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©2007-2008 Tasha French

All of the black & white images are scans of full-frame gelatin darkroom prints and were mostly shot with a 35mm Nikon FE2 SLR*.

Square images were shot with a medium-format Hasselblad c/m.

At the top of many of these posts, you will see a link to a selected audio clip of the interview with that person. The average recorded interview length is about an hour. The clips on this blog are from about 2.5 to 5.5 minutes. Audio recorded with a Marantz PMD660 Digital Flash Media Recorder using an AKG C-900 Cardioid Condenser Mic.

Newer Posts:
©2009 Metropolitan Homelessness Commission
Newer images are part of my work for a public awareness campaign for Nashville's Metropolitan Homelessness Commission. www.nashvillesroadhome.org.

These are color photographs and are full-frame digital shots from a Nikon D300 or D70.

It's been very hard. You never know until you go through this,"

Whole lotta rumors flying around town about the whys and wherefores, but at this point, folks know little more than they did shortly after Mr. Matthews was murdered....

New Video Could Help Find Killer In Homeless Homicide

Posted: Nov 06, 2009 5:24 PM CST &amp;lt;em class="wnDate"&amp;gt;Friday, November 6, 2009 6:24 PM EST&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;

Video Gallery

New Video Could Help Find Killer In Homeless Homicide

2:40

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Police have surveillance video of Edward Matthews that may help them solve the homicide case. Investigators believe he may have been shot while he was sleeping Tuesday morning.

The family hopes the video will stir someone's memory, especially someone who was in Downtown Nashville. His pants were rolled up, and he was wearing baseball socks with vertical stripes.

Matthews also had a distinctive walk.

The video was captured just before 1 a.m. Tuesday outside the Nashville Rescue Mission. Four hours later, Matthews was dead.

"Please let them know if you've seen him. We just want peace. We just want peace," said victim's sister Cleo Burrows.

Burrows said it's difficult to understand why someone would have wanted to kill her brother.

"It's been hard. It's been very hard. You never know until you go through this," said Burrows.

Matthews was 46-years-old when police found him on a park bench at 5th and Church. He'd been shot once in the head.

"There are no apparent signs of robbery, so again it's just leaves the motive wide open at this point," said Brian Johnson, Metro Nashville Police Department.

There was an autopsy, but police said it did not help. Although they said some of the evidence indicates Matthews may have been shot while he slept.

"The major challenge in this is - no witnesses," said Johnson.

They're trying to narrow down the time frame when he was killed. Investigators said it was some time between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Burrows said her brother was homeless for about 20 years. When he was younger he earned a degree at TSU, but something went wrong.

"Met up with the wrong people, got hooked on drugs, wanted to be homeless. It's what he wanted to do," said Burrows.

The surveillance video came from one of the Rescue Mission's 52 cameras. A security guard said he tried to get Matthews to come in from the cold that night, but he refused.

Downtown surveillance cameras have helped police in the past. Three years ago police solved the murder of Tara Cole.

She was the homeless woman who was thrown into the Cumberland River and drowned. A surveillance camera captured the killers walking down the street.

Business owners plan memorial for homeless man

Business owners in Fort Lauderdale repeatedly tried to convince Douglas Schutt to stop boozing and living outdoors, but he refused.

Business owners on Las Olas Boulevard knew him as a helpful, homeless man who washed cars and did other cleaning chores in exchange for a few dollars.

Douglas Schutt, 58, died Sept. 9 from a head injury he sustained in an accident, the Broward Medical Examiner's Office said.

Schutt didn't have family available to oversee funeral arrangements. But vendors he befriended over the years paid $550 to have his body cremated. They're gathering this morning to spread his ashes across the New River, the waterway where he enjoyed fishing.

Read the South Florida Sun-Sentinel article here.

Count reveals homeless numbers (Daily Pilot)

Costa Mesa is home to more than 100 chronically homeless people, according to preliminary results of a citywide count done during the past two days by Vanguard University and the nonprofit group Mercy House.

Park Rangers Confiscate Items From Homeless Men (FOX 2 News St. Louis)

St. Louis Park Rangers confiscate clothing and even medicine from two homeless men, then proceeding to throw them away. The mayor is apologizing, and homeless providers are asking questions. Lately, a group of homeless people have been camping at the Interco Park, a small piece of ground in the city between the Post Dispatch and the St. Patrick's Center. The problem is that it's illegal.

Destruction of homeless' possessions criticized (Park Hills Daily Journal)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A federal lawsuit settlement agreed to by the city of St. Louis in 2005 may have been violated when city park rangers, considered park police, destroyed all of the possessions of a camp of homeless people on Thursday morning, according to court records.

Homeless in Portland (KOIN News 6 Portland)

PORTLAND - City and county leaders say the Portland area has more people who are homeless per capita, than anywhere else in the country. It's a problem that needs a solution, especially as the winter weather gets colder.

Trivia night for homeless shelter (Park Hills Daily Journal)

A trivia night will be held next month to raise money for the local homeless shelter.

210 Connect to focus on homeless - Visalia Times-Delta

210 Connect to focus on homeless
Visalia Times-Delta
Recent events surrounding the homeless encampment at the St. Johns River make this a timely discussion. Among the panelists for this forum will be ...
Homelessness resists easy solutionVisalia Times-Delta

all 2 news articles »

Homelessness resists easy solution - Visalia Times-Delta

Homelessness resists easy solution
Visalia Times-Delta
mcgovern-Garcia: I don't necessarily think that the St. Johns homeless encampment is indicative of a sharp rise in homelessness. ...

and more »

YOUR VIEWS: Must capitalize on progress that has been made on homelessness - The Birmingham News - al.com

YOUR VIEWS: Must capitalize on progress that has been made on homelessness
The Birmingham News - al.com
Yet, for those who might lose hope in Birmingham, Metropolitan Birmingham Services for the Homeless wants to underscore that there has been progress, ...

Homeless charities struggling - Hampshire Chronicle

Homeless charities struggling
Hampshire Chronicle
The news was revealed after Winchester Town Forum held a special meeting to discuss the issue of homelessness in the city at the Trinity Centre. ...

A proud history of service - Sudbury Star

A proud history of service
Sudbury Star
They were deployed to assist those left homeless after the Red River Flood, in Manitoba in 1997, then in 1998, they aided in the aftermath of the ice storm ...

Community effort provides housing for homeless teens - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Community effort provides housing for homeless teens
Daytona Beach News-Journal
But in New Smyrna Beach, it's a compilation of a community coming together to get homeless teens off the streets or off their friends' couches by renting a ...

and more »

Place a homeless man called home - Baltimore Sun

Place a homeless man called home
Baltimore Sun
When he became homeless, he brought his mattress to the porch of an abandoned house and started doing odd jobs. He visited two nearby shelters for baths and ...

and more »

Prairie View gets grant to assist homeless, at risk - Newton Kansan

Prairie View gets grant to assist homeless, at risk
Newton Kansan
Prairie View has received $1.66 million from the Kansas Housing Resources Corp. to serve homeless and at-risk families and people in central Kansas. ...
Rapid re-housing for homeless starts MondayThe Wichita Eagle
Taking aim at homelessnessWashington Post
Commission clears way for homelessness-prevention fundsThe Rolla Daily News
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review -Pittsburgh Post Gazette -Examiner.com
all 11 news articles »

Budget trims lead homeless shelters across Mass. to cut services and beds - Boston Globe

Boston Globe

Budget trims lead homeless shelters across Mass. to cut services and beds
Boston Globe
(David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff) By David Abel Boston plans to eliminate nearly 20 percent of the beds at the city's largest homeless shelter, the first time it ...
Ann Arbor to provide $159000 for emergency shelter for homelessAnnArbor.com

all 2 news articles »

Saddam’s Baghdad Bob Is Not Announcing Homeless Numbers In L.A.

Saddam Hussein’s Information Minister is infamous for standing on the streets of Baghdad, while missiles are flying through the air, confidently stating that American troops were not in the city, and were committing suicide by the hundreds at the city’s gates. When in reality, our troops were on the verge of taking the Iraqi capital in 2003. After the announcement of a 38% reduction in homelessness in Los Angeles, the homeless capital of America, during the worst economic downturn since the depression, some stakeholders are mocking this as a blunder. This is not the case. The press release from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), a county and city joint homeless powers authority, announced a decrease in homelessness - View Full Article

Chances

How many chances does one need was the question ? that was the question asked, my automatic reply was as many as it takes but now I'm at home and I'm thinking about the people that will not take the chances given because they figure they are on their way out anyway or to put it another way they have given up and just want to be left alone. If we are truthful we have slightly given up on them too because its too hard and too tiring to do the same thing day after day although we keep on trying. The repeated failure gets to us too and we just go through the motions What can we do to change this? I don't think there is much we can do but too keep on trying but what I would love to see is what I call the last stop. It's a last stop place for hard and heavy drinkers to be. It takes them off the streets and keeps them safe and warm and to have someone on the premises 24hrs a day. Someone who does not judge and is there to help in anyway. I think they do have something like this in Scotland it's where drinkers spend there last days. Why am I writing this well I am so sad and fed up with going to funerals of people I know and some are paupers funerals. They spent their lives with nothing and no one and they die with nothing and no one . It doesn't seem fair

Life is good

I’ve been having some great tweeting and text messages today and its hard to break away! I thank you all for the entertainment! LMAO! Gosh, what a great time I’ve had in the recent weeks! Thanks to all my Twitter and RL friends, so much more has been happening in my life and I really [...]

Houston Metro to Homeless: Stay Off Our Trains!

Is Houston creating a public transportation caste system?

Yesterday, at a public hearing in Housing, Metro Vice President Todd Mason made it abundantly clear that homeless people in Houston should take the bus rather than the area's light rail system. Hair Balls, the Houston Press Blog, transcribed the banter between Mason and Anthony Love, president of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston:

Mason: The bus transit system provides more connectivity for the homeless...Metro is not in the business of attempting to put the homeless on the train. That's the signature service downtown.

Love: Is that the official position of Metro?

Mason: The board isn't going to adopt an official position.

Love: Then whose position is it?

Mason: Today it will be my personal position.

There is no indication that Houston law enforcement is forcing people of the train for being homeless (fare-hopping, though, is another story). According to Houston reporters, Mason's ignorant position has not been adopted beyond the confines of his (limited) worldview. Thank goodness.

Still, Mason's comment has advocates fuming. This remark marginalizes an entire segment of the population - not to mention members of Mason's constituency. Transit systems are public-run entities designed to serve the transportation needs of the public. For low-income individuals - including the homeless - trains and buses are often the only transportation options available.

