Meanest Streets, Part 3
In 2005, the National Coalition for the Homeless listed the 20 American cities where people experiencing homelessness seemed to be most unwelcome. We are looking at the top five, then and now. Las Vegas, Nevada, and Atlanta, Georgia, have already been considered, and so has Little Rock, Arkansas.
Back in 2005, this was named the second-worst urban area in which to experience homelessness:
#2 Lawrence, Kansas [THEN]
After a group of downtown Lawrence business leaders urged the city to cut social services and pass ordinances to target homeless persons, the city passed three ‘civility’ ordinances, including an aggressive panhandling law, a law prohibiting trespass on rooftops, and a law limiting sleeping or sitting on city sidewalks.
In 2006, Jesse Zerger Nathan reported that activists were working to create a Housing Needs Conference, encompassing people in danger of becoming homeless, and people trying to buy houses, as well as landlords, developers, service providers, and bureaucrats, for reasons which Nathan clarifies:
If, as these activists suggest, a city can tackle affordable housing it will, in turn, be addressing a range of issues from homelessness to neighborhood and community development.
The conference, held in June of that year, was written up by Ron Knox, who has noted that the attendees asked three questions of themselves and each other:
What are the greatest unmet housing needs, and how can city leaders meet them?
What housing problems should be solved first?
How can the city provide the best possible support to existing programs?
Lawrence’s Housing Needs Task Force had been formed in 2004 in reaction to a report originating from Kansas University. Forty percent of renters in the city were found to be spending over 35% of their total income for housing. This is called a “housing cost hardship,” and we have talked about it before:
Just a little while ago, the experts were telling us not to spend more than 30% of our income on rent. Now it’s more. As responsible citizens today, we are supposed to feel as wise and mature about paying 35% as we felt a few years ago when the experts advised us to put a lid on at 30%.
Flash forward to July of 2010, less than a year ago. At a meeting of the Coalition for Homeless Concerns, one of the people who expressed his thoughts was Richard Price, a resident at Lawrence Community Shelter. The shelter was always full, he said, and there was literally nowhere else to go. And people turned away from the shelter were issued tickets for “camping.” Brad Cook, the coalition’s co-chair, added that homeless people can’t pay the fines, and ended up in jail, costing the city’s taxpayers a lot of money.
A lot of interesting things have happened since then in Lawrence. Earlier this year, plans were afoot to move the Lawrence Community Shelter to an industrial park. Not a neighborhood, not a block on which there were several schools and day-care centers. Not a downtown area full of nervous boutique owners. A vacant warehouse in an industrial park, which is said to be near the jail. But even that location would not satisfy.
Chad Lawhorn reported,
The business park’s board of trustees have argued the covenants allow only business, industrial and governmental uses to locate in the park. They contend, among other issues, that the shelter is prohibited because it is a residential use… The shelter’s special use permit that allows it to operate downtown is set to expire this spring.
In March, the City Commission voted to let the shelter stay one more year. And then, something amazing happened. Despite the shelter’s tenuous hold on existence, members of the Mustard Seed Church stepped up to refurbish it anyway, inside and out, and if you hit the link you’ll see a splendid set of before-and-after pictures. There is also a full account of the project from church member Tatyana, who says,
The results were not just about new paint, refinished floors, cleaner windows or brighter surroundings… Shelter staff described the atmosphere among the residents the next day as ‘calmer and more peaceful.’
And which American metropolis was, in 2005, deemed to be the #1 meanest city?
#1 Sarasota, Florida [THEN]
After two successive Sarasota anti-lodging laws were overturned as unconstitutional by state courts, Sarasota passed a third law banning lodging outdoors. This latest version appears to be explicitly aimed at homeless persons. One of the elements necessary for arrest under the law is that the person ‘has no other place to live.’
Surprisingly, because this is, after all, Florida, there appears to be some progress. A substantial piece by Carrie Wells in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune spoke of a “transformative shift.” Being singled out as the most heartless place on the map probably started the change in consciousness and conscience for the people of Sarasota. But things didn’t really start to happen until January of this year, when The Economist magazine published a rather unflattering article that gave Sarasota a “black eye.”
Almost immediately, 200 people showed up for the first workshop about a 10-year plan, and further workshops were spoken of, in many areas of civic life that have an impact on homelessness. Even so, the negative attention was not powerful enough to motivate the housed citizens to repeal repressive laws.
Wells wrote,
The thousands of people living in the woods, on friends’ couches and on the streets have long taken issue with policies that made it illegal to be homeless, implemented five years ago. Those policies will likely still remain, with the 10-year plan instead focusing on securing funding for housing assistance and homelessness prevention programs.
