Moving day means rise in homeless=20
MONTREAL (CP) =97 About 30 Montreal families were without permanent = shelter=20 Sunday night following the city=92s traditional July 1 moving day.
Forty-one adults and 58 children are being temporarily housed in = residences,=20 motel rooms and a YMCA, officials said.
At this time last year, only 13 families were without shelter.
A spokesperson for the city blamed provincial cuts to housing = supplements for=20 the increase.
Housing activists called on Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs = Nathalie=20 Normandeau for emergency rent supplements for all families left = temporarily=20 without lodging.
Canada Day has been Quebec=92s annual moving day since 1973, when = changes to=20 provincial law stipulated that leases run from July 1 to June=20 30.
------=_NextPart_000_0053_01C69E71.31E21130-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 5 08:24:43 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:24:43 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Four families homeless after Manchester fire Message-ID: <001b01c6a00c$7949a8c0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Four+families+homeless+after+Manchester+fire&articleId=8014ee95-3971-456e-9691-21dc4e192026 Four families homeless after Manchester fire By MARK HAYWARD Union Leader Staff July 5, 2006 Manchester - She didn't hear smoke detectors. But the shouts of "Fire!" from three neighborhood boys were enough to rouse Kim Sanchez early yesterday morning and get her out of a burning center-city apartment building. The teenagers, who were up late playing video games, called in the blaze at 384-386 Maple St. at 2:49 a.m. The two-alarm fire, which authorities have called suspicious, caused considerable damage to the building. Four families were displaced by the fire. "The kids are great. I'd probably still be up there sleeping," a thankful Sanchez said yesterday morning as firefighters moved in and out of the building. Nathan Soucy, 13, was one of the teenagers who noticed the fire. He looked down Central Street and saw smoke pouring from the building. Alen Jandric, 14, called emergency 911. Then the teens - along with Danny Jaquez, 13 - rushed down to the building, which is at the corner of Laurel and Maple streets. Once there, the three teenagers yelled to alert residents, shouting outside the building's windows and inside its doors. "I used all my vocal cords inside me," said Jaquez. "It wasn't like I was going to stand there seeing fire and do nothing." According to District Chief Nick Campasano of the Manchester Fire Department, the fire started in the building's basement, and then extended up into one wall of the first floor. That caused significant heat and smoke damage in those areas, he said. When firefighters arrived at the scene, Campasano said, they encountered heavy smoke and heat. The fire went to two alarms due to the building's balloon construction and the difficulty of initially finding the fire within the building. Since the basement was divided up with walls, Campasano said, the firefighters could hear the blaze roaring within it - but they couldn't actually see it. But the fire was eventually discovered after opening bulkhead doors leading to the basement. Just after 3:30 a.m., the fire was under control. The basement had been full of residents' belongings in storage compartments. Authorities are still investigating what caused the fire. Campasano said it caused significant damage to the building's utilities: the building's electrical system was ruined, and the plumbing system was also damaged. As a result, Campasano said, it will be quite some time before those who lived in the building can return. The six-unit structure has three units on Maple Street and three on Laurel Street. Sanchez, who lived on the top floor of the Maple Street building, was the only occupant in that portion of the building. For Sanchez, the fire marked the second time she had been driven from her apartment in recent weeks. She had moved back into her space just this week. She had been forced out earlier when rainwater leaked through the roof and got into the building's light fixtures. To make matters worse, Sanchez said she just paid her rent and had no money to move back into a hotel. Signs on the building identify the property manager as Affordable Property Management, and Sanchez said the building is owned by Paul Shaffer. While authorities are still working to determine what caused the blaze, Sanchez said she told Shaffer on Monday about finding mattresses in the basement, and suspects some people were sleeping there. She said the landlord padlocked the door leading to the basement, but someone just unscrewed the bracket to gain entry. Union Leader Staff Reporter Benjamin Kepple contributed to this report --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-0, 07/03/2006 Tested on: 7/5/2006 4:24:46 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 5 08:41:04 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:41:04 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Body found near Kansas River shakes up nearby homeless community Message-ID: <009501c6a00e$c1840980$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0092_01C69FED.39A2E480 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/jul/04/body_found_near_kansas_river_sh= akes_nearby_homeles/ Body found near Kansas River shakes up nearby homeless community Story by Jesse Fray (Contact) Tuesday, July 4, 2006 =20 The body found near the Kansas River continues to remain a mystery as = the identity and cause of death are still in question. But, the death has had far-reaching effects for those who live nearby. "We heard a bunch of police come by and stuff and somebody came back and = said they had taped it off and found a dead body down there," said = Tyrone Upton, homeless man. Police found the body in a wooded area under a railroad bridge Sunday. =20 David Owen "When you're homeless, you are in more harms way then you are if you're = not homeless," Upton said. Upton is homeless and said some of his friends lived feet from where the = body was found. Now, he said they're bothered and scared by the discovery. "Some of the guys that have {hung out} around down there, by the grain = elevator, where they slept, I've heard two or three of them say they're = not going to hang out down there anymore, because of this," he said. Others like James Steward plan to move out of Topeka altogether. "It makes me feel bad," he said. "I'm getting away from here." Crime tip hotlines Can you help solve a crime? If you have any information about a crime, please call police at the = following numbers: Emergency: 911 Topeka Police (non-emergency): (785) 368-9400 Topeka Crime Stoppers (for anonymous tips): (785) 234-0007 Crimes in Shawnee County (non-emergency): (785) 368-2200 Kansas Bureau of Investigation: 1-800-KS-CRIME (800-572-7463) Officers were looking for David Owen, who has been missing for several = weeks when they found the body. Owen's a registered sex offender and self-appointed lobbyist for the = homeless and often visited people who live in camps near the river. The body is at the Shawnee County Coroner's Office for positive = identification. The coroner will also determine the cause of death. While police aren't saying if the body they found is Owen, it's still a = discovery that shakes the tight-knit homeless community. "I just hate it happened, you know," Upton said. "Somebody loved him, so somebody's grieving and I'm grateful that it = wasn't me," Steward said. Upton is leaving Topeka tomorrow and said he's sorry it happened. "I'm sure that somebody misses him, whoever he was," he said. The identity and cause of death are expected to be released this week. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-0, 07/03/2006 Tested on: 7/5/2006 4:41:06 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0092_01C69FED.39A2E480 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://www.49abcnews.com/news/2006/jul/04/b=
ody_found_near_kansas_river_shakes_nearby_homeles/
Body found near Kansas River shakes up = nearby=20 homeless community
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
But, the death has had far-reaching effects for those who live = nearby.
=93We heard a bunch of police come by and stuff and somebody came = back and said=20 they had taped it off and found a dead body down there,=94 said Tyrone = Upton,=20 homeless man.
Police found the body in a wooded area under a railroad bridge = Sunday.
![](3D"http://media.49abcnews.com/img/photos/2006/06/29/david_owen.jpg")
=20
David Owen
=93When you're homeless, you are in more harms way then you are if = you're not=20 homeless,=94 Upton said.
Upton is homeless and said some of his friends lived feet from where = the body=20 was found.
Now, he said they're bothered and scared by the discovery.
=93Some of the guys that have {hung out} around down there, by the = grain=20 elevator, where they slept, I've heard two or three of them say they're = not=20 going to hang out down there anymore, because of this,=94 he said.
Others like James Steward plan to move out of Topeka altogether.
=93It makes me feel bad,=94 he said. =93I'm getting away from = here.=94
Crime tip hotlines
Can you help solve a crime?
If you have any information about a crime, please call police at the=20 following numbers:
Emergency: 911
Topeka Police=20
(non-emergency): (785) 368-9400
Topeka =
Crime=20
Stoppers (for anonymous tips): (785)=20
234-0007
Crimes in Shawnee County (non-emergency):=20
(785) 368-2200
Kansas Bureau of Investigation:=20
1-800-KS-CRIME (800-572-7463)
Officers were looking for David Owen, who has been missing for = several weeks=20 when they found the body.
Owen's a registered sex offender and self-appointed lobbyist for the = homeless=20 and often visited people who live in camps near the river.
The body is at the Shawnee County Coroner's Office for positive=20 identification. The coroner will also determine the cause of death.
While police aren't saying if the body they found is Owen, it's still = a=20 discovery that shakes the tight-knit homeless community.
=93I just hate it happened, you know,=94 Upton said.
=93Somebody loved him, so somebody's grieving and I'm grateful that = it wasn't=20 me,=94 Steward said.
Upton is leaving Topeka tomorrow and said he's sorry it happened.
=93I'm sure that somebody misses him, whoever he was,=94 he said.
The identity and cause of death are expected to be released this = week.
------=_NextPart_000_0092_01C69FED.39A2E480-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 5 08:53:20 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2006 04:53:20 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Some war vets return to the U.S. homeless Message-ID: <00c601c6a010$797b4340$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Some+war+vets+return+to+the+U.S.+homeless&articleId=589a416e-443e-4369-ab49-b95ce1d8453e July 5, 2006 Some war vets return to the U.S. homeless By VERENA DOBNIK The Associated Press New York - Herold Noel had nowhere to call home after returning from military service in Iraq. He slept in his Jeep, taking care to find a parking space where he wouldn't get a ticket. "Then the nightmares would start," says the 26-year-old former Army private first class, who drove a fuel truck in Iraq. "I saw a baby decapitated when it was run over by a truck - I relived that every night." Across America on any given evening, hundreds of veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan like Noel are homeless, according to government estimates. The reasons for their plight are many. For some, residual stress from daily insurgent attacks and roadside bombs makes it tough to adjust to civilian life; some can't navigate government assistance programs; others simply can't afford a house or apartment. They are living on the edge in towns and cities big and small, from Washington state to California and Florida. Some of the hardest hit are in New York City, where housing costs "can be very tough," says Peter Dougherty, head of the federal government's Homeless Veterans Program. Studio apartments routinely exceed $1,000 a month - no small sum for veterans trying to land on their feet. As a member of the National Guard, Nadine Beckford patrolled New York train stations after the Sept. 11 attacks, then served a treacherous year in the Gulf region. But when she returned home from Iraq, she found her storage locker had been emptied of all of her belongings and her bank account had been depleted. She believes her boyfriend took everything and "just vanished." Six months after her return to America, she lives in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn, sharing a room with eight other women and attending a job training program. Her parents live in Jamaica and are barely making ends meet, she says. "I'm just an ordinary person who served. I'm not embarrassed about my homelessness, because the circumstances that created it were not my fault," says Beckford, 30, who was a military-supply specialist at a U.S. base in Iraq - a sitting duck for around-the-clock attacks "where hell was your home." It was a "hell" familiar to Noel during his eight months in Iraq. But it didn't stop when he returned home to New York last year and couldn't find a job to support his wife and three children. Without enough money to rent an apartment, he turned to the housing programs for vets, "but they were overbooked," Noel says. While he was in Iraq, his family had lived in military housing in Georgia. In New York, they ended up in a Bronx shelter "with people who were just out of prison, and with roaches," Noel says. "I'm a young black man from the ghetto, but this was culture shock. This is not what I fought for, what I almost died for. This is not what I was supposed to come home to." There are about 200,000 homeless vets in the United States, according to government figures. About 10 percent are from either the 1991 Gulf War or the current one, about 40 percent are Vietnam veterans, and most of the others served when the country was not officially at war. "In recent years, we've tried to reach out sooner to new veterans who are having problems with post-traumatic stress, depression or substance abuse, after seeing combat," says Dougherty. "These are the veterans who most often end up homeless." About 350 nonprofit service organizations are working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans. But the veterans still land on a hard bottom line: Almost half of America's 2.7 million disabled veterans receive $337 or less a month in benefits, according to the government. Fewer than one-tenth are rated 100 percent disabled, meaning they get $2,393 a month, tax free. "And only those who receive that 100 percent benefit rating can survive in New York," says J.B. White, a 36-year-old former Marine who served with a National Guard unit in Iraq. His colon was removed after he was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis, which civilian medical experts believe started in Iraq under the stress of war. "I'd be homeless if it weren't for the support of my family," says White, who is trying to win benefits from the VA. He also helps others, like Beckford, as head of a Manhattan-based social service agency that finds non-government housing for vets. Noel now attends a program to get work in studio sound production. He was the protagonist of the documentary film "When I Came Home," which was named best New York-made documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival this year. Just after the news reports about his plight, he learned the government was granting him the 100 percent disability compensation he sought - after being turned down. Noel doesn't blame the Army, which "helped make my dreams come true," he says, recalling the military base life in Georgia and in Korea that his family enjoyed before his deployment to Iraq. "I had a house, a car - they gave me everything they promised me," he says. "Now it's up to the government and the people we're defending to take care of their soldiers." --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-0, 07/03/2006 Tested on: 7/5/2006 4:53:24 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 5 13:07:32 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (wtinker@verizon.net) Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 06:07:32 -0700 Subject: [Hpn] seattletimes.com: As the number of seniors grows, can the state help with their care? Message-ID: <200607051307.k65D7WgX024782@cobalt.seatimes.com> This message was sent to you by wtinker@verizon.net, as a service of The Seattle Times (http://www.seattletimes.com). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As the number of seniors grows, can the state help with their care? Full story: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003105158_boomercare04m.html By Marsha King Seattle Times staff reporter At their stage in life, Pam Tooley and her friends don't swap tips about raising kids anymore. They talk about how emotionally draining and complicated it can be to find good care for frail parents. And that leads to worries about their own old age. A few years ago, Tooley's mother became too confused to continue living alone. So Tooley moved her to a nearby assisted-living facility in Renton with a good nursing staff, using proceeds from the sale of her mom's home to pay the monthly fee of $3,000 for rent and care. All was fine until new owners stopped accepting residents on Medicaid because it doesn't pay enough. That means even residents like Tooley's 88-year-old mother, who've been living there for years and paying privately, will have to move if their personal savings run out. The experience has scared Tooley, who thought she and her husband were financially ready for later life. Now, given predictions about longer life spans and rising health-care costs, she wonders how long their money will last. And if it doesn't hold out, who will care for them? "As the baby boomers age, if they can't support themselves, it's going to be such a drain on the public," said Tooley, 56, a federal-government retiree who lives in South Seattle. "It's going to be a huge amount of money." Huge is right. Today, Washington often is touted as having one of the best long-term care systems in the nation, one that's cost-effective and offers choices. But over the next two decades, aging baby boomers will double the number of state residents 65 and older to 1.65 million. As a result, budget analysts estimate that the state's Medicaid long-term care budget -- given the rising costs of care and increased caseload -- will triple, from slightly less than a billion dollars in 2005 to $3 billion in 2030. But the impact will start to hit in 10 to 15 years. Demand could overwhelm the system, and if quality slips, residents could be at risk for abuse and neglect, say some experts. It's a problem happening not just in Washington but across the country, with efforts under way nationally to keep people physically independent longer and to slow the demand for Medicaid. "The money is not going to be there," said state Rep. Dawn Morrell, chair of the state's Joint Task Force on Long-Term Care Financing and Chronic Care Management. "If you look at the numbers, it's just not possible. We have to look for solutions." Though older adults in the future are expected on average to have higher incomes and greater financial resources, their assets are still unlikely to keep pace with the costs of health and long-term care, according to a task force briefing paper. The task force, created by the Legislature last year, is supposed to figure out how to manage this staggering demographic reality and produce options for lawmakers to consider by January. Discussions are in an early stage, but here are some of the questions being asked: • What's needed to assure the long-term care system meets population needs in every geographic region? • What's the best way to sustain public funding of long-term care? • What laws should be changed or eliminated to reduce care costs? • What will help individuals pay for their own care? "We have a little wiggle room, before the big wave hits, which is why I'm encouraged," said Nora Gibson, a task-force advisory member and executive director of ElderHealth Northwest, a nonprofit provider of aging services. "We do have some time to plan." Basically, it comes down to two choices: Cut future services for elders and the disabled in order to keep the budget stable, or find a way to put more money into the system and increase long-term-care services to meet the need. The first scenario would mean baby boomers have to assume more responsibility for their own elder care, by saving more money, tapping into home equity, buying long-term-care insurance or relying on their families. If the long-term-care system is expanded, that likely would require creating a new revenue stream, such as a social-insurance type of tax that would function like Medicare or Social Security. The state also is participating in a national awareness campaign called "Own Your Own Future" to educate citizens about what it means to grow old and how to plan for it. As a start, Gov. Christine Gregoire is expected to send a letter this week to every household with a person aged 50-70. "Many people, myself included, do not like to think about getting older," writes the governor, " ... or the possibility that at some time in the future we may not be able to do all the things we take for granted -- routine tasks such as bathing and dressing. "But the hard truth is that most of us will need some type of long-term care. ... " The campaign also will run public-information spots on radio and television. Nancy Dapper, executive director of the local Alzheimer's Association, is especially surprised at the lack of understanding about how big the dementia problem is going to be and the need for care it will create. Task-force work sessions and town-hall meetings are open to the public. The first town hall, at Puyallup's senior center, was dominated by providers and the caregivers union, with providers complaining that Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low, forcing providers to accept fewer poor people and more who can pay their own way. The rest of this year, the task force will continue to look at three key areas: how well the current long-term-care system works county by county, how best to prevent and manage chronic disease, and new ways to pay for long-term care. Washington's system is considered a model because, over the last decade, the state was able to shift elder care from nursing homes to less-expensive alternatives such as small adult-family homes and in-home care. As a result, nursing-home expenditures represent 45 percent of the state's long-term-care budget, compared with 82 percent in the early 1990s. But the state can do even better, say long-term care experts. Many problems being felt now have actually been around for years -- particularly in adult-family homes and in-home care. Some resident advocates say this kind of care has been underfunded and gets less regulatory oversight than nursing homes. "We have the essential services, but we need more and better quality," said Louise Ryan, assistant state long-term-care ombudsman. Other worries include the lack of accessible consumer information and whether there is a stable, qualified work force and long-term-care options in certain geographic areas. Various task-force advisory members also have called for more complaint investigations and giving consumers a bigger voice in rule-making, and have questioned how well Adult Protective Services does its job. Meanwhile, looking after their parents is forcing many baby boomers to confront their own aging. "It's one of those things you really don't want to think about," said Tooley. "It kind of sneaks up on you." One of the remedies she and her friends joke about is starting a commune. Perhaps, they would buy a big house, where they would live together and contribute to the common good. Wouldn't that be a pleasant way to live, observes Tooley. Marsha King: 206-464-2232 or mking@seattletimes.com ====================================================================== TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION Call (206) 464-2121 or 1-800-542-0820, or go to https://read.nwsource.com/subscribe/times/ HOW TO ADVERTISE WITH THE SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY ONLINE For information on advertising in this e-mail newsletter, or other online marketing platforms with The Seattle Times Company, call (206) 464-2361 or e-mail websales@seattletimes.com TO ADVERTISE IN THE SEATTLE TIMES PRINT EDITION Please go to http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/contactus/adsales for information. ====================================================================== For news updates throughout the day, visit http://www.seattletimes.com ====================================================================== Copyright (c) 2005 The Seattle Times Company www.seattletimes.com Your Life. Your Times. From morganbrown@gmail.com Wed Jul 5 19:32:00 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Wed, 5 Jul 2006 15:32:00 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless Alcoholics Receive a Permanent Place to Live, and Drink; NY Times; 7/5/2006 In-Reply-To:
|
On Heights, a call for hungry kids
| |||
|
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
------=_NextPart_000_00F9_01C6A0DD.526E3A50-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 6 19:56:57 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 15:56:57 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless Alcoholics Receive A Permanent Place To Live, And Drink In Seattle Message-ID: <031801c6a136$5854dba0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7004132838 Homeless Alcoholics Receive A Permanent Place To Live, And Drink In Seattle July 6, 2006 Jacob Cherian - All Headline News Staff Writer Seattle, WA (AHN) - King County in Seattle, Washington has made a list of 200 "chronic public inebriates" in the region that cost taxpayers the most to care for. Seventy-five of them were moved into their own new apartments where they are free to drink and be merry off the city streets. The alcoholics are now allowed to drink in their rooms. And they do not have to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Bill Hobson, executive director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center, the nonprofit group that owns the apartments says the 70 men and 5 women are the "unsympathetic homeless" who beg, eat, urinate and vomit in public and they are the most difficult to get off the streets. Amnon Shoenfeld, director of King County's division of mental health and chemical abuse said that the public spent $50,000 on each of the 40 homeless alcoholics in 2003. Mr. Hobson estimates the annual cost of each resident to be $13,000 or a total cost of $950,000. The building cost $11.2 million to build, which was footed entirely by the City of Seattle, city, state and federal governments. Critics are furious over the fact that residents who live there do not have to be sober. In 2004, The Seattle Times editorialized that the inmates must be sober in order to live there. John Carlson, a conservative radio talk show host in Seattle said, "Bunks for drunks - it's a living monument to a failed social policy." He added that this approach is "aiding and abetting someone's self-destruction." William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-2, 07/06/2006 Tested on: 7/6/2006 3:57:00 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Fri Jul 7 08:14:50 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2006 04:14:50 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] HOMELESS PEOPLE RECLAIM THEIR POWER ONLINE ~RETURN TO VIEW Message-ID: <006901c6a19d$706480d0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0062_01C6A17B.E414B710 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable From: Tom Boland - view profile=20 Fri, Oct 6 2000 =20 =20 =20 Rating: =20 =20 Find messages by this author =20 CIRCULATE PLEASE & include all LINKS at end of this post. Thanks.=20 CC REPLIES To: "Homeless peole's Network list" HPN@projects.is.asu.edu=20 Sabitri Ghosh prefaced her article below on HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK=20 with this thanks to HPN listmembers who helped her to research our = work.=20 "Many, many thanks to Tom and all of you who contacted me or answered my = questions on such short notice. Your stories and insights were truly=20 amazing. I'd like to do so more writing on HPN in the future, so I will=20 hang on to them. In the meantime, keep on articulating what the problems = are and the solutions no one else is talk about in your own inimitable = way."=20 The article appears in the Oct. 8, 2000 issue of CATHOLIC NEW = TIMES,=20 a Toronto biweekly publication focused on issues of social justice: = HOMELESS PEOPLE RECLAIM THEIR POWER ONLINE=20 By Sabitri Ghosh C...@total.net=20 The Homeless People's Network was the big news when the North American=20 Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) met in Edmonton this past summer. = By=20 unanimous vote, HPN - a discussion list exclusively for homeless and=20 formerly homeless people - became the first online member to join the = ranks=20 of the scrappy, ink-stained papers that make up the association.=20 Themselves a recent phenomenon, dating back to the late 1980s,=20 street papers are defined in one of two ways: as a means of economic=20 support for the homeless and/or a public forum for their issues. HPN=20 broadens that second definition even further.=20 People made homeless join debate=20 This small plot of cyberspace was carved out three years ago by Tom = Boland,=20 a soft-spoken yet intensely articulate Boston activist with the motto=20 "Nothing About Us Without Us."=20 As Boland told workshop participants at the NASNA conference, he = was among many homeless people who took advantage of the Internet in the = mid-1990s when public libraries made it freely available.=20 With the help of Tim Harris, the publisher of a Boston street=20 paper, he logged on to the new medium. "For 10 years, we've been arguing = about solutions to homelessness," Harris told Boland. "Now the = Internet's=20 here, we can do it across the continent."=20 But Boland soon learned that the Web's take on homelessness was = no=20 different from that of other media: "Basically, you know, poor people = are=20 broken, let's fix 'em, pretty much the same bilge I was seeing in = corporate=20 media and in academia. It really bothered me."=20 A Homeless Discussion list existed already, which Tom felt was = mainly=20 for service providers and scholars. As one of the homeless people = posting=20 to the site, Boland couldn't take "the way I was being characterized by=20 people self-selected to be my helpers. A number of us on that list = agreed=20 that we who had 'been there' needed a safe space online to define = ourselves=20 in our own terms, outside the 'personal-deficit' model which blamed us = for=20 our homelessness."=20 Boland compares the exclusion of homeless people from the debate = to=20 other systemically discriminated-against groups, like women and racial=20 minorities. "With poor people it's the same thing," he told NASNA=20 participants. "Like them, we are reclaiming our own role, insisting on = our=20 own rights to form our own roles. We are going to choose our own=20 leadership, our own aims, our own=20 e-mail list."=20 International discussion group emerges=20 So he gave himself an even more formidable challenge than getting = online:=20 getting a discussion group together of people who knew what it was like = to=20 be homeless. Launched in September 1997, the list began with about 20=20 members and has now grown to over six times that, with members from the=20 U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany and Australia.=20 Lasting friendships have been formed through the list and=20 "sometimes," Boland says, "homeless people in dire straits e-mail me or=20 other list members to ask for personal help."=20 For subscriber Lucinda Houston, who was formerly homeless, HPN=20 serves as "a forum to relate topics from our perspectives and speak = about=20 serious issues that concern us. For instance," she says, "we were=20 evaluating shelters the other day, how painful some of them were."=20 Another regular poster to the site is William Tinker of = Northfield,=20 N.H. Last year, he received a used computer "and started posting onto = HPN,=20 telling of my experiences on the road. Tom Boland was very helpful," he=20 adds, "as I was so green I kept sending duplicates to people, who=20 complained. But Tom, being very patient, helped me get my feet on the=20 ground." Tinker has now started his own list.=20 "Definitely, we have formed a global world community," Tinker = says=20 of HPN. "I believe that we have become a prompt or a second conscience = to=20 the leaders of our world because now the whole world watches and sees = what=20 is being put forth. We are all watchdogs for human rights." Toronto = mayor=20 Mel Lastman can attest to Tinker's diligence: he has received several=20 letters from him on the deaths of homeless people on Toronto's streets.=20 HPN raises awareness of policies elsewhere=20 At the NASNA conference, San Francisco activist Chance Martin remarked = on=20 how "too often, we tend to be narrowly focused on our own cities" and=20 praised HPN for letting people know what hurtful policies are being=20 exported abroad. "We've got to turn it back," he said. "Homelessness is = not=20 problem-specific: it's a growing problem worldwide."=20 HPN has this breadth, but it also has depth. "HPN has helped us = to=20 address issues which politicians and non-profits would rather not notice = -=20 the criminalization of poverty and drugs, police brutality and sweeps of = homeless people from business districts," Boland remarks.=20 "To mobilize concerted political action is a goal which I = devoutly=20 hope that HPN advances. Yet, as a listworker, I'd rather be the=20 'switchboard operator' who enables folks to do this in ways which they, = not=20 me, choose."=20 END FORWARD=20 RELATED LINKS & CONTACT INFO [from HPN listowner Tom Boland]=20 New Catholic Times (Toronto, ON)=20 Tel: (416) 361-0761 Fax: (416) 361-0796=20 Independent Catholic bi-weekly newspaper focusing on social justice,=20 lay-involvement and ecumenism.=20 North American Street Newspaper Association=20 http://speakeasy.org/nasna/=20 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-2, 07/06/2006 Tested on: 7/7/2006 4:14:59 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0062_01C6A17B.E414B710 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
| Tom=20
Boland - | ||
| Fri, Oct 6 2000 | ||
| Rating: | |
CC REPLIES To: = "
Sabitri Ghosh prefaced her article below on "Many, many thanks to Tom and all of you who contacted me or answered =
my=20
The article appears in the Oct. 8, 2000 issue of =
CATHOLIC=20
NEW TIMES, =
HOMELESS =
PEOPLE=20
RECLAIM THEIR POWER ONLINE By Sabitri Ghosh C The Homeless =
People's=20
Network was the big news=20
when the North American People made homeless=20
join debate This small plot of cyberspace was carved out three years ago by Tom =
Boland,=20
A International So he gave himself an even more formidable challenge than getting =
online:=20
HPN raises awareness of policies elsewhere At the NASNA conference, San Francisco activist Chance Martin =
remarked on=20
END FORWARD RELATED LINKS & CONTACT INFO [from HPN listowner Tom Boland] New Catholic =
Times=20
(Toronto, ON) North American Street Newspaper Association
with this thanks to HPN listmembers who helped =
her to=20
research our work.
questions on such short notice. Your stories and insights were truly =
amazing. I'd like to do so more writing on HPN in the future, so I =
will=20
hang on to them. In the meantime, keep on articulating what the =
problems=20
are and the solutions no one else is talk about in your own =
inimitable way."=20
=20
a Toronto biweekly publication focused on issues of social =
justice:=20
Street Newspaper Association (NASNA) met in =
Edmonton=20
this past summer. By
unanimous vote, HPN - a
formerly
of the scrappy, ink-stained =
papers=20
that make up the association.
