Homeless Evicted from Airport after September 1, 2006
Responding to the yellow journalists at Channel 19 fake news channel, the City is relocating the individuals who sleep at the airport. In a meeting on August 2 with homeless service providers, the city said that homeless people need to leave the airport. The individuals were making a mess and were a security threat and so they must leave. From the perspective of homeless who stay at the airport, this was a clean, safe and secure place to sleep. There was no threat of being beat up or having your stuff stolen at the airport. The federal government is concerned that terrorists could pretend to be homeless and scope out the airport in detail or slip into secure places.
We certainly understand that the airport is not an appropriate place to live, and we hope that this turns into a opportunity and not a black eye for the community. There are many women who stay at the airport because it is a safe place that no one will mess with them. We heard from the police that they want to make sure that there are no arrests. This is a much different police force from the 1990s who supported Mayor White's attempts to make homelessness illegal. The police seem to be more compassionate and learned a lot from these negative encounters in the 1990s. They want a relocation similar to the one at the Convention Center. They are committed to allowing the social service providers take the lead and not law enforcement. Staff at the Coalition certainly hope that all the providers can work together to find alternatives to the people who have found safe haven at the airport. Homeless providers (NEOCH included) have not always been very good partners in solving problems, and we will be measured on how we solve this problem without arrests.
Already we heard Mental Health Services offering housing to some of those who are regularly at the airport. We heard 2100 Lakeside keeping beds available at all hours to make sure that people can be relocated into a bed and will try to break some of the negative impressions of the shelter. The Women's shelter is re-evaluating policies and previous punishments to try to welcome some of the women at the airport back. The Veterans Administration is going to talk to those at the airport to see if any have served in the military. We shall see if this airport move is as smooth as the Convention Center. No matter what happens most of the people at the airport will not go to shelter or housing so they will end up somewhere, and someone else will be complaining about homeless people destroying the peace. Sometime in the near future we will have to deal with the overall problem and not just move people from one side of town to the other.
One other ray of hope is the possibility of a 24 hour drop in center opening. Back in the 1980s Ralph Delaney was taking bread and water to homeless people downtown with a goal of opening a storefront that could be a warm place for those forgotten by society could stay inside, get a cup of coffee, and start the process of rebuilding stability. West Side Catholic Board of Trustees approved the use of their facility on the near West Side of Cleveland to operate 24 hours a day. We need to find $250,000 to $300,000 in order to operate the facility. The heavy lifting is always finding the money. We all have ideas, but finding the money is always a problem.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Upcoming Coalition Events
Listen, Attend, and Learn
A few brief updates on Events coming up for the Homeless Coalition. Yes, we will update our website this week.
Monday July 31, 2006 on WCPN 90.3 FM
David C. Barnett is doing a feature on the Street Voices Project of the Coalition. This will feature interviews with Sabrina Otis one of our formerly homeless Moms in the program. You will also hear from Teri' Horne who created the program in its current form and Charlene Higginbotham who currently administers Street Voices. This is an example of the amazing work of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Tune in at 6:20 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. at 90.3 FM for the report or as always you can catch it by podcast from their website.
Wednesday September 20, 2006 at the VOA Veterans Resource Center
The Coalition in collaboration with the Veterans Administration will host a Teach In to explain the services offered to homeless individuals who served in the armed services. We will meet at the Volunteers of America Veterans Resource Center at 775 East 152nd St. at 6 p.m.on 9/20/06. There will be a tour of this new shelter and an overview of the other projects in the community. We will also have a panel of current or formerly homeless veterans talk about the services. There will be more information on our website in the next few weeks, and the opportunity to RSVP on our website.
Friday October 20, 2006 at the Bishop Cosgrove Center
The Coalition along with a large number of social service providers will have a one day social service fair focusing on housing. The event is entitled "From Homeless to Housed," and will include tables and information from the social service providers in the community. The event will also feature a two hour class explaining all the subsidized programs in the community as well as an explanation of how to use the Housing Cleveland website and the First Call for Help website. The event is 10 to 3 pm and details will be on our website soon.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
A few brief updates on Events coming up for the Homeless Coalition. Yes, we will update our website this week.
Monday July 31, 2006 on WCPN 90.3 FM
David C. Barnett is doing a feature on the Street Voices Project of the Coalition. This will feature interviews with Sabrina Otis one of our formerly homeless Moms in the program. You will also hear from Teri' Horne who created the program in its current form and Charlene Higginbotham who currently administers Street Voices. This is an example of the amazing work of the AmeriCorps*VISTA program. Tune in at 6:20 a.m. and 7:50 a.m. at 90.3 FM for the report or as always you can catch it by podcast from their website.
Wednesday September 20, 2006 at the VOA Veterans Resource Center
The Coalition in collaboration with the Veterans Administration will host a Teach In to explain the services offered to homeless individuals who served in the armed services. We will meet at the Volunteers of America Veterans Resource Center at 775 East 152nd St. at 6 p.m.on 9/20/06. There will be a tour of this new shelter and an overview of the other projects in the community. We will also have a panel of current or formerly homeless veterans talk about the services. There will be more information on our website in the next few weeks, and the opportunity to RSVP on our website.
Friday October 20, 2006 at the Bishop Cosgrove Center
The Coalition along with a large number of social service providers will have a one day social service fair focusing on housing. The event is entitled "From Homeless to Housed," and will include tables and information from the social service providers in the community. The event will also feature a two hour class explaining all the subsidized programs in the community as well as an explanation of how to use the Housing Cleveland website and the First Call for Help website. The event is 10 to 3 pm and details will be on our website soon.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Oscar Goodman Laws Revisited
We Hold These Truths to be Self Evident: Las Vegas Sucks
A new law has been passed in Las Vegas. This law makes it illegal to provide food or meals to the indigent for free or for a nominal fee in parks. What's an indignant, you ask? The law defines it as "a 'person whom a reasonable ordinary person would believe to be entitled to apply for or receive assistance' from the government under state law." The mayor, Mayor Oscar GOODMAN, offers a better definition: "Certain truths are self-evident. You know who's homeless."
Is he alluding to a famous Thomas Jefferson quote in order to bash homeless people? Never in my life have I more wanted the skeletal remains of the Author of the Declaration of Independence to claw his way out of his grave and exact revenge on those who have invoked his name. How Mayor Goodman will shudder when the gaunt hand still crawling with maggots pins him down and he realizes that it is the Father of the University of Virginia that shall feast on his brains tonight.
Since that lazy fog-breather Jefferson isn't returning to a semblance of unlife anytime soon, I offer this in exchange: Your law doesn't say that people receiving assistance from the government aren't allowed to eat in your parks, it says that people who look like people receiving assistance from the government aren't allowed to eat in your parks. Oh, Mayor Goodman, you don't really have anything against people who are homeless. You just hate when people look homeless.
Don't you get it, Osky? What you have is a self-image problem. You're projecting your own inadequacies onto the people you govern. When you say, "You're not allowed to accept food because you look homeless," what you really mean is, "I'm not allowed to eat because I look homeless." It's okay, Osky-pooh. You don't really need stricter local regulation laws on the city's impoverished. You just need to hear someone tell you that you are beautiful.
Mayor Oscar Goodman, you are beautiful. You are as unique as a snowflake and as much an integral part of Spaceship Earth as the smallest budding seed. No one else can be a better Oscar Goodman than you, Oscar Goodman. If I lived in Las Vegas, I'd buy you an ice cream cone and we'd both sit in your park and be beautiful together.
If any of you beautiful people out there (because you all are beautiful, each and every single one of you) are concerned about Oscar Goodman and the people of Las Vegas, please, just write the mayor and tell him he's beautiful. He also has a phone number (702-229-6241), and I know he would love to hear an honest voice telling him he doesn't need to be afraid to look in the mirror. His fax machine can also be used at the fax number 702-385-7960. If nothing else, please visit him, City Hall, Tenth Floor; 400 Stewart Avenue; Las Vegas, NV 89101. Business hours are Monday-Friday 8 AM to 5 PM.
JoshPosts by NEOCH Board and Staff
Oscar Goodman Laws
Las Vegas Tops Jackson Mississippi in Stupid Laws
From 1876 to 1964, the United States struggled against Jim Crow laws of the South that segregated African Americans to different schools, rail cars, drinking fountains, etc. Today, we are met with "Oscar Goodman" laws targeting homeless people. Las Vegas has remained in the top 5 of the "Meanest Cities in the United States" according to the National Coalition for the Homeless for the last three years. They have strict panhandling laws, anti-camping laws, and pretty much every other kind of law targeting those without homes. Now Vegas is trying to out shine Jackson Mississippi and their crazy curfew law.
Mayor Oscar Goodman has enacted an anti-feeding program which defines an indigent person as someone who a reasonable person would believe that the individual was entitled to government assistance or in other words anyone that looka like they just flew across the country arriving late at night or all those people who work 18 hours a day in order to make the rent. A totally unenforceable law enacted by a bully. Goodman, after making the mean city list in 2005 said that next time he was in Washington DC he was going to kick the NCH directors butt. I am proposing referring to all these laws directed at homeless people around the country as Oscar Goodman laws. His name would go down in history representing all that is wrong with American cities.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
From 1876 to 1964, the United States struggled against Jim Crow laws of the South that segregated African Americans to different schools, rail cars, drinking fountains, etc. Today, we are met with "Oscar Goodman" laws targeting homeless people. Las Vegas has remained in the top 5 of the "Meanest Cities in the United States" according to the National Coalition for the Homeless for the last three years. They have strict panhandling laws, anti-camping laws, and pretty much every other kind of law targeting those without homes. Now Vegas is trying to out shine Jackson Mississippi and their crazy curfew law.
Mayor Oscar Goodman has enacted an anti-feeding program which defines an indigent person as someone who a reasonable person would believe that the individual was entitled to government assistance or in other words anyone that looka like they just flew across the country arriving late at night or all those people who work 18 hours a day in order to make the rent. A totally unenforceable law enacted by a bully. Goodman, after making the mean city list in 2005 said that next time he was in Washington DC he was going to kick the NCH directors butt. I am proposing referring to all these laws directed at homeless people around the country as Oscar Goodman laws. His name would go down in history representing all that is wrong with American cities.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Update on NEOCH Board Secretary
Bufford Finally Released from Hospital
We posted a message in the middle of May 2006 about our Vice President, Marcia Bufford. A brief update for our friends. Marcia was in rehabilitation at MetroHealth for the past 2 months to regain the ability to walk and talk. She was released from the hospital on Tuesday, and is resting at home. Things looked bleak in May, but she has made amazing progress after being shot. She is walking and talking now, and working on putting her affairs back in order.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
We posted a message in the middle of May 2006 about our Vice President, Marcia Bufford. A brief update for our friends. Marcia was in rehabilitation at MetroHealth for the past 2 months to regain the ability to walk and talk. She was released from the hospital on Tuesday, and is resting at home. Things looked bleak in May, but she has made amazing progress after being shot. She is walking and talking now, and working on putting her affairs back in order.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
More on City of Jackson
Doublespeak Alive and Well in Mississippi
I just want to report on whatÂ’s going on in Jackson Mississippi. A lot of the articles I read tend to spin it as a great idea. Just for fun, let's try a different spin:
Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, Mississippi, has set a curfew specifically for homeless people. If you are homeless, it is illegal for you to be on the streets after 10 PM. If you are found on the street after 10 PM, you are taken to a "facility" where you are clothed and fed. It's not a jail, though, because these people aren't under arrest. It's just a building the local police forcibly escort you to and which you are not allowed to leave until they say so.
Think what you want about the above spin, I would like to point out a small passage that turns this whole topic from debatable to creepy:
"Melton closed the shelter in the gym Sunday afternoon because it is used during the week for summer youth programs. The remaining homeless people were taken to the Billy Brumfield Shelter, with the exception of Jonathan Graham, a 17-year-old from Texas who now is living with the mayor."
Frank, I'm not here to judge you. I'm just here to say that rounding up all the homeless people in your city and from them picking a minor to take home like a five-year-old picking a puppy out of a store window is, well, it's weird, Frank. I know you must think I'm just ants at a picnic. All I can say to that is: I am not a colony of ants, and what you are doing is no picnic.
Joshua
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I just want to report on whatÂ’s going on in Jackson Mississippi. A lot of the articles I read tend to spin it as a great idea. Just for fun, let's try a different spin:
Mayor Frank Melton of Jackson, Mississippi, has set a curfew specifically for homeless people. If you are homeless, it is illegal for you to be on the streets after 10 PM. If you are found on the street after 10 PM, you are taken to a "facility" where you are clothed and fed. It's not a jail, though, because these people aren't under arrest. It's just a building the local police forcibly escort you to and which you are not allowed to leave until they say so.
Think what you want about the above spin, I would like to point out a small passage that turns this whole topic from debatable to creepy:
"Melton closed the shelter in the gym Sunday afternoon because it is used during the week for summer youth programs. The remaining homeless people were taken to the Billy Brumfield Shelter, with the exception of Jonathan Graham, a 17-year-old from Texas who now is living with the mayor."
Frank, I'm not here to judge you. I'm just here to say that rounding up all the homeless people in your city and from them picking a minor to take home like a five-year-old picking a puppy out of a store window is, well, it's weird, Frank. I know you must think I'm just ants at a picnic. All I can say to that is: I am not a colony of ants, and what you are doing is no picnic.
