(click on map to enlarge)Update - 3-14 / 4PM: I received a call from Cindy's cousin Donna Olszewski, who wanted to publicly state her gratefulness and deep thanks to all of those who have worked to get Cindy home. Special thanks go to Tonya Watts and her friend Jimmie, Matt Leber and Clemmie Greenlee from the Nashville Homeless Power Project. Donna states that Cindy's mom signed the release for
Cindy's body. She will be buried in Great Falls, Montana, and a prettier place on the planet could not be found. It looks like Cindy will be heading home soon and will finally be able to truly rest in peace. I first met Tonya Watts via a rather weird phone call. It was a late Saturday night and Tonya called my work phone. Why I picked it up that night I'll never know, but on the other end was a woman who began essentially interrogating me about my "involvement" with the homeless, the downtown partnership, the local efforts to help or harass the homeless, and where I stood on various issues related to the recent crackdowns on feeding folks in the parks.
"Whoa," said I, "lemme address this barrage one question at a time." 1. I'm a homeless outreach worker trying to "tell my brothers what I saw while offering a helping hand here in Nashville." 2. The downtown partnership and I have no professional relationship, contrary to the incessant ramblings of a paranoid local blogger who suffers from delusions of grandeur and regular fits of "truth manipulation" (and who conveniently neglects to mention that I gave him free of charge his most recent laptop computer). However, when I first moved to Nashville and discovered there was no place to get comprehensive information on available services I created the "Find Steve" website. The DTP used my website as a resource on their please help don't give campaign - a campaign which happens to piss Tonya, and countless others, off to no end - but about the only alternative to my site was our completely useless "211" phone number or the woefully outdated "where to find help" brochure, so rather than provide worthless information to those who saw the campaign's literature and might just want to actually help the homeless, I allowed the DTP to list my resource site. That has been the entire extent of my involvement with the DTP. Period. 3. An increasing climate of hostility and harassment of the homeless, perpetuated by the inexorable gentrification of downtown Nashville. 4. Imploring those who do serve food to the homeless outside to simply get a permit from the health department and continue to provide an important resource while remaining in compliance with the local ordinances and codes (I even posted the contact info to make it easier).
We spoke for a good hour that night and she was sufficiently satisfied enough with my responses to her questions to meet with me shortly thereafter in order to check out what was then our fledgling idea for The Contributor.
She has become a strong supporter of my work and our newspaper, an advocate extraordinare, a megaphone in the fight against homelessness, and most of all, a friend who shares a similar vision of putting our fellow brothers and sisters' care and well being ahead of damned near everything else in this country.
Now Tonya has done something else that has just raised her to the level of Saint in my book; she has worked to assist in getting Cindy Demuth back to Great Falls, Montana in order to be buried.....
Tonya, you're going to have an entire street of gold all to yourself when you make it to the afterlife.....
You da bom.
Thank you, from so many of us who wanted to make sure Cindy was taken care of....
Update - 3-14 / 4PM: I received a call from Cindy's cousin Donna Olszewski, who wanted to publicly state her gratefulness and deep thanks to all of those who have worked to get Cindy home. Special thanks go to Tonya Watts and her friend Jimmie, Matt Leber and Clemmie Greenlee from the Nashville Homeless Power Project.
Donna states that Cindy's mom signed the release for
Cindy's body. She will be buried in Great Falls, Montana, and a prettier place on the planet could not be found.
It looks like Cindy will be heading home soon and will finally be able to truly rest in peace.
I first met Tonya Watts via a rather weird phone call. It was a late Saturday night and Tonya called my work phone. Why I picked it up that night I'll never know, but on the other end was a woman who began essentially interrogating me about my "involvement" with the homeless, the downtown partnership, the local efforts to help or harass the homeless, and where I stood on various issues related to the recent crackdowns on feeding folks in the parks.
"Whoa," said I, "lemme address this barrage one question at a time." 1. I'm a homeless outreach worker trying to "tell my brothers what I saw while offering a helping hand here in Nashville." 2. The downtown partnership and I have no professional relationship, contrary to the incessant ramblings of a paranoid local blogger who suffers from delusions of grandeur and regular fits of "truth manipulation" (and who conveniently neglects to mention that I gave him free of charge his most recent laptop computer). However, when I first moved to Nashville and discovered there was no place to get comprehensive information on available services I created the "Find Steve" website. The DTP used my website as a resource on their please help don't give campaign - a campaign which happens to piss Tonya, and countless others, off to no end - but about the only alternative to my site was our completely useless "211" phone number or the woefully outdated "where to find help" brochure, so rather than provide worthless information to those who saw the campaign's literature and might just want to actually help the homeless, I allowed the DTP to list my resource site. That has been the entire extent of my involvement with the DTP. Period. 3. An increasing climate of hostility and harassment of the homeless, perpetuated by the inexorable gentrification of downtown Nashville. 4. Imploring those who do serve food to the homeless outside to simply get a permit from the health department and continue to provide an important resource while remaining in compliance with the local ordinances and codes (I even posted the contact info to make it easier).
We spoke for a good hour that night and she was sufficiently satisfied enough with my responses to her questions to meet with me shortly thereafter in order to check out what was then our fledgling idea for The Contributor.
She has become a strong supporter of my work and our newspaper, an advocate extraordinare, a megaphone in the fight against homelessness, and most of all, a friend who shares a similar vision of putting our fellow brothers and sisters' care and well being ahead of damned near everything else in this country.
Now Tonya has done something else that has just raised her to the level of Saint in my book; she has worked to assist in getting Cindy Demuth back to Great Falls, Montana in order to be buried.....
Tonya, you're going to have an entire street of gold all to yourself when you make it to the afterlife.....
You da bom.
Thank you, from so many of us who wanted to make sure Cindy was taken care of....
