Innocence and guilt are funny things in America
"If you are rich and guilty, if you have defrauded banks and customers and investment firms of billions of dollars,"
writes Chris Hedges, "if you wear fancy suits and have degrees from elite universities that cost more per year than Brown used to make, you get taxpayer money. You get lots of it. You maintain the lavish lifestyle of jets and spas and million-dollar bonuses. You live a life of unchecked greed and have too much in a world where most have too little. If you are moral scum in America we take care of you.
"But if you are poor, if you are, say, Tearyan Brown and African-American and 39 years old with four kids and no job and you live in the inner city, you are in trouble. No one comes to help you. You don't get a second chance. This is what being poor means."
This
incredibly powerful story about Tearyan Brown is must reading.
Once we know about this stuff and do nothing, aren’t we as complicit as the
robber barons who get all the cash? How do we turn things around?
Sleep out for the homeless: worst fundraiser ever?
"Don't let the name fool you," says Dominic Mapstone over at
End Homelessness. "Instead of being a gritty, real-life glimpse into the devastation of homelessness, they are simply glorified slumber parties."
So what does it matter? Well, people (mostly kids) sleeping out in a controlled environment may think they have experienced a night on the streets, but they can easily go home with inaccurate assumptions based on their so-called experience.
Check out Dominic's post
here. And don't miss the comments; there's even one from
The Homeless Guy.
We had one of these events in downtown Orlando a couple of weeks ago. Hundreds of people spent the night under I-4 -- but they were inside a fence and had police protection, a stage with a concert, bottled water, snacks, games and portable toilets. See the Central Florida News 13 report
here.
One homeless man approached
FOX 35 crews to try to explain that the sleep out was far from reality.
Homeless man beaten to death in jail cell
A 35-year-old homeless man, being held on charges of being drunk and disorderly, was found dead in his cell in a Louisiana jail, apparently beaten to death.
He was also stripped of all his clothing.
His three cellmates are being questioned in connection with what police are treating as a homicide.
Before his arrest, Brian G. Armstrong had been staying at the
Lighthouse Mission, an Opelousas men's shelter.
Opelousas Police Chief Perry Gallow said all four men were suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of their arrests and it is common for such prisoners to be housed in a group holding cell until they sober up.
Read the
Monroe News Star report
here.
What I want to know is: Where were the jail staffers while all this beating was going on?
Homeless set up temporary camp outside mayor's home
Carrying bags of belongings and their bedding, and under the watchful eye of Seattle police officers, a few dozen homeless and advocates for the homeless set up temporary camp in front of Mayor Greg Nickels' West Seattle home about 8:30 p.m. Monday.
It was one of what the group
SHARE/WHEEL* says will be a series of campouts at politicians' homes, according to its Web site.
Homeless advocate Joe Watson said SHARE/WHEEL is running short of money and cannot afford to pay bus fare to get its homeless clients to more than a dozen SHARE shelters. The campouts are designed to bring attention to the problem.
The group earlier this year asked the city and the mayor's office for an additional $50,000 on top of the more than $300,000 they received this year from the city, to pay for bus vouchers. Their request was turned down.
Read the
Seattle Times article
here. And check out the
post at the Seattle Time Globe (a web site started by laid-off employees of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer after the newspaper stopped publishing.)
---------------
* SHARE/WHEEL stands for Seattle Housing and Resource Effort, which is coed, and the Women's Housing, Equality and Enhancement League, which is women-only. The combined groups are, according to their Web site, "King County's largest shelter network, with 15 indoor shelters and 2 tent cities."
Sanford may pass tougher panhandling laws
The city of Sanford wants to be able to arrest some of its most aggressive panhandlers. Downtown business leaders have been pushing for tougher panhandling laws for years and now the city is about to pass them.
However, there's nothing illegal about begging for money. In fact, it's protected by the Constitution.
What probably will be regulated in Sanford is "aggressive" panhandling, which is panhandling by someone who touches the person they're asking for money, blocks an entrance to their car or building or anyone who panhandles while drunk.
Check out the WFTV report
here.
Cold-case murder of homeless man solved, police say
Police describe it as "four-year-old murder mystery."
The mystery began when the remains of John Gavin, a 67-year-old homeless man, were found in the woods in Brevard County in 2005.
David Wayne Slaton, 33, of Kathleen, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, the Brevard County Sheriff's Office said.
Authorities say Slaton met Gavin at a Polk County bar in 2005, and Slaton offered Gavin some sort of work in Brevard County.
The motive for the murder is unclear, officials said.
Read the
Orlando Sentinel report
here.
Florida is the only state
where median income decreased
It's not exactly breaking news (most of you knew this by just looking around), but incomes in Florida are dropping.