Joshua
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The Worst Law Against Homeless People in the US
Jackson Mississippi Mayor Violates Rights with "Homeless Curfew"
The City of Jackson and its Mayor, Frank Melton, have developed a strategy to sweep homeless people off the streets--a "homeless curfew." The plan went into effect on Friday July 13, and would force homeless people into a gymnasium at 10 p.m. or face arrest. To justify the City extending the "hospitality" to homeless people, they will be required to mow the lawn, clean and do other menial tasks in exchange for their stay.
This is the worst idea ever by a major American city to address homelessness. Melton is African American and his city has passed a 10 year plan to end homelessness. This effort to make it illegal to be homeless kills the concept of ending homelessness. I can only characterize this as an internment camp for homeless people.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The City of Jackson and its Mayor, Frank Melton, have developed a strategy to sweep homeless people off the streets--a "homeless curfew." The plan went into effect on Friday July 13, and would force homeless people into a gymnasium at 10 p.m. or face arrest. To justify the City extending the "hospitality" to homeless people, they will be required to mow the lawn, clean and do other menial tasks in exchange for their stay.
This is the worst idea ever by a major American city to address homelessness. Melton is African American and his city has passed a 10 year plan to end homelessness. This effort to make it illegal to be homeless kills the concept of ending homelessness. I can only characterize this as an internment camp for homeless people.
Many people choose not to use shelter because of the large number of rules or others feel that it strips them of their dignity. There are many who do not want to accept charity or do not want to have to admit that they have a problem. Some individuals have a paranoia about living in a group setting. Others do not trust the government or have health complications that make it difficult to live in a group setting. Forcing people into a shelter is a violation of the rights of the disabled and the freedom of movement of an adult population.
Shelter is only an answer for a small number of individuals. Forcing people into shelter is not the answer for anyone. The solution is a diverse path off the streets to serve the diverse needs of those who end up homeless. A community needs direct housing, comprehensive supportive services, treatment on demand, preventative health care, income support, and mixed income housing. Forcing people into a shelter and then forcing them to work for their stay can only be characterized as slavery.
With 25% of the homeless population veterans, imagine the indignity of the man having served in Iraq coming back to the safe streets of Jackson where he graduated from high school, worked, and paid taxes then being forced into a gymnasium after becoming homeless. This veteran had honorably served to protect democracy on foreign soil then returned to America and was unable to find democracy in his home city of Jackson. Many veterans develop addictions or mental illnesses because of the trauma they witness, and then cannot find the help they need in the States. It is the ultimate betrayal to force veterans and in fact any homeless person into a gymnasium and then forcing them to work for their stay.
I agree that homeless people should not live on the streets and there is one way to solve this problem: affordable, safe, decent housing for all. Judging homeless people as a threat is wrong headed and must be challenged in court. In a Southern city that did not see African Americans actually free to vote for 100 years after the Civil War, this law is a throwback to the 1950s.Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Monday, July 10, 2006
One Year of Panhandling Law in Cleveland
Panhandling Law Results
The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless filed an open records request to look at the first year of the Cleveland panhandling ordinance. Here are the results. We will have a more detailed look in the next Grapevine.
From July 2005 when the ordinance was passed until December 31, 2005, the City Police issued 9 tickets. In the second six months (January 2006-June 2006), they issued 62 tickets for aggressive solicitation or asking for money in the wrong place. 65 different people got tickets of the 71 total tickets issued, so only a few were repeat offenders. The most aggressive panhandler in the City of Cleveland over the last year was Kenneth Tate with three tickets. He actually was responsible for 22% of the tickets in 2005 with two, then another one in 2006.
It seems that if your name is Brooks or Jones you tend to be aggressive when you ask for money with 3 different people named Brooks and three different Joneses receiving tickets.
The worst two day period to be a panhandler was May 11 and 12, Thursday and Friday, when 5 tickets were issued to five different people.
The worst month to be a panhandler was April 2006 when 27% of all the tickets were issued with April 22-26 Friday to Wednesday the worst week of the year.
The most bizarre and most likely made up name for an aggressive panhandler was Calvin Myhand Jr. who received two tickets. Also, a patriot who has his own beer, Sam Adams, was given a ticket for his aggressive behavior--TWICE.
We are still waiting from the Courts to see what the disposition of all these tickets have been. Were these guys jailed? Did they pay their fines? We will see, and report on this when we get that information.
Do you feel safer in the Downtown? Are the panhandlers that you meet nicer since the ordinance went into effect? When this ordinance was debated in City Council, Ward 21 (Lakewood Lite) Councilman Mike Dolan said that his wife was afraid to come Downtown because of the panhandlers. We need to ask our good friend Mike if his wife has visited the center of her City in the last year.
The most surprising part of all of this information is that the Wolstein Group did not receive one aggressive panhandling ticket over the last year. They have gone to extremes to take the East Bank of the Flats, and have not received one aggressive solicitation ticket. No justice.
Brian
The Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless filed an open records request to look at the first year of the Cleveland panhandling ordinance. Here are the results. We will have a more detailed look in the next Grapevine.
From July 2005 when the ordinance was passed until December 31, 2005, the City Police issued 9 tickets. In the second six months (January 2006-June 2006), they issued 62 tickets for aggressive solicitation or asking for money in the wrong place. 65 different people got tickets of the 71 total tickets issued, so only a few were repeat offenders. The most aggressive panhandler in the City of Cleveland over the last year was Kenneth Tate with three tickets. He actually was responsible for 22% of the tickets in 2005 with two, then another one in 2006.
It seems that if your name is Brooks or Jones you tend to be aggressive when you ask for money with 3 different people named Brooks and three different Joneses receiving tickets.
The worst two day period to be a panhandler was May 11 and 12, Thursday and Friday, when 5 tickets were issued to five different people.
The worst month to be a panhandler was April 2006 when 27% of all the tickets were issued with April 22-26 Friday to Wednesday the worst week of the year.
The most bizarre and most likely made up name for an aggressive panhandler was Calvin Myhand Jr. who received two tickets. Also, a patriot who has his own beer, Sam Adams, was given a ticket for his aggressive behavior--TWICE.
We are still waiting from the Courts to see what the disposition of all these tickets have been. Were these guys jailed? Did they pay their fines? We will see, and report on this when we get that information.
Do you feel safer in the Downtown? Are the panhandlers that you meet nicer since the ordinance went into effect? When this ordinance was debated in City Council, Ward 21 (Lakewood Lite) Councilman Mike Dolan said that his wife was afraid to come Downtown because of the panhandlers. We need to ask our good friend Mike if his wife has visited the center of her City in the last year.
The most surprising part of all of this information is that the Wolstein Group did not receive one aggressive panhandling ticket over the last year. They have gone to extremes to take the East Bank of the Flats, and have not received one aggressive solicitation ticket. No justice.
Brian
The Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Congratulations to the New Social Justice Media Person
Feagler Wins Community Shares Award
So, I sent this to the Plain Dealer and gave them a week to publish. No dice. So here you go.
So, I sent this to the Plain Dealer and gave them a week to publish. No dice. So here you go.
Dear Editor:
Congratulations to Dick Feagler for winning the Social Justice Media Person of the Year from Community Shares. Thank you so much for publishing that wonderful commentary the day after winning the Social Justice Award identifying the source of all of our problems in Northeast Ohio: "beggars."” It is refreshing to see Mr. Feagler use his new found recognition as a champion of social justice to beat up on the rich and powerful panhandlers.
I was pleased the Feagler was attacking men who have the nerve to stand out in the hot sun and admit that they are poor for eight hours. Those panhandlers are living large, and I too wish that there was some way to get these guys to stop asking for odd amounts of money like $6.35. I appreciate Feagler turning his back on the amendment that also allows him to publish by supporting Akron'’s pre-registration before speaking law. I like the courage of a social justice media personality railing against "bums," and boldly declaring that he was proud of using that word. Social Justice Feagler reminds us of the joy of the colorful language of olden days when we labeled individuals with racist language.
By the way, since when did the police start saying, "Be off with you"” to panhandlers? These beggars are destroying Public Square, and the police need to use harsh language with these guys. Congratulations on your award, and keep sticking it to straw men like panhandlers.
Brian Davis
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Some Rough Thoughts
A Few Other Things
Using the Stumble button, I found this extremely bizarre website from 1999, which combines PBS as the host and market research by a bunch of artists to improve panhandlers in New York City. The crack Needcom staff have advice for improving the business of panhandling and a focus group with the panhandlers. They talk about ethics, paying taxes, and giving to non profits vs. giving directly to those in need. There is a ton of stuff on the website that is certainly bookmarked in Feagler's favorites. This is an amazing resource prompted by the harsh tactics of the Giuliani administration in New York. They answer questions about carrying signs to ask for money and exchanging a service like washing windows and the amount of money that a good panhandler can make. My experience is these need to be accepted with a grain of salt in much the same way as fish stories. It is more information than you will ever want to know, and I do not understand why it is still an active site.
Freedom Day & ACLU Closed?
Today is Independence Day and the ACLU, one of the most valuable organizations in the United States at this time, claims to be protecting the Bill of Rights but is closed today. This is the day we celebrate the signing of one of the most important documents in our history. The one that spelled out the creation of an independent democracy, and we need these guys working to preserve our right to vote, to have privacy, and to speak.
On second thought, nothing much is happening today since government is closed, so take the day off, rest, and relax. In fact take the week, because you guys have a big job ahead to close Guantanamo prison, get rid of the Ohio voting poll tax, the death penalty, protecting our freedom to publish, and to peacefully gather to petition our government. Rest today because there is a hurricane brewing to destroy the Bill of Rights and you will need your strength.
NEOCH now listed on Goodsearch.com
Instead of clicking on Yahoo or Google how about doing your search through Goodsearch.com?
This is a simple way to donate a penny to NEOCH every time you do a search on the web. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and type in your search then put in our agency name--"NEOCH"-- that you would like to donate to and click search. Two steps instead of one, but the money goes to NEOCH. Pretty simple. It is a Yahoo search and it works.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Using the Stumble button, I found this extremely bizarre website from 1999, which combines PBS as the host and market research by a bunch of artists to improve panhandlers in New York City. The crack Needcom staff have advice for improving the business of panhandling and a focus group with the panhandlers. They talk about ethics, paying taxes, and giving to non profits vs. giving directly to those in need. There is a ton of stuff on the website that is certainly bookmarked in Feagler's favorites. This is an amazing resource prompted by the harsh tactics of the Giuliani administration in New York. They answer questions about carrying signs to ask for money and exchanging a service like washing windows and the amount of money that a good panhandler can make. My experience is these need to be accepted with a grain of salt in much the same way as fish stories. It is more information than you will ever want to know, and I do not understand why it is still an active site.
Freedom Day & ACLU Closed?
Today is Independence Day and the ACLU, one of the most valuable organizations in the United States at this time, claims to be protecting the Bill of Rights but is closed today. This is the day we celebrate the signing of one of the most important documents in our history. The one that spelled out the creation of an independent democracy, and we need these guys working to preserve our right to vote, to have privacy, and to speak.
On second thought, nothing much is happening today since government is closed, so take the day off, rest, and relax. In fact take the week, because you guys have a big job ahead to close Guantanamo prison, get rid of the Ohio voting poll tax, the death penalty, protecting our freedom to publish, and to peacefully gather to petition our government. Rest today because there is a hurricane brewing to destroy the Bill of Rights and you will need your strength.
NEOCH now listed on Goodsearch.com
Instead of clicking on Yahoo or Google how about doing your search through Goodsearch.com?
This is a simple way to donate a penny to NEOCH every time you do a search on the web. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and type in your search then put in our agency name--"NEOCH"-- that you would like to donate to and click search. Two steps instead of one, but the money goes to NEOCH. Pretty simple. It is a Yahoo search and it works.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Happy Independence (For Some) Day
Reflecting on the Fourth of July And Poverty
I have been wearing my flag shirt all week as a shield to protect against someone throwing a burning flag at me. I hear that flag burning is out of control in this country and we all need some way to stop this desecration of our nation's symbol. Then I thought about the ethics of driving over the speed limit (breaking the law) with a flag shirt on. Is that desecration of the flag? Then I thought of the flag that is flying over the government sanctioned Guantanamo Bay prison Cuba, which nearly every other country in the world considers an abomination against the rule of law. Is that a desecration of the flag? Then I thought about those soldiers in Iraq who were torturing people at Abu Ghraib prison, disguising murders, raping women, and overseeing other atrocities while wearing the flag on their arms. Is that a desecration of the flag? I thought about the flag waving outside of the Texas death house or the one outside of our embassy in Khartoum, Sudan as we watch a genocide unfold, and I wonder. I decided that maybe it was more important to start protecting the founding principles, values, personal liberties, and checks on power that is the basis of America instead of just the symbol of those ideas.
In nearly every city in the United States there are between 15 and 40% of the population that do not feel free today. These are the individuals living with poverty every day. Those living in a homeless shelter today do not feel free to stay out and watch the fireworks. Those living without health care do not feel free to be sick. Those who do not have textbooks in their classes do not feel free to read about freedom riders, the struggle for independence, or the fight to get women the vote. Those who do not have a decent income do not feel free to travel to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell. How do we have the nerve to debate a flag burning amendment when we never even passed the Equal Rights Amendment for women? Anyway, freedom is in the eye of the beholder, and in this country that prides itself on being the best at everything (except soccer and playing nice with others) there are many who feel shackled and therefore do not feel we have the best democracy on the planet.
