It could be me, it could be you

Homeless people to tell teens about life on the street
Orlando Centennial 8/27/07

David Pirtle thought the worst of homeless people. They were bums, derelicts, worthless.

They were lazy, crazy and smelly.

It was a notion he believed as a teen and a young adult.

"Right up until I became homeless," he said.

Expert on Homeless Issues to Speak
Herald-Dispatch 8/27/07

"It is one of those things where we are going to allow the community to hear about the policy and to educate folks on the cost-benefit analysis approach to homelessness," Mendez said. "It costs the community just as much to allow someone to be homeless as it does to provide them with permanent housing, which ends homelessness. That is the only way to end homelessness."

Mendez told the Neighborhood Institute members that it is costing communities more for police and emergency personnel to constantly respond to situations on the street involving the chronic homeless, than it is to build permanent housing for the chronic homeless and to offer them services to get them off the street.

Any of Us Could Be Homeless
TheDay.com 8/27/07

'What makes homeless?” My husband and I were passing out fruit in New London's homeless shelter last week when a resident asked us this question. That morning The Day had reported on a public hearing the night before where neighbors of the proposed new Jefferson Avenue homeless shelter had come out in force to voice their opposition. Their comments had ranged from suggesting that shelter residents were pedophiles to complaining that their property values might go down.

Advocacy is a big part of making change, in fact, it may the key to change, and anyone can be an advocate. From individuals who are experiencing homelessness or have experienced homelessness in the past, to the heads of government agencies, to casual volunteers who write for the local paper. Why not join the masses? You can easily be an advocate too, without it taking up too much time. Just post a news article or video from youtube on your blog every so often. Say hello to the panhandlers you meet on the street and ask them how their day is rather than looking down as you walk by and then feeling guilty later. When you see or hear your friends or family making uninformed comments fill them in, it could be them. It could be me. It could be you.

Take it to the Streets

On Wednesday morning, I had the opportunity to shadow a Boston Health Care for the Homeless provider as she did her street rounds. Back in June, I attended a session of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council conference where my host had presented some of the nifty gadgets that she used on her rounds. The opportunity to see those gadgets in action was a memorable experience! At 9am I met Jill, and a student who was shadowing her for the week, across the street from a busy downtown Boston t-stop. She briefly told me what to expect and we were off!

Not even two blocks down the street we encountered three of her regular patients and by the end of the day we had seen over a half dozen people. Most were on the street but three had secured housing and we visited them in their apartments, two of the three had studio apartments on Beacon Hill (one of the richest parts of Boston) thanks to a housing first voucher program. I hate to admit that I was surprised by how clean the apartments, and their tenants, were but I was impressed. One's apartment was cleaner than my own!

The people on the streets were a different story. They were in rough shape. One had the opportunity to go to a shelter but was nervous that they wouldn't take him because he smelled bad and I'll admit, he did smell really bad. But who can blame him? I smell bad after a day in the park. I can't imagine not having the option to shower after spending an 85 degree day outside, never-mind weeks on end of those kinds of days.

Health Care For The Homeless is a particularly unique type of program, when these programs conduct outreach they often are actually practicing medicine on the streets. It is mainly basic medicine, but they use the relationship that they build to help the individual access specialized services when they are ready. I was impressed with the way that she asked what they wanted and gave them options. No one was forced to do anything that they didn't want to but we got two people off the streets that afternoon (though one was to the ER).

The experience also heightened my awareness of how severe many individuals' alcohol addictions are. As both men who agreed to be transported to services (BHCH has cab vouchers for this purpose) they discarded their bottles of mouthwash first, one handed his off to a friend, the other dropped to the ground with a hollow thud. Mouthwash is the easiest way for alcoholics to get their fix and is an indicator of exactly how bad the disease is.

It was a great experience, I hope to do something like it again!

Highlighted Blog

I just want to highlight a blog that a co-worker recently pointed out. I'm sure that there are dozens of blogs out there but the regularity of this authors posts make this blog a worthwhile read:

The Homeless Guy
(Image from blog)

Homeless Services Fair: The Wave of the Future?

Events Link Homeless, Service Providers
Forbes 8/22/2007

Some come for the haircuts and massages. Several want the free breakfast. Most need help finding housing.

