A Couple of Items You May Have Missed

Homelessness in the Media

NPR's Morning Edition had a story of a homeless woman trying to get enough money to send a Christmas Card to her daughter on the popular StoryCorp section of the broadcast.  While living in the shelter, Queen Jackson was depressed around the holidays until she received a hygiene kit that contained a bottle of lotion with the most fantastic fragrance.  It cheered her up, and got her through the season.  Remember NEOCH is also collecting items to distribute to homeless people.  We are collecting blankets and winter items including hygiene items to distribute to those on the streets. Maybe your donation could help a woman down on her luck make it through the holidays. 

Staff of the local coalition as well as the National Coalition for the Homeless were quoted in the latest Nation magazine.  The article describes the cuts to the housing budget nationally and the strain that is putting on those with a low income.  I really like the quote from Neil Donovan at NCH:

“Today the housing safety net isn’t just frayed,” says Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “It’s missing. And still everyone’s being told to walk the tightrope without any net.”

The entire issue is dedicated to a look at the cuts to all the New Deal programs and the impact of those cuts on our society.   From Medicaid to Food Stamps to poverty programs, they are all facing the chopping block, and the authors look at how this affects the Bronx or Cleveland or the Oakland school system.  It is a good read--check it out. 

The National Center for Family Homelessness has received a great deal of attention for their report on the sharp increase in children experiencing homelessness during the recession. The director was on Tell Me More on NPR talking about the report, and many newspaper wrote about how their state compared with regard to childhood homelessness.  This is the best part of the Center for Family Homeless reports is that it compares various state efforts to address the problem. It shows how state efforts to cut taxes has a consequence on the number of people living in poverty.   This report shows that nearly every deep Southern state as well as the desert southwest states having the largest increase in homelessness of over 40% in the last three years.  California is also on the worst list.  Texas is in the second worst category of 31% to 40% increases in childhood homelessness along with the other states bordering the South along with New York and Oregon.  Two Southern states (North and South Carolina) break with the rest of the South seeing only a 21% to 30% rise in childhood homelessness.  These are certainly not good numbers, but at least they are not horrible like much of the South and West.  This 21% to 30% increase in childhood homelessness is the same percentage increase for Ohio, Michigan and Indiana.

Brian Davis
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

PBS NewsHour Highlights Cleveland

Photo by Cheryl Jones of the Grapevine Photo Project

Foreclosures and Clearing Land Focus of NewsHour Report

Last night was an excellent piece on the effort by the Land Bank and the City of Cleveland to clear some of the degrading housing stock as a result of the foreclosure tsunami. The usual suspects were featured including Gus Frangos of the Land Bank, Frank Ford of NPI, Councilman Tony Brancatelli, and Housing Court Judge Raymond Pianka. It was a nice touch to talk to Manfield Frazier about his vineyard in Hough. The piece was centered at Ground Zero of the foreclosure crisis in Slavic Village. They showed houses coming down as part of the thousands that we have destroyed over the last five years. Frank Ford did a good job describing the economics of this crisis with the reality that it costs$7,500 to take down a property while it can cost $100,000 to renovate that property with new electrical, new plumbing and new furnace.

There was a interesting discussion about the flipping of these homes using the internet, and the nasty practices of some of the banks (we are talking to you Deutsche Bank). They sold a property for $500 that was an eyesore, and then the new owner tried flipping it on the internet with a profit of $1,000 to an out of state buyer (sucker) with no intention of doing anything to the property. They are just hoping that the land value will turn around and they can make a profit. These vultures are just trying to earn money off of the misery of hard hit neighborhoods. It was a good piece. Check it out.

Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

Homeless Female Veterans

Interesting Story on ABC News

In case you missed it over the weekend, ABC News did a feature on female veterans who become homeless. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Journal of Public Health looked at the extent of homelessness among female veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They found that women are four times as likely to find themselves homeless as their male counterparts. ABC News interviewed a number of women veterans returning to the states and struggling with childcare, housing and trying to find jobs.

In Cleveland, we have a few outreach workers and Department of Veterans Affairs staff dedicated to serving the needs of female veterans. We also have a few shelter beds in the community purchased by the VA to house women returning from oversees. We have a few family facilities in the community that can offer help. One of the best resources that were developed over the last few years are the Veteran's Housing Vouchers. These are invaluable services to the families of veterans struggling with their housing. We are only limited by the resources to help those veterans who are homeless. The VA has the other pieces in place of job assistance, treatment, outreach, shelter and health care. The missing piece is we do not have enough affordable housing available to these veterans.

Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

Cleveland Media Forgot About Homelessness in 2010

Top 10 Homeless Stories Missed by the Cleveland Media in 2009

There were so many stories in the homeless community from 2009, and below are the top 1o that were missed by the local media. I was thinking back to 20 years ago and how many options there were to get stories into the media. Every radio station had at least one reporter and there were magazines that featured news, and we had weekly newspapers from all over the community. Now there are blogs but very few feature general news stories that are not opinion driven.