It is all too confusing so I just stopped thinking and sat and listened to Ray Charles sing America the Beautiful, Woody Guthrie, and Johnny Cash American Series on repeat all day.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I have been wearing my flag shirt all week as a shield to protect against someone throwing a burning flag at me. I hear that flag burning is out of control in this country and we all need some way to stop this desecration of our nation's symbol. Then I thought about the ethics of driving over the speed limit (breaking the law) with a flag shirt on. Is that desecration of the flag? Then I thought of the flag that is flying over the government sanctioned Guantanamo Bay prison Cuba, which nearly every other country in the world considers an abomination against the rule of law. Is that a desecration of the flag? Then I thought about those soldiers in Iraq who were torturing people at Abu Ghraib prison, disguising murders, raping women, and overseeing other atrocities while wearing the flag on their arms. Is that a desecration of the flag? I thought about the flag waving outside of the Texas death house or the one outside of our embassy in Khartoum, Sudan as we watch a genocide unfold, and I wonder. I decided that maybe it was more important to start protecting the founding principles, values, personal liberties, and checks on power that is the basis of America instead of just the symbol of those ideas.
In nearly every city in the United States there are between 15 and 40% of the population that do not feel free today. These are the individuals living with poverty every day. Those living in a homeless shelter today do not feel free to stay out and watch the fireworks. Those living without health care do not feel free to be sick. Those who do not have textbooks in their classes do not feel free to read about freedom riders, the struggle for independence, or the fight to get women the vote. Those who do not have a decent income do not feel free to travel to Philadelphia to see Independence Hall or the Liberty Bell. How do we have the nerve to debate a flag burning amendment when we never even passed the Equal Rights Amendment for women? Anyway, freedom is in the eye of the beholder, and in this country that prides itself on being the best at everything (except soccer and playing nice with others) there are many who feel shackled and therefore do not feel we have the best democracy on the planet.
It is all too confusing so I just stopped thinking and sat and listened to Ray Charles sing America the Beautiful, Woody Guthrie, and Johnny Cash American Series on repeat all day.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Upcoming Events at the Coalition
Homelessness Does Not End in the Summer
A few things that the Coalition is working on for the summer...
Brian
September Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
A few things that the Coalition is working on for the summer...
- We are welcoming two new VISTAs who will dedicate a year of their life to solving homelessness in Cleveland and Ohio. One of the finest programs ever created by the Federal government, which has survived despite both Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II trying to detroy the programs by putting their own stamp on these efforts.
- We are planning a series of events around how homeless people will have access to the election with the new rules demanding identification before participating in our democracy. We are also going to have a few demonstrations in the shelters to show people how to use the electronic voting.
- We are setting our local, state, and national agenda for the fall and early 2007. We are hosting an exciting event in July in which we have invited two representatives from each shelter in Cuyahoga County. This is our first attempt at a representative Congress of homeless people in which each person represents a sub population of homeless people or families. We will have disabled homeless people, single women, mom and dad families, and men all invited. It should be interesting, and we will set our agenda based on the meeting.
- The NEOCH Board is working on finances. The summer is always a slow time for support for homelessness. We would certainly appreciate your support this summer to allow us to keep working on solutions to homelessness.
- We have a Housing Service Fair set for October 20, 2006. This would be similar to the Homeless Stand Down, but restricted to distribution of information about housing. The event will be at the Bishop Cosgrove Center, and will feature programs that could provide housing to homeless people. Look for more details to come.
- The Quarterly Teach In will be September 20, and will focus on veterans issues. We have a large number of veterans who are homeless, but we do have a very nice safety net in place. We will highlight both the needs and services available in Greater Cleveland.
Brian
September Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Akron Assault on Free Speech Continued
Feagler Just Needs to Retire
I was surprised to be quoted in the Crusty Old Man's Column today in the PD (No link, if you want to read it go find it. I am not going to make it easy for you.) since I have never talked to this guy in my life. I would have liked to discuss the Bill of Rights with this guy. I know it is a waste of time to talk to him about panhandling because he would never listen, but free speech is his business. I do not understand how any journalist can defend pre-registration in order to speak. Just say No, Dick!! You have the freedom to say no to these panhandlers. You have the freedom to make fun of them in your column. Why can't they ask people for money? No one will think less of you to just say no to panhandlers. In your old age have you become so afraid of human contact that you are willing to amend the Bill of Rights to keep beggars quiet? Remember that these Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors fall under the same Amendment that allows you to publish.
If you are concerned that the panhandlers are asking too much money, walk away. If you believe that they are too aggressive then why haven't you filed a police report for their violation of the ordinance that passed last year? Why, because it is a waste of time ordinance that does nothing, but make beggars into criminals. What I would explain to the Crusty Old Man is that once we throw the panhandlers under the bus, it is not a stretch to think we should register political protestors who are far more annoying and disruptive, and then it is not a great step to register people who might give comfort to our enemies in their writings which are available on the internet especially Crusty Old Men who criticize the war.
The Crusty Old Man just needs to retire and stop embarrassing himself. He used the word "bum" throughout the commentary because that is what they used to call guys who asked for money on the street when he was a kid. I seem to remember this same kind of stupid logic was used by the racists that I met in college with their subtle distinction of hard working black people and the lazy shiftless individuals who had another offensive label. There are a lot of words that we used when the Crusty Old Man was a kid that we do not use anymore. Why the anger at a group of people with a problem who are annoying but harmless?
P.S. Rumor has it that the Crusty Old Man is going to receive a social justice award from Community Shares. There goes the neighborhood...
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I was surprised to be quoted in the Crusty Old Man's Column today in the PD (No link, if you want to read it go find it. I am not going to make it easy for you.) since I have never talked to this guy in my life. I would have liked to discuss the Bill of Rights with this guy. I know it is a waste of time to talk to him about panhandling because he would never listen, but free speech is his business. I do not understand how any journalist can defend pre-registration in order to speak. Just say No, Dick!! You have the freedom to say no to these panhandlers. You have the freedom to make fun of them in your column. Why can't they ask people for money? No one will think less of you to just say no to panhandlers. In your old age have you become so afraid of human contact that you are willing to amend the Bill of Rights to keep beggars quiet? Remember that these Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors fall under the same Amendment that allows you to publish.
If you are concerned that the panhandlers are asking too much money, walk away. If you believe that they are too aggressive then why haven't you filed a police report for their violation of the ordinance that passed last year? Why, because it is a waste of time ordinance that does nothing, but make beggars into criminals. What I would explain to the Crusty Old Man is that once we throw the panhandlers under the bus, it is not a stretch to think we should register political protestors who are far more annoying and disruptive, and then it is not a great step to register people who might give comfort to our enemies in their writings which are available on the internet especially Crusty Old Men who criticize the war.
The Crusty Old Man just needs to retire and stop embarrassing himself. He used the word "bum" throughout the commentary because that is what they used to call guys who asked for money on the street when he was a kid. I seem to remember this same kind of stupid logic was used by the racists that I met in college with their subtle distinction of hard working black people and the lazy shiftless individuals who had another offensive label. There are a lot of words that we used when the Crusty Old Man was a kid that we do not use anymore. Why the anger at a group of people with a problem who are annoying but harmless?
P.S. Rumor has it that the Crusty Old Man is going to receive a social justice award from Community Shares. There goes the neighborhood...
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Akron Assault on Panhandlers Continued
Strict Law Not Strict Enough for Akron Council
First, one correction about the Akron Panhandling Law from the previous post. The new panhandling registration law proposed in Akron will not prevent an individual who has a previous criminal conviction from getting a license just those who violated the aggressive panhandling law. You will have to be photographed and have to wear that license around your neck.
What a strange town...
So, a lot happened Monday, June 19, regarding the massive epidemic of panhandling in Akron on Monday. It seems that the source of all problems that continues to keep pedestrians from visiting Akron is squarely on the shoulders of beggars. According to the Downtown beat cop who testified there are 5 or 6 panhandling spreading fear, plague, disease, bad feelings, and diverting downtown diners from local eateries by their overbearing requests for money during the day. The City held a hearing on their proposed panhandling ordinance and the Deputy Mayor, David Lieberth and I appeared on WCPN 90.3 to debate the issue (link to mp3 of the show).
From the callers to the show those in the outer ring suburbs do not like panhandlers and even former homeless people do not like panhandlers. From WCPN listeners e-mails, my assertion that pan handling is a form of petitioning the government is asinine. For most of the panhandlers this is a job, and so Akron is trying to professionalize these Unaffiliated Private Benevolence Officers or Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors. Deputy Mayor Lieberth kept interrupting and avoided the free speech and scarlet letter issues.
I then went to the hearing on the issue at the Akron City Council, which was bizarre. I felt like I had gone backwards from the land of OZ in color to the black and white land of Mayberry USA. I did get to meet Lieberth who was on the phone earlier who introduced the legislation and defended it. I am not sure how politically astute it was having a guy who looks like one of the oil barons of the industrial revolution or that banker in the wheelchair from Its a Wonderful Life be the guy who explains this offensive piece of legislation. No offense to Mr. Lieberth who seems nice enough, but I kept thinking that he was going to say, "Nothin' but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. [These panhandlers] are worth more dead than alive."
The Akron City Council members who were present actually wanted more severe legislation. They wondered if churches and schools could be included in the protected areas, because panhandlers prey (punny?) on spiritual people coming out of church with money. They also wondered why Akron had to give out licenses to people who have ignored tickets in the past. I bagged my prepared statement (which will be on our website soon) for fear they would try to make the legislation even more severe (strip searches, branding panhandlers, etc.) I was one of only two who testified in opposition to this ordinance. (Thank you to the member of Food Not Bombs Akron--Dana Williams who testified against the ordinance). The Council did not ask either one of us any questions, but on the positive side did not force us out of town on the nearest rail.
So, after a parade of business owners, police, the head of the Akron Art Museum, and the Evangelical Shelter testified in support of this disgraceful piece of legislation, I decided it was better to keep my comments brief and to the point. I pointed out that nearly every person that testified had mentioned problems with panhandlers that were covered by the existing law. Either the panhandler was aggressive, deceptive or on private property, which are all illegal under current Akron law. I pointed out that if existing law did not work what makes them think a new law will work that has not worked in any city in the United States and has not worked in any city for centuries. I said that it is hard to stand with a panhandler, but I hope that one of them has the courage to stand up against all the suits in the room and declare that this law is unconstitutional and vote against it. I get the feeling that Council will rubber stamp this proposal and will not act with courage, but we will see.
One of the funniest parts of the hearing was the story told by the female police captain, which she cited as justification for the new law. A woman was enjoying her lunch break and was approached by a panhandler or Unaffiliated Private Benevolence Officer in a local Downtown Akron park. When she went to her purse, the panhandler turned out to be a thief and grabbed her purse and ran. The police captain said that her boyfriend apprehended the guy because his prosthetic leg fell off when he was fleeing. I could not get this image out of my head of the one legged guy running away with the purse. The one-armed man in Bay Village inspired a television series and movie, and now it turns out the one legged thief in Akron inspired panhandling registration. I was surprised the Akron City Council did not grab onto this story and send the legal director back to see if was constitutional to remove the other leg of purse snatcher to slow them down even more.
It is not their fault, it seemed that most of the Akron City Council members are business men themselves. I will bet one is the barber and another owns the general store just like in Mayberry. I will bet that Andy, Barney and the guys stood around Howard's Barber Shop and came up with this registration plan. They are thinking of their own self interest and not the preservation of individual liberty or protection of free speech. But the Director of the Haven of Rest shelter in Akron and the Salvation Army are both especially shameful. To sell out their own clients is disgraceful. They wouldn't even have jobs if there were not all these holes in the safety net of healthcare and housing. If this great disparity did not exist in the pay for workers compared to CEOs they would be collecting tolls on I-80. The Director of Haven of Rest could not do outreach to the handful of panhandlers in Akron and provide help to keep them off drugs or get them treatment for their mental illness? He proclaimed, from his high horse, that the giving of alms to the poor is just enabling them. I hate when providers hide behind "enabling." It really means, "We are so rigid in our rules that we refuse to bend to individual needs, and we will blame the individual for their 'unreasonable' demands to be treated as a person not a number."
I am glad to be back in the world of color, and I have no doubt that Mayberry will pass this offensive law. I hope that since it does not seem that any council member will have courage the Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors will have courage to sue the City. I volunteer to help.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
First, one correction about the Akron Panhandling Law from the previous post. The new panhandling registration law proposed in Akron will not prevent an individual who has a previous criminal conviction from getting a license just those who violated the aggressive panhandling law. You will have to be photographed and have to wear that license around your neck.
What a strange town...
So, a lot happened Monday, June 19, regarding the massive epidemic of panhandling in Akron on Monday. It seems that the source of all problems that continues to keep pedestrians from visiting Akron is squarely on the shoulders of beggars. According to the Downtown beat cop who testified there are 5 or 6 panhandling spreading fear, plague, disease, bad feelings, and diverting downtown diners from local eateries by their overbearing requests for money during the day. The City held a hearing on their proposed panhandling ordinance and the Deputy Mayor, David Lieberth and I appeared on WCPN 90.3 to debate the issue (link to mp3 of the show).