But thousands of homeless people across the country are showing up at events designed like career fairs to help them tap into drug treatment, mental health and welfare programs, and navigate through the often confusing landscape of social services.

and:

Norfolk Project Homeless Connect: A Major Success
WAVY 8/24/2007

On Thursday, Norfolk's Project Homeless connect hosted a one day event to help homeless adults connect to resources and services. 609 area homeless attended the event and received various services including: medical and dental care, housing assistance and employment counseling, among others.

What an innovative idea! We have career fairs, college fairs and wedding expos, why not bring together services? Individuals who are experiencing homelessness often don't have the resources (no computer or caseworker), time (30 minute internet limits at libraries), or knowledge (systems are often extremely fragmented) to navigate the service system and access everything that they need.

If a 4-year-old can do it so can you

4-year-old's lemonade stand helps Atlanta's homeless
Atlanta Journal- Constitution 8/17/07

While politicians and activists argue over the solution to homelessness, a 4-year-old Vinings girl has decided to take matters into her own hands.

Tori Dutkiewicz has raised at least $400 for the Atlanta Union Mission by selling cupcakes and drinks at her lemonade stand. Her mother said her daughter decided to raise money for the homeless after she saw a homeless man begging for money.

I only wish that I had been that socially conscious at 4. Or even at 14:

Teen Spends Birthday Helping the Homeless
Calgary Sun 8/13/07

The ice cream was abundant at Hayley Gorman's 14th birthday yesterday as she celebrated with about 1,200 people she didn't even know.

The teen spent her special evening serving dinner to Calgary's homeless at the Calgary Drop-In Centre rather than partying with friends.

But its never too late:

Woman helps feed the homeless with her knitting needles
Federal Way Mirror 8/14/07

Hatley, who once benefited from the free dinners and clothing offered through local churches, feels that this is her way of giving back to better the lives of the homeless.

Homeless people get cold, Hatley said, and her homemade afghans are the perfect remedy.

Each afghan typically takes about 12 spools of yarn and three months to complete. She relies completely on donations to create the large blankets, which could cover a queen-size bed.

We all can give back in ways other than just donating our own money. Granted we don't all have time for a lemonade stand, money to make a significant financial contribution, or the skills to knit an afghan but most of us have time to devote a couple hours a month to volunteering at a shelter or a soup kitchen. Most of us have enough money to buy a package of socks that we can keep in our car or bag and can hand out to someone in need. And all of us have the talent to stop and say "I'm sorry, I can't help you today" instead of walking by and not looking someone in the eye (I admit that I'm guilty of this too).

Here are just a couple cheap (even free) and simple suggestions:

• Buy a package of socks, cereal bars, or bottled water to hand out
• Offer your leftovers or, if you're going into a fast food joint or convenience store, ask them if you can get them a drink or a burger
• Spend a holiday afternoon, or any day, at a shelter, soup kitchen, or food pantry
• Just smile and engage in a conversation
• Donate your old clothes to a shelter and your household items to a housing program or thrift store. Shelters are often in need of clothing for residents who are in disarray (I encountered this problem during my volunteer shift just last week). As for household goods, the shelter where I got my first taste of homeless services, The Salem Mission, will actually come and pick up unwanted furniture in good condition and also accepts donations of kitchen items for its thrift store and residents who are transitioning into housing. Look around for a similar program in your area.

You CAN help, you just have to take initiative, get out there, and do it!

You've Got to Fight, For Your Right, to Sleep

Sacramento Sued Over Handling of Homeless
The Sacramento Aggie 8/9/07

Sacramento lawyer Mark Merin filed a lawsuit against Sacramento and Sacramento County on Apr. 2 for its treatment of the homeless. Its approach to the homeless, Merin said, is illegal and unconstitutional.

In the lawsuit, Merin calls for Sacramento to stop "enforcing the City and County ordinances which prohibit homeless persons from sleeping outside in the City and County." Merin claims that Sacramento peace officers are imposing on civil rights of homeless people who have no other option but to sleep on the streets.

While it's upsetting that the homeless in Sacramento are receiving such harsh treatment in the first place it is encouraging that there is pressure to change this treatment and recognition that many of these people really have nowhere else to go. It's like arresting someone because they can't afford to eat. Our bodies need us to sleep, there is no way around it!

A Downtown Where you Can Count the Homeless on your Fingers and Toes!