Themselves =
a=20
recent phenomenon, dating back to the late 1980s,
street papers are =
defined=20
in one of two ways: as a means of economic
support for the
broadens that second definition even =
further.=20
a soft-spoken yet intensely articulate Boston activist with the =
motto=20
"Nothing About Us Without Us."
As =
Boland=20
told workshop participants at the NASNA conference, he
was among =
many
mid-1990s when public libraries =
made it=20
freely available.
With the help of Tim =
Harris,=20
the publisher of a Boston street
paper, he logged on to the
about solutions to homelessness," Harris told =
Boland.=20
"Now the Internet's
here, we can do it across the continent." =
=20
But Boland soon learned that the Web's take on =
homelessness=20
was no
different from that of other media: "Basically, you know, =
poor people=20
are
broken, let's fix 'em, pretty much the same bilge I was seeing =
in=20
corporate
media and in academia. It really bothered me."
for service providers and scholars. As one of =
the
to the site, Boland couldn't take "the way I was being characterized =
by=20
people self-selected to be my helpers. A number of us on that
that we who=20
had 'been there' needed a safe space online to define ourselves
in =
our own=20
terms, outside the 'personal-deficit' model which blamed us for
our=20
homelessness."
Boland compares the =
exclusion of=20
homeless people =
from the=20
debate to
other systemically discriminated-against groups, like =
women and=20
racial
minorities. "With poor people it's the same thing," he told =
NASNA=20
participants. "Like them, we are reclaiming our own role, insisting =
on our=20
own rights to form our own roles. We are going to choose our own=20
leadership, our own aims, our own
e-mail
getting a discussion=20
group together of people who knew what it was like to
be
members and has now grown to over six times =
that, with=20
members from the
U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany and Australia. =
=20
Lasting friendships have been formed through the list and =
"sometimes,"=20
Boland says, "homeless=20
people in dire straits e-mail me or
other
For subscriber Lucinda =
Houston,=20
who was formerly
serves as=20
"a forum to relate topics from our perspectives and speak about =
serious=20
issues that concern us. For instance," she says, "we were
evaluating =
shelters the other day, how painful some of them were."
=
=20
Another regular poster to the site is William Tinker of =
Northfield,=20
N.H. Last year, he received a used computer "and started posting =
onto HPN,=20
telling of my experiences on the road. Tom Boland was very helpful," =
he=20
adds, "as I was so green I kept sending duplicates to people, who=20
complained. But Tom, being very patient, helped me get my feet on =
the=20
ground." Tinker has now started his own
=
=20
"Definitely, we have formed a global world community," =
Tinker says=20
of HPN. "I believe that we have become a prompt or a second =
conscience to=20
the leaders of our world because now the whole world watches and =
sees what=20
is being put forth. We are all watchdogs for human rights." Toronto =
mayor=20
Mel Lastman can attest to Tinker's diligence: he has received =
several=20
letters from him on the deaths of
how "too often, we tend to be narrowly focused on our own cities" =
and=20
praised HPN for letting people know what hurtful policies are being=20
exported abroad. "We've got to turn it back," he said. "Homelessness =
is not=20
problem-specific: it's a growing problem worldwide."
=
=20
HPN has this breadth, but it also has depth. "HPN has =
helped us to=20
address issues which politicians and non-profits would rather not =
notice -=20
the criminalization of poverty and drugs, police brutality and =
sweeps of=20
homeless =
people from=20
business districts," Boland remarks.
"To =
mobilize concerted political action is a goal which I devoutly
hope =
that HPN=20
advances. Yet, as a listworker, I'd rather be the
'switchboard =
operator' who=20
enables folks to do this in ways which they, not
me, choose."
Tel: (416) 361-0761 Fax: (416) 361-0796 =
Independent=20
Catholic bi-weekly newspaper focusing on social justice, =
lay-involvement and=20
ecumenism.
------=_NextPart_000_0062_01C6A17B.E414B710-- From wtinker@verizon.net Fri Jul 7 22:18:45 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:18:45 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Second Homeless Woman Says She's Been Raped Message-ID: <026601c6a213$50cf0260$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0263_01C6A1F1.C89A8D40 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Jul 7, 2006 http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_188142355.html Second Homeless Woman Says She's Been Raped (CBS) PALM SPRINGS, Calif.=20 A homeless woman sleeping in the desert on the edge of the city was = beaten and raped early Friday morning, Palm Springs police said.=20 It was the second reported rape of a homeless woman in five days.=20 The 49-year-old woman was sleeping in the desert area in the 200 block = of West Mesquite Avenue near the Mac Magruder Chevrolet dealership = between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. when she awakened by a man on top of her, said = police Sgt. Mitch Spike. The assailant beat her when she started to scream and she briefly lost = consciousness while she was being raped, Spike said.=20 The woman was treated at Desert Regional Medical Center. She returned to = the scene with police to help investigators locate evidence, including a = discarded condom.=20 The attacker was described as a Latino between 21 and 31 years old with = a medium, muscular build. He had "bald spots" or a receding hairline. He = was driving a newer silver car, possibly a Toyota, with a rosary hanging = from the review mirror and a duffle bag on the rear seat, Spike said. On Monday, a 74-year-old homeless woman reported that she was raped at = Sunrise Park in the 1700 block of Ramon Road at about 10:30 p.m. She was = sleeping on a bench when she woke up to find a man on top of her, Spike = said.=20 The rapist also beat her and threatened to kill her if she made any = noise, he said.=20 The woman's attacker was described as an older white man who may be a = transient the victim had seen previously, Spike said. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0627-3, 07/07/2006 Tested on: 7/7/2006 6:18:47 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0263_01C6A1F1.C89A8D40 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://cbs=
2.com/topstories/local_story_188142355.html
Second Homeless Woman Says She's Been Raped
(CBS) PALM SPRINGS,=20 Calif.
A homeless woman sleeping in the desert on the edge of the city was =
beaten=20
and raped early Friday morning, Palm Springs police said.
It was =
the=20
second reported rape of a homeless woman in five days.
The =
49-year-old=20
woman was sleeping in the desert area in the 200 block of West Mesquite =
Avenue=20
near the Mac Magruder Chevrolet dealership between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. =
when she=20
awakened by a man on top of her, said police Sgt. Mitch =
Spike.
The=20
assailant beat her when she started to scream and she briefly lost =
consciousness=20
while she was being raped, Spike said.
The woman was treated at =
Desert=20
Regional Medical Center. She returned to the scene with police to help=20
investigators locate evidence, including a discarded condom.
The =
attacker was described as a Latino between 21 and 31 years old with a =
medium,=20
muscular build. He had "bald spots" or a receding hairline. He was =
driving a=20
newer silver car, possibly a Toyota, with a rosary hanging from the =
review=20
mirror and a duffle bag on the rear seat, Spike said.
On Monday, =
a=20
74-year-old homeless woman reported that she was raped at Sunrise Park =
in the=20
1700 block of Ramon Road at about 10:30 p.m. She was sleeping on a bench =
when=20
she woke up to find a man on top of her, Spike said.
The rapist =
also=20
beat her and threatened to kill her if she made any noise, he said. =
The=20
woman's attacker was described as an older white man who may be a =
transient the=20
victim had seen previously, Spike =
said.
------=_NextPart_000_0263_01C6A1F1.C89A8D40-- From wtinker@verizon.net Mon Jul 10 09:33:43 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 05:33:43 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] City Grapples With Homeless Problem Message-ID: <00a901c6a403$f175e390$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00A6_01C6A3E2.68828B40 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=3D20872 City Grapples With Homeless Problem=20 Officials, Advocates Look to Address Issue by Combining Enforcement and = Outreach BY Cheryl Pon Contributing Writer Monday, July 10, 2006 =20 photo/michael seeman Allison Jacobs of the Berkeley Police Department patrols People's Park. = Additional policing is part of Mayor Bates's Telegraph proposal. Telegraph Avenue has long been known for independent stores that date = back decades, colorful sidewalk vendors and a vibrant 1960's atmosphere. = But in recent years, the street has also garnered a reputation for a = large homeless presence that some say is driving away shoppers and = scaring off businesses.=20 "It is a serious problem in many cities throughout the country and the = survey work that has been done shows Berkeley certainly has its share of = the homeless population," said Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to Mayor = Tom Bates.=20 City officials have estimated the city's homeless population at about = 850 at any given time, although they did not provide statistics about = Telegraph's homeless population specifically.=20 But the presence of the homeless on Telegraph sidewalks and loiterers = beside storefronts is common, shoppers said. Some area property=20 owners even sign trespass letters, which ask police to check properties = nightly and remove trespassers and loiterers, said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss, = spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department.=20 "A lot of people aren't comfortable going on the avenue," said George = Beier, president of the Willard Neighborhood Association. "People aren't = shopping there because they're not comfortable there."=20 Since Mayor Tom Bates introduced his Telegraph revitalization proposal = in May, homelessness has been at the forefront of discussions about how = to improve the climate of Telegraph without destroying its character.=20 Currently, the city offers a variety of services to its homeless = population, such as housing, mental health services, food services and a = range of other programs. DeVries said.=20 Bates's package will ramp up city services, calling for the return of = two bicycle patrol officers and a social worker to provide help and = counseling to the local homeless population.=20 A significant portion of Berkeley's homeless population are drug and = alcohol-dependent individuals, city officials said.=20 "Every one of those homeless people at one time lived with someone, = inside a home, but drugs, alcohol or mental problems caused them to step = away from that," said J.C. Orton, an advocate for the homeless.=20 City officials said they also plan to funnel more resources into = expanding housing opportunities for the city's homeless population = rather than outright uprooting them.=20 "It's a multifaceted approach, not a 'let's move all the homeless out of = Telegraph approach," said Julie Sinai, senior aide to the mayor.=20 Mental health experts agreed that housing was key to solving the = problem. They said rising property values have sent more Berkeley = residents to the streets in recent years.=20 "The answer to homelessness is housing and if you look at housing costs = in the bay area it's very daunting," said Harvey Tureck, manager of the = mental health division for the city's health and human services = department. "The resources are not there but we'll make steady = progress."=20 Some neighbors of the Telegraph area, however, said they were more = concerned about drug use and safety than homelessness itself.=20 "I don't think the neighbors care if a person is homeless," Beier said. = "The problem is the behavior of people on the street."=20 Beier said he supports Bates's plan. He said combating drug use and = dealing requires a multipronged approach.=20 "In recovery, you need a nudge from the judge," he said. "You need a = combination of services and enforcement."=20 In addition to city efforts, several regional groups have undertaken = efforts to alleviate homelessness. The Alameda County-wide Homeless = Continuum of Care Plan looks at eliminating homelessness in Alameda = County within 10 years. A local organization, Building Opportunities for = Self Sufficiency performs street cleanups and promotes interaction with = the homeless.=20 However, city officials said Berkeley's lack of a detox center puts the = city at a significant disadvantage.=20 "The hole in our social services net is that there's no place locally in = Berkeley where we can send people to get supervised treatment to get = themselves out of withdrawal," DeVries said.=20 City officials and advocates say the responsibility of helping the = homeless is ultimately up to the community.=20 "If humanity requires legislation to take care of people's housing = situations, then it's the wrong method," Orton said. "Until the = community is able to put in a heavier commitment, things won't change = that much."=20 Sean Barry of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.=20 Contact Cheryl Pon at cpon@dailycal.org. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-0, 07/10/2006 Tested on: 7/10/2006 5:33:47 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_00A6_01C6A3E2.68828B40 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
![3D"Click](3D"http://dailycal.org/images/art/07.10.telegraph.SEEMAN.jpg")
=20
Telegraph Avenue has long been known for independent = stores=20 that date back decades, colorful sidewalk vendors and a vibrant 1960's=20 atmosphere.
But in recent years, the street has also garnered a reputation for a = large=20 homeless presence that some say is driving away shoppers and scaring off = businesses.=20
"It is a serious problem in many cities throughout the country and = the survey=20 work that has been done shows Berkeley certainly has its share of the = homeless=20 population," said Cisco DeVries, chief of staff to Mayor Tom Bates.=20
City officials have estimated the city's homeless population at about = 850 at=20 any given time, although they did not provide statistics about = Telegraph's=20 homeless population specifically.=20
But the presence of the homeless on Telegraph sidewalks and loiterers = beside=20 storefronts is common, shoppers said. Some area property=20
owners even sign trespass letters, which ask police to check = properties=20 nightly and remove trespassers and loiterers, said Sgt. Mary Kusmiss,=20 spokesperson for the Berkeley Police Department.=20
"A lot of people aren't comfortable going on the avenue," said George = Beier,=20 president of the Willard Neighborhood Association. "People aren't = shopping there=20 because they're not comfortable there."=20
Since Mayor Tom Bates introduced his Telegraph revitalization = proposal in=20 May, homelessness has been at the forefront of discussions about how to = improve=20 the climate of Telegraph without destroying its character.=20
Currently, the city offers a variety of services to its homeless = population,=20 such as housing, mental health services, food services and a range of = other=20 programs. DeVries said.=20
Bates's package will ramp up city services, calling for the return of = two=20 bicycle patrol officers and a social worker to provide help and = counseling to=20 the local homeless population.=20
A significant portion of Berkeley's homeless population are drug and=20 alcohol-dependent individuals, city officials said.=20
"Every one of those homeless people at one time lived with someone, = inside a=20 home, but drugs, alcohol or mental problems caused them to step away = from that,"=20 said J.C. Orton, an advocate for the homeless.=20
City officials said they also plan to funnel more resources into = expanding=20 housing opportunities for the city's homeless population rather than = outright=20 uprooting them.=20
"It's a multifaceted approach, not a 'let's move all the homeless out = of=20 Telegraph approach," said Julie Sinai, senior aide to the mayor.=20
Mental health experts agreed that housing was key to solving the = problem.=20 They said rising property values have sent more Berkeley residents to = the=20 streets in recent years.=20
"The answer to homelessness is housing and if you look at housing = costs in=20 the bay area it's very daunting," said Harvey Tureck, manager of the = mental=20 health division for the city's health and human services department. = "The=20 resources are not there but we'll make steady progress."=20
Some neighbors of the Telegraph area, however, said they were more = concerned=20 about drug use and safety than homelessness itself.=20
"I don't think the neighbors care if a person is homeless," Beier = said. "The=20 problem is the behavior of people on the street."=20
Beier said he supports Bates's plan. He said combating drug use and = dealing=20 requires a multipronged approach.=20
"In recovery, you need a nudge from the judge," he said. "You need a=20 combination of services and enforcement."=20
In addition to city efforts, several regional groups have undertaken = efforts=20 to alleviate homelessness. The Alameda County-wide Homeless Continuum of = Care=20 Plan looks at eliminating homelessness in Alameda County within 10 = years. A=20 local organization, Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency performs = street=20 cleanups and promotes interaction with the homeless.=20
However, city officials said Berkeley's lack of a detox center puts = the city=20 at a significant disadvantage.=20
"The hole in our social services net is that there's no place locally = in=20 Berkeley where we can send people to get supervised treatment to get = themselves=20 out of withdrawal," DeVries said.=20
City officials and advocates say the responsibility of helping the = homeless=20 is ultimately up to the community.=20
"If humanity requires legislation to take care of people's housing=20 situations, then it's the wrong method," Orton said. "Until the = community is=20 able to put in a heavier commitment, things won't change that much."=20
Sean Barry of The Daily Californian contributed to this report. =
------=_NextPart_000_00A6_01C6A3E2.68828B40-- From wtinker@verizon.net Mon Jul 10 14:38:29 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:38:29 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Businesses have had it with homeless Message-ID: <01d001c6a42e$83e176c0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_01CD_01C6A40C.FBD0B640 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20060710/BUSINES= S/607100319/1003/business Businesses have had it with homeless Many stores along highway say clients are being driven away=20 Jos=E9 Omar Ornelas, Cathedral City Sun Art Hall, owner of 1st Gallery in Cathedral City, has installed barbed = wire on his roof to prevent homeless people access. He has been dealing = with the social problem for more than seven years. He said he has = complained to the city for as many years and has yet to see results. Bill Byron Cathedral City Sun July 10, 2006=20 The homeless are driving customers away along the city's main drag, = upset business owners say.=20 "Almost every other day I'm cleaning out five or six beer bottles from = the planters," said Lacy Soule, manager of Supreme Interiors, an = upholstery shop at 68-555 E. Palm Canyon Drive. "It's just hard to = conduct business. No clients are like, 'I want to go shopping there,' "=20 The problem along the south side of East Palm Canyon Drive is = acknowledged by everyone from police officers to members of the city's = homeless population.=20 "The problem (business owners) have with those people, I have, too," = said Sammy Malkian, a 45-year-old homeless man who spends his nights in = a drain hole in the Whitewater Wash, just north of City Hall. "They come = here. They're drinking, fighting and peeing."=20 Sgt. Dave Hatfield of the Cathedral City Police Department said police = are aware of the problem, but have difficulty citing the vagrants for = anything specific.=20 "Just because they're homeless doesn't mean that they're alcoholics or = thieves," Hatfield said. "We'll talk to them, and nine out of 10 times = they will walk away."=20 The problem is, according to Hatfield, there is no law against loitering = and in order to violate the trespassing ordinance a person must refuse = to leave the premises after being asked by a police officer.=20 There is a law against public intoxication, but a person must be "unable = to care for themselves," a standard much higher than the .08 blood = alcohol limit for drunken driving, Hatfield said.=20 Even if arrests are made, "tomorrow you do it all over again," Hatfield = said, observing that most times violators are released from jail within = 24 hours.=20 Mayor Kathleen DeRosa said she has discussed the issue with specific = business owners, and suggested that they organize and discuss it with = police.=20 Art Hall, who owns 1st Gallery, a picture frame shop at 68-573 East Palm = Canyon Drive, said the issue has plagued his store for years.=20 "We've had problems with them sleeping in the parking lot and customers = saying they wouldn't get out of their cars because they were worried = about their safety," Hall said. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-1, 07/10/2006 Tested on: 7/10/2006 10:38:31 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_01CD_01C6A40C.FBD0B640 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Many stores along highway say clients are = being=20 driven away
Cathedral City Sun
July 10, 2006
"Almost every other day I'm cleaning out five or six beer bottles = from the=20 planters," said Lacy Soule, manager of Supreme Interiors, an upholstery = shop at=20 68-555 E. Palm Canyon Drive. "It's just hard to conduct business. No = clients are=20 like, 'I want to go shopping there,' "=20
The problem along the south side of East Palm Canyon Drive is = acknowledged by=20 everyone from police officers to members of the city's homeless = population.=20
"The problem (business owners) have with those people, I have, too," = said=20 Sammy Malkian, a 45-year-old homeless man who spends his nights in a = drain hole=20 in the Whitewater Wash, just north of City Hall. "They come here. = They're=20 drinking, fighting and peeing."=20
Sgt. Dave Hatfield of the Cathedral City Police Department said = police are=20 aware of the problem, but have difficulty citing the vagrants for = anything=20 specific.=20
"Just because they're homeless doesn't mean that they're alcoholics = or=20 thieves," Hatfield said. "We'll talk to them, and nine out of 10 times = they will=20 walk away."=20
The problem is, according to Hatfield, there is no law against = loitering and=20 in order to violate the trespassing ordinance a person must refuse to = leave the=20 premises after being asked by a police officer.=20
There is a law against public intoxication, but a person must be = "unable to=20 care for themselves," a standard much higher than the .08 blood alcohol = limit=20 for drunken driving, Hatfield said.=20
Even if arrests are made, "tomorrow you do it all over again," = Hatfield said,=20 observing that most times violators are released from jail within 24 = hours.=20
Art Hall, who owns 1st Gallery, a picture frame shop at 68-573 East = Palm=20 Canyon Drive, said the issue has plagued his store for years.=20
"We've had problems with them sleeping in the parking lot and = customers=20 saying they wouldn't get out of their cars because they were worried = about their=20 safety," Hall said.
------=_NextPart_000_01CD_01C6A40C.FBD0B640-- From wtinker@verizon.net Mon Jul 10 14:40:25 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 10:40:25 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Hunger in America is also a local problem Message-ID: <01d801c6a42e$c8dac830$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.chroniclet.com/Daily%20Pages/071006local4.html Monday, July 10, 2006 Hunger in America is also a local problem Harvey Gittler The Chronicle-Telegram Often, when you set out to investigate one problem, you end up dealing with another, far more serious problem. Because I am strongly opposed to the president's faith-based program wherein taxpayers' money is funneled into religious organizations, I decided to see if church-run Elyria food pantries receive any government funds. Six pantries throughout the city provide free food to the needy. I visited two such church-based pantries in Elyria primarily to determine if the federal government provided any financial support. The First Congregational Church runs a large pantry operation that distributes food to the needy. The food comes mostly from Second Harvest, an operation that distributes food to pantries throughout the county. Church volunteers do all the work, and money for the operation comes from church members and grants from local foundations such as the Stocker Foundation. But no federal government money is involved. Some 20 years ago, several churches banded together to create the Elyria Hospitality Center. The Center serves as a pantry, distributing food to the destitute. Although housed in a building belonging to the nearby Catholic church, the Hospitality Center is supported by contributions from the public and other churches. The food distributed to the indigent comes from Second Harvest, again, with no government money involved. As I spoke to people in other pantries, the name Second Harvest (more correctly, Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio) was mentioned over and over. So I visited the Second Harvest warehouse in Lorain. I realized that securing and distributing food is a complex operation that can be traced to the "Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Federal and State Funded Food Programs." Yet Second Harvest funding comes from the community, not the government. In our area, it appears that government support of faith-based charities is not the problem. Rather, it is the oppression brought on by being trapped in a "Cycle of Poverty," a cycle that includes grandparents, parents and children: three generations. The statistics of food distribution, the number of people served, the sex and race of the people served, the tons of food distributed, and the costs involved, all are interesting statistics, but they are just numbers. Those numbers may be shocking, but shocking figures alone don't solve the problems of poverty and hunger. Witnessing the operation of food pantries is a painful experience. There are the unemployable, the infirm, the homeless and the sick. There are those who, for whatever reason, are caught in a cycle of poverty. It was this revelation that caused me to switch direction and examine the greater problem. We can blame the grandparents and parents if we're looking to place blame. But we can't blame the children. And when children are not well fed, we all bear the costs. Hunger in children means "poorer overall health"; it means impaired learning abilities; it means increased need for physical and mental health services. When children in our society go hungry, when children suffer from "food insecurity," we all suffer, not just the children. It's probably too late to save the grandparents; it may be too late to rescue some of the parents; but we have to reach the children as the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty. We know about the famines and starvation in other parts of the world. But stop for a moment and look around you. There is hunger right here in our own back yard. How can we better feed the hungry? More important, how can we break that cycle of poverty? Those are the real challenges facing us. Harvey Gittler's column appears on Mondays. He can be contacted at hgittler@chroniclet.com. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-1, 07/10/2006 Tested on: 7/10/2006 10:40:27 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Tue Jul 11 14:52:48 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:52:48 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Woman set deadly fire, officials say Message-ID: <018f01c6a4f9$ae0987f0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_018C_01C6A4D8.26582580 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Woman set deadly fire, officials say Charged with murder, arson By David Abel, Globe Staff | July 11, 2006 BROCKTON -- The 22-year-old mother and murder suspect clanked into the = courtroom, her silver flip-flops and cut-off jeans exposing cuffs = binding her ankles, and Benvinda Monteiro , the victim's niece, = collapsed into the arms of another relative and wailed. >From a front-row seat at yesterday's arraignment in Brockton District = Court, she and other relatives stared at Chiteara Thomas as prosecutors = charged her with one count of murder and one count of arson in the fire = last week that killed Orlinda Calderone , Monteiro's 28-year-old aunt, = and injured 10 others, including Calderone's month-old baby and two = other children. Thomas pleaded not guilty yesterday to torching the three-story = apartment building on Montello Street . Prosecutors said she had = confessed to breaking windows of the first-floor apartment, reaching = inside with a lighter about dawn Thursday, and setting the curtains = ablaze. When she appeared yesterday, Thomas did not speak. As she stood in the = courtroom listening to the charges, the unemployed mother of a = 3-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy began to shake. As wails in the = courtroom crescendoed, she also cried. Prosecutors did not cite a motive for the alleged arson, but said Thomas = had argued several days before the fire with a woman who lived on the = building's first floor. On July 3, they said, witnesses heard Thomas scream: ``I'll be back to = torch the place; if I don't have a home, you're not going to have a = home." Police arrested Thomas that day for trespassing and threatening to break = the apartment's windows. Police records show neighbors had called police = 29 times in the last six months to report assaults and disturbances in = the first-floor apartment. Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said he has not seen such a = serious case of arson since he began his job more than four years ago. = ``This is an intentional and premeditated act, and a woman is dead," = Cruz said after the arraignment. ``Someone who would do this is a very = dangerous person and should be taken off the street." After the arraignment, Thomas's relatives huddled with her lawyer. Reginald Thomas , her grandfather, said Thomas was high on drugs during = the fire. He said she broke the windows but did not start the fire. ``My = granddaughter is a fighter -- she's a warrior," he said. ``She was = trying to draw that woman out of the apartment. She fights, but she's = not a firebug." He did not know why the two were fighting, but he said his granddaughter = had previously lived in the apartment. Thomas most recently lived in a = homeless shelter, Cruz said. Listening to Thomas's family, Vernal Stafford shook her head. Her = month-old niece, Santasia Stafford , remained at Children's Hospital = Boston yesterday with smoke-related injuries. ``This affected not just the 11 people in the fire," she said. ``It = affected all of us -- aunts, uncles, kids. My family was innocent. We = want justice." The judge ordered Thomas to remain in custody until the court holds a = status review on Aug. 9. David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-2, 07/11/2006 Tested on: 7/11/2006 10:52:50 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_018C_01C6A4D8.26582580 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Woman set deadly fire, officials say
Charged with murder, arson
BROCKTON -- The 22-year-old mother and murder suspect clanked into = the=20 courtroom, her silver flip-flops and cut-off jeans exposing cuffs = binding her=20 ankles, and Benvinda Monteiro , the victim's niece, collapsed into the = arms of=20 another relative and wailed.