From the callers to the show those in the outer ring suburbs do not like panhandlers and even former homeless people do not like panhandlers. From WCPN listeners e-mails, my assertion that pan handling is a form of petitioning the government is asinine. For most of the panhandlers this is a job, and so Akron is trying to professionalize these Unaffiliated Private Benevolence Officers or Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors. Deputy Mayor Lieberth kept interrupting and avoided the free speech and scarlet letter issues.
I then went to the hearing on the issue at the Akron City Council, which was bizarre. I felt like I had gone backwards from the land of OZ in color to the black and white land of Mayberry USA. I did get to meet Lieberth who was on the phone earlier who introduced the legislation and defended it. I am not sure how politically astute it was having a guy who looks like one of the oil barons of the industrial revolution or that banker in the wheelchair from Its a Wonderful Life be the guy who explains this offensive piece of legislation. No offense to Mr. Lieberth who seems nice enough, but I kept thinking that he was going to say, "Nothin' but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy. [These panhandlers] are worth more dead than alive."
The Akron City Council members who were present actually wanted more severe legislation. They wondered if churches and schools could be included in the protected areas, because panhandlers prey (punny?) on spiritual people coming out of church with money. They also wondered why Akron had to give out licenses to people who have ignored tickets in the past. I bagged my prepared statement (which will be on our website soon) for fear they would try to make the legislation even more severe (strip searches, branding panhandlers, etc.) I was one of only two who testified in opposition to this ordinance. (Thank you to the member of Food Not Bombs Akron--Dana Williams who testified against the ordinance). The Council did not ask either one of us any questions, but on the positive side did not force us out of town on the nearest rail.
So, after a parade of business owners, police, the head of the Akron Art Museum, and the Evangelical Shelter testified in support of this disgraceful piece of legislation, I decided it was better to keep my comments brief and to the point. I pointed out that nearly every person that testified had mentioned problems with panhandlers that were covered by the existing law. Either the panhandler was aggressive, deceptive or on private property, which are all illegal under current Akron law. I pointed out that if existing law did not work what makes them think a new law will work that has not worked in any city in the United States and has not worked in any city for centuries. I said that it is hard to stand with a panhandler, but I hope that one of them has the courage to stand up against all the suits in the room and declare that this law is unconstitutional and vote against it. I get the feeling that Council will rubber stamp this proposal and will not act with courage, but we will see.
One of the funniest parts of the hearing was the story told by the female police captain, which she cited as justification for the new law. A woman was enjoying her lunch break and was approached by a panhandler or Unaffiliated Private Benevolence Officer in a local Downtown Akron park. When she went to her purse, the panhandler turned out to be a thief and grabbed her purse and ran. The police captain said that her boyfriend apprehended the guy because his prosthetic leg fell off when he was fleeing. I could not get this image out of my head of the one legged guy running away with the purse. The one-armed man in Bay Village inspired a television series and movie, and now it turns out the one legged thief in Akron inspired panhandling registration. I was surprised the Akron City Council did not grab onto this story and send the legal director back to see if was constitutional to remove the other leg of purse snatcher to slow them down even more.
It is not their fault, it seemed that most of the Akron City Council members are business men themselves. I will bet one is the barber and another owns the general store just like in Mayberry. I will bet that Andy, Barney and the guys stood around Howard's Barber Shop and came up with this registration plan. They are thinking of their own self interest and not the preservation of individual liberty or protection of free speech. But the Director of the Haven of Rest shelter in Akron and the Salvation Army are both especially shameful. To sell out their own clients is disgraceful. They wouldn't even have jobs if there were not all these holes in the safety net of healthcare and housing. If this great disparity did not exist in the pay for workers compared to CEOs they would be collecting tolls on I-80. The Director of Haven of Rest could not do outreach to the handful of panhandlers in Akron and provide help to keep them off drugs or get them treatment for their mental illness? He proclaimed, from his high horse, that the giving of alms to the poor is just enabling them. I hate when providers hide behind "enabling." It really means, "We are so rigid in our rules that we refuse to bend to individual needs, and we will blame the individual for their 'unreasonable' demands to be treated as a person not a number."
I am glad to be back in the world of color, and I have no doubt that Mayberry will pass this offensive law. I hope that since it does not seem that any council member will have courage the Itinerant Private Charitable Advisors will have courage to sue the City. I volunteer to help.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Paranoia, Insanity, and Cruelty Rule the Day
Make Laws Specific to Homeless People
I have three articles for you to read:
For those of you here to read a blog and not news, allow me to sum up:
Paranoid in Orlando, FL-- is seeking to pass a law that makes it illegal to serve food to the homeless on city property more than twice a year. The reasoning is that if you feed the homeless in the city parks daily, they will begin to congregate there. While they wait for food, the homeless people will inevitably get bored. Orlando seems to think that when bored, homeless people will commit crimes. For you bleeding hearts who deny this, Orlando claims to have solid proof: there is crime in Orlando, and there are also homeless people in Orlando; therefore homeless commit crimes! Try arguing with that!
Cruel in Indiana-- Porter County Libraries in Indiana are not only limiting the number of items a homeless person can check out, they are making it a policy to not issue library cards to homeless children. Let me reiterate: homeless children are being denied the free service of receiving reading and learning materials from the county government. Who sat in on that committee meeting? Gargamel and Azrael? Cobra Commander? Voldemort? Did they follow up the meeting by stealing all the Christmas presents from Whoville? Is the road to the Porter County Libraries paved with human skulls?
Insane in Baton Rouge--It seems that Baton Rouge Louisiana has decided that the best way to deal with their homeless problem is to place their policemen on horses. From the article above: "Mounted police on horseback will soon be dealing with the growing problem of panhandling by the homeless near downtown Baton Rouge." I just want to say that this proposal is awesome. Baton Rouge is literally crazy. You know you are out of ideas when your response to the problem of homelessness is, "Have we tried dealing with them while astride a handsome equine?" God bless Baton Rouge and their creativity. I really honestly hope it works out for them, because if the solution to homelessness is horses, my job is going to be real goddamn easy.
JoshPosts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Father's Day in the Shelters
Homeless Dads
Today is Father's Day, and it is very hard to find the Hallmark card for the Dad in the shelter. Why? Because society does not often think about the lives behind the stereotypes. We do not consider the depression guys face while staying in the shelters during most holidays, but especially Father's Day. Many of the men at 2100 Lakeside are in fact Dads and some are Grandfathers. They get to watch the NBA Finals, but otherwise it is not much different than any other Sunday. No breakfast in bed, no mail delivery so no homemade cards from the kids, and no possibility of lying in the hammock watching the grass grow with a beer. Father's Day in the shelters.
Yes, Dad made some mistakes and wound up in the shelter. This could be because of health issues like alcohol, drugs or some brain issues or it could be pride or stupid decisions, but most of the guys are still a Dad. These men in the shelter really get the shaft when it comes to being a Dad. Society has made it difficult to be a Dad and to be poor. There is no doubt men have not set very good examples and for years tried to skate on responsibility, but our public policy assumes the worst for every guy. There is no forgiveness in the system, but instead years of heartache, debt, and resentment. I mean the whole child support system often makes it better to not work than to even try. It takes so long to try to get an adjustment in the payments that the Dad is so far in the hole they will never get out and they give up.
For many of the Dads that I have met, they want to have a relationship with their kids. They want to give advise and to teach the importance of the finger roll in a three point shot, but have a hard time. They want to give money to support their kids, but want some equality in the relationship. They want someone to listen to their side and not assume that they are looking for ways to be a deadbeat. It is very difficult to be a Dad without a lot of money.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Today is Father's Day, and it is very hard to find the Hallmark card for the Dad in the shelter. Why? Because society does not often think about the lives behind the stereotypes. We do not consider the depression guys face while staying in the shelters during most holidays, but especially Father's Day. Many of the men at 2100 Lakeside are in fact Dads and some are Grandfathers. They get to watch the NBA Finals, but otherwise it is not much different than any other Sunday. No breakfast in bed, no mail delivery so no homemade cards from the kids, and no possibility of lying in the hammock watching the grass grow with a beer. Father's Day in the shelters.
Yes, Dad made some mistakes and wound up in the shelter. This could be because of health issues like alcohol, drugs or some brain issues or it could be pride or stupid decisions, but most of the guys are still a Dad. These men in the shelter really get the shaft when it comes to being a Dad. Society has made it difficult to be a Dad and to be poor. There is no doubt men have not set very good examples and for years tried to skate on responsibility, but our public policy assumes the worst for every guy. There is no forgiveness in the system, but instead years of heartache, debt, and resentment. I mean the whole child support system often makes it better to not work than to even try. It takes so long to try to get an adjustment in the payments that the Dad is so far in the hole they will never get out and they give up.
For many of the Dads that I have met, they want to have a relationship with their kids. They want to give advise and to teach the importance of the finger roll in a three point shot, but have a hard time. They want to give money to support their kids, but want some equality in the relationship. They want someone to listen to their side and not assume that they are looking for ways to be a deadbeat. It is very difficult to be a Dad without a lot of money.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
The Akron Assault on Free Speech
Most Restrictive Law on Panhandling
The City of Akron has announced their intention to attempt to eliminate panhandling within the Akron city limits. We always think of Akron as a progressive leader with a fair and even handed Mayor until now. This law is the most offensive attempt to make it illegal to ask for help in Ohio. As chair of the National Coalition for the Homeless Civil Rights Committee, I am able to see many of the laws directed at homeless people in the U.S. The Akron anti-panhandling law is one of the most severe that I have ever seen. They restrict where speech is free and then they require a license to exercise constitutionally protected speech. The most ridiculous aspect of this law is that those with a criminal background will be denied a license.
A few quick thoughts about this offensive law:
1. Since it should be a high hurdle to restrict speech (fire in a crowded movie theatre), then what is the public purpose for restricting speech around financial institutions and certain downtown landmarks? If I wore a shirt around Akron that said "financial institution" would that force panhandlers to stay 20 feet away?
2. Did anyone see the irony in preventing people from asking for money 20 feet from the places where money is kept?
3. Most of the homeless providers in Akron are supporting this legislation including the Salvation Army and the Alcohol and Drug Board. How much of a sell out do you have to be to throw your own clients under the bus in order to remain at peace with your city government? I mean these guys have a job because there are desperate people in Akron who need money, and then they are supporting making these guys criminals. It is sickening. At least the Cleveland service providers said nothing last year when Cleveland City Council was passing the panhandling ordinance last year.
4. Are the police just hanging out and looking for work? How do they have time to do background checks on potential panhandlers and then checking those licenses on the streets?
5. This legislation is modeled after the one in Cincinnati. What city in the United States models itself after the notoriously racist city of Cincinnati?
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The City of Akron has announced their intention to attempt to eliminate panhandling within the Akron city limits. We always think of Akron as a progressive leader with a fair and even handed Mayor until now. This law is the most offensive attempt to make it illegal to ask for help in Ohio. As chair of the National Coalition for the Homeless Civil Rights Committee, I am able to see many of the laws directed at homeless people in the U.S. The Akron anti-panhandling law is one of the most severe that I have ever seen. They restrict where speech is free and then they require a license to exercise constitutionally protected speech. The most ridiculous aspect of this law is that those with a criminal background will be denied a license.
A few quick thoughts about this offensive law:
1. Since it should be a high hurdle to restrict speech (fire in a crowded movie theatre), then what is the public purpose for restricting speech around financial institutions and certain downtown landmarks? If I wore a shirt around Akron that said "financial institution" would that force panhandlers to stay 20 feet away?
2. Did anyone see the irony in preventing people from asking for money 20 feet from the places where money is kept?
3. Most of the homeless providers in Akron are supporting this legislation including the Salvation Army and the Alcohol and Drug Board. How much of a sell out do you have to be to throw your own clients under the bus in order to remain at peace with your city government? I mean these guys have a job because there are desperate people in Akron who need money, and then they are supporting making these guys criminals. It is sickening. At least the Cleveland service providers said nothing last year when Cleveland City Council was passing the panhandling ordinance last year.
4. Are the police just hanging out and looking for work? How do they have time to do background checks on potential panhandlers and then checking those licenses on the streets?
5. This legislation is modeled after the one in Cincinnati. What city in the United States models itself after the notoriously racist city of Cincinnati?
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
This Changes Everything
State Representatives Must Answer to GOD!!!
I attended the local swearing in of State Representative Mike Foley. The Coalition shares some space with the Tenants Organization so it was natural for our two staffs to work collaboratively over the last few years. It was nice to see a friend move into a dream job. I am so glad that I attended first to see Bill Callahan, the grandfather of local blogs; then there were the elected friends of CTO present: Mayor Jackson, Phyllis Cleveland, Judge Corrigan and now Foley, which moves CTO up on the list of powerful non-profits in the City of Cleveland. The second reason was to hear the oath Mike and the other State Reps pledge before taking office.
The Coalition will now reform our tactics. We will now reference God in everything that we do. "Would Jesus want you to ignore predatory sharks ripping off seniors and poor people for 10 years?" I will start carrying around a copy of the Beatitudes to distribute. I will adopt a "Fire and Brimstone" approach to my advocacy. "Jesus has said that how you, Mr. Speaker, treat the least among us is how you treat him. I know that cutting access to dental care for poor people will damn you to eternal torment and torture in HELL!!" It is no wonder why faux preachers like Rod Parsley have so much success in the hallowed halls of the State House.
