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The Homeless Grapevine Issue 58
Candlelight
Vigil Remembers Homeless that Died
The number of homeless people who died on the streets
this last year decreased was the message from the Northeast Ohio Coaliton for
the Homeless at their annual candlelight vigil to remember those who died over
the previous year. For the past 16
years NEOCH has joined the National Coalition for the Homeless in observing
National Homeless Memorial Day. NEOCH
hosted the candlelight vigil on December 15th at Trinity
Cathedral located at East 22nd and Euclid at
12:30 p.m.. Nationally, 60 cities
have ceremonies to remember all homeless people that have lost their life out of
neglect, being targeted, victimized or killed as a result of homelessness.
According to Savetta Durrah who helped to organize the vigil, “These
are the silent victims of society’s indifference to social justice for all.”
This year State Senator Eric
Fingerhut provided appropriate remarks to the homeless individuals and advocates
who gathered for this solemn ceremony. Savetta Durrah from the Homeless
Grapevine said a few words and presented the list of people that she found
had died over the last year. Gregory
Jacobs, a deacon at Trinity Cathedral, provided a prayer for the homeless people
who had died.
It is very difficult to determine how many homeless
people die in Cleveland each year. The
Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office defines individuals as homeless only if their
remains are not claimed. If the
deceased was homeless at the time of their death and a relative claimed their
remains then by the Coroner’s office that person was not classified as
homeless. These are not reliable
statistics. The Cuyahoga County Coroner reported this year that there were no
bodies that went unclaimed. This is the first time in 10 years that there were
no bodies that went unclaimed. From
the anecdotal information from outreach workers, NEOCH has determined there were
fewer people who died on the streets of Cleveland this past year. There were only two reports of people killed for being
homeless and two other people dying while homeless.
Savetta reported Mr. Jenkins, Slim, Rodney, and Al Young
as having died this year. She said
in her remarks, “Poverty is cruel and without warning. Anyone ever living without basic human rights especially in
this land of such prosperity knows just how cruel life can be.”
Care Alliance, the local health care for the homeless,
reported five of their clients who died over the past year.
They reported Cassandra Hatcher, Vereta Smith, David McClendon, Bobby
Gill, and Willie Jareta as having passed away over the last year.
The vigil takes place after the weekly hot meal is
served. Many homeless people stayed after the meal to remember their friends who
had died.
We
are Making Our List and Checking it Twice
Editorial
I am often asked how I can do this work with all the
depressing stories that we see everyday. The
only way to do work that features any contact with extremely low-income people
is to remain hopeful that things will turn around.
The down payment of this hope is that every week I meet people who make
it off the streets and into stability. With
this overly optimistic view of the world intoxicated on hope during the
holidays, I give you my thoughts on the next year.
In regards to homelessness, there are some big
outstanding issues that need to be addressed early in the year.
The most serious is the deplorable conditions at the women’s entry
shelter that currently features mold from the moisture, mats on the floor, and a
lack of bathrooms. If the facility
were an apartment building, it would be shut down as not fit for human
habitation. There is the on-going
problem with the men’s shelter, and the uncertainty of which organization will
oversee the project in the best interest of the community.
Finally, there is a need to fill the 150-200 vacant units at Riverview
Tower in Ohio City. Activists are
looking to end the senior only policy at the building to bring disabled and
homeless people to fill the vacant units.
Councilmen Joe Cimperman, Merle Gordon and Council
President Frank Jackson are planning a hearing to begin the process of
addressing homelessness through a comprehensive affordable housing plan for
Greater Cleveland. It is hoped that
this will result in some coordination of the housing activities that are taking
place in Cleveland and will involve input and assistance from suburban
communities. The first hearing will
take place January 9, 2003, with a plan developed in six months.
Mayor Jane Campbell has set a goal of developing 1,000
units of housing every year for Cleveland.
Housing activists will attempt to gain some commitment from the Campbell
administration to develop a percentage of the units for those with a very low
income.
The Housing First initiative has developed a plan to
build or renovate 1,000 units of supportive housing over the next five years.
