The Homeless Grapevine: Issue 3
MEN OF SITE "F": A
Protest At Project: HEAT
By Robert Williams
Have you often wondered what it was like to be able to win a battle with
the country? A small story I am
going to explain to you will kind of give you an idea of what it is like.
On Thursday, July 22, 1993 a stack of papers came into Site F, stating
that the site will be close as of Saturday which was brought in by Mrs. Barbara
Williams. Myself and some of the
other guys {such as} Jerry Watson, Sarge, Joseph Bryant, Carl Ellis, Sam Jackson
all got together and started planning on the move we were going to make.
At first everything was set up for Friday until we found out we were
going to be here til Sat. night Sun. morning. So now Saturday night rows in and
things are being made ready. Our
last plans are made and we are just waiting until the morning comes. Sunday
morning is here and everyone is awakened... First I talked to the people and
explain the plans of the morning. Myself
and Site F men decided to sit in and had no intentions of leave until someone
came down and talked with us. It is
now about 6:30am and things are just getting started.
The worker of the night was inform of what we were doing and they explain
to us what they had to do as far as calling their boss (Barbara Williams) and
explain to her what was happening at Site F... Once again me and the men got
together and wrote out a list of demands... The list
1. Demands in writing and which copies
2. Meeting immediately with
A.
Barbara Williams
B.
Louise Simmons
C.
County Administrator/and city
D. Joe
Miser from Legal Aid
E. Ron
Reinhart as negotiator for Site F.
3. Discuss a site or time to be able to find a permanent
site effective as of July 25,1993
4. Food & Drinks...
So after this time has gone by. Enough time for Barbara Williams to arrive.
Her first question to the Men of Site F was, what going on? So
we explain it to her we are having a sit in as to where no one is leaving here
until our demands are reached. She
explain to us that we will be trespassing and that she would have to call the
police. Well police finally arrive
and were outside talking with Barbara, we then went in to let the men know the
police were here. A few men got up
and left out because of personal problems but the sit in was still on in the
rest of the mens.
With the men behind me, I had no fear of what was about to
happen. So, the police are on their
way in now. Asking to speak to me I
simply say sure we can talk. One
officer insisted that I step outside to speak, I then insisted on staying behind
the desk the men set up for me behind the lines we had set up for
ourselves. Once again the officer insisted and once again I refused
explaining to him, he could come across the lines and speak with me in room
which is our sleeping quarters, he refused.
So now there is again a stand off. Giving
Barbara a list of the demands she soon had departed and here we are left with
police and the building security trying to figure out what to do.
So we decided once again it was time to call the media down.
Channels 3-5-8 and 43 just as well as the plain dealer as of which as
came down. Police decided to make
another move after standing outside and discussing what their next move was
going to be. So they come back in
putting on gloves saying we were going to vacate to property.
Now it back to our demands, we are not leaving.
Police talked among themselves and decided to call someone in with rank.
They back off. By this time
the news media cam. Explaining to
the media what was going on and also giving them a list of demands things
started to get heated.
Some of the demands started happening.
Ron Reinhart finally arrive which made all of us fell a little better.
Explaining to Ron Reinhart has happened so far as the police were
concerned, he agreed to be our negotiator.
Then Barbara came back just as well as the Lt. for the police.
We were not able to hear the conversation going on out side the building
between Barbara the Lt. and Ron so we just sit patiently and waited inside.
It has to be about 9:00 or 10:00am I guess and the men are hungry.
Ron makes a call out to St. Augustine and without delay something was
provided for us to eat as always from St. Augustine.
In any kind of crisis, I know they have always been there.
So we had something to eat and realized we are still at
war. By this time everything
outside was at ease and the Lt. is on his way in.
Walking up to me the Lt. asked if he may have a word with me?
I replied "sure come on over". He
did. Taking him into our sleeping
quarter he began. "Mr. Williams my
name is Lt. __. I have an idea about was going and he
understand what we were going."
Anyway
conversation went on between and he decided to wait things out until the Men of
Site F, has seen al of the media we had set up.
So we shook hands and decided to wait.
He said none of the officers would bother using anyway as long as
everything was okay and it was. He
said he would check with us later he left.
Now the media is really starting to come in one behind the other.