There are an estimated 7,500 people experiencing homelessness in Sarasota and Manatee counties, and fewer than 900 emergency shelter beds, so it’s obvious how much needs to be done. But no matter how well-intentioned the citizens might be, nothing can be done without money, and money is what nobody has these days.
Reactions?
Source: “A Dream Denied: The Criminalization of Homelessness in U.S. Cities,” NationalHomeless.org, 2005
Source: “National Coalition Pegs Lawrence KS as 2nd Meanest City Toward Homeless,” BeyondChron.org, 06/01/06
Source: “Conference seeks housing solutions,” LJWorld.com, 06/18/06
Source: “Costly Camping for Lawrence Homeless,” Change of Hearts KS, 07/14/10
Source: “Judge rules against Lawrence homeless shelter; move away from downtown up in the air,” LJWorld.com, 02/14/11
Source: “Lawrence Community Shelter Update,” MustardSeedChurch.com, 05/12/11
Source: “New goal: A roof over everyone’s head by 2021,” Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 02/14/11
Image by Mr D Logan (Miles Smith), used under its Creative Commons license.
Kick ‘Em When They’re Down
No matter what a homeless person might do, whether it’s to return some lost money, or to be found dead in a dumpster, their identity is “homeless.” It’s as if the individual’s status as a non-owner and non-renter of real estate is the most important thing about her or him. Where property is worshipped as a god, not to own property is a sin. And when a person compounds that sin by not even contributing to help someone else own property (by paying rent), that’s even worse.
Basically, it’s open season on non-property-owners. A person could get the impression that the motto of America, in regard to people experiencing homelessness, is “Kick ‘em when they’re down.” And there are so many ways to do it. The stories range from pathetic to lurid. In Georgia, the declaration that gays deserve to be homeless is made by a clergyperson who is unclear on the concept of Christian charity.
In Missouri, a homeless man loses his public library privileges because a news article tipped off the staff that he lived in a car. The deprivation this represents is described by Tony Pugh in a TruthOut article about libraries struggling with budget cuts. He writes,
They’re the lone source of free computer and internet access in most communities, allowing the unemployed to search for jobs, learn computer skills and spruce up their resumes. Millions use them to stay in touch with relatives, apply for government services or to seek health information. But public libraries’ critical role as neighborhood information hubs hasn’t shielded the nearly 17,000 of them across the country from budget scalpels.
This next one is too perfect. It’s one of those headlines you see and automatically think it’s from the renowned satire publication, The Onion:
Portland One-Legged Homeless Man Discharged From Jail Without Wheelchair
But no, it’s not from The Onion, or Mad Magazine, nothing like that. Mary Plummer reported this story for ABC News. Here is the relevant excerpt:
The security officers apparently watched as Scott Hamilton, 37, used his hands to scoot out of the jail on his butt and head out into the dark street about 1 a.m. Hamilton then made his way to a convenience store about three blocks away where girlfriend Eve Browne picked him up… Hamilton has rheumatoid arthritis, and his hands were swollen and purple after making the trek, Browne said.
A little over a month ago, Chris Sadeghi of KXAN News in Austin reported on the story of a homeless woman who was severely beaten and locked in a storage unit where she wasn’t found for two days. He says,
Richard Troxell with House the Homeless said that many times homeless people who are unable to get into shelter’s have to resort to alternative means such as storage units. ‘We are talking about the need to have safe decent affordable housing and it is not available at the wage people are being paid,’ said Troxell. ‘So people are looking for alternatives and sometimes they are not the best alternatives.’
Sadeghi also noted that House the Homeless prints and distributes cards with information about shelters and services. The organization also provides information about the somewhat improved sit/lie ordinance, to help keep people out of trouble. Some kinds of trouble, anyway.
A while back, we talked about “bum fights,” a disgusting cultural trend. This genre of so-called entertainment hasn’t gone away. In April, The Miami Herald reported that homeless men were being paid by a website specializing in violent pornography, which videotaped them being assaulted by women.
Journalist Emily Nipps says,
Local homeless advocate G.W. Rolle said for months he noticed men walking around Williams Park with black eyes, split lips and limps before he finally got someone to tell him about the ‘beatdowns,’ as they have come to be known among the homeless… The site offers custom videos, made for the buyer’s specifications, starting at $600… The men say they were offered $25 to be whipped and $50 to be beaten by the women. They were not allowed to fight back, they say, and did not get paid if they quit before the 12 minutes expired.