These would be units for people who have fought long term battles with
homelessness. The units would
feature support services to the tenants to assist individuals from being
evicted. This effort is spearheaded
by the Sisters of Charity, Enterprise Foundation and the Corporation for
Supportive Housing.
The West Side Collaborative is looking at developing 500
units of affordable housing concentrating on the near West Side of Cleveland.
They are working on developing the replacement units outside of the
Central neighborhood. The
Collaborative recently hired a staff person to provide supportive services to
those applying for this housing, and expects to start placing people into
housing in 2003.
We hope to expand the Cleveland Tenants Organization’s
homeless prevention/eviction diversion program.
This has to be a part of the City Council planning process is a look at
prevention efforts in the community and preventing evictions.
Last year was the largest number of eviction in the last 15 years of
records at Cleveland Housing Court, and we do not want to repeat that disastrous
statistic.
Finally, CTO will continue to monitor and work with other activists to preserve the affordable housing that exists in Cleveland. After all, developing housing at the same time we let properties slip away is just spinning our wheels. To remain vigilant, we attend the Cuyahoga Affordable Housing Alliance meetings in order to keep up to date on troubled properties. We continue to work with Spencer Wells at the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio to assure tenant input when a building is going through mortgage restructuring. We also mobilize all community resources when a building is in danger of closing down or becoming unaffordable to its tenants. CTO was there mobilizing the tenants when Longwood was threatened with closing down. Our biggest current threat is Park Lane Villa in the Hough neighborhood, which is facing tremendous obstacles to continuing as an affordable place to live. We are also keeping our eyes on the proposed development on the West Side of Lakewood, which could reduce the number of moderately priced units available in our community.
Hooked
Details Addiction Epidemic
Book
Review
By
Alex Grabtree
The alcohol and drug service system has absolutely failed
most homeless people in the United States.
Dr. Lonny Shevelson, an emergency room doctor in San Francisco set out on
a tour of the treatment and rehabilitation programs in an effort to gauge the
impact that these programs are having. San
Francisco passed a treatment on demand initiative, and Dr. Shavelson wanted to
see first hand how this had improved life on the city by the Bay.
In his 2001 book on his tour called Hooked: Five
Addicts Challenge our Misguided Drug Rehab System, which was intended to
follow people in the system to find out which program was most successful.
His conclusion was that all the systems fail miserably in serving people
with addictions. This book should
be required reading at every local alcohol and drug addiction services board,
which continue to base treatment on the person curing themselves and the agency
helps the person remain drug free.
Shavelson followed five homeless people struggling with
addictions to drugs or alcohol or both in a city that has recognized the need to
provide treatment. Most cities have
a waiting list and an inability to place addicted people into residential
treatment without insurance. In
Cleveland, there are only a couple of beds reserved for homeless people or very
low income people. There is always
open enrollment in the day treatment program which asks individuals to stay
sober while returning to drug and alcohol saturated environments. Providers routinely report 15 or more attempts at
rehabilitation are typical for people with addictions to endure.
In California two initiatives passed, which to the
general public decriminalized drugs and provided treatment on demand to the
citizens of San Francisco. It was
expected that these two efforts would start the process of cleaning up the
streets. The reality was that a new
bureaucracy was constructed, but the appropriate level of funds never
materialized.
Shavelson met Darlene, Mike, Darrell, Crystal and Glenda
during his journeys. While this is
a non-fiction exploration of a societal problem, the reader gets caught up in
the lives of the drug addicts. All
are amazing people with a talent for survival despite the punishment that their
bodies endure. Darlene is severely
mentally ill and an addict. Her
self medication allows her to function moving from tents to bushes and
underpasses to stay warm and dry. She
stays with an abusive partner and rides around on a bicycle.
Mike is separated from his family and is in and out of
treatment. He wants desperately to
have a good relationship with his wife and child.
He puts up the most valiant effort to live by the rules of the
residential treatment facilities, but still is lured by his addiction.
Darrell is the one who makes it off the streets.
He pushes forward and patiently waits for housing, which in the end he
finds. He is overjoyed, but
succeeded despite the system. He had the ability to adapt and give up his individuality to
survive the system.