Thomas pleaded not guilty yesterday to torching the three-story = apartment=20 building on Montello Street . Prosecutors said she had confessed to = breaking=20 windows of the first-floor apartment, reaching inside with a lighter = about dawn=20 Thursday, and setting the curtains ablaze.
When she appeared yesterday, Thomas did not speak. As she stood in = the=20 courtroom listening to the charges, the unemployed mother of a = 3-year-old girl=20 and 7-year-old boy began to shake. As wails in the courtroom = crescendoed, she=20 also cried.
Prosecutors did not cite a motive for the alleged arson, but said = Thomas had=20 argued several days before the fire with a woman who lived on the = building's=20 first floor.
On July 3, they said, witnesses heard Thomas scream: ``I'll be back = to torch=20 the place; if I don't have a home, you're not going to have a home."
Police arrested Thomas that day for trespassing and threatening to = break the=20 apartment's windows. Police records show neighbors had called police 29 = times in=20 the last six months to report assaults and disturbances in the = first-floor=20 apartment.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said he has not seen such = a=20 serious case of arson since he began his job more than four years ago. = ``This is=20 an intentional and premeditated act, and a woman is dead," Cruz said = after the=20 arraignment. ``Someone who would do this is a very dangerous person and = should=20 be taken off the street."
After the arraignment, Thomas's relatives huddled with her = lawyer.
Reginald Thomas , her grandfather, said Thomas was high on drugs = during the=20 fire. He said she broke the windows but did not start the fire. ``My=20 granddaughter is a fighter -- she's a warrior," he said. ``She was = trying to=20 draw that woman out of the apartment. She fights, but she's not a = firebug."
He did not know why the two were fighting, but he said his = granddaughter had=20 previously lived in the apartment. Thomas most recently lived in a = homeless=20 shelter, Cruz said.
Listening to Thomas's family, Vernal Stafford shook her head. Her = month-old=20 niece, Santasia Stafford , remained at Children's Hospital Boston = yesterday with=20 smoke-related injuries.
``This affected not just the 11 people in the fire," she said. ``It = affected=20 all of us -- aunts, uncles, kids. My family was innocent. We want = justice."
The judge ordered Thomas to remain in custody until the court holds a = status=20 review on Aug. 9.
David Abel can be reached at
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
------=_NextPart_000_018C_01C6A4D8.26582580-- From morganbrown@gmail.com Tue Jul 11 17:50:02 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 10:50:02 -0700 Subject: [Hpn] [Rutland (VT) Homeless Shelter] Mission makes a stand for clients' privacy; Rutland Herald; 7/11/2006 Message-ID:
Authorities: Suspect says he tortured black female victims
SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
Associated Press
MANNING, S.C. -=20 For Oather Webster, who came to the rescue of a black 15-year = old=20 girl last week, the news of her ordeal at the hands of two white men = authorities=20 say targeted her because of her race is "like something out of a horror=20 film."
"The police said there was blood all over," the 36-year-old disabled = welder=20 said Tuesday.
Webster lives next door to where authorities say two men sexually = assaulted=20 the teen, stabbed her, and left her for dead in a bathtub.
Dustin L. Evans, 21, and Jeremy Shay Sweat, 24, have been charged = with=20 kidnapping, first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery = with=20 intent to kill in the attack on the 15-year-old girl.
The pair has also been charged with sexually assaulting and = kidnapping a=20 45-year-old Summerton black woman last month, and appear to have = targeted both=20 victims because of their race, Chief Deputy Joe Bradham said.
The incidents have been classified as hate crimes by local = authorities, but=20 there are no local or state hate crime laws.
The state's U.S. attorney's office is looking into both cases, but = U.S.=20 Attorney Reggie Lloyd said that just because race is involved does not = give his=20 office jurisdiction.
"We are working with the locals, and we are aware of the case, but = we're not=20 making a decision at this point one way or the other," Lloyd said. "We = would=20 have to have facts in the case showing a violation of the civil rights = statute=20 before we could begin any type of prosecution."
The federal law, which commonly relates to hate crimes, is limited to = a=20 violation of a person's constitutional rights or privileges.
Someone convicted of violating the federal civil rights statute can = be=20 sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison. More penalties could be = added if a=20 death results, or if the act includes kidnapping, aggravated sexual = abuse or=20 attempted murder.
Clarendon County sheriff's Lt. Thomas Burgess testified at a bond = hearing=20 Monday that the violent attacks "appeared to target black females in=20 particular."
Sweat said the first victim "did not matter as a human" and "no one = would=20 care about her," Burgess said.
He also said Sweat described what he did to the 45-year-old victim as = "torture."
Investigators have obtained letters written by Sweat in which he = claims to be=20 linked with the Ku Klux Klan, Bradham said.
A counselor at a behavioral facility in Louisiana, where Sweat = received=20 treatment as a teen, also wrote that Sweat talked about involvement with = the=20 Klan, the chief deputy said.
Investigators haven't found any information to connect Evans to white = supremacist groups, Bradham said, and the national director of the Ku = Klux Klan=20 said he doubts the men were affiliated with his group.
"We don't attract people like that," Thomas Robb said. "We are a = Christian=20 organization. We don't encourage violence."
Robb said some people claim ties with his group as an attempt to = intimidate=20 prosecutors and law enforcement.
"But we're not that powerful," Robb said. "We're average, everyday = working=20 people with jobs trying to take care of our families."
"But as far as committing criminal acts, that's not what we are = about," Robb=20 said.
Evans' family members insist he is not a racist.
"He has as many black friends as white," said Evans' mother, Shirley, = 58, a=20 retired store clerk. "That's the last thing he would be."
South Carolina had the third highest number of hate groups in the = country in=20 2005, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
---
Associated Press Writer Katrina A. Goggins contributed to this = story.
------=_NextPart_000_0009_01C6A542.8C857960-- From morganbrown@gmail.com Wed Jul 12 04:10:14 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:10:14 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] My Blog Post re: [Rutland (VT) Homeless Shelter] Mission makes a stand for clients' privacy; Rutland Herald; 7/11/2006 Message-ID:
| |||
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E-mail Craig Wilson at
I was walking down the street the other = morning,=20 minding my own business, when I noticed a homeless woman leaning = against=20 the railing of a bridge. I nodded to her. I've made it a point over = the years=20 to acknowledge street people as fellow human beings, and for the = most=20 part, they seem to appreciate that. Some say hello back. And some ask for a little money, of course. = One of=20 the regulars in my neighborhood always asks for airfare. The line = still=20 amuses me, even after all these years. Another man, who sets up shop on a plastic = milk crate=20 near the bridge, engages me in conversation at least once a week, = wanting=20 to know what I think about what's happening in the world. Ten minutes later, I walk away refreshed, = mainly=20 because he and I have the same views on a number of topics. I'm = not sure=20 what that says about him, or me. But in this most recent encounter, it was a = mistake=20 to make eye contact. There was something about me that set off = this=20 homeless woman. Maybe it was my red polo shirt. Maybe I reminded = her of an=20 abusive father or husband or boyfriend from her past. Whatever it was, she came running up to me = screaming,=20 saying all sorts of things I can't repeat here. I came to = understand that=20 men are not her favorite species. In fact, she has many bad names = for=20 us. Having walked city streets for almost 25 = years, I=20 consider myself pretty savvy. I knew enough to move along quickly. = The=20 problem was she moved right along with me, screaming at the side = of my=20 face. The next thing I knew, a fist was flying through the air, = landing on=20 the top of my arm, right where you get your shots. For being as thin as she was, the woman = packed quite=20 a wallop. I moved faster across the bridge, and then, without = warning, she=20 retreated. She just turned and walked away as if she had finished = her=20 business with me. No other words were exchanged. I thought of her all day and not just = because my arm=20 ached. Who was she, I wondered? What happened in = her life=20 that brought her to the point of attacking strangers on the = street? I felt=20 as if we were characters out of Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of = San=20 Luis Rey. Why had fate brought us together there? And = why had=20 she taken such a dislike to me? She also got me wondering why we = as a=20 country don't seem to care much about her. Why do the homeless = remain=20 invisible, despite the fact they're in our face every day? There they are shaking their cups and cans, = setting=20 up camp on street corners, refusing to quietly go away. A few organizations do their best to help, = of=20 course. Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in = San=20 Francisco has a proud and long tradition of helping that city's = homeless.=20 And the annual Help the Homeless Walkathon, = sponsored=20 by the Fannie Mae Foundation, will return to the National Mall in=20 Washington, D.C., Nov. 18, drawing thousands. But it got personal for me the other = day. Maybe the fact that she got my attention is = a good=20 start. Maybe the woman on the bridge was really = just=20 screaming for help, albeit in a not-too-subtle way. Maybe we should listen a little more=20 closely. |
------=_NextPart_000_001B_01C6A561.4A9446C0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 12 07:29:18 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:29:18 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Putting faith into action on skid row Message-ID: <006301c6a584$e4bc0030$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_005E_01C6A563.5B813EA0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Friday, July 14, 2006 =20 =20 Putting faith into action on skid row=20 =20 =20 By R. W. Dellinger=20 =20 =20 On a June-gloom Sunday morning, the schoolyard of Divine Savior in = L.A.'s Cypress Park neighborhood looks like the food staging area after = the latest killer quake.=20 A couple of young Latinas and a middle-aged African American woman = are making sandwiches, which cover a picnic table. One woman spreads out = white bread in neat rows, another lays down a slice of yellow cheese, = and the third tops off each sandwich with turkey.=20 Nearby, a 10-year-old boy named Charlie and an African American = man in a baseball cap are going through boxes of peaches and oranges, = tossing out any bad fruit. At another table, a man in a white T-shirt is arranging cherry, = kiwi strawberry and blue raspberry Kool-Aid drink packs and small bags = of potato chips. His name is Sergio Negrete, founder and CEO of Giving = Back Hope, Inc. "I grew up in Cypress Park, in this parish, and used to see = homeless people around here," the 43-year-old man recalls. "And my dream = was to help the homeless ever since I was seven. It was just like = something I had in my head. A passion." Right idea, wrong route Young Sergio prayed to God to help him become president of the = United States so he could build a building to house and feed these = down-and-out folks he felt so sorry for.=20 "But what happened? I went the wrong route with gangs and drugs," = Negrete reports. "And I ended up homeless myself, off and on, due to = drugs downtown. I was in a wheelchair because I was run over by a car. = It broke one of my legs into little pieces and, on the other one, = dislocated my hip and damaged the main nerve." So at 26, he couldn't walk. He slept in alleys and scrounged for = food. For 17 years, he was hooked on drugs, until going through detox = and living at a recovery house. He's been clean now for a dozen years.=20 "I had a few years clean when I started this in 1999," Negrete = reports. "And I asked three of my friends if they wanted to pitch in 20 = bucks to make sack lunches. So it all started in a friend's house. And = from there, we brought it here to the church. "So I know both sides of being homeless," he adds. "And now I love = doing this, you know, to make and give out the sack lunches. My goal is = to be able to provide more services." Every second Sunday of the month, for almost seven years, Negrete = and his pals ---along with anybody else they can corral --- have been = filling up paper bags with ham-and-cheese or turkey sandwiches, chips, = fruit and juice, then bringing them down to skid row to hand out.=20 In July of 2004, the grassroots group was incorporated in = California. Three months later, Giving Back Hope, Inc., held its first = big event --- an outreach fair that blocked off 6th Street, between San = Pedro Street and Gladys Avenue, downtown.=20 Treatment providers handed out information on the availability of = beds at local recovery and treatment facilities. Speakers offered = encouragement to addicts about getting off drugs and alcohol. Breakfast, = lunch and dinner were served to 1,200 people by 90 volunteers.=20 A second community outreach fair was held last October on skid = row, serving 1,600 meals and, again, offering consults and referrals to = individuals struggling to change their lives. A third street fair will = take place this October. The community-based nonprofit is funded by donations from = foundations, businesses and individuals.=20 Small works of mercy While the annual high profile event's aim is to raise awareness of = the growing number of Angelenos who go without food and shelter, the = monthly sack lunch program remains decidedly low key --- drawing only 10 = to 20 core volunteers every month.=20 People like Dr. Arnel Reyes, a family care physician at Kaiser = Permanente Hospital in East L.A., who brought his two sons, Tristan, 9, = and Austin, 7, with him on this overcast Sunday.=20 "I wanted them to see what their dad's been involved with the last = few years and see why Daddy can't be there at all their games and = functions," he says. "And I wanted them to see how we can serve God and = to give back for whatever God's given us." Reyes, who was on the board of Giving Back Hope, Inc., for four = years, knows that with 30,000 homeless men, women and children living on = L.A.'s skid row, the "homeless" problem seems intractable. But he also = realizes how small works of mercy can add up to genuine societal change. "I know just doing this one day a month is not going to feed all = the homeless," he says. "But the way I see it, if everyone were to do a = small part and not think about the quantity of the problem, but focus on = the quality and small number we're helping, then you know that you're = making a difference."=20 The physician, whose family belongs to Holy Family Church in South = Pasadena, recalls that Sergio Negrete always had a clear vision of his = outreach to the homeless. After they met at a medical clinic, the former = addict and resident of skid row pleaded with him for help in getting = Giving Back Hope, Inc., off the ground. He said this was his "calling in = life," and that God had brought the two together for a special purpose.=20 So Reyes came on board, spearheading the group's effort to become = a bona fide nonprofit with 501 (c) 3 status.=20 "We may not be as big as the Union Rescue Mission, but I think = about St. Therese," he says. "And she always said that you can do the = smallest and most humble thing. But if you do it, do it with the = greatest amount of love. And this is what we're trying to do. "Sergio is a very humble, giving man," he adds. "I know he's made = a lot of sacrifices to do this, and that's one of the reasons why I've = stuck with him. But this is not about Sergio or myself. This is about = God's ministry." 250 lunches With 250 lunches in brown paper bags, two vehicles drive out of = Divine Savior's schoolyard on Sunday morning a little before ten = o'clock, following Negrete's white Dodge Caravan to downtown.=20 First stop is the Union Rescue at 545 S. San Pedro. Negrete gets = out of the van, goes over to a disheveled man sitting on the curb and = hands him a paper bag. The young fruit sorter, Charlie Loya, and = Negrete's 17-year-old daughter, Andrea, hand out lunches to mostly = single men. One of the last to show up, a guy with a beard in a = wheelchair, says, "Thank you, man."=20 After 10 minutes, it's on to St. Vincent's Cardinal Manning Center = on gritty Winston Street, where a line forms immediately beside the van. = This time, Reyes' two boys, Tristan and Austin, hand out the paper bags. = At first, they seem apprehensive, avoiding eye contact with the = homeless. But soon they're both into it, smiling as the men thank them.=20 By 10:30 a.m., there's not a single lunch left. "I come down because I just like to help other people," says = Andrea Negrete, who hasn't missed a second Sunday in three years. The = 10th-grader at Franklin High School admits she's inspired by her dad, = Sergio, who is a drug and alcohol counselor in Inglewood.=20 "It's different here 'cause they live in the street," she says. "I = think people don't know how many poor people live down her. Because it = surprised me." To find out more about Giving Back Hope, Inc., or to support its = ministry, write P.O. Box 31337; Los Angeles, CA 90031, or call (323) = 394-1790. =20 William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-2, 07/11/2006 Tested on: 7/12/2006 3:29:21 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_005E_01C6A563.5B813EA0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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Friday, July 14, 2006
|
![](3D"http://www.the-tidings.com/img/shim.gif"){kind=spacer} |
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
------=_NextPart_000_005E_01C6A563.5B813EA0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 13 06:35:44 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:35:44 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless Furthering Their Education Message-ID: <004201c6a646$924cb520$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_003F_01C6A625.0A9B52B0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/9507445/detail.html Homeless Furthering Their Education =20 Linda Mason, 54 has taken every computer course the Opportunity Center = for the Homeless has to offer. She and 70 other El Paso homeless people = received certificates of completion Wednesday morning during an awards = ceremony at the shelter. The students are from the various local = shelters. "Graduating from high school, I didn't think an education over a high = school education was important," said Mason, who enrolled at El Paso = Community College yesterday. The Opportunity Center are English and computer courses, but there are = more. "We are sometimes able to coordinate with volunteers to teach Spanish, a = self-investment course which can be a bridge to the workforce or higher = learning. They teach you everything from budgeting, to financial aid, to = interviewing and resumes," said Rena Miller, the education coordinator. It's the only education program in the state where you have to be living = in the streets or in a shelter to be eligible. "I never looked down on homeless people because some of them can't help = where they're at," said Mason. She said she was able to walk out of an abusive relationship that almost = killed her. A year later, she has completed every computer class the = center has to offer. Free courses like these give hope to some of these people. "Most of our homeless population can't speak English, and even if you = have documentation and you're a legal resident and can work, but you = don't speak English you're already at a huge disadvantage," said Miller. Mason is proud of her achievements and said it's never too late to = better your life. "Just don't give up, decide to go back. It took me 37 years to decide to = go to college," said Mason. Homeless people enrolled in courses are also eligible for apartment = housing provided by the shelter. If you would like to teach, you can call the Opportunity Center at = 577-0069. William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-3, 07/12/2006 Tested on: 7/13/2006 2:35:46 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_003F_01C6A625.0A9B52B0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://www.kfoxtv=
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Homeless Furthering Their Education
![](3D"http://www.kfoxtv.com/2006/0712/9507519_200X150.jpg") |
Linda Mason, 54 has taken every computer course the Opportunity = Center for=20 the Homeless has to offer. She and 70 other El Paso homeless people = received=20 certificates of completion Wednesday morning during an awards ceremony = at the=20 shelter. The students are from the various local shelters.
"Graduating from high school, I didn't think an education over a high = school=20 education was important," said Mason, who enrolled at El Paso Community = College=20 yesterday.
The Opportunity Center are English and computer courses, but there = are=20 more.
"We are sometimes able to coordinate with volunteers to teach = Spanish, a=20 self-investment course which can be a bridge to the workforce or higher=20 learning. They teach you everything from budgeting, to financial aid, to = interviewing and resumes," said Rena Miller, the education = coordinator.
It's the only education program in the state where you have to be = living in=20 the streets or in a shelter to be eligible.
"I never looked down on homeless people because some of them can't = help where=20 they're at," said Mason.
She said she was able to walk out of an abusive relationship that = almost=20 killed her. A year later, she has completed every computer class the = center has=20 to offer.
Free courses like these give hope to some of these people.
"Most of our homeless population can't speak English, and even if you = have=20 documentation and you're a legal resident and can work, but you don't = speak=20 English you're already at a huge disadvantage," said Miller.
Mason is proud of her achievements and said it's never too late to = better=20 your life.
"Just don't give up, decide to go back. It took me 37 years to decide = to go=20 to college," said Mason.
Homeless people enrolled in courses are also eligible for apartment = housing=20 provided by the shelter.
If you would like to teach, you can call the Opportunity Center at=20 577-0069.
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
http://www.nationalhomeless.org<= /A>
------=_NextPart_000_003F_01C6A625.0A9B52B0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 13 06:37:55 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:37:55 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless shelter or monument to the system? Message-ID: <004701c6a646$e036d810$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.cowichannewsleader.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=9&cat=48&id=688455&more= Homeless shelter or monument to the system? By Patrick Hrushowy Jul 12 2006 I'm getting a little nervous about the homeless shelter proposed for Duncan. I think the social agencies involved, and MLA Doug Routley, should do a little communicating with the community. Newspaper reports tell me that BC Housing is prepared to spend $3 million or more for a new or renovated building to create a shelter for the homeless. We're told a search is on for something else after it was decided the Sprott-Shaw Community College building would not work (at a cost of about $3 million with renovations). Just how many homeless people do we have in Duncan? Last winter several agencies and levels of government put together a temporary shelter for 10 homeless people. If that's all we have, does that mean we will be spending more than $300,000 for each homeless person we want to shelter? Perhaps there are 20 homeless, which means we will be spending $150,000 for each one of them. Routley's guest comment published in the weekend Pictorial, did not shed much light in the matter. Making ominous statements about a "growing homelessness issue," and then changing the subject to people challenged to find affordable shelter, only confuses the issue further. Is Routley suggesting the $3 million- plus facility he is supporting will in some way assist seniors and the working poor to have reasonably priced housing? Or, is he saying that if we don't have this shelter more seniors and working poor people will become homeless? I doubt that, but I'm sure he threw the whole affordability issue into his report just to increase the sense of urgency for the proposed facility. If Routley and the social agencies involved want the continued support of the community they should step up and be prepared to drop the spin and the ominous wringing of hands and tell us frankly what they are proposing. Somewhere along the line we were told that Social Planning Cowichan and the Canadian Mental Health Association wanted a 24,000 square foot facility. That's a lot of space. Consider that the average single-family three-bedroom home is around 2,000 square feet. This new facility will provide shelter for how many? Given what we know about the hardcore homeless population, most of them don't really want a permanent address; they are only really in trouble in their own minds when there is a run of seriously bad weather. So, what is being proposed here? Are we talking long-term living units? Are there going to be short-term shelter facilities? Will we be centralizing the social agencies that deal with the homeless into this one facility and releasing other rented office space? How many employees will there be to provide service to how many homeless? These are important questions because there are taxpayers who suspect the facility could become a monument to the system, and those who work in it. The homeless could only be a necessary evil to justify the whole exercise. Got a tip or comment? E-mail me at phrushowy@shaw.ca. William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-3, 07/12/2006 Tested on: 7/13/2006 2:37:56 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 13 06:40:11 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:40:11 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] CHILE RAVAGED BY WIND AND RAIN Message-ID: <005201c6a647$317d9380$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_004F_01C6A625.A9504A50 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable HEAVY RAINS HIT SANTIAGO HARD=20 PHOTO: Marc Hamel / The Santiago Times=20 CHILE RAVAGED BY WIND AND RAIN Bachelet Declares Region VIII A Disaster Zone And Visits Impacted Areas=20 (July 13, 2006) Strong rain and wind wreaked havoc Tuesday and Wednesday = in central and southern Chile, with reports of 12 deaths, 6 people = missing, and more than 30,000 left homeless at press time. Major = disruptions occurred from Santiago south to Coyhaique, with the worst = damage in Region VIII. Severe storm damages in Region VIII prompted President Michelle Bachelet = to declare it a disaster zone early Wednesday morning. Bachelet then = traveled to Region VIII to witness the damage firsthand and console = victims.=20 "We have worked together with regional and municipal governments in = order to prevent these types of situations," Bachelet said upon arrival. = Bachelet promised that government ministers would travel to the region = soon in order to "bring concrete solutions to the problems which have = gone from a regional problem to a national problem. . The government's = main job is to come to the aid of the citizens of Region VIII who have = suffered once again a weather catastrophe which has turned into a = personal and family tragedy."=20 Public Works Minister Eduardo Bitr=E1n echoed Bachelet's words, = promising the government would take immediate action to aid flood = victims. He also announced that the government would study proposals to = build flood defenses along several rivers in Region VIII.=20 Still, many residents were highly skeptical of Bachelet and Bitr=E1n's = quick assurances. Inhabitants of the affected areas say they have been = victim of years of government neglect. Several people openly accused = Bachelet of using the tragedy to help her falling approval rating (ST, = July 10).=20 The government will certainly have its work cut out when the clean-up = effort begins. More than 70 centimeters of rain fell in Region VIII = between Tuesday and Wednesday, causing significant flooding along the = Bio-Bio River and forcing regional officials to evacuate entire = communities. Impassable access roads and flooded bridges left the = region's capital, Concepci=F3n, temporarily isolated from the rest of = Chile. Schools across the region closed, and classes were suspended = until further notice. Nine of the 12 recorded deaths occurred almost simultaneously as a = result of a landslide in the Region VIII town of Chiguayante. Local = firefighters were helping neighborhood residents prepare to evacuate = Tuesday night when the land suddenly gave way, sucking an entire house = and everyone inside into the earth. Two police officers were also swept away Tuesday night while trying to = rescue people trapped under a bridge along the Teno River, near Talca. = Both officers were found Wednesday, but only one survived. Officials = involved in their rescue efforts blame their slow search on the heavy = wind and rain. In Region V, torrential rains flooded Valpara=EDso's picturesque steep = streets, closed its port to all ships, and provoked automobile accidents = in many parts of the city. Valpara=EDso mayor Aldo Cornejo responded to = the situation with some stern criticism for residents: "These accidents = are partly caused by the fact that the people do not cooperate." Interior Ministry Undersecretary Felipe Harboe cancelled all Wednesday = classes in numerous coastal Region V cities, including Valpara=EDso, = Vi=F1a del Mar, Conc=F3n, Casablanca, and Quintero. In greater Santiago, the weather system forced some 700 people from = their homes by Wednesday morning. According to local officials, = Pe=F1alol=E9n, La Granja, Calera de Tango, Paine y Talagante were the = hardest hit communities in the Metropolitan Region.=20 Still, Santiago remained relatively unscathed in comparison to southern = Chile. Fallen trees, sporadic power outages, street flooding, and slowed = public transportation were the most prevalent problems during the = Wednesday morning commute. "There are not a lot of problematic points (in Santiago)," assured = Santiago Indendente V=EDctor Barrueto. Barrueto described the cases of = people being forced from their homes as "isolated" and not part of any = massive flood.=20 Although meteorologists said the worst part of the storm passed by = yesterday morning, the National Emergency Office issued a weather = prognosis which erred on the side of caution. "The frontal system is currently active over Regions V and VI, producing = heavy precipitation in those areas. In the Metropolitan Region, the rain = will fall at a normal amount during the next 24 hours. Nevertheless, we = cannot discard the possibility of heavier precipitation later on." "A Code Yellow Environmental Alert remains in effect for Regions IV, V, = VI, IX, X, and Santiago. Meanwhile, by decree of local authorities, a = Code Red Environmental Alert will remain in effect in Regions VII and = VIII," the report added. National Emergency Office worker Carmen Fern=E1ndez said, "This is by = far the most severe weather that we have had this year."=20 (Ed. Note: See related News Brief about how the severe weather has = helped the local ski tourism industry).=20 SOURCE: RADIO COOPERATIVA, LA TERCERA, AND EL MERCURIO By Matt Malinowski editor@santiagotimes.cl =20 William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-3, 07/12/2006 Tested on: 7/13/2006 2:40:13 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_004F_01C6A625.A9504A50 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
![3D""=20](3D"http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/images/465_dotted.gif")
Bachelet Declares Region VIII A = Disaster=20 Zone And Visits Impacted Areas
(July 13, 2006) Strong rain and = wind=20 wreaked havoc Tuesday and Wednesday in central and southern Chile, with = reports=20 of 12 deaths, 6 people missing, and more than 30,000 left homeless at = press=20 time. Major disruptions occurred from Santiago south to Coyhaique, with = the=20 worst damage in Region VIII.