In his book Hollywood Unlisted, phone technician Kim Fahey relates his interactions with everyone from movie stars to street people. This excerpt concerns a conversation Fahey had with a homeless woman he knew, called Sunshine:
I asked her if guys still hassled her for sex. She had a coughing fit at that question. I had to wait for her to get her composure before I could get a straight answer out of her. ‘Sex? These guys don’t give a rolling (bleep) about sex. They just want to stay warm. It gets (bleep)ing cold sometimes. (Bleep)ing road workers will point those big sprinklers on us in the middle of the night in the camp and soak all our stuff. Man are they some real (bleep)ing (bleep)s!’
Reactions?
Source: “Book Bind: Public Libraries Feel Strain of Budget Cuts,” TruthOut.org, 04/20/11
Source: “Portland One-Legged Homeless Man Discharged From Jail Without Wheelchair,” ABC News, 05/25/11
Source: “Woman beaten, locked in storage unit,” KXAN.com, 04/29/11
Source: “Lawsuit: Women beat homeless men for sex fetish videos,” The Miami Herald, 04/12/11
Source: “Hollywood Unlisted,” Amazon.com
Image by Letheravensoar (Tyler M.), used under its Creative Commons license.
Deadly Violence Among and Against the Homeless
If a person were inclined to really concentrate on the negative, it would be possible to spotlight quite a number of incidents where people experiencing homelessness are randomly slain by bands of townsfolk for apparent sport, or by a citizen with a twisted lone-avenger fantasy. Even worse are the reports of homeless people assaulted or killed by other homeless people. Add to that the incidents that are never reported. Plus, when the topic is police violence against the homeless, there are unfortunately many examples.
Last month in Northern California, guilty pleas were entered by two out of three teenagers accused of the 2009 beating death of a homeless man. They also agreed to testify against the third member of a murderous expedition, the purpose of which was to “kick a bum’s ass.” This they effectively did, using metal bars and a table leg as weapons to kill Timothy Lee Alcorn. Just a couple of weeks ago, a Northern California resident was found guilty of murdering Richard Seeger in order to steal the car in which Seeger had been living.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, is likely a pleasant enough place, except for when the occasional citizen is set on fire, like Johnnie Roberts was. This happened about a week ago, under a bridge (of course), where the victim was found by a homeless veteran. Meagan O’Halloran reports,
Authorities say they found Johnnie Spencer Roberts tied to a pole by his shoelaces. He was unconscious and intoxicated, but, miraculously, he survived… Now other homeless people say they’re afraid they’ll be targeted next.
Speaking of homeless veterans, that is the category to which Thomas Higginbotham had belonged, before he was killed by police gunfire in Oregon. Maxine Bernstein reported on this January tragedy that took place in an abandoned car wash, where the victim and at least one other homeless man were indoor camping. The victim was 67, alcoholic, armed, and had been persistently threatening a security guard. The scenario, according to the witnesses, sounds like a determined effort to commit suicide-by-cop. If that was what Higginbotham intended, his plan was successful in achieving not only his death, but a stain on the careers of two long-time police officers.
St. Petersburg Times staff reporter Rita Farlow relates how in Florida, a resident of a homeless encampment was convicted of manslaughter last month, another suspect having already pleaded guilty last year. The two beat a fellow homeless man to death back in 2007. Apparently the victim, Michael J. Picciola, had attacked one of them first, and caused other problems, and the two wanted to convince him to leave the small colony. Instead, the troublemaker ended up dead.
Last year was also when three teenagers beat Joseph Ruba to death in Lakeland, Florida. Just last month, a homeless man was charged with the burning death of a 26-year-old homeless woman in Largo, Florida. What is going on down there in the lovely state that we are accustomed to thinking of as a retirement haven and amusement park heaven?
David Greisman reported on the deadly autumn season in Laurel, Maryland, where Pamela Myers, who had been living in the woods, died after being set on fire by her “boyfriend.” Then, within weeks, in an unrelated homicide, Flavio Garcia was killed by another homeless man near a local racetrack. Maryland also saw the death of a homeless man named Adeolu Adedgoke Otemolu, shot by a teenager.
The fall of 2010 was also a bad season in Houston, Texas, where several homeless women were murdered and rumors of a serial killer abounded. Then, in December, an elderly homeless man was killed by a fast-food restaurant employee in Detroit, Michigan. December was also an ill-omened month in Connecticut, where a homeless man was beaten to death by his tent-mate, who then asked a third person to help him bury the body.