Here are the stories that were missed in 2009:
1. Despicable Process for Distributing Stimulus Dollars. President Obama helped get $1.5 billion out to the states and communities for preventing homelessness. Cuyahoga County received $14 million. There was one story in the Plain Dealer that focused entirely on a NEOCH vs. the County dispute over these funds. The story was much bigger and was the prime example for why voters distrust County government. The City let down their constituency by just giving their $10 million from the Stimulus over to the troubled Cuyahoga County. A good plan was developed by homeless people, service providers and advocates which was set aside by the County and for some inexplicable reason a different plan was funded. So far in the first 2 months only 10 people were given housing help. So much for stimulating the local economy.

2. Homeless Memorial Day 2009. We read the names of 45 people who passed away over on the first state designated homeless memorial day. This was the 23rd time we have presented the homeless memorial day, and the first time no media showed up to cover the event (except the Grapevine).

3. Homeless Stand Down 2009. Again, an important event with over 2,000 homeless people in attendance. This year no media showed up to cover this huge social service fair. We had entertainment, 60 health care/social service groups, and hundreds of volunteers. No television, no radio news reporters, and no special interest coverage.

4. Huntington Bank Help with North Point Transitional. Introduced in late 2008 and early 2009 was a new effort to get homeless people to start using the banking system. There are so many poor people excluded from the banking system, which manifests itself in the proliferation of payday lenders. Huntington Bank has stepped forward to help guys who are trying to rebuild their lives with support in getting a bank account. A good program that has received no publicity.

5. County Publishes Blueprint for Change. As part of the stimulus dollars and the new focus on prevention efforts, the County Office of Homeless Services published a new strategy for how to end homelessness on July 1, 2009. This document got ZERO coverage in the media, and is a fairly radical departure from what was done in the past. The document had zero input from homeless people and very little input from homeless shelter providers. It was also unfortunate that it came out one and half months after all the groups submitted proposals for how to use the prevention dollars. Maybe it is better that this got no coverage, so that it will be easier for this document to quietly fade away.

6. Shelters Overflowing even in the summer. The New York Times, Washington Post and other papers did stories about the overflowing shelters in their cities due to budget cuts and the instability in the housing sector. There was a brief mention on WCPN, but for the most part the story did not get any coverage in Cleveland.

7. Many work while living in the shelters. This is on the list every year, but it is a good story that never gets enough attention. The mythology is that most people living in a shelter or on the streets are lazy. No one ever does a story about how these guys get up at 4 a.m. to try to get sent out to work at the Temp. company. No media tries to dispel some of these horrible myths about homelessness in America.

8. Failures of the Alcohol and Drug System and its impact on the Imperial Ave. murders. It was said over and over that most of the women killed on Imperial Ave. were substance abusers, but I never saw one story breaking this down. What happened to the alcohol and drug addiction system and the safety net that we pay for as tax payers? Where was the breakdown? Did these women try to get help? Why do we base most of our treatment on outpatient assistance? Why does the alcohol and drug system not follow people long term and why don't they help with housing? How does this system work or how does this system fail poor people? There was such a wealth of stories about the failures of government to protects its citizens from this predator that just never got any coverage.

9. Tough Decisions Made By the Shelters in this Bad Economy. There were a number of stories this past year about the problems of suburban hunger and the growing issues with pantries. I never saw similar stories about the struggles within the shelter community. Cleveland has seen a loss of six shelters in the last six years, and none of the shelters have seen a cost of living increase from government. They should all be given metals for the ability to keep costs under control in the face of flat funding from the government. Despite the rumors, no shelters gets paid based on the number of people entering the building. All the shelters get a set yearly budget and have to figure out how to make that work.

10. The Ability of Social Service Providers to keep the Outdoor Homeless Numbers Down. Over the last three years, despite increases in the number of people sleeping in shelters, the numbers sleeping outside in the downtown area have remained steady. This is a testament to the social service outreach units that go outside every night to build relationships with those who are resistant to shelter. The Volunteers of America, Care Alliance, Veterans Administration, Mental Health Services, Salvation Army, and John Carroll's Labre Project all provide a valuable resource to Cleveland. The media did not do any stories about these wonderful people who earn the trust of those disenfranchised from government and "the system" and in fact save many lives.

Brian

Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

Chill Out!!

Non-Story Appears on NY Times Front Page

All the newspapers, cable television, and wire services are lit up with the New York Times story about shipping homeless people to other communities. The Mayor of NY has had to issue a statement today, and the media is burning up the phones for the National Coalition and homeless advocates in New York City. This must be a slow news day, because this is a non story.

Let's get some perspective here: There are 9,700 families (including children) in the shelters every night in New York City. This program served 550 families over a year or an insignificant number for the nearly 100,000 homeless families within the City. Traveler's Aid is a legitimate service in a community. From the family stuck in the City trying to get home to a grandmother or to a job or the Mom who cannot afford the rent and has a place available to her in the Midwest, these are good programs. These are not forced relocation's. These are not dumping the problem on some other city. These are helping people with a need in the community. If the City pays $36,000 for shelter per family and can spend $400 on gas back to Michigan, this is a huge savings. I have no idea why this is such a big deal in the media except that the story was written in a slanted manner by focusing on the exotic trips.

