Max Weller on homelessness

When I got to Norlin Library shortly after 8AM, the weather was unremarkable. Overnight at my campsite, I heard a few raindrops hit my tarp; so few that I didn’t even note what time it was by my $10 Wal-Mart wristwatch. Leaving Norlin about 9:40AM, it was snowing and the grass was almost covered. I’m now at George Reynolds Branch of BPL, which is still relatively peaceful due to an absence of the more obnoxious bums. No doubt these characters are at the Main Library sharing their aroma, if not their wisdom, with BPL Director Valerie Maginnis — http://missionviejodispatch.com/people/mvs-ex-librarian-upsets-boulder-community/ — Of 4 comments following this article, 3 are negative in re Ms. Maginnis. I fear we’ve only begun to see the controversy this woman is going to continue to generate, none of it for good reason. I just wish she’d institute some rules of conduct for BPL patrons, similar to those at public libraries in Seattle, WA and Los Angeles, CA; enforcement of these would end most of our bum problem in this public venue, anyway.

Occupiers celebrating a judge’s ruling need to understand something: Boulder PD will be sure now to be more careful and abide by this, even as they continue to arrest or ticket illegal campers and/or trespassers who are in apparent violation of the law. 

Too bad this fool didn’t give herself a stiff shot of pepper spray; let’s hope she receives appropriate psychiatric care.

I must admit I’m pondering leaving on my trip around the American West, courtesy of a friend who will buy my Greyhound Discovery Pass, about the beginning of April rather than May 1st. This is because the “90 Day Wonders” at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless are worse than ever in my experience (since 2008). I especially despise Snot Man, who spends at least an hour between 6AM and 8AM bent over a sink in the men’s restroom, hacking and coughing and blowing his nose while admiring himself in the mirror. Where do these people come from? And why are they here in Boulder, CO? Who is telling them to come to our fair city? Why does the local homeless/shelter services industry continue to blindly support them, at the expense of Boulder County’s own homeless residents? So many questions, no good answers from those in authority. Bottom line: More Homeless People = More Money.

If I had any feelings, they might be hurt by the fact that Boulderites donated expensive tents and other camping gear to Occuposers (including PJ Jentsch, apparently a trustafarian from the Boston, MA area), but my appeal via Facebook for a shed or barn to use as shelter from rain and snow received no response from anyone. WTF?

(Click on image to enlarge)

See — http://intensedebate.com/people/Grandpa_Tomfool

Obviously, the Homeless Philosopher disagrees with almost every comment Grandpa has made so far, but the man deserves credit for not being wishy-washy like almost every other Occupier in the spotlight. I heartily endorse Grandpa’s comment in response to the letter-to-the-editor by Tom Schantz in today’s Daily Camera.

Do NOT blame it on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), either! I learned all about this federal law’s requirements during my brief time as a city councilman in my small Missouri hometown, ca. 1992. Among other things, we had to find funds to make all city buildings accessible to the disabled.

Anyway, this morning at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, some transient I’d never seen before had his flea-bitten, wormy mutt in the dining room with him as he ate breakfast. The dog wasn’t wearing the vest typically worn by service dogs, in order to identify them as having been specifically trained for that purpose. According to the BSH staff member I alerted, this bum said that his dog was a service animal. (Almost every homeless dog owner in Boulder, CO will make the claim that his/her pet is a “service animal” but most of them are not, and the homeless dog owner’s disability is almost always one involving a claimed mental illness which can’t be seen). I pointed out to that recently hired staff member that things will snowball; one dog in dining room now means ten dogs in dining room within a month. Truly, among homeless people here it’s Monkey See, Monkey Do. I’ve observed it many, many times during the past 4 years.

Allowing a dog in any dining room, and presumably also going through the serving line with its owner, is both unsanitary and disrespectful to everyone else. I certainly don’t want dog hair in the leftovers which I might take from the dining room fridge for lunch (which I transfer to my own container), or dog hair in my mug of hot water I get for my instant coffee.

What about the ADA, you ask? This law requires that a reasonable accommodation be made for the disabled person, including those using a service animal. In this case, as I pointed out to other BSH staff before leaving to catch the SKIP, a reasonable accommodation would be to have a volunteer server bring a tray for the disabled person to the day room, then permit that individual to eat breakfast at a table there (not otherwise allowed unless all seats in the dining room are taken). Service dog, legitimate or not, could sit by its owner in the day room.

Problem solved.