Violence occurs among the homeless, as people lacking in social skills attempt to self-police their settlements and camps by what amounts to vigilante action. It happens between people experiencing homelessness, who are driven by deprivation and unimaginable stresses to turn against those who were formerly friends or even lovers.
It happens through malicious hate crimes committed by housed people, who seem to think they are doing some kind of societal cleanup, and who refuse to understand that they are not part of any solution at all, but rather part of an increasingly horrifying problem. Long ago, I knew an Air Force captain, a pilot who held the record for flying a certain kind of Southeast Asia mission and living to tell the tale. Home on leave, in a backward part of the American South, he took his Harley out on the remote country roads. Some bigot was cruising around in a pickup truck, with a head full of spiteful visions of Billy and Wyatt, the motorcycle-riding hippies of Easy Rider. He forced the bike off the road, and though the captain recovered from other injuries, one of his arms was made absolutely, totally useless, forever.
The savages who beat a homeless man to death, or set him on fire, have no idea whom they are attacking, but they too need a story to tell themselves. Chances are, they convince themselves they are doing a good deed by ridding society of a nameless degenerate who will be missed by no one.
And violence happens through the disordered thinking of an individual who wants to escape from life and can’t think of a better way to do it than by taunting the police, in hopes of a quick death that will leave behind lingering problems for officers of the law.
One thing is clear: If homelessness were ended, this violence would also end. And how can that be accomplished? One measure that could go a long way toward a solution would be the adoption of the Universal Living Wage, which would end homelessness for more than 1,000,000 minimum-wage workers, and prevent economic homelessness for all 10.1 million minimum-wage workers. Learn more about the Universal Living Wage here, and from Richard R. Troxell’s Looking Up at the Bottom Line.
Reactions?
Source: “Two plead guilty in fatal beating of homeless man,” Redding.com, 01/07/11
Source: “FWB Homeless Man Lit on Fire; Investigators Still Looking for Suspect,” WJHG-TV, 01/31/11
Source: “Grand jury reports: Portland police shot homeless veteran 10 times after he advanced holding a knife,” OregonLive, 01/28/11
Source: “Man found guilty in 2007 death at homeless camp,” Tampabay.com, 01/14/11
Source: “One Homeless Man Accused of Murdering Another Homeless Man in Laurel,” Columbia.Patch.com, 12/04/10
Image by sparr0 (Clarence Risher), used under its Creative Commons license.
The Homeless Ex-Offender, Part 2
Forensic psychologist Karen Franklin says that the majority of sex offenses are committed by men without criminal records, so no matter how stringently those with records are controlled, these crimes will continue. And most convicted sex offenders are never arrested for a second sex crime. A very small minority of ex-offenders, in the area of 15%, are the ones who need watching. With the rest, it’s a waste of time an energy, and actually causes more problems.
We talked about Jessica’s Law in California and similar measures in other states, requiring that ex-offenders not live within certain distances of schools, parks, and other places where children gather; and the unforeseen results that have led to even more problems, such as an increase in homelessness, and a less safe environment.
As Franklin puts it,
Time and time again, here’s the way the story goes:
1. An exceedingly rare but highly troublesome event occurs.
2. A knee-jerk scramble ensues to find the cause and affix blame.
3. Existing laws are impulsively altered.
4. Unintended consequences ensue, most of them harmful.
Another issue is that, in some places, even if their sentence is served, inmates cannot be let out without giving an address, which of course many do not have. Earlier this year in Wisconsin, an appeals court decided that homeless sex offenders who leave prison are not obligated to do this, acknowledging that the requirement to register an address just can’t be met by a released prisoner with nowhere to go, and no prospects.
The same question came up in Alabama, where Thornal Lee Adams was being punished, in violation of the Constitution, for being homeless. Adams won in court, and his attorney David Schoen is quoted as saying the decision was:
[…] stunning in its recognition of the unique hardships that poverty places on members of our society, and it speaks in the strongest terms possible against penalizing that status through the criminal law.
A couple of years back, a Florida judge made national news by ordering several homeless sex offenders to live beneath a highway bridge. Their registration address was the Julia Tuttle Causeway, and they were ordered to stay under there nightly from 10 PM to 6 AM. The futility can easily be seen. Has anyone proven that assaults on children never take place during daylight?
One of those five men, Kevin Morales, after serving his sentence, had recovered his life to the point of having a job, a car, and an apartment, which he was forced to leave because of the residency restriction laws. He petitioned the judge to go back to jail, where at least there were no rats, but was refused. (His current address is listed as “Transient.”)
