Homeless1 In Wilmington - Homeless Blog

On The First Day Of Christmas

12/9/2017

it's the holiday season. it's the christmas season. it's a time of warmth, love, happiness, family and of course...good cheer. it is truly a wonderful time of the year. it's the time of the year when most people transform into a different spirit, a different demeanor and their hearts soften. it's indeed a special time of the year.

it's a special time of the year for us too. we try to ease the burden of the homeless and bring as much happiness and good cheer as we can. this year we have an opportunity to do something we don't get very often. we have the chance to send two females back home to their families. now and then someone will approach us and say they've had enough of being homeless and the things that come with it and want to go home. we try not to pry or intrude any more than we have to, but we do make a soft effort to verify they are going home. it's difficult being homeless, but for a female it can be especially difficult. more often than not, when someone says they've had enough and want to try to begin again, there is only a small window of opportunity to work in. when that window closes and the frustrations of being homeless set back in, their causes for being homeless take hold again and the struggle to survive tugs at them strongly enough...they're gone again. the window closes and we lose them.

one of these females in particular is someone we've been trying to approach and either get into a program or into some sort of long term shelter. the other is relatively new to being homeless and i think will easily transition back into her life at home. either way, we have the opportunity to remove them from the street and send them to their families where they can be safe, take pause and hopefully begin their lives again. i can't think of a more suitable goal than taking someone off the street and reuniting them with their family during the christmas season. it epitomizes what christmas is about...love, forgiveness and beginning anew.

Christine, Mom and others

10/28/2017

christine....she came to us in tears. she wanted to go home to her mother and a job that was waiting for her. she had been homeless here in wilmington for two months after being stranded. no, she wasn't a stranger to a difficult life on the road with a carnival, working from town to town to survive. yes, she had been living outside with her boyfriend since arriving in town. yes, she drank. but when she came to us, she was at the end, broken, in tears and ready to go home. she couldn't get a bus ticket home. the organizations here either didn't have to money or it was something outside their parameters of operation. i asked her about the churches i knew of that often would help with bus tickets. there was no money. after speaking with her for a few minutes, i asked her if she was telling me the truth about the job, her mother and being ready. she said yes. i believed her. we bought her a bus ticket, packed some food in a bag for the trip and the next morning she was on the bus on he way home to south carolina. two days later she called me, again in tears, to tell me she had made it, was at her mother's home and was scheduled to begin work the next day.

dave...a camper. he called us in a panic during a cold, early fall rainstorm. his tent had developed a gaping hole and he was in danger of losing what few possessions he owned, includings blankets, sleeping bags and clothes that we had provided later in the summer. we hurried to walmart, bought a tent, installed it at his campsite. no, we don't condone camping, but let's face it, they are there and need our help no less than anyone else to survive the life they've chosen.

maxine....a homeless woman. she lived on the streets and sometimes in a hotel with her abusive boyfriend. speaking with anyone who is an abusive relationship can be a tricky thing. i had spoken to her at times and advised her of the places she could go to escape the relationship...if there is such a thing as escape. maxine met us at ten pm, with a black eyes and swollen cheek bone. she was in tears and frightened. she said she feared for her life. we took what money we had, took her to the bus station and loaded her on a bus to dover, where she entered a long term shelter for women. i spoke with her weeks later and she was clean, sober and headed in the right direction.

mom...which is the only name i heard her called by. we stumbled on her and her two children at the riverfront parking lot very early one morning. they were sleeping in their car. we cruised by them a couple of times before stopping to check on them. she warily opened the window and we simply asked if they were ok. she was hesitant and seemed alittle scared. i asked the simple question i ask all the homeless i come across.....are you ok? she answered very bluntly...no. she was traveling to virginia to return home to her sister. they were now out of money, out of gas and hadn't slept for two days. they decided to chance it there in the parking lot. i asked ...what now? she didn't know. we went to macdonalds and bought happy meals and a couple of other things for them to get them thru til morning and while her two children were eating i gave them a rundown of places in town that i knew would help them. at daylight. we left them in the parking lot with a little money for gas and something to drink along with a list of places to eat that day. we left with a smile and a prayer for another lost family.

two many names to list.....men and women who come to us for bus tickets to job interviews. the requests are generally the same. i have an interview today or the next morning. they can't give us bus tickets for job interviews, they're out of tickets and so on and so on. we carry a few two way tickets and one or two small discount tickets and we give them what we have. some have called back and told us they got a job. some called and said they made the interview. most were grateful....and relieved.

brian...a street person. he is mentally ill. most people avoid him. he's volatile and sometimes erratic. i know him and often can talk with him. i'm not going to tell you it's because i'm a good communicator or because i connected with him thru his mental illness. it's because i bought him coffee. i gave him cigarettes. i gave him a dollar here, a dollar there. but over time, we began to talk. finally i walked him to connections csp one morning and they served him from there. he's now on medication and has his own apartment. brian is one of those people that i support free housing for. he is truly mentally ill, needed stability and treatment.