Only 25 Homeless Live Downtown: City Census
Chicago Sun-Times 8/10/07

The downtown count was released on the same day Mayor Daley claimed homelessness across the city was down 12 percent -- from 6,715 in January 2005 to 5,922 at the same time this year -- marking progress in his 10-year Plan to End Homelessness.

So, apparently someone in Chicago thinks that there are just about as many homeless downtown as there were students in an average sized elementary school class. Maybe they did go downtown and count people but to say that there are only 25 people sleeping on the streets of Chicago in the middle of the summer completely trivializes the issue! 1) What about all of the people in shelters? Aren't they homeless too? Even if there really are only 25 people on the streets why not throw out the number of people in shelters for comparison? and 2) Are you sure you looked everywhere? Did you check under the couch and behind the fridge?

For more of this crazy statistic:
City Census: 24 Homeless People Live in Downtown Chicago
WQAD 8/10/07

EDIT: Thank goodness someone came to there senses!
Count of 24 homeless was based on just 12-block area
Chicago Sun Times 8/16/07

Laws laws laws

City's Homeless Will Not be Disturbed
The Sydney Morning Herald 8/10/07

Police at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit have been ordered to allow the more than 100 homeless people living in the forum's security area to remain undisturbed unless they cause a disruption.

The Operation Contego handbook states: "When you encounter a person that is homeless or appears to be homeless, you should leave the person alone unless:

They require assistance

They appear to be distressed or in need of assistance

Their behaviour threatens their safety or the safety and security of people around them

Their behaviour is likely to result in damage to property or the environment"

This is the kind of rule I like to see. It is amazing to see the efforts that Sydney appears to be making to protect the homeless, they're even concerned that when the park is closed for a concert these individuals won't be able to access their belongings. Lets all up and move to Sydney! And not Ft Worth:

Council to Vote on Alcohol Free Zones Near Shelter
Star Telegram 8/9/07

The City Council will vote today on banning alcohol and open containers within 1,000 feet of homeless shelters. It's aimed at curbing public drinking near the shelters on East Lancaster Avenue, just south of downtown Fort Worth.

Fort Worth is the first city in the state to vote on the ban since the Legislature approved the measure this past session, according to a spokesman for state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, the law's sponsor.

Say what? You think that banning open containers is going to do something? Yes, it might make the business owners happy but my guess is that will be it. The consequence is a ticket, a ticket that they can't afford to pay anyway. And this part makes me laugh: "Don Shisler, president of the Union Gospel Mission, said the alcohol ban might help remove temptation from children and from people who are trying to quit drinking." Yes, not being around alcohol for a certain radius will help people quit drinking. And what about when they walk outside of that bubble of 1000ft? Maybe this could be a step towards something else but on its own I imagine this law is just going to be a disaster.

Homeless in the Media

Cops: Homeless Man Tried to Rob McDonalds
Newsday.com 8/8/07

A homeless man who turned to robbing for food instead of begging for it was arrested after using a pair of scissors in an attempted holdup of a McDonald's in Uniondale, police said yesterday.

Good Samaritans End up Victims of Homeless Woman
Fond du Lac Reporter 8/8/07

Two people trying to do a good deed by helping a homeless woman ended up her victims, according to a Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department report.

The couple allowed the woman and her husband to stay at their house on Mallard Lane for free since the homeless couple was having financial problems, according to a Sheriff's Department report.

Its rare that I can go a day without my googlereader homeless feed pulling up some random story that details the wrongdoings of some homeless person. That isn't very productive. Articles like these do nothing but evoke fear in the readers. I imagine that the McDonalds article would have gotten printed even if the individual had a home but I'm not quite so sure about the home robbery article. I've watched Court TV, this kind of stuff (and worse) happens all of the time.

But, of course, not all articles talk about how terrible homeless people are. For an uplifting read check out this really neat little bit on Eureka Street, Remembering A Homeless Man Named Patrick

Patrick was sitting outside one of those tired buildings at the top of Spring Street. One of those buildings where the doors never open. He had his head in his hands. It was two in the morning. I was walking because I’d missed the last train home and I asked him if he was ok. He asked for a smoke and said he was waiting for the door to open.

Welcome home, thanks for your service, now pull yourself up by your bootstraps!

Homeless Vets: A Hidden Crisis
Orlando Sentinel 8/6/07

Often, when Ryan Svolto manages to sleep, he finds himself back in Iraq preparing for triage, awash in blood and bodies. But he can't find his medical kit, and, helpless, he thrashes awake, damp with sweat.