While it's tempting to write an angry letter or leave a colorful voice message for Mason, it's important to take a step back and realize that this is an important learning opportunity. There's an important link between public transportation, housing, and improving the quality of life for the poorest among us. Mason's ignorant remark is an important reminder that we, as advocates, must take advantage of every opportunity to spell out these linkages and help others see that - like it or not - we are all connected.

News: St Louis City Employees Trash Homeless Possessions

Caption: Clint Smith, 38, was only able to retrieve his umbrella before being stopped by a park ranger as he arrived in Interco Plaza on his bicycle to find sanitation workers clearing the makeshift living quarters of homeless people from the park. The small plaza is at the intersection of Tucker Boulevard and Martin Luther King Drive. Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

About 10 a.m. Thursday, journalists watched as the rangers and parks workers ignored pleading from the homeless and their advocates and threw their belongings into a parks department compacting truck, then crushed the belongings.

Bill Siedhoff, director of the Department of Human Services, characterized the action taken by city park rangers as a "disturbing" display of disrespect for homeless people who had been camping in a small park near the St. Patrick's Center.

Disturbing wasn't the word that came to mind. Revolting maybe. Also: detestable, loathsome, abominable, godawful, monstrous, shocking and so on (Thanks Merriam-Webster!).

Today, the mayor of St Louis, Missouri, Francis G. Slay (above), apologized for the cruelty of his park rangers:

Yesterday was a low point in the City’s hospitality. Badly supervised City employees callously destroyed the possessions of some homeless people who had chosen to camp illegally and for a extended period of time in a public park outside the windows of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Relocating people from public parks and other locations is not an unusual occurrence. It happens regularly, and it is part of a continuum of efforts to get people off the streets and into permanent, safe, supportive housing. What is unusual – and wrong – is bringing a garbage truck and using it.

That said, Mayor Slay wasn't able to make this apology without promoting a largely false and unfortunate myth, that creating a working continuum of care for the homeless attracts more homeless. The argument, frequently, is that having attractive and supportive services invites more homeless. Here's Mayor Slay in his own words:

A side effect of having a good program – combined with the general abdication of responsibility by many surrounding municipalities – is that St. Louis , particularly, downtown St. Louis draws almost all of the region’s homeless here. If you wanted to be homeless in Ladue, where would you go?

In other words, he's saying, "Real sorry for the mistake. But you understand, erm, since no one else is helping us help the homeless, there are swarms of them here and you'll just have to forgive us for fucking up now and again." Maybe so.

But whining about regional social service constraints is a distraction. The real issue here is that the average city employee believes she has a right to trash someone's belongings without warning. This reflects a clear sense that many citizens believe the homeless to be a nuisance and without worth.

That's a clue about something larger. There's a missing piece to the nationwide movement to address homelessness more aggressively. It's about culture. Many of us sincerely believe that if the poor find themselves without homes, it's their own damn fault. Persecution of the poor is justified, in other words. A cultural interject like that can't go without far-reaching rebuttal.

Mayor Slay's apology is a feeble beginning. More is needed. To end homelessness, we have to change hearts too. We have to work toward ending all forms of marginalization in order to create a more inclusive and open society. There's no room for social violence in that world.

But St. Louis officials may not agree. Consider another wrinkle to the story. St. Louis has a history of mistreating its homeless. The city was sued after homeless people were cleared from the streets for 4th of July celebrations in 2004. The destruction of the belongings of these citizens is in direct violation of this agreement. According to the Post-Dispatch:

The agreement could explain why a city officials, acting on behalf of Mayor Francis Slay, admitted that the parks department rangers "had screwed up" when they took a garbage truck to Interco Plaza at North Tucker Boulevard and Martin Luther King Drive to throw away, then crush the belongings of homeless who had been living in tents just outside the St. Patrick's Center for the homeless.

But is it really that surprising that these things happen? When cities criminalize poverty and homelessness, is it really a stretch to believe some people will go the extra mile to express this? More from the Post-Dispatch:

Clint Smith, 38, who is homeless, rode up on his bicycle begging the rangers to return his belongings. Instead, the rangers turned on the compacting device in the truck and crushed everything that Smith owned. He was only able to save an umbrella.

It gets worse:

"Oh, man," Smith said to the rangers. "That was my medicine. That was my stuff. Oh, man. What a waste."

Shit.

Jobless Rates Soar to 10.2 Percent

The number one cause of homelessness has gotten worse, according to October unemployment numbers. For the first time since 1983, the jobless rate in the U.S. has reached the double-digits. Although experts claim that the recession has ended, the trickle-down effects of our economic woes are far from over. As more Americans lose their jobs, they will come closer to losing their homes.

Many of the jobs shed over the past several months are in industries that tend to be lower-paying, such as service, manufacturing, retail, and construction. In other words, job losses are affecting those who were probably living paycheck-to-paycheck.

The cause-and-effect relationship between unemployment and homelessness has been well-established by the upward trends in homeless numbers over the past year. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, unemployment remains one of the most frequently cited reasons for homelessness. Thus, it may be simply a matter of time before those without income to pay for housing run out of options.

At the community-level, it's likely that service providers won't have time to bat an eye at these new numbers. Already, shelters are scrambling to meet rising need for services, which many predict will become even worse when temperatures dip.

So many grim numbers, so many things to be concerned about. But here's what worries me the most: it's throwing the "economically-challenged" homeless into the same pool as the "chronically homeless." I worry that the easier-to-serve individuals will be brought to the front of the line, while those who are most vulnerable - but also the most expensive and challenging to serve - will be forced to wait.

Although homelessness tends to make the news when the economy is bad and unemployment numbers are high, homelessness is not a new phenomenon. While we scramble to meet the needs of those impacted by the economy, it is imperative that we do not forget about those who were suffering on the streets while our economy was thriving. These are the individuals who are most vulnerable to being lost in the shuffle as demand for services continues to rise.

Austin Wide Parent Network joins CCH in its "Every Child In School Everyday" project

The Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has been deeply involved in ensuring that preschool-age children experiencing homelessness are not left behind as Illinois rolls out its universal preschool plan known as "Preschool For All." This week, as part of our project with JPMorgan Chase Bank, new CCH Board member, Sharlita Davis and I were guests of the Austin Wide Parent Network ("AWPN") at their Monday night meeting.

AWPN is not only an award-winning environmentally-conscious group but they are great educational activisits working on an Early Learning Campaign. As part of POWER-PAC, these women have been leaders in making change in Austin area schools.

We were there at AWPN to provide information to the parents and learn about what they are doing. Our Austin-based project "Every Child In School Everyday" has been a year long effort with CHASE volunteers to assist and educate the people of Austin on the legal rights of homeless students, including preschoolers.

After we launched our Austin project, AWPN members completed a most remarkable study of the obstacles faced in the Austin community to ensuring preschool enrollment for every child. Entitled Why isn't Johnny in preschool?, the report details key problems: (1) confusing enrollment requirements;

(2) lack of transportation;

(3) inflexible preschool schedules that don't align with parent needs; and

(4) a lack of information about preschool options, to name a few.

This study certainly echoed our experience. Now, some of the parents work directly going door-to-door to connect with and enroll eligible children.

After a nice meal and some good fellowship, these remarkable Austin parents shared some of their advocacy work with us. We look forward to learning more from them and adding to their efforts for community-wide education of preschool options.

-- Laurene Heybach, Director of the Law Project

Men’s Program Celebrates Graduation

“The King has one more move – God has plans for you!” This was the message that our Men’s Christian Life Discipleship Program graduates were encouraged by as they celebrated graduation on Sunday, November 1st. Albert Tate, Intergenerational Pastor of Lake Avenue Church, spoke to 30 graduates and a full Chapel (it was standing room only!). He [...]

"I was just absolutely devastated to hear what happened this morning,"

Well, at least Mr. Siedhoff came out with an apology; it's more than most folks get when their camps are destroyed....

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St. Louis Park Rangers get tough on homeless

November 5, 2009 - Clint Smith, 38, was only able to retrieve his umbrella before being stopped by a park ranger as he arrived in Interco Plaza on his bicycle to find sanitation workers clearing the makeshift living quarters of homeless people from the park. The small plaza is at the intersection of Tucker Boulevard and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. (Robert Cohen/P-D)

By Carolyn Tuft

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

11/06/2009

ST. LOUIS — A city official apologized hours after a homeless camp set up in a park next to two of the city's leading homeless advocacy centers was destroyed by park rangers Thursday.

CRIME STATS

Read the earlier story about what happened

Bill Siedhoff, director of the Department of Human Services, characterized the action taken by city park rangers as a "disturbing" display of disrespect for homeless people who had been camping in a small park near the St. Patrick's Center.

"I was just absolutely devastated to hear what happened this morning," Siedhoff said late Thursday afternoon.

Siedhoff said that the park rangers were out of line to destroy the belongings of the group of about a dozen people who were camped in Interco Park at Tucker Boulevard and Martin Luther King Drive. Siedhoff said he would be investigating to find out why the park was cleared out and who ordered it.

Arriving shortly before 10 a.m., the park rangers swiftly took tents, blankets, pillows, bags filled with belongings and threw them into an orange garbage truck.

Clint Smith, 38, who is homeless, rode up on his bicycle begging the rangers to return his belongings. Instead, the rangers turned on the compacting device in the truck and crushed everything that Smith owned. He was only able to save an umbrella.

"Oh, man," Smith said to the rangers. "That was my medicine. That was my stuff. Oh, man. What a waste."

Included in his belongings were heart and lung medicines.

The incident outraged some workers at the nearby St. Patrick's and the Catholic Charities outreach centers, which provide services for the homeless.

"Several (of the homeless) were staying here because, on any given day, we have more people seeking shelter than there are beds," said Karen Wallensak, who works for Catholic Charities' Housing Resource Center in the building next door and tried with other workers to intervene.

"These people have never caused a problem," Wallensak said.

Siedhoff said the city has a protocol that homeless people are to be notified that they are breaking the city's 10 p.m. curfew if they are sleeping in a park.

Also, Siedhoff said, city rules require that anything cleared from a park be taken to the city's health department and that the city workers do their best to contact the homeless and not destroy their belongings.

"The protocol was totally ignored and that is appalling; it should have never happened," Siedhoff said. "This is just really beyond belief. We apologize."

"No one who has served this nation as veterans should ever be living on the streets,"

We are going to see a huge number of vets experiencing homelessness when Jane and Johnnie comes marching home from the Bush bash.

At present, they will easily overwhelm what little we can offer them; this help is greatly needed. Let's hope politics don't get in the way - again - of actually assisting those who laid their lives on the line for us...

Shinseki cites plight, plan to help homeless veterans

By Ed O'Keefe and Garance Franke-Ruta

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The Department of Veterans Affairs laid out Tuesday an ambitious five-year goal of curbing the number of homeless veterans, pledging $3.2 billion to an issue that is more rapidly affecting those who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars than by any from past conflicts.