resumes...too many to name...too many to remember. setting up email accounts....same. buying acquiring thumb drives for storing resumes....too many to think about.

answering calls for blankets and sleeping bags in the winter. bringing people to the mission or other code purple nights when even the most hard core street sleepers seek shelter from the bitter cold or the snow. socks, underwear and other every day items that we take for granted, but the campers need access to.....bags full of them....piles of them.

coffee on a cold winter morning. priceless for developing trust and relationships. simply priceless.

this is who we are. this is what we do. you may never have heard of us. you may not recognize us if you pass us on the street...at least not for what we do. we walk among the homeless. we give them the help they need, when they need it. when others say no, we try to step in and say yes.we don't make videos of what we do. we don't offer you endless data. we don't judge or pry. we keep a low profile and move among the homeless, sorting things out and keeping aware of what's really going on. we often think we can't do this any longer. we constantly struggle for money and resources. we consider quitting and returning to our own, normal lives. but we know we won't, not until we just can't do it any longer. we continue to do what we can. if we didn't.....who would. if we don't...who will.

winter is coming quickly. we missed our bulk purchase this year due to lack of money. that is going to make our efforts even more difficult. please consider donating today...right now to help us continue. what if one of the above were your son, your daughter, your mother, your mother, your sister or brother. would you want or hope that someone would them. you see....i've been homeless. i was one of the lucky ones. i made it out. i know what it's like and yes....i would hope someone would help them........we are that someone. at that moment in time when there is hope.....we try to be that hope. please.....donate today. we can't continue without your help.

see you around town

homeless110

You Can Make A Difference

8/17/2017

every now and then it becomes difficult to express in this blog how i feel about the homeless, homelessness and everything that comes with it. when those times come, i have to fall back and just write what i'm feeling and hope it comes across like i mean it. at times it does and at times it doesn't. these times pass and i'm able to express my opinions, feelings and whatever else comes to mind again. that's the good thing about having a blog, you can write and express whatever you want. it doesn't matter if anyone agrees with it, sympathizes with it or disagrees with it.

i do wish there was a way to better convey to you how i feel about the homeless, their plight and how i truly believe we could solve homelessness and the issues surrounding it, if we put all our resources into a concrete, solid and common sense plan of action. i would like to be able to better express to you how we feel about the work we do with the homeless, why we do it and what it means to the homeless themselves. we think what we do is important and we feel we are giving a needed service to the homeless,otherwise we wouldn't do it.we bypass the gratuitous, however well meaning it may be, brown bag with a sandwich and bottle of water and try to give items that are much needed, not only for some small comfort, but for the health and survival of the homeless. in any case, we believe in what we do, how we do it and why we do it. i can tell you from personal experience that the things we try to give the homeless and the particular group of homeless we specifically target serves a good purpose, are needed and often are not given by organizations. we also try to be there when others have said no or the items needed can't be obtained.

we are not a large organization. we are two and sometimes three people. we have no aspirations of being a medium or large organization. we operate around the fringes of the homeless and it serves our purpose very well. in the near <hopefully> future we are going to make a few changes so we don't constantly struggle for resources. we are vigilantly working on that. i very well may be able to do this full time. but that is in the future. today, the needs of the homeless remain unchanged and many unmet. yes, it is summer and the homeless are no longer in danger of freezing or any of the other things that come with winter weather. but they face different, but just as daunting, challenges in surviving the summer and often brutal heat that comes with it. just as in winter, we do the best we can do to help them thru another season.winter is looming just around the corner and with once again freezing weather and the dangers that come with the cold weather. we are trying to get a jump on winter this year.

but it is a struggle for us to continue doing this. we are constantly scrambling for resources. we are constantly trying to raise money to obtain whatever seasonal items we need. we constantly wonder if the money we need will be there when needs arrive. we struggle just to operate from week to week without consistent donations.so far we have been blessed and have managed to obtain the money we need from season to season to keep going.

we did not obtain enough money to acquire the hot weather items for the homeless and distribute them to the various sites like we wanted. we supplied what we could, when we could, but some needs went unmet. we are once again struggling with the amount we need to keep operating and prepare for the winter. we need your help to do this. i realize, probably more than you could know, how tight money is and what personal budgets need to be met. i realize different people can do different things at different times. but i also realize most of you could do something. whatever reasons you have for hesitating, put them aside and realize that what we do serves us no purpose other than helping the homeless. we don't benefit by it and we gain nothing but personal satisfaction knowing that we have helped another human being at a very difficult and low time in their lives. if you have donated before, consider doing it again. if you haven't donated in the past, please consider doing so today.
we don't have the luxury of waiting and neither do the homeless. the need is real. the need is now. in some cases tomorrow may be too late.