In California and some other states, in addition to strict residency rules, ex-offenders have to wear Global Positioning System ankle bracelets for the rest of their lives. One might ask, if GPS monitors are required, aren’t the restrictions on residence pretty much redundant?
Why isn’t it enough to just settle for having the ankle bracelets tracked in real time? It would not matter if the nearest child was 20 feet away, as long as the permitted radius was 10 feet. If the authorities are going to make use of those devices anyway, why not trust the devices to do their job? And why not expand them to other areas? When Enron’s Andy Fastow gets out of prison, for instance, it might be useful to keep an eye on him.
As it turns out, the GPS units need to be recharged periodically. Someone living under a bridge, or even in a homeless shelter, can’t get access to electricity for the required recharging of the GPS unit. Functional GPS monitors would make the probability of being caught and proven guilty about 100%.
John Simerman reports that even George Runner, the senator who got Jessica’s Law passed, says that he’s never heard of a homeless parolee with a GPS monitor being a repeat offender. So, by his own logic, he ought to see that having these men stabilized in places where their anklets can be recharged is a good idea. You’d think he would see the advantage of finding them places to live. But, Senator Runner says,
I’m sure that’s a personal hassle for them, but that’s not my concern.
Well, it should be of concern. When any kind of menacing person is homeless, including sex offenders, they can’t be kept track of, or located for questioning if need be. This makes society less safe overall. There are many compelling reasons not to go all medieval over ex-offenders.
Reactions?
Source: “Sex offender fallout hitting unrelated laws,” In the News: 05/27/10
Source: “Court: Sex offender notification law can’t apply to homeless,” PrisonTalk, 11/07/10
Source: “Where Can You Live in Florida if You Are a Registered Sex Offender?,” JusticeFlorida.com, 08/22/08
Source: “Court challenges mount against sex offender law,” Mercury News.com, 12/21/10
Image by Editor B (Bart Everson), used under its Creative Commons license.
A Homelessness Success Story for the Holidays
What better way to celebrate the holidays than to hear a success story? There is a good one in the San Francisco Chronicle and, no surprise, it’s about a person experiencing homelessness. The reporter is Tim Povtak, who writes for pro basketball annual magazines and has won many awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors. The story originates in Mt. Vernon, New York, a smallish city of 60,000 inhabitants, bordering on the Bronx.
Mt. Vernon is renowned for the number of excellent basketball players it has produced and supplied to college and professional teams. Their jerseys hang on the wall of the gym at the local high school. One of the athletes thus memorialized is Ray Williams, who was always remembered by his home town, even though no one had seen him for many years.
Once upon a time Williams, now 56, was a local hero and an inspiration to the young players coming up after him. From 1977 to 1987, he played for 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). His professional career started with four seasons for the New York Knicks, including a year as team captain. Then he joined the New Jersey Nets, the Kansas City Kings, went back to the Knicks, and has also played for the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs.
Like many athletes, Williams didn’t manage money too well, either before or after retiring from the sport. He filed for bankruptcy in 1994, and consequently parted with his home and family. He received his NBA pension in a lump sum and then lost it speculating on real estate in Florida, where he than entered a span of 13 years as a member of the working poor, surviving on part-time, low-level jobs. As writer Povtak describes,
When his playing career ended, he started a gradual, downward slide, spiraling through a series of bad choices, bad investments, bad advice. Life after basketball was like quicksand. He kept sinking.
For many months, Williams lived a “dock of the bay” existence, fishing for his supper and sleeping in a found wreck of a vehicle. Then, in the summer of 2010, the Boston Globe published a story about him, written by Bob Hohler and titled “Desperate Times“.
Williams told the reporter that the NBA ought to make better arrangements for the players who apparently don’t understand that their careers won’t last forever. (I hate to be a negative voice here, but the NBA could protect retirees by refusing to hand out a pension as a lump sum. If it were paid out gradually, that would prevent the very situation that Williams found himself in. Of course, the players wouldn’t like it a bit, and neither would their lawyers.) Actually, two NBA-related groups had helped the retiree with “grants,” but he just couldn’t get a foothold on life. Hohler wrote,
Williams, 55 and diabetic, wants the titans of today’s NBA to help take care of him and other retirees who have plenty of time to watch games but no televisions to do so. He needs food, shelter, cash for car repairs, and a job, and he believes the multibillion-dollar league and its players should treat him as if he were a teammate in distress… One thing Williams especially wants them to know: Unlike many troubled ex-players, he has never fallen prey to drugs, alcohol, or gambling.
