There continues to be growing frustration with the largest shelter in Ohio at 2100 Lakeside Ave. In March a group of homeless men met with Councilwoman Fannie Lewis to talk about conditions at the shelter. There were charges of retaliation and more controversy involving staff mistreatment, and a lack of concern by the Salvation Army administration.

Raymond Robinson took a group of men who stay at 2100 Lakeside to get their issues addressed. Among the many issues raised include the standing outside in the cold and rain for two hours and not being allowed to go inside to go to the bathroom. There were concerns about the unsafe conditions within the shelter, and the lack of training and understanding by the staff. The lack of the security and the large amount of theft as well as the lack of concern by the administrative staff were all listed by the men as areas of concern. The men were asking for helping in changing "these inhumane" and "degrading" conditions.

Robinson was told by Councilwoman Lewis to go and get a petition signed by as many men as possible. Despite being directed by a City Council person who is one of the main funders of the shelter, to do so Robinson was told that he was not allowed to collect signatures inside the shelter. He went to the local meal site early in the morning and found 80 men who signed the document. Robinson went to the Community Development City Council hearing, and was allowed time to talk to him about the problems at the shelter. Both Chair person Merle Gordon and Community Development Director Linda Hudecek both sat down with Robinson to discuss the situation. Both City officials expressed concern and asked the Coalition for the Homeless and the Office of Homeless Services for advice.

When Robinson got back to the shelter after talking to the City Council, he was denied a bed and told that he had to sleep on a mattress on the floor because he was belligerent. Robinson was belligerent because he was told that he could not get his petition signed at the shelter as he was instructed. After two months of being in a bed, he was told that despite being fifth in line he would have to sleep on the floor. He refused, citing his State of Ohio verified disability he could not sleep on the floor. He refused and was sent to another shelter.

The next night the same scenario took place in which Robinson was extended a mattress on the floor. At first, Robinson could not get anyone explain why he was denied a bed. The staff claimed that they did not have to give a reason. Again, he refused because of a physical handicap. There was a confrontation and eventually shelter staff relented.

The following day in a discussion about the complaints with City and County officials, John Ansbro, director of 2100 shelter, had an angry outburst centered on the perceived interference by representatives of the Coalition for the Homeless with regard to 2100 Lakeside. NEOCH staff expressed concern over retaliation and the treatment of homeless people at 2100 Lakeside in a written letter asking for a response from Salvation Army officials. To date, the Salvation Army has not responded to the issues raised by Robinson or the retaliation that he faced.

Two weeks later, the Coalition and the 2100 Resident Advisory Committee held a meeting to discuss the services. The issues raised included the problems with the physical conditions of the shelter and the lack of use of the kitchen. The threats and intimidation by the staff were a concern as was the overcrowded conditions. Other problems that came up included the turning people away from the shelter and the need for accountability. The "bad attitude" of shelter staff and some standards posted at the shelter. There were many issues that surfaced including the lack of staff training, the lack of a grievance procedure, and the huge lines before the shelter opens.

Salvation Army officials presented their view of the shelter and talked about the need to engage other social service providers. They talked about being hampered because of the overcrowded conditions, but the progress that they have made over the last six months. Ansbro said that he intends to establish and publish guidelines and rules for the behavior at the shelter. He also said that they were moving to limiting the number entering to 360 people with the eventual goal of 350 people. They did say that they want to address the situation with the line out front and may give out beds in the morning so people would not have to wait in line. In response to a question about the services at the shelter, Ansbro said, "$1.65 million is not nearly enough to shelter all these people."

The facility has averaged 410 people per night this year and 424 per night in 2001. There is no current plan for where the 40 to 60 and as many as 100 men over the 360 spaces available will sleep.

The Office of Homeless Services and the City of Cleveland have met with the Salvation Army officials to address some of these issues. There is growing pressure to convene a community discussion about the deteriorating situation at 2100 Lakeside.

In one positive development from the perspective of client rights at 2100 Lakeside shelter, the administrators of the facility implemented rules that restrict police, parole officers and bounty hunters from entering the shelter without a written warrant. The resident advisory committee and Coalition for the Homeless staff talked about the violations of trust and safety concerns raised by an armed officer in the building at night. Despite some alleged retaliation by the police the Salvation Army has stood firm on their policy.

Had Mayor Charlie Luken known the number of Cincinnatians who support the Streetvibes newspaper and the vendors who sell it, he likely wouldn’t have attacked it at a December meeting of City Council’s Law and Public Safety Committee. Many Cincinnatians were outraged by his comments that vendors were "panhandlers armed with newspapers" and that they were destroying downtown.