donate today, big or small, so we can continue to help the homeless. don't be concerned that as little as ten dollars isn't enough. you'd be surprised how far it goes. if we could get enough people to do just that, we could easily meet the goal that we need. if you can, please consider a recurring donation. those types of donations help take the guess work out of whether or not resources are available to continue our work.

we need your help. they need your help.go....donate today big or small on our donate section or the home page.

see you around town

homeless110

We Can No Longer Look Away

6/1/2017

homeless. homelessness. two words. two simple words. but these words carry such heavy meaning, stigma and consequences that they really can't be considered simple. these two words bring with them such a heavy burden and life altering experience that they are not simple. they are complicated far beyond the definition and far beyond the meaning we all associate with them. they leave a devastating trail of heartbreak, frustration and scars that just don't seem to heal.

the homeless are called a lot of different names, most of them bad or insulting. they are lumped into one large group and thought of as drug addicts, alcoholics, misfits, mentally ill or suffering from some other form of affliction whether it be physical or psychological. they are thought of as a nuisance, a bother and generally someone you would rather not have to be aware of, much less associate with or take into any sort of serious consideration. they are thought of as being unworthy of your time, attention or conversation. they are not deserving or worthy of your time, help or your compassion except fleetingly at holidays.

homelessness has been around for decades as we know it today. it has been shoved aside, swept under a bridge or hidden in the park behind some bushes. it has been something we just had rather not talk about, much less become involved in. but now, the sheer numbers and the recognition of the problems and suffering of the homeless have become too visible, too mainstream and too close to home to ignore any longer. we can no longer turn our head and look away because in any direction you look, in any part of the city...there they are. when you go on the internet you cannot escape them. the news is full of reports concerning the homeless. they are now an open and not so hidden part of our society that we cannot pretend doesn't exist. they are in our neighborhoods, our communities, our schools, our churches and in some cases right in the area we work or live in. with so many women and children now being homeless, we can no longer pretend that the faces of the homeless are men with beards holding a beer can or vodka bottle slumped on the sidewalk in ragged clothes. we can no longer ignore that the suffering and anxiety of being homeless has reached into our next generation with so many young children and teens experiencing homelessness. we can no longer pretend. we can no longer ignore. we can no longer be deaf to the cries of our country's children.

with the numbers ranging anywhere from 650 thousand to well over 3 million depending on what definition of homeless you use and what group of the homeless you are including, we still have not developed a comprehensive, common sense and affordable strategy to deal with homelessness. we still have no comprehensive policy or program to deal with the the numbers that we are experiencing today. we have agencies with fragmented strategies and obtuse policies and ideas, but no real concrete plan that we can agree on. aren't the men, women and children who have fallen victim to the tragedy of homelessness at least worth a national, organized, non political and consistent effort to solve the issue?
we toss money at the problem pretending this will make it better for the homeless, but it seems the more we spend the more negligible the results.

when it comes to homelessness and the homeless, there are many unanswered questions. really, i should say there are many unasked questions. asking the right questions would be too uncomfortable and we would have to recognize and admit that we have been and still are wrong about the homeless, what we can and should do for them and what we cannot and should not do for them. i think by failing to ask these questions is one reason we continue to generalize our perceptions of the homeless and what we can do to alleviate the situation they are in. we over complicate the issue of homelessness while at the same time too often simplifying the issues that were a catalysts of becoming homeless. too often we confuse the day to day physical, emotional, mental and social stresses of being homeless with the root causes of homelessness. too often we confuse the drug addict with the mentally ill. too often we confuse the disabled with the alcoholic. too often we confuse those who need immediate relief with those who have chosen to be homeless either by their actions or their lack of accountability for their choices. the result of making these miscalculations and misunderstandings can be and often are devastating. too many times they are fatal.

we should recognize that the catalysts for becoming homeless are many and they are multilayered. the core causes of homelessness are simple and few. the men, women and children who experience homelessness are not simple. they are complicated human beings with real emotions, needs, wants, aspirations and desires. just like you and i. we have to find a way to recognize this and understand this before we can find a solution. i understand this. i recognize this. i was homeless. i lived this. let's start asking the correct questions and fully expecting the truthful answers. then we can begin a true path to reducing or ending homelessness as we know it today.

see you around town
homeless110

Those Other Homeless People

3/31/2017

you might say that wild animals have it made. no problems, no troubles, no social concerns, no heartaches, no work and all play. there's really nothing for them to do except ensure they find food for themselves, go and do whatever they want and enjoy the sunshine. they get along fine with themselves and other members of the wild, especially with their own kind. living is indeed easy for them, just a matter of existing on their own terms until they fade away. they're just doing what comes naturally and probably what comes by instinct to all of us. not much bothers them. their own small world consists of sun, air, earth and water does not include the needless pain associated with money, accumulating possessions or worrying about retirement. they don't have fear like we have or the frustrations associated with the every day grind of work or existing in a crowded city. their world suits them just fine as a matter of fact. it never disappoints them or frustrates them needlessly. yep, wild animals seem to have it made.