All of this came to the attention of His Honor Clinton Young, the mayor of Mt. Vernon, who set things in motion to get Ray Williams back home and living a productive life. Having returned to the land of ice and snow, Williams now holds the job title Recreation Specialist, but the expectation is that he will do so much more. Williams has already given a talk at the Boys & Girls Club, and addressed the Mt. Vernon High School boys’ basketball team. Ric Wright, the school’s football coach, calls him an icon.
Mayor Young envisions the revitalization of Mt. Vernon through its recreation and sports facilities. He is counting on the Williams’ charisma factor, presenting the former star as a kind of ambassador for the city who will relate to contractors and developers, and bring about a hoped-for alliance. Meanwhile, Williams has been reunited with his elderly mother, brother, and other family members who still live in Mt. Vernon for their first Christmas together in a long time.
Bonus Holiday Video!
Life Can Be Lonely This Holiday Season Lil Bob & the Lollipops.
Reactions?
Source: “Ray Williams Goes From Homeless to Home With a Job for Holidays,” San Francisco Chronicle, 12/17/10
Source: “Desperate Times,” Boston.com, 02/07/10
Image by LabyrinthX (Nicholas Bufford), used under its Creative Commons license.
Many Cities Observe Homelessness Awareness Week
Today, we’re looking around America to see what is being done in various cities about the National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The news is encouraging. Many groups, both secular and faith-based, are taking on the responsibility for doing something useful to alleviate the growing problem of people experiencing homelessness. Here is a small sampling of what folks throughout the land are up to this week.
In Vero Beach, Florida, housed citizens take turns living in a car for 24 hours in a public place, while a local radio show broadcasts their reactions and sends out requests for donations to help the involuntary homeless, whose number in the area is estimated at 2,000. Volunteers staff 10 collection sites around the city to take contributions, and many businesses put on special events where part of the profit is donated.
In Pensacola, Florida, the main organizers for the Week are the Waterfront Rescue Mission and EscaRosa Coalition on the Homeless. Events there include food and clothing drives, a candlelight vigil, a prayer breakfast, a sale of art created by people experiencing homelessness, and the screening of a film called On the Edge.
On the opposite coast, in Portland, Oregon, a group called Human Solutions has opened its 60-bed Family Warming Center (it will be open for 12 hours every night), and also offers help with housing information and help with job hunting. Located at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, the Center is always looking for volunteers to help out in the recreation room with the evening activities leadership, and to mentor the children. Community members volunteer in the kitchen and, as always and everywhere, food donations are gratefully accepted.
In California, Project Homeless Connect holds an event in three towns (Hanford, Porterville, and Visalia), visited this year by close to 800 people in need of help. Actually, this is only a small portion of the activities of PHC. Machael Smith gives the background:
Created in 2004 in San Francisco, Project Homeless Connect is equal parts welcoming homeless neighbors into the life of the community, changing the way resources are accessed and achieving quantifiable results for people experiencing homelessness. The innovation has taken off like wildfire across the country as communities look for solutions to end homelessness. More than 330 events in 220 communities have taken place so far.
Thanks to the efforts of many volunteering agencies and individuals, clients receive an amazing array of services from haircuts and showers to vaccinations for their pets. The State Department of Motor Vehicles is on hand to issue ID cards for those who need them, and many other needs are also met, improving the lives of people of all ages.
In San Francisco, Craig Newmark himself (the founder of Craigslist) takes the time to publish an appeal for the sock drive sponsored by St. Anthony’s. This may sound like a small thing, but, as the article explains, people experiencing homelessness are rarely in a position to be able to do something as simple as take off their shoes, let alone wash any of their clothes. Clean, dry socks are rare, and a brand new pair of socks can seem like a luxury fit for a king.
This is a reminder to all of us that no matter how little we have, and regardless of how close to the edge we ourselves might be, there is still something we can do for a person who is even worse off. A pair of socks is not much to give, but it can be a bounteous gift to receive.
Meanwhile, down in Southern California, STANDUP FOR KIDS (SUFK) hosts a wine-tasting benefit to raise money toward the construction of a drop-in center and transitional housing facility for young people. Orange County, long regarded as a center of affluence, estimates that it contains an astonishing 26,000 homeless youth. And that’s only the kids. The SUFK organization concentrates on helping the young gain a foothold in society before they can slip too far into the hopeless situation of seeing homelessness as their only possible future.
From Evansville, Indiana, Richard Gootee reports that this is one of the many cities participating in the “Totes for Hope,” a program that provides tote bags and backpacks to homeless veterans.