Some of those outraged citizens decided to organize to show Luken that Streetvibes is a valuable asset to the community and an important program to the vendors who earn a living selling the monthly paper. They formed Friends of the Homeless, which began meeting in early January.

Their goal: show Luken how many Cincinnatians support Streetvibes so that he wouldn’t pursue legislation to harm the paper.

The result according to participants was a success. A postcard campaign was launched and two thousand Cincinnatians signed them, asserting their support for the vendors and their newspaper. The cards, addressed to Luken read: "I come downtown to experience diversity and community with my fellow Cincinnatians. Streetvibes is part of that experience. More importantly, Streetvibes provides the opportunity for the vendors that sell the paper to also be part of our great city…." The card ended with a request for Luken to support opportunity and to forgo policy that would damage the program.

The campaign culminated in a rally outside City Hall. Nearly 50 supporters turned out, grouping around a giant cardboard house covered in several hundred of the signed postcards. Speakers shared their thoughts on the importance of the paper to the Greater Cincinnati community, and after the rally, everyone took a stack of the signed cards and personally delivered them to the Mayor’s staff.

"The community sent a clear message to Mayor Luken and Streetvibes vendors that vendors are supported valuable to the city of Cincinnati and that attacks on Streetvibes won’t be tolerated," said Susan Knight, one of the organizers of the campaign.

"I saw a lot of new faces," said Andy Robie, another event organizer. "This, coupled with the more than 2000 postcards we collected, tells me that this community really supports Streetvibes and views it as an asset. Hopefully Mayor Luken has gotten the message."

When Council proposed legislation for a new anti-panhandling law, Streetvibes, which Luken equated with panhandling, was left alone. Friends of the Homeless is confident that the outpouring of support from the community played a part in that. They hope to continue raising awareness about homeless issues in Cincinnati. For anyone interested in getting involved, the group meets each Wednesday at 7PM at the Drop Inn Center.

Anyway, despite the cold weather and the fact that the original rally was rescheduled, the turnout for the Streetvibes rally was spectacular.

What have you done to that lovely lady by the Potomac? Henry James identified the District of Columbia as a majestic city which is now pock marked and full of concrete barriers.

My heart was broken by the events of September 11, but the transformation of our nation’s capital is just as sad if not also angering. The barricading of Washington is an assault on our democracy. We never voted if it was wise to close down the White House or the Capitol and increase security forces to unprecedented levels. If our democracy is so fragile that it would falter because of a terrorist act then it is not worth preserving.

Just a quick walk down those nobly named streets of Constitution or Independence Avenues, we see police on every street corner. Standing at the Capital, I was watched, I was repeatedly passed by Capital police, and the security shined their flashlight in my face at night. I was deemed a threat for walking the same paths traveled by the Kennedys, Barbara Jordon, Howard Metzenbaum, and Lowell Weiker as they defended personal liberty.

It seems that the cradle of democracy is operating in a state of fear. We are all terrorist suspects. Anyone could be the next home grown terrorist, the next Ted Kazinski, the next Timothy McVeigh. There are cameras, private security, police, and even federal military now involved in protecting buildings, monuments and our nation’s elite. We have actually created an elite class of elected officials who are the subject of extra-ordinary security measures. A far cry from the members of the first five Congressional delegations who only worked part time as legislator and most were full time farmers.

Our forefathers fought to throw off empirical rule but a quick trip to the White House shows a different story. The building is absolutely secure similar to those of the castles that dot the European landscape. Our empirical president is so distant from the population and no longer "the steward of the people" or "the president of all people" but instead a term limited monarch.

Even that symbol for democracy around the world—the nation’s Capital building is a bunker sealing out its citizens. We cannot walk those wonderful steps up the front of the building to the places where great Americans like Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Dwight Eisenhower took their oaths of office to lead this country. Even Armed Freedom on the Capital dome seems to be depressed that she looks out over this hypocrisy of a democratic society.

Real security would be the elimination of poverty. If a terrorist wants to strike a blow to democracy or freedom they will do it. No matter how many security guards, how many cameras or military officers, as a society we are vulnerable. The security state of Rome was undermined on a routine basis by rebellion. Totalitarian states have traditionally seen attacks by their own disenfranchised populations. For every stripping of people’s rights breeds contempt, anger, and terrorists, or as we used to call them patriots. It is ironic that the groups planning the American Revolution would be subject to surveillance and increased security with the passage of the 2001 Patriot Act.