every wish you were a wolf? or a wild deer? how about an elk or a bear? or how about just yourself, living in the wilderness and the quiet solitude that comes with it. ever consider selling it off and packing it up and moving to some remote area of the country or a very small town somewhere? noone could really blame you in this crazy world we live in today. after awhile most probably would envy you. or better yet they may even forget you. when life gets to be too much or you feel like you're swimming against a riptide and not keeping your head above water, that's when you might envy the wild animals. that's when you are tempted to ask yourself the question, "is life worth the struggle only to acquire things that will not mean anything in the end?"

i've never written about and rarely spoken of a group of unique homeless people. i don't talk about them much because i'm not sure what my opinion is of them. they are the homeless who choose to be homeless and by most standards do quite well for themselves. they are the homeless who chose to drop out of what we call society and the proper way to live and chose a lifestyle of their own, one of which few of us understand. some live in campers, rolling along the highways of america, camping in different areas whenever and wherever they choose. some sleep wild utilizing only backpacks and other camping items. others choose to live in tents in a fixed area for varying amounts of time. still others will construct a shelter for themselves out of whatever they can find, whether it be plywood, tarp, 2x4's or a combination of these and more. they live their own life. they rarely, if ever, seek the approval of other people. the do their best to live up to their own standards and try to earn only their own self-approval. they make decisions on what they think is best and then they stand by those decisions. they don't worry about the unreasonable, the hyper-critical, the hypersensitive, hysterical or immature actions of society as we do so often.they aren't concerned about today's tweets, who liked or unliked them, or how many followers they have. on the contrary they seem to truly hope they have no followers. they don't attempt to explain their actions to anyone and consider it a waste of time in even attempting to formulate an explanation. they consider the rest of us irrelevant. they just live their ilves the best they see fit in the manner they see fit. they don't define the word "live" they way most of do today. they have learned what many of us never do and that is to be comfortable with themself. their secret, as best as i can figure it out, is the fact that they learned how to live their own lives and let others live theirs without putting much thought into how the others are living theirs.

you seldom hear about this category of homeless people unless something goes horribly wrong and one kills or injures someone and then the words hermit, homeless, loner or other descriptions permeate the headlines associated with the story. you don't hear about these homeless people unless someone accidentally becomes associated or familiar with one and writes a story or article that is so misrepresented and distorted that it goes to the opposite extreme and glorifies that lifestyle. they are generally a quiet group and you will seldom hear about them. but they're out there. they're self sufficient, many don't and won't take any sort of welfare, government assistance or other financial hand outs from washington. they are fiercly independent and private. they want to keep their lifestyle and the contentment that goes with it a well kept secret. contrary to popular misconceptions, they seldom steal, don't commit other crimes and are absolutely no danger to anyone. they only want to live their life....as they choose to live it.

i've run across one or two of these homeless people here and there. i've become acquainted with one or two of them....as much as they would let me. gaining even enough trust to have a conversation took time and patience and had to be devoid of any pretense or false motives. they are indeed a unique group of the homeless and one i hope we never are able to house, domesticate or reintegrate. all in all.....i almost envy them. i'm not sure i would be brave enough or capable enough to do what they have done. they have achieved the freedom that many of us work a lifetime for. and the good part is they did it with enough time to enjoy the life they chose for themselves.

see you around town

The Best Of The Worst

3/4/2017

in a perfect world the annual point in time count that is taken annually is a test that measures the health and well being of our homeless agencies and the effort to reduce homelessness. in a perfect world we would do this yearly and see some progress from the prior years in bringing homelessness to a manageable level. it is also a test of how the homeless themselves are doing and the well being of the individuals experiencing it. in a perfect world. we face an enormous task in this country at the present time of dealing with unprecedented numbers of homeless people in every major city in the united states. not only in the inner cities has homelessness increased but it permeated every part of our society from the middle class to the poor and spread into our smaller cities and suburbs. it has reared its head in rural areas like never before. from seattle to portland to washington dc to nashville to salt lake city to houston to new york city we face record numbers of homeless people and a crisis like we nave not faced before.