According to new census data, the median household income in Florida fell from $47,804 to $47,778 between 2007 and 2008, a decline of .01%.
This report from CNNMoney.com says Florida was the only state where income levels dipped before adjustments for inflation.
*Read the Census report
here. Thanks to Jim Stratton at the Sentinel's
Blog-o-nomics for pointing this out.
---------------
* When income was adjusted for inflation, four other states -- Arizona, Indiana, Michigan and California -- also saw decreases from 2007 to 2008.
A homeless shelter so nice
you might want to live there, too
The Spring Gardens Center, near London, England, offers a fresh approach to designing shelters as places of transformation.Instead of sticking homeless people in dank, miserable-looking shelters, why not put them in open, airy accommodations that inspire confidence?
That's the idea behind Spring Gardens, a hostel for the homeless built by
St. Mungo's, a homeless charity in London.
"Spring Gardens is fresh thinking in hostel design, having been built from a blank canvas," said Charles Fraser, chief executive of St Mungo's. "Homeless people deserve decent homes and supportive environments. We have a transformational building which we hope will stimulate transformations in the lives of those who live here."
The hostel, which was built as part of the U.K. government's
Places for Change program, uses a giant, single room as a public area. In addition to providing a communal space for residents to enjoy computer stations, pool tables, the dining hall, and a library, the set-up also allows staff to easily keep an eye on residents with alcohol, drug, or mental problems.
Take a look around Spring Gardens
here. And read an article in the
Guardian here.
Pinellas Hope deserves support, the Times says
Primarily a tent facility, Pinellas Hope also has 10 simple sheds for people with special medical needs and exemplary camp members.As Catholic Charities broke ground on a transitional apartment building at
Pinellas Hope, the
St. Petersburg Times called on the county to provide dedicated dollars to make sure the success of the so-called "tent city" for the homeless continues.
This year Pinellas County budgeted $770,000 toward the $2.5 million cost of running Pinellas Hope. But faced with a major budget shortfall because of the recession, county commissioners have not dedicated the same amount of money to the project for 2010. Instead, the commission set aside $1 million for homeless initiatives and said that all providers of homeless services could compete for the money. Seventeen providers have submitted applications totaling more than $1.8 million, including Pinellas Hope's request for $600,000.
Catholic Charities' Frank Murphy warned this week that without the county's contribution, the organization will have to close Pinellas Hope.
The Times notes that St. Petersburg has not wavered in its support of Pinellas Hope. It contributed $250,000 this year and is budgeting the same amount for next year, even though city revenues are down.
"For the county to reduce its funding now would be a step backward and jeopardize the progress that has been made," the Times said.
Read the
Times editorial
here.
2,300+ low-income Florida families
could lose housing assistance
More than 2,300 low-income Florida families could have their rental assistance reduced or eliminated as a result of a shortfall in funding for the Housing Choice Voucher Program
* in 2009.
Twenty housing authorities in Florida are among about 400 nationwide that may be forced to reduce the number of low-income families they serve, despite rising need as a result of increasing unemployment and poverty.
One factor contributing to the funding shortfalls is a decline in tenant incomes
** -- most likely due to recent job losses caused by the recession. Because tenants pay about 30% of their incomes in rent, the housing authority often pays more when a tenant becomes unemployed.
Read the
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report from
here.
---------------
* The Housing Choice Voucher Program is commonly known as "Section 8," in reference to the portion of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 under which the original subsidy program was authorized.
** Just last week, Census data showed that median household income (the amount earned by a family at the exact center of the income scale) sank 3.6% in 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. That is the largest one-year decline on record. See previous post here.
A bit of shameless self-promotion
If you've got a minute, head over to the People Power Hour
heroes page and vote for Legal Advocacy at Work. If we win (and we're in the lead as of this writing), we'll get a chance to appear on the
radio show and spread our message about homelessness and social justice.
Victory in a food-sharing case! (No, not ours*)
A preliminary victory has been won in a
lawsuit against the city of Dallas, challenging an ordinance that severely restricts locations where groups can share food, prohibiting many groups from providing food in locations where they have served homeless individuals for years.
Violators face arrest and fines up to $2,000.
U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Solis has denied in part the City of Dallas' motion to dismiss claims. The court refused to the plaintiffs' claims related to free exercise of religion, equal protection, vagueness, and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act. While the court is allowing the plaintiffs to move forward with these claims, the court dismissed the plaintiffs' other claims related to freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the right to travel.
"We are very pleased with the court's decision to allow the plaintiffs to move forward with their case," said Tulin Ozdeger, civil rights director of the
National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty. "Instead of penalizing groups trying to help meet the growing need in Dallas, the City should be looking toward ways to work with those who want to help."
---------------
* The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument in First Vagabonds Church of God v. City of Orlando in December.