"No one who has served this nation as veterans should ever be living on the streets," VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said.

"In the past, VA focused largely on getting homeless veterans off the streets," Shinseki said. "This plan is different. It aims as much, if not more, on preventing as it does on rescuing those who live on the streets."

Roughly 131,000 of the nation's 24 million veterans may be homeless on any given night, and about twice as many are homeless each year, according to VA estimates. About 3 percent of homeless vets served in Iraq or Afghanistan, but a 2007 study by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America found that they become homeless faster than do other veterans. While homeless Vietnam veterans first spent, on average, five to 10 years trying to readjust to society, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans can end up homeless within 18 months, the study said.

Government officials and homeless experts worry that the number of homeless veterans could climb another 10 to 15 percent in the economic downturn.

"The economy's hitting our people very hard. Unemployment rates are over 12 percent now," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

"Mortgage foreclosure rates around military bases is four times the average. And it's hard to keep a job if you're getting deployed every 12 months if you're a national guardsman."

The new VA commitment adds $400 million to its current efforts to prevent homelessness.

Eighty-five percent of the funds will go toward health-care costs, an acknowledgement that homelessness is often secondary to health problems, especially mental health issues and substance abuse.

The department will expand current partnerships with the Small Business Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and other federal, state and community veterans programs. It will also assist veteran-owned businesses in qualifying for federal contracts and surviving the downturn.

Shinseki invited thousands of government, nonprofit and faith-based homelessness experts and advocates to Washington this week to tackle the issue, which he vows to fix during his tenure.
"I'm the newcomer here today, so let me reiterate that this is not a summit on homeless veterans, it's a summit to end homelessness among veterans," he said. "That's our purpose."

Vietnam Veterans of America applauded the goal. But Richard Weidman, head of policy and government affairs, added, "There are additional things that we think need to be addressed to be successful in achieving that goal, although it's a good start."

Weidman cited a need for the Pentagon and the Veterans Affairs Department to do more to diagnose and treat post-traumatic stress disorder; improve treatment for substance-abusing veterans, who comprise about a third of the homeless veterans population; and eliminate a backlog in providing compensation to veterans too ill to work. Fresh attention to the needs of women veterans, who comprise an increasing portion of the homeless veterans population, would also be a boon, he said.

"If you add those other elements, you're never gonna get to zero, but we can do a hell of a lot better than we are doing," Weidman said.

Shinseki -- a former Army chief of staff who once clashed with the Bush administration over its Iraq war policy -- has earned praise for his tough approach to reviving a department described as moribund by lawmakers.

"We've seen responsiveness from the VA that we haven't seen in the past," said Terry Howell, an editor at Military.com, a veterans news and social-networking site.

"They're quick to try new and interesting approaches to solving the issues that they're facing right now," Howell said.

VA's bold goal: Eradicate homelessness among veterans in 5 years

By Adam Levine, CNN

November 3, 2009 9:32 p.m. EST

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has set a very ambitious goal -- eradicate homelessness among veterans.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki says, "I am here to end veteran homelessness"
An estimated 131,000 veterans are homeless, according to the VA
One observer worries Shinseki doesn't realize how "intractable" VA bureaucracy is
Backlogs in veterans claims is cited as a major problem

Washington (CNN) -- With a simple, declarative statement, the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs announced his ambitious goal to eradicate one of the country's most shameful problems.

"My name is Shinseki, and I am here to end veteran homelessness," VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said Tuesday in a speech to the National Summit on Homeless Veterans.

But Shinseki indicated the challenge in meeting his goal by adding, "I learned long ago there are never any absolutes in life, and a goal of zero homeless veterans sure sounds like an absolute."

The plan unveiled by Shinseki includes trying to leverage existing education and jobs programs, boosting the ability of veteran-owned businesses to compete for federal contracts and spend an additional $3 billion on medical services and homeless programs.

An estimated 131,000 veterans are homeless, according to the VA. That is an improvement from 2003, when the number was as high as 196,000. But the secretary warned that given the ailing economy, the number could increase by as much as 10 percent to 15 percent in the next five years.
The VA plans to focus its new efforts on preventing the problem.

"Our plan enlarges the scope of VA's efforts to combat homelessness," said Shinseki in a news release. "In the past, VA focused largely on getting homeless veterans off the streets. Our five-year plan aims also at preventing them from ever ending up homeless."

The department plans to expand the recently passed educational grants program for veterans who served after September 11, 2001, to include not just college but vocational programs as well, according to VA spokeswoman Katie Roberts.

Details of plan

Steps that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki plans to take:

-- Leverage existing education and jobs programs

-- Boost the ability of veteran-owned businesses to compete for federal contracts

-- Spend an additional $3 billion on medical services and homeless programs

-- Expand educational grants to include not just college but vocational programs as well

RELATED TOPICS

"Not every veteran wants to spend four years pursuing a college degree, but they might be interested in learning a trade that would get them into the taxpaying work force sooner," Shinseki said.

The VA will also try to win more federal contracts for veteran-owned businesses, encouraging other agencies to exceed the minimum goal of 3 percent of contracts to veteran-owned small businesses. The increase, the VA believes, will also help employ more veterans since "veterans hire veterans," Shinseki said.

In addition, it is increasing the amount of vouchers for public-financed housing, adding 10,000 more vouchers in 2010. The plan also calls for more programs to aid transition from prison and psychiatric facilities, as well as a renewed call to treat veterans' psychiatric conditions.

Read more about the VA's ambitious goal

Veterans' groups contacted after the speech were generally pleased that the secretary was focusing the attention but unsure how he would achieve such an ambitious goal.

"General Shinseki is a soldier and treating this like a military operation and in the military you have to have hope for your missions," said Justin Brown of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Shinseki was a four-star general in the Army.

Brown said he thought Shinseki's aim to get better coordination between the VA and federal departments, including Labor and Health, was a good start.

But others were more pessimistic that Shinseki could change the VA bureaucracy.

"This secretary is going to be a good leader, but we don't think he or the president has quite gotten a hold of how intractable the bureaucracy is inside the VA," said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs at Vietnam Veterans of America.

Weidman said one problem not mentioned Tuesday that would help, more than many of of the other programs, is reducing the backlog in processing veterans' claims that delays much-needed medical and other benefits.

The VA recognizes backlogs are a problem, said spokeswoman Roberts.

"The backlog is a top priority at the VA and at the forefront of the secretary's mind," she said.

Toni Reinis at the Los Angeles organization New Directions said the announcement Tuesday showed that Shinseki had "real leadership," but she worried that lack of funds and leadership at the local level would make instituting change difficult.

The problem, she said, is sometimes not in the VA's control.

Reinis said her group's center, which helps 700 homeless veterans a year gain employment, housing and proper medical and psychiatric care in a residential setting, has lost a lot of money because of state budget cuts. The county cut the center's mental health funding by 55 percent, which is a "significant" amount, Reinis said.

Efforts to expand have been met with opposition, as in the case of a seven-year effort in California's San Fernando Valley to build a new treatment center that has been opposed by local communities.

"The VA was behind it, but the neighbors don't want those people in their neighborhood," Reinis explained.

Down by the riverside

One night a year or so ago, I was at my church, getting things out of the kitchen for street outreach, and half-listening to the mostly incoherent mutterings of my friend, Al — a homeless schizophrenic. His face this night was wrinkled and troubled, his thoughts jumbled, his eyes unfocused. I finished up what I [...]

It’s A One, Two Punch: Floundering Foundation Giving and Supposedly Decreasing Homeless Numbers

This week, the Chronicle of Philanthropy let us in the nonprofit world know about a report citing that the foundation world is decreasing their giving by 10 percent. Of course, we already figured this out months ago. Charitable giving is down. Just ask the people we have laid off, the employees that haven’t received raises in years, or the staff who are now performing multiple jobs. Thank you, stock market. For decreasing the foundation world’s financial assets by 22 percent. It’s hard enough convincing a foundation to give a portion of their investment proceeds to us. It’s like applying to Harvard. They get thousands and thousands of applications, from charities that are desperately needed in this hurting economy. It is already difficul - View Full Article

Real Story: Meet Pam

I met Pam while passing through Cleveland, Ohio. She is mother and a grandmother who never thought she would become homeless. Many people think that if a person has close family members, they can just go live with family when all else fails. But for Pam and many others, it's just not that simple.

Pam wished for a home; I hope she finds it.

Pam from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

Homeless Web Trends That Need to Stop

The marginalization of people has perpetuated society and nestled its way onto the web. Twitter, blogs, and YouTube can be an excellent forum for confronting issues of poverty and homelessness. But they can also breed bad ideas, stereotypes, trends that hinder our progress towards combatting homelessness in America.

Here are three ugly web trends that need to stop.

1. "Homeless" as a derogatory term on Twitter

Search "homeless" on Twitter. I just did, and here's what I found (yes, I'm calling this person out): "@hannahhhp yep i definitely look homeless today."

Ignorant, right? This disparaging use of homeless is all over the Twittersphere, right next the the tweets of nonprofits holding coat drives or recruiting volunteers for Thanksgiving dinners.

"Homeless" (or #homeless) does not mean stupid or unkempt or drunk or any other kind of stereotype. If you're capable of jumping on the Twitter train, you can enlighten yourself about the causes of homelessness - including socio-economic disparity, mental health, poverty, PTSD, joblessness. If you're going to tweet about homelessness, try and help someone out instead of perpetuating ignorance.

2. "Funny Homeless Signs" Humor

This series of funny panhandler signs is constantly popping up on blogs and email chains. If features such classics as, "Ninjas killed my family; need money for ninja lessons," and "Why lie? I want a beer." One blog that featured these signs even began with this line: "We need more homeless people like this... lol."

Yes, homeless people are people. When you lost your home, you don't lost your personality. Why is it so surprising that people without a home can be witty, smart, and resourceful?

But more importantly - why do we get such a kick out of others' misfortune?

3. "Bum Fight" Videos on YouTube

Is the web be fueling the rise in violence against homeless people? Brutal, violent acts against the homeless have increased exponentially in the past decade, to the point that national advocacy groups are calling for homeless hate crime protection.

But here's the disturbing part: as violence against the homeless has increased, so have online videos featuring violent acts against the homeless. In July, nearly 86,000 degrading videos of homeless people were posted on YouTube, 15,000 more than a year earlier. And since "Bum Fights" began gaining popularity on the web in 2001, over 6.8 million videos have been sold.

The people featured in these films need to be helped, not humiliated. This is another trend that needs to stop.

Pray for P. Unemployed, 2 youn…

Pray for P. Unemployed, 2 young ones to support. He’s always thinking of others. Now he needs help — hope and a job! God bless my friend.