the year 2016 will be remembered for many things in the homeless advocacy world, but one thing that will be high on the list again is our seemingly surprised reaction to the fact that homelessness has not been significantly reduced in this country. despite record low unemployment, a record high stock exchange, a seemingly booming economy and the highest accumulated wealth this country as ever seen, we have made no major inroads into bringing homelessness to a manageable level despite what we want to call our best efforts. we should be embarrassed and maybe somewhat ashamed that the results were as negligible as they were. despite predictions and proclamations from various cities that progress had been made and homelessness had been reduced, the data and numbers coming from the pit count says otherwise. the over capacity missions and shelters speak the truth. no city was left untouched and no area of the country was spared. we continued in 2016 to follow programs that have not been working. we continued to rely on a very distant federal government to guide, mandate and fund us into following programs that were not effective, not cost efficient and did not relieve the daily struggle of the homeless much, if any.

we now enter into a new year with a republican congress, a republican senate, a republican president, a majority of republican governors and a very large majority of republican state legislators. republicans...who are known for austerity, budget cutting and slashing programs, particularly social safety net programs to accomplish their budget balancing agenda. we are entering into an era of defunding programs and grant cuts like we haven't seen in decades. we will now be forced to rethink how we do a lot of things without sacrificing our ultimate goal or our mission of ending homelessness. we will have to reshape, rethink and reorganize our efforts in fighting homelessness like we've never done before. suddenly we do not know what is going to happen, how much is going to happen or when and if it will happen. truthfully we probably never did know. we dug ourselves into various sides of the homeless battle and played self serving games with peoples lives and well being. we ignored the obvious facts that what we were doing wasn't working and the directions we were taking were leading in circles.we now must reorganize ourselves and fill our advocacies, agencies and organizations with flexible, creative people and surround them with the tools and programs that work instead of tossing our precious resources and money into programs that are doomed from the beginning. we have a chance and an opportunity to learn from 2016 and the years prior and begin anew. we have a chance to improve the lives of the homeless and give them what we have been promising for too long but not delivering...an end to their struggle.

we now face a choice to begin 2017. do we continue to follow the same path and fail or do we begin anew and explore different avenues to end homelessness? do we continue to let our agency leaders make deeper tears in the fabric of our credibility or do we use the passion that we all once had in fighting homelessness and take a new route to the same end? do we continue year after year to act surprised at the lack of results in reducing homelessness, or do we admit we've been wrong collectively and bring our new ideas, new messages forward....with new messengers. we can always hope. however, we can't always begin anew. this year we have that chance.

see you around town
homeless110

Stand up...Step Up

2/17/2017

650 thousand. that's the number of homeless people that are estimated to be in the united states of america on any one given night. that does not include those taking refuge in missions, shelters or other locally run places because they have no place to go. that does not include those who are in short term detox centers, rehab facilities or other programs because they do not have a place called home and had rather be in a program than take their chances on the street. the 650 thousand are the homeless who sleep on the street, in campsites or other places each night. i think that number may be conservative and it probably is closer to the 800 thousand to a million level. stop and take just a moment to think about that number....a million men, women and children in our country, our state and our community who sleep on benches, in abandoned buildings, in tents and other various places because they don't have a place where they can call home. in america....the land of opportunity, the land of wealth and the richest country in the world with more resources than any other.

idealists among homeless advocates or those working for homeless agencies like to repeat cliches when it comes to the homeless. they say we can end homelessness with whatever the popular program of the year happens to be. they use terms that sound official, effective and quiet frankly make for a good read on the homeless news feeds. they state, repeat or quote different volumes of information, financial figures or mounds of data from the federal government to prove that these programs are working. this happens month after month and year after year. but the number of homeless people in america remains the same. the headlines from across the nation when it comes to housing the homeless and the success we are having in the effort to reduce homelessness sounds great. just scan thru the homeless news feeds and you'll see it. but if the number of homeless people basically remains unchanged, if the women and children are still dying on our streets due to being homeless, if we still have over 13 kids dying alone every nite, then how can that be called success? it isn't. it's a disgrace. it's shameful. it's sad, it's an indictment about the moral compass of this country and each one of us.

we need to change our thinking. we need to change our strategies. we need to change our whole homeless advocacy and agency network. we need to do that now, not ten years from now when we realize the latest plan isn't working. we need to do that as soon as possible so we don't allow any more needless deaths or misery. we need to find another way to deal with homelessness before we indoctrinate yet another generation to homelessness and all that comes with it. but how can we do this? what can we do differently than we have done in the past that will have a quantifiable impact on the homeless population? what can we do to rescue the homeless from the streets?

trying to make a difference requires something that this country seems to have forgotten in recent years. it requires commitment, it requires will and it requires more attention than a two day trending line on twitter. it requires the compassion and willingness to help our fellow human beings and take responsibility for the well being of our most vulnerable citizens. we need awareness of what's happening in our own city and our own neighborhood. we need awareness of the suffering of the women and children who sleep alone on our streets in the city we live in. we need to be aware of the people behind the coats, beards and hats we pass every day.we need to decide to step up and have an impact on the people in our own city who don't have a roof over their head or any place to go. we need to decide that this shouldn't and no longer can happen in our city. our city...the one we live in. the one we work in. the one we call home. the one we should be proud of, but can't be as long as there are people struggling to just survive another cold night or search for someplace warm on the cold days or are in constant worry about the next meal or where they will find it. our city.