Glenda was part native American and spent most of her
life on the streets drinking. She
finally was taken into custody by the Death Prevention Team and put in Detox.
This program was working until they forced her to graduate into
independent living which last only a couple of days.
Shavelson met Crystal in the Drug Court after a severe
tongue lashing by the courts. After
a great deal of backsliding, she did make it to graduation from Drug Court.
It would be wrong to reveal the ending of this book
because it does read like a novel, but the simple profile of five people ends
with one dying of their addiction, and one ends up in prison for an extended
sentence. The most difficult part
of writing this book was seeing people destroy their lives as a journalist and
not interfering.
The interesting thing that many of the patients share is
their disturbed, child abuse and specifically child sexual abuse.
The untreated mental health needs of addicts was staggering.
National experts report 7 in 10 people with substance abuse problems were
caused or exacerbated by child abuse or neglect.
Children of parents who abuse drugs are three times more likely to become
addicts.
Hooked looks at
the San Francisco drug courts as well as the harm reduction outreach teams. Drug
Courts provide a carrot and stick approach in order to move people into
treatment. The men and women in
drug courts are punished if they do not complete a treatment program and they do
not maintain sobriety. Without
effective referrals to treatment it is hard to measure the success of the Drug
Court.
Throughout the book, we read of the overbearing rules at
both out patient and residential treatment facilities.
The author questions whether the rules are ways to screen out difficult
to serve individuals. The result is
often early death.
Shavelson talks
about the insanity of turning people away after they relapse. If cancer patients were turned away when they relapse, we
would see cancer patients walking the street being eaten alive by their own
bodies. Yet, we allow the health
condition known as addiction to go untreated until the person is “ready” for
treatment. Shavelson ends the book by detailing his suggestions for how to
improve the current system. He
says:
•
When an addict in rehab gets worse
and heads back to drugs, the program must increase treatment, not withdraw it.
•
Each and every rehab program must
be required to have a formal structured association with a drug detox center
where it can send relapsed clients.
•
Abuses and humiliation in the name
of therapy must cease. Cities must
establish an ombudsman to monitor the rehab programs, and addicts must be
allowed to access the ombudsman without repercussions.
•
All rehab counselors must be
trained to recognize and treat the multitude of addicts who also have
psychological disorders, and refer them to appropriately intensive additional
care when needed.
•
Cities must establish a
comprehensive case management system to guide addicts through the maze of
programs and services. The case
managers should not work for any particular rehab program, but rather represent
and advocate for the addicts in the overall system.
• Government
agencies that provide funds to the programs must assure that addicts are
receiving comprehensive and effective treatment.
•
Federal funds and efforts must be
shifted from drug interdiction aboard to drug rehab at home.
Shavelson believes that rehab can work,
but needs careful monitoring and oversight.
This is a great Christmas gift for the trees of the Alcohol and Drug
Board members, and our community would do well to take to heart the advice in Hooked.
This year NEOCH VISTAs participated in the national day
of service, Make a Difference Day, on Friday, October 25.
The activities of the day centered around the concept “Get a
glimpse”. This was accomplished
by trying to show local high school students what life is like for a day as a
homeless person.
The three schools involved were Shaker Heights High
School, St. Joseph’s Academy, and St. Edward’s High School. The students knowledge about homelessness was assessed prior
to Make a Difference Day with a questionnaire.
There were several stereotypes evident among the answers, along with a
few very knowledgeable responses.
The students met at St.
Coleman’s church at 8:30am, and began their day. The students were broken into two groups.
One group moved through the ‘housing maze’ first, and the other group
left to tour the Bishop Cosgrove drop-in center, and 2100 Lakeside men’s
emergency shelter.
Each student about to enter the maze was given an
identity card. These included
representatives from all different groups of people who are homeless. An example is a student being given the identity of a single
mother with two children and no resources.
The purpose of giving the students specific identities was to guide them
in the types of services they would have to visit.
The idea of the maze was to show the students the different agencies, and
red tape, homeless people have to go through in order to try to get their needs
met, with the ultimate goal being to attain permanent housing.