See, staff? It really only takes a working knowledge of the ADA and a little common sense!

Copied here in its entirety –

Homelessness

Don’t concentrate

homeless people

It is our duty to embrace the homeless in our community, and help them in any way we can, and to support projects that try to help the chronically homeless integrate back into our community.

But is it OK:

That Boulder Housing Partners (BHP) thinks the way to help the chronically homeless, is by locating them next to a homeless shelter — and that this will have a positive impact on those trying to turn their lives around?

To cluster homeless group facilities in one concentrated location in North Boulder, making it difficult to promote the integration of those individuals back into the Boulder community?

That BHP implies litigation under the Fair Housing Act (FHAA), when the intent of FHAA is to integrate those protected into the broader community, through a policy of deinstitutionalization?

That BHP calls this facility with resources required to help the chronically homeless an “apartment complex” to get around zoning and planning regulations?

That BHP claims locating this facility across from their offices and the shelter enables them to provide the necessary services, when the homeless shelter submitted their required management report over a year late and claims there is no reason to have good neighbor meetings because there is no community impact?

That BHP claims extensive public outreach, when only one large organized meeting was held, attended by over 500 neighbors (with 90 percent of them opposed to the project)?

That BHP claims to have done extensive site analysis when they bought the “convenient” land across from their offices and invented their site analysis after the fact?

That BHP took the City Council to a “successful” Denver facility for the chronically homeless, but didn’t show them police and fire department records (of which there are many!) of the community impact?

None of that feels OK to me. My hope is for our city officials to be brave and stand up for what is OK.

The Lee Hill Project is not OK for the population it is intended to serve — and needs to be relocated where the chronically homeless can better integrate into the Boulder community. 

KATHY BOYES

Boulder

I was asked to fill out another PiT questionnaire this morning when I arrived at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless at 6AM. Seems only a short time ago I did so, but it has been a year by the calendar. I briefly considered declining, but then went ahead and answered all of the PiT inquiries before I left BSH about 7:15AM. At least there was no nosy request for one’s full name or Social Security number.

There was a question about which government benefits one receives, and you were instructed to check all that apply. Of course, I checked the box for No Government Benefits. The final question was about all of the factors which led one to becoming homeless, and you could check all that apply. I checked the box for Other and explained in one word — “choice”. This ought to confuse the hell out of them. But, it’s the truth in my case at this Point in My Life.

The foxes have dens and the birds have nests, but I choose to sleep outside year-round (with the exception of a very few nights over the course of a year, spent at a motel or a friend’s home). I have a burrow, nonetheless, with enough camping gear to keep me reasonably warm and dry even in extreme weather conditions; and I reiterate that sobriety is also a key to survival outdoors in wintertime.

As I turned in my completed PiT survey to the staff member collecting them, he told me that he appreciated it. I replied, “I hope all of the 90-day wonders appreciate it; they get more benefit from it than I do.” (90-day wonders are the transients from Denver and elsewhere who use their allotted days at BSH on vacation each winter, and also use all of the other free resources here they can grab).

I’ll bet dollars to donuts that, if the PiT survey results this year are accurate, Boulder, CO’s homeless population will break the 1,000 mark. That would mean that 1% of the city’s population at this moment is homeless — it’s open to speculation how many are residents of Boulder year-round or most of the year, and how many others are just drifters. I think that at least 50% belong to the latter group, based on my years of observation.

I reiterate, priority for homeless shelter/services should be given to those homeless people who can show a valid photo ID w/Boulder County address. Transients can go to the end of the line for what’s left, if anything. 

Save an eggplant — eat a chicken!

True story: I was waiting to be let in at Boulder Shelter for the Homeless with 3 or 4 other guys this morning. Right at 6AM, one of the male residents who is also in Ready to Work (the Bridge House program) came up to the door and stood against it, looking dazed and confused. The BSH staff lady was trying to get past him to open the door for us hardy outdoor types, but he didn’t move until I yelled at him, “Get the f*** out of the way!” This Ready to Work character is the same one who came out of BSH a week ago Saturday at 5:30AM, expecting to see a SKIP running on the weekday schedule. After I told him it was Saturday, and no buses were running that early, he rang the doorbell to get back into the shelter (against the rules, which staff ignored in this case) and commented that he was going back to bed. Hmmm . . . Does this sound like an individual who is really ready to work? I don’t think he’d pass muster at either Workforce Boulder County (state agency) or Labor Ready (private agency). And he’s not one of the homeless guys who is willing to be up at 2AM or so to go shovel snow for a private contractor who pays his employees $15/hour, either. Instead, this clown has been recruited by the benighted case managers at Bridge House to be a part of their program, oddly named Ready to Work. What a crock!