The state of New Hampshire pays homage to the terrorists on their license plates with the phrase "Live Free or Die." The Boston Tea party and the rebellions that led up to the Revolution would certainly be considered terrorism in today’s environment. John Brown certainly would be a friend of the nation of Palestine. The point is that terrorism is a part of the American historical landscape. After all, the capturing and enslaving of an entire population with a different color skin seems to be an expression of terrorism. The extermination of a pre-existing group of nations from land that we currently occupy certainly goes way beyond the genocide in Bosnia or Somalia of the last decade.

Security would be enhanced by housing our entire population providing them a living income so that they can maintain decent housing, providing universal health care, and iron clad civil liberties protecting all of our rights and freedoms. In the cradle of democracy in our nation’s capital, it is an embarrassment that we have homeless people sleeping everywhere. President Bush’s closest neighbor is a homeless man who sleeps in Lafayette Park and actually was the neighbor of the last seven presidents.

I saw men first in line sleeping outside the Bank of America waiting for their piece of the pie. I saw men laboring to survive in front of the National Labor Relations Board. I did not understand why the workers at Metropolitan Optical did not see the inhumanity in front of them with guys sleeping on their door. The Federal Trade Commission housed a man waiting to be traded to a country that cares. At least one man was waiting for justice as he slept in front of the Department of Justice.

A walk down Pennsylvania Ave then to the mall and onto the Capital demonstrates how out of touch our elected officials are in this country. There were parties full of lobbyists where our leaders were led to the table and gorged with money, fine food, alcohol, and slaps on the back. While a huge population exists on the streets forever looking in and never having their voices heard when discussions are made about education, healthcare, justice, welfare reform, and housing policy or appropriation decisions are made. How do they not see the inhumanity that they walk over everyday?

The Cuyahoga County kennel is a clean facility staffed by trained professionals with a deep concern for animals. San Francisco is constructing an apartment building for their homeless dogs and cats. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has a large advertising budget with a huge network of volunteers, some of whom are willing to go to the extreme for animal rights. Recently, thousands of dollars were used and lives were put at risk to rescue a dog from an abandoned ocean vessel.

The overflow shelters for homeless men and women are inadequate facilities staffed by untrained, overworked staff, some of whom are just punching the clock and have no concern for the people that they serve. San Francisco has an extremely large homeless population approaching 10,000 people per night with a severe shortage of housing. There is no national advertising campaign to house homeless families. While there are millions of volunteers that serve food or help in shelters there are very few volunteers working on the right to housing for all Americans. Recently in Cleveland, Adam Jones, a World War II veteran died a quiet death after spending years on the streets of Cleveland.

Why are we addressing the ethical treatment of animals when we threat our fellow citizens so unethically? Why are we as a society spending money doing fundraising campaigns and spending valuable resources to house homeless animals while millions of our taxpaying citizens sleep on the streets or on mats in a shelter? Why not prioritize solving human homelessness before we work on the needs of homeless puppies?

I do not hate animals. I understand dogs and cats are easy to serve without all the baggage homeless people carry (literally and figuratively.) Since when did Americans shrink from a challenge or take the easy road? When did we turn away from serving the least fortunate? I do not understand when our elected officials lost the shame of running a state, city, county or country with a huge number of homeless people. When did homelessness become a part of our urban landscape and not an emergency that needs immediate attention?

Every jurisdiction has a dog warden, but very few municipal or county governments have a homeless liaison. Neither the City of Cleveland nor even one suburban government have a position working exclusively on homeless issues. None of the individual communities within Cuyahoga County contribute funds to address homelessness while 20-30% of the Cleveland homeless population were most recently living in a suburban community.

As we have said hundreds of times in these pages, homelessness is a solvable problem. It is fundamentally a lack of affordable housing, which has a solution. There was a time in America we did not have nearly as many people on the streets. There were poor people and alcohol addicted people and those with a mental illness, but they did not live on the streets. What we do not have is the political will and pressure on politicians to think about the People for the Ethical Treatment of People.

We need a huge increase in affordable housing. We need a major increase in the production of housing, in the development of vouchers, and in major increases in supportive housing. We need to transition the thinking of social service community from working with the easiest to serve in order to show good outcomes to serving everyone in order to reduce harm. We need a philosophy of universal housing with shelters as temporary short term emergency services.

The harm reduction model follows the strategy similar to the needle exchange programs with the philosophy that society needs to place people in stable living situations first and then work on the other issues. This is what we hear from homeless people. This is the basis for a discussion of solutions. We regularly hear from homeless people that they are adults and do not want to be told what to do. We should not make shelter conditional on accepting and abiding by a treatment plan. As we have also said in these pages, it does not make sense to require a person to treat themselves before treatment is offered.