We do not have any Traveler's Aid in Cleveland. First, because we cannot afford to lose any more people. We certainly don't want government to pay for Cleveland to be a smaller city. Secondly, we just don't have the money to pay to relocate people. Finally, our shelter costs are not as expensive as New York City and our housing is way cheaper than most other cities in America. It is not as economically sound to send people away as it is in the bigger cities like New York. Sometimes I wish we had this type of program, but I understand how politically sensitive this issue is in the media.

Brian
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

USA Today Article on Homeless/Foreclosures

Miami Taking Property vs. Cleveland Asking for Property

As part of this strategic planning process, we have found that many think that I am too aggressive with my advocacy. I have never understood this, but it is an impression among many social service providers. I have visited cities in which the homeless advocacy group constantly antagonize the local administration. The advocates in Cincy created their shelters by squatting on warehouses. Many homeless groups are at war with their cities, and regularly disrupt city business. In Portland, the activists spent the winter in tents on the steps of City Hall. Yes, we have sued the City six times, and I regularly criticize the County for their failure to lead. Unlike others in this struggle, I do not resort to personal attacks against Mayors, bureaucrats or shelter staff. I believe most people working on this problem are fundamentally good -hearted people who want to do right, but may not have the skills to do their jobs. Those who are in it for themselves and have bad motives for working on homeless issues I ignore. My biggest concern is not effectively serving my main constituent: homeless people. For those who do not work with homeless people, there is a ton of anger among people kicked out of their houses. If we do not reflect a little bit of that anger, I believe we are not doing our jobs. How can a person maintain their humanity and not have their blood boil to see Mom's separated from their children and veterans with silver stars sleeping under bridges?

Another example of the style differences in my approach and those activists in other communities appeared in the USA Today on Thursday. In Miami, the homeless activists are fed up and seizing property that are currently in foreclosure. A number of our younger members have for years urged a similar approach in Cleveland. They grew frustrated with our unwillingness to help with these quasi-legal approaches. I have not resorted to leading a charge to take over houses in Cleveland. First of all, it could jeopardize a group's non-profit status. Second, what purpose would it serve? The City does not like the vacant buildings anymore than homeless people do. At this point, the banks are more powerful than the cities. Remember, Cleveland tried unsuccessfully to limit predatory lending only to be shot down by the courts. So, we would put a family in a building. The banks would charge the family with trespassing, and even if the courts or police would not take action, the banks would figure out a way that the family would never ever gain ownership of the house. In Ohio, it takes 21 years to gain ownership of a building through squatting. So, where would we be at the end of the day? The person who helps these families would gain some notoriety for standing up to the city, and banks but they would not be harmed when the banks and holding companies retaliated against the family.

I personally would support families not leaving their houses when the lending company tricked or acted irresponsibility or illegally in drafting the loan, as long as the family was prepared for the hardship they would have to endure in court. In reality, it is more of a short term solution, since it is unlikely to result in a home for these families. NEOCH did defend the squatters at Camelot in the late 1990s, but while we were in court the Mayor sent a wrecking ball to destroy the building. (That guy was a dictator.) I think that the approach that we are taking with asking for support from the City is a better solution. As an update, we still have not had any movement from the City or County, but Councilman Cimperman sent us a nice letter of support for the concept. We are still going to push this issue, and try to get a demonstration project funded that would act in partnership with the City or County.

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

What Can We Do?

We Cannot Respond If They Don't Want Our Help

We had a few calls asking us to respond to those lowlife scum of the earth morning radio show jocks who got the tent city removed. It seems on Monday they talked all about how bad homeless people were and how they were going to go down to stay with the guys in the tent city. They forced the City into intervening, and the guys had to leave by 11:30 a.m. today or face arrest.

Anthony and his crew did leave, and vowed not to tell the media where they were going. He made an appeal for an attorney to help, but they reluctantly left the underpass. We really cannot intervene since the tent city guys did not request that we intervene. They do not trust us and have made it clear they do not like us. We cannot force ourselves on a group of homeless people. We could not agree with these guys on a strategy or the possible results of any court proceedings. These types of cases are difficult to fight because of the questionable legal standing, and then to add a hostile group of clients to the mix makes it impossible to get a compromise. Unfortunately, we are looking at an outcome that is good for the entire homeless community, and these guys are wisely only looking for their interests.

I know that there is very little that NEOCH could do to help the tent city dwellers, but we can go after the morning show. We can urge people not to listen to 92.3 in the mornings or ever. We also could tell people that we will publish the list of irresponsible advertisers who support this kind of hate in the morning. Send us a list of their advertisers and we will publish them on our blog under the headline: "Businesses to Avoid Because they Support Hate Speech." Send us the list and we will publish them.

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