Severe storm damages in Region VIII = prompted=20 President Michelle Bachelet to declare it a disaster zone early = Wednesday=20 morning. Bachelet then traveled to Region VIII to witness the damage = firsthand=20 and console victims.
=93We have worked together with regional = and=20 municipal governments in order to prevent these types of situations,=94 = Bachelet=20 said upon arrival.
Bachelet promised that government ministers = would=20 travel to the region soon in order to =93bring concrete solutions to the = problems=20 which have gone from a regional problem to a national problem. =85 The=20 government=92s main job is to come to the aid of the citizens of Region = VIII who=20 have suffered once again a weather catastrophe which has turned into a = personal=20 and family tragedy.=94
Public Works Minister Eduardo Bitr=E1n = echoed=20 Bachelet=92s words, promising the government would take immediate action = to aid=20 flood victims. He also announced that the government would study = proposals to=20 build flood defenses along several rivers in Region VIII.
Still, = many=20 residents were highly skeptical of Bachelet and Bitr=E1n=92s quick = assurances.=20 Inhabitants of the affected areas say they have been victim of years of=20 government neglect. Several people openly accused Bachelet of using the = tragedy=20 to help her falling approval rating (ST, July 10).
The = government will=20 certainly have its work cut out when the clean-up effort begins. More = than 70=20 centimeters of rain fell in Region VIII between Tuesday and Wednesday, = causing=20 significant flooding along the Bio-Bio River and forcing regional = officials to=20 evacuate entire communities. Impassable access roads and flooded bridges = left=20 the region=92s capital, Concepci=F3n, temporarily isolated from the rest = of Chile.=20 Schools across the region closed, and classes were suspended until = further=20 notice.
Nine of the 12 recorded deaths occurred almost = simultaneously as=20 a result of a landslide in the Region VIII town of Chiguayante. Local=20 firefighters were helping neighborhood residents prepare to evacuate = Tuesday=20 night when the land suddenly gave way, sucking an entire house and = everyone=20 inside into the earth.
Two police officers were also swept away = Tuesday=20 night while trying to rescue people trapped under a bridge along the = Teno River,=20 near Talca. Both officers were found Wednesday, but only one survived. = Officials=20 involved in their rescue efforts blame their slow search on the heavy = wind and=20 rain.
In Region V, torrential rains flooded Valpara=EDso=92s = picturesque=20 steep streets, closed its port to all ships, and provoked automobile = accidents=20 in many parts of the city. Valpara=EDso mayor Aldo Cornejo responded to = the=20 situation with some stern criticism for residents: =93These accidents = are partly=20 caused by the fact that the people do not cooperate.=94
Interior = Ministry=20 Undersecretary Felipe Harboe cancelled all Wednesday classes in numerous = coastal=20 Region V cities, including Valpara=EDso, Vi=F1a del Mar, Conc=F3n, = Casablanca, and=20 Quintero.
In greater Santiago, the weather system forced some 700 = people=20 from their homes by Wednesday morning. According to local officials, = Pe=F1alol=E9n,=20 La Granja, Calera de Tango, Paine y Talagante were the hardest hit = communities=20 in the Metropolitan Region.
Still, Santiago remained relatively=20 unscathed in comparison to southern Chile. Fallen trees, sporadic power = outages,=20 street flooding, and slowed public transportation were the most = prevalent=20 problems during the Wednesday morning commute.
=93There are not a = lot of=20 problematic points (in Santiago),=94 assured Santiago Indendente = V=EDctor Barrueto.=20 Barrueto described the cases of people being forced from their homes as=20 =93isolated=94 and not part of any massive flood.
Although = meteorologists=20 said the worst part of the storm passed by yesterday morning, the = National=20 Emergency Office issued a weather prognosis which erred on the side of=20 caution.
=93The frontal system is currently active over Regions V = and VI,=20 producing heavy precipitation in those areas. In the Metropolitan = Region, the=20 rain will fall at a normal amount during the next 24 hours. = Nevertheless, we=20 cannot discard the possibility of heavier precipitation later = on.=94
=93A=20 Code Yellow Environmental Alert remains in effect for Regions IV, V, VI, = IX, X,=20 and Santiago. Meanwhile, by decree of local authorities, a Code Red=20 Environmental Alert will remain in effect in Regions VII and VIII,=94 = the report=20 added.
National Emergency Office worker Carmen Fern=E1ndez said, = =93This is=20 by far the most severe weather that we have had this year.=94 =
(Ed. Note:=20 See related News Brief about how the severe weather has helped the local = ski=20 tourism industry).
SOURCE: RADIO COOPERATIVA, LA TERCERA, AND EL = MERCURIO
By Matt Malinowski
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
http://www.nationalhomeless.org<= /A>
------=_NextPart_000_004F_01C6A625.A9504A50-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 13 06:43:30 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:43:30 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] How can those with homes keep ignoring those without? Message-ID: <005b01c6a647$a7cbd4c0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0058_01C6A626.201CE350 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2006/07/13/m1= 9a_copyfile_0713.html How can those with homes keep ignoring those without? Palm Beach Post Editorial Thursday, July 13, 2006 Did anyone else find it ironic that Emily Minor's column about the = homelessness problem in Palm Beach County, ("After abduction we can't = ignore homelessness," Saturday), was situated right next to the = multimillion-dollar property-tax revenue article in the Local section? = To avoid further problems like the abduction and attack that happened = July 5, I hope a portion of the $14.1 million windfall collected by the = county from all of us "with" homes can be immediately allocated to a = refuge for the 3,000-plus people "without." We need a well-planned, safe house to provide food, shelter, a rehab = center, as well as counselors and training to get as many of these = people as possible back on their feet within a year. It will be = expensive, but less than the costs to taxpayers of arrests, processing = and jailing of the homeless who are pushed to crime, not to mention the = even greater costs to the victims of these crimes, if we do nothing. All of us with food on the table and a roof over our heads should stop = and think about the Duane Vanduyls who share our county. If we continue = to ignore the problem, will they multiply in numbers? And, with the = current lack of affordable housing in the county, will we see = panhandlers at more of our intersections? As hard as it is to imagine, = homelessness could happen to any one of us. We have the money. Let's do something now. DONNA ADLER Jupiter Homeless? Maybe, but a criminal first Emily Minor's column is pleading for the poor homeless people, referring = to Duane Vanduyl. What about the victims of his crime? Armed robbery = (guns are not free), forced sexual acts and kidnapping, all in a day's = work for a homeless man? I am sure that the legitimate homeless people are horrified to be lumped = with this kind. There are people who are homeless through no fault of = their own, and then there are the ones who are homeless through their = own fault. I have seen them use their money for beer, drugs and = cigarettes. They eat free at different shelters so they can use what = they panhandle for their dependencies. Until you can separate these = people (hang signs on them?), people will continue to ignore them. It is worrisome when you are stopped for a traffic signal and they head = for your car. This should not be allowed, but then we don't enforce the = loitering laws, either, so we will have to endure. PAT LEE Lake Worth Contraception encourages sex; teach abstinence In response to Elisa Cramer's column on the latest pregnancy of L.G., = the 15-year-old who was afforded the right to kill her unborn child when = she was 13, Ms. Cramer would prefer that all teens living in the 33407, = 33460 and "impoverished Glades cities" be put on birth control because = the thought of immature teens making babies is "scary" to her ("Can a = bad example be a good parent?" June 30).=20 I can assume only that Ms. Cramer, herself a black woman, was referring = to young, poor blacks, Haitians and Hispanics. Perhaps she felt it was = more politically correct to refer to them as ZIP codes. Before we go = promoting, encouraging and distributing contraception for our children, = we need to realize that there is no magic pill that makes sex safe. No = form of contraception is 100 percent reliable, and few do anything to = protect against sexually transmitted diseases. Contraception encourages young people to engage in casual sex with = multiple partners. Contraception gives young people the freedom to = behave badly and destroys human dignity. Contraception distribution = assumes the worst in our youth. Abstinence education assumes the best. VALERIE MIERZWA Lake Worth FEMA only partly to blame; target false claimants I am disappointed that The Post and other news organizations and = reporters continue to turn a blind eye to the root cause for FEMA = wasting $1.2 billion in Katrina payouts.=20 This waste can be totally attributed to selfish and immoral parasites. = If it wasn't for the crooks, bums, scumbags and deadbeats who feel = "someone owes me something" for this act of God, many of the false = claims would not have been filed and mistakenly paid. While FEMA's system needs better safeguards, the legal system also needs = to step up and take legal action to prosecute those who submitted false = claims and demand restitution. And Congress ought not to be throwing too = many stones at FEMA, based on its own lack of prudent stewardship of = taxpayer money. J. MANNING Wellington William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-3, 07/12/2006 Tested on: 7/13/2006 2:43:31 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0058_01C6A626.201CE350 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/conte=
nt/opinion/epaper/2006/07/13/m19a_copyfile_0713.html
How can those with homes keep ignoring those without?
Palm Beach Post Editorial
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Did anyone else find it ironic that Emily Minor's column about the=20 homelessness problem in Palm Beach County, ("After abduction we can't = ignore=20 homelessness," Saturday), was situated right next to the = multimillion-dollar=20 property-tax revenue article in the Local section? To avoid further = problems=20 like the abduction and attack that happened July 5, I hope a portion of = the=20 $14.1 million windfall collected by the county from all of us "with" = homes can=20 be immediately allocated to a refuge for the 3,000-plus people = "without."
We need a well-planned, safe house to provide food, shelter, a rehab = center,=20 as well as counselors and training to get as many of these people as = possible=20 back on their feet within a year. It will be expensive, but less than = the costs=20 to taxpayers of arrests, processing and jailing of the homeless who are = pushed=20 to crime, not to mention the even greater costs to the victims of these = crimes,=20 if we do nothing.
All of us with food on the table and a roof over our heads should = stop and=20 think about the Duane Vanduyls who share our county. If we continue to = ignore=20 the problem, will they multiply in numbers? And, with the current lack = of=20 affordable housing in the county, will we see panhandlers at more of our = intersections? As hard as it is to imagine, homelessness could happen to = any one=20 of us.
We have the money. Let's do something now.
DONNA ADLER
Jupiter
Homeless? Maybe, but a criminal first
Emily Minor's column is pleading for the poor homeless people, = referring to=20 Duane Vanduyl. What about the victims of his crime? Armed robbery (guns = are not=20 free), forced sexual acts and kidnapping, all in a day's work for a = homeless=20 man?
I am sure that the legitimate homeless people are horrified to be = lumped with=20 this kind. There are people who are homeless through no fault of their = own, and=20 then there are the ones who are homeless through their own fault. I have = seen=20 them use their money for beer, drugs and cigarettes. They eat free at = different=20 shelters so they can use what they panhandle for their dependencies. = Until you=20 can separate these people (hang signs on them?), people will continue to = ignore=20 them.
It is worrisome when you are stopped for a traffic signal and they = head for=20 your car. This should not be allowed, but then we don't enforce the = loitering=20 laws, either, so we will have to endure.
PAT LEE
Lake Worth
Contraception encourages sex; teach abstinence
In response to Elisa Cramer's column on the latest pregnancy of L.G., = the=20 15-year-old who was afforded the right to kill her unborn child when she = was 13,=20 Ms. Cramer would prefer that all teens living in the 33407, 33460 and=20 "impoverished Glades cities" be put on birth control because the thought = of=20 immature teens making babies is "scary" to her ("Can a bad example be a = good=20 parent?" June 30).
I can assume only that Ms. Cramer, herself a black woman, was = referring to=20 young, poor blacks, Haitians and Hispanics. Perhaps she felt it was more = politically correct to refer to them as ZIP codes. Before we go = promoting,=20 encouraging and distributing contraception for our children, we need to = realize=20 that there is no magic pill that makes sex safe. No form of = contraception is 100=20 percent reliable, and few do anything to protect against sexually = transmitted=20 diseases.
Contraception encourages young people to engage in casual sex with = multiple=20 partners. Contraception gives young people the freedom to behave badly = and=20 destroys human dignity. Contraception distribution assumes the worst in = our=20 youth. Abstinence education assumes the best.
VALERIE MIERZWA
Lake Worth
FEMA only partly to blame; target false claimants
I am disappointed that The Post and other news organizations = and=20 reporters continue to turn a blind eye to the root cause for FEMA = wasting $1.2=20 billion in Katrina payouts.
This waste can be totally attributed to selfish and immoral = parasites. If it=20 wasn't for the crooks, bums, scumbags and deadbeats who feel "someone = owes me=20 something" for this act of God, many of the false claims would not have = been=20 filed and mistakenly paid.
While FEMA's system needs better safeguards, the legal system also = needs to=20 step up and take legal action to prosecute those who submitted false = claims and=20 demand restitution. And Congress ought not to be throwing too many = stones at=20 FEMA, based on its own lack of prudent stewardship of taxpayer = money.
J. MANNING Wellington
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
http://www.nationalhomeless.org<= /A>
------=_NextPart_000_0058_01C6A626.201CE350-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 13 19:24:52 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:24:52 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Joplin man found guilty of murder in homeless man's death Message-ID: <01e901c6a6b2$053cd4a0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_01E6_01C6A690.7C8796C0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/15030167.htm Thu, Jul. 13, 2006 Joplin man found guilty of murder in homeless man's death Associated Press JOPLIN, Mo. - A Jasper County jury has convicted a Joplin man of = second-degree murder in the death of a homeless man three years ago. Circuit Judge David Dally will not sentence William Hartman until Aug. = 7, but it is likely that Hartman, who has terminal cancer, will die in = prison. State law requires Hartman to serve 10 to 30 years or life in = prison for the crime. Hartman was tried on a charge of first-degree murder, which required the = jury to determine he acted with deliberation, defined as a period of = cool reflection. However, after less than three hours, the jury of four = women and eight men on Wednesday decided to convict Hartman on the = lesser charge of second-degree murder for the death of Alfred L. Smith. The prosecution said Hartman stuck Smith, a 58-year-old homeless man, = with one or two large rocks after the two men had an argument in = Hartman's home. Both men had been drinking with others throughout the = day, Feb. 4, 2003. The rocks were on either side of Smith's head when = his body was discovered in a ditch across from Hartman's home early the = next morning. Assistant prosecutor John Podleski reminded the jury during closing = arguments that Smith probably lay dying for an hour or two after he was = hit, according to testimony from the pathologist who conducted Smith's = autopsy. "The guy was out there slowly dying after he's crushed his face with a = rock," Podleski said. Hartman confessed to a Joplin police detective the day of the murder = that he killed Smith. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------- Information from: The Joplin Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-3, 07/12/2006 Tested on: 7/13/2006 3:24:54 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_01E6_01C6A690.7C8796C0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Joplin man found guilty of murder in homeless man's death
Associated Press
JOPLIN, Mo. -=20 A Jasper County jury has convicted a Joplin man of = second-degree=20 murder in the death of a homeless man three years ago.
Circuit Judge David Dally will not sentence William Hartman until = Aug. 7, but=20 it is likely that Hartman, who has terminal cancer, will die in prison. = State=20 law requires Hartman to serve 10 to 30 years or life in prison for the=20 crime.
Hartman was tried on a charge of first-degree murder, which required = the jury=20 to determine he acted with deliberation, defined as a period of cool = reflection.=20 However, after less than three hours, the jury of four women and eight = men on=20 Wednesday decided to convict Hartman on the lesser charge of = second-degree=20 murder for the death of Alfred L. Smith.
The prosecution said Hartman stuck Smith, a 58-year-old homeless man, = with=20 one or two large rocks after the two men had an argument in Hartman's = home. Both=20 men had been drinking with others throughout the day, Feb. 4, 2003. The = rocks=20 were on either side of Smith's head when his body was discovered in a = ditch=20 across from Hartman's home early the next morning.
Assistant prosecutor John Podleski reminded the jury during closing = arguments=20 that Smith probably lay dying for an hour or two after he was hit, = according to=20 testimony from the pathologist who conducted Smith's autopsy.
"The guy was out there slowly dying after he's crushed his face with = a rock,"=20 Podleski said.
Hartman confessed to a Joplin police detective the day of the murder = that he=20 killed Smith.
Information from: The Joplin Globe,
------=_NextPart_000_01E6_01C6A690.7C8796C0-- From morganbrown@gmail.com Thu Jul 13 20:55:07 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 16:55:07 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] HMIS and privacy concerns (from Rita Markley, Executive Director, Committee on Temporary Shelter in Burlington: COTS) In-Reply-To:
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/b=
ase/news-1/1152858489323030.xml&coll=3D8
Police: Homeless woman stole credit cards, went on =
shopping=20
spree
A woman suspected in at least 15 cases of credit card fraud and theft = was=20 arrested as she stood in a store checkout aisle with a cart full of = merchandise=20 -- and somebody else's credit card.
Woodbury Detective William Palese and Investigator Donnell Davis = arrested=20 Tonya Fleming, 21, who police said is homeless, at the Wal-Mart store in = Washington Township.
One of five credit cards stolen in separate incidents in Woodbury had = been=20 used at the Wal-Mart Store, said police, and the investigators had gone = to the=20 store to review security videotapes.
Palese and Davis had just left the store Wednesday when the security = manager=20 there called to tell them Fleming was in the store, police said.
Fleming was arrested standing in line to check out a cart full of=20 merchandise, said police. Investigators believe she was planning to use = a credit=20 card stolen earlier Wednesday in the PetSmart store in Deptford = Township, said=20 police.
On July 4, Fleming allegedly knocked on the door of a West Deptford = Township=20 residence and asked to use the phone, police said. When the resident = went to the=20 rear of the house to get the phone, Fleming allegedly took the woman's = wallet=20 from near the front door, police said.
Later that day, Fleming, accompanied by an unidentified man who has = not been=20 charged, allegedly used the woman's credit card at a store in Deptford = Township=20 and the CVS Pharmacy on Red Bank Avenue in Woodbury, said police. = Investigators=20 used a security videotape at CVS to identify Fleming and a warrant was = issued=20 charging her with burglary and theft, said West Deptford police.
Fleming was charged by Woodbury police with three counts of theft and = two=20 counts of fraud and was committed to the Gloucester County Women's = Detention=20 Center in Clarksboro in default of $2,500 full cash bail, said police. =
Additional counts of burglary and theft are expected to be filed by = West=20 Deptford police and bail has not been set for their charges, police = said.
Charges are reportedly still being considered in Deptford Township. =
Woodbury Detective Lt. Stephen Cope said investigators were still = trying to=20 determine how Fleming managed to travel from place to place, or where = she was=20 planning to take the merchandise she planned to buy from the Wal-Mart = store.=20
"We suspect she may have had people helping her," Cope said. =
------=_NextPart_000_0051_01C6A6FB.42450720-- From morganbrown@gmail.com Fri Jul 14 18:54:39 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:54:39 -0700 Subject: [Hpn] Find a better way to count the homeless; Burlington Free Press Editorial; 7/14/2006 In-Reply-To:
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/07/16=
housing.html
Housing crunch on display
Long lines for Section 8 vouchers 'just shows the need'
AMERICAN-STATESMAN =
STAFF
Sunday, July 16,=20
2006
They waited outside for hours, along sidewalks and side streets, on = lawn=20 chairs or nearby lawns, all for a chance at cheap housing.
Last week, thousands of single mothers, seniors, disabled people and=20 low-income families lined up at the Millennium Youth Entertainment = Complex to=20 apply for Section 8 housing, a federally funded program that helps poor = people=20 pay their rent in private apartments and houses. In just three days, the = city's=20 housing authority took 6,566 applications =97 a 93 percent increase over = the first=20 three days that the waiting list was open in April 2001, the last time = the=20 housing authority took Section 8 applications. =
Brian K. Diggs
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Isheeka Graham gives her daughter Deralicia Warren, = 4, a lift=20 to the hoop outside their North Austin home. A Katrina evacuee who was = one of=20 thousands to apply for Section 8 housing, Graham says her FEMA = assistance will=20 soon run out.
Brian K. Diggs
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Deralicia Warren carries laundry through the kitchen = as her=20 mother, Isheeka Graham, washes dishes in her house in North Austin. = Graham lives=20 in a four-bedroom house paid for by FEMA, but her FEMA subsidy is likely = to end=20 in the fall. Like thousands of others, she's hoping for help from the=20 city.
"The line was just incredible," said Beth Atherton, executive = director of=20 Caritas, an Austin nonprofit group that helps homeless and low-income = people.=20 "It just shows the need."
Austin is among many cities across the country struggling to provide = homes=20 for the poor. Most major cities have long Section 8 waiting lists. When = the=20 housing authority in Columbus, Ohio, opened its list earlier this year, = 6,000=20 people showed up on the first day.
In Texas, Houston's Section 8 waiting list has been closed since = 2001.=20 Dallas' has been closed since 2004. Both cities have long waits for a = spot in=20 public housing complexes.
Yet even against a national backdrop where the demand for affordable = homes=20 clearly outweighs the supply, Austin's housing authority seemed = surprised by=20 last week's turnout. Officials had expected 2,000-3,000 people during = the=20 three-day application period.
More than 2,400 showed up on the first day.
Lisa Garcia, vice president of assisted housing at the housing = authority,=20 says there are lots of reasons for the large demand. Among them: rising = rents, a=20 federal minimum wage that hasn't increased in almost a decade, declining = federal=20 funding and an influx of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who are expected to = lose=20 Federal Emergency Management Agency support in the coming months.
Those who got on the waiting list will wait one to three years for a = voucher.=20 For now, families are struggling to survive.
"Some people are just getting by and can barely afford to pay for = their=20 rent," Garcia said. "Others are living with family. Some are homeless." =
Willing to wait
Isheeka Graham wasn't taking any chances.
The New Orleans native, who lives with her three children and four = sisters in=20 a four-bedroom house paid for by FEMA, wanted to make sure she = got in her=20 application. So she got in line at the Millennium at 9 p.m. Monday, the = night=20 before the list opened.
Armed with a lawn chair, a sleeping bag, a crossword puzzle and ham = and=20 cheese sandwiches, Graham sat with her sister and prayed.
"Our FEMA money runs out in October," said Graham, who came to Austin = in the=20 wake of Hurricane Katrina. "The rent here is very high, and we can't = afford it."=20
So Graham, who is studying to get her GED, is counting on public = housing or=20 Section 8.
Though they are both federally funded programs, public housing and = Section 8=20 are two very different things.
People in the public housing program live in apartments owned and = operated by=20 the housing authority. Residents pay a flat rate or a portion of their = income=20 for rent. The housing authority makes the rules and can evict tenants = for=20 breaking them.
There are 1,928 units available through the housing authority. More = than=20 4,500 people are on that list, with waits ranging from three months to = two=20 years, depending on the size apartment needed.
Section 8 =97 officially called the "Housing Choice Voucher Program" = =97 helps=20 low-income people rent apartments and houses from private landlords. = Renters pay=20 30 percent to 40 percent of their income. The voucher program makes up = the=20 difference between what the renter can pay and the rent.
There are more than 5,000 families in the local Section 8 program at = any=20 given time. Housing officials say they have more willing landlords than=20 vouchers.
Both housing programs are based on renter income. For example, a = family of=20 four cannot make more than $35,550 to qualify for Section 8.
But the voucher program is far too popular to meet demand. There is a = constant waiting list, one that takes new names only every several years = so it=20 doesn't become too unwieldy for administrators.
The authority has several full-time staffers devoted solely to = updating=20 applications and notifying people that a voucher is available.
When the housing authority opened the waiting list in April 2001, = 3,400=20 applications were filed in the first three days. By the time the list = was closed=20 one year later, there were 10,000 people on it.
And even that does not reflect the true need, said Frank Fernandez, a = member=20 of HousingWorks, an Austin advocacy group that pushed for a $55 million = Austin=20 affordable housing bond proposition that will be on the November ballot. =
"Some people think, 'Why even bother to apply? I'm going to be on the = list=20 for years,' " he said.
Supply versus demand
Austin isn't a cheap place to live, even for renters.
According to the Basic Needs Coalition of Central Texas, a group of = social=20 service providers that looks at housing issues, the fair market rent for = a=20 two-bedroom apartment with utilities is $912 a month.