So we need a re-evaluation of our priorities and work on ending the suffering that exists on the streets. We need to rebuild people so they have the confidence to live free of chemicals in a home. Sure they are not as cute as puppies or kittens, but we have a fundamental responsibility to justice for our citizens. No more animal rights marches until the rights of people to stay inside is respected.

Many of us believe the homeless epidemic that plagues the nation is spearheaded by the homeless themselves. Individuals who are believed to be derelicts of society, with little to no work ethic, who have contributed very little to society at large. In short, they are considered opportunists looking for a hand out. But as Rich would say the Homeless Grapevine vendors "aren’t looking for a hand out they are looking for a hand up." This is the very premise that this country was built upon.

Rich is a 46-year old Polish immigrant who came to the United States in 1964 at the age of 8. And virtually since his arrival to this country he has demonstrated high self-motivation, a very good work ethic and contributed to society at various stages of his life prior to becoming homeless and even during the past 20 months that he has been homeless.

Rich began life here in the U.S. in Chicago, IL and as the oldest boy and the second oldest of 10 children he felt compelled to be a role model for his siblings and to help alleviate the financial pressures his parents were under. As such, Rich was an honor roll student and a child athlete who excelled in football and baseball, all while maintaining a part time job after school and on the weekends. Rich gave most of the money he earned to his parents to contribute to the household and help his family financially.

When Rich advanced to high school he added the ROTC to his already busy schedule and managed to maintain his honor roll status and continued to excel at sports. Rich believes that the discipline and focus he learned in ROTC prepared him for his tour of duty in the Airforce. When Rich was drafted, as an alien with permanent green card status, he was glad to serve his "country." Rich used his time in the military wisely, earning an associate’s degree in child psychology and a bachelor’s degree in business.

When his tour of duty was up, Rich found himself in Texas and decided to make Houston his home, where he put his business degree to work and established a very successful floor laying business for single family homes. Rich is a very savvy businessman, he very eloquently explained how he subcontracted his workers and leased his equipment, and was able to generate a gross profit of $80K, and bought a home for approximately $65,000, all at he age of 24. The structure of his business also enabled him to unwind his operation rather quickly when the ‘80s Oil Crisis hit Texas and the housing market dried up.

When this happened, Rich went back to Chicago for several years to regroup. After several different managerial and sales jobs, Rich landed a position as a retail manager for new and used Lexus vehicles. It was here that he was approached with a business opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. Rich became an independent franchisee selling upscale men’s clothing. For all practical purposes, Rich became a traveling salesman on the road for months at a time selling imported Italian suits, silk ties and dress shirts to lawyers, car salesmen, insurance agents and time share reps in states east of the Mississippi. Again, Rich became very successful at this business and netted over $100K annually. Rich ran this business from ’92 up until the time he became homeless in June of 2000.

Rich became very ill and was admitted to a local hospital here in Cleveland, where he had been living at the time, on June 15, 2000 for about 10 days. Despite having paid his rent through the end of June, Rich returned to his apartment only to find that his landlord had discarded his belongings and leased his apartment to someone else. And like most Americans who live outside of their means and are one paycheck away from being homeless (keeping up with the Jones’); with no income for the second half of June, Rich found himself homeless inside of 30 days.

Being homeless to Rich has been both a curse and a blessing. The loss of his material possessions and social status coupled with the hardship of trying to make it on his own living on the streets has been a very humbling experience. Rich has slept in almost every local shelter at one time or another, lived in various camps in the forest and has been robbed and/or beaten at least six times since he became homeless. We often times take for granted having food and shelter, but being able to get a hot meal, a shower and a place to sleep are always at the forefront of Rich’s mind. As a Grapevine vendor in Ohio City, Rich has come face to face with the true character of a man and often times it has been unpleasant. Most people understand that "you can’t judge people on your [own] circumstance, because [most] people aren’t homeless by their own choice but by life circumstances."

Despite the negative people Rich has encountered and the bad experiences, Rich has been blessed to feel the loving and supportive side of mankind through the people at the Grapevine and the philanthropy of the local shop owners in Ohio City (like Talkies and the Great Brewery). The local shop owners are very kind to Rich, sometimes offering him food and coffee and allowing him to come into their establishments to sit down and watch TV, even if he doesn’t buy anything. Rich is very pleased that through very engaging conversations, these individuals have taken time to really get to know him as a person and not just the homeless guy on the corner selling newspapers. Rich recounted a very special moment last June 1st on his birthday when he had fallen asleep near a shop entrance and awoke to find a warm Whopper sitting in his lap with a $5 bill inside. He treasures this memory, because it is moments like that one that renews his faith in the goodness of human kind.