These services included a representation of discount medical treatment,
drop-in shelters, transitional housing, job training, legal services, and
government assistance programs. The
students were required to follow the same procedures that actual patrons would
have to follow at these various agencies, such as being rerouted, filling out
countless applications, and being told they are at the wrong place.
A drop in center style lunch (of peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches, courtesy of donations from St. Coleman’s church) was served to the
students as the groups switched. Then,
the same process of maze and shelter visits was carried out with the different
groups.
After the two groups had both gone through the
activities, they were broken into smaller groups in order to discuss their
experiences. After the small group
discussions, the whole group was reunited in order to listen to the main
speakers, homeless and formerly homeless people.
The group was then challenged to come up with ways they could continue to
make a difference in their schools. Their
ideas centered on fundraising events and donation drives.
The day did make a difference for most of the high school
students. Several of the students
mentioned that their idea of what a homeless person is has changed.
A few of them mentioned that they now know that homeless people aren’t
lazy, unmotivated people. They realized the true hardships faced by the homeless
community on a regular basis.
Neighborhood Opposition to Services for Homeless People Runs Rampant
Three facilities benefiting populations in extreme need
of housing are facing neighborhood opposition in Ohio City, Tremont, and the
Detroit Shoreway neighborhoods. Each
community has held public meetings to gather feedback about three programs being
developed to serve homeless people including women coming out of a corrections
situation.
Neighbors in Tremont formed a small but vocal opposition
to moving the women’s shelter currently operated by Catholic Charities
into St. Augustine’s half empty school building.
Representatives from the shelter, St. Augustine, and Ward 13 Councilman
Joe Cimperman were on hand to hear from residents about their concerns about the
shelter on November 19, 2002 at OLA/St. Joseph Center.
There were over 100 angry constituents of the Ward 13 who
hurled vicious attacks at Councilman Cimperman, questioning even his residency
in the Ward. Tension was high for
the three hour meeting. Questions
were raised about the freedom of the shelter residents to move throughout
Tremont. Concern was raised about
the safety of Lincoln Park and the ability for children to play with a shelter
in such close proximity. Some
claimed that the shelter would attract prostitutes soliciting money to buy drugs
while they stay at the shelter.
Representatives from the current operator of the
women’s shelter spoke of the bad conditions at the current shelter and the
need for a new facility. They spoke
of the mold from the leaking roof. They
spoke of the overcrowded conditions and the fact that this was the 12th
building being investigated. They
talked about the renovation that was necessary, and the staffing and support
that would be available at the shelter.
Sister Corita Ambro and Father Joe McNulty of St.
Augustine both asked for trust in their years of service to the community, and
their ability to run a quality program. Sister
Corita invited the participant to the St. Augustine to dispel some of the
misconceptions about homelessness and homeless people.
The representatives of Catholic Charities were peppered with questions
about the demographics of the population, the security measures, and the size of
the facility.
There were a number of residents who spoke in favor of
the shelter arguing that it transform the currently dark corner of Tremont into
a bright and well maintained facility operating 24 hours a day.
A resident of Tremont who became homeless due to a medical condition and
slept in her car welcomed the program, and said that it was needed.
Ron Reinhart, former director of 2100 Lakeside, said that he used to be a
homeless drug dealer that many of the residents had talked about, and he wanted
to assure them that he rarely dealt drugs to homeless people. He said homeless people do not have money and so it is a
waste of time to target them. Many
spoke of the well dressed bar patrons who cause trouble in the Tremont
neighborhood.
Sister Corita said that she often sees men in business
suits exiting at the bus stop and relieving themselves in public.
Religion and society’s moral commitment to serving the poor came up a
great deal during the evening. Some
stated their religious commitment, but felt that their own personal safety was
more important. Others cited their
moral duty to serve low income people and felt enriched by the experience so
were pleased the shelter was coming to Tremont.
Mary Ann Toth asked if Tremont residents who became homeless could get
preference to use the facility since it was located in Tremont, and Catholic
Charities agreed to pay special attention to serving Tremont residents in need.
