So this is the plan to end homelessness that was developed by Mayor John Hickenlooper called Denver's Road Home, you can see it here at: http://www.denvergov.org/HomelessnessinDenver/tabid/383233/Default.aspx, in this plan it talks about helping the homeless with programs such as low cost housing, social services and job counseling but this program feels as though its spirit is intended to do away with the homeless that are unsightly to the taxpayers of Denver rather than help the average homeless person out of their situation. What I feel this program does not take into consideration is that the bulk of the homeless in this city are in shelters already, and are looking for a way out of that situation, they are not the homeless people out on the streets.
As a former homeless person I can say that the last time I ended up in the shelters I was not a virgin to the whole experience. I had, like many others, been in and out of shelters, hotels and various other places trying to fix my situation, this had been my life for many years. I decided that this was the last time I was going to be in a hell hole and I didn't care what I had to put up with to get out. One of the first lessons I learned is that if you wait for resources from the different organizations that are supposed to help you, you will be homeless for a long, long time. The resources don't exist for someone looking to fix their situation now. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that Hickenlooper is at least addressing the problem, but it seems as though the problem is being addressed, once again, in all of the wrong places. Because I feel that single men/women have been igonored, once again, I have decided to make a list of what the single homeless person needs and I hope that someone reading this will give this wishlist to somebody important:
1. More shelter beds ala United Way or Catholic Charities (Samaritan House)
2. Bus Token/Bus Pass program for people trying to look for work, (10 rolls of tokens for 35 women aint gonna cut it).
3. More realistic housing options - housing that does not take 3-6 months to get into or Section 8 vouchers, (they can be taken from place to place), let's do away with buildings that require credit checks.
4. More money for people who are trying to get State ID's, Birth Certificates and Social Security Cards.
5. More funding for groups such as The Stout Street Clinic, St. Francis and the Gathering Place. The Stout Street Clinic provides the bulk of healthcare for the homeless, including mental health, whereas St. Francis and the Gathering Place provide phones, showers, storage and other needed services.
6. Volunteer programs for people who are about to lose their housing - let's try to be proactive vs. reactive.
7. Expansion of the mental health system - more counselors, more money for medication, shorter waiting times to see someone and counseling that ties into other areas such as job searches and people on probation.
8. Clothing options for people who are trying to look for work and can't find anything in the "donated" bin.
9. Inquiry as to why so many people are coming from other states for shelter in CO and the effects that it has on actual residents of this state.
10. Better pay and benefits for individuals that work in the shelters. We can not expect these people to be understanding towards the homeless if they are practically homeless themselves.
I believe that if we did some of the aforementioned things we could really have a shot at clearing out some of those shelters, which would allow for new people to enter the shelters. Just a thought.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
The Homeless and Politics As Usual
Hello All,
Today I was thinking about politics, as a member of Generation X it is possible that we might finally have a president that comes from our group who would also be the first minority to take office, as a woman the chance to finally have our voices heard through Hillary is a big win for the feminist movement everywhere, words can not describe how elated I am about this upcoming election, I feel Barrack or Hillary would do a far better job than the current administration. That is where my praise ends. I have a problem with the presidential candidates in the fact that they do not talk about issues that are affecting me today and I am left to wonder that if they should make it to the big show, is it going to be business as usual or are they actually going to change things?
Take the issue of homelessness in Colorado or for that matter around the United States. It is estimated that in the state of Colorado there are about 20, 134 homeless people according to a study done by Housing and Urban Development (HUD), http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2ndHomelessAssessmentReport.pdf this assessment was done in 2006 and the figures released in 2008, which means that the problem is considerably worse now as more people are becoming homeless with issues such as job loss and foreclosures on the rise. So what are Barrack and Hillary doing about the homeless problem, not much from what I can hear. The issue of homelessness does not even warrant mentioning in most speeches yet if you talk to the average man/woman on the street they would tell you that it is probably one of the top ten issues that they feel needs to be addressed.
Homelessness in Colorado, as in many other states, grew exponentially during the 90's boom period when the state had a large number of jobs and the cost of living was relatively low in comparison to the rest of the U.S., this gave people the idea that it would be easy to find a job and get settled here, because of this belief Colorado became a dumping ground for states that either did not have any homeless facilities or had too few for their overall homeless population. People were dumped by being given a bus ticket to neighboring states and phone numbers to Social Service agencies, they were then told to call the numbers when they arrived at their destination, and the state they were sent from washed their hands of the problem. The problem with the trend of bussing people is that the states that people are being bussed to are not getting any money from the places that they were bussed from and the transferred are taxing the resources from the people who are not only living in the state but who are also tax paying residents who truly deserve and need the help. It is important to note that Colorado is not the only place that receives homeless from another state, residents in the state of Washington and Texas report that their states also take part in this practice. So in the case of Colorado,it's not that the state has too few programs to deal with its homeless, it's that other states have too few or no programs to deal with their homeless and are sending them here.
With the numbers that we are seeing across the country regarding this situation, I believe that it's time our politicians begin to talk about what they are going to do about this horror should they be elected. That I have not heard anything of value from Barrack or Hillary regarding homelessness tells me that they intend to treat the issue now as it has been treated in the past and totally ignore the crisis in favor of handing over responsibilities to the individual states concerned, and we've all seen how well that works. The states do not have the resources to deal with a problem of this magnitude and they never will.