More great leftovers this morning for the taking in the dining room fridge at BSH. I filled up my GladWare container to overflowing with mac & cheese w/hot dogs added to it. Comfort food, which I enjoy even cold since I don’t have a microwave at my campsite, unlike privileged Occuposers around America who lack for none of the amenities which a trust fund provides. And, I still have a couple of bbq sandwiches left from yesterday (turns out to be beef rather pork, I think, but all bbq meat is food for the gods).

When I returned to north Boulder yesterday afternoon about 3:30PM, just to check on things, there were 4 inebriates together on the corner at N. Broadway & U.S. 36. What are they thinking? Nobody is going to roll down his/her car window at the red light there and hand cash to 4 panhandlers! 3 of these fools soon went over and sat on the wall right in front of the NO TRESPASSING sign put up by the Mexican restaurant, and carried on their typical loud conversation about stupid stuff. Not good for business, and not good for the neighborhood. The ditch in front of the pickled idjits’ unauthorized gathering place is quickly filling up with their discarded beer and liquor bottles. Those in authority, however, seem determined to dump all transients into this one area of our fair city and then permit them to run amok. Who on Boulder City Council cares about families and children? There is no good reason for our elected city officials to allow the “nonprofit” homeless shelter/services industry to twist zoning regs and other applicable laws into a pretzel for purposes of their convenience.

I’m happy to see a Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and NY Giants. You’ll recall that the Giants ruined the Pats’ chance at an undefeated 19-0 season back in 2008. Now, if I can just figure out a way to view the game without being surrounding by drunken yahoos in a saloon . . .

News that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) will resign to concentrate on her ongoing recovery from the assassination attempt a year ago, in which several others were killed. This is the price we pay for allowing obvious nut cases to roam the streets. Boulder, CO certainly has more than its fair share; we’re fortunate to have avoided even more mayhem at their hands than has occurred.

Can anyone be more stupid than GOP voters in South Carolina? With Newt’s win there yesterday, President Obama must be jumping for joy at the prospect of running against that pig-faced pol rather than Mitt Romney in November. (Actually, I doubt Gingrich will be able to build on this).

I think this will probably be the last winter I choose to live in a cold clime like this in Boulder, CO. Although I’m toasty warm in my burrow overnight, I can’t stay warm during the day after waiting outside of Boulder Shelter for its opening at 6AM; I become thoroughly chilled and never seem to recover, even being indoors for several hours.  Or, I could wrap myself in 6 or 7 “disaster” blankets (which keep me warm at night) as I go around during the day. I’d look like a mangy buffalo, but so what?

An embarrassment of riches in terms of leftovers in the dining room fridge at BSH: I’ve got 4 sandwiches (my own bread) made from what looks like bbq pulled pork, one of my favorites. I can’t believe others don’t take advantage of food that will otherwise be tossed out! But, they do spend every day going from one free giveaway venue to another here in Boulder; no wonder they’re inclined to be wasteful. More money saved for me.

“Ready to Work” now as its own Facebook Wall, apparently replacing that of Bridge House. Look — if anyone is really ready to work they should go to Workforce Boulder County and Labor Ready. Forget about Bridge House . . .

See — http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_19790959?IADID=Search-www.dailycamera.com-www.dailycamera.com

Apparently, only residents of the north Boulder neighborhood directly affected by Boulder Housing Partners’ proposed Housing First 31-unit complex, for chronically homeless single adult alcoholics/drug addicts with a dual diagnosis of mental illness, at 1175 Lee Hill (right next to the existing Boulder Shelter for the Homeless) are concerned with concentrating all such facilities in one area of our city.

Boulder City Council members, including Lisa Morzel who is only playing political games again, have no guts, no brains, no integrity, and no grasp of reality about life in Boulder for the working poor and middle class of north Boulder.

BTW, not even $200,000+ Housing First “apartments” would be considered affordable housing in the Real World outside of the Boulder Bubble. Hey, Boulder City Council, time for a reality check — your precious Climate Action Plan is doomed from the start because of the thousands of workers who can’t afford to live in Boulder itself, and must commute to their jobs here from nearby cities.

Idiotas y cabezas de chorlito!