A staff person of Mental Health Services for Homeless
People said that he was conflicted, because he works everyday with homeless
people. He said in the end he
opposed the shelter because he sees everyday at his offices people defecating
outside and causing trouble near the Cosgrove Center, and he did not want the
same experiences while walking his dog in Tremont if the shelter were located at
St. Augustine.
The evening ended with Cimperman saying that this would
be the first in a series of discussions before approval was sought.
Many spoke of the fact that Tremont was overtaxed in social services and
should not have to accept a new shelter. They
vowed to fight the proposal with a petition drive.
Besides the St. Augustine Hunger Center there are no other daily services
for homeless people in Tremont.
Councilman Cimperman sent a letter to Catholic Charities
expressing his concern that they had already applied for approval through the
Board of Zoning before the community meeting process had ended.
He gave Catholic Charities director Tom Mullen a series of questions to
answer and a deadline. Cimperman
then sent a letter out to the Tremont community saying that in a conversation
with Mullen, he had indicated that Catholic Charities was not going to go
forward with the proposal to move to St. Augustine.
Cuyahoga County officials immediately switched to a plan
to move the facility to the Metzenbaum Center at E. 34th
and Community College Blvd., which touched off another fight in the Central
neighborhood. Council President
Frank Jackson of Ward 5 was angered that his impoverished neighborhood would be
selected by the County without his and his constituent’s input.
This battle was escalating as the Grapevine went to press.
Ohio City
NIMBY
A group of homeless social service providers from the
large men’s shelter, the County Office of Homeless Services, and Near West
Side neighborhood activists developed a plan to utilize the vacant apartments at
Riverview Apartments for homeless people. The
plan was that 80 of the 200 vacant units of the Riverview Public Housing project
would be provided to transitional housing programs in the community.
Every opening at the transitional housing program would allow men and
women at the two entry point shelters to move into more stable housing.
The plan involved attaching a rider to each
individual’s lease that would require them to participate in social services
as part of their residency at Riverview. The
plan was forwarded to the CMHA board who gave approval to pursue the pilot
project. A community meeting was
held at Franklin Circle Church on a snowy evening before Thanksgiving 2002.
Again, the same safety concerns were raised by a small
group of vocal opponents to the project. Some
from the Tremont meeting the previous week traveled to Ohio City to voice their
opposition to the Riverview plan. Helen
Smith, former Ward 14 Councilperson, spoke in opposition to the plan saying that
the neighborhood was saturated with social services and does not need any more.
She also said that she worried about homeless people coming into the
neighborhood for their own safety. She
said crime was on the rise, and she was uncomfortable inviting homeless people
into the neighborhood. Smith has
long opposed homeless programs in Ohio City.
She spoke against Transitional Housing Inc. and any shelter locating in
her ward when she was a Council person.
Mary Rose Oaker, former Congressional and State
legislator, asked for a sub committee be formed of those in support and those
opposed to the project to work this out. She
suggested that the local development corporation which had convened the meeting
form a committee to ease the concerns of those opposed.
Councilman Cimperman who in the last census inherited
Ohio City was again criticized for even entertaining the idea of bringing more
homeless people to the neighborhood. Property
owners and local developers spoke in opposition to the project claiming that it
would increase panhandling and thus decrease their business.
In a bizarre exchange, staff at the Jay Hotel, a low income motel which
has faced huge neighborhood opposition, blamed the public housing authority
tenants for all the problems of crime and drugs in the neighborhood.
There were four or five men from 2100 Lakeside shelter
who would benefit from the additional housing units available to homeless people
spoke in support of the project. A
few spoke eloquently about their background and their long attempts to get back
on their feet. Duane Drotar,
executive director of 2100 Lakeside, also spoke in support of the project saying
that he has seen so much affordable housing disappear in Ohio City that any
opportunity to expand that supply was critical.
Tony Vento, a resident of Ohio City, said that there was
a great deal of fear expressed, but that the fear was misguided.
He said that people needed to become familiar with the concept of
supportive housing and they might embrace the project.
Robert Townsend, the President of the CMHA Board, spoke
and confused the issue by saying that this was a project in its infancy.
He claimed that CMHA had not agreed to anything to date, and they would
not do anything to harm the neighborhood. This
put the opposition at ease, but confused the homeless social service providers
who had a board resolution in support of going forward with the concept.