Last but certainly not least, The Statesman carries a report from Andrea Ball on the doings in Austin, Texas, the center of operations of House the Homeless, and the site of the annual Homeless Sunrise Memorial Service.
Reactions?
Source: “HFC joins National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week,” TCPalm.com,10/04/10
Source: “Homeless Families Warming Center Opens…,” Chuck Currie, 11/04/10
Source: “Events urge awareness of hunger, homelessness,” pnj.com, 11/13/10
Source: “A day of hope offered to the homeless,” Visalia Times-Delta, 11/06/10
Source: “St. Anthony’s needs socks for homeless veterans,” San Francisco Chronicle, 11/09/10
Source: “‘STANDUP On The Vine’ To Benefit Local Orange County Homeless Youth,” San Francisco Chronicle, 11/03/10
Source: “‘Totes for Hope’ gives hand to local homeless veterans,” Evansville Courier & Press, 11/12/10
Source: “Who Are the Homeless?,” The Statesman, 11/15/10
Image by Elsie Esq. (Les Chatfield), used under its Creative Commons license.
Faith-Based Help for People Experiencing Homelessness
It comes as no surprise that churches are on board with the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. The principle of sharing material goods with the destitute is a prime directive in every major religion, and if it isn’t, it ought to be. The dates are not exactly the same in each municipality, but the observance of such a Week is an idea whose time has come, and all across America, churches are supporting it.
Did you know there is a Muncy in Pennsylvania? Last Friday, the youth groups of several United Methodist churches banded together to host a “Box City” in the parking lot of Clarkstown UMC, so they could learn first-hand how to have empathy with people experiencing homelessness. Of course, the realism of such events is limited. The kids didn’t even have to go out and scrounge their own refrigerator cartons, which were donated by a local business. But the spirit is definitely in the right place.
Chris Warner, one of the youth leaders, supplied the reporter with details. The participants were…
[…] restricted from having any electronic devices and even food, unless friends and family feed them. A garbage can was filled with sandwiches and snacks organized to look like real garbage… Parishioners provided food and to add realism, half empty bottles of water and wrapped morsels of food where hidden among trash in a dumpster.
The kids didn’t have the experience of real panhandling, but throughout the night they collected cash donations for shelters and food banks. They also received “several truckloads” of food, blankets, and coats, to pass on to local distribution points. The youth were allowed to go into the building for warm-up periods, but apparently, toughing it out was a point of pride. The article quotes one of the teens, Carina Dunlap:
When I told my friends I was sleeping in a box, they just looked at me and asked why? It wasn’t bad sleeping in a box; I was one of two from Clarkstown who didn’t take breaks inside the church.
Another youth, Kelly Reed, said,
It was insane trying to sleep in a cramped box in the freezing cold, and then realize the next morning that’s how some people live their life. We had trouble dealing with it for one night.
In the similar-sounding but differently-spelled Muncie, Indiana, the United Methodist youth held their third annual Lockout for the Homeless, with donations going to the Indianapolis Interfaith Hospitality Network. The Christian Center teamed up with an organization called Alternatives Inc. for an event known as “Reality Check: Confronting Homelessness.”
Same state, different city: In Fort Wayne, Indiana, churches sponsored a Knit-In event where free yarn and knitting lessons were provided, and participants knitted hats and scarves for people experiencing homelessness. In Fort Meyers, Florida, at least 24 faith-based and other organizations have collaborated on a Homeless Service Day and Stand Down at Broadway Community Church. And, of course, there were many more variations on the homeless-simulation experiment.
Kids probably have a lot of fun at these things. How could a bunch of kids get together for a sleepover, and have anything but fun? They probably make some tasteless remarks, and even say jokingly that this homeless gig might not be too bad after all. And what does it mean, really, to perform a sanitized ritual of eating from a garbage can? There are probably people who think that the whole idea is utter nonsense.
But it isn’t. You never know what kind of experience will plant a spark of inspiration in a young person’s mind. Some of these kids will have a different perception next time they see a person eating from a real garbage can. Some of these kids think about it later, alone, at night. They make connections and consider alternatives.
It would be great to hear from some young people who have actually participated in events of this kind. Have you done a homeless sleepout? Did it do anything to your head? If so, what?
Source: “Youth prepare for National Homeless Awareness Week by sleeping in boxes,” The Luminary, 11/09/10
Source: “On Your Side Community Calendar,” The IndyChannel.com, 11/10
Image by Franco Folini, used under its Creative Commons license.