“I’ll always love Jesus but I’…

“I’ll always love Jesus but I’m glad I no longer work for a church. Most (not all) don’t see reality or allow real honesty” RT @hardlynormal

Happy Thanksgiving from Union Rescue Mission

I guess you could say we take giving thanks pretty seriously here at Union Rescue Mission. Our guests are thankful to be off the street and to have a safe place to sleep at night. The men and women enrolled in one of our life transformation programs are thankful for the opportunity to rebuild their [...]

Why I’m happy that Ben Holder’s not blogging

Ben Holder hasn’t been blogging as much recently, and I’m happy about it. Because I know why he’s been away from The Troublemaker. In his own words: “I’m too busy to blog. I’m renovating houses, putting unemployed people to work, and feeding homeless people in my kitchen.”

News from home

PHILIP “Sharon [Tony's sister] put a comment on the blog that she wanted to know what was happening since we hadn’t updated it in a while, which is true. I guess you could call it a slow news day, sort of.” TONY “Well, you can tell her that my ticker’s fine and my lungs are OK but my [...]

Denver Youth Shelter Aims to Prevent Adult Homelessness

With the rise in youth homelessness, it is more important than ever that shelters and resources are available to take in runaways and kids displaced by rough family situations. Urban Peak, the only licensed youth shelter in Denver, is making it possible for young adults like Eric Wilson, 20, to finish their GEDs.

The Denver Post reports:

The shelter's mission starts with the basics -- providing warmth, safety and food for homeless, runaway, at-risk youths, ages 14 to 24 -- and extends to job and education assistance. From providing hats, gloves and simple hygiene to GED preparation and job training, Urban Peak meets a range of needs with the long-range goal of avoiding chronic adult homelessness.

With the help of Urban Peak, 250 youths have completed their GEDs this year. Wilson's unstable home life and a fight with his mother led to a stint on the streets, living in a sleeping bag behind a trash container. Fortunately, a good Samaritan brought Wilson to Urban Peak, where staff members worked with Wilson to get him back on track.

Food, shelter and motivation are supplied to those in need, as well as help and support for substance abuse and mental health problems. A resident doctor and case managers on staff ensure that the teens are maintaining their health through flu vaccines and preventative care. Job training programs, scholarships and financial aid are also available. In 2008, 54% of the youth helped by Urban Peak were able to move forward and stop living on the streets permanently.

So far this year, 398 kids have found overnight shelter and 530 have received day services at Urban Peak. An average of 41 young people fill the beds each night, up from 29 per night last year. More than 20,000 meals have been served by staffers and community volunteers.

November is Homeless and Runaway Youth Awareness Month, so help change a life with a donation to Urban Peak here.

Too Poor For Insurance, Too Rich For Free Help

As part of its Bearing Witness 2.0 project, the Huffington Post is rounding up a few of the best local stories of the day.

Bryan Rupp reports for Southeast Texas's KBMT that Stacy Campbell has liver cancer. He's unemployed and too poor to buy his own health insurance -- but he's too rich for free help.

Campbell's wife, Janel, makes too much money for the family to qualify for the county-sponsored indigent health plan, reported KBMT. "You can't own a vehicle and you can't make over $250 a month to qualify for help" said Janel. Officials in Orange County, Texas, only provide healthcare to individuals earning less than 21 percent of the federal poverty limit. That means that any couple earning more than $3,060 per year don't qualify for the public services. Montrose Patient Advocates, which assists people like the Campbells, often refers patients outside of the county, to areas of the state with more inclusive social services.

*********

Some people have started panning and sifting for gold as an alternative way to make money, reports Kirsten Valle for the Charlotte Observer. The price of gold is at an all-time high compared to the dollar and jobs are hard to come by, which has turned some locals into amateur gold prospectors.

"We've got a tremendous amount of new people showing up because they're unemployed or underemployed and are trying to supplement their income," said Jeff Pickett, owner of the Cotton Patch mine in New London, N.C. "We're seeing the start of a new gold rush." One man reporting bringing in up to $175 worth of tiny gold flakes per day, which works out to a $63,000 yearly wage.

*********

A lawyer has filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that tens of thousands of foreclosures in metropolitan Detroit were filed illegally, making them invalid. Paul Egan of the Detroit News reports that the lawsuit, filed on behalf of 46 plaintiffs, has implications to nullify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures across the state which may have been improperly filed.

The claim is based around a technicality: according to state law, the county sheriff needs to sign the deeds for properties that the court sells off after a foreclosure, but in many cases the undersheriff signed instead. "It's a hyper-technical argument, but it's due process," said Paul Nicoletti, the filing attorney.

*********

An overflow homeless shelter that opened just this week in Springfield, Ill., has already projected it will soon have to turn people away as the homeless population rises. Patrick Yeagle, of the Illinois Times, reports that the shelter, which is active from Nov. 1 to April 30 each year when the weather gets cold, houses 50 beds, but that is projected to be too few. "We will get creative and develop another option," when space runs out, said shelter director Archie Form, "but right now there is no other option."

*********

Helen Altonn of the Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that Hawaii's 16 hospitals have gone $187 million into debt over the last year because of expensive medical care and unemployed patients. That number is only expected to rise as unemployment benefits and temporary COBRA benefits run out. "A lot of changes are coming and they're not going to add to the system; they're going to take away," said Terri Fuji, managing partner at an accounting firm that evaluated the losses. "We don't know exactly the impact, but it's negative."

HuffPost readers: Seen a compelling local story? Have a neighbor going to bizarre lengths to get through the recession? Tell us about it! Email jmhattem@gmail.com.

Homeless Singer Makes Broadway Comeback

Have you ever done a double-take of a street performer or homeless person on your way to work? CBS News reported that last year, New York City police officer David Taylor did just that and realized that the woman walking down the empty street on his night shift was an old friend, Broadway star Terri White:

"The street can get pretty desolate at night, and I saw her walking down the street, and she noticed me in the car," New York City police officer David Taylor says. Taylor knew White from her old nightclub days. And he knew something was wrong. "She looked frightened and really, really down, depressed" he says. "I was concerned for her."

He should have been. The performer had once belted it out with stars like Liza Minelli in some of Broadway's biggest hits. But as she got older, her roles began to dry up. She worked some New York nightclubs for a while, but as those jobs disappeared too, she found herself sleeping on a bench and singing in the park.

The night Taylor found White, he set her up with a warm place to stay while she got back on her feet. And back on her feet she is. A year later, she's starring in the Broadway Musical "Finian's Rainbow" at the same theater where she made her Broadway debut.

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Evan Hochberg: Why the Loss Leader Approach to Volunteerism is not the Answer

I, along with many other civic, philanthropic and corporate leaders, was recently honored to attend the Points of Light Institute's 20th anniversary ceremony at Texas A&M University where President Barack Obama and former President George H. W. Bush spoke. This historic event honored the enormous advances of the service movement launched two decades ago. It also served as a forum to encourage innovative ideas about service as a solution to many of the challenges facing our communities today. It was inspirational and thought-provoking.

As I listened to our esteemed speakers, two questions struck me: everyone has such good intentions, but are good intentions good enough? And is it enough to merely encourage Americans to volunteer? To both questions, I found myself answering "no." When it comes to making headway on critical issues through volunteerism, we must remember that this is not an area where we can make it up in volume alone.

Simply encouraging more people to step up - without giving serious consideration to the critical skills and knowledge needed to make an impact - will never solve our communities' most pressing issues, including hunger, homelessness, crime and disparities in education and healthcare. If volunteerism is to be a powerful driver of social impact and business value, government, nonprofit and business leaders must focus not just on more volunteers, but on more productive volunteering. We must look to reimagine service in a way that responds more deeply to the needs of the nonprofit communities and the clients they serve.

The nation's renewed excitement, engagement and commitment to citizen action is palpable. Voices from DC to LA, from President Obama and his wife Michelle, to Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashton Kutcher, are encouraging Americans to move from spectator to contributor. The message is pervasive, motivating and compelling. And it's working. The number of volunteer forces in the United States is on the rise. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, despite the challenges of tough economic times, roughly one million more people volunteered their time or services in 2008 than in 2007.

Our nation's impassioned plea to "give back" is being heard loud and clear. The Corporation for National and Community Service also reports that nearly 62 million Americans contributed eight billion hours of volunteer service last year. But unfortunately, all too often, too many people, with good intentions, are given volunteer tasks that are beneath their level of skill and knowledge and ultimately will not drive sustained change. The key to our success as a service nation is not just getting people to care, but also helping them figure out how they can make the greatest difference, given their time and their skills.

While we within the service community can be proud of the tremendous advances we have made over the course of the past two decades, we cannot limit the measure of our success to transactional metrics such as numbers of volunteers and hours of service. We must remember that countless volunteers and endless volunteer hours, in and of themselves, are not the goal, nor will they achieve the goal. They are a means to making a positive contribution to society, but it's what those people do with their time that's what is really important. We must design volunteer efforts that can truly make an enduring difference.

We -- government, business and nonprofit leaders -- must challenge ourselves to reimagine service. To do this, we must clearly define volunteer roles and expectations. We must focus on matching talents and skills of volunteers to the needs of nonprofits. We must place top priority not only on recruiting, but retaining, volunteer talent. We must invest in the time and the tools necessary to successfully manage volunteers and create a positive and impact-driven experience.

We can no longer be satisfied with simply growing our nation's volunteer forces. In order to drive good intentions to greater impact, we must reimagine what volunteerism looks like and can achieve. Join the dialogue on how we can, together, reimagine what volunteer service can do.

I want to know why someone would shoot a person that was laying there asleep, not bothering nobody

As clueless as everyone else about what happened to this guy. Was hoping there would have been a break in the case by now, but so far, nothing....

Homeless Man Killed; Family Begs For Answers

Investigators Question Homeless For Clues

Reported By Deanna Lambert

POSTED: 4:51 pm CST November 4, 2009

UPDATED: 7:06 pm CST November 4, 2009

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- There are more questions than answers almost two days after a homeless man was found slain in downtown Nashville on a park bench.

Related: Images \| Video: Slain Homeless Man's Sister Remembers Educated Man \| Video \| Video

Police are trying to figure out if the crime was random or if Edward Matthews was targeted for a specific reason.

His family is begging for answers, and people downtown are concerned.

“She could just feel it in her soul,” said Cleo Burrows, who said her mother just knew that it was her son who had been found on a park bench, shot to death in his sleep.

“I want to know what happened. I want to know why someone would shoot a person that was laying there asleep, not bothering nobody,” said Burrows.

She said her only brother was a smart man. He graduated from Hillwood High School in 1981 and went on to earn a B.S. in Special Education from Tennessee State University.