Detroit
Shoreway
The Women’s Re-Entry program has funding to place six
women coming out of prison into housing, and are facing opposition in the
Detroit Shoreway neighborhood. The
Re-entry program would provide support services to the women, but neighbors
object to the project in a residential area.
Housing
Rally Draws Diverse Groups
by Lisa Etling
In case residents don’t think Cleveland has its own housing crisis, consider the following information. According to the last census, 50% of the 101,000 rental households pay more than 30% of their monthly income on rent, and 25% pay more than half of their monthly income on rent. The City of Cleveland Housing Court processed 11,500 evictions so far in 2002, the majority of which are for non-payment of rent. The men’s shelters that accept overflow have had as much as 144% of capacity; the women’s overflow has operated on some nights at 172% of capacity. CMHA reports that the last time the voucher program was opened in 2000, 35,000 people applied for the 6,000 available vouchers.
To draw attention to the issue of affordable housing, the Alliance of Cleveland HUD Tenants (ACHT), CMHA Progressive Action Council (PAC), Cleveland Tenants Organization (CTO), and Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH) joined forces to organize a march, rally, and audience at the City Council meeting on November 18. Approximately 100 people gathered at 6PM at 2100 Lakeside Men’s Shelter to march ½ mile past the looming FBI headquarters carrying signs with quips such as “Housing Now,” “Homes Not Jails,” and “The Browns Have a Home, Why Not Us?” The march brought media from Channel 3 and the Plain Dealer, with Sun Press, and Channels 19 and 43 showing up to cover the rally and city council meeting.
Marchers gathered at the Free Stamp outside of City Hall,
where three residents of 2100 Lakeside spoke, along with Cleo Busby of the ACHT,
Lillian Davis of PAC, Brian Davis of NEOCH, Mike Foley of CTO, and Commissioner
Tim McCormick. Billy Caldwell, a Christian drug/alcohol outreach worker
traveling here from the South, said an introduction and prayer, stressing the
irony of knowledgeable tradesmen who find themselves homeless. “There are
craftsmen all over the U.S. who have built up this country and are living in
cardboard boxes today.” While
many speakers stated the need for state and national dollars, McCormick went as
far as to claim that Cleveland should have its own Housing Trust Fund, like the
other major cities in Ohio.
Most overwhelming were the individual stories from men
who found themselves homeless for various reasons: Don works but doesn’t make
enough per hour to afford housing; Greg, a U.S. veteran, is disgusted that 6800
veterans in Cleveland find themselves homeless every year; “It’s a national
embarrassment that people who served our country don’t have a home.” Willis
has four debilitating diseases and noted the absurdity and danger (because of
the risk of fire) of having 13 out of the14 designated public housing projects
for seniors and disabled, in high rises. Curtis
has been on the CHMA list for three years now and stressed the need for housing
for single people under 50. John is
a veteran of the foster care system, was released from prison, dropped off at
the greyhound station, and has been at 2100 Lakeside ever since.
After the rally, the marchers were joined by members of
CTO and ACHT and they milled up the steps to council chambers, filling the lower
level, standing along the walls and even entering the balcony, reaching almost
400 in number. Council members from
the 21 wards could look out at a sea of constituents wearing red ACHT hats
stating “United We Stand, Divided We’re Homeless.”
Almost 25 residents of the endangered subsidized housing structure Park
Lane Villa showed from Councilwoman Pat Britt’s ward to express concern for
the possible loss of their building. The
energy of the gathering waned while Council Clerk read the agenda- a long list
of ordinances and tax abatements.
Thirty minutes, many yawns, and some shuteye later,
council got to the two housing resolutions that had been authored and shepherded
through by Councilwoman Merle Gordon: Resolution 2261 and Resolution 2272.
Resolution 2261 recommends that CDBG and HOME Funds should be increased,
or at least not cut, in the next federal budget.
These funds provide housing and services for Cleveland neighborhoods.