I feel like I found the Holy Grail, by stumbling on the oath of office. Also, that I wasted the last 10 years. Look for a whole new direction for the old Coalition for the Homeless and new Congregation for the Homeless.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I attended the local swearing in of State Representative Mike Foley. The Coalition shares some space with the Tenants Organization so it was natural for our two staffs to work collaboratively over the last few years. It was nice to see a friend move into a dream job. I am so glad that I attended first to see Bill Callahan, the grandfather of local blogs; then there were the elected friends of CTO present: Mayor Jackson, Phyllis Cleveland, Judge Corrigan and now Foley, which moves CTO up on the list of powerful non-profits in the City of Cleveland. The second reason was to hear the oath Mike and the other State Reps pledge before taking office.
"I (name of state representative) do solemnly swear to support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Ohio, and faithfully to discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives according to the best of my ability and understanding; and do this as I shall answer to God."Mike did add "and to the people" at the end, but this was just his gesture to populism and not contained in the official oath. I have worked at the Coalition for 11 years, and I had no idea that these guys swear to be answerable exclusively to GOD!!!! This changes everything regarding our advocacy tactics. Things are going to be a lot different now that I know these guys are directly responsible to God and not the people. I have always approached my job from the social justice perspective and the negative effects of homelessness on the health and welfare of their citizens. It turns out that the State Representatives take their oath seriously and so our "protecting the less fortunate" was a very bad strategy. It seems so naive and pollyanish now that I realize the power of the oath.
The Coalition will now reform our tactics. We will now reference God in everything that we do. "Would Jesus want you to ignore predatory sharks ripping off seniors and poor people for 10 years?" I will start carrying around a copy of the Beatitudes to distribute. I will adopt a "Fire and Brimstone" approach to my advocacy. "Jesus has said that how you, Mr. Speaker, treat the least among us is how you treat him. I know that cutting access to dental care for poor people will damn you to eternal torment and torture in HELL!!" It is no wonder why faux preachers like Rod Parsley have so much success in the hallowed halls of the State House.
I feel like I found the Holy Grail, by stumbling on the oath of office. Also, that I wasted the last 10 years. Look for a whole new direction for the old Coalition for the Homeless and new Congregation for the Homeless.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Friday, June 02, 2006
25 Years of AIDS
How Many Greats Were Lost in the Last 25 Years?
I finished watching that excellent series from Frontline marking 25 years of AIDS. The recurring theme was that politics always trumped science and medicine throughout the world. Even the two areas highlighted as having reasonable success in the battle against AIDS had dynamic leaders who made that possible. In Cleveland, AIDS does cause homelessness often by bankrupting the individual. Eleven years ago when I began working with homeless people it was a waiting game, and I saw many desperate people who were at war with their own bodies. Today, it is a financial hardship without the level of suffering of the past. In reflecting on the Frontline special and the over 30 million who have died because of AIDS, I have to wonder how many amazing songs, works of art, novels, scientific discoveries did we deprive ourselves because politics got in the way of the fight?
How many Miles Davis's or Charlie Parker's were born and never got to perfect their talent because they died of AIDS related diseases prematurely through needle sharing?
How many young Janis Joplin's died because they were too free with their love and never got to rock the world with a "Piece of their Heart?"
How many Merce Cunningham's or John Cage's did not revolutionize classical music and the dance industry, because they had died too early after being infected with HIV?
How many South African Desmond Tutu's died before they could stand firm against injustice, because they had a bad blood transfusion in the last 25 years?
How many Youssou N'Dour died before putting their country's music on the world map because of complications from HIV infection?
How many revolutionary musicians like Dee Dee Ramone did not get to do travel their "Road to Ruin" because they had died as a result of drug use?
How many Rock Hudson's died before making Giant or A Farewell to Arms because they were infected as a child? How many Meryl Streeps or Dustin Hoffman's or Gene Hackman's or Halle Berry's were lost over the last 25 years because their private life destroyed their careers?
How many David Ho's did not go to medical school and could not discover the protease inhibitors because their Mom had passed AIDS to them while giving birth?
How many Emily Dickerson's or Edgar Allen Poe's or Henry Thoreau's died before they were able to publish a poem in the United States or in Africa?
How many George Low's, Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program in the 1960s, were lost because both parent died from AIDS and so they never had a chance to go to school or college?
How many people would be alive if Ronald Reagan or Thabo Mbeki had not been presidents of their respective countries? How many of the world's religions and religious leaders got in the way of saving people's lives?
It is certainly difficult to set world records or carry a team to the NBA Finals, while battling AIDS. How many Michael Jordan's, Wayne Gretzgy's, Joe Montana's, or Roberto Clemente's did not climb to the height of their sports? How many Brandi Chastains, Picabo Streets or Lisa Leslie's did we lose over the last 25 years?
It is staggering that we have faced this epidemic for 25 years, and we have allowed politics, religion, prejudice, and myths to get in the way of addressing AIDS. We the people have suffered because the science of condoms, needle exchange, and universal health care/universal access to medicine were ignored.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I finished watching that excellent series from Frontline marking 25 years of AIDS. The recurring theme was that politics always trumped science and medicine throughout the world. Even the two areas highlighted as having reasonable success in the battle against AIDS had dynamic leaders who made that possible. In Cleveland, AIDS does cause homelessness often by bankrupting the individual. Eleven years ago when I began working with homeless people it was a waiting game, and I saw many desperate people who were at war with their own bodies. Today, it is a financial hardship without the level of suffering of the past. In reflecting on the Frontline special and the over 30 million who have died because of AIDS, I have to wonder how many amazing songs, works of art, novels, scientific discoveries did we deprive ourselves because politics got in the way of the fight?
How many Miles Davis's or Charlie Parker's were born and never got to perfect their talent because they died of AIDS related diseases prematurely through needle sharing?
How many young Janis Joplin's died because they were too free with their love and never got to rock the world with a "Piece of their Heart?"
How many Merce Cunningham's or John Cage's did not revolutionize classical music and the dance industry, because they had died too early after being infected with HIV?
How many South African Desmond Tutu's died before they could stand firm against injustice, because they had a bad blood transfusion in the last 25 years?
How many Youssou N'Dour died before putting their country's music on the world map because of complications from HIV infection?
How many revolutionary musicians like Dee Dee Ramone did not get to do travel their "Road to Ruin" because they had died as a result of drug use?
How many Rock Hudson's died before making Giant or A Farewell to Arms because they were infected as a child? How many Meryl Streeps or Dustin Hoffman's or Gene Hackman's or Halle Berry's were lost over the last 25 years because their private life destroyed their careers?
How many David Ho's did not go to medical school and could not discover the protease inhibitors because their Mom had passed AIDS to them while giving birth?
How many Emily Dickerson's or Edgar Allen Poe's or Henry Thoreau's died before they were able to publish a poem in the United States or in Africa?
How many George Low's, Manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program in the 1960s, were lost because both parent died from AIDS and so they never had a chance to go to school or college?
How many people would be alive if Ronald Reagan or Thabo Mbeki had not been presidents of their respective countries? How many of the world's religions and religious leaders got in the way of saving people's lives?
It is certainly difficult to set world records or carry a team to the NBA Finals, while battling AIDS. How many Michael Jordan's, Wayne Gretzgy's, Joe Montana's, or Roberto Clemente's did not climb to the height of their sports? How many Brandi Chastains, Picabo Streets or Lisa Leslie's did we lose over the last 25 years?
It is staggering that we have faced this epidemic for 25 years, and we have allowed politics, religion, prejudice, and myths to get in the way of addressing AIDS. We the people have suffered because the science of condoms, needle exchange, and universal health care/universal access to medicine were ignored.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Monday, May 29, 2006
Remember the Homeless Vets This Week
The Day After Memorial Day
Yesterday was a day to reflect on soldiers that have died in service to the United States. It is altogether fitting and proper to do this no matter your opinion of the current military policies. How about on the day after Memorial Day or sometime this week we all think about the number of veterans who return to the United States and become homeless? Please take a few minutes to think about those honorably discharged who return to their home soil and lose their housing. In the United States and in Cleveland about one-third of the men who are homeless are veterans. This translates to around 5,000 people in Cuyahoga County who are homeless veterans every year. Studies show that 85% of the homeless veterans living in shelters are honorably discharged. I am not so sure how honorable it is to be discharged to a shelter, but that is for others to decide.
Here are a few things that you could do to demonstrate your respect for veterans who become homeless:
1. Sign up to volunteer at one of the shelters that serve veterans. They need help year round not just around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I might suggest Volunteers of America or 2100 Lakeside Shelter.
2. Write a letter to your local city government asking what they are doing to make sure that no veterans become homeless. Send copies of those to NEOCH and any response you get.
3. Support the advocacy work of the Coalition for the Homeless by signing up as a member or sending a donation to NEOCH--put Veteran's Service Initiative in the memo section.
4. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper asking the question for our elected leaders: "Why are we creating more homeless veterans everyday when we never did take care of the Vietnam era vets?" Again, please send a copy to NEOCH.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Yesterday was a day to reflect on soldiers that have died in service to the United States. It is altogether fitting and proper to do this no matter your opinion of the current military policies. How about on the day after Memorial Day or sometime this week we all think about the number of veterans who return to the United States and become homeless? Please take a few minutes to think about those honorably discharged who return to their home soil and lose their housing. In the United States and in Cleveland about one-third of the men who are homeless are veterans. This translates to around 5,000 people in Cuyahoga County who are homeless veterans every year. Studies show that 85% of the homeless veterans living in shelters are honorably discharged. I am not so sure how honorable it is to be discharged to a shelter, but that is for others to decide.
Here are a few things that you could do to demonstrate your respect for veterans who become homeless:
1. Sign up to volunteer at one of the shelters that serve veterans. They need help year round not just around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I might suggest Volunteers of America or 2100 Lakeside Shelter.
2. Write a letter to your local city government asking what they are doing to make sure that no veterans become homeless. Send copies of those to NEOCH and any response you get.
3. Support the advocacy work of the Coalition for the Homeless by signing up as a member or sending a donation to NEOCH--put Veteran's Service Initiative in the memo section.
4. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper asking the question for our elected leaders: "Why are we creating more homeless veterans everyday when we never did take care of the Vietnam era vets?" Again, please send a copy to NEOCH.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Coalition Vice President Improves
Bufford Makes Steady Progress
On May 11, Marcia Bufford, NEOCH Board Vice President and Advocate of the Year, was shot and remained in critical condition for two weeks. On May 24, she regained consciousness and could sit up. She understood speech and began recognizing people this week. All the well wishers were very helpful in making this possible. The first few days things looked bleak. We understand that it will be a long slow recovery, but it is so great to see Marcia's eyes open and ready again to take on the world.
Marcia still has a bullet lodged in her neck. It looks as though that will never be able to be removed. She still seems paralyzed on one side of her body. They did have to wire her mouth shut to allow the bones in her jaw to heal. I am sure that it is very difficult for Marcia to not talk, and it is probably very confusing. The family is limiting the number of guests to keep her blood pressure at a safe level, and Metro Hospital critical care unit were overwhelmed. We all look forward to Marcia returning to the Board of Trustees.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
On May 11, Marcia Bufford, NEOCH Board Vice President and Advocate of the Year, was shot and remained in critical condition for two weeks. On May 24, she regained consciousness and could sit up. She understood speech and began recognizing people this week. All the well wishers were very helpful in making this possible. The first few days things looked bleak. We understand that it will be a long slow recovery, but it is so great to see Marcia's eyes open and ready again to take on the world.
Marcia still has a bullet lodged in her neck. It looks as though that will never be able to be removed. She still seems paralyzed on one side of her body. They did have to wire her mouth shut to allow the bones in her jaw to heal. I am sure that it is very difficult for Marcia to not talk, and it is probably very confusing. The family is limiting the number of guests to keep her blood pressure at a safe level, and Metro Hospital critical care unit were overwhelmed. We all look forward to Marcia returning to the Board of Trustees.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Voice Mail Website Updated
Cleveland Community Voice Mail Expands Website
Cleveland Community Voice Mail now has a new website with dozens of zany features. Ever have a problem with CVM, but been unable to get a hold of a CVM staff person? Now you can find a solution with CVM website under Common Errors for both case workers and clients as part of the main website. Did you lose your copy of the "Message Retrieval for Clients" sheet or are you trying to decipher instructions on an overly notated and doodled out-of-date "Quick Guide for Case Managers"? Now you can download these and any other completely updated form found in (or those missing from) your CVM binder. Best of all, you can fill out the Intake/Outcome form online from the convenient location of your computer desktop. How do you get there? Just click on the Community Voice Mail link on the front page of the NEOCH website or click on any of the links provided. Check it out and feel free to give us your kudos and criticisms through comments to this post or from the feedback on our website.