i've always said we will never solve homelessness from a federal level, no matter how much money is dumped into the process in any one given period of time. the money eventually dries up and we end up at square one or worse. we can only solve homelessness from a local level. it begins and it ends with you and i. only we can do it and do it effectively and efficiently. you might say to yourself...why should i ? you might say to yourself...it's not my problem. you should say to yourself, if not me...then who? if i don't help this woman, if i don't help this child, if i don't help this elderly person....then who will? if i don't take responsibility for the men, women and children in my own city, in my own neighborhood....then who will? if i can't be a part of the solution for this atrocity, then what will the solution be? will it ever be? if i don't help the homeless survive another night, another week, another month...then who will. if you don't.....some won't.

history is full of people who made a difference. history tells us that one person can indeed make a difference anb begin a collective movement to solve an injustice, to solve an issue that goes against the very basic morality of each of us. time has told us that each of us can make a difference. history has also told us what happens when we don't step up and take responsibility for those around us. it's time to take back the responsibility and ownership of the problems in our own city. it's time we stop thinking that someone else will do it or the government will solve the issue. while we think that, while we ignore the problem, people continue to die needlessly. children continue to suffer. women continue to struggle to survive. our streets. our city. our citizens. our people.

stand up. say enough. let's all solve the issue of homelessness...together...individually...collectively...each of us. each one of us.

see you around town

A New Beginning

1/17/2017

imagine having to look at your child and knowing you have to decide whether they eat or whether they will be warm tonite. imagine holding your child's hand and walking into a shelter and mission and trying to explain why this will be home for awhile while they look around with fear in their eyes. think about your child sitting at a bus stop bench in the middle of winter shivering from the cold. I know, it's unpleasant or maybe close to impossible for you to fathom those scenarios. at one time it was for me also. these things are part of becoming homeless if you have a family. but being homeless is much more than this. the solutions to homelessness are also much more than just solving the issues of a roof over your head, a meal in your body and heat to stay warm.

for years the federal government has spent billions of dollars fighting homelessness and more often than not cities have either tried, are still trying or about to embark on a program that's called housing first in todays homeless advocacy world. it's been called several names over the years but the outcome has always been consistent. with systematic evaluation it's very easy to see that the program invariably has failed by all measures and has not reduced homelessness. even the cities such as salt lake city, Utah that invested state and federal money very heavily in this idea and then stated that it was a rousing success, in actuality did very little to solve the homeless problem in their respective cities. from Nashville to salt lake city to phoenix, the much touted success of housing first proved to be nothing more than smoke and mirrors and the success was nothing more than manipulation of numbers. it just doesn't work. neither have many of the other approaches homeless agencies have put into place over the last several years. it isn't a question of money, we spend more than enough on homeless programs to house every homeless person in the united states on a yearly basis. it's simply we don't spend it efficiently, we don't use common sense in appropriating funds for programs and we continue to use the same basic approach under different names over and over and over again.

we have a new administration in Washington now. we have a new senate, congress and a new head of hud. things are about to change. I think we are entering a period of greater opportunity to have a real effect on homelessness with ben carson now heading hud. I think the gop congress and senate, despite their reputation for waging war on the homeless will present a more common sense approach when it comes to funding programs for the battle to save our homeless and those struggling daily with severe poverty. simply tossing more money into the problem doesn't and never has had much of an effect. it's time we try a different approach and look at the individuals instead of the collective problem of homelessness. housing first advocates have always used the worn out philosophy of how much money it saves by simply giving a homeless person a home. they state that it costs around 45 thousand dollars for a homeless person to live on the street versus around 15 thousand to just give them a home. i'm not even going to get into the argument over where the 45k figure came from or where the supposed 30k annually they saved on each homeless person went. it's too ridiculous at this point for me to even try to put forth an argument against those numbers. any person with common sense can figure that out for themselves. but i will say what will save money is to get the homeless person off the street, into housing and then deal with what caused their homelessness initially. finding the homeless person employment, helping them to become self sufficient and if you must use free housing first, having an exit strategy and have them transition out. that...is the real success and that should be the true measure of housing programs. it's not how many you housed that stayed, it's how many transitioned out into self sufficiency. we have to begin a new dialogue when it comes to homelessness and the homeless and we have to fill it with honesty, real facts and what works for people instead of continually chasing the unicorn effect of free housing with no strings. instead of looking at what doesn't work we need to begin to look at what works. instead of looking at what causes homelessness and why the individual is still homeless despite our best efforts, we need to look at those who have beaten homelessness and moved on and examine how they did it and why they did it. i think we'd get a better understanding of what works and why by looking at those people than we ever will continually examining those who are still mire in homelessness by their own choosing.