The federal minimum wage, which was last raised in 1997, is $5.15 an = hour. A=20 minimum wage worker who puts in 40 hours a week grosses $824 a month. =
Those stagnant wages can't keep up with rising housing costs, = Fernandez said,=20 much less leave anything for food, clothing and other essentials.
"Housing is getting more expensive and the people who feel that the = most are=20 the people who are at the bottom end," he said.
Complicating the picture is the influx of Katrina evacuees. The city = has=20 estimated that about 6,000 people are still in Austin after fleeing the=20 hurricane last fall. The housing authority says it doesn't know how many = Section=20 8 applicants are evacuees. But nonprofits such as Caritas say many = Katrina=20 clients are close to losing their FEMA-funded apartments.
About 30 of Caritas' 150 Katrina families applied for Section 8 last = week.=20
"They're not looking for anyone to give them anything," Atherton = said. "They=20 just want to feel safe and secure."
The housing authority has tried to keep up with the increasing = demand.=20 Between 1997 and 2003, the agency nearly doubled its number of Section 8 = vouchers. But since then, federal money has tightened up and extra = vouchers have=20 been hard to come by, Garcia said.
"We pretty much applied for anything and everything that became = available,"=20 she said.
Additionally, no new public housing units have been built in Austin = since the=20 early 1980s.
This November, for the first time, voters will get to decide whether = they=20 want to spend more money on affordable housing. In June, the Austin City = Council=20 voted to put a $55 million bond package on the ballot that would provide = more=20 housing for low-income people.
Also last month, Councilwoman Jennifer Kim spearheaded the creation = of an=20 affordable housing task force charged with suggesting ways to add to the = city's=20 pool of cheap homes. That group is expected to wrap up its work this = fall.
"The long lines for Section 8 housing are a true indication that = Austin must=20 address its affordable housing problem now," Kim said.
aball@statesman.com; 912-2506
------=_NextPart_000_0057_01C6A87F.8B2AAAA0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Sun Jul 16 20:48:00 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 16:48:00 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Feeding the multitudes Message-ID: <01ac01c6a919$20d22f80$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_01A9_01C6A8F7.9914E630 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=3DeXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmd= iZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5NjIyNjUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky Feeding the multitudes=20 =20 Sunday, July 16, 2006=20 By TIM NORRIS HERALD NEWS=20 =20 Doors to the Father English Community Center and its emergency food = pantry swing open at 8 a.m. on a rainy Wednesday in early July, and a = jumbled crowd moves through, dripping and solemn.=20 For the next three hours, until the daily cutoff for registration at 11 = a.m., a parade of men and women, some with children, step into an office = to sign in, to proffer picture I.D., Social Security or green card, to = fill in a records form, and they take chairs in a rough semicircle on = the open floor of the recreation room below, waiting to be called by = name:=20 =20 A 17-year-old mother with a baby girl, 3 months old; a thin and stooped = man of uncertain age wearing a U.S. Army jacket with the flag of South = Vietnam stitched on the back; an out-of-work welder with a bad leg; a = heavily tattooed man still in his late teens and not long out of a = lockup; a recovering alcoholic in his 50s; a woman and two children just = in from Ecuador, speaking only Spanish and still living with relatives = in a small apartment; a couple in their 70s, fraught over the wife's = kidney disease; a woman in her late 40s who takes care of her = grandchildren; a man from Slovakia struggling to find work and hoping to = join a brother in Chicago. On sight, no one looking at them can guess the sting and tangle of their = stories, Barbara Gaschler is saying from inside the office, but two = things are certain: Nearly all are going through a short-term or = long-term struggle, and nearly all are, in one or more ways, hungry. They might be the most visible among legions of what anti-hunger = advocates call "the hidden hungry," fallen into a growing gap between = the wealthy on one hand and the middle class and poor on the other. The = largest percentage seeking help, advocates say, is women with families. = Many who seek help are working, and among those are clients in so-called = "upscale" communities. Others, new to the U.S., struggle with English = and lack education or job skills. A large number are ill or disabled or = are over age 65, trying to live on fixed income as housing and living = costs rise. Some were knocked out of comfortable lives by job loss or = accident, divorce or bankruptcy. Some, as one pantry worker says, "just = screwed up." "We don't see the kind of hunger they have in Africa; we don't see = bloated bellies," says Adele LaTourette, director of SEFAN (Statewide = Emergency Food and Anti-Hunger Network), based in the Center for Food = Action in Englewood. "It's much, much more hidden. It's people cutting = back on food because they can't cut back on rent. It's mothers skipping = meals themselves so they can feed their children."=20 The Rev. Pat Bruger, who oversees Paterson's CUMAC-ECHO and sometimes = works with LaTourette, says, "We tend to think, 'It's those people over = there, poor, lazy, made bad choices.' We forget that we all have crises; = we all have health issues, all kinds of issues, any of us, no matter = what our economic level. These people can be living right down the = street, right next-door." Some moving into Father English off Main Street that morning have been = referred by the county's Department of Human Services or other social = service agencies, shelters or churches. The center provides not just = emergency food but job and computer training, English classes, = after-school programs, work assistance, even bus passes. Many have heard = of the pantry and other services through friends or family. A few find = it through word-of-mouth on the street.=20 Here is Carlvin Duncan, age 50, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles jersey, = laid off three weeks before from a labor job with a welding company, = looking to find a way through the next few weeks until, he hopes, the = company hires him back. He supports a son, Erik. "When I first came to New Jersey, I worked in a carnival in Wayne," = Duncan says. "I had torn up my knee playing football, and I just = couldn't keep up. The welding job is good, but they bid on contracts and = sometimes there's no work. I can't collect unemployment because I owe = money. I'll get back, but for now friends told me to come here."=20 Here is Misha Belich, divorced, back in this country after a stay in = part of what used to be his native Yugoslavia, seeking work and planning = to join a Serbian community in Chicago. "My love years ago was = journalism," he says. "Then I was a chemist. I did painting. Now I'm = kind of roaming, trying to do anything I can." Here is Damaris Ygnacio, with her baby, Caitie Coinell, and her = mother-in-law, Silma Coinell. Damaris came to Paterson from the Dominican Republic in 1999 at age 15 = and, while enduring taunts and language and cultural struggles at two = local high schools, learned English, found low-paying work in retail, = finished high school and started community college. Now, at 23, she = says, she hopes to stay at home with 3-month-old Caitie for six months, = long enough to get her good day care or started in schooling, then build = a career in early childhood education. "Right now I'm living on the second floor of a house, and the rent is = $975," she says, as Caitie nestles in a blanket on her shoulder. "And we = have to pay the heat and cooling on the side. A baby needs so much. My = husband (Alvin) is working, but he doesn't make a lot. My mother-in-law = said this is a good place to get help." Gaschler and her staff greet them all, sit them down at the desks to = sign in, go through the paperwork. Most move along, then, to the = emergency food pantry, overseen by Carlos Roldan and his assistant, = Maritza Rosa. They can proceed to the basement, too, for clothing. Some = are visiting just once, to be referred to a pantry closer to home. Some = will continue showing up for a monthly emergency allocation, three meals = a day for five days.=20 Cultural critics such as Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh label many = seeking help with food as deadbeats, malingerers, failures, phonies. = They rarely offer such criticism face-to-face because, for starters, = they don't see these faces. The staff at Father English and its = presiding director, Deacon Robert Vesota, see them nearly every day, and = they invite skeptics to visit.=20 "You can tell maybe the one or two in a hundred who are kidding around, = pulling our chain, trying to get away with something," Bill Hudson says. = "About 99 percent who come in really need food and really need help."=20 >From a desk within the front office at Father English, Hudson and = Gaschler oversee the Emergency Food Coalition for Passaic County, a = group of 31 pantries including Father English, CUMAC-ECHO, St. Paul's, = Creech Community Food Pantry, Koinonia Christian Ministries and a host = of smaller outlets. Last year, coalition members served more than = 278,000 people something over 4 million meals, up 39 percent from the = year before.=20 "This is a big safety net," Hudson says, "and the people holding it up = are really dedicated. But we're always on the edge. We need help, too." Despite government, corporate and faith-based efforts to stem hunger, = the clientele continues to grow. In June alone, the food pantry at St. = Paul's (Episcopal) Community Development Corp., on Van Houten Street in = central Paterson, saw more than 2,300 people, and its annual number of = clients has nearly doubled in five years, to more than 30,000. In the = meantime, resources are shrinking. Fund-raising events raise money and = public profile, and the Community FoodBank of New Jersey and agencies = and community groups such as the United Way, the Boy and Girl Scouts, = schools, clubs and especially churches continue to give and work. But = overall corporate food contributions and grant money are down across the = board.=20 Some pantries, Adele LaTourette says, are running out of food.=20 "We've been turned down on some of the grants we've always depended on," = St. Paul's pantry manager Louis Franzia says. "ShopRite has come through = with its grant, and Christ Church and others in Ridgewood are depositing = some money for us at the FoodBank, but we're seeing need we've never = seen before, beyond the depressed Fifth Ward. We get maybe 20 people = each day from adult day care in Clifton and elsewhere, and new people = from Prospect Park, and that's just the start."=20 On this day at Father English, between the front office, the food pantry = and the clothing outlet downstairs, Gaschler and her office staff, young = women named Yaritza and Dorina referred through CASA (Community Action = for Social Affairs, a Paterson social services organization), and Roldan = and his assistant, Maritza Rosa, might see 40 or 50 people. By the last = two weeks of the month, when food stamps and money run short, an average = day might bring in 100 or more. "When I started here, as a client 10 years ago, the pantry was just this = little corner (office) here," Rosa says. "You can see how we've = expanded. I don't know what people would do without us, without the = group of pantries. I think a lot of people would starve." Rosa feels the pain she sees more deeply than many. "I came here as an = unwed mother, needing food," she says. "I had welfare and food stamps, = and they weren't enough. Then I volunteered. After 4-1/2 years, I got = hired as a secretary. I'm assistant director, now, and I understand what = these people are going through. You really feel for them. Many of them = are embarrassed and ashamed. I say, 'I'm trying to feed you.'"=20 Across downtown Paterson from Father English, the staff in CUMAC-ECHO on = Ellison Street expects even larger numbers walking in and must handle a = busy loading dock and a thrift shop, besides. They, too, have grown = dramatically, from humble beginnings into a central food depot, and even = in this "slow" time of month, the place is bustling. "Bread coming in!" Pedro Negron, the warehouse manager, calls out, and = among those to respond is Dr. Dave Pierson, a retired Methodist minister = who serves as interim director of the thrift shop. They lift bread from = boxes and sort it into bags to send out again to smaller pantries.=20 Midway through the building, in the offices, volunteers confer. Pat = Bruger is between phone calls, listening to a volunteer's concerns. Her = daughter Lynne, who came up from working at the Kaiser Family Foundation = in Washington, D.C., to write a series of successful grant proposals, = emerges from behind a screened-off desk to help with deliveries. Their = co-worker, director of administration Laura Purdy, finds herself hastily = packing produce. Up front, Chevon Flores cheerfully greets a young woman with a baby, = then an older man leaning on a cane, then an anxious-looking woman in = her 40s. "I came here in 1998, with the welfare-to-work," Flores says. = "I wanted to stay, and eventually they put me on the payroll. I was a = little house-of-fire at first, telling everybody off. I learned better." = Food and site manager Michael Devore comes up from the back, where he = has been helping Negron and co-worker Jose Maldonado to move a heavy = fire door as dictated by a city inspector. Much of their work is done = behind the scenes, arranging, hauling, repairing. Many of their = part-time workers are volunteers; some are offenders assigned to them by = the Department of Corrections. "This job has softened me," Devore says. "I used to be hardcore, didn't = care about anything or anybody. When I got here, I started seeing what = other people are going through. And the people I work with are a = family."=20 With clients they seem respectful, easygoing, even teasing. Devore = advises a man who has just extended a hand palm up across the front = counter to say "Dame bolsa, por favor" ("Give me a bag, please"). The = man smiles, asks, gets a bag of food. That transaction is simple. The most nutritious and appetizing food, = though, can prove elusive and expensive. Part of any pantry's ongoing = struggle is matching what clients want and need with what food banks, = government and donors can provide, and finding money to buy the rest. "With our small staff, thank God for computers," Debbie Brancato of = CUMAC-ECHO says. "Otherwise we could never track all this food and = what's going where and who needs what. We just hope we'll keep getting = enough food to track!" As they pursue food, she says, they must often pursue peace-of-mind, = too, in the face of much appreciated but sometimes unreliable = volunteers; of clients with "attitude," demanding food they can't = provide; of emissaries from churches and small pantries, looking for = impossible bailouts in food or funds. Hours grow longer, patience = shorter.=20 Earlier this week, Brancato, Bruger and their staff were glad to learn = that a rumor that St. Paul's on Van Houten Street in Paterson might = close for July or August proved false, though the pantry may have to = take off an occasional weekday. CUMAC-ECHO is closed Fridays through the = summer. Father English shutters for a number of days in July and August. "In summer there are no school meals, so people have to feed their = children, and (for donors) there are vacations and trying to get away," = Carlos Roldan of Father English says. "But people need to eat every = day." At CUMAC that recent morning, Olga Gonzalez sits in the waiting area and = watches her grandson, Brendan, amble among chairs. Two plastic bags rest = at her feet, filled with hamburger buns, whole wheat bread, milk, "lite" = rye rolls and strawberry pastry. A plain wood settee with a book shelf = underneath waits at the door for Brendan to carry up the street. "You want children to have a good place to play," Gonzalez says. "Is not = easy, in the city. They're helping us, here. Where we live, some people = who are new don't speak English, and I bring them down here for help." New waves of people in need keep coming through the doors. To = statisticians and advocates, who use the numbers in seeking support, = these people come from a much larger group: some 741,000 living in = poverty (for a family of three, an annual income under $16,900) in New = Jersey according to the U.S. Census; nearly a million people in the = state facing food insecurity - limited or uncertain access to food = needed for health - or outright hunger and malnutrition, according to = the Center on Hunger and Poverty. Numbers are one thing; human beings another.=20 Here is an angular, long-haired man is his 60s, identifying himself only = as "Dave," wearing a T-shirt with the image of a large mosquito and the = words "I went fishing in Minnesota, and this is the only bite I got," = carrying a backpack and saying he's been "on the road." He's looking for = a bag of food to tide him over.=20 Here is a pregnant woman named Marisa, almost in tears, shaking her head = and saying, "No I.D., don't got that," reassured when a staff members = says, "We'll get a Social (Security number) for you."=20 Here, now, is Aaron Williams, whose breath smells of alcohol. He is = breaking one of the center's few ironclad rules, pasted to the tops of = large desks in the office: "No drugs or alcohol." But no one will throw = him out. "I'm trying to get something to eat," he says. "I'm homeless, = but I lost my identification." As he talks about time in prison and = trouble with housing he becomes angry, starts to curse and rant against = a former landlord. He calms down, sits awhile downstairs, and then, = still muttering, pushes back out onto the street. When he is sober, = staff members say, he can come back. >From his post just inside the door, Henry Bush hears Williams' = profanity-ridden lament and frowns, crossing his arms. Bush, who watches = the door, is a former jet engine mechanic in Vietnam and doesn't mind = criticizing his namesake in the White House. He also has seen a lot of = living. "We've got no control over this guy," he says. "All we can do is = pray for him and give him the right direction. If he don't want to take = that direction, let him keep suffering. Then let him get serious. = Nothing is gong to work until you say, 'I'm ready to do it.'" They try, always, to avoid passing judgment, Gaschler says. They hear = all kinds of stories. But every person, every place has limits.=20 Later into a steamy afternoon at CUMAC and at Father English, front = rooms have emptied, delivery docks have quieted, but the offices are = still buzzing. By the third and fourth weeks in the month, staff members = say, they can be overwhelmed. "It's easy for people to picture a disaster like Katrina and respond to = it," Bill Hudson says. "This is like a crawling disaster. You don't hear = about it. You can pass someone on the street and never know how much = trouble they're in." A woman comes into Father English from Main Street, apologizing. She = couldn't find a ride. She knows it's after hours. Somebody said she = might get some diapers and a crib. As a dutiful security guard, Bush = says, "Sorry, you're too late," then hesitates. "But if you want ..." Gaschler steps out from the office. "C'mon in," she says, and the woman = smiles and says, "Thank you. Thank you so much." Gaschler smiles back = and says, "It's OK. God bless you."=20 Reach Tim Norris at 973-569-7131 or norrist@northjersey.com. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-5, 07/14/2006 Tested on: 7/16/2006 4:48:01 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_01A9_01C6A8F7.9914E630 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
|
Sunday, July 16, 2006 |
Doors to the Father English Community Center and its emergency food = pantry=20 swing open at 8 a.m. on a rainy Wednesday in early July, and a jumbled = crowd=20 moves through, dripping and solemn.
For the next three hours, until the daily cutoff for registration at = 11 a.m.,=20 a parade of men and women, some with children, step into an office to = sign in,=20 to proffer picture I.D., Social Security or green card, to fill in a = records=20 form, and they take chairs in a rough semicircle on the open floor of = the=20 recreation room below, waiting to be called by name:
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A 17-year-old mother with a baby girl, 3 months old; a thin and = stooped man=20 of uncertain age wearing a U.S. Army jacket with the flag of South = Vietnam=20 stitched on the back; an out-of-work welder with a bad leg; a heavily = tattooed=20 man still in his late teens and not long out of a lockup; a recovering = alcoholic=20 in his 50s; a woman and two children just in from Ecuador, speaking only = Spanish=20 and still living with relatives in a small apartment; a couple in their = 70s,=20 fraught over the wife's kidney disease; a woman in her late 40s who = takes care=20 of her grandchildren; a man from Slovakia struggling to find work and = hoping to=20 join a brother in Chicago.
On sight, no one looking at them can guess the sting and tangle of = their=20 stories, Barbara Gaschler is saying from inside the office, but two = things are=20 certain: Nearly all are going through a short-term or long-term = struggle, and=20 nearly all are, in one or more ways, hungry.
They might be the most visible among legions of what anti-hunger = advocates=20 call "the hidden hungry," fallen into a growing gap between the wealthy = on one=20 hand and the middle class and poor on the other. The largest percentage = seeking=20 help, advocates say, is women with families. Many who seek help are = working, and=20 among those are clients in so-called "upscale" communities. Others, new = to the=20 U.S., struggle with English and lack education or job skills. A large = number are=20 ill or disabled or are over age 65, trying to live on fixed income as = housing=20 and living costs rise. Some were knocked out of comfortable lives by job = loss or=20 accident, divorce or bankruptcy. Some, as one pantry worker says, "just = screwed=20 up."
"We don't see the kind of hunger they have in Africa; we don't see = bloated=20 bellies," says Adele LaTourette, director of SEFAN (Statewide Emergency = Food and=20 Anti-Hunger Network), based in the Center for Food Action in Englewood. = "It's=20 much, much more hidden. It's people cutting back on food because they = can't cut=20 back on rent. It's mothers skipping meals themselves so they can feed = their=20 children."
The Rev. Pat Bruger, who oversees Paterson's CUMAC-ECHO and sometimes = works=20 with LaTourette, says, "We tend to think, 'It's those people over there, = poor,=20 lazy, made bad choices.' We forget that we all have crises; we all have = health=20 issues, all kinds of issues, any of us, no matter what our economic = level. These=20 people can be living right down the street, right next-door."
Some moving into Father English off Main Street that morning have = been=20 referred by the county's Department of Human Services or other social = service=20 agencies, shelters or churches. The center provides not just emergency = food but=20 job and computer training, English classes, after-school programs, work=20 assistance, even bus passes. Many have heard of the pantry and other = services=20 through friends or family. A few find it through word-of-mouth on the = street.=20
Here is Carlvin Duncan, age 50, wearing a Philadelphia Eagles jersey, = laid=20 off three weeks before from a labor job with a welding company, looking = to find=20 a way through the next few weeks until, he hopes, the company hires him = back. He=20 supports a son, Erik.
"When I first came to New Jersey, I worked in a carnival in Wayne," = Duncan=20 says. "I had torn up my knee playing football, and I just couldn't keep = up. The=20 welding job is good, but they bid on contracts and sometimes there's no = work. I=20 can't collect unemployment because I owe money. I'll get back, but for = now=20 friends told me to come here."
Here is Misha Belich, divorced, back in this country after a stay in = part of=20 what used to be his native Yugoslavia, seeking work and planning to join = a=20 Serbian community in Chicago. "My love years ago was journalism," he = says. "Then=20 I was a chemist. I did painting. Now I'm kind of roaming, trying to do = anything=20 I can."
Here is Damaris Ygnacio, with her baby, Caitie Coinell, and her=20 mother-in-law, Silma Coinell.
Damaris came to Paterson from the Dominican Republic in 1999 at age = 15 and,=20 while enduring taunts and language and cultural struggles at two local = high=20 schools, learned English, found low-paying work in retail, finished high = school=20 and started community college. Now, at 23, she says, she hopes to stay = at home=20 with 3-month-old Caitie for six months, long enough to get her good day = care or=20 started in schooling, then build a career in early childhood = education.
"Right now I'm living on the second floor of a house, and the rent is = $975,"=20 she says, as Caitie nestles in a blanket on her shoulder. "And we have = to pay=20 the heat and cooling on the side. A baby needs so much. My husband = (Alvin) is=20 working, but he doesn't make a lot. My mother-in-law said this is a good = place=20 to get help."
Gaschler and her staff greet them all, sit them down at the desks to = sign in,=20 go through the paperwork. Most move along, then, to the emergency food = pantry,=20 overseen by Carlos Roldan and his assistant, Maritza Rosa. They can = proceed to=20 the basement, too, for clothing. Some are visiting just once, to be = referred to=20 a pantry closer to home. Some will continue showing up for a monthly = emergency=20 allocation, three meals a day for five days.
Cultural critics such as Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh label many = seeking=20 help with food as deadbeats, malingerers, failures, phonies. They rarely = offer=20 such criticism face-to-face because, for starters, they don't see these = faces.=20 The staff at Father English and its presiding director, Deacon Robert = Vesota,=20 see them nearly every day, and they invite skeptics to visit.
"You can tell maybe the one or two in a hundred who are kidding = around,=20 pulling our chain, trying to get away with something," Bill Hudson says. = "About=20 99 percent who come in really need food and really need help."
From a desk within the front office at Father English, Hudson and = Gaschler=20 oversee the Emergency Food Coalition for Passaic County, a group of 31 = pantries=20 including Father English, CUMAC-ECHO, St. Paul's, Creech Community Food = Pantry,=20 Koinonia Christian Ministries and a host of smaller outlets. Last year,=20 coalition members served more than 278,000 people something over 4 = million=20 meals, up 39 percent from the year before.
"This is a big safety net," Hudson says, "and the people holding it = up are=20 really dedicated. But we're always on the edge. We need help, too."
Despite government, corporate and faith-based efforts to stem hunger, = the=20 clientele continues to grow. In June alone, the food pantry at St. = Paul's=20 (Episcopal) Community Development Corp., on Van Houten Street in central = Paterson, saw more than 2,300 people, and its annual number of clients = has=20 nearly doubled in five years, to more than 30,000. In the meantime, = resources=20 are shrinking. Fund-raising events raise money and public profile, and = the=20 Community FoodBank of New Jersey and agencies and community groups such = as the=20 United Way, the Boy and Girl Scouts, schools, clubs and especially = churches=20 continue to give and work. But overall corporate food contributions and = grant=20 money are down across the board.
Some pantries, Adele LaTourette says, are running out of food.
"We've been turned down on some of the grants we've always depended = on," St.=20 Paul's pantry manager Louis Franzia says. "ShopRite has come through = with its=20 grant, and Christ Church and others in Ridgewood are depositing some = money for=20 us at the FoodBank, but we're seeing need we've never seen before, = beyond the=20 depressed Fifth Ward. We get maybe 20 people each day from adult day = care in=20 Clifton and elsewhere, and new people from Prospect Park, and that's = just the=20 start."
On this day at Father English, between the front office, the food = pantry and=20 the clothing outlet downstairs, Gaschler and her office staff, young = women named=20 Yaritza and Dorina referred through CASA (Community Action for Social = Affairs, a=20 Paterson social services organization), and Roldan and his assistant, = Maritza=20 Rosa, might see 40 or 50 people. By the last two weeks of the month, = when food=20 stamps and money run short, an average day might bring in 100 or = more.
"When I started here, as a client 10 years ago, the pantry was just = this=20 little corner (office) here," Rosa says. "You can see how we've = expanded. I=20 don't know what people would do without us, without the group of = pantries. I=20 think a lot of people would starve."
Rosa feels the pain she sees more deeply than many. "I came here as = an unwed=20 mother, needing food," she says. "I had welfare and food stamps, and = they=20 weren't enough. Then I volunteered. After 4-1/2 years, I got hired as a=20 secretary. I'm assistant director, now, and I understand what these = people are=20 going through. You really feel for them. Many of them are embarrassed = and=20 ashamed. I say, 'I'm trying to feed you.'"
Across downtown Paterson from Father English, the staff in CUMAC-ECHO = on=20 Ellison Street expects even larger numbers walking in and must handle a = busy=20 loading dock and a thrift shop, besides. They, too, have grown = dramatically,=20 from humble beginnings into a central food depot, and even in this = "slow" time=20 of month, the place is bustling.
"Bread coming in!" Pedro Negron, the warehouse manager, calls out, = and among=20 those to respond is Dr. Dave Pierson, a retired Methodist minister who = serves as=20 interim director of the thrift shop. They lift bread from boxes and sort = it into=20 bags to send out again to smaller pantries.
Midway through the building, in the offices, volunteers confer. Pat = Bruger is=20 between phone calls, listening to a volunteer's concerns. Her daughter = Lynne,=20 who came up from working at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, = D.C., to=20 write a series of successful grant proposals, emerges from behind a = screened-off=20 desk to help with deliveries. Their co-worker, director of = administration Laura=20 Purdy, finds herself hastily packing produce.
Up front, Chevon Flores cheerfully greets a young woman with a baby, = then an=20 older man leaning on a cane, then an anxious-looking woman in her 40s. = "I came=20 here in 1998, with the welfare-to-work," Flores says. "I wanted to stay, = and=20 eventually they put me on the payroll. I was a little house-of-fire at = first,=20 telling everybody off. I learned better."