Josh
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Cleveland Community Voice Mail now has a new website with dozens of zany features. Ever have a problem with CVM, but been unable to get a hold of a CVM staff person? Now you can find a solution with CVM website under Common Errors for both case workers and clients as part of the main website. Did you lose your copy of the "Message Retrieval for Clients" sheet or are you trying to decipher instructions on an overly notated and doodled out-of-date "Quick Guide for Case Managers"? Now you can download these and any other completely updated form found in (or those missing from) your CVM binder. Best of all, you can fill out the Intake/Outcome form online from the convenient location of your computer desktop. How do you get there? Just click on the Community Voice Mail link on the front page of the NEOCH website or click on any of the links provided. Check it out and feel free to give us your kudos and criticisms through comments to this post or from the feedback on our website.
Josh
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, May 21, 2006
A Tough Week at the Coalition
NEOCH Vice President Still in Critical Condition
Last week, Marcia Bufford was shot. She was the apparent victim of a domestic violence attack. She still sits in a hospital bed at MetroHealth unconscious and on a breathing machine. Marcia has touched so many in Cleveland as is apparent by the large number of visitors stopping at the hospital. It is so difficult for everyone to see her lying in the ICU just six days after being honored as the advocate of the year at the NEOCH Annual Meeting. She turned a one minute acceptance into a seven minute retrospective of her life. To some this might be annoying, but to those who know her this is her way. She and all of her friends are so proud of her accomplishments and how far she has come in the last 10 years. We had a board meeting last week and no business was conducted as we were all shocked over the events of the last week. Truth be told very little work was done at the Coalition this week as we worried, wondered, struggled and mourned.
When Marcia came to NEOCH she was working in a retail job. She started volunteering and then became a VISTA for the Coalition. From there she has always worked in human services. The staff of the Coalition are so thankful to both the Mobile Crisis Team and the Domestic Violence Center for their help in talking about some of these issues. They were extremely helpful in answering questions, talking about the anger, confusion and pain of this situation. The Witness/Victim Group for Cuyahoga County are also very useful in explaining the process and they can help track possible domestic abuse in the court system.
Marcia is hanging on, and the Board and staff are hanging on to hope that she may pull through.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Last week, Marcia Bufford was shot. She was the apparent victim of a domestic violence attack. She still sits in a hospital bed at MetroHealth unconscious and on a breathing machine. Marcia has touched so many in Cleveland as is apparent by the large number of visitors stopping at the hospital. It is so difficult for everyone to see her lying in the ICU just six days after being honored as the advocate of the year at the NEOCH Annual Meeting. She turned a one minute acceptance into a seven minute retrospective of her life. To some this might be annoying, but to those who know her this is her way. She and all of her friends are so proud of her accomplishments and how far she has come in the last 10 years. We had a board meeting last week and no business was conducted as we were all shocked over the events of the last week. Truth be told very little work was done at the Coalition this week as we worried, wondered, struggled and mourned.
When Marcia came to NEOCH she was working in a retail job. She started volunteering and then became a VISTA for the Coalition. From there she has always worked in human services. The staff of the Coalition are so thankful to both the Mobile Crisis Team and the Domestic Violence Center for their help in talking about some of these issues. They were extremely helpful in answering questions, talking about the anger, confusion and pain of this situation. The Witness/Victim Group for Cuyahoga County are also very useful in explaining the process and they can help track possible domestic abuse in the court system.
Marcia is hanging on, and the Board and staff are hanging on to hope that she may pull through.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Shelter Storm and Voice Mail Updates
Homeless Concert and Other Updates
On Friday, the Shelter Storm blew into Y-Haven. Promptly following their resident meeting, I got up to play for the residents. Due to the show being held during the day, this session of the Revue Tour was attended by only myself. The rest of the standard storm chasers were missed, but Y-Haven was kept jumping and bumping none the less.
Although my performance was well received, as they were singing along and doing what I have heard at least one musicological historian refer to as “hollering,” the stars of the show were the residents themselves who took the time to step on stage and share their talents.
The first resident to show off was Sean Sanford, 2nd place winner of the NEOCH poetry contest. He read his poem, “Tears of an Addict.” I must now apologize, for I did not make any good notes on the names of the rest of the people that sounded off. However, their anonymity does not in any way diminish what they shared. We were joined by a soul singer, a resident choir, and even a staff member who can do some mean splits.
So, to sum up, Y-Haven is now one of my favorite places to play. I was not able to fill the majority of the requests they called for. This is nothing new. I know many songs, but no one ever requests the ones I know. Despite that, we all had a wonderful time. IÂ’m glad I was able to represent the Revue Tour there and hope the next time I can drag some poor hapless artist along with me.
In other news, I forgot to offer my congratulations to Denise Uter of the East Side Catholic Center for signing up the most clients to voice mail on Voice Mail Day. Congratulations, Denise. Congratulations are also due to Sonya Ruff of VOA, who placed second in the Voice Mail Day contest. We plan on holding similar contests throughout the summer, so stay tuned. Thanks to everyone who participated and to all the agencies and case workers who continue to use and support voice mail.Josh
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Marcia Bufford Shot Today
NEOCH Thinking About our Advocate of the Year
Marcia Bufford was honored on Friday night at the NEOCH Annual Meeting as the 2005 Advocate of the Year and was voted the new Vice President of the Coalition. Today, we hear that Marcia was shot and is in critical condition. Both the Board and staff are thinking about our friend and colleague during these difficult days. We are all struggling to focus on our work with Marcia lying unconscious in the hospital.
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Marcia Bufford was honored on Friday night at the NEOCH Annual Meeting as the 2005 Advocate of the Year and was voted the new Vice President of the Coalition. Today, we hear that Marcia was shot and is in critical condition. Both the Board and staff are thinking about our friend and colleague during these difficult days. We are all struggling to focus on our work with Marcia lying unconscious in the hospital.
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
National Review Publishes Police Hate Commentary
LAPD: To Protect and Serve Some People
The National Review Online published a story by a current Los Angeles Police Department attacking the U.S. Appeals Court decision striking down the Los Angeles attempt to make it a crime to be homeless. We posted a summary of the decision that prevents the Police from arresting people for purely innocent behavior of sitting, sleeping or standing when every shelter is full in Los Angeles. Josh Kanary has his own comments about the LAPD.
Jack Dunphy, columnist for the National Review Online and LAPD Officer, does not have a good grasp of the law as shown in his article The Constitutional Right to Be a Bum. The article refers to the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that a Los Angeles ordinance making it a misdemeanor to "sit, lie or sleep upon any street, sidewalk, or other public way" is unconstitutional. Opinions on the item of legislation aside, Dunphy'’s rationale is most unlearned for one who claims to be an officer of the law. The article shows that the officer is not smart and has nothing of worth to add to the heated debate over anti-homeless legislation.
Dunphy describes the scene of a group of homeless people sleeping on the streets as, "men (and a few women)...drinking, smoking crack, shooting heroin, fighting with (and occasionally murdering) each other." When describing what the police can do about "those besotted bums down the street," he says, "There's not much we can do...They are enjoying the blessings of freedom guaranteed them by the Constitution, as interpreted by the ACLU and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit."
Although, it is true, the police can no longer arrest homeless people for just being out on the streets, there is something the police can do about people engaged in what he describes as a "frothing maelstrom of depravity." Laws are in place to outlaw the smoking of crack, shooting of heroin, and the fighting (and occasionally murdering) of each other. All the police would need to do is arrest them for the crimes they are seeing them commit. To see the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as the immunization of homeless persons is at the least a poor understanding of the interpretation.
The above occurs in the first three paragraphs of a three page article and contains all the arguments LAPD Officer Jack Dunphy offers against the court decision. He spends the rest of his article questioning the credibility of the plaintiffs and of the judges of the majority opinion, offering little but hearsay, rumor, and good old-fashioned instinct to substantiate his perspective.
Dunphy quotes Judge Kim Wardlaw as saying plaintiff Robert Lee Purrie "“has lived in the Skid Row area for four decades."” This rare fact in his rant worthy of a poorly Xeroxed 'zine is quickly followed by his statement, "The inescapable conclusion is that he lives there...because he likes it." Conclusions such as mental illness, physical disability, racism, and classism show that the conclusion "because he likes it" is, in fact, very escapable.
Jack Dunphy concludes his article about the Ninth Circuit Court of AppealsÂ’ decision with random facts and assumptions about Judge Wardlaw'’s life, such as, "The Wardlaws were among the Clintons'’ guests who enjoyed a stay in the White House'’s Lincoln Bedroom,”" and, "I'm confident there are two commas in the price tag of her home."” Although these facts may have their place elsewhere, they make for a disjointed conclusion to an article about a court's decision.
The fact of the matter is, given only this article as a window into his life, Jack Dunphy is a stupid man who is both ill-informed and wrong. Taken together, those adjectives add up to one frightening police officer. Further explorations of Officer Dunphy'’s lack of intelligence can be made in the poor grammatical structure of his online article, beginning with his sentence, "How, then, to explain the life of, to cite one example, plaintiff Robert Lee Purrie, who, according to Wardlaw's opinion, 'has lived in the Skid Row area for four decades.'"
Josh KanaryPosts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Lying is Better Than Contract Steering???
HUD Policy is Another Fad that Will Lead Nowhere
A few weeks back, I published a letter in the Plain Dealer about the Department of Housing and Urban Development's offensive and stupid policy of focusing all their attention on long term homeless people to the detriment of all other homeless populations. There is so much to discuss with this policy, but in the interim a lot has happened at the Coalition and with HUD. We will postpone this discussion for now. The most amazing thing happened at HUD in the last few days. The HUD Secretary said at a conference that he cancelled a contract because the contractor said something negative about President Bush. Aside from the fact that this is illegal, it is dramatic expansion in the new policy of intolerance of any dissension. First, the entire Executive Branch was silenced with the threat of polygraphs and prosecutions. The media were criticized for questioning power in a time of war. Now, contractors cannot even speak freely.
When newspapers started raising concerns about the legality of this story, the Department said it was just a story that did not actually happen. What if Nixon had thought of this strategy--cop to a lie in order to cover-up the crime? His presidency might have survived by just admitting to a lie to divert attention from the break in and the hijacking of the government. I hope that this posting and statement does not get our small HUD contract pulled.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
A few weeks back, I published a letter in the Plain Dealer about the Department of Housing and Urban Development's offensive and stupid policy of focusing all their attention on long term homeless people to the detriment of all other homeless populations. There is so much to discuss with this policy, but in the interim a lot has happened at the Coalition and with HUD. We will postpone this discussion for now. The most amazing thing happened at HUD in the last few days. The HUD Secretary said at a conference that he cancelled a contract because the contractor said something negative about President Bush. Aside from the fact that this is illegal, it is dramatic expansion in the new policy of intolerance of any dissension. First, the entire Executive Branch was silenced with the threat of polygraphs and prosecutions. The media were criticized for questioning power in a time of war. Now, contractors cannot even speak freely.
When newspapers started raising concerns about the legality of this story, the Department said it was just a story that did not actually happen. What if Nixon had thought of this strategy--cop to a lie in order to cover-up the crime? His presidency might have survived by just admitting to a lie to divert attention from the break in and the hijacking of the government. I hope that this posting and statement does not get our small HUD contract pulled.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
What could you buy with $70 Billion?
Congress is close to a Deal to Cut Taxes by $70 Billion
The Shopping Spree of a Lifetime. What could we buy for $70 billion?
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The Shopping Spree of a Lifetime. What could we buy for $70 billion?
- We could end homelessness in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Portland, Louisville, and Atlanta. Just think with the money from the tax cut, we would no longer have homelessness in 16 of the larger American cities.
- We could pay the cost of every voucher for every individual on the waiting list of every housing authority in America. In Cleveland, there are over 1,300 on the Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list. There would also be money left over for improvements in Public Housing.
- We could expand our current effort to address homelessness in the United States by 50 times with the money from the tax cut.
- We could bankroll our state housing trust fund for over 1,000 years, which provides housing assistance and the construction of new housing in Ohio.
- We could serve 70 times as many people as we currently do with mental health assistance in the state of Ohio. This would allow us to finally do what our government promised when they closed all the asylums in our community.
- We could increase our state resources directed at the local foodbanks by 13,000 times what they currently support.
- We could fund the Cleveland Homeless Coalition for 200,000 years or give a direct subsidy of $1,555 to every person without healthcare in the United States.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Monday, May 08, 2006
What's Goin' On?...
Homelessness Throughout the United States
Here are some things that I learned while in Washington.
Indiania passed a more restrictive ID law then Ohio's. I have no idea how it is not a Poll Tax like the one that was struck down in Georgia. They did start a Housing Trust Fund using the Real Estate Tax.
Puerto Rico has an involuntary commitment bill pending that would allow the police to pick up homeless people with a suspected mental illness and confine them in a mental institution against their will. There is a competing law that makes it hard to pass laws that criminality homelessness. A judge did determine that Puerto Rico could restrict the speech of panhandlers.
Philly has three competing plans to end homelessness in 10 years. Does that mean that it will end in 3.5 years? Philadelphia is ground zero for the research on long term homelessness, which is being shoved down all of our throats by HUD.
New York has $1 billion in TANF surplus just sitting around the halls of Albany. At the same time there were massive cuts to many programs including human services.
In D.C., many of the programs have not received money for nearly a year. This has caused major chaos in the nation's largest shelter: Mitch Snyder's old CCNV. They have had a series of directors and are having problems keeping staff. They have around 1,300 people there every night.