we do not need to abandon our homeless brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and children who continue to struggle with addictions and homelessness. but in order to "save and rescue" them we need to turn our attention in a new direction. we need to stop accepting failure. we need to stop accepting excuses from ineffective homeless agencies. we need to accept the fact that only being honest about the real causes of homelessness and being honest about the real causes that individuals are homeless will bring about our common goal of bringing homelessness to a functional zero level. we need to continue to exercise compassion for the homeless and try to give them the relief to survive from day to day, week to week. month to month and year to year if necessary. we need to continue to hold that life line within their reach so when the day comes they are ready to grab onto it, it is there and we are at the other end to pull them up and out of the quagmyre they are caught in.

it is a new era in this country. it is a new era in washington. agree or disagree, times are changing. our economic and social focus is changing. hopefully we will enter into a new era in our battle against homelessness. hopefully all of us who are engaged in helping the homeless will collectively say what america said this past election. enough is enough. we should make it our goal to never introduce another generation to widespread homelessness and never allow another child to be hungry or worry about where they are going to spend the next night. let's end this blight on our country and give our homeless what they need. what they need is us to give our best. we haven't done that in decades.

see you around town

homeless110

The Best Of 2016

12/27/2016

2016 is drawing to a close. homelessness is not. but there have been some good things going on here in wilmington when it comes to the homeless and the homeless. by the same measure, there have been some things that are not so good. i'm going to give you my opinion on some of these things. in the tradition of the best and the worst that alot of pubications, broadcasts and others do at this time of year, here is my list.

Most Improved Homeless Services

this was an easy one for me. the organization that truly deserves this one hands down is Rvrc of wilmington. i haven't always been a big fan of rvrc, the way they operated and the services they provided and the manner they provided it in. but over the course of the last year, particularly the last few months they have emerged as the most improved homeless services agency in wilmington and if they continue in the direction they are going they could very well emerge as the premiere homeless agency as far as essential services that they homeless need.

one of the reasons, a very important reason of the vast improvement, is the overnite shelter for the homeless that they now offer. the men's side of the shelter offers around 38 beds but could be stretched to 41 or so. the women's shelter only offers around 20 beds. but this number is a critical one. it provides 20 beds to women who had few if any options before this. unless you joined a program, committed to a months long shelter or other stipulation, there simply was no place to go if you were a woman. this shelter offers the women a safe, secure place to go every nite....every nite. it takes them off the streets, which can be particularly dangerous for women, into a safe haven where they can sleep. another reason this shelter, both for the men and women, is important is the fact that there are no qualifiers to stay overnite. you just show up, sign up and you are offered a place to sleep. there is no forced religion, no forced program, no questions, no committments. you just show up, get a bed, get off the street into a secure environment and sleep. all they ask is that you respect the other "guests" and quietly get into bed and go to sleep. there is no locking of the door at exactly a certain minute or refusing entry after a certain hour. if they have a bed available, you have a place to sleep. it is a bare bones, come as you are type of shelter. both the men's and women's shelters are near or at capacity every nite, because the homeless do not feel they are being compelled to do something they don't wish to do in order to gain some semblance of safety while they sleep. this shelter, particularly the women's was a much needed, critical piece of the homeless puzzle here in wilmington. rvrc and its ceo, allen conover, were smart enough to recognize this fact and took the action needed to fill those missing pieces. the shelter begins at 7 pm and ends at 5 am. there is no in between program or religious services or hoops to jump through, so it is possible you could actually sleep for eight or nine hours, which is impossible at the local mission where you are lucky if you get six hours of fitful sleep.

but that's not all. the day program at rvrc has shifted also. for a time during last winter and the summer it appeared the homeless were being forgotten and shifted out of the equation. but that reversed itself. with other agencies offering less day time hours or none at all, rvrc shifted back into a 7 am to 3 pm schedule where the homeless were welcome. there are computers you can use umimpeded, two or three large screen televisions and a place to sit quietly, safely and not be bothered if you choose to close your eyes and get some day rest. occassionaly they offer lunch if the weather is cold or wet. they administer delaware's version of free housing with no strings, srap. if i have a point of contention with rvrc it is this item. no, i'm not a fan of free housing, but that's not my criticism here. while i do not support free housing with no strings, if the program is available and if an agency is to administer it, it should be more coordinated, more targeted, and with possibly more people working toward the ultimate goal. from what i've seen the inner workings here are abit helter skelter and they are either under staffed or the people working on the srap side are carrying too many duties or responsibilites. the explanation of srap is often too generic, explained incorrectly and the process is redundant and too slow from beginning to end. now some of the other services that rvrc offers the homeless are lacking in quantity and quality but i do believe that is due to a lack of funding and not for wanting to be first rate.

