled from Benton County to Fayetteville.

You can call them hoboes. You can call them paupers. You can call them Ill-fated campers. But it's wrong to call them homeless.

They're houseless.

Their home may be a tent. Or a cardboard box. Or the back seat of an automobile. But to them, that's their sleeping arrangements: That's home.

What causes houselessness? According to sociologist Nels Anderson, a homeless person is "a destitute man, woman or youth, either a resident or a transient, who is without a domicile at enumeration voluntary or involuntary." Due to a myriad of dire circumstances, houseless individuals fall through the cracks of fortune and end up without a domicile.

"The difference between a homeless person is that they've lost their support system," concluded Jon Woodward, executive director of Seven Hills Homeless Shelter in Fayetteville. "Most people rely on family members or friends to help them out when adversity strikes."

Kenneth Kusmer, author of "Down and Out, On the Road, the Homeless in American History," surmised, "Destitute people living in the streets and in homeless shelters are not so different from the rest of us. They never have been."

Likewise, George Orwell purposely lived in lodging that housed the less fortunate to try to understand what causes homelessness.

In his scholarly tome "Down and Out in London and Paris," Orwell wrote, "I shall never again think that all tramps are drunken scoundrels, nor expect a beggar to be grateful when I give him a penny, nor be surprised if men out of work lack energy, nor subscribe to the Salvation Army, nor pawn my clothes, nor refuse a handbill, nor enjoy a meal at a smart restaurant."

Orwell prefaced those conclusions by pondering what makes a poverty-stricken individual tick: "I should like to understand what really goes on in the souls of plongeurs and tramps and embankment sleepers."

What are the root causes of domicilelessness?

Sometimes, after a divorce, men sacrifice their homesteads and savings to pacify their exes.

Once a friend wisecracked, "I've been married five times, and all my wives were great housekeepers. They all kept the house when we separated."

Another financial ramification of divorce - child support - leads to wage garnishment, which depletes pocketbooks and deters houseless folks from ascending back into prosperity.

Depression after a series of misfortunes can contribute to the disappearance of one's haven of safety.

Other potential volatile scenarios for destitution:

· Running away to escape the reality of troubles inherent with breaking the law;

· Alcoholism;

· Drug addiction;

· Mental instability;

· The I-don't-want-towork-on-Maggie's-farm syndrome; and

· Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Personally, from what I've seen, homelessness is a very complex issue," Woodward sagely opined. "The general population may look at homeless people in a disdainful outlook. They think they're all bad people who deserve to be where they are."

Most commoners prefer to classify homeless individuals as lazy drunks or drug addicts who have lost the requisite work ethic to live comfortable lives with a roof over their heads.

Stereotyping houseless individuals isn't accurate, though.

Every unfortunate soul who ends up sleeping in the woods or in the back seat of an automobile has his own unique fatalistic story.

"Some homeless people have unresolved grief and loss," Woodward said. "They suffer depression and lose everything that's important in life. They get out of sync and have a feeling that they can't get back to where they once were."

Some caring Christians desire to help, so they strive to provide that missing support network.

The first reaction most individuals pose when trying to comprehend a homeless individual's plight initially ask, "Why don't you go to The Salvation Army?"

That's a very temporary resolution to a more permanent dilemma.

Every chapter of "The Sally" has different rules and regulations. The Salvation Army provides free lodging for a month in Fayetteville; those staying there must seek employment during the weekdays.

While some seek that environment and succeed in transitioning back to a more secure future, others choose to face life outdoors.

And that brings no set routine. Author Jack London lived that lifestyle and encapsulated the trauma drama inflicted on the mindset of those who desire a less-structured existence.

In his book "Hobo Land," London noted that a hobo's lifestyle consisted of "the face of life is protean - an everchanging phantasmagoria - where the impossible happens and the unexpected jumps out of the bushes.

"My life was always uncertain. I never knew what was going to happen. No plan did I ever have. Circumstances were the only plans I ever have."

Indeed, circumstances for every homeless person implode a once-comfortable existence.

What was once a normal everyday great-day experience becomes a daily struggle to simply survive.

Outdistancing all of the obstacles one faces includes finding adequate shelter, procuring nourishment, seeking employment and establishing a mailing address.

Is homelessness voluntary or involuntary?

"I'm the reason I'm homeless," Kyle Bowen, a 23-yearold native of Fayetteville, remarked in 2008.

Bowen endured the slings and arrows of his misfortune for four years. For a time, Bowen and a friend slept in the baseball dugouts at Walker Park in southeast Fayetteville.