They were close, she said, but after school they each went their separate ways.

Looking at an old picture of her brother, Burrows said, “This is my brother, in that hat picture, but I don't know who that is, but that is my brother.”

Burrows remembers her brother as the smart man he used to be. Over the years, his smile faded, and Matthews' life went in another direction.

“Bad decisions in life and hanging out with the wrong people,” Burrows said, put her brother on the street.

For the past 20 years, Matthews lived on the streets of Nashville. "Maxi," as he was known, lived under a fog of drugs and dozens of arrests.

One homeless man Channel 4 spoke with Wednesday said he walked by early Tuesday morning and saw Matthews sleeping on the bench at 5th Avenue and Church Street just hours before police found him.

Richard Bolin said after hearing the news, he noticed fear among the younger homeless.

“But the old hands, the people who’ve been here for 10, 15, 20 years on the street homeless, it was just another day for them," Bolin said. "It was a very strange the reaction.”

“I'm not going to rest 'til I know what happened or why they did it, and I hope they find the person who did it," said Burrows.

Detectives and officers have been handing out fliers in areas where the homeless congregate and gather for meals. Those fliers have Matthews' photo and Crime Stoppers information.

Metro police are seeking some kind of information in this case. Those with any information are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.

Previous Story:

* November 3, 2009: Homeless Man Found Shot To Death Downtown

Mom says homeless son slain in Nashville won't get justice

By Nicole Young • THE TENNESSEAN • November 4, 2009

The mother of a homeless man shot and killed early Tuesday morning while he slept on a downtown Nashville park bench says she doesn't believe justice will come for her son, at least not in this life.

"They might get two or three years and then go on with their life if they ever get caught," Katie Coats said of whoever killed Edward Matthews.

"My son was homeless and that's all anyone ever sees, but he was my only son. They may get away with it now, but the Lord will take care of it. Someday, they'll pay for it."

The body of Matthews, 46, was found at about 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at the corner of Church Street and Fifth Avenue. Investigators said they believe he was killed hours earlier, around 3 a.m.

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said an off-duty officer thought Matthews was asleep and tried to wake him. The officer then saw blood and realized Matthews had been shot in the back of the head, investigators said.

Police did not find a gun at the scene.

Aaron said Matthews was seen in the area of Broadway and Fifth Avenue late Monday night.
Employees at several downtown businesses on Church Street and Fifth Avenue said Matthews was a regular in the area.

Coats, 62, said her son had been living on the streets for more than 20 years. She described Matthews as a very smart man who began taking drugs shortly after he graduated with a bachelor's degree in special education from Tennessee State University in 1985.

"He always had a home with me, but he didn't want to stay with me because he didn't want to live by my rules," Coats said. "So he just stayed on the streets.

"He was always nice and didn't bother nobody. We just can't imagine who would hurt him like this."
Someone left a small red flower on the bench Tuesday after the body was removed.
John Bone said he knew Matthews from his days on the street.

The native Nashvillian said he was homeless for about five years before he went to live with his sister in March.

"He never bothered anybody," Bone, 45, said of Matthews. "He always picked up cigarettes and asked for a light or he asked people for change to get a drink, but that's about it."

Project Homeless Connect Volunteers Needed

The 2nd annual Project Homeless Connect will be upon us soon and volunteers are desperately needed to staff and assist at the event! Please, if you can help, contact folks down at the Key Alliance, they need all the help they can get!

Volunteers needed to help homeless

DAVIDSON COUNTY

A one-day, one-stop event to provide homeless families and individuals access to a wide range of services — from haircuts to legal help — needs lots of volunteers to help, sponsors say.

The event, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 9, is called Project Homeless Connect and will be at the Municipal Auditorium, 417 Fourth Ave. N.

The Key Alliance is the sponsor in partnership with the Nashville Chamber Public Benefit Foundation.

The alliance, an initiative of the Metro Homelessness Commission, asks folks to sign up at www.thekeyalliance.org.

Services the event tries to offer to the homeless include medical care, legal assistance, haircuts, employment help and food.

The Key Alliance is made up of service providers, corporations and faith-based organizations, foundations, government agencies and individuals who are working together to try to end homelessness in Nashville.

The Metropolitan Homelessness Commission is the governing body of The Key Alliance.

Effective Social Investing

The Alliance for Effective Social Investing is an ambitious effort to develop a framework for evaluating the social value of non-profit organizations across agencies and programs. I was cautiously optimistic about the Alliance for Effective Social Investing when I first wrote about it a year ago, back when they initially formed. I was prompted to check-up on what the group has done in the last year after hearing an interview earlier this week with the group's chairman, Jeff Mason, on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's Philanthropy this Week podcast. Over the last year the Alliance has produced some working papers outlining an approach, largely developed by two of their members, on how to judge the social value and effectiveness of... - View Full Article

Homeless For 45 Years, Steve Sacre Now Has A Home

Most Americans can't imagine being homeless for 45 hours, let alone 45 years. Steve Sacre, however, a Vietnam veteran and former drug addict, was just that. Last week, Sacre finally was able to rent an apartment of his own.

As the Democrat Herald reports, Sacre left home at age 17, and spent the majority of his time, when not in a prison cell, sleeping on couches, hiding out in bushes, and scraping for drugs. He spoke Wednesday in Albany at a Community Summit on Homelessness, and discussed his life on the streets and how he was finally able to find a place to call home.

He used to rob drug stores and was involved in a shootout with police in the 1970s that sent him to prison for 10 years. He credits members of the InReach Clinic and Senior Disabilities Services with helping him get on his feet.

"I don't know why they decided to help me," Sacre said, while sitting on a camp stool in his sparsely furnished apartment on Salem Avenue. The only other furnishings in the living room are a webbed lawn chair and an old analog television set...Sacre is so excited about his new home that "I do not want to blow my opportunity to continue to live here. This is my first real home.". He will cover his $142-a-month rent with his Social Security Insurance checks. Sacre receives no financial help from family members.

Sacre has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, and doctors aren't sure how much time he has left. Because of the help of others, though, Sacre now has a home, doesn't drink or do drugs, and can enjoy his remaining time surrounded by four walls and the comfort of friends.

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Pam

History of Revolution 101

There are only two solutions I've ever figured out to alleviate the above conditions. One is a "movement" such as the "Bolivian Water Revolt" where the common folk rise up and simply refuse to participate in the abominations perpetrated by government. It also presupposes that the government will eventually accede to popular demands. The second is the revolution.

Social Services Cause Homelessness

Social services cause homelessness. It's a bold claim to be sure, probably one worth backing up with some evidence. Don't believe me? I'll prove it. A department of Housing and Urban Development study found that between October 1st, 2007 and September 30th, 2008 the number of people in homeless families increased by 9% throughout the country. Over that same period of time, we invested in social service programs designed to help the homeless. There. Social services cause homelessness. Fact. - View Full Article

First Apartment After 45 Years Homeless

Steve Sacre has been homeless for 45 years. His homeless stint included time in the Army, in prison, on couches, and on the streets. He learned early on how to hide his belongings so they're not stolen and how to watch his back so he's not hurt. But today, he can finally enjoy safety, security, permanence. Today he is living in his first real home.

Sacre's moving story appeared today in the Democrat Herald. Like many Vietnam-era veterans, his downward spiral began after he began using drugs to survive the horrors of the war. He came home - an addict - and became involved in burglary to fuel his habits, landing him in prison for 10 years.

It's heartbreaking to imagine living for 45 years without a sense of permanency. And for Sacre, this new home couldn't have come early enough. He has been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver and doctors have no idea how much time he has left.

Though his new apartment is sparse, with just a few chairs and an old television, Sacre is grateful to finally have a place to call home.

If Architect Philippe Starck Designed Homeless Housing We Could End Homelessness

Australia has it right. They are using high end designer housing to convince homeless people that housing is the answer. (Check out this article from Sydney.) I’ve been told over and over, that there are people on the streets that are “service resistant.” In other words, people who don’t want to enter homeless services because the rules are just too strict. No drinking. No drugs. Strict curfew. Way too many rules, for an independent adult. But if you give them a designer apartment, they can’t say no. Of course. Who would turn down an apartment designed by some architect with a world class education? Open up Dwell Magazine, and pick out your décor. I wish it was so easy. I wish world class architects would donate their design talen - View Full Article

Ohio Serial Killer

Photo by Cheryl Harris of the NEOCH Photo Project

Are We Casting Aside Some Women in Our Cities?

As you most likely have read, Cleveland had a serial killer living in the Mt Pleasant neighborhood. I know the victims, and I see them almost everyday. At this point, only one woman has in fact been identified, but we know that they were all African American women. But I can close my eyes and see these women in our shelters in Cleveland. They sometimes have an addiction or a mental health problem or chronic health condition and they always have unstable housing. They "hook up" for short periods of time with men to have a place to stay. They self medicate and struggle to find ways to feed their addiction or find help for their health issues. They see five years of waiting for housing, and so they try to find someone who help. They have a tenuous job and no career. These women have strained relationships with family or no family in the area, and they are looking for a lifeline. The short cut is to stay with a man and put up with physical or mental abuse or exchange sex for a warm bed or tolerate countless other forms of mistreatment. This is a sometimes a matter of survival, but it is also dangerous for these women.

Did authorities do enough when these transient women go missing? I am not blaming the police, because they have most likely been burnt thousands of times looking for women who were not in fact missing. They have probably wasted thousands of police hours chasing people who do not want to be found because they are fleeing the bill collector or they are just having a hard time finding a place to live. But these grieving families over on Imperial Avenue are angry and confused. They know that if there were two white women missing from the same neighborhood in Westlake there would be a task force and the FBI, National Guard and John Walsh would be here kicking in doors in that neighborhood. We all know that the media would be camping at Police headquarters every night if 10 or 11 white women were missing from Mayfield Hts. The serial killer knew this also and was able to stay under the radar for the last few years by preying on transient African American women. Are their segments of our community that are just forgotten?

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

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Homeless Denied Identification

The Identification Crisis Collaborative
*West Side Catholic Center * St. Colman’s Outreach Ministry * Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries- 2100 Lakeside Shelter for Men * NEOCH * Community Women’s Shelter – Mental Health Services * Care Alliance * St. Malachi Center * Project SAVE * The Church
* Catholic Charities – Bishop Cosgrove Center and Emergency Services at St. Augustine

Fiscal Agent: West Side Catholic Center, 3135 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113, www.helpcleveland.org

November 3, 2009
PRESS RELEASE

HOMELESS DENIED STATE PHOTO ID’S:
With No Proof of Residency Homeless Are Not Eligible for Jobs or Housing

As of October 8, 2009, people who are homeless and not living in shelters, are no longer eligible for state photo ID’s or drivers licenses because they have no proof of residency. Because state photo IDs are required for services including employment, housing and health care, these people cannot meet their basic human needs. This new mandate by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles prevents people who are living in their cars, abandoned property, on the streets, or any place where they cannot prove residency, from any chance of improving their lives.

