When one spends every day wading through the trenches of "social" work, one quickly realizes that the recognition typically comes not on any grand scale but from the multitudes of tiny "thank yous" and praise that workers and clients give to each other for jobs well done. These little but often unbelievably special acknowledgments are usually all we need to keep us going for years on end and for many of us, this is more than enough attention. So when we actually get public praise for a job well done, sometimes, well, gorsch, it's kinda sorta embarrassing, in a really neat kind of way, dontchaknow!
*blushing*
So, many thanks to Gail Kerr here, and Tom Turner as well, for not only noticing our efforts, but for taking the time to tell someone else about it. While we can and often do do our jobs without ever thinking about whats in it for us, it's really nice to see that others who are usually far removed from our day to day efforts not only notice it but are impressed enough to tell us "thanks" for our efforts.
Well, "Thanks" to both of you for the kind words.
And I'd like to add a personal "Thanks" to Tom Turner for both recognizing and elaborating on the difficulties facing many of the Homeless, who have absolutely no involvement in illegal activities or drug abuse and find themselves homeless as a direct result of circumstances beyond their control. While Tom takes plenty of heat for the policies that the Downtown Partnership present and occasionally enact, there is little doubt that he "gets it" when it comes to the plight of many of the Homeless.
Tom's in a very difficult position of trying to appease all sides of an unusually complex problem but at the end of the day, must still answer to his primary constituency. I wonder how many of us would be able to stand up to the pressure he must face on a daily basis, pressure that comes from what some might consider "diametrically opposed" groups, as each vies for the enactment of their own ideas and policies on how to address a particular problem. It's got to be tough and while I understand that this is the job he signed on to do, I've also got to give credit where credit is due. You've got some broad shoulders, Tom and I hope they hold up.
One thing he mentioned in Kerr's piece that I think deserves a closer look is the idea of centralized services for the Homeless and the poor. (By the way, like my boss, I don't much care for the word "indigent" when discussing those with less money than others and so won't use it. Seems far too impersonal, almost "alien-like", and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that the first step in dehumanizing some group is to assign them to a category that removes their "human" identity from them). I had this discussion with my boss when I first signed on to this job, as it was clearly obvious that the lack of centralized services was doing much to exacerbate the problems of the Homeless in the downtown area.
I wrote about this issue previously and won't beat a dead horse here, but it is good to see that some of the most important movers and shakers in this city have a representative who recognizes the importance of this approach. There are a couple of great options available for centralizing services in Nashville and I know some of the great and compassionate caregivers have repeatedly offered their own facilities to do exactly that. While by itself it would not solve all our problems, it sure seems like it would be a step in the right direction.
Tuesday, 07/24/07
Homeless fix goes beyond police work
The Metro police department has been cracking down on the most frightening and offensive panhandlers downtown. That's a good thing: Nobody wants to be threatened for not turning over a quarter.
But just dealing with that segment of the homeless population is like treating pneumonia with cough medicine. Dressed as tourists or workers, undercover patrol officers started hitting the streets in June to deal with aggressive street people. They arrested 100 people for a variety of offenses, including public intoxication, indecent exposure and threatening people who wouldn't give them money.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said Monday the enforcement will continue.
"I don't see how we cannot keep the enforcement going," Aaron said. "Based on what we're seeing, and in an effort to keep families and visitors from seeing it, the enforcement is going to continue."
Uniformed officers and those "blending in" will be used, he said.
At the same time, new bars and barriers are about to go in the planters and fountain in Church Street Park (known as Homeless Park) across from the downtown library. The street population claims it for its own, using the fountain to bathe in and the planters for storage. People are intimidated away from using the park.
All of that is good, according to Tom Turner, president and CEO of the Nashville Downtown Partnership. But the deeper problem, he said, is still with us. These are human beings, and you can't just hide, arrest or ignore them.
"The behavior is obviously what the police department can address," Turner said. "Public urination, assault, open containers in public — those are all illegal. But there are people who are homeless for reasons far beyond their control. And I think a centralized system that addresses that is certainly needed."
Do we have that now in Nashville?
Turner hesitated.
"No," he said.
There is hope. Turner gave a nod to the Park Center, a not-for-profit that won a grant from the mayor's homeless commission to run a pilot project. After its first year, the success is remarkable.
Each homeless person is assigned a caseworker, who collects their medical records, does an extensive interview and then works through the red tape to get disability and Social Security checks, and health care.
"We kept seeing homeless folks who were not able to work, basically because they had serious mental health issues or physical health issues, but they weren't receiving the benefits that Social Security offers," said Will Connelly, the program's coordinator.
The project is based on one Baltimore started in the 1990s. The results here are stunning: Of the 56 homeless people Park Center has helped apply for benefits, 98 percent have been approved.
Even better: "About half our folks have gotten into transitional housing since they've gotten these benefits," Connelly said. "It's pretty amazing how these benefits can transform someone's life."
Kudos to the police for weeding the overgrown surface. Kudos to the Park Center for showing Nashville how to dig deeper and fix the roots.