Florida's safety net among the nation's weakest
Florida ranked 48th among the states in the share of needy people receiving benefits, and fell into the bottom 10 states in four of six categories.
■ Only 7% of poor children and parents in Florida receive cash welfare. In Vermont, the top-ranking state, 49% do. The national average is 21%.
■ Only 23% of eligible Florida households receive housing benefits. The national average is 30%.
■ Only 30% of uninsured poor adults in Florida are covered by government programs. Maine, the highest-ranking state provides health-care coverage for 69% of its poor adults. The national average is 41%.
■ Only 56% of uninsured low-income children in Florida are covered by government programs. No state covers fewer than half of its low-income uninsured children. The national average is 73%.
Florida's best performance was in the share of eligible people who receive food stamps. But at 62%, Florida is still below the national average of 67%. In Missouri, 98% of eligible people receive food stamps.
Florida provided benefits to 38% of its unemployed people. The national average is 44%.
And things may be worse now. The rankings reflect 2008 numbers.
See the complete rankings and charts
here (at
The New York Times).
An open letter to YouTube:
Stop the hate against homeless people!
Over at
LA's homeless blog, Joel John Roberts has posted an open letter to YouTube.
Nearly 86,000 videos of degrading acts against homeless people have been posted on YouTube, the
National Coalition for the Homeless announced this past July.
"Allowing 86,000 videos of blatant degradation of hurting, homeless people is simply immoral, and frankly, contributes to a national environment of dehumanizing people who are suffering on our streets," the letter says.
"If you allowed videos of sheer demeaning acts against people because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or disabilities there would be a national uproar, and accusations that YouTube promotes hatred and intolerance."
Read the whole letter
here. And then
tell YouTube to eliminate all videos that promote the humiliation of our homeless neighbors.
Meanwhile: YouTube
has pulled
Stone Soup Station's
"American Healthcare for the Poor." The video shows John Doe, a homeless man who was forced to catheterize himself twice daily while living under a bridge in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Because I got jumped in my sleep,
I got off the street"
In May, Mike Montoya was beaten while sleeping at a boarded up motel in Salt Lake City. The attack spurred him give up his homeless lifestyle. "Because I got jumped in my sleep, I got off the street," Montoya said.As he remembers it, Mike Montoya was sleeping when two young men -- one with a wooden bat -- beat him severely in May. When the homeless teenager woke up in a hospital, he was hurt so badly he couldn't chew.
He lost more than 20 pounds, was left with a 7-inch scar on the right side of his head and celebrated his 20th birthday in his hospital bed.
Both of his alleged attackers were people Montoya knew. They had also spent time on the streets.
He's not sure why they did it, but he's been told they had different answers for the police. "I think they were just high and they wanted to beat somebody," he said.
Homeless youth often speak proudly and defensively about their caring street families, made up of friends and allies. But those who are young and homeless can also be violent, or potential victims of street violence.
Montoya's story has a happy ending: Now he has a place to live, is receiving Social Security benefits linked to his schizophrenia, and is talking about going back to school. He wants to study astronomy.
Read the
Salt Lake City Tribune article
here.
Grim new economic data:
Millions more thrust into poverty
The number of Americans living in poverty increased by nearly 2.6 million to 13.2% in 2008 -- a stark reminder of the toll the recession was already taking on families even before the economic picture worsened this year.
Last year's 39.8 million poor people comprise the highest number of Americans living in poverty since 1960. As bad as that number is, the overall poverty rate is almost certainly worse today than it was in 2008 when the recession was first getting underway -- the period reflected by the Census data.
Unemployment averaged 5.8% last year compared with the August rate of 9.7%. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that assuming an average unemployment rate of 9.3 percent for 2009, poverty would increase to 14.7%. Higher unemployment will hit children disproportionately hard. Their poverty is expected to rise from 19% in 2008 to 25% this year, which translates into one in four children living in poverty.
In a family of three that means trying to provide children with a roof over their heads, adequate health care and a nutritious diet on an annual income of $17,163. Still worse, the proportion of children living below half the poverty line ($8,600 for a family of three) is rising steeply, from 6.4% in 2000 to 8.5% in 2008.
The huge increase in poverty clearly points out the need for continuing aid to help the unemployed and states struggling to maintain vital services in the face of growing need.
"If we invest in health care, education, and rebuilding communities, we will create jobs and renew our economy," said Deborah Weinstein, executive director of the Coalition on Human Needs. "Failure to act is a moral wrong, since it causes preventable harm to vulnerable people. Inaction is a practical wrong as well, because consigning tens of millions to poverty, with no protections against sickness and debt, drags our economy down and further delays our recovery."
Read the
Washington Post report
here.
I haven't given up ...
I've just been struggling with my home Internet connection. Might have the problem solved now. I hope so.