Food and site manager Michael Devore comes up from the back, where he = has=20 been helping Negron and co-worker Jose Maldonado to move a heavy fire = door as=20 dictated by a city inspector. Much of their work is done behind the = scenes,=20 arranging, hauling, repairing. Many of their part-time workers are = volunteers;=20 some are offenders assigned to them by the Department of = Corrections.
"This job has softened me," Devore says. "I used to be hardcore, = didn't care=20 about anything or anybody. When I got here, I started seeing what other = people=20 are going through. And the people I work with are a family."
With clients they seem respectful, easygoing, even teasing. Devore = advises a=20 man who has just extended a hand palm up across the front counter to say = "Dame=20 bolsa, por favor" ("Give me a bag, please"). The man smiles, asks, gets = a bag of=20 food.
That transaction is simple. The most nutritious and appetizing food, = though,=20 can prove elusive and expensive. Part of any pantry's ongoing struggle = is=20 matching what clients want and need with what food banks, government and = donors=20 can provide, and finding money to buy the rest.
"With our small staff, thank God for computers," Debbie Brancato of=20 CUMAC-ECHO says. "Otherwise we could never track all this food and = what's going=20 where and who needs what. We just hope we'll keep getting enough food to = track!"
As they pursue food, she says, they must often pursue peace-of-mind, = too, in=20 the face of much appreciated but sometimes unreliable volunteers; of = clients=20 with "attitude," demanding food they can't provide; of emissaries from = churches=20 and small pantries, looking for impossible bailouts in food or funds. = Hours grow=20 longer, patience shorter.
Earlier this week, Brancato, Bruger and their staff were glad to = learn that a=20 rumor that St. Paul's on Van Houten Street in Paterson might close for = July or=20 August proved false, though the pantry may have to take off an = occasional=20 weekday. CUMAC-ECHO is closed Fridays through the summer. Father English = shutters for a number of days in July and August.
"In summer there are no school meals, so people have to feed their = children,=20 and (for donors) there are vacations and trying to get away," Carlos = Roldan of=20 Father English says. "But people need to eat every day."
At CUMAC that recent morning, Olga Gonzalez sits in the waiting area = and=20 watches her grandson, Brendan, amble among chairs. Two plastic bags rest = at her=20 feet, filled with hamburger buns, whole wheat bread, milk, "lite" rye = rolls and=20 strawberry pastry. A plain wood settee with a book shelf underneath = waits at the=20 door for Brendan to carry up the street.
"You want children to have a good place to play," Gonzalez says. "Is = not=20 easy, in the city. They're helping us, here. Where we live, some people = who are=20 new don't speak English, and I bring them down here for help."
New waves of people in need keep coming through the doors. To = statisticians=20 and advocates, who use the numbers in seeking support, these people come = from a=20 much larger group: some 741,000 living in poverty (for a family of = three, an=20 annual income under $16,900) in New Jersey according to the U.S. Census; = nearly=20 a million people in the state facing food insecurity =96 limited or = uncertain=20 access to food needed for health =96 or outright hunger and = malnutrition,=20 according to the Center on Hunger and Poverty.
Numbers are one thing; human beings another.
Here is an angular, long-haired man is his 60s, identifying himself = only as=20 "Dave," wearing a T-shirt with the image of a large mosquito and the = words "I=20 went fishing in Minnesota, and this is the only bite I got," carrying a = backpack=20 and saying he's been "on the road." He's looking for a bag of food to = tide him=20 over.
Here is a pregnant woman named Marisa, almost in tears, shaking her = head and=20 saying, "No I.D., don't got that," reassured when a staff members says, = "We'll=20 get a Social (Security number) for you."
Here, now, is Aaron Williams, whose breath smells of alcohol. He is = breaking=20 one of the center's few ironclad rules, pasted to the tops of large = desks in the=20 office: "No drugs or alcohol." But no one will throw him out. "I'm = trying to get=20 something to eat," he says. "I'm homeless, but I lost my = identification." As he=20 talks about time in prison and trouble with housing he becomes angry, = starts to=20 curse and rant against a former landlord. He calms down, sits awhile = downstairs,=20 and then, still muttering, pushes back out onto the street. When he is = sober,=20 staff members say, he can come back.
From his post just inside the door, Henry Bush hears Williams'=20 profanity-ridden lament and frowns, crossing his arms. Bush, who watches = the=20 door, is a former jet engine mechanic in Vietnam and doesn't mind = criticizing=20 his namesake in the White House. He also has seen a lot of living. = "We've got no=20 control over this guy," he says. "All we can do is pray for him and give = him the=20 right direction. If he don't want to take that direction, let him keep=20 suffering. Then let him get serious. Nothing is gong to work until you = say, 'I'm=20 ready to do it.'"
They try, always, to avoid passing judgment, Gaschler says. They hear = all=20 kinds of stories. But every person, every place has limits.
Later into a steamy afternoon at CUMAC and at Father English, front = rooms=20 have emptied, delivery docks have quieted, but the offices are still = buzzing. By=20 the third and fourth weeks in the month, staff members say, they can be=20 overwhelmed.
"It's easy for people to picture a disaster like Katrina and respond = to it,"=20 Bill Hudson says. "This is like a crawling disaster. You don't hear = about it.=20 You can pass someone on the street and never know how much trouble = they're=20 in."
A woman comes into Father English from Main Street, apologizing. She = couldn't=20 find a ride. She knows it's after hours. Somebody said she might get = some=20 diapers and a crib. As a dutiful security guard, Bush says, "Sorry, = you're too=20 late," then hesitates. "But if you want ..."
Gaschler steps out from the office. "C'mon in," she says, and the = woman=20 smiles and says, "Thank you. Thank you so much." Gaschler smiles back = and says,=20 "It's OK. God bless you."
Reach Tim Norris at 973-569-7131 or
------=_NextPart_000_01A9_01C6A8F7.9914E630-- From wtinker@verizon.net Sun Jul 16 23:34:33 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 19:34:33 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless farmer forced to sell home-made robots Message-ID: <009501c6a930$666d20b0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0090_01C6A90E.DDA4D000 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Latest News - Odd Fri 7 Jul 2006=20 Wu Yulu, a farmer who likes making robots, poses with his latest robot = at Mawu village in Beijing June 29, 2006. Wu, who has made 25 robots in = the past 26 years, has been forced to sell his beloved home-made robots = to pay off debts after his house burnt down, state media reported on = Friday. Picture taken July 29, 2006. CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Daily=20 Homeless farmer forced to sell home-made robots BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese farmer has been forced to sell his beloved = home-made robots to pay off debts after his house burnt down, state = media reported on Friday. All 25 robots are made of wire, metal, screws and nails found in rubbish = sites, with some able to serve tea, light cigarettes and push rickshaws, = the China Daily newspaper said. Wu Yulu, 44, from Mawu village in eastern Beijing, sold one robot for = 30,000 yuan ($3,750). "I couldn't sleep for several days after selling the child, but I had no = other choice. I had to pay off my debts," Wu was quoted as saying. "I love to play with robots. The cleverer they became, the deeper the = emotional link I felt to them. Later, I began to call them my sons." Wu now plans to build new robots to help repay his debt. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0628-5, 07/14/2006 Tested on: 7/16/2006 7:34:36 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0090_01C6A90E.DDA4D000 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Latest News - Odd
![3D"Wu](3D"http://images.scotsman.com/2006/07/07/2006-07-07T084700Z_01_NOOTR_=)
=20
Wu Yulu, a farmer who likes making robots, = poses with=20 his latest robot at Mawu village in Beijing June 29, 2006. Wu, who has = made 25=20 robots in the past 26 years, has been forced to sell his beloved = home-made=20 robots to pay off debts after his house burnt down, state media reported = on=20 Friday. Picture taken July 29, 2006. CHINA OUT REUTERS/China Daily =
Homeless farmer forced to sell home-made robots
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese farmer has been forced to sell his = beloved=20 home-made robots to pay off debts after his house burnt down, state = media=20 reported on Friday.
All 25 robots are made of wire, metal, screws and nails found in = rubbish=20 sites, with some able to serve tea, light cigarettes and push rickshaws, = the=20 China Daily newspaper said.
Wu Yulu, 44, from Mawu village in eastern Beijing, sold one robot for = 30,000=20 yuan ($3,750).
"I couldn't sleep for several days after selling the child, but I had = no=20 other choice. I had to pay off my debts," Wu was quoted as saying.
"I love to play with robots. The cleverer they became, the deeper the = emotional link I felt to them. Later, I began to call them my sons."
Wu now plans to build new robots to help repay his=20 debt.
------=_NextPart_000_0090_01C6A90E.DDA4D000-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 19 07:28:11 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 03:28:11 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Spokane mayor wants outside probes of disabled man's death, firehouse sex case Message-ID: <003201c6ab04$e46570f0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6AAE3.5CB43590 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20060718/NEWS06/60718003= July 18, 2006 Spokane mayor wants outside probes of disabled man's death, firehouse = sex case By JOHN K. WILEY The Associated Press SPOKANE - Mayor Dennis Hession has called for an outside review of = police conduct in the death of a mentally disabled man and in a = firehouse sex scandal.=20 Hession offered no specifics Monday on who would conduct the reviews, = but said they would look at police practices, training and = communication. "The citizens of our community deserve such a review, and it is my = responsibility to initiate the process immediately," Hession said, = adding he wants a report within six weeks of appointing a reviewer. "The = credibility of the police department has been badly compromised." Otto Zehm, 36, died two days after being hit with a nightstick, jolted = with a Taser gun and hogtied by as many as seven officers inside a = convenience store March 18. Spokane County Medical Examiner Sally Aiken ruled the death a homicide. = Lying on his stomach with hands and feet tied behind his back was a = contributing factor to Zehm's death, she ruled. Videotapes released last week apparently contradicted key police = statements about the arrest attempt. Earlier, two police detectives were briefly suspended after advising a = Spokane firefighter to delete digital images of a sexual encounter with = a 16-year-old girl in a city firehouse in February. The decision to allow deletion of the images was challenged by lawyers = for the girl in a $1 million "wrongful conduct" claim against the police = and fire departments last week. The officers declined to arrest the firefighter after concluding the = encounter was consensual and the girl was over the age of consent. Firefighter Daniel Ross resigned after being accused of seven counts of = "conduct unbecoming an officer" and violating city computer policies. Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker declined to press criminal = charges against Ross. Hession said the case raised questions about the police department's = credibility, as did the Zehm case. Under threat of a lawsuit by The Spokesman-Review, Tucker released store = surveillance videotapes last week that apparently contradict police = versions of the attempt to arrest Zehm. Acting Chief Jim Nicks originally said Zehm "lunged" at the first = officer on the scene and threatened him with a 2 liter plastic bottle. = But Nicks later conceded he had given misleading information to the = public, based on initial reports from the chaotic scene. The videotape apparently shows the man retreating with his hands in the = air. It also shows him lying on his stomach with his hands and feet = bound behind him for most of the time. Police were called to the convenience store after a reported robbery at = a nearby ATM machine. The report later was found to be erroneous. Tucker is expected to make a decision this week on whether the police = use of force to arrest Zehm was appropriate. In a meeting with the council's Public Safety Committee on Monday, Nicks = said he supports an outside investigation. "I believe that will be a beneficial result to the city and the police = department in particular," Nicks said. In addition to the review ordered Monday, Hession said the Spokane Fire = Department will conduct an internal review of its response in the Zehm = case. Nicks disclosed last week that paramedics had placed a plastic oxygen = mask on Zehm to prevent him from spitting at police. The mask had a = small hole in it for an oxygen tube, but was not attached to an oxygen = tank. The FBI is continuing a civil rights review in the Zehm case, Hession = said. Meanwhile, Hession said an existing citizens police review commission = likely will be modified to conform with recommendations of the new = review. Hession said he wanted to order the review before a new police chief is = appointed later this week to avoid saddling the new hire with a "cloud = of uncertainty under which the department now operates."=20 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-0, 07/18/2006 Tested on: 7/19/2006 3:28:12 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6AAE3.5CB43590 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
The Associated Press
SPOKANE - Mayor Dennis Hession has called for an outside review of = police=20 conduct in the death of a mentally disabled man and in a firehouse sex = scandal.=20
Hession offered no specifics Monday on who would conduct the reviews, =
but=20
said they would look at police practices, training and=20
communication.
"The citizens of our community deserve such a =
review, and=20
it is my responsibility to initiate the process immediately," Hession =
said,=20
adding he wants a report within six weeks of appointing a reviewer. "The =
credibility of the police department has been badly =
compromised."
Otto=20
Zehm, 36, died two days after being hit with a nightstick, jolted with a =
Taser=20
gun and hogtied by as many as seven officers inside a convenience store =
March=20
18.
Spokane County Medical Examiner Sally Aiken ruled the death a =
homicide. Lying on his stomach with hands and feet tied behind his back =
was a=20
contributing factor to Zehm's death, she ruled.
Videotapes =
released last=20
week apparently contradicted key police statements about the arrest=20
attempt.
Earlier, two police detectives were briefly suspended =
after=20
advising a Spokane firefighter to delete digital images of a sexual =
encounter=20
with a 16-year-old girl in a city firehouse in February.
The =
decision to=20
allow deletion of the images was challenged by lawyers for the girl in a =
$1=20
million "wrongful conduct" claim against the police and fire departments =
last=20
week.
The officers declined to arrest the firefighter after =
concluding=20
the encounter was consensual and the girl was over the age of=20
consent.
Firefighter Daniel Ross resigned after being accused of =
seven=20
counts of "conduct unbecoming an officer" and violating city computer=20
policies.
Spokane County Prosecutor Steve Tucker declined to =
press=20
criminal charges against Ross.
Hession said the case raised =
questions=20
about the police department's credibility, as did the Zehm =
case.
Under=20
threat of a lawsuit by The Spokesman-Review, Tucker released store =
surveillance=20
videotapes last week that apparently contradict police versions of the =
attempt=20
to arrest Zehm.
Acting Chief Jim Nicks originally said Zehm =
"lunged" at=20
the first officer on the scene and threatened him with a 2 liter plastic =
bottle.=20
But Nicks later conceded he had given misleading information to the =
public,=20
based on initial reports from the chaotic scene.
The videotape =
apparently=20
shows the man retreating with his hands in the air. It also shows him =
lying on=20
his stomach with his hands and feet bound behind him for most of the=20
time.
Police were called to the convenience store after a =
reported=20
robbery at a nearby ATM machine. The report later was found to be=20
erroneous.
Tucker is expected to make a decision this week on =
whether the=20
police use of force to arrest Zehm was appropriate.
In a meeting =
with the=20
council's Public Safety Committee on Monday, Nicks said he supports an =
outside=20
investigation.
"I believe that will be a beneficial result to the =
city=20
and the police department in particular," Nicks said.
In addition =
to the=20
review ordered Monday, Hession said the Spokane Fire Department will =
conduct an=20
internal review of its response in the Zehm case.
Nicks disclosed =
last=20
week that paramedics had placed a plastic oxygen mask on Zehm to prevent =
him=20
from spitting at police. The mask had a small hole in it for an oxygen =
tube, but=20
was not attached to an oxygen tank.
The FBI is continuing a civil =
rights=20
review in the Zehm case, Hession said.
Meanwhile, Hession said an =
existing citizens police review commission likely will be modified to =
conform=20
with recommendations of the new review.
Hession said he wanted to =
order=20
the review before a new police chief is appointed later this week to =
avoid=20
saddling the new hire with a "cloud of uncertainty under which the =
department=20
now operates."
------=_NextPart_000_002F_01C6AAE3.5CB43590-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 19 22:33:02 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 18:33:02 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Holding a law degree while asking for spare change Message-ID: <00e601c6ab83$4c9b00d0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_00E3_01C6AB61.C49B0930 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Holding a law degree while asking for spare change and wanted to share = it with you. Here's the link: = http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/news_in_brief/haaland_060719.shtml --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-1, 07/19/2006 Tested on: 7/19/2006 6:33:04 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_00E3_01C6AB61.C49B0930 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
------=_NextPart_000_00E3_01C6AB61.C49B0930-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 19 22:36:11 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 18:36:11 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Homeless man stabbed while sleeping Message-ID: <011001c6ab83$bd6842f0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_010D_01C6AB62.3584D400 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable = http://www.langleytimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=3D47&cat=3D23&id=3D= 692229&more=3D =20 =20 Homeless man stabbed while sleeping=20 =20 =20 By Monique Tamminga Times Reporter Jul 19 2006=20 Langley RCMP are urging the homeless community to utilize the = safety of a shelter after a homeless man was stabbed several times while = he slept in a small squatters' camp in Aldergrove on Sunday morning.=20 Around 2:45 a.m., a 62-year-old man was sleeping in a bush area in = the 3100 block of 272 Street, when he was attacked by an unknown = assailant.=20 After the attacker fled, the victim cried out for help. Luckily, a = friend who was also sleeping in the squatters' camp heard his cries and = went over to see what had happened.=20 Once he saw his friend had been stabbed, he ran to the nearest pay = phone and called 911.=20 Paramedics rushed the victim to hospital. He is currently in = stable condition and is expected to recover, said Langley RCMP = spokesperson Cpl. Diane Blain.=20 The Lower Mainland Forensic Identification Services conducted a = full scene examination and the investigation is now in the hands of the = Langley RCMP Serious Crime Section.=20 Police currently don't know the motive for the attack but are = continuing to interview people, including re-interviewing the victim.=20 Police haven't made any arrests in this case but the investigation = continues.=20 "We're asking the homeless community to be our eyes and ears," = said Blain.=20 Recently, local Mounties have been working with both the City and = Township bylaw officers to vacate various homeless camps, including a = fairly large one at 201 Street and 69 Avenue last week.=20 This project was taken on for health and safety reasons, said = Blain. But, in the camps police and bylaw officers have closed down, not = one of the homeless residents were willing to accept the lodging secured = for them.=20 "Police are urging the homeless community to accept the lodging = offered, as like this incident demonstrated, their health and safety can = be in jeopardy when they reside out on the street or on vacant land = without a proper roof over their heads," said Blain.=20 Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact = the Langley RCMP Serious Crime Section at 604-532-3200 or if you wish to = remain anonymous call crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.=20 =20 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-1, 07/19/2006 Tested on: 7/19/2006 6:36:13 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_010D_01C6AB62.3584D400 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
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| |||
Times=20 Reporter Jul 19=20 2006
Langley RCMP are = urging the=20 homeless community to utilize the safety of a shelter after a = homeless man=20 was stabbed several times while he slept in a small squatters=92 = camp in=20 Aldergrove on Sunday morning. Around 2:45 a.m., a = 62-year-old=20 man was sleeping in a bush area in the 3100 block of 272 Street, = when he=20 was attacked by an unknown assailant. After the attacker = fled, the=20 victim cried out for help. Luckily, a friend who was also sleeping = in the=20 squatters=92 camp heard his cries and went over to see what had = happened.=20 Once he saw his = friend had been=20 stabbed, he ran to the nearest pay phone and called 911. Paramedics rushed = the victim to=20 hospital. He is currently in stable condition and is expected to = recover,=20 said Langley RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Diane Blain. The Lower Mainland = Forensic=20 Identification Services conducted a full scene examination and the = investigation is now in the hands of the Langley RCMP Serious = Crime=20 Section. Police currently = don=92t know the=20 motive for the attack but are continuing to interview people, = including=20 re-interviewing the victim. Police haven=92t = made any arrests in=20 this case but the investigation continues. =93We=92re asking = the homeless=20 community to be our eyes and ears,=94 said Blain. Recently, local = Mounties have been=20 working with both the City and Township bylaw officers to vacate = various=20 homeless camps, including a fairly large one at 201 Street and 69 = Avenue=20 last week. This project was = taken on for=20 health and safety reasons, said Blain. But, in the camps police = and bylaw=20 officers have closed down, not one of the homeless residents were = willing=20 to accept the lodging secured for them. =93Police are urging = the homeless=20 community to accept the lodging offered, as like this incident=20 demonstrated, their health and safety can be in jeopardy when they = reside=20 out on the street or on vacant land without a proper roof over = their=20 heads,=94 said Blain. Anyone with = information=20 about this incident is asked to contact the Langley RCMP Serious = Crime=20 Section at 604-532-3200 or if you wish to remain anonymous call=20 crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.=20 |
------=_NextPart_000_010D_01C6AB62.3584D400-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 19 23:36:19 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 19:36:19 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Violent attacks on homeless halted for now Message-ID: <022f01c6ab8c$23672050$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_022C_01C6AB6A.9B96C430 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1153322414268= 910.xml&coll=3D7&thispage=3D2 Violent attacks on homeless halted for now Wednesday, July 19, 2006=20 By Kathy Jessup kjessup@kalamazoogazette.com 388-8590=20 Stepped-up police presence is being credited with stopping attacks on = homeless and vulnerable people in downtown Kalamazoo.=20 But Carl Paddock, a supervisor at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission shelter, = says he fears the violence is just on hold.=20 ``The simple truth of it is, the police being around all the time will = help,'' he said. ``But they can't maintain a raised presence all the = time.''=20 =20 =20 =20 Paddock said it will take at least one arrest, prosecution and stiff = judicial consequences to significantly curb the brick and club attacks = that homeless advocates say have averaged 15 to 20 a year over the last = several summers.=20 The culprits, it's alleged, are bike-riding groups of young teenagers = who encircle victims and beat them as part of a robbery or just for fun. = The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety has run a number of = plainclothes stings in recent weeks, trying to draw out the attackers. = But the bait hasn't been taken, officers say.=20 ``These kids can spot 'em. They need to get somebody from outside or = they need to get a little dirtier and appear a little drunker,'' Paddock = said of police.=20 ``These kids are just waiting for the cops to get bored, and they'll be = at it again.''=20 Officials say the last reported attack occurred in late June when = 45-year-old Ken Madison was attacked by young teens on bikes as he and = two other homeless friends left a baseball game at Mayors' Riverfront = Park. Madison said he fought back after being struck by a board. The = attack left him with scalp staples, stitches and a bruised face.=20 The attackers fled before officers arrived. No arrests have been made in = that case.=20 Paddock said that while he was working at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission a = month ago, three teens encircled him on bikes and demanded he turn over = his mobile phone.=20 ``I told them `You try to get within arm's reach of me to take it' and = they backed off because they knew I wasn't going to take it,'' Paddock = said. ``When they didn't get what they wanted from me, they started = busting windows out of the building next door.''=20 Advocates for the homeless want to discourage people from trying to take = the law into their own hands by striking first at potential attackers.=20 =20 ``We don't want people to try to be heroic and feel they can stop these = attacks ahead of time,'' said Michael Evans, lead organizer for the = Kalamazoo Homeless Action Network. ``There is good police protection, = and we want to work with police within the system.''=20 Evans said many of Kalamazoo's homeless have changed their solitary = patterns and are more apt to walk in groups and sleep near others.=20 ``You don't see individuals as much as you see two or three people = together,'' Evans said. ``Clearly the word is out, and they think it's = safer to be with other people.''=20 Evans said he is convinced that the stepped-up patrols have foiled = attacks.=20 ``Clearly there's been a very good police response to this issue,'' he = said. ``The police and the City Commission have responded well, and they = have taken the safety of the poorest and most vulnerable people real = seriously. They deserve a lot of credit for that.''=20 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-1, 07/19/2006 Tested on: 7/19/2006 7:36:20 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_022C_01C6AB6A.9B96C430 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
http://www.mlive.com/news/=
kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1153322414268910.xml&coll=3D7&t=
hispage=3D2
Violent attacks on homeless halted for now
Stepped-up police presence is being credited with stopping attacks on = homeless and vulnerable people in downtown Kalamazoo.
But Carl Paddock, a supervisor at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission = shelter, says=20 he fears the violence is just on hold.
``The simple truth of it is, the police being around all the time = will=20 help,'' he said. ``But they can't maintain a raised presence all the = time.''=20
![](3D"http://www.mlive.com/images/spacer.gif"){kind=spacer} |
Paddock said it will take at least one arrest, prosecution and stiff = judicial=20 consequences to significantly curb the brick and club attacks that = homeless=20 advocates say have averaged 15 to 20 a year over the last several = summers.
The culprits, it's alleged, are bike-riding groups of young teenagers = who=20 encircle victims and beat them as part of a robbery or just for fun. =
The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety has run a number of = plainclothes=20 stings in recent weeks, trying to draw out the attackers. But the bait = hasn't=20 been taken, officers say.
``These kids can spot 'em. They need to get somebody from outside or = they=20 need to get a little dirtier and appear a little drunker,'' Paddock said = of=20 police.
``These kids are just waiting for the cops to get bored, and they'll = be at it=20 again.''
Officials say the last reported attack occurred in late June when = 45-year-old=20 Ken Madison was attacked by young teens on bikes as he and two other = homeless=20 friends left a baseball game at Mayors' Riverfront Park. Madison said he = fought=20 back after being struck by a board. The attack left him with scalp = staples,=20 stitches and a bruised face.
The attackers fled before officers arrived. No arrests have been made = in that=20 case.
Paddock said that while he was working at the Kalamazoo Gospel = Mission a=20 month ago, three teens encircled him on bikes and demanded he turn over = his=20 mobile phone.
``I told them `You try to get within arm's reach of me to take it' = and they=20 backed off because they knew I wasn't going to take it,'' Paddock said. = ``When=20 they didn't get what they wanted from me, they started busting windows = out of=20 the building next door.''
Advocates for the homeless want to discourage people from trying to = take the=20 law into their own hands by striking first at potential attackers.
``We don't want people to try to be heroic and feel they can stop these = attacks=20 ahead of time,'' said Michael Evans, lead organizer for the Kalamazoo = Homeless=20 Action Network. ``There is good police protection, and we want to work = with=20 police within the system.''
Evans said many of Kalamazoo's homeless have changed their solitary = patterns=20 and are more apt to walk in groups and sleep near others.
``You don't see individuals as much as you see two or three people=20 together,'' Evans said. ``Clearly the word is out, and they think it's = safer to=20 be with other people.''
Evans said he is convinced that the stepped-up patrols have foiled = attacks.=20
``Clearly there's been a very good police response to this issue,'' = he said.=20 ``The police and the City Commission have responded well, and they have = taken=20 the safety of the poorest and most vulnerable people real seriously. = They=20 deserve a lot of credit for that.''