Finally, Bowen received his Social Security disability benefits; he now resides in the Seven Hills assisted-living quarters off Huntsville Road in Fayetteville.

Aaron Tubbs, who has provided temporary assistance to homeless individuals and proudly advertises "free bread" outside his residence in south Fayetteville, categorizes homeless individuals into three general categories:

· Those who choose to be homeless, mainly as a result of alcoholism or drug addiction;

· Those who end up homeless and struggle to persevere and dig their way out; and

· Those who end up homeless and have no clue what to do.

Sometimes just showing people you care can make a world of difference in their lives and in their attitudes toward their plights.

"People don't care what you know until they know you care," Loretta Spiece sagely observed. Spiece and her husband, Roy, altruistically donate a meal - along with a spiritual devotional - on Saturday mornings at the College Avenue Baptist Church in southeast Fayetteville.

In 380 - as in year 380 - St. John Chrysostom wrote, "When you see a man who has encountered the shipwreck of poverty, do not judge him, do not seek an account of his life, but free him from his misfortune."

What can one do to aid houseless people?

Caring and sharing coalesce around the holidays, as Christians feel obligated to feed the less fortunate during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But as Mac Childs, the son of Loretta Spiece and a spiritual mentor to the homeless, observed, just helping someone eat once or twice a year really doesn't address the real obstacles houseless individuals must endure 24-7-365.

Coming Monday: Being homeless is a "psychological dilemma a person's ego must contend with on a 24-7 basis."

The Learning Curve Begins To Flatten...

My first week at OSD has been challenging but extremely rewarding.  I'm seeing between 18-35 people a day; a manageable amount for the most part, and am able to help folks in ways I've really only dreamed about while on the streets previously.

There's something to be said for having a narrower focus, and as training continues toward its culmination this Friday, I'm hoping to take control with more confidence that I actually know what I'm doing than I've had in many of my previous employment opportunities.

I believe I mentioned this in an earlier post, but the stories generated by some of these vets are....unbelievable at times.

I'm working with a gentleman now who has been essentially living out of a vehicle sine the end of the Viet Nam war, back in the 70s.  I'm astounded at his tenacity and determination to make things better for himself, and it's taught me something about vets that I think separates some of them from the crowd; their dedication to remain independent and "finish the mission" gives some a survival edge over many non-vets on the street.

I would add here that I've been treated wonderfully at my new job, and although I am in a sense an outsider of sorts, having never served in the military, I am still respected and listened to when it comes to issues of homelessness.

Week two begins and I'll be back with some additional thoughts and information soon...

"when it comes to putting its rhetoric into action, the Obama administration has faltered"

For those of you who thought Obama would make radical changes, if this is any indication, we may be in for more ho-hum, sameshitdifferentday drudgery; at least on the war on drugs, which incidentally happens to be an absolutely critical issue for this country.

The war on drugs has made so many of us casualties - in just so damned many ways - that we've irreparably harmed many of our citizens and in the process, our country itself.  

We've thrown away the value and contributions of so many people - people who, simply because they chose to alter their minds in an "unconventional" way (with drugs instead of booze) were persecuted in what I can only describe as cruel and unusual.  


In doing so, we've forced them to eke out existences lower than many third world countries provide for their own citizens and at the same time, have placed such a huge burden on our own coffers by supporting failed and costly approaches that we all are suffering as a result.  


Man, it is just SO past time to end this stupidity.  

I continue to have high hopes for the Obama administration and I also know that the ship of state turns slowly.  Government typically moves in itty bitty increments at the national level and the rhetoric from the Obama administration is aligning itself well with those of us who are arguing for a better approach.  We owe it to ourselves to give him some time.


For many who've been victimized by the war on drugs, that's something we have plenty of left, since many of us can't get jobs and don't have much to do that's productive...

Ending the War on Drugs: The Moment is Now

Arianna Huffington

When it comes to addressing America's disastrous war on drugs, the Obama administration appears to be moving in the right direction -- albeit very, very cautiously.

On the rhetorical front, all the president's men are saying the right things.

In his first interview since being confirmed, Obama's new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, said that we need to stop looking at our drug problem as a war. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs" or a 'war on product,'" he told the Wall Street Journal, "people see war as a war on them. We're not at war with people in this country."

He also said that it was time to focus more on treatment and less on incarceration.

Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government would no longer raid and prosecute distributors of medical marijuana who operate in accordance with state law in the 13 states where voters have made it legal.

Holder has also said that his department intends to eliminate the outrageous and prejudicial sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.

And while on the campaign trail, President Obama called for repealing the ban on federal funding for anti-AIDS programs that supply clean needles to drug users.