The members of the Identification Crisis Collaborative are agencies that assist homeless and low income people to obtain their birth certificates and state photo IDs. They include homeless shelters, drop-in centers, churches, mental health services, and other agencies working with this population.

The process of acquiring a state photo ID is already fraught with Catch-22s. A birth certificate is required to get an ID, but in many states, you must send a copy of a state photo ID to get a birth certificate. People born in Cleveland can get their birth certificates at Cleveland City Hall, but a state photo ID is required to enter.

Now, all applicants for state photo IDs and drivers licenses must bring proof of residency – lease agreements, utility bills, etc., with them to the BMV, or leave and return with the documents. These regulations apply to everyone, but are particularly difficult barriers for the elderly, disabled, homeless and low income citizens.

Jim Schlecht, Outreach Worker for Care Alliance, which provides health care and help for people who are homeless, stated, “This new rule is keeping people homeless and a continuing burden on the community. It doesn’t make sense.” He is currently trying to assist someone who stays around E. 9th and Superior. This person, who is homeless and has no residence, has been sober for almost a year and wants to get off the streets. He has the opportunity to get a HUD subsidized apartment, but he cannot prove he has a current residence so that he can get a state photo ID. Because HUD requires a state photo ID, he is being denied the apartment.

Brian Davis, Executive Director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, stated, “The fundamental expression of American democracy is voting, and Ohio requires identification for those who want to vote in person on election day. These new rules will make homeless people into second class citizens on election day, unable to vote in person.”

Gerald Skoch, Executive Director of the West Side Catholic Center which operates a drop-in center for people who are homeless, stated, “The residency requirement is yet another burden placed upon the indigent and homeless striving for self sufficiency. The unintended consequences of this type of regulation are significant and usually overlooked. In our efforts to achieve greater safety and security we trample on the hopes of the marginalized.”

Eileen Kelly, Outreach Minister from St. Colman Church, stated, “Even if the homeless can’t prove their existence to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, we know that the men and women who are most affected by these new unreasonable requirements do exist. We meet them every single day at our doors and struggle with them to break down the barriers to work, to decent housing, to basic human services. By building these new barriers to obtaining official ID, it seems to us that the Ohio BMV is now in the business of preventing some of our most vulnerable neighbors from providing for themselves, from working, from living in decent housing, from voting.”

Signed:
Francis Afram-Guyaning, Executive Director of CARE Alliance
Brian Davis, Executive Director of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless
Gail Doucette, Director of Catholic Charities Emergency Assistance
Carol Fredrich, Executive Director of Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry – 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter
Eileen Kelly, Director of St. Colman Church Outreach Ministry
Susan Neth, Executive Director of Mental Health Services – Community Women’s Shelter
Gerald Skoch, Executive Director of West Side Catholic Center

Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.

Policy Review: Shinseki on Homeless Vets

I just love that VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. Not only did he become famous for quietly contradicting Earth Invader Rumsfield's Iraqi re-colonization plans, he's now making good on his plans to end homelessness among veterans. Aside: who else but a soldier would begin a stuffy speech about veteran homelessness with the the hardass line "My name is Shinseki and I am here to end veteran homelessness"?

Yowza. I think we just found a Robocop for the anti-homelessness movement.

Youth Coordinator

Union Rescue Mission (URM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the poor and homeless. Established in 1891, URM is one of the largest rescue missions of its kind in the United States and the oldest in Los Angeles. We provide a comprehensive array of emergency and long-term services to our guests, including: food, [...]

Youth Assistant

Veterans Campaign Media Tips & Tools

This document provides information to help advocates answer questions from reporters regarding veterans homelessness and includes tips for local media outreach.

Veterans Campaign Editorial Memo

This is the Alliance’s memo to media assignment editors regarding the Data Update to Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans.

Sample Local Pitch (Veterans Media Campaign)

Media campaign participants should use the sample pitch to “sell” their story to reporters.

Alliance Online News: HPRP Implementation Virtual Discussion

November 3, 2009

Veterans Media Campaign Power Point Presentation

This is the presentation of the Veterans Media Campaign webinar on November 2. It contains information regarding the Data Update to Vital Missions: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans, as well as information to assist advocates with local media outreach.

Watch KOIN Local 6 - and Give Hope!

Help KOIN Local 6 and Portland Rescue Mission feed and care for hurting and homeless men, women and children right here in Portland.

Tune in to our GIVE HOPE telethon!

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM, "Keep It Local" Broadcast
7:30 PM - 8:00 PM, "GIVE HOPE" program featuring inspiring stories of courage from homeless men and women

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
5:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Tune in throughout the day for telethon updates and the latest gifts available for your donation

We'll be "live tweeting" the event! Follow us on Twitter or visit our telethon webpage where you'll be able to:

-- chime in with your own comments
-- see "behind the scenes" photos of KOIN staff and telethon volunteers in action
-- see the latest "thank you" gifts available for your donation
-- get exclusive offers, available to our online audience only
-- donate online conveniently and securely
-- vote in our poll
-- watch video and download helpful resources

----------

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Share this post! Use the "Share" button below to tell your friends.

Jesus Manifesto: “the least of…

Jesus Manifesto: “the least of these my brethren.” http://bit.ly/2XHOSK Wow. Contemplating… Thanks @knightopia

The Rock and The Mountain

The reason people remain oppressed is because they remain powerless. Oppression is maintained by corrupting the consciousness of a people. Oppression ends when the people reclaim their minds and souls. That is not the precondition to liberation it is the definition of liberation. Oppressed peoples feel profound feelings of hatred, rage, despair, terror, guilt, envy, hopelessness and grief. These feelings [...]

Flooding in Huntly, Scotland (Matt’s Town)

I’ve been mildly irked because I hadn’t heard from Matt in a couple of days… the rural town in Scotland he lives in (Huntly) has very crappy internet connection (as the internet company told him over the phone, “We don’t put masts up for cows!”) so often his internet will go down for several hours [...]

Sweet Home Chicago wins support from Ald. Joe Moore

Alderman Joe Moore (49^thWard) publicly pledged to be another co-sponsor of the affordable housing ordinance during Sweet Home Chicago’s monthly meeting, an Oct. 29 event at the Chicago Temple organized by Jane Addams Senior Caucus.

More than 220 people were in attendance, mobilized by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) and 11 other community and labor groups that partner on Sweet Home Chicago.

In a filmed interview, Ald. Moore pledged to co-sponsor the Sweet Home ordinance, which calls for 20% of Chicago’s tax-increment financing (TIF) funds to be devoted to the development and preservation of affordable housing.

At the same meeting, Alderman TomTunney (44^th) promised to work with Sweet Home Chicago on the language in the ordinance to make it something to which he could sign on as a co-sponsor.

“Affordable housing is necessary for the vitality and economic diversity of my ward,” Ald. Tunney said.

CCH brought 25 homeless people to the event, including homeless leader Sonovia Petty.

“If people who need affordable housing fight to get it,” said Sonovia, “their victory will inspire them to fight for other things, like jobs, schooling, child care, health care, and mental health services.”

Beth Will, a homeless leader from the Austin neighborhood, agreed. “Ultimately, we’re fighting for all the things that a person needs to be in the pursuit of happiness,” Beth said.

Partners on the Sweet Home Chicago campaign are CCH, Action Now, Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp., Kenwood-Oakland Community Organization, Lakeview Action Coalition, Organization of the North East, SEIU Healthcare Indiana/Illinois, SEIU Local 1, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881. Aldermen Walter Burnett (24th) and Manny Flores (1st) are chief sponsors of the housing ordinance.

- Becca Kupferberg, Organizing Intern

A Long Way From Home: Family Homeless In Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on October 28th released its 2009 Homeless Count. There was remarkable news – the total number of persons counted in this latest survey decreased by 38% compared to the total number of homeless persons counted in 2007. Among the 48,053 homeless individuals in Los Angeles County Continuum of Care, the [...]

Christmas Wish List

For most of the men, women and children in our residential recovery program, the holidays don't hold happy memories. Many do not have the finances to purchase Christmas gifts for the people they love.

With your help, this Christmas will be different. They'll know someone remembers them and cares.

You can help by providing a gift from our Christmas Wish List.

1. To start shopping, log in or register.

2. Search for gift items for a woman, boy or girl.

3. Add items to your Shopping List.

4. Purchase items at a store. (New and unused items only, please.)

5. Mark each item with the Gift ID indicated on your Shopping List.

6. Bring items UNWRAPPED by Wednesday, December 16 to:

Shepherd's Door
13207 NE Halsey
Portland, OR 97230

For additional assistance, contact Amanda Ashland at 503-906-7798 or amandaa@pdxmission.org.

A twisted tale of government getting in its own way

To see a twisted tale of government getting in its own way, look no further than Palm Beach County's efforts to turn $7.5 million in federal stimulus money into a homeless center.

Federal restrictions on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program grant are so confining as to make success nearly impossible.

West Palm Beach has a surplus building, a former medical office complex well situated to serve the homeless. The city, based on an appraisal, agreed to sell it to the county for $1.48 million. But the county conducted two additional appraisals that put the price at $2 million. The federal government requires the county to offer $2 million, even though the city already has said that it would accept $1.48 million.

And there's more stimulus red tape to unsnarl. Read the Palm Beach Post editorial here.

Holidays soup up the debate about feeding Gainesville's homeless

Public outcry against city laws limiting how many destitute people can be served at any one location is reverberating in Gainesville as the city's largest meal provider on Thanksgiving and Christmas grapples with a 130-meal limit.

Kent Vann, executive director of the St. Francis House homeless shelter and soup kitchen, said his agency historically has fed 400 to 500 people each holiday meal.

Holiday meals for the needy are a 25-year tradition at St. Francis House, with hundreds gathering at the downtown homeless shelter and soup kitchen for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year, however, a new location will have to be found for that tradition, as city laws restricting the number of destitute individuals who can be served meals by churches and social service agencies are being enforced for the first time since the laws were written in the early '90s.

Read the Gainesville Sun article here.

Did fraternity cultivate "an environment of animosity towards homeless"?

A jury will decide whether an Oregon State University fraternity is responsible for the shooting of a homeless man.

One of its members, Josh Grimes, shot Dennis Sanderson in the leg in October 2006 with a .22-caliber rifle, aiming from a window of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity house. Grimes pleaded guilty and served a sentence of 150 days in jail and three years' probation for the shooting.