------=_NextPart_000_022C_01C6AB6A.9B96C430-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 20 06:40:23 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 02:40:23 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Cities, health agencies issue heat warnings Message-ID: <005001c6abc7$61783fb0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_004D_01C6ABA5.D97A9200 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.bonnersprings.com/section/frontpagelead/story/8763 Cities, health agencies issue heat warnings=20 By Jesse Truesdale, Reporter=20 Thursday, July 20, 2006=20 The last week has seen high temperatures throughout the country, and the = Bonner Springs-Edwardsville area has felt its share of the effects. With = temperatures in the high 90s and even passing the century mark since = last Thursday, John Claxton, director of Bonner Springs emergency = medical services, said his department had assisted two residents plus = one firefighter who had suffered from heat exhaustion and took them to = area hospitals. The firefighter had been fighting a grass fire Monday = for two hours on Loring Road, Claxton said.=20 On July 23 of last year, the body of 77-year-old Norma Blanz was = discovered in her Bonner Springs apartment, the first victim of = heat-related illness in the Kansas City metropolitan area during a spell = of temperatures similar to that of the last seven days. Blanz's air = conditioner was functioning, but turned off. Dora Fry, assistant = director of the Vaughn-Trent Community Center, said Blanz left her air = conditioner off so she could avoid higher electricity bills. Claxton said the city didn't have a specific policy regarding hot = weather procedures for employees, but does tell them to "drink more = water and take more breaks. We emphasize safety." Meanwhile, Fry said Vaughn-Trent had given away three large floor fans = in the last week, leaving just two more in stock. She said, "People have been calling for air conditioners, but we don't = have any. That's Salvation Army."=20 Fry said the woman believed to be Bonner Springs' only homeless person = had been staying in the shade at South Park near the center. Fry said = she was worried about the woman but that she seemed to be coping with = the heat.=20 The weather and the chance to sit it out in free air-conditioning = deserves at least some of the credit for Bonner Springs Public Library's = popularity these days.=20 "We're pretty busy right now," said Susan Leininger, children's services = coordinator for the library.=20 "We've got a lot of people coming in to use the computers," she said, = and staying on after they might otherwise have left, in order to avoid = the heat.=20 Also, Leininger said, "We have a lot of families coming in spending time = reading." "Of course," she added, "we're in middle of our summer reading program," = which she said was attracting record numbers of participants.=20 Skyler Rorabaugh, recreation director for Bonner Springs parks and = recreation, said the Bonner Springs Aquatic Center wasn't seeing = attendance numbers much different than in previous weeks. That's = because, he figured, the heat was probably keeping as many people inside = as it was drawing them to the pool.=20 With the National Weather Service issuing an excessive-heat warning for = all metropolitan Kansas City counties, the 10 local public health = departments of the metropolitan area encourage everyone to be aware of = and appreciate the dangerous conditions. Excessive heat kills. It is essential for every person to be aware of = this fact and respect the situation. "When we begin to see temperatures soar as they are now, our communities = must come together to look out for each other," said Dr. Rex Archer, = Director of Health for the City of Kansas City, Mo. "We encourage people = to check on their family, friends and neighbors at least twice a day to = check their welfare." The sweltering heat is predicted to abate by Friday, which will see a = forecast high temperature of 82. Nonetheless area public health = departments urge everyone to consider the dangers and take the following = actions during hot weather: . Never leave children, pets or others alone in closed vehicles = regardless of whether the engine is running. Temperatures inside a car = can quickly reach more than 140? F. . Limit your exposure to the heat as much as possible. If working = outdoors or in hot environments, take frequent breaks. If your home does = not have air conditioning, go to a public building (theater, mall, or = library) every day for several hours or visit a friend that has air = conditioning. If you have to be outdoors, try to do it when the = temperatures are not as hot. . Dress for the weather by wearing loose-fitting, lightweight, = light-colored clothing made of natural fibers to help reflect heat and = maintain a cooler body temperature. If you have to be outside, cover as = much skin as possible to avoid sunburn. Protect your face and head with = a wide-brimmed hat. Use sunscreen. . Eat cool, light meals, avoiding protein or fatty foods. Salads, fruits = and vegetables are recommended. . Check on your neighbors, friends and relatives at least twice a day, = especially those who are at high risk. Infants, seniors, chronically ill = or disabled, people taking certain prescriptions (diuretics, sedatives, = and narcotics), and people facing financial challenges are at high risk = for heat-related illnesses. . Keep yourself well-hydrated. Drink plenty of water unless you are on a = fluid-restricted diet. Consider a flavored sports drink that replaces = electrolytes if you do not like water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine as = these act to eliminate fluids and electrolytes from your body. . Use your circulation fan. Even if you have air conditioning, a fan = which keeps the air moving will let you push up the thermostat several = degrees and still be comfortable. It costs les to run a fan than to run = the air conditioner.=20 . Use your basement during the hottest hours. If you don't have air = conditioning but have a basement, set up housekeeping for the duration = of the hot weather. Basements are usually 10 to 15 degreees cooler than = the upstairs part of a house. . Be extra-considerate of others. Extreme heat that continues over a = long period of time can create a great deal of stress. Give those you = live and work with a break by trying to be more understanding.=20 The high temperatures create a number of medical problems, including = some that are life-threatening. If you believe someone is experiencing a = heat-related medical emergency, call 911 immediately. For heat information and community resources (shelters, air = conditioners, fans, help with utility expenses), individuals may call = our community partner United Way 2-1-1, at 211, or (816) 474-5112. The Bonner Springs City Library and the Bonner Springs Community Center = are available for persons with no air conditioning to visit to cool = down. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through = Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 = p.m. on Sundays. The Community Center is open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday = through Friday. The library and community center are located at 200 E. = Third Street in Bonner Springs.=20 Additional help is available through The Channel 9 Fan Club which = distributes fans to people in need of them. The Fan Club can be reached = at (816) 968-9432. The Red Cross (321-6314) and the Salvation Army = (371-1171) are also sources for aid. Locally, residents can contact the = Vaughn-Trent Center at 441-0461 for assistance. Residents can also = contact the Bonner Springs City Hall at 422-1020. --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-1, 07/19/2006 Tested on: 7/20/2006 2:40:24 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_004D_01C6ABA5.D97A9200 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
ht=
tp://www.bonnersprings.com/section/frontpagelead/story/8763
Cities, health agencies issue heat warnings =
Thursday, July 20, 2006
The last week has = seen=20 high temperatures throughout the country, and the Bonner=20 Springs-Edwardsville area has felt its share of the effects. With = temperatures=20 in the high 90s and even passing the century mark since last Thursday, = John=20 Claxton, director of Bonner Springs emergency medical services, said his = department had assisted two residents plus one firefighter who had = suffered from=20 heat exhaustion and took them to area hospitals. The firefighter had = been=20 fighting a grass fire Monday for two hours on Loring Road, Claxton said. =
On July 23 of last year, the body of 77-year-old = Norma Blanz=20 was discovered in her Bonner Springs apartment, the first victim of = heat-related=20 illness in the Kansas City metropolitan area during a spell of = temperatures=20 similar to that of the last seven days. Blanz's air conditioner was = functioning,=20 but turned off. Dora Fry, assistant director of the Vaughn-Trent = Community=20 Center, said Blanz left her air conditioner off so she could avoid = higher=20 electricity bills.
Claxton said the city didn't have a specific = policy=20 regarding hot weather procedures for employees, but does tell them to = "drink=20 more water and take more breaks. We emphasize safety."
Meanwhile, Fry said Vaughn-Trent had given away = three large=20 floor fans in the last week, leaving just two more in stock.
She said, "People have been calling for air = conditioners,=20 but we don't have any. That's Salvation Army."
Fry said the woman believed to be Bonner Springs' = only=20 homeless person had been staying in the shade at South Park near the = center. Fry=20 said she was worried about the woman but that she seemed to be coping = with the=20 heat.
The weather and the chance to sit it out in free=20 air-conditioning deserves at least some of the credit for Bonner Springs = Public=20 Library's popularity these days.
"We're pretty busy right now," said Susan = Leininger,=20 children's services coordinator for the library.
"We've got a lot of people coming in to use the = computers,"=20 she said, and staying on after they might otherwise have left, in order = to avoid=20 the heat.
Also, Leininger said, "We have a lot of families = coming in=20 spending time reading."
"Of course," she added, "we're in middle of our = summer=20 reading program," which she said was attracting record numbers of = participants.=20
Skyler Rorabaugh, recreation director for Bonner = Springs=20 parks and recreation, said the Bonner Springs Aquatic Center wasn't = seeing=20 attendance numbers much different than in previous weeks. That's = because, he=20 figured, the heat was probably keeping as many people inside as it was = drawing=20 them to the pool.
With the National Weather Service issuing an = excessive-heat=20 warning for all metropolitan Kansas City counties, the 10 local public = health=20 departments of the metropolitan area encourage everyone to be aware of = and=20 appreciate the dangerous conditions.
Excessive heat kills. It is essential for every = person to be=20 aware of this fact and respect the situation.
"When we begin to see temperatures soar as they = are now, our=20 communities must come together to look out for each other," said Dr. Rex = Archer,=20 Director of Health for the City of Kansas City, Mo. "We encourage people = to=20 check on their family, friends and neighbors at least twice a day to = check their=20 welfare."
The sweltering heat is predicted to abate by = Friday, which=20 will see a forecast high temperature of 82. Nonetheless area public = health=20 departments urge everyone to consider the dangers and take the following = actions=20 during hot weather:
=95 Never leave children, pets or others alone in = closed=20 vehicles regardless of whether the engine is running. Temperatures = inside a car=20 can quickly reach more than 140? F.
=95 Limit your exposure to the heat as much as = possible. If=20 working outdoors or in hot environments, take frequent breaks. If your = home does=20 not have air conditioning, go to a public building (theater, mall, or = library)=20 every day for several hours or visit a friend that has air conditioning. = If you=20 have to be outdoors, try to do it when the temperatures are not as = hot.
=95 Dress for the weather by wearing = loose-fitting,=20 lightweight, light-colored clothing made of natural fibers to help = reflect heat=20 and maintain a cooler body temperature. If you have to be outside, cover = as much=20 skin as possible to avoid sunburn. Protect your face and head with a=20 wide-brimmed hat. Use sunscreen.
=95 Eat cool, light meals, avoiding protein or = fatty foods.=20 Salads, fruits and vegetables are recommended.
=95 Check on your neighbors, friends and relatives = at least=20 twice a day, especially those who are at high risk. Infants, seniors,=20 chronically ill or disabled, people taking certain prescriptions = (diuretics,=20 sedatives, and narcotics), and people facing financial challenges are at = high=20 risk for heat-related illnesses.
=95 Keep yourself well-hydrated. Drink plenty of = water unless=20 you are on a fluid-restricted diet. Consider a flavored sports drink = that=20 replaces electrolytes if you do not like water. Avoid alcohol and = caffeine as=20 these act to eliminate fluids and electrolytes from your body.
=95 Use your circulation fan. Even if you have air = conditioning, a fan which keeps the air moving will let you push up the=20 thermostat several degrees and still be comfortable. It costs les to run = a fan=20 than to run the air conditioner.
=95 Use your basement during the hottest hours. If = you don't=20 have air conditioning but have a basement, set up housekeeping for the = duration=20 of the hot weather. Basements are usually 10 to 15 degreees cooler than = the=20 upstairs part of a house.
=95 Be extra-considerate of others. Extreme heat = that=20 continues over a long period of time can create a great deal of stress. = Give=20 those you live and work with a break by trying to be more understanding. =
The high temperatures create a number of medical = problems,=20 including some that are life-threatening. If you believe someone is = experiencing=20 a heat-related medical emergency, call 911 immediately.
For heat information and community resources = (shelters, air=20 conditioners, fans, help with utility expenses), individuals may call = our=20 community partner United Way 2-1-1, at 211, or (816) 474-5112.
The Bonner Springs City Library and the Bonner = Springs=20 Community Center are available for persons with no air conditioning to = visit to=20 cool down. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through = Thursday, 9=20 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on = Sundays. The=20 Community Center is open from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The = library=20 and community center are located at 200 E. Third Street in Bonner = Springs.
Additional help is available through The Channel 9 = Fan Club=20 which distributes fans to people in need of them. The Fan Club can be = reached at=20 (816) 968-9432. The Red Cross (321-6314) and the Salvation Army = (371-1171) are=20 also sources for aid. Locally, residents can contact the Vaughn-Trent = Center at=20 441-0461 for assistance. Residents can also contact the Bonner Springs = City Hall=20 at 422-1020.
------=_NextPart_000_004D_01C6ABA5.D97A9200-- From janinelarose@hotmail.com Thu Jul 20 15:35:01 2006 From: janinelarose@hotmail.com (Janine Larose) Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:35:01 +0000 Subject: [Hpn] Homelessness skyrockets in Calgary Message-ID:
Courts rule in favor of homeless=20 camp
Tent City 4 probably will be allowed to remain at a Woodinville = church until=20 the camp's scheduled departure date after two legal victories this = week.
A state Court of Appeals panel on Wednesday denied a request by the = city of=20 Woodinville to lift a stay of an order that would have forced the=20 homeless camp to leave Northshore United Church of Christ.
The full appeals court also said it would not speed up its = longer-term review=20 of the camp's appeal of a King County Superior Court decision that would = have=20 evicted the camp from the Woodinville church. If the camp had lost the = appeal=20 before it was scheduled to leave the church Aug. 12, it could have been=20 evicted.
A King County Superior Court judge this week also denied the city's = request=20 to have the church and camp pay the city's legal expenses of = $67,000.
The camp is scheduled to move to Bothell next = month.
------=_NextPart_000_0042_01C6AD60.C6A9CBC0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Sun Jul 23 08:06:27 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 04:06:27 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Money, murder: A link? Message-ID: <016801c6ae2e$e6d2a150$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0165_01C6AE0D.5EB86AF0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Money, murder: A link? Land deal precedes Oglethorpe slaying By Lee Shearer lee.shearer@onlineathens.com =20 Sunday, July 23, 2006=20 An Athens man murdered in Oglethorpe County earlier this month had = concluded a land transaction worth nearly $400,000 just days before he = was killed, according to records in the Clarke County Courthouse. But law enforcement officials investigating the case still are saying = little about their investigation of the deaths of Ronnie Cooper of = Athens and Vickie Ward Wolford of Lexington. Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith said he couldn't say for sure = whether Cooper may have had a large sum of money around the time he was = killed. "I wouldn't doubt it," Smith said. But as to whether money may have been the motive for the shootings of = Cooper and Wolford, Smith and other investigators are not saying. The bodies of Cooper, 53, and Wolford, 39, were found July 7 in a mobile = home on Thornton Drive, a gravel street of well-kept mobile homes near = Arnoldsville. They had been shot to death in the home, where the couple had gone to = shower, according to the man who found their bodies, who rented and = lived in the mobile home. The $400,000 land transaction was one of the last acts in the life of a = man who owned property worth millions of dollars, but whose life had = gone terribly wrong. "He was just a sad case," said Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Charles = Carter, a friend of Cooper's family who had known Cooper from the time = he was an infant. The last time Carter saw Cooper and Wolford, about a year ago, they = looked like "homeless people," Carter said. The pair died just eight days after the land transaction was recorded in = the Clarke County Clerk of Courts office. According to the records, Cooper on June 30 conveyed a 9.74-acre tract = of land at the corner of Lexington and Whit Davis roads to a company = called H&S Building Contractors of Greensboro, N.C. The land is worth = about $391,000, according to records in the Clarke County Tax Assessor's = Office. The transaction is listed as a gift, but a record from almost exactly a = year earlier, on July 1, 2005, shows that the company had agreed to buy = about 15 acres, including the 9.74-acre tract, for about $2.1 million. = At that time, H&S Building Contractors was listed at an Athens address. Five days after the July 1, 2005, agreement, Cooper paid off a mortgage = he had on an Oak Drive home in Athens. Cooper had taken out a 30-year, = $43,600 mortgage on the Oakwood Drive property in 1988; the debt was = paid off July 6, 2005, according to Clarke County land records. According to Athens restaurant owner Walt Light, who has been a friend = of the Cooper family and did business in the past with Cooper's father, = the 2005 agreement called for yearly payments of $100,000 for five = years, then a payment for the rest. The land was part of extensive land holdings Cooper's family once had in = the Lexington Road-Whit Davis Road area. Cooper's father, W.A. Cooper - Billy, to friends - was the owner of = Cooper's Bar, an institution for years at Lexington and Whit Davis = roads. Ronnie was the only child of Billy Cooper and his wife, Edith, = said Carter. Carter said his family for years farmed on land they rented from the = Cooper family. Both Billy and Edith Cooper's parents owned substantial land in eastern = Clarke County, Carter said. Billy Cooper entered the U.S. Army at the same time Carter did, in 1945, = and they wound up doing duty together in the Philippine Islands and then = in occupied Japan at the end of World War II, he said. "I've known him my entire life," and though Carter was not a patron of = Cooper's Bar, "we were always good friends," Carter said. "I liked him a = lot. Billy was loud, but he was a good fellow." Billy Cooper died shortly after he sold Athens-Clarke County 125 acres = of land in 1999 - land that is now Southeast Clarke Park, which = stretches along both Lexington and Whit Davis roads. Cooper carved out = about 15 acres from the tract to keep - the 15 acres of land on the = corner of Lexington and Whit Davis which held Cooper's Bar, the land = sold by Ronnie Cooper last year. Athens-Clarke County paid $900,000 for the Southeast Clarke Park = acreage, according to land records, about $7,200 an acre. "At the time, some people thought it was a high price," Carter said. Carter also knew Ronnie Cooper his entire life, and described him the = way others who knew the younger Cooper have. "When he was young, he seemed real nice. Then he got kind of wild," = Carter said. The last time Carter saw Cooper, about a year ago, Cooper looked almost = like a homeless person. "He looked like a bear," with a beard and long hair, Carter said. Light, the restaurant owner who had known Cooper for years, said Cooper = came to him to borrow money - $10 - just three months ago. Cooper never held a job and just didn't live the same kind of life most = people do, Light said. Authorities said Cooper and Wolford had been living almost like homeless = people in recent months, but one of the places they had been staying was = in a recreational vehicle parked off U.S. Highway 78 west of Lexington. Oglethorpe Sheriff Smith, whose office is investigating the case along = with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Oglethorpe County Coroner = James Mathews, said he's confident the people guilty of murdering the = pair will be brought to justice. "We've got some promising leads," he said. Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on 07-23-06 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-2, 07/21/2006 Tested on: 7/23/2006 4:06:29 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0165_01C6AE0D.5EB86AF0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Money, murder: A link?
Land deal precedes Oglethorpe slaying
An Athens man murdered in Oglethorpe County earlier this month had = concluded=20 a land transaction worth nearly $400,000 just days before he was killed, = according to records in the Clarke County Courthouse.
But law enforcement officials investigating the case still are saying = little=20 about their investigation of the deaths of Ronnie Cooper of Athens and = Vickie=20 Ward Wolford of Lexington.
Oglethorpe County Sheriff Mike Smith said he couldn't say for sure = whether=20 Cooper may have had a large sum of money around the time he was = killed.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Smith said.
But as to whether money may have been the motive for the shootings of = Cooper=20 and Wolford, Smith and other investigators are not saying.
The bodies of Cooper, 53, and Wolford, 39, were found July 7 in a = mobile home=20 on Thornton Drive, a gravel street of well-kept mobile homes near=20 Arnoldsville.
They had been shot to death in the home, where the couple had gone to = shower,=20 according to the man who found their bodies, who rented and lived in the = mobile=20 home.
The $400,000 land transaction was one of the last acts in the life of = a man=20 who owned property worth millions of dollars, but whose life had gone = terribly=20 wrong.
"He was just a sad case," said Athens-Clarke County Commissioner = Charles=20 Carter, a friend of Cooper's family who had known Cooper from the time = he was an=20 infant.
The last time Carter saw Cooper and Wolford, about a year ago, they = looked=20 like "homeless people," Carter said.
The pair died just eight days after the land transaction was recorded = in the=20 Clarke County Clerk of Courts office.
According to the records, Cooper on June 30 conveyed a 9.74-acre = tract of=20 land at the corner of Lexington and Whit Davis roads to a company called = H&S=20 Building Contractors of Greensboro, N.C. The land is worth about = $391,000,=20 according to records in the Clarke County Tax Assessor's Office.
The transaction is listed as a gift, but a record from almost exactly = a year=20 earlier, on July 1, 2005, shows that the company had agreed to buy about = 15=20 acres, including the 9.74-acre tract, for about $2.1 million. At that = time,=20 H&S Building Contractors was listed at an Athens address.
Five days after the July 1, 2005, agreement, Cooper paid off a = mortgage he=20 had on an Oak Drive home in Athens. Cooper had taken out a 30-year, = $43,600=20 mortgage on the Oakwood Drive property in 1988; the debt was paid off = July 6,=20 2005, according to Clarke County land records.
According to Athens restaurant owner Walt Light, who has been a = friend of the=20 Cooper family and did business in the past with Cooper's father, the = 2005=20 agreement called for yearly payments of $100,000 for five years, then a = payment=20 for the rest.
The land was part of extensive land holdings Cooper's family once had = in the=20 Lexington Road-Whit Davis Road area.
Cooper's father, W.A. Cooper - Billy, to friends - was the owner of = Cooper's=20 Bar, an institution for years at Lexington and Whit Davis roads. Ronnie = was the=20 only child of Billy Cooper and his wife, Edith, said Carter.
Carter said his family for years farmed on land they rented from the = Cooper=20 family.
Both Billy and Edith Cooper's parents owned substantial land in = eastern=20 Clarke County, Carter said.
Billy Cooper entered the U.S. Army at the same time Carter did, in = 1945, and=20 they wound up doing duty together in the Philippine Islands and then in = occupied=20 Japan at the end of World War II, he said.
"I've known him my entire life," and though Carter was not a patron = of=20 Cooper's Bar, "we were always good friends," Carter said. "I liked him a = lot.=20 Billy was loud, but he was a good fellow."
Billy Cooper died shortly after he sold Athens-Clarke County 125 = acres of=20 land in 1999 - land that is now Southeast Clarke Park, which stretches = along=20 both Lexington and Whit Davis roads. Cooper carved out about 15 acres = from the=20 tract to keep - the 15 acres of land on the corner of Lexington and Whit = Davis=20 which held Cooper's Bar, the land sold by Ronnie Cooper last year.
Athens-Clarke County paid $900,000 for the Southeast Clarke Park = acreage,=20 according to land records, about $7,200 an acre.
"At the time, some people thought it was a high price," Carter = said.
Carter also knew Ronnie Cooper his entire life, and described him the = way=20 others who knew the younger Cooper have.
"When he was young, he seemed real nice. Then he got kind of wild," = Carter=20 said.
The last time Carter saw Cooper, about a year ago, Cooper looked = almost like=20 a homeless person.
"He looked like a bear," with a beard and long hair, Carter said.
Light, the restaurant owner who had known Cooper for years, said = Cooper came=20 to him to borrow money - $10 - just three months ago.
Cooper never held a job and just didn't live the same kind of life = most=20 people do, Light said.
Authorities said Cooper and Wolford had been living almost like = homeless=20 people in recent months, but one of the places they had been staying was = in a=20 recreational vehicle parked off U.S. Highway 78 west of Lexington.
Oglethorpe Sheriff Smith, whose office is investigating the case = along with=20 the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Oglethorpe County Coroner James = Mathews,=20 said he's confident the people guilty of murdering the pair will be = brought to=20 justice.
"We've got some promising leads," he said.