All positive signs that we are ready to move beyond our failed war on drugs.

But when it comes to putting its rhetoric into action, the Obama administration has faltered.

Just a week after the Attorney General said there would be no more medical marijuana raids, the DEA raided a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in California.

Obama's '09-'10 budget proposes to continue the longstanding ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.

The current budget is still overwhelmingly skewed in favor of the drug war approach -- indeed, it allocates more to drug enforcement and less to prevention than even George Bush did.

Testifying today in front of the House Judiciary Committee, Holder, in his opening statement, called for a working group to examine federal cocaine sentencing policy: "Based on that review, we will determine what sentencing reforms are appropriate, including making recommendations to Congress on changes to crack and powder cocaine sentencing policy." A working group? Why? As a senator, Obama co-sponsored legislation (introduced by Joe Biden) to end the disparity. What further review is needed?

(To be fair, during questioning, Holder said he and the president both favored doing away with the crack/powder disparity and said that Justice would even consider doing away with mandatory minimums altogether. But why the initial equivocation and the use of the very familiar needs-further-review dodge?)

So the question becomes: is the Obama administration really committed to a fundamental shift in America's approach to drug policy or is this about serving up a kinder, gentler drug war?
And this at a time when the tide is clearly turning. Inspired by the massive budget crises facing many states, and the increase in drug violence both at home and abroad -- leaders on all points across the political spectrum appear more willing to rethink our ruinous drug policies.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for "an open debate" and careful study of proposals to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has also urged renewing the debate, saying that he isn't convinced taxing and regulating drugs is the answer but "why not discuss it?" Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, pointing to evidence that Mexican drug cartels draw 60 to 80 percent of their revenue from pot, suggested legalization might be an effective tool to combat Mexican drug traffickers and American gangs.

And, in a major shift in the global drug policy debate, a Latin American commission, headed by the former presidents Fernando Cardoso of Brazil, Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, and Cesar Gavaria of Colombia issued a devastating report condemning America's 40-year war on drugs.

"Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization of consumption simply haven't worked," the former presidents wrote in a joint op-ed. "The revision of U.S.-inspired drug policies is urgent in light of the rising levels of violence and corruption associated with narcotics. The alarming power of the drug cartels is leading to a criminalization of politics and a politicization of crime."

They called for "a paradigm shift in drug policies" that begins with "changing the status of addicts from drug buyers in the illegal market to patients cared for by the public health system."
And in Congress, Sen. Jim Webb has introduced legislation, with co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle, to create a blue-ribbon commission to examine criminal justice and drug policies and how they have led to our nation's jam-packed jails -- now filled with tens of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders.

"With so many of our citizens in prison compared with the rest of the world," Webb wrote in a recent Parade cover story, "there are only two possibilities: Either we are home to the most evil people on earth or we are doing something different--and vastly counterproductive. Obviously, the answer is the latter."

I understand that drugs continue to be a political hot potato, fueled by what the Latin American presidents described as "prejudices and fears that sometimes bear little relation to reality." And I can easily picture some on the president's team advising him to keep the issue on the backburner lest it turn into his "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

But the cost of the drug war -- both human and financial -- is far too high to allow politics to dictate the administration's actions. Indeed, with all the budget cutting going on, how can anyone justify spending tens of billions of dollars a year on an unwinnable war against our own people?

Change won't be easy. The prison-industrial complex has a deeply vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Which is why we need to keep the pressure on the president and his team to follow through on their drug policy promises.

As with the regulation of Wall Street, real reform of our nation's drugs policies won't happen without someone in the administration making it a top priority.

The jury is still out on Kerlikowske. His law enforcement background could make him the drug war equivalent of Tim Geithner -- too enmeshed in the system he is tasked with overhauling.
Holder shows more promise. But he'll have to avoid the let's-have-a-working-group-review-decisions-that-have-already-been-decided approach.

As a reminder, I'm planning to send the Attorney General a few copies of This Is Your Country On Drugs, a book out next month on the history of drug use and drug policy in America by our HuffPost Congressional correspondent Ryan Grim. In it, he argues that the goal of U.S. policy should not be to eliminate drugs, but to prevent and treat the addiction and other problems that come with them: "As currently understood and implemented, drug policy attempts to isolate a phenomenon that can't be taken in isolation. Economic policy is drug policy. Healthcare policy is drug policy. Foreign policy, too, is drug policy. When approached in isolation, drug policy almost always leads to unfortunate and unintended consequences."

With three-quarters of the drug offenders clogging our state prisons there for nonviolent offenses -- and a disproportionate number of those young men of color -- the time has come to wage a full-scale war on the war on drugs.