Resolution 2272 endorses
the National Trust Fund Act of 2001, the Preservation Matching Grant Program,
and the establishment of a secure and permanent source of revenue for the Ohio
Housing Trust Fund. The matching
program would “provide a federal match for dollars spent in Ohio on preserving
federally subsidized housing projects.” The
Ohio Housing Trust Fund was established in 1991 in response to Issue 1, which
stated housing was a public purpose. The
plan was to set aside 50 million dollars a year from the state budget of 35
billion dollars for providing housing and related services to low-income
households. Over ten years later,
the state has provided 160 million dollars, instead of the planned 500 billion
dollars; currently the Trust Fund receives 23 million dollars, but faces
constant threats due to budget cuts.
Councilman Joe Cimperman gave a rousing speech to the
crowd, commiserating over the lack of affordable housing and how long people
have been waiting for housing to be a priority, stating “we have a greater
need for affordable housing in this city today than ever in the history of
Cleveland.” He also stressed the
need for local businesses to join the already existing coalitions to find
solutions to housing. He urged the
audience to come back on January 9th, 2003 for a joint
committee working on a ten year plan to provide affordable housing and eliminate
homelessness.
Councilman Joe Jones also worked the crowd, stressing the
need for people to utilize “creative protesting” and “get out here on a
level like no other before and organize politically on a grassroots level.”
He reiterated the link between “politics and money,” a phrase that
stuck with and was repeated by audience members long after his speech.
He admitted that the resolutions will “probably sit on someone’s
desk” and it was therefore, even more imperative for people to remain
vigilant.
Mayor Campbell spoke last, declaring that this was an
unprecedented act, to debate and sign on a resolution in the same meeting.
She also pointed out the need for more money at the federal level and
more disbursement for housing at the state level.
She lamented the sad fact that housing has never been a priority for
government, commenting that “Affordable housing is what gets added when there
is extra money. And if you’ve
been paying attention, there is never extra money.”
While city council finished up their meeting, audience
members returned to their homes and shelters, discussing the events of the
evening. Everyone was riled up by
the power of people organizing in mass numbers to support such a pressing issue.
However, many questioned what exactly had been accomplished.
So the City Council agreed that housing was a major issue and would put
pressure on politicians at the state and national level.
But what then? What if people think that things are taken care of if no
one shows up to protest or write letters to their representatives? What if these
small housing coalitions of force dispersed throughout the country, can never
make noise at the national level? What then?
Walking down the steps from the council chambers watching the crowd mill
about, the man next to me saw my camera, smiled, and said “the reporters left
early- this is where the real news begins.”
Cleveland
Shelters Need Retooling
by
Pete Domanovic
For whatever reason, money, self-glory, or just not
giving a damn about what is right or wrong, the shelters ignore the reasons for
people’s downfall. I believe it
is mostly the money part. Rather
than designing programs that help the individual person, they make negative
groups of people, and then just cash in on people’s sympathy.
Especially shelters looking constantly for donations.
When homeless people are told that all this money is needed to operate
these functions, what we are not told is how much over the needed amount has
been collected. (Any shelter
wishing to challenge what I say can indisputably shut me up by opening your
books for public inspection. All
the books.)
My experience as one of the recipients of their kindness,
I have done a lot of volunteer work here and there to try to pay back some of
that kindness. Working around the
offices, mopping and cleaning, nobody thought I was intelligent enough to read a
balance sheet. Imagine that.
One place in particular, about the dead center of this
country, the actual cost of operating this mission was less than ten percent of
what came in, including salaries. (One
annual bonus check was over $290,000).
Where does the money go?
According to the missions and Salvation Army, out of the country.
I know a lot of clothing goes to Mexico, but that pays for itself as they
sell the clothing in bulk.
If they sell, the cost is covered. I
really hope that the same help we get isn’t what they get in the other
countries.
The real problem homeless people have to deal with is
economics. No one has a program to
teach people to live with too little money.
Your first time at the shelter, in order to get services you have to be
an alcoholic or drug addict. This
has been the norm that I am familiar withfor over 35 years.
They have no help for you, if you do not fit these
categories. In order to get help,
you must fit into their programs. They
have no answer for people making $6.00 and $7.00 per hour, other than it is
because they drink and use drugs, even if they don’t.