Sanderson's attorney, Mark McDougal argued a "nasty dynamic" emerged among the members of the OSU chapter, which led to "an environment of animosity towards homeless." He theorized that if Grimes had never been arrested, the shooting would have become a "badge of honor" for Grimes.

Derek Ashton, who is representing the fraternity, said the suit lacked merit. "What a country," he said. "Anyone who has a couple hundred dollars and an attorney can file a lawsuit."

Jury deliberations resume Monday.

Read the Corvallis News Gazette report here.

New York Times profiles runaway youth

A heartbreaking piece this week in the New York Times (Oct. 26) spoke of circumstances all too familiar to the Law Project staff. The piece, though it specifically profiled youth in Oregon, highlights issues faced by runaway homeless youth nationwide—physical abuse that often prompts youth to leave home, lack of resources once they are out on their own, and the difficulty of staying afloat without identification, finances, or a stable place to sleep at night.

Beth Cunningham, the Law Project’s Youth Futures attorney, works specifically to assist unaccompanied homeless and runaway youth in and around Chicago with issues like reenrolling in school and obtaining identification. Her clients include teens in the situations described in these stories.

The article, part of a series, can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/us/26runaway.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=runaway&st=cse

- Claire Lombardo, Law Intern

November 17 -- PTH anniversary gala -- get your tickets now!

Picture the Homeless' tenth anniversary gala is November 17 -- just three weeks away!, at Judson Church in Manhattan.

It's going to be a can't-miss community-building and *FUN* night -- celebrating the history and vitality of a decade of homeless activism, honoring the inspirational Jean Rice and Brenda Stokely, and eating and drinking and partying to the sounds of the Welfare Poets and a hot DJ set!

* all the details are here, on our blog *

U.N. Special Rapporteur talks with homeless youth

On October 27, the Raquel Rolnik, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, met with youth from the H.E.L.L.O. Homeless Youth Activism Group, co-founded by CCH and The Night Ministry. The youth shared their stories and poetry with Ms. Rolnik before presenting their recommendations for improving access to housing and resources for children and youth in Chicago. Ms. Rolnik was moved by their struggles and made a commitment that their voices would be heard.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Rolnik visited a REST shelter site on the North Side were she learned about the Sweet Home Chicago housing campaign and heard testimony from other CCH leaders on the struggle for affordable housing in Chicago. Ms. Rolnik’s visit was very positive and shed much needed light on the root causes of homelessness here in Chicago. Many thanks to REST residents and staff for their thoughtful discussion and ideas.

- Beth Cunningham, Youth Attorney

Forgive me, but I really couldn’t care less about the Balloon Boy.

I am, however, human. I was momentarily intrigued last week when 6-year-old Colorado resident Falcon Heene was thought to have been floating around in the wide blue yonder. Sure, this story held its own as a news feature—it had shock value, a ubiquitously eccentric family, and the potential for a happy ending (or, conversely, a sad one—the American public doesn’t really seem to discriminate as long as the bad news is arbitrary, quirky, and far, far away), but once the mystery was solved, the story should have been reduced to nothing. A six-year-old boy was found to be hiding in his attic for several hours. As far as scandals go, I would rate this as fairly weak. And yet coverage continued long after Falcon was found to be safe and sound.

The majority of homeless children are suffering exponentially more at only a fraction of the volume. In her October 19th column, Arianna Huffington put it nicely: “I find the media’s obsession with these stories especially galling when they lead to endless agonizing over the welfare of a child—agonizing that is sorely missed when there isn’t a hot air balloon or an inner tube in shark-infested waters involved.”

By media standards, homeless children and youth fly under the radar. Their stories rarely include “storm chasers” or mischievous kids lurking in attics, but just because their problems are relatively common is no reason to disregard them.

So allow me to highlight, briefly, the plight of these kids. For most homeless children, hardship isn’t defined as a few-hour stint hiding in the attic. Hardship isn’t a one-time fluke “accident” while playing in the backyard. It’s a way of life. It’s constant hunger or inadequate care or worrying about where they’ll sleep at night. It’s a lack of affordable housing and quality healthcare. It’s intolerant school districts or incarcerated parents or assuming parental responsibility for younger siblings at 15. It’s a series of different barriers that pose numerous problems for 50-year-olds, let alone 5th graders.

Families forced from their homes because of eviction or foreclosure, children born into shelters, youth struggling in school because of high mobility—each one of these stories should elicit a response equal to those witnessed during the hunt for the Balloon Boy. (See? You can’t even reference it without sounding ridiculous.) These stories are exponentially more devastating. The only thing they’re missing is the sensation factor, the text of minute-by-minute updates running on a loop at the bottom of a screen. Homeless children tend to suffer quietly, and it is our responsibility to reach out to them.

There is no single face of homelessness, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the 60,000+ very different faces of homeless school-age children in Illinois. These kids, though their stories may not be as sensational or eccentric, need our attention far more than Balloon Boy.

Full text of the column can be found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/how-about-a-little-covera_b_326472.html

- Claire Lombardo, Intern of the CCH Law Project

Life-Altering Stuff

Hi all! Quickie update :) Life-altering things have happened this week. I need to check and find out what and how much I’m allowed to say, but looks as though I’m on the brink of exiting homelessness for good, so keep your fingers crossed for me! Other than that, keeping on keeping on. Matt’s still in Scotland, [...]

Americans Getting Smarter?

We really did despair for you. Yet, many Americans I'd meet online were bright, knew full well they were being 'had' and yet, their "voices" were nowhere to be found on the major media including CNN.

Indypendent on NYC homeless today

[An article in the Indypendent by Alex Kane, profiling the situation homeless people face in NYC today, including interviews with PTH members]:

http://www.indypendent.org/2009/10/29/homeless-shelters-at-capacity

Three years after our co-founder's re-burial, a PTH member reflects on our Potter's Field Campaign

As we approach our 10th Anniversary, we recall that Picture the Homeless was co-founded by the inspirational Lewis Haggins Jr., born in 1955.

Lewis, who passed away in December 2003, was buried as a John Doe in Potter's Field, Hart Island in February 2004.

In 2005, Picture the Homeless and our faith allies held the first memorial service at Potter's Field.

Right to the City NYC rally, GRITtv, and other multi-media...

PTH's Housing campaign leader Rob Robinson -- a leader in NYC and nationally in the Right to the City alliance we're a part of -- was part of a roundtable on the current economic crisis on Laura Flanders' GRITtv [video here], along with Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone magazine, and leaders of National People's Action and United Food and Commercial Workers union.

It’s OK

TONY “You’re looking something happy. Did you get lucky or something?” PHILIP “Very funny. Wait until my wife reads this.” TONY “OK. So now I get to ask you for once: ‘What’s up with you with that big smile?’” PHILIP “Ignatieff made a big decision. He’s doing what he’s gotta do.” TONY “You mean the Prime Minister?” PHILIP “Well, he’s not the Prime Minister, not yet, [...]

Just doing their job

TONY “You hear about the old guy who got jumped down Ronces earlier?” PHILIP “What happened?” TONY “I don’t know but next thing you know, there’s six cop cars right there. You can say what you want about our cops but they sure can do their job when they need to.” Tagged: cops, home, job, mugging, police, Toronto Police Department [...]

Good Will Gone Wild

Local University Students Sleeps Outside

I have never been a big fan of these fund raisers, but apparently Habitat for Humanity supports the concept locally. CWRU students slept outside earlier this month, and had a great night. One of our old interns wrote a letter to the editor complaining about the mixed up message and inappropriate stereotypes. Mike is correct that it is difficult to match the goals of raising dollars with awareness campaigns. There is some debate at the national level about these pizza and box nights. It is not fun to be homeless and it is nearly impossible to realize the problems faced by homeless people in one night.

The issues associated with being homeless is that there collapse of all stability without an end in sight. There is no place that is safe that people can use as a headquarters. There no place to put your stuff as George Carlin loved to talk about. There is no privacy and the future is always cloudy when you lose your housing. It may be fun for one night or even a couple of weeks, but that sense of freedom wears off real fast. Eventually, we need a regular safe place to return to. We all need a dresser to hold important documents and clean clothing. We want to stay up late if we feel like it, and we want a private quiet place to just think.

I know in Columbus and Athens do a homeless experience project to try to get across to students the frustration of being homeless, but they are not usually fundraising opportunities for the agencies. Back in the 1980s, the students built a shanty on the quad at CWRU. This was my first experience with the problem of homelessness, and got me interested in working on these issues. It was not a fund raiser, but an attempt to get the students involved in the problem. This was similar to the anti-war and anti-apartheid movements of the 1970s and 1980s. The organizers brought in speakers both local and national and confronted the university administration over their lack of involvement in addressing poverty. The students were arrested, but it generated a great deal of media and student attention. The group that formed met throughout the rest of the year and did a few other events to try to push the university to become more involved in taking a leadership role in addressing the poverty all around the school.

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

UN Rapporteur round-up: New York Times, other press, and video...

The Jackets We Wear

What is the nature of reality? What is the nature of your present time situation? What are the fundamental dynamics in any given situation? These may seem academic questions but I believe they are critical. I believe we are engaged in these questions here at HT and elsewhere in our lives. Answering these questions is difficult. It is difficult for many [...]

Ann Marie

I’d like to say that I found Ann Marie in Chicago, but the truth is that she found me. Ann Marie uses social media to escape from her world and connect with others. When I arrived in the Windy City I received a tweet from @padschicago and the next day we arranged to meet in [...]

NYC Homeless Shelter Population Reaches All-Time High

New York City reached a truly sad milestone recently.

As the Coalition revealed in an October 13th report based on newly-released City data, the number of homeless children and adults residing each night in municipal shelters exceeded 39,000 people for the first time since modern homelessness began more than 25 years ago. At the same time, more than 10,000 homeless families, with more than 16,500 children, reside in homeless shelters each night -- the first time the number of homeless families bedding down in municipal shelter has ever exceeded 10,000 families.

The most alarming data revealed in the Coalition's report is this: During the last City fiscal year, more than 120,000 different New Yorkers, including nearly 44,000 children, slept in municipal homeless shelters. And since FY 2002, when Mayor Bloomberg took office, 45 percent more New Yorkers slept in the municipal shelter system during the year.

In an op-ed published last week in the NY Daily News, Mary Brosnahan, the Coalition's executive director, called for Mayor Bloomberg to change his failed homeless policies in order to address this historic crisis in homelessness:

"Simply put, New York City is in the midst of a homelessness emergency and it's only getting worse….With the economy still reeling -- and city unemployment now topping 10% -- this crisis will continue to get worse unless the Bloomberg administration changes direction and does so quickly."

Specifically, Brosnahan once again called on the Mayor to reverse his failed 2005 policy of cutting off homeless New Yorkers from a longstanding priority for Federal housing vouchers and public housing:

"The administration -- particularly Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs -- argued in 2005 that denying homeless New Yorkers access to Section 8 vouchers and public housing would act as a disincentive to people who might have another housing option with a friend or relative from entering shelter.