The great state of Minnesota seems to be one of the only states actually making significant progress. They have this cool X committee of homeless people who are making decisions about how to spend money and what programs would should be funded. One of the programs that they are working on is a storage facility for homeless people (which homeless people in Cleveland has said is a high priority, but few listen). The state is running a rental assistance program.
Colorado developed a 10 year plan that does a lot of work on Housing First, and some work on presumptive eligibility for those who are homeless. Colorado also used their Tobacco Tax to dramatically expand medical services to homeless people.
The Cities that were on the Meanest Cities List were not very happy. Sarasota (the first meanest city) held a big hearing on the matter. Puerto Rico also was very upset by the matter and invited a Bush official down to show what a great job they do. The Las Vegas Mayor said that he was going to beat up the Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless if he was ever in Washington D.C. Las Vegas was listed in the top five meanest cities. Lawrence Kansas, also in the top five, also very upset.
South Carolina has $45 million in unspent HOME dollars, which provides federal funds for housing. They had an issue with Clemson athletes using Section 8 vouchers to pay for their housing. There is a growing issue with some legislators trying to force non-profit developers to pay property taxes for their housing of formerly homeless people. This would bankrupt many of these developers.
Finally, Los Angeles has a new Bring LA Home plan with a goal of $150 million for permanent supportive housing and $100 million for a County Trust Fund. There is also a need for $300 million for Mental Health expansion services with a total cost of $11-$12 Billion to end homelessness in Los Angeles. There is a proposal for a $1 Billion County Housing Trust Fund. There was a big controversy about private hospitals dropping patients in Skid Row. The biggest offender was the Kaiser Hospital, which are trying to correct the problems. There is an effort to expand the homeless children and youth program in the schools. Finally, the City is trying to pass restrictive laws to expand sentencing requirements for certain areas of town like a 2 mile radius around Skid Row.
Things are bad, but at least there is an organization working on these issues with the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Here are some things that I learned while in Washington.
Indiania passed a more restrictive ID law then Ohio's. I have no idea how it is not a Poll Tax like the one that was struck down in Georgia. They did start a Housing Trust Fund using the Real Estate Tax.
Puerto Rico has an involuntary commitment bill pending that would allow the police to pick up homeless people with a suspected mental illness and confine them in a mental institution against their will. There is a competing law that makes it hard to pass laws that criminality homelessness. A judge did determine that Puerto Rico could restrict the speech of panhandlers.
Philly has three competing plans to end homelessness in 10 years. Does that mean that it will end in 3.5 years? Philadelphia is ground zero for the research on long term homelessness, which is being shoved down all of our throats by HUD.
New York has $1 billion in TANF surplus just sitting around the halls of Albany. At the same time there were massive cuts to many programs including human services.
In D.C., many of the programs have not received money for nearly a year. This has caused major chaos in the nation's largest shelter: Mitch Snyder's old CCNV. They have had a series of directors and are having problems keeping staff. They have around 1,300 people there every night.
The great state of Minnesota seems to be one of the only states actually making significant progress. They have this cool X committee of homeless people who are making decisions about how to spend money and what programs would should be funded. One of the programs that they are working on is a storage facility for homeless people (which homeless people in Cleveland has said is a high priority, but few listen). The state is running a rental assistance program.
Colorado developed a 10 year plan that does a lot of work on Housing First, and some work on presumptive eligibility for those who are homeless. Colorado also used their Tobacco Tax to dramatically expand medical services to homeless people.
The Cities that were on the Meanest Cities List were not very happy. Sarasota (the first meanest city) held a big hearing on the matter. Puerto Rico also was very upset by the matter and invited a Bush official down to show what a great job they do. The Las Vegas Mayor said that he was going to beat up the Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless if he was ever in Washington D.C. Las Vegas was listed in the top five meanest cities. Lawrence Kansas, also in the top five, also very upset.
South Carolina has $45 million in unspent HOME dollars, which provides federal funds for housing. They had an issue with Clemson athletes using Section 8 vouchers to pay for their housing. There is a growing issue with some legislators trying to force non-profit developers to pay property taxes for their housing of formerly homeless people. This would bankrupt many of these developers.
Finally, Los Angeles has a new Bring LA Home plan with a goal of $150 million for permanent supportive housing and $100 million for a County Trust Fund. There is also a need for $300 million for Mental Health expansion services with a total cost of $11-$12 Billion to end homelessness in Los Angeles. There is a proposal for a $1 Billion County Housing Trust Fund. There was a big controversy about private hospitals dropping patients in Skid Row. The biggest offender was the Kaiser Hospital, which are trying to correct the problems. There is an effort to expand the homeless children and youth program in the schools. Finally, the City is trying to pass restrictive laws to expand sentencing requirements for certain areas of town like a 2 mile radius around Skid Row.
Things are bad, but at least there is an organization working on these issues with the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Sorry for the Long Absence...
NEOCH was Busy, Pardon our Delay in Posting
I was in Washington lobbying Congress on a few items, which we will discuss later. All staff have worked on the Annual Meeting on Friday night, and so have been busy. The meeting was great and their is a good description of the event on the Homeless Grapevine blog. Massimo da Milano is a great venue for the meeting--close to downtown, parking, and convenient.
We had another record number of visits to the website in April--8,164 for the month or 272 average visitors every day.
Community Voice Mail Day was a success with nearly 100 people signed up and East Side Catholic Shelter and Volunteers of America winning the gift certificates for signing up the largest number of users. Also, Council woman Phyllis Cleveland sponsored a resolution proclaiming April 26 as Cleveland Community Voice Mail Day.
Speaking of Voice Mail, they are doing a complete redesign of their website. Look for it to go live this next week.
I was in the nation's capital last week for the National Coalition for the Homeless meeting and some lobbying activities. Washington DC is always very depressing with all those men in suits who could easily solve homelessness driving and walking past the thousands of homeless people every day who reside on the streets. We had a very good meeting and added a few new board members. The National Coalition is beginning to stabilize after a rough patch.
Since we had two weeks without posting, we will try to post everyday for the next few weeks.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
I was in Washington lobbying Congress on a few items, which we will discuss later. All staff have worked on the Annual Meeting on Friday night, and so have been busy. The meeting was great and their is a good description of the event on the Homeless Grapevine blog. Massimo da Milano is a great venue for the meeting--close to downtown, parking, and convenient.
We had another record number of visits to the website in April--8,164 for the month or 272 average visitors every day.
Community Voice Mail Day was a success with nearly 100 people signed up and East Side Catholic Shelter and Volunteers of America winning the gift certificates for signing up the largest number of users. Also, Council woman Phyllis Cleveland sponsored a resolution proclaiming April 26 as Cleveland Community Voice Mail Day.
Speaking of Voice Mail, they are doing a complete redesign of their website. Look for it to go live this next week.
I was in the nation's capital last week for the National Coalition for the Homeless meeting and some lobbying activities. Washington DC is always very depressing with all those men in suits who could easily solve homelessness driving and walking past the thousands of homeless people every day who reside on the streets. We had a very good meeting and added a few new board members. The National Coalition is beginning to stabilize after a rough patch.
Since we had two weeks without posting, we will try to post everyday for the next few weeks.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Mental Health System Broken in America
Supreme Court to Decide on Arizona's Ability to Exact Vengeance
The system in need of the most reform is certainly the treatment of mentally ill people in the United States. The Washington Post had a very good editorial about the problems facing mentally ill people. We do not provide parity with other health issues, so that if diagnosed with a mental illness there is a limit to the treatment that one can receive paid by a health care insurer. A broken leg is covered usually with a small deductible until the point at which it is healed, but a brain injury is covered with a deductible for a few months. Then those who cannot work because of a mental illness are forced to spend years trying to prove to the state that they are in fact not healthy enough to work. At the end of this long journey is poverty for life.
No where in the United States does disability assistance raise your standard of living above even the pathetically low federal poverty level. If you receive gifts--your allowance is lowered. If you keep too much money in your bank account--your allowance is lowered. If your parents die and leave you money--your allowance is lowered. In some communities, if you stay in shelters--your allowance is lowered. It is one thing to lower a wealthy individual's government assistance, but we are punishing poor people for having a small amount of money. This is criminal and obscene for a society of our wealth.
In most states, those who are poor receive no help for their mental illness unless they are a threat to themselves or others. This was the situation facing the family in Flagstaff. Their son, Eric Michael Clark, had not demonstrated any threat to himself or others, but he was seeing a city full of aliens. I happen to agree with the young Clark that the very conservative retirement communities in Arizona are in fact full of aliens from a planet without compassion, but I am not sure if violence is the answer. He then killed a police officer after his family begged the authorities to have him committed. The State of Arizona, who did not want to provide assistance to Mr. Clark, because he had never demonstrated that he was a threat to others now wants to kill him after he did show he was a threat to others.
This level of intolerance toward those with a legitimate health problems is disturbing and actually a frightening mirror on society. Are we so afraid that mental illness will afflict us that we condemn those among us to a life of poverty, force a struggle with a mammoth bureaucracy, constant running away from the stigmatization, and then we kill those with the most severe mental illness? My, how the pendulum has swung from the time we were fighting over equal rights to a time when we are fighting over killing the mentally ill, walling off our southern border, and should we torture people as a country?
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The system in need of the most reform is certainly the treatment of mentally ill people in the United States. The Washington Post had a very good editorial about the problems facing mentally ill people. We do not provide parity with other health issues, so that if diagnosed with a mental illness there is a limit to the treatment that one can receive paid by a health care insurer. A broken leg is covered usually with a small deductible until the point at which it is healed, but a brain injury is covered with a deductible for a few months. Then those who cannot work because of a mental illness are forced to spend years trying to prove to the state that they are in fact not healthy enough to work. At the end of this long journey is poverty for life.
No where in the United States does disability assistance raise your standard of living above even the pathetically low federal poverty level. If you receive gifts--your allowance is lowered. If you keep too much money in your bank account--your allowance is lowered. If your parents die and leave you money--your allowance is lowered. In some communities, if you stay in shelters--your allowance is lowered. It is one thing to lower a wealthy individual's government assistance, but we are punishing poor people for having a small amount of money. This is criminal and obscene for a society of our wealth.
In most states, those who are poor receive no help for their mental illness unless they are a threat to themselves or others. This was the situation facing the family in Flagstaff. Their son, Eric Michael Clark, had not demonstrated any threat to himself or others, but he was seeing a city full of aliens. I happen to agree with the young Clark that the very conservative retirement communities in Arizona are in fact full of aliens from a planet without compassion, but I am not sure if violence is the answer. He then killed a police officer after his family begged the authorities to have him committed. The State of Arizona, who did not want to provide assistance to Mr. Clark, because he had never demonstrated that he was a threat to others now wants to kill him after he did show he was a threat to others.
This level of intolerance toward those with a legitimate health problems is disturbing and actually a frightening mirror on society. Are we so afraid that mental illness will afflict us that we condemn those among us to a life of poverty, force a struggle with a mammoth bureaucracy, constant running away from the stigmatization, and then we kill those with the most severe mental illness? My, how the pendulum has swung from the time we were fighting over equal rights to a time when we are fighting over killing the mentally ill, walling off our southern border, and should we torture people as a country?
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Don't Be a Domestic Violence Victim in Cuyahoga County
Dramatic Reduction in Shelter Beds for Domestic Violence Victims in Cleveland Area
Just five years ago there were two organizations serving the needs of homeless women fleeing an abuser with the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Templum House in operation. Neither was overly healthy, but how many independent non-profits were during the beginning of this six year nightmare recession in Cuyahoga County? They merged and now we have gone from four separate shelters to one. We have changed the definition of domestic violence so that we serve only those immediately fleeing an abuser. While studies show between 70-80% of the women in the emergency shelters have some abuse in their past, Cuyahoga County has tightened the definition to reduce, on paper, the numbers. This is not to condemn the one agency left serving Domestic Violence victims. The Domestic Violence Center staff do amazing work on a shoestring budget. They put in long hours and do everything in their power to keep the women of Cuyahoga County safe. They have tried to redesign their program to serve the population, but there are plenty of women who have no where to turn for help.
Just five years ago there were two organizations serving the needs of homeless women fleeing an abuser with the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Templum House in operation. Neither was overly healthy, but how many independent non-profits were during the beginning of this six year nightmare recession in Cuyahoga County? They merged and now we have gone from four separate shelters to one. We have changed the definition of domestic violence so that we serve only those immediately fleeing an abuser. While studies show between 70-80% of the women in the emergency shelters have some abuse in their past, Cuyahoga County has tightened the definition to reduce, on paper, the numbers. This is not to condemn the one agency left serving Domestic Violence victims. The Domestic Violence Center staff do amazing work on a shoestring budget. They put in long hours and do everything in their power to keep the women of Cuyahoga County safe. They have tried to redesign their program to serve the population, but there are plenty of women who have no where to turn for help.
We made a mistake letting the two organizations merge into one. Supporters will argue that we have two other shelters (West Side Catholic and East Side Catholic) who have stepped up to serve this population. They both try to fill this void, but it is not the same. The DV shelters have all of their staff trained to provide support. They all understand the pressure that the women face to return to their abuser. They all understand the difficulty in standing firm against abuse when "The Dad is so good with the children." We have a network of DV shelters in the state for a reason. The women who show up on their doors have very specific needs and a very specific process for healing. The Coalition was never asked to comment on this merger, but we must take some of the blame that we did not speak up and realize how negative this could be for the women.