Why doesn’t the shelter investigate other reasons for
people being in the position they are in? I
think it is because there is no money in it.
A rough plan for a self supporting shelter has been brought to the
attention of city council, the Mayor, and several organizations that would give
the necessary help to
the needy. It would also be no cost
to taxpayers, and no solicitation to business, industry, or individual
contribution from any source.
An investor looking for about thirty percent annual return would be in hog heaven. The only thing that has developed from this proposal was that the Salvation Army has begun charging working people a fee to stay at Harbor Light. Knowing their track record, they will need more money from the government because they have to pay someone to keep up the turmoil within, as they do not want to lose their client’s. The revolving door continues. They will not kill the cash cow. It is your money.
A
Former Resident of Men’s Shelter Talks
C. Gavlak
Zawadzki
It takes a lot of commitment for a middle-aged Harvard grad with a big home in Shaker Heights to spend an entire night away from his family in a cold cot at the overcrowded, urine stenched Lakeside Shelter. So why wouldn’t this man want to talk to the Grapevine about the adventure.
The Lakeside Shelter is the city’s main men’s shelter and currently houses about 410 homeless men on a nightly bases, it only has 200 cots though. In 2001, The City of Cleveland received $12.5 million Continuum of Care Award for Homeless Assistance, the largest such grant in the state of Ohio. County Commissioner Peter Lawson-Jones is one of the people who decides the allocation of that money and before his reelection told the members of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless that he would spend the night in the shelter to “learn first-hand how some of society’s less fortunate live.”
The Grapevine wanted to get more information and insight from Commissioner Lawson-Jones, but could not set up a meeting with Jones. Instead we talked to a former resident of facility who we will call Kevin. Homeless people are more than willing to talk about the conditions at 2100 Lakeside Shelter. One of their chief concerns is the system’s lack of compassion. They believe Lakeside is a holding pen with its support services so difficult to use that they will never help anyone off of the streets.
According to Kevin, staff counselors do not have any incentive to do the difficult work to support the residents in transition. They receive their paycheck whether they listen to the residents’ concerns or turn them away. One former resident complained that he went to visit a counselor when he was in transition out of the shelter and needed support; he claims the counselor harassed him out of the office and when he asked for his free bus ticket (a service provided by the city) she said, “no, pay for it yourself”. Kevin suggested that the Counselor was giving the bus tickets to her friends and family instead of the residents they were intended for. A bus ticket may seem small to someone who has never been homeless but to a shelter resident it may mean work or no work, money or no money, food or no food.
Allegations of staff members stealing goods and services intended for the homeless residents run rampant. A favorite story among residents is of a downtown business office that annually donates party platters of fresh ham and sandwich meats. The residents watch the platters arrive only to have them devoured by the staff members and their friends before they ever make it to the homeless residents. Other stories include donated clothes being rummaged through and the best lots being taken by the employees of the shelter.
According to Kevin, abuse in the form of neglect is another allegation laid down by many residents; the complaints of unsanitary conditions are frequent among the residents. The various levels of mental and physical health of the residents combined with overcrowding make the facility an unhealthy environment. It is a vicious circle. A healthy environment should be an easy to obtain goal, but again noone is watching the watchers and the neglect continues.
The residents of Lakeside Shelter share the same concerns as the City of Cleveland, where is the money going? How can the employees be motivated to be more responsive and compassionate to the community the City pays them to serve? How can donations by concerned citizens and organizations be guaranteed to go to the residents who need them so greatly and not to parasitic employees? How can Cleveland more effectively operate the city’s largest shelter? These are difficult questions that the City and County need to answer.
Currently, the County and City are looking for a new contract to govern the relationship with the social service provider that will run the shelter at 2100 Lakeside beginning early in 2003. Sources who work at the County report that the Salvation Army has sent a letter over to the Cuyahoga County officials demanding more than double the 2001 per month budget for the shelter to extend their contract while the county makes a decision about the shelter. They are also only willing to commit to extending their contract for one month of 2003. County officials expect to make a decision on which organization will manage the shelter by the end of the year.