"It hasn't worked out that way. Long before the recession began, the decision to bar homeless New Yorkers from federal housing assistance has led to more families, not fewer, entering and staying in New York City's shelter system. Now that President Obama and Congress are strengthening the federal voucher program, we should use it to help the neediest New Yorkers."

The Coalition's report on New York City's all-time record homeless shelter population was widely covered by the local news media, with reports by WNBC, NY1 News, WNYC radio, a.m. New York, and the NY Post.

Earlier this month, the Coalition also released a briefing paper revealing that the number of homeless single adults sleeping each night in municipal shelters has also risen dramatically during the past year -- and showing that, even before the winter cold arrives, the shelter system is on the verge of running out of beds.

In his October 4th column, NY Daily News columnist Errol Louis wrote about these alarming findings, saying:

"The arrival of autumn's first chill coincides with a bombshell report, to be released by the Coalition for the Homeless this week, showing that the city's shelter system is filled to bursting, unable to take in another homeless person."

In an article for The Huffington Post, Mary Brosnahan called on Mayor Bloomberg to act quickly to avert a tragedy:

"The Mayor needs to acknowledge this crisis and change direction quickly. And before frigid weather arrives, he needs to ensure that New York City has sufficient emergency shelter for the rising number of homeless men and women. Otherwise many homeless New Yorkers will be left out in the cold this winter."

Rumor Control Issue Vol:1 Iss:1

Rumor #1: Homeless In Jax is gone: Yes, it's 'gone'. Totally. Daggers thrust at certain service providers, others held aloft. Truth be told, the site was the victim of a vicious Denial of Service attack (DoS) two months ago.

Persons of interest include global Russian and Indian cottage industry comment link mafia, Jacksonville's "Downtown Vigilante", and unidentified orange shirt wearing homelessophobic minimum wage earners spending too much time babbling with Mr. Butler near his cruiser.

Rumor #2: "Jacksonville just doesn't 'Get It'": Yes, at a recent meeting held behind closed doors a person having connections to funding sources and having experience in other cities made it clear

that Jacksonville's business and residential attitude towards it's homeless issues was behind the times in comparison to other metropolitan cities.

Rumor #3: The influential bloggers are 'mainstreaming': Totally true. Over the last five years, this and other blogs/sites have grown much in regard to readership, marketing, and business growth and arrangements with other established media or businesses. It's just good business. Continue to read them or go seek opportunity elsewhere…lord knows I did numerous times.

Rumor #4: "The Homeless are coming, the HOMELESS ARE COMING!": It was all a dream, they've been here for years. Rumor control has it that a Drop In Center is in the works for Downtown Jacksonville. TRUE!

Other matters revolving around this are too deep to put here at the moment, due to the amount of interconnection between the issues.

Chances are if you give a rat's arse, you'll go contact the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition and beg them for membership before the bottom falls out and the NIMBY nightmare comes true.

…which it has, but you're still in denial.

Rumor #5: You're fat and you know it: Course you may be, and if you are weight loss supplements might be your answer. Just remember, if you don't get help at Riverpoint…get help somewhere.

I'm JohnC and that's Rumor Control this month. This entry is on behalf of every person experiencing homelessness as a family, living with mental disorders, and choosing lives of recovery.

Donald

When we talk about homelessness as a policy issue, we often distinguish between treating the symptoms versus addressing the root causes. This is the sames lens through which Donald views his own situation. Donald is living without a home in New York City. He says it’s easy to find food and places to stay, but finding [...]

It’s our 3rd anniversary

Our first post. Tagged: anniversary, fireworks

The new normal

Tagged: apple, hat

Yubal

I met Yubal in New York City. He is originally from Mexico and traveling up to Canada to try and find his way out of homelessness. addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2Finvisiblepeople.tv%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2Fyubal-homeless-new-york-city-canada%2F'; addthis_title = 'Yubal'; addthis_pub = '';

What am I doing?

I have just been so busy to trying to get too much done (and no way to finish all I want to do)! It would help if I didn’t live like this–going to homeless shelters, a new one every night of the week, in different towns, needing my feet or other transportation to get there. [...]

We Need Blankets!!!

The Shelters Are In Need of Your Help!!

The Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry Men's Homeless Shelter at 2100 Lakeside is in need of blankets for their residents. The economic downturn has caused them to lose a few of the sources they had supplying their blankets so they have asked for our help. They will take any new or good used blankets in any size. Please consider doing a blanket drive where you work or at your faith congregation for 2100 Lakeside Shelter. Blankets can be dropped off at the shelter on your way to work, at lunch, or on the way home. If you do a blanket drive and can collect more than 30 blankets one of the shelters would be happy to pick them up for you. For more information or to schedule a pick up call NEOCH at 432-0540 ext. 103

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

Long day

I admit, I am becoming a Twitter addict. Should I search for an online tweet therapy? I just started using @HootSuite today and I am loving it! So far, I have to definitely recommend it to all Twitter users as a must-have–especially if you are the type of person like me who tends to try [...]

Vote for Me for Open Web Awards!

Posted in Awards, links, News, Personal, Website Tagged: homeless, homelessness, Mashable, Open Web Awards, poverty, shelter, shelters, vote, Web

You Never Know Who’ll Walk Through That Door…

I’m blasting around in my office yesterday, busier than a one-armed paperhanger and I call in my next “intake.” A mild mannered man in a relatively nice suit enters my office and we sit down to talk. I’m looking through his paperwork when I realize I’ve seen his name before. In fact, I’ve seen his name [...]

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Appoints New Executive Director

At a meeting on Monday, October 19, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness appointed a new Executive Director. The new ED will be Barbara Poppe, who currently serves as the Executive director of the Community Shelter Board in Columbus, Ohio - an umbrella organization that oversees housing and services programs for homeless persons in Columbus. We welcome Ms. Poppe to her new role, and look forward to working productively with the Council to ensure that federal efforts to end homelessness are properly coordinated. Our views on how to make this happen were laid out in a memo sent to the Obama transition team. Many of these recommendations have already been implemented - others remain to be accomplished. We will discuss these views with Executive Director Poppe once she officially begins her work. We have long focused significant effort on monitoring the Interagency Council. We've raised strong objections to the Council's singular focus on "chronic" homelessness and its effort to place responsibility for ending homelessness on state and local government and local service providers, while downplaying the role of the federal government. We've exposed the Council's focus on travel and photo opportunities over substantive work. And we've criticized the Council's refusal to put a meaningful focus on ending homelessness for children, youth, and families. We hope and expect that the Council will change course and address these concerns under its new leadership.

NY Times Focuses On Post-Foreclosure Homelessness

Citing the Foreclosure to Homelessness report released this summer by NPACH and a group of national homelessness advocacy organizations, the New York Times reported yesterday on former homeowners who, after losing their housing due to a foreclosure, are now homeless. The story relates the reality of homelessness today -- that it can often involve staying with friends and family, or living in motels, for both brief and lengthy periods of time. In doing so, it provides support for our view that the HUD definition of homelessness must reflect these living situations. We look forward to HUD's upcoming release of new draft regulations regarding the definition of homelessness as amended in last spring's HEARTH Act -- our comments will be focused on ensuring that communities have the maximum possible flexibility to cover people in their area who are truly without housing.

Cover Homeless Kids - Not Balloon Boy!

Arianna Huffington writes a great column calling on the media to cover homeless children -- not Balloon Boy!

Once again thinking clear

I'm not the kind of man to give up on things that easy after all the things I've been through in my life I know it makes me who I am. I have not been myself for quite a few months ( I wondered sometimes who I was) It's taken me longer than I thought it would to be just me again but as the saying goes you can't keep a good man down for long and I am back in reasonable health so for the first clear thought of the day. After listening to the party conferences it seems to me that none have said what they are going to do for those that are living in poverty or for that matter the homeless which is still thriving week in and week out. The number steadily is increasing. from what I can gather is they now want to build more hostel like places for teenagers who are expecting or with children because they want to teach parenting but my question is who ever gets parenting right because as i understand it we are all different. We can't house the homeless we already have so how are we going to house these teenagers. Now don't get me started about Boris Johnson because he promised to keep fares down and to make changes and he hasn't done a thing. he's had all these meeting and spent lots of money on researching various things like policing, housing and transport and hasn't really done a thing worth while. Now for my favorite why do we stand for governments that continually let us down? It's mind boggling. I do understand why this government had to save the banks but am I right in thinking the banks should have been part nationalized as its the tax payer that seems to be losing out and would the government have gotten a better return for the peoples money?

Alltop RSS

light and sound.

It's been very hard. You never know until you go through this,"

New Video Could Help Find Killer In Homeless Homicide

Video Gallery

New Video Could Help Find Killer In Homeless Homicide

Business owners plan memorial for homeless man

Count reveals homeless numbers (Daily Pilot)

Park Rangers Confiscate Items From Homeless Men (FOX 2 News St. Louis)

Destruction of homeless' possessions criticized (Park Hills Daily Journal)

Homeless in Portland (KOIN News 6 Portland)

Trivia night for homeless shelter (Park Hills Daily Journal)

210 Connect to focus on homeless - Visalia Times-Delta

Homelessness resists easy solution - Visalia Times-Delta

YOUR VIEWS: Must capitalize on progress that has been made on homelessness - The Birmingham News - al.com

Homeless charities struggling - Hampshire Chronicle

A proud history of service - Sudbury Star

Community effort provides housing for homeless teens - Daytona Beach News-Journal

Place a homeless man called home - Baltimore Sun

Prairie View gets grant to assist homeless, at risk - Newton Kansan

Budget trims lead homeless shelters across Mass. to cut services and beds - Boston Globe

Saddam’s Baghdad Bob Is Not Announcing Homeless Numbers In L.A.

Chances

Life is good

Houston Metro to Homeless: Stay Off Our Trains!

News: St Louis City Employees Trash Homeless Possessions

Jobless Rates Soar to 10.2 Percent

Austin Wide Parent Network joins CCH in its "Every Child In School Everyday" project

Men’s Program Celebrates Graduation

"I was just absolutely devastated to hear what happened this morning,"

"No one who has served this nation as veterans should ever be living on the streets,"

We are going to see a huge number of vets experiencing homelessness when Jane and Johnnie comes marching home from the Bush bash.

At present, they will easily overwhelm what little we can offer them; this help is greatly needed. Let's hope politics don't get in the way - again - of actually assisting those who laid their lives on the line for us...

Shinseki cites plight, plan to help homeless veterans

VA's bold goal: Eradicate homelessness among veterans in 5 years

Down by the riverside

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