As an infantry medic, he patched up soldiers wounded in combat in Iraq. Now, Svolto, 24, is trying to fix his own wounded life after a recent stint at a Daytona Beach homeless shelter.

Svolto is one of a growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who joined the ranks of Florida's homeless after returning home. Experts say a system already buckling under one of the nation's largest homeless populations might collapse under the weight of a new wave of veterans, many saddled with mental-health issues and crippling brain injuries.

Homecoming should be a time of pride and honor for returning vets, and it often is. But for some it doesn't last. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans 23% of those experiencing homelesness are vets. To put this in perspective, according to a 2003 Census Bureau Report Alaska is the state with the highest percentage of veterans, a whopping 17%. Clearly, the percentage of individuals experiencing homelessness who are vets is not a reflection of the percentage of veterans in the whole population.

What's going on here? My first thought is that while I'm sure that PTSD and other mental health issues are playing a role we should be doing a regression analysis that takes into account in the individual's annual household income before they entered the military, their parents' education, and somehow scales the communities that they are returning to, but that's the statistician in me. Back on the National Coalition website they talk about PTSD, substance use problems, and lack of support (something else to throw into my hypothetical regression analysis). There are support systems there for the vets when they return but like all individuals experiencing homelessness sometimes it takes more than the availability to engage someone in services and sometimes the available services aren't sufficient to meet the individuals' needs.

It's not a crisis just in the US, the UK is experiencing similar problems:
Warning on Ex-Service Homeless
BBC News 8/6/07

A survey in 1997 by the Ex-Service Action Group on Homelessness suggested that 22% of people who were "street homeless" had a military background.

Veterans charity, the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation, said that efforts by the government and the voluntary sector had brought that down to about 10%.

Clearly something is up and it seems to me that in finding a solution we are going to have to take a more global approach. While it's a relief to see the the numbers in the UK are remarkably similar it's also troubling that those who serve their country around the world may all face the same bleak outcomes.

*Image stolen from St Pete for Peace, the same city where some homeless individuals are suing city officials for destroying their tents and belongings

EDIT: Another article posted on 8/8/07
Homeless Vets: The Topic of Panel
The Colombian 8/8/07

Art: Something to Come Home To

Homeless Works Look For New Digs
The Sydney Morning Herald 9/6/07

Beno, 43, is part of a group whose goal is to open a "homelessness art gallery" in the inner city where the homeless and people with mental health problems can exhibit their art. People such as themselves.

"Homelessness is about being alone, and us doing this gives us a sense of community," Beno says.

The group, called Escape Artists, is holding its first exhibition this week to raise awareness of its project during National Homeless Persons Week.

Art isn't just a venue for those with a shelter over our heads. While it isn't a regular practice there are enough shelters and drop in centers that offer art therapy or art studios to suggest that individuals who are experiencing homelessness can benefit from the opportunity to create art. Not only is art a great coping skill, and opportunity for self expression, and a channel for creativity but all of this combined can help lead to a better self worth, something that every individual experiencing homelessness will need in order to make the strides to be successful and get back on their feet (among many other factors of course).

Beyond the benefits for the individual are the benefits for society. One of my work projects has led me to ask several providers what they think the barriers to providing effective services are and for the providers I interviewed about youth the community understanding was frequently cited. People don't necessarily see people who are experiencing homelessness. They think of the pan handler, or the person asleep on the park bench. They forget about the men and women who are pulling 40-hour shifts but are still unable to meet ends meet and the men and women who struggle with addiction and lack the coping skills to help them transition out of homelessness. Artwork that presents homeless camps is incredibly moving. This morning I was on a run and saw a tent slightly off the trail that looked like it was where someone was living and I suddenly felt so selfish for taking that run and worrying about whether I would get to work on time. Seeing how these individuals are forced to live is eye opening and truly shocking and when confronted with these images one can no longer blame these individuals for their addictions and short comings. Artwork that is created by individuals who are experiencing homelessness has a similar affect, it makes one realize that these individuals are just as capable as the rest of us. It is very important that we be frequently reminded of this because it is true. Under the "right" circumstances "we" could easily become "them."

For more:
Understanding the Homeless: Exhibit Offers Local Perspective
Press and Sun-Bulletin 7/6/07