We Are All Leaders: The Coalition of Immokalee Workers
Down in Florida, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) has been involved for 10 years in an active struggle against the tomato growers over, among others issues, a living wage. The pickers are the very definition of the working poor, a combination of migrant workers and American citizens who are experiencing homelessness. A lot of those tomato farms have not raised the pay rates in 30 years, and some say this industry is the closest thing we have to slavery in America today.
The tomato harvesters need better pay and better working conditions. There have been boycotts and federal investigations, and finally the workers hit on the effective combination of right target and right tactic. The Campaign for Fair Food began by focusing its efforts on the fast-food industry, then went after the food-service sector, announcing in August:
The foodservice industry — the companies that, operating largely behind the scenes, manage cafeterias in the nation’s grade schools and universities, hospitals and hotels, government agencies and institutions, and more — is comprised, almost in its entirety, of its three largest members, Compass, Aramark, and Sodexo. With today’s announcement, all three of those companies have now signed Fair Food agreements.
The CIW is into education, investigation, and agitation. Its members and supporters are vocal, articulate, persistent, and sincere organizers and activists who are great at demonstrating, and are very adept at winning the support and help of the general public. They go into stores and talk to the customers, and deliver letters to the managers, stating,
It is imperative that your company seize the opportunity to be part of the solution to Florida’s longstanding shame of farmworker exploitation.
They believe that those who hold great power in the world also have a great responsibility, a notion that used to be called noblesse oblige. The giant supermarket chains are their next target. To make sure that corporations meet their responsibilities, the CIW has a couple of major actions planned for this coming spring, one in Florida and one in Quincy, Massachusetts, at a corporate HQ.
If you are cheered and heartened by stories of how public shaming can affect a corporation, you will enjoy Richard R. Troxell’s tale of the actions aimed at Best Buy, in chapter two of his book, Looking Up at the Bottom Line.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Perez has covered real estate, home builders, cruise lines, and airlines, and now his beat is the Justice Department. Lately, he has been writing about the struggle in Florida, and brings us up to date on part of the movement’s history:
Taco Bell was the first target. After four years of protests and boycotts, Taco Bell corporate parent Yum! Brands Inc. in 2005 agreed to pay the surcharge to suppliers that would be passed along to workers. Next, the farm workers group went after McDonald’s, which signed a similar agreement in 2007, and then Burger King Holdings Inc. a year later.
Perez quotes Reggie Brown, who is executive VP of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange. The indignant Brown has warned his fellow tycoons:
This type of tactic could be used against any company in corporate America. They’d be well advised to take note.
Exactly! That’s the whole idea! That’s what made the Pacific Tomato Growers, for example, agree to pass along the extra-penny-a-pound surcharge that McDonald’s is paying them.
Why, you may ask, should paying these workers even require a special surcharge, which will be passed on to the consumers who, after all, are also trying to stay solvent? Isn’t paying the employees a basic built-in cost of doing business? Why don’t McDonald’s and the other corporations take it out of their own profits, which are surely abundant? That is one of the mysteries of the Universe.
A raise of one cent per pound of tomatoes would result in something much closer to a living wage for the workers, but, although the CIW has put a lot of energy into trying to convince the growers, it was no use. They even got some of the huge corporate customers to pay the extra penny per pound, but the growers were forbidden by their trade association from passing it on to the tomato pickers. Outfits like Taco Bell have been keeping it in escrow.
Labor Notes reporter Mischa Gaus, formerly a writer for In These Times, knows all about workers — in communications, the postal system, the steel industry, the health care field, and the tomato fields. He quotes CIW leader Lucas Benitez, who says,
We are not today claiming that we have achieved the changes sought by the Campaign for Fair Food. Rather, we are announcing that we have forged a plan of action that gives us a realistic chance to bring about those changes.
In other words, there is still plenty to do. But things are looking better. Along with better pay, the workers want some other kinds of social justice too. They have convinced some companies to agree to the CIW’s code of conduct, which includes third-party monitors to make sure that the wage increase actually makes it to the workers’ pockets. There is also a health and safety program, a complaint-resolution system, and a guarantee that CIW representatives are allowed to talk with workers in the fields.
Source: “Ready to take action now?,” Coalition of Immokalee Workers, 10/11/10
Source: “Major Grower to Join Wage Plan,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/13/10
Source: “Tomato Pickers Secure Path-Breaking Deal with Florida Grower,” SouthernStudies.org, 10/13/10
Image by Dion Hinchcliffe, used under its Creative Commons license.
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