Prior to becoming homeless, Rich was on top of the world. He thought he was "invincible" and immune to such hardship, disappointment and failure. Although Rich is not embarrassed by his situation, he is very disappointed in himself and feels like he failed himself. As a Roman Catholic, Rich believes that his homelessness is a test from God, a test of his faith, his strength, his resolve and his resilience. Rich believes that everyone at some point in their lives should experience homelessness for a few months for their own personal growth. Rich has experienced minor set backs prior to be becoming homeless, but has always managed to regroup and use his intellect and his instinct to redirect his efforts and become successful at a new project in a very short period of time.

Being a Grapevine vendor allows Rich to do what he does best and what comes natural to him, be an entrepreneur and interact with people. Selling the Grapevine is a stepping-stone for Rich to re-establish himself and rebuild his men’s clothing business which he hopes to have reopened by the summer. I don’t doubt for one second that this very intelligent, insightful, articulate, hardworking man will again one day soon, pursue the American Dream, reopen his business and prosper and prosper and flourish once again. If Rich has learned nothing else from this experience, he now knows that life can change in an instant. Rich’s life has been forever changed.

Creating additional supportive housing is a rallying call that is sweeping the country, and that campaign is coming to Cleveland. An initiative called "Housing First" has brought partners from government, business, social service and advocates to work on developing housing that features social workers and case workers on site to help with stability issues.

The effort is led locally by the Enterprise Foundation, the Cuyahoga County Office of Homeless Services, and the Sisters of Charity Foundation. The Housing First collaboration held a forum in April 2002 to prove the need for permanent supportive housing in Cleveland. The forum was intended to give an overview of the project and give models that exist in other communities. Bill Flaherty, Columbus director, and Steve Thomas, the national Chief Operating Officer, both of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, spoke about the value of adding supportive housing to the menu of services available to solve homelessness for cities.

The Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University researchers Kathy Hexter and Susan Burkholder studied the need for supportive housing, future trends, and the funding requirements. The approximately 150 people who attended the conference were charged with leaving to make supportive housing a reality in Cleveland.

A group presented examples of supportive housing in other communities and their successes. Anthony Penn of the Community Housing Network in Columbus, Ohio described their efforts in developing over 700 apartment units as well as their rent subsidy program. Nikki Delgado of the Columbus Corporation for Supportive Housing described the Rebuilding Lives initiative in Columbus to develop 800 units of supportive housing in five years. She described the obstacles that they have come up against and their successes.

Kitty Cole, Senior Vice President of Lakefront SRO in Chicago, talked about the supportive housing initiative in Illinois. In a strategic planning process ordered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Lakefront SRO developed a model for property management and providing on-site supportive housing. The group has developed eight buildings with many of the population serving homeless people with a long history of living in unstable housing.

Two local examples of existing supportive housing programs include Eden’s Safe Havens and mental health housing and the AIDS Task Force’s Carey housing projects. Both Kathy Kazol of Eden and Earl Pike of the AIDS Task Force described the community opposition that often surround developing housing for people with AIDS. Pike talked about the demographic changes that have taken place within the AIDS community. In the beginning of the AIDS crisis, the housing centered on hospice care because life expectancy was short. Supportive housing has become critical to the AIDS community with the introduction of the daily prescription cocktail.

In a Franklin County study, the Community Shelter Board found the cost of supportive housing at less than $100 for a bed per day, while jail had a similar cost. The detox beds are quoted at $200 per day and a hospital stay was well over $1,000 per day. This study showed the positive economics of constructing a supportive housing program. The Levin College identified 900 people on the streets per night in need of supportive housing.

Funding a supportive housing program in Cuyahoga County will be difficult. The Levin College study says, "With few new sources of funding likely to be made available in Cuyahoga County, it will be necessary to redirect existing dollars. One way to do this is to move to an outcome-based system of funding in which housing stability becomes the measure of success for shelter, housing, and service providers who assist poor people."

Linda Hudecek, Community Development Director for the City of Cleveland, spoke on behalf of Mayor Jane Campbell and announced the passage by City Council of a $1 million to jump start an affordable permanent housing program in Cleveland. The goal is to get a match from other government entities as well as private sources. The initiative will target disabled homeless people or those with a long history of housing instability. These supportive housing programs will focus on people with substance abuse problems, mental illness, chronic health conditions, and/or those with HIV/AIDS.

It is anticipated that a request for proposals will be issued in the spring or summer to solicit projects to develop supportive housing in Cleveland.