Published in the Athens Banner-Herald = on=20 07-23-06
------=_NextPart_000_0165_01C6AE0D.5EB86AF0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Sun Jul 23 12:14:27 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 08:14:27 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] =?iso-8859-1?Q?One_man's_trash_.?= Message-ID: <004101c6ae51$8ca7d0b0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> Sun, Jul. 23, 2006 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/15101301.htm One man's trash . A homeless man searching for returnable bottles in a trash bin found 31 U.S. savings bonds worth nearly $21,000 in a bag of clothes. Charles Moore, 59, took the bonds to a 24-hour walk-in homeless shelter, where a staffer tracked down the family of the man whose name was on the bonds. "They belong to him," Moore told The Detroit News. "I did the right thing." Ernest Lehto's family gave away many of his clothes after his death in 2004. How the bonds ended up in the trash is a mystery, but Lehto's family left Moore a $100 reward. William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-2, 07/21/2006 Tested on: 7/23/2006 8:14:30 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From wtinker@verizon.net Sun Jul 23 18:03:21 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:03:21 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] And they say San Diego's weather is perfect Message-ID: <026901c6ae82$4a8094c0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0266_01C6AE60.C18FD480 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060723-9999-7n23heat.html And they say San Diego's weather is perfect=20 By Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Janine Z=FA=F1iga and Michele Clock UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS=20 July 23, 2006=20 Blistering heat broiled the county yesterday, breaking all-time records, = testing the power system and sending weary souls in search of air = conditioning.=20 "This is the hottest it's ever been, and I'm a native," said Maria = Dorsey of Mission Valley as she attended a firefighting exhibition at = Qualcomm Stadium, where visitors looked as though they had just stepped = from the sauna.=20 K.C. ALFRED / Union-Tribune Gabby Clippinger let Mitchell Carlin have it with a spray bottle = as the 6-year-olds tried to keep cool yesterday on the infield at the = Del Mar Racetrack.=20 Today is expected to bring only slight relief. The National Weather = Service said temperatures could drop 10 to 15 degrees, though that might = not feel like much in areas where it cracked 100 yesterday. The heat = will continue this week, forecasters say, but it won't be as bad as = yesterday.=20 Triple-digit temperatures broke records countywide, with all-time highs = of 113 degrees in El Cajon; 112 in Escondido; and 114 at the Wild Animal = Park. Records for July 22 were broken at Lindbergh Field, 99 degrees; = Vista, 106; Alpine, 109; and Campo, 108. La Mesa tied its all-time = record of 109 degrees.=20 In Oceanside, a record of 79 was tied at the harbor, but just a few = miles inland, at Oceanside Municipal Airport, it was 94.=20 Yesterday afternoon, 61 power outages across the county left 44,000 = customers without service. By 10:45 p.m., 18,500 customers were without = power, according to San Diego Gas & Electric spokesman Peter Hidalgo. = The county's electricity usage hit an all-time high of 4,502 megawatts = at 2:45 p.m., up from a peak of 4,163 megawatts Friday.=20 "It's kind of like if you had a toaster you used a lot and it shorted = out," Hidalgo said. "It's truly due to excessive heat."=20 Crews were racing to restore service by the end of the day.=20 "We're working as quickly as possible," Hidalgo said.=20 Record highs for July 22=20 LOCATION | YESTERDAY | PREVIOUS=20 Alpine | 109 | 100=20 Campo | 108 | 103=20 El Cajon* | 113 | 101=20 Escondido* | 112 | 96=20 La Mesa** | 109 | 96=20 Oceanside harbor | 79 | 79=20 Lindbergh Field | 99 | 87=20 Vista | 106 | 93=20 Wild Animal Park* | 114 | 100=20 * All-time record; ** tied all-time record=20 =20 =20 In Northern California, a major power plant tripped off line as = temperatures climbed, trimming electricity reserves to below acceptable = levels and prompting the state's grid manager to declare a Stage 1 = emergency and urge conservation.=20 Temperatures smashed records across California yesterday.=20 In San Francisco, the mercury reached 87 degrees, topping a record of 81 = degrees set in 1917, according to the National Weather Service. = Emergency workers in Los Angeles scrambled to help heat-exposure victims = downtown, where 99-degree temperatures broke the 96-degree record set in = 1960.=20 Records also were set or tied in the Central Valley: 109 degrees in = Sacramento, 111 in Redding, and 112 in Red Bluff, Stockton and Modesto.=20 People packed San Diego County beaches, keeping lifeguards busy = yesterday. At Mission Beach, guards conducted a mass rescue involving 12 = people, lifeguard spokesman Dave Rains said.=20 "We're on edge," Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said. "We're trying to get to = the end of the day without a major incident or having somebody lose = their life."=20 San Diego lifeguards reported 230 rescues and 1,511 warnings during the = day and estimated there were 264,800 people on the beaches. Medics = rescued hikers in Ramona, Mount Helix and from the trail at the Torrey = Pines Gliderport. Several people at the Over-The-Line Tournament on = Fiesta Island suffered from heat exhaustion and were taken to hospitals. = Why so hot? A massive zone of high pressure is covering the western = United States. Wind circulating around the center of the zone is sucking = in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.=20 This monsoonal flow brings humidity and pushes hot, desert air west over = the mountains.=20 "This doesn't happen very often, but when it happens, it's pretty = interesting," said National Weather Service forecaster Philip Gonsalves. = JOHN GASTALDO / Union-Tribune Shawn Hamilton (right) of Richmond sweltered yesterday at Chollas = Lake Park as he visited with family, including his cousins Najee (left) = and Sedric Clark.=20 Today will likely be cooler.=20 "If we don't get another big surge, we could be talking the difference = of 10, 15 degrees. But the way it looks right now, it's still going to = be a hot day," Gonsalves said. And that goes for tomorrow, too.=20 The week will continue to be hot, with a chance of thunderstorms in the = mountains and deserts.=20 The weather service issued an excessive-heat warning yesterday, and an = excessive-heat watch for today, likely to be upgraded to a warning. Both = levels of caution use the same criteria: when the heat indexes, or the = combined effects of temperatures and humidity, reach 110 degrees in the = valleys and lower mountain slopes and 120 or more in the deserts. A = watch is issued in advance; the warning comes when conditions prove the = watch was warranted.=20 In some areas yesterday, the day started out deceptively. Rain drenched = University City, Rancho Bernardo and Otay Ranch. But soon the sun was = beating down, the temperatures climbing.=20 By 1 p.m., Lindbergh Field hit 99 degrees and El Cajon reached an = all-time high of 113.=20 Later in the afternoon, thunderstorms struck south of Tijuana, and short = bursts of rain wet some East County areas.=20 The heat came on fast. At Chollas Lake, in the cool, early morning, = there were joggers. By midmorning, most people were walking.=20 City buses and trolleys were stifling. One passenger said the air = conditioning wasn't working in two of the three trains he took to work. = People tried to open the windows but couldn't.=20 "The air conditioning is working on the trolleys but the hotter it is, = the more difficult it is to keep them cool," said Metropolitan Transit = System spokeswoman Judy Leitner.=20 The hot air rushes in, and the cool air out, each time the trolley doors = open.=20 At San Diego's St. Vincent de Paul Village, which operates a year-round = shelter downtown, people crowded into the lobby. Many were homeless and = seeking what little refuge they could find from the sun and heat.=20 "We have a lot of people in the lobby drinking water," said Patricia = Reinhardt, an information and referral specialist.=20 "They rest in here to get out of the heat. We have a 15-minute time = limit. They can't stay all day."=20 Others found the relief they needed at the Central Library on E Street = downtown. "We are rather crowded today," said Tony DiLullo, who works = the front desk. "The first-floor air conditioning is running well, but = the second-and third-floor air conditioning is not."=20 Guess where most of the people were.=20 William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0629-2, 07/21/2006 Tested on: 7/23/2006 2:03:24 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_0266_01C6AE60.C18FD480 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF = WRITERS
July 23, 2006=20
Blistering heat =
broiled the=20
county yesterday, breaking all-time records, testing the power system =
and=20
sending weary souls in search of air conditioning.=20
=93This is the hottest it's ever been, and I'm a native,=94 said =
Maria Dorsey of=20
Mission Valley as she attended a firefighting exhibition at Qualcomm =
Stadium,=20
where visitors looked as though they had just stepped from the sauna.=20
Triple-digit temperatures broke records countywide, with all-time =
highs of=20
113 degrees in El Cajon; 112 in Escondido; and 114 at the Wild Animal =
Park.=20
Records for July 22 were broken at Lindbergh Field, 99 degrees; Vista, =
106;=20
Alpine, 109; and Campo, 108. La Mesa tied its all-time record of 109 =
degrees.=20
In Oceanside, a record of 79 was tied at the harbor, but just a few =
miles=20
inland, at Oceanside Municipal Airport, it was 94.=20
Yesterday afternoon, 61 power outages across the county left 44,000 =
customers=20
without service. By 10:45 p.m., 18,500 customers were without power, =
according=20
to San Diego Gas & Electric spokesman Peter Hidalgo. The county's=20
electricity usage hit an all-time high of 4,502 megawatts at 2:45 p.m., =
up from=20
a peak of 4,163 megawatts Friday.=20
=93It's kind of like if you had a toaster you used a lot and it =
shorted out,=94=20
Hidalgo said. =93It's truly due to excessive heat.=94=20
Crews were racing to restore service by the end of the day.=20
=93We're working as quickly as possible,=94 Hidalgo said.=20
LOCATION | YESTERDAY | PREVIOUS=20
Alpine | 109 | 100=20
Campo | 108 | 103=20
El Cajon* | 113 | 101=20
Escondido* | 112 | 96=20
La Mesa** | 109 | 96=20
Oceanside harbor | 79 | 79=20
Lindbergh Field | 99 | 87=20
Vista | 106 | 93=20
Wild Animal Park* | 114 | 100=20
* All-time record; ** tied all-time record=20
=
Temperatures smashed records across California yesterday.=20
In San Francisco, the mercury reached 87 degrees, topping a record of =
81=20
degrees set in 1917, according to the National Weather Service. =
Emergency=20
workers in Los Angeles scrambled to help heat-exposure victims downtown, =
where=20
99-degree temperatures broke the 96-degree record set in 1960.=20
Records also were set or tied in the Central Valley: 109 degrees in=20
Sacramento, 111 in Redding, and 112 in Red Bluff, Stockton and Modesto.=20
People packed San Diego County beaches, keeping lifeguards busy =
yesterday. At=20
Mission Beach, guards conducted a mass rescue involving 12 people, =
lifeguard=20
spokesman Dave Rains said.=20
=93We're on edge,=94 Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma said. =93We're trying =
to get to the=20
end of the day without a major incident or having somebody lose their =
life.=94=20
San Diego lifeguards reported 230 rescues and 1,511 warnings during =
the day=20
and estimated there were 264,800 people on the beaches. Medics rescued =
hikers in=20
Ramona, Mount Helix and from the trail at the Torrey Pines Gliderport. =
Several=20
people at the Over-The-Line Tournament on Fiesta Island suffered from =
heat=20
exhaustion and were taken to hospitals.=20
Why so hot? A massive zone of high pressure is covering the western =
United=20
States. Wind circulating around the center of the zone is sucking in =
moisture=20
from the Gulf of Mexico.=20
This monsoonal flow brings humidity and pushes hot, desert air west =
over the=20
mountains.=20
=93This doesn't happen very often, but when it happens, it's pretty=20
interesting,=94 said National Weather Service forecaster Philip =
Gonsalves.=20
=93If we don't get another big surge, we could be talking the =
difference of 10,=20
15 degrees. But the way it looks right now, it's still going to be a hot =
day,=94=20
Gonsalves said. And that goes for tomorrow, too.=20
The week will continue to be hot, with a chance of thunderstorms in =
the=20
mountains and deserts.=20
The weather service issued an excessive-heat warning yesterday, and =
an=20
excessive-heat watch for today, likely to be upgraded to a warning. Both =
levels=20
of caution use the same criteria: when the heat indexes, or the combined =
effects=20
of temperatures and humidity, reach 110 degrees in the valleys and lower =
mountain slopes and 120 or more in the deserts. A watch is issued in =
advance;=20
the warning comes when conditions prove the watch was warranted.=20
In some areas yesterday, the day started out deceptively. Rain =
drenched=20
University City, Rancho Bernardo and Otay Ranch. But soon the sun was =
beating=20
down, the temperatures climbing.=20
By 1 p.m., Lindbergh Field hit 99 degrees and El Cajon reached an =
all-time=20
high of 113.=20
Later in the afternoon, thunderstorms struck south of Tijuana, and =
short=20
bursts of rain wet some East County areas.=20
The heat came on fast. At Chollas Lake, in the cool, early morning, =
there=20
were joggers. By midmorning, most people were walking.=20
City buses and trolleys were stifling. One passenger said the air=20
conditioning wasn't working in two of the three trains he took to work. =
People=20
tried to open the windows but couldn't.=20
=93The air conditioning is working on the trolleys but the hotter it =
is, the=20
more difficult it is to keep them cool,=94 said Metropolitan Transit =
System=20
spokeswoman Judy Leitner.=20
The hot air rushes in, and the cool air out, each time the trolley =
doors=20
open.=20
At San Diego's St. Vincent de Paul Village, which operates a =
year-round=20
shelter downtown, people crowded into the lobby. Many were homeless and =
seeking=20
what little refuge they could find from the sun and heat.=20
Today is=20
expected to bring only slight relief. The National Weather Service said=20
temperatures could drop 10 to 15 degrees, though that might not feel =
like much=20
in areas where it cracked 100 yesterday. The heat will continue this =
week,=20
forecasters say, but it won't be as bad as yesterday.=20
In=20
Northern California, a major power plant tripped off line as =
temperatures=20
climbed, trimming electricity reserves to below acceptable levels and =
prompting=20
the state's grid manager to declare a Stage 1 emergency and urge =
conservation.=20
Record highs for July 22 =
Today will likely=20
be cooler.=20
![](3D"http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060723/images/news_hot.j=)
![](3D"http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060723/images/news_hot2.=)
He and his friends - some of whom go by nicknames like "Momo the Cat" = and=20 "The Indian" - watch out for each other and take turns guarding their = row of=20 tents. Tuesday morning, they drank cold coffee and shared croissants = under a=20 parasol from an abandoned ice cream cart.
"We're at home here, we do as we like," Creuly said. He added, = however, that=20 he doesn't believe the tents will push the government to help the = homeless.
France, with a population of nearly 63 million, has about 86,500 = homeless=20 people, according to a landmark 2001 study by the INSEE statistics = agency. The=20 Abbe Pierre Foundation, which works with the homeless, said this year = that the=20 figure is closer to 150,000.
The government fears the tents give people a reason to stay on the = streets,=20 expose them to sanitation problems and encourage them to live in groups = - a=20 problem because it is harder to persuade them to get help.
"The government's objective in this affair is simple: no more tents," = said=20 Benoist Apparu, communications official for the Ministry of Social = Cohesion.=20 "Not because we don't like tents, but because the problem with them is = that we=20 have enough trouble as it is getting people off the street, persuading = them to=20 move to a shelter or a rehabilitation center."
The Abbe Pierre Foundation shares some of those concerns. Patrick=20 Doutreligne, an official with the Roman Catholic-affiliated charity, = said there=20 are as many negative effects as positive ones.
City officials say they don't disapprove of the tent initiative but = want=20 mediators to persuade homeless to move their tents away from apartment=20 buildings, for example.
On Monday, Mayor Bertrand Delanoe sent a letter to the government = pressing=20 for 5,000 more homeless lodgings in the Paris region - not just = overnight=20 shelters.
Creuly and his friends have dreams of their own. Perched on the edge = of the=20 canal, talking about life, they have fantasies about being granted an = abandoned=20 building to fix up themselves.
"I realize they can't just come up with 1,000 new lodgings, just like = that,"=20 Creuly said. "But are we supposed to believe anyone is really trying? = I'm tired=20 of all this talk."
25=20 Granite Street
Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA
Advocates,activists = for=20 disabled,displaced human rights.
1-603-286-2492
http://www.nationalhomeless.org<= /A>
------=_NextPart_000_01A7_01C6B018.5CB8DAC0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Wed Jul 26 19:38:56 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 15:38:56 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] =?iso-8859-1?Q?Melton's_crackdown_on_crime_with_state_of_emergency_not_si?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?tting_well?= Message-ID: <013101c6b0eb$22e5da90$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.leadercall.com/local/local_story_207113145.html Published July 26, 2006 Mayor Frank Melton promised a hands-on approach to this city's chronic crime problem, and he made good from the moment he took office, donning a bulletproof vest and black fatigues and leading nightly police patrols that illuminated the streets with flashing blue lights. Get-tough tactics of Jackson mayor questioned Melton's crackdown on crime with state of emergency not sitting well >From The Associated Press JACKSON - Mayor Frank Melton promised a hands-on approach to this city's chronic crime problem, and he made good from the moment he took office, donning a bulletproof vest and black fatigues and leading nightly police patrols that illuminated the streets with flashing blue lights. But the pistol-packing mayor soon ran up against the harsh reality that crime actually increased 26 percent during the first half of 2006. Melton responded with another get-tough gesture: imposing a monthlong state of emergency across the city. "There comes a time when you just have to stand up," Melton said during a recent patrol, with his Rottweiler mix, Abby, by his side. Some prosecutors and others say he is going way too far - and perhaps breaking the law himself. His state of emergency, which ended this week, tightened an earlier curfew on young people and was later expanded to include the homeless. At least 19 homeless people were taken to a city-run gymnasium after 10 p.m., and at least eight of them were given jobs picking up trash in the city. Michael Stoops, acting executive director for the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, said Melton is the first mayor in the country to put a curfew on the homeless. Stoops said his organization is considering legal action to keep other cities from following suit. "For a liberal Democratic African American mayor to consider homeless people as vagrants is a way to defame an entire group of people," Stoops said. Some prosecutors have objected to Melton's practice of putting on police gear and picking up a shotgun, and his habit of taking crime witnesses into his home in a sort of self-styled witness protection program. And some business leaders say the state of emergency is hurting the city's image. "We do support the mayor in what he's trying to do. Crime is a major problem," said MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce Chairman Eddie Maloney. "The only problem we have is the state of emergency tag. It gives a negative context to the city." Melton said he knows his tactics are not popular with everyone, but he sees his approach as the only salvation from a crime rate that is nearly twice the national average, and which he believes is driving investment away from his city of 180,000. Police Cmdr. Tyrone Lewis, a city spokesman, said there was a decrease in crime during the state of emergency, but he provided no statistics. Melton has said he hopes to work with city leaders to pass even stronger ordinances on crime. Marty Wiseman, director of Mississippi State University's Stennis Institute of Government, said it is too early to tell how Melton's unorthodox approach will play out. "I'd hate to tally all of the times the constitution has been played loose and fast with, but maybe we need to experiment a little," Wiseman said. "At the end of four years, we will have tried the nice way and we will have tried the Wild West way." The 57-year-old former TV executive and director of the state's narcotics agency established himself as a crime fighter with his tough-talking approach on the "Bottom Line," an opinion piece that aired on WLBT, the NBC affiliate he ran. He would name suspected criminals on the air, and had their pictures posted on billboards. Melton took office last July after getting elected with 88 percent of the vote on a tough-on-crime platform. But he has since run into trouble. He brought in a new police chief and later tried to fire most of the city's department heads. He later found out the mayor does not have the power to do either thing without going through certain procedures. Federal authorities have told the mayor to quit packing his pistol on commercial airline flights. The mayor has said he receives almost daily threats and needs protection at all times. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood told him to stop wearing police gear, and Faye Peterson, the district attorney in Jackson, has said he is breaking the law by impersonating a police officer. "The kids are out running wild in Jackson," said 23-year-old Corey Johnson, a lifelong Jackson resident, said in Melton's defense. "The youth need somebody in the city to give them some direction because the parents just don't do it." Gilert Baker, 61, a former Washington, D.C., police officer, applauded Melton's intentions. "But I definitely think he needs to tone it down a little," Baker said. "He's got to let the chief of police do her job, then back her 100 percent. He needs to let the police be the police and he needs to be the mayor." Read William Charles Tinker New Hampshire Homeless / Founded 11-28-99 25 Granite Street Northfield,N.H. 03276-1640 USA Advocates,activists for disabled,displaced human rights. 1-603-286-2492 http://www.missingkids.com http://www.nationalhomeless.org http://www.newhampshirehomeless.org newhampshirehomeless-subscribe@topica.com --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0630-2, 07/26/2006 Tested on: 7/26/2006 3:38:57 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From morganbrown@gmail.com Wed Jul 26 22:42:58 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2006 18:42:58 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] "Money Follows the Person" Helps States Rebalance Long-Term Care Systems In-Reply-To:
Mayor of US city failing the hard test of crime=20 prevention
AP , JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Thursday, Jul 27, 2006,Page 7
But the pistol-packing mayor soon ran up against the harsh reality = that crime=20 actually increased 26 percent during the first half of 2006. Melton = responded=20 with another get-tough gesture: imposing a month-long state of emergency = across=20 the city.=20
"There comes a time when you just have to stand up," Melton said = during a=20 recent patrol, with his Rottweiler mix, Abby, by his side.=20
Some prosecutors and others say he is going way too far -- and = perhaps=20 breaking the law himself.=20
His state of emergency, which ended this week, tightened an earlier = curfew on=20 young people and was later expanded to include the homeless. At least 19 = homeless people were taken to a city-run gymnasium after 10pm, and at = least=20 eight of them were given jobs picking up trash in the city.=20
Michael Stoops, acting executive director for the National Coalition = for the=20 Homeless in Washington, said Melton is the first mayor in the country to = put a=20 curfew on the homeless. Stoops said his organization is considering = legal action=20 to keep other cities from following suit.=20
"For a liberal Democratic African American mayor to consider homeless = people=20 as vagrants is a way to defame an entire group of people," Stoops said.=20
Some prosecutors have objected to Melton's practice of putting on = police gear=20 and picking up a shotgun, and his habit of taking crime witnesses into = his home=20 in a sort of self-styled witness protection program. And some business = leaders=20 say the state of emergency is hurting the city's image.=20
"We do support the mayor in what he's trying to do. Crime is a major=20 problem," said MetroJackson Chamber of Commerce Chairman Eddie Maloney. = "The=20 only problem we have is the state of emergency tag. It gives a negative = context=20 to the city."=20
Melton said he knows his tactics are not popular with everyone, but = he sees=20 his approach as the only salvation from a crime rate that is nearly = twice the=20 national average, and which he believes is driving investment away from = his city=20 of 180,000.=20
Police Commander Tyrone Lewis, a city spokesman, said there was a = decrease in=20 crime during the state of emergency, but he provided no statistics. = Melton has=20 said he hopes to work with city leaders to pass even stronger ordinances = on=20 crime.=20
Marty Wiseman, director of Mississippi State University's Stennis = Institute=20 of Government, said it is too early to tell how Melton's unorthodox = approach=20 will play out.=20
"I'd hate to tally all of the times the constitution has been played = loose=20 and fast with, but maybe we need to experiment a little," Wiseman said. = "At the=20 end of four years, we will have tried the nice way and we will have = tried the=20 Wild West way."=20
Melton took office last July after getting elected with 88 percent of =
the=20
vote.
------=_NextPart_000_0062_01C6B135.D3D0FE30-- From wtinker@verizon.net Thu Jul 27 17:49:48 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:49:48 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Four charged with murder of homeless man Message-ID: <00cf01c6b1a5$0f4fdc50$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> http://www.portsmouthtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=455&ArticleID=1655881 Four charged with murder of homeless man A 16-year-old girl has been charged with murder following the brutal beating of a homeless man. The teenager, along with three others, is accused of killing Brian Kitching at Southsea seafront last year. The schoolgirl, from Southsea, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is believed to be one of the youngest ever to be charged with murder in Hampshire. Three others have also been charged with his murder following the attack in which Mr Kitching was set upon by a gang of yobs. Lewis Hoare, 19, of Samuel Road, Portsmouth, Amie Bartholomew, 19, of no fixed abode, and Paul Dewar, 26, also of no fixed abode, but originally from Taunton, Somerset, are also accused of murder. Mr Kitching, 68, suffered serious head injuries when he was attacked in the Rock Gardens near the Pyramids on Clarence Esplanade, on September 6, 2005. He was beaten senseless in the attack and lay in a coma at Queen Alexandra Hospital for weeks. Mr Kitching, who had lived in the Milton area of Portsmouth, suffered multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung, massive cuts and bruising to his face and bleeding on the brain. He was eventually transferred to a nursing home where he died on March 8 this year. The two females appeared at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court yesterday afternoon. They were released on bail. The two men appeared before city magistrates today and were remanded in custody. All four will appear at Winchester Crown Court on Monday. victoria.taylor@thenews.co.uk 27 July 2006 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0630-2, 07/26/2006 Tested on: 7/27/2006 1:49:51 PM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com From morganbrown@gmail.com Thu Jul 27 23:22:24 2006 From: morganbrown@gmail.com (Morgan W. Brown) Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2006 19:22:24 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] [Middlebury, CT] Homeless man gives weekly perspective for college radio show; Boston Globe (via AP; via Hartford Courant); 7/27/2006 In-Reply-To:
Homeless man allegedly stabs three attackers in Santa Cruz
Bay City News Service
A homeless man who had been battered by three men over a cigarette in = Santa=20 Cruz early Wednesday morning stabbed his tormentors after they chased = him down=20 and beat him a second time within minutes of the first attack, Santa = Cruz police=20 reported Wednesday.
Witnesses told police the 28-year-old Santa Cruz transient was = socializing=20 with a 29-year-old Santa Cruz woman on Beach Street around 2:50 a.m. = when three=20 men from Sacramento, Citrus Heights and Antelope approached them and = asked for a=20 cigarette.
The 28-year-old said he did not have any cigarettes and was struck in = the=20 face by one of the men, according to police.
The victim and the woman ran away but were confronted again by the = three men=20 about a block away. The trio began beating the 28-year-old, who in the = fight=20 stabbed all of them, according to police.
The three men were later located by police officers near Cliff and = First=20 streets. They were all taken to a local hospital for treatment of knife = wounds=20 to their legs and stomach. One was released immediately and two = underwent=20 surgery and are recovering from non-life-threatening injuries.
Santa Cruz police continue to investigate. No arrests have been = reported so=20 far.
------=_NextPart_000_015A_01C6B1BD.BFB91170-- From wtinker@verizon.net Fri Jul 28 12:58:53 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Fri, 28 Jul 2006 08:58:53 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Stopping pushy panhandlers? Message-ID: <009201c6b245$94f85cb0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_008F_01C6B224.0D0DC1D0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=3D/20060728/NEWS07/107280= 032 =20 =20 PHOTOS BY JON GIFFIN | ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR=20 =20 Arthur C. Weed sits on a bench Wednesday in Beattie Park = along the Rock River. City officials report a gradual increase in the = number of homeless people in recent years. =20 Published: July 28, 2006 Stopping pushy panhandlers Officials try to crack down on aggressive beggars in Rockford. By Bob Schaper ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR Click here for more information about Bob Schaper=20 ROCKFORD - Police Chief Chet Epperson knew Rockford had a problem = with aggressive beggars when he was asked for money while leaving a = downtown restaurant. "Then he tried to get in my squad car," he said. "I was in full = uniform." A new law that would crack down on pushy panhandlers will soon be = introduced at the City Council, officials said this week. At the same = time, expect a media blitz to inform citizens how to handle themselves = when approached by beggars. =20 --- avast! Antivirus: Outbound message clean. Virus Database (VPS): 0630-2, 07/26/2006 Tested on: 7/28/2006 8:58:54 AM avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2006 ALWIL Software. http://www.avast.com ------=_NextPart_000_008F_01C6B224.0D0DC1D0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Published: July 28, =
2006
ROCKFORD=20 =97 Police Chief Chet Epperson knew Rockford had a problem with = aggressive=20 beggars when he was asked for money while leaving a downtown=20 restaurant. =93Then he tried to get in my squad car,=94 he = said. =93I was=20 in full uniform.=94 A new law that would crack down on = pushy=20 panhandlers will soon be introduced at the City Council, officials = said=20 this week. At the same time, expect a media blitz to inform = citizens how=20 to handle themselves when approached by=20 beggars. |
------=_NextPart_000_008F_01C6B224.0D0DC1D0-- From wtinker@verizon.net Sat Jul 29 12:17:50 2006 From: wtinker@verizon.net (William Charles Tinker) Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2006 08:17:50 -0400 Subject: [Hpn] Clinic to host first-ever transgender healthcare forum Message-ID: <002d01c6b309$032742a0$6500a8c0@newc41cbe24335> This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_002A_01C6B2E7.7B5BA170 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Clinic to host first-ever transgender healthcare forum=20 Officials hope event will offer safer alternative to black market = treatment =20 By ERIC ERVIN=20 Saturday, July 29, 2006 Dr. Wayne Bockman, who oversees transgender care at Legacy Community = Health Services, has seen the horror stories of transgender persons who = will stop at nothing for change. Many who can't afford professional medical treatment desperately will = let someone inject them with a deadly substance. In recent cases across = the country, substances such as brake fluid and other chemicals have = been injected into the bodies of transgender individuals.=20 "I've seen the results," Bockman says. "They're a nightmare. It's = non-medical silicone, basically brake