Complexity of Issues Surrounding Homelessness

A blog I read regularily - Jordon Cooper - has a great article about the complexity of big picture solutions to homelessness. He works for the Salvation Army two provinces to the right.

This is worth reading:

I was recently with the Inner City Council of Churches giving a presentation on homelessness. It was a good time and at the end of the talk, there was a Q & A time where someone said, "While we all want to do something, we don’t have the resources or the expertise to do all of it. We need to get behind and support those that do have the expertise." It was a nice thought and I appreciate the encouragement and support of the churches in the inner city of Saskatoon. They deal with the same clients that we do and have similar experiences.

more here

Mason and Baja Fresh and Homeless In LA

I love Baja fresh and the two fish tacos were just off the grill as I sat down outside. I had two wonderful bites when an older gentleman walked around the corner and we both noticed each other. He had layers of clothes, soiled ball cap, and walked slowly. "Do you think they serve beer in there now?" he asked. This was a fast food place without a liquor license. "I don't think they do yet." I replied. "Would you have some spare change for a 62 year old to buy some food?" he asked. I welcomed the company, "No change, but I have a fish taco here and if you'd like to sit down with me and we can have lunch together."

He told me his name is Mason and that 15 years ago he was married and had kids, but life became tough and he took off. He disappeared for over 6 years and when he came back on the grid, he no longer had a drivers license, birth certificate and he found out that he was actually dead - not really but considered. So, here he was ready to try life again and he didn't exists. He said he served in Vietnam, had a degree in computer technology, but his eye site was so bad he can't see the screen. He tried to get his disability checks going again, but the paper work without any ID was too tough. He is trying to get his old age security going, but it is proving to be really tough. So, he is living hand to mouth and having lunches with strangers who are eating alone.

Mason is one of tens of thousands of people in the Los Angeles area who are living on the streets. Many of their stories have common themes, hardship, addictions, and handicaps with no options - so it seems. Mason's friendly outgoing personality is serving him well. So many are much worse off. He did like fish tacos (which makes him a brother in my books), said they were one of his favorites. I didn't need all the food anyways.

Glad to have met Mason.

LA Homeless Count 09

I'm staying at a friend's place in Bellflower and he was the site lead for the Bellflower area Greater Los Angeles Homeless count - aka HC09. I tagged along and passed out brochures and drank coffee.

The HC happens every two years and it helps understand the scope of homelessness and gives the bedrock info to bring in federal, state, and local funding for services.

There was 14 routes and about 40 volunteers came to help. It's a massive effort LA county is huge and it was broken down into sections and streets. Our work was a small part of what was going on for 3 consecutive days all through LA.

Volunteers came, received training and left with a clipboard that had their map with tally sheets. Some walked, some drove and it was intentionally done in the winter and at night to get a feel of the scope of the issues involved.

The tally's included individuals, families, vehicles and encampments.

The idea was to keep a respectful distance but to make observations and judgements as to who was homeless. The training included indicators such as wearing many layers of clothing, in poor physical condition, sleeping orlying down on the ground or on a bench. We were to look for blankets on the windows of cars, cars packed with belongings, fogged up windows or campers/RV's in disrepair.

There county dispatched security who were with counters and on call in case there was any issues during the count.

It was a bit chaotic and organized at the same time. Everyone was invested in the project and there was volunteers, health care professionals, county deputies, and security all involved from what I could see. High school students doing service work hours and others just wanting to help - ages 16 to 60 were involved.

It took from about 7 to midnight to complete the project, but it was a vital project for agencies who advocate for the homeless.

Letter to The Chilliwack Progress: Homeless - What Would Jesus Do?

A recent letter to the Chilliwack Progress posed the question, "Homeless: What would Jesus do?" The letter challenged the Chilliwack Ministerial, which I am a part of, to provide additional beds and housing for people who are homeless in Chilliwack.

The need for housing for the growing numbers of Chilliwack street people is frequently being highlighted  in the local press. The thought came to me that since each spring the Chilliwack area churches do a “Love Chilliwack” event – wash cars, provide hot dogs, coffee and a ready smile. I would like to suggest to the Chilliwack Ministerial to grow that smile into beds and housing for our growing number of homeless neighbors.

This is a good point - let's funnel our efforts towards finding solutions to homelessness. The letter cited a recent fund raiser for Ruth and Naomi, a service for people who are living on the streets, as an example of how to help.

Recently,  a Ruth and Naomi fund raising banquet raised $25,000 for start-up money. Much more will be needed. Could I suggest to the area ministers to remind their flock of their obligation to the homeless of their commitment to the teachings of Jesus  to make this a reality.

I'm not sure if $25k was a good amount or what the goal of the fund raiser was. But I think that Ruth and Naomi are doing fantastic work. We need to support them. We need to get involved.

So, flock (including me), let us figure out what our obligations to the homeless are as we learn from the teachings of Jesus.

What can we do Heartland?

Homeless Community

When I used to live in Bellflower, I'd walk to work. Along the way were usually some homeless friends just waking up or enjoying a liquid breakfast. Bellflower is about 1/2 drive from downtown LA. Since moving away, I try keep up with the homeless situation in LA through LA Homeless Blog. A recent post shows us some links:

Eric, from http://blogdowntown.com/, tells us that the “Downtown Los Angeles Homeless Map” has been updated. It looks like a heat map and shows the concentration of homelessness in the downtown area from November 1, 2006 to today.

This map “takes raw data about those sleeping on the streets and transforms it into a visual tool for understanding the situation.”

Two things come to mind after seeing the migration:

1. The concentration of homelessness in a geographic area is always in a state of movement. It is quite vivid in this graphic map. In downtown’s case, it could be “blamed” on police activity, or simply part of the natural mode of homelessness.

2. It appears that homelessness in downtown is getting smaller. The question is why? Is it because the police activity is pushing people out of downtown, or because more people are accessing services and housing?

I’ve been called a couple of times by the Los Angeles Times. They are trying to get empirical data that the downtown police activities are resulting into spreading homelessness throughout the county. Perhaps this map might at least show the fact that homelessness is decreasing in downtown.