one of the things i am very pleased with at rvrc is their process of entering into the building for the daytime and night programs. during the day you cannot enter without a "member" card. obtaining one is simple and easy. all you have to do is have some form of id and let your picture be taken. you are signed in on the computer when you enter. there is a zeo tolerance for drug use or having them with you. there is a very low level of tolerance for alcohol. any violation and you are out. this may seem a bit harsh, but it's not considering the organization is also a drug recovery and mental health recovery zone. the night program has an excellent entry procedure to ensure the safety and well being of the overnight guests. you pass thru a metal detector and you must leave everything in a plastic bag that is kept securely at the front desk. you cannot bring your personal bags into the building. they have a safe and secure storage area close to the front door where you can store your bags, backpacks or other items while you sleep. there is a near zero tolerance policy of disturbing other people who have come to get some much needed rest and respite from the cold or the dangers of the street. you can enter if you are intoxicated, but you must be respectful, quiet and just go to sleep.

rvrc has an excellent outreach program. they are on the streets of wilmington and new castle county 7 days a week. they go early and stay late. they are the most comprehensive outreach team i have seen in wilmington. they are out there. i see them every day. they are good at identifying and targeting the homeless in a way that is nonobtrusive. they are friendly and try diligently to offer the services that rvrc has to people who are known to sleep on the streets. they are also good at identying newly homeless people so they can "intervene" quickly in their circumstances.

the peer program at rvrc is another reason i will give it high marks. although peer programs have both their good and bad sides, rvrc does give the opportunity to addicts, alcoholics and those who are successfully dealing with mental health issues an opportunity to gain employment with the organization. while other organizations claim to offer this, few do. those who do have a very low percentage of people working for them that are peers. rvrc on the other hand has a very high percentage and if i'm not mistaken, the majority of the people employed by rvrc are true peers that have succeeded in recovery. to be fair, some relapse and lose their jobs. but rvrc will often give these individuals a second chance if they deal with their relapse successfullyl.

yes, all in all, rvrc is the most improved homeless program in wilmington. though they are multifaceted and are not just a homeless agency, they are at the moment the most diversified and perhaps the best overall program when it comes to what the homeless truly need on a daily basis. they are versatile, have many resources that the homeless can use on a daily. basic, common sense services. they are open 7 days a week and offer basic services to the homeless that most agencies do not truly offer.

so there it is. for the year 2016 i give rvrc the most improved and overall the best homeless agency in wilmington. i would give them a certificate or award but this will have to do. my next entry will be the least improved agency in wilmington and some of the in between agencies.

see you around town
homeless110

Blanketfest

9/17/2016

the weather outside is beautiful. fall is beginning to make its presence known with cool nites and warm, bright days. the skies are blue and the trees will soon prepare to burst into bright colors and throw their leaves into the sky to gently float to the ground, leaving the smell of leaves and autumn in the air. but following this beautiful time of year is something more threatening and more difficult.....winter. with winter comes the cold, dangerous weather for the homeless. it can be deadly.

while I have chosen to curtail my active advocacy and outreach for and to the homeless, the homeless have not yet chosen to end their requests for aid and assistance from us. I still receive calls and in person requests for help. I have explained that we could not continue due to lack of financial support and lack of resources. but the calls keep coming. with winter just around the corner, I have decided to at least have some blankets and warm items on hand for the calls I know I will receive when the first cold nites arrive. the homeless who call or request blankets or sleeping bags won't care if I am actively involved in an advocacy or outreach program. they won't care if I lack the resources to continue those activities. they won't be able to wait until an agency opens the following day. they won't be able to wait until you decide whether to help or not. when you decide not to help because you need to pay your cell phone bill, need to buy another pair of shoes or you had rather go to dinner than help someone in need, they won't care. they will only care that they are cold, sleeping outside and need to survive the night and indeed the winter. with agencies in town scaling back or changing directions due to block grants being revised, reduced or eliminated there even fewer now than last year that can or will respond to these requests in time to help the homeless, if they respond at all. for this reason I have made the decision to attempt to collect some items for the winter.

as before, I can't purchase these items without some help from you. we have a supplier we have dealt with in the past who offers bulk discount to us. however, this discount is only offered before winter sets in and the demand becomes high. please help us help the homeless this winter and donate now. no amount is too small and everything helps. as in the past we are going to use our own personal resources as much as we can. but we do need to raise approximately $300.00 dollars in the next few days in order to make this happen. your help would be appreciated. simply hit the donate button on this page or the one located on the donate page. it's fast, simple and secure thru paypal.

please don't wait. donate today. winter will not wait. the homeless can't wait.
help us help the homeless today.

see you around town
homeless110