Setting up a good part of the night writing out copies of the demands I
was kind of tired but every time I laid down another T.V. station popped up.
Questions of what did I think was going to happen and many others.
Well time went on and its going on 2:00pm.
Lt. comes back to check once again on things making sure everything is
going smooth and wished us luck. News
media checking in again to see if there has been a change.
So its time to eat again. Ron set up to go down to the Salvation Army's
Christmas in July dinner explaining to them what we were doing and once again Salvation
Army came through. Now we are
really eating and drinking. In
quoting one of my men Sarge, the stand off in little Waco in truly a stand off.
But we are being taken care of by good hearted people who always are with
us in this fight. Time marches on. Nothing
has happened. Well before all of
this has happened a member of NEOCH and personal friend of mine and Jerry
Watson, Mr. Brian came down to lend a hand in our quest. Arming himself with markers and poster paper in hand, the
signs went up everywhere.
Thank God for good relationship amongst friends.
Coming in just in time before the media came again, this time with a
surprise. Mr. Danny Williams,
County Administrator arrived with T.V. cameras behind him and asked if we could
talk once again. I agreed.
Discussing and understanding our cause, Mr. Williams
agreed to give the Men of Site F a week extension if we agreed to call off the
sit-in, which would give Project: HEAT enough time to find a site and relocate
Site F. It was now 3:00pm or 4:00pm
and for the moment everyone was in agreement of things. Mr. Williams also stated that there would be a meeting in
Cleveland City Hall on Monday concerning our problems finding a site.
Well, as you can see, sometimes it pays to fight for your
rights. Even if everything is not
settled as of yet, the war is not won, but the battle goes on.
Reaching Out to the Homeless Mentally Ill
A Testimony to Akron’s Housing Needs
Assessment Hearing
By David M. Pacetti
“Before I became a homeless advocate, I struggled for four years as an
advocate for persons with a psychiatric disability.
I have not relinquished that mission.
In fact, it was that mission that brought me to this arena.
Many to most of the homeless carry the stigma of mental illness; The
stigma, nurtured in myths and stereotypes, that prevents the homeless mentally
ill from receiving the help they desperately need.
So they remain in denial of their condition.
Many of the homeless mentally ill, who have languished in the locked
wards of a public psychiatric hospital, who have suffered extreme abuse and
neglect during the dark ages of mental health that were not so long ago, have
sufficient justification to fear and refuse psychiatric treatment.
I strongly believe that new funding should be created to expand the role
of the Choices drop-in center, that was created to meet the socialization needs
of persons with a psychiatric label, but has discovered the needs of many
persons with a psychiatric label, but has discovered the needs of many person
from the general homeless population. the
*homeless drop- in center, still in the planning stage, must have a strong mental
health component.
Social service agencies must engage in intensive outreach efforts to
reach a population that is disabled by learned helplessness, and must be
properly funded to do so. Marianne
Goldyn RN, of the Community Support Services Homeless Outreach Project has
demonstrated a standard of excellence for what can be accomplished by one person
committed to responding to need rather than demand alone.
The homeless need to have a person at the local level of government,
empowered with executive authority, to collaborate with advocates who are
engaged in the creation of emergency lodging or transitional housing, to enable
advocates in circumventing laws and regulations created without any
consideration for the life and death struggle of the homeless.
As one of the principal organizers of the Grace Park Tent City, I have
been told that I should forget about what happened there; That I inflict injury
on our cause by even mentioning the twelve day demonstration. How can I forget about the Love and Courage I saw
demonstrated there? How can I
remain silent about the resolve and determination of the people there, who have
been labeled
My mission as a homeless advocate is to prevent government and the
community, as much as possible, from participating in a collective delusion; A
delusion insulated by antiquated class distinctions and unfair value judgments;
The delusion that homeless people are responsible for their socio- economic
status; The delusion that there are not enough resources available to end
homelessness: The delusion that we
do not have an individual moral responsibility to make the ending of homelessness
our priority.”
*The Homeless drop- in center, as conceived by a committee
in Summit County, will provide practical amenities such as showers, lockers and
mailboxes.
Mr.
Pacetti is a mental health consumer and formerly homeless. He is a member of the Summit County Alliance for the Mentally
Ill, and a board member of the Ohio Coalition for the Homeless.