Just for comparison lets look at the Counties that touch Cuyahoga County. What follows is the Counties listed in order of number of shelter beds for Domestic Violence victims per resident (based on 2005 Census figures).
Geauga County 16 beds 95,218 people or 1 bed for every 5,951 people.
Summit County 90 beds 546,604 people or 1 bed for every 6,073 people.
Erie County 10 beds 78,665 people or 1 bed for every 7,867 people.
Lake County 27 beds 232,466 people or 1 bed for every 8,610 people.
Medina County 18 beds 167,010 people or 1 bed for every 9,278 people
Lorain County 22 beds 296,307 people or 1 bed for every 13,469 people.
Portage County 5 beds with 155,631 people or 1 bed for every 31,126 people.
Cuyahoga County 34 beds with 1,335,317 people or 1 bed for every 39,274 people.
(Who knew Portage County had so many people--I checked it twice.)
Where are all the corporations? The beer companies? The Women's Rights organizations? How did we let it get so bad that we only have 34 beds for women fleeing a domestic violence situation in Cuyahoga County? The state Attorney General's 2004 report has startling figures on the incidents of violence against a spouse/roommate/date in Ohio. The state reports shows that just in 2004, 1 in 100 women were abused and yet we have only 34 dedicated beds in Cuyahoga County. We have an Office of Homeless Services, but they did not sound the alarm that there were problems with sustaining these programs or raise awareness about problems within the system. There is a domestic violence funding organization that divides up the scarce resources, and yet we never heard from this group.
The Coalition is never a big fan of shelter because it is really just a band aid for a larger problems in society. But Domestic Violence is different. Women need a safe place that an abuser cannot easily find to get their bank accounts secure, their children relocated, and work with law enforcement to assure their safety. We all took our eye off the ball, and the power players in the community (City, United Way, County, Foundations, and Religious leaders) should hold a summit on violence to get us back on track.
My two cents on Domestic Violence is that each City within the County should have their own strategy to address violence within their community. Each of the cities would set their own goals for moving to zero incidents of violence. In the spirit of regionalism a few cities could join to set up DV emergency shelters to meet the need and share resources to fund these facilities. The Domestic Violence Center in Cleveland could oversee training and coordinate advocacy for all these facilities. For too long we have relied on a shrinking number of community leaders to worry about this problem and we have made little progress. National studies show that 1 in 4 women will experience violence in their lifetime, and with leadership we could make Cuyahoga County a lot safer for women.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Los Angeles Cannot harass Skid Row Residents
Ninth Appeals Court Rules Against LA Effort to Criminalize Homelessness
The City of Los Angeles, one of the 20 meanest cities toward homeless people in the United States, was found to be violating the rights of its homeless community with a law that prevented sitting, sleeping or lying on the sidewalk. The court found the law an "unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter" violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Police, as they do in many U.S. cities were permitted to go out and threaten arrest to anyone using the sidewalk for shelter. If the individual did not move, the police would arrest the individual. The court even acknowledged in a 2-1 decision that the LA ordinance "made it a crime to be homeless."
The notoriously bad LA police will no longer be able to engage in this activity. The City only in the last month issued a "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness," but did not acknowledge their criminalization efforts. LA has reputedly the largest homeless population in the United States (80,000-90,000 people a year), which we certainly believe has something to do with the efforts to make it a crime to be homeless.
As a reminder, Cleveland is one of the few cities in the United States that has a signed agreement with the homeless population that police will not arrest or threaten arrest for purely innocent behavior of sitting, sleeping, standing, eating on the sidewalks in Cleveland. We have had this in place since 2000, and have found better ways to serve the population. Cuyahoga County has around 25,000 homeless in a year.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
The City of Los Angeles, one of the 20 meanest cities toward homeless people in the United States, was found to be violating the rights of its homeless community with a law that prevented sitting, sleeping or lying on the sidewalk. The court found the law an "unavoidable consequence of being human and homeless without shelter" violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Police, as they do in many U.S. cities were permitted to go out and threaten arrest to anyone using the sidewalk for shelter. If the individual did not move, the police would arrest the individual. The court even acknowledged in a 2-1 decision that the LA ordinance "made it a crime to be homeless."
The notoriously bad LA police will no longer be able to engage in this activity. The City only in the last month issued a "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness," but did not acknowledge their criminalization efforts. LA has reputedly the largest homeless population in the United States (80,000-90,000 people a year), which we certainly believe has something to do with the efforts to make it a crime to be homeless.
As a reminder, Cleveland is one of the few cities in the United States that has a signed agreement with the homeless population that police will not arrest or threaten arrest for purely innocent behavior of sitting, sleeping, standing, eating on the sidewalks in Cleveland. We have had this in place since 2000, and have found better ways to serve the population. Cuyahoga County has around 25,000 homeless in a year.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Safety Ambassadors Coming To Cleveland
Louisville Company To "Clean Up" Downtown
Downtown business owners are taxing themselves in order to deal with panhandlers and dirty streets. This must mean that the offensive panhandling law passed last year is not working out because how often do business people vote to tax themselves? So, Downtown business created an improvement district from the warehouse district to East 18th St. to Carnegie to the Lake in order to impose on tax on themselves. For this year they will raise $3 million, and have hired a group called Block by Block to oversee this project.
The group already does safety programming in Columbus, Dayton, Louisville, Toledo, Cincinnati, and many other cities in the Midwest. They will begin in Cleveland in May to clean the streets and employ "Street Ambassadors" to keep the streets safe. These happy uniformed (golf shirt and khaki pants) people without diplomatic immunity travel the streets spreading good thoughts and good directions. They give out directions to the lost, act as a neighborhood watch, and discourage pedestrians from giving to panhandlers.
I have seen these guys in action down in Columbus decked out in Red, White and Blue shirts. They put themselves in between the panhandler and the potential customer. These Street Ambassadors will call the police or security guard for an aggressive panhandler or a panhandler in the prohibited zone. The others asking for money are harassed by the ambassadors. It is so successful in Columbus that the City Council passed a stricter panhandling and littering law in 2005. In Cincinnati, the program has worked so well that they now force the panhandlers to register with the City before asking for money. How do they measure success? I say they should be measured on a reduction of 21% office vacancy rate downtown and more than 8 people on the sidewalk on a Tuesday night.
We are going to spend $2.25 million on cleaning the streets and harassing panhandlers. Evidently, parking and panhandling are still the two biggest complaints of the business owners. When will they listen? Panhandlers have existed in cities for over two centuries, and respond to only two things capitalism and better jobs. Give a panhandler a decent job that they do not have to stand outside in the rain or sun, but do not have to punch a clock, they will stop panhandling. If they face competition, they will move somewhere else. Harassment and laws do not work. For more information on panhandling go to our website under Statistics and Strategies.
Two interesting notes: one of the cities in the Northwest tried a similar program, but uniformed their crew with dark Brown shirts. This was quickly changed when some snobby academic recognized that Brown Shirts walking around harassing poor people might present a problem with a historical backlash. The other issue is that for some reason in Ohio Patriot Act, "safety ambassodors" must be licensed by the Department of Homeland Security. This prevents anyone with a felony background taking one of these jobs. Many of the people with the best relationship with panhandlers who know the city best are not eligible for these jobs. In Ohio, true patriotism means never giving anyone a second chance.
Brian
by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Downtown business owners are taxing themselves in order to deal with panhandlers and dirty streets. This must mean that the offensive panhandling law passed last year is not working out because how often do business people vote to tax themselves? So, Downtown business created an improvement district from the warehouse district to East 18th St. to Carnegie to the Lake in order to impose on tax on themselves. For this year they will raise $3 million, and have hired a group called Block by Block to oversee this project.
The group already does safety programming in Columbus, Dayton, Louisville, Toledo, Cincinnati, and many other cities in the Midwest. They will begin in Cleveland in May to clean the streets and employ "Street Ambassadors" to keep the streets safe. These happy uniformed (golf shirt and khaki pants) people without diplomatic immunity travel the streets spreading good thoughts and good directions. They give out directions to the lost, act as a neighborhood watch, and discourage pedestrians from giving to panhandlers.
I have seen these guys in action down in Columbus decked out in Red, White and Blue shirts. They put themselves in between the panhandler and the potential customer. These Street Ambassadors will call the police or security guard for an aggressive panhandler or a panhandler in the prohibited zone. The others asking for money are harassed by the ambassadors. It is so successful in Columbus that the City Council passed a stricter panhandling and littering law in 2005. In Cincinnati, the program has worked so well that they now force the panhandlers to register with the City before asking for money. How do they measure success? I say they should be measured on a reduction of 21% office vacancy rate downtown and more than 8 people on the sidewalk on a Tuesday night.
We are going to spend $2.25 million on cleaning the streets and harassing panhandlers. Evidently, parking and panhandling are still the two biggest complaints of the business owners. When will they listen? Panhandlers have existed in cities for over two centuries, and respond to only two things capitalism and better jobs. Give a panhandler a decent job that they do not have to stand outside in the rain or sun, but do not have to punch a clock, they will stop panhandling. If they face competition, they will move somewhere else. Harassment and laws do not work. For more information on panhandling go to our website under Statistics and Strategies.
Two interesting notes: one of the cities in the Northwest tried a similar program, but uniformed their crew with dark Brown shirts. This was quickly changed when some snobby academic recognized that Brown Shirts walking around harassing poor people might present a problem with a historical backlash. The other issue is that for some reason in Ohio Patriot Act, "safety ambassodors" must be licensed by the Department of Homeland Security. This prevents anyone with a felony background taking one of these jobs. Many of the people with the best relationship with panhandlers who know the city best are not eligible for these jobs. In Ohio, true patriotism means never giving anyone a second chance.
Brian
by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Shelter Storm Music Tour Updates
Shelter Storm Revue Continue to Roll
Tuesday night was yet another success for the SSRT (Shelter Storm Revue Tour). I opened the show with some homespun ballads promptly at 8:30 PM. Progeny was kind enough to set up early and allow the use of their equipment (thank you). The VOA Shelter proved to be an intimate and acoustically vibrant environment. The crowd welcomed me warmly before I passed the stage onto newcomers to the Revue Tour, Mark Liderbach and Brian Misch. The wonderfully talented Liderbach and Misch stunned the crowd with their electric blues rhythms. Their stay was short, but their presence was felt. Following their act was a poetess who needed no microphone in this sound wave friendly room, Shelter Storm regular Meagen Hueslenbeck. She lit a fire in the hearts of the audience as she interspersed her preachings with personal poems that ruminated on the ecclesiastic thoughts of a pizza delivery girl. Gary Nelson was next, and he narrated from his guitar like a journalist reports from his articles. His musings wandered from the greed of a ruthless boss named Diamond Joe to the longing of a wanderer weary of never finding a familiar face in his travels. The final performers were the fan favorites, Progeny. They lept to the stage like prophets on a mission. They swayed and sang and brought smiles to the faces of everyone who sat before them. As the echoes of the final note joined the shadows of the night, the residents thanked us many times over, shaking hands and smiling brightly.
I am still looking for performers for the Y-Haven show on May 12th at 10 AM. If there are any musicians, poets, or other performance artists looking to join in on this show, please give me a call at our NEOCH offices at 216-432-0540 ext. 404.
Josh
Monday, April 03, 2006
Coalition Updates
Homeless Coalition Updates
March 2006 was again a new record for web traffic to our website with an average of 249 people per day and 7,738 visits to the site. If we can add a few people a day, maybe we can dispel the myth that all homeless people are panhandlers.
The Bad News..Legal Assistance saw a record number of people in 2005.
Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance saw a record 621 people in 2005. The program hosts clinics in shelters and drop in centers. In 2005, we did expand the program so that we have a weekly clinic on both the East and West side of town. The clinics are staffed by volunteer attorneys from the area. To see a copy of the schedule go to http://www.neoch.org/chlap_intake_sched06.htm. We will honor a few of those attorneys at the 2005 Annual meeting on May 5, 2006 at Massimo da Millano.
Speaking of the Annual Meeting....
You can reserve a space at the annual meeting right from our website. Here is the link to the overview of the event: http://www.neoch.org/annual_event_06.htm. May 5, 2006 a very nice dinner and camaraderie with other social justice advocates in the community. Tickets are very reasonable. Please join us at our Fifth Annual Dinner and Annual meeting.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
March 2006 was again a new record for web traffic to our website with an average of 249 people per day and 7,738 visits to the site. If we can add a few people a day, maybe we can dispel the myth that all homeless people are panhandlers.
The Bad News..Legal Assistance saw a record number of people in 2005.
Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance saw a record 621 people in 2005. The program hosts clinics in shelters and drop in centers. In 2005, we did expand the program so that we have a weekly clinic on both the East and West side of town. The clinics are staffed by volunteer attorneys from the area. To see a copy of the schedule go to http://www.neoch.org/chlap_intake_sched06.htm. We will honor a few of those attorneys at the 2005 Annual meeting on May 5, 2006 at Massimo da Millano.
Speaking of the Annual Meeting....
You can reserve a space at the annual meeting right from our website. Here is the link to the overview of the event: http://www.neoch.org/annual_event_06.htm. May 5, 2006 a very nice dinner and camaraderie with other social justice advocates in the community. Tickets are very reasonable. Please join us at our Fifth Annual Dinner and Annual meeting.
Brian
Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)