Homelessness in the past was an issue for for people who were alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill, temporarily displaced, and abused, but because of the foreclosure crisis and the loss of jobs due to the economy there will be a rise in the number of homeless who were once middle class and have lost everything and have no place to go. This is not something that is going to happen, it is something that is happening. Many shelters are reporting higher education levels in their residents that hint that residents were victims of foreclosures or job loss. Since this trend will continue I feel that I have a right to ask Barrack or Hillary, what they are going to do about this problem should they be elected and expect a well thought out plan of action, not just excuses and passing the buck. The homeless are citizens too, they pay taxes and have a right to a roof over their head. The states make more money from someone who is actually contributing to society rather than just surviving from day to day, maybe if the candidates see the issue as one that can generate income they will finally be able to show some compassion. Thanks for listening.
Today I was thinking about politics, as a member of Generation X it is possible that we might finally have a president that comes from our group who would also be the first minority to take office, as a woman the chance to finally have our voices heard through Hillary is a big win for the feminist movement everywhere, words can not describe how elated I am about this upcoming election, I feel Barrack or Hillary would do a far better job than the current administration. That is where my praise ends. I have a problem with the presidential candidates in the fact that they do not talk about issues that are affecting me today and I am left to wonder that if they should make it to the big show, is it going to be business as usual or are they actually going to change things?
Take the issue of homelessness in Colorado or for that matter around the United States. It is estimated that in the state of Colorado there are about 20, 134 homeless people according to a study done by Housing and Urban Development (HUD), http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2ndHomelessAssessmentReport.pdf this assessment was done in 2006 and the figures released in 2008, which means that the problem is considerably worse now as more people are becoming homeless with issues such as job loss and foreclosures on the rise. So what are Barrack and Hillary doing about the homeless problem, not much from what I can hear. The issue of homelessness does not even warrant mentioning in most speeches yet if you talk to the average man/woman on the street they would tell you that it is probably one of the top ten issues that they feel needs to be addressed.
Homelessness in Colorado, as in many other states, grew exponentially during the 90's boom period when the state had a large number of jobs and the cost of living was relatively low in comparison to the rest of the U.S., this gave people the idea that it would be easy to find a job and get settled here, because of this belief Colorado became a dumping ground for states that either did not have any homeless facilities or had too few for their overall homeless population. People were dumped by being given a bus ticket to neighboring states and phone numbers to Social Service agencies, they were then told to call the numbers when they arrived at their destination, and the state they were sent from washed their hands of the problem. The problem with the trend of bussing people is that the states that people are being bussed to are not getting any money from the places that they were bussed from and the transferred are taxing the resources from the people who are not only living in the state but who are also tax paying residents who truly deserve and need the help. It is important to note that Colorado is not the only place that receives homeless from another state, residents in the state of Washington and Texas report that their states also take part in this practice. So in the case of Colorado,it's not that the state has too few programs to deal with its homeless, it's that other states have too few or no programs to deal with their homeless and are sending them here.
With the numbers that we are seeing across the country regarding this situation, I believe that it's time our politicians begin to talk about what they are going to do about this horror should they be elected. That I have not heard anything of value from Barrack or Hillary regarding homelessness tells me that they intend to treat the issue now as it has been treated in the past and totally ignore the crisis in favor of handing over responsibilities to the individual states concerned, and we've all seen how well that works. The states do not have the resources to deal with a problem of this magnitude and they never will.
Homelessness in the past was an issue for for people who were alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill, temporarily displaced, and abused, but because of the foreclosure crisis and the loss of jobs due to the economy there will be a rise in the number of homeless who were once middle class and have lost everything and have no place to go. This is not something that is going to happen, it is something that is happening. Many shelters are reporting higher education levels in their residents that hint that residents were victims of foreclosures or job loss. Since this trend will continue I feel that I have a right to ask Barrack or Hillary, what they are going to do about this problem should they be elected and expect a well thought out plan of action, not just excuses and passing the buck. The homeless are citizens too, they pay taxes and have a right to a roof over their head. The states make more money from someone who is actually contributing to society rather than just surviving from day to day, maybe if the candidates see the issue as one that can generate income they will finally be able to show some compassion. Thanks for listening.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Welcome!!!
Hello!!!
Today is my first day at this, I've never blogged before but I decided to start this blog because I am tired of talking to myself and thought that I would start a place of my own where I could rant about all of the things that are making me happy, sad, indifferent, whatever. I have alot of issues and am wondering if I am the only person in the world who feels a certain way about things. If you look at my little list to the left you can see some of the issues that I have. What I want to know is, am I just complaining, do I have a right to complain? Is it just me or are things looking a little f***ed up right now in general?
I have lived in Denver for the past 28 years and in that time I have seen alot of changes that include the size of the city(massive growth, job issues) , transportation issues (RTD, lightrail, airports), housing (too expensive, homelessness, too many houses), and so many others. I feel that Denver,like the rest of the country, is having a growth spurt like a pre-pubescant teenager and I am wondering when the adolescent is going to finally become an adult. I feel that there are alot of issues with growth that were never really addressed during the 90's,when all of the upsizing began, and we are now dealing with the consequences.
Let's start with transportation as an example of how growth has produced some unintended hardships, I recently posted a blog on Yelp concerning the state of RTD (Regional Transportation District) due to the fact that all of the other posts seemed to be saying how wonderful RTD was and I wanted to show that all is not well with our transportation system. Here is what I posted: http://www.yelp.com/biz/rtd-regional-transportation-district-denver-2
it's under Jenny R. I really feel this way, I feel that alot of people are getting the short end of the stick and mainly it's due to this thing called privatization - which I will explain in further detail later. One of the things that I see that I am definately not happy with is this land grabbing excuse called eminent domain, I have included some videos from YouTube about this little practice and posted them here.
The above videos are just one example of how people are being disrespected by corporations and big government in general. I hope that the people in the above examples can find some sort of closure that allows them some financial gain on their lost properties. Well that is it for now, I'll be sure to rant more later. This seems like it's going to be fun. Take care of yourself.
Jenny.
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