Another Incident at a Shelter

Shelter Safety??

We have talked about the increase in metal detectors at the shelters back in May. Just last week, the shelters met to talk about suggestions for improving the safety within the shelter. I guess a number of the homeless population did not get the safety forum powerpoint, because a homeless guy stabbed another guy at St. Herman's Shelter in Cleveland. As I mentioned back in May, we need a broader discussion about shelter safety and not just a discussion focusing on bag checks, metal detectors and law enforcement.

A can of soup wrapped in a sock can be a weapon (Even Campbell's Pepper Pot soup?). Focusing only on keeping weapons out of the shelter is similar to invading another country to fight a war on terror. In a free society it is impossible to keep everyone safe all the time no matter how many bag checks, metal detectors and rules the shelter develops. We need to turn our attention to all of the tasks that keep residents and staff safe, and not just looking for weapons. There are so many other issues involved in the death of a shelter director, this latest stabbing at St. Hermans, and the gun incident at one of the local shelters. The biggest issue is mental illnesses within the shelters, and the inability for some to find help. There is an issue over the lack of proper training on de-escalation techniques for shelter staff. There is the problem over an inability to teach conflict resolution to both residents and staff. There is the basic injustice of living in a shelter and having no where to turn if there is a problem. There are a lot of anger issues among the homeless population. We see issues of people being treated as a number (Bed 23) and not a human being. There is the sadness over the break up of a family or the loss of housing. It goes on and on, and so far our only response is for the homeless population to "assume the position" like a criminal when they enter the shelter.

We never had a community wide discussion to address all the issues around safety. We never reassured volunteers that the shelter staff realized that there is a problem with a perception of unsafe conditions, and are working on a response. If people keep hearing about these incidents within the shelters are they going to give money? Are they going to volunteer? People are being harmed on a regular basis. People have already died. What is it going to take for the City and County to admit that there is a problem and begin to address it?

Brian

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The Mentally Ill are Going to Take A Hit

Virginia Tech Shooting Means Rough Road Ahead

In September 2001, I was naive and believed all the hot air that I was hearing about tolerance and not to stereotype people. For example, I believed that a bill, the Patriot Act, that had near unanimous approval was not an overreaction--then I actually read the law. I believed what President Bush said to a joint session of Congress:

"I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans, and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them."

I was a sucker, and did not realize that we would soon attack two Muslim countries, men who look Muslim would be excluded from airplanes, and the first Muslim elected to Congress would be asked on a national television show how we could trust him? So, now we are told not to jump to conclusions about immigrants or those with a mental illness after the shootings at Virginia Tech. Well, maybe I am jaded or just wiser, but I believe there will be some big changes for mentally ill people. When the United States acts in haste in response to a national tragedy, civil rights usually go out the window. From World War II and the Japanese American forced into concentration camps to the stomping on privacy and individual liberty in the name of fighting terrorism today, we often go overboard with our answer to a crisis.

Are we going to build a bunch of asylums? Are we going to confine people to extended stays in the hospital against their will? Are we going to force people to take medicine against their will? Or are we going to build forced labor camps for immigrants or those bipolar folks in our community? I know that we are not going to provide health care and housing for our citizens, and everything short of that will just make their lives miserable.

Brian

Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.