D=Safe places to go if you are homeless part 1

Since I am trying to make this blog as informative as I can but I have a shitload of things on my mind it is tough sometimes brainstorming ideas.    Like my profile states I am ...complicated.  I managed to come up with some ideas over the holiday weekend.  One topic I thought I would explore was "safe places to go if you are homeless".  Yeah I know easier said than done but I thought that MAYBE someone out there would have shared their experience on the internet and I coud copy it and share it with whoever reads this.  No. Such.  Luck.  In fact I was offended by the sites that appeared to make light of the situation and make jokes.  Or maybe I am just too serious and need to lighten up.  In any case I came across a website http://www.venturearticles.com/what-to-do-when-youre-homeless.html

and another  http://www.homelesshandbook.0catch.com/sleep.html

To ME the problem is depending on how you read it, it could be someone's idea of a joke or these sites could be written by someone who has gone through the system and developed a light hearted way of displaying support.  You decide

Advocates Say Homelessness in New York City Has Reached Record Levels

from CBSNewYork.com

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — The Coalition for the Homeless says an all-time high number of New Yorkers turned to shelters last year.
The group, which released its annual State of the Homeless report Monday, said a record 113,553 people — including 42,888 children — slept in shelters run by New York City in fiscal year 2010. That’s an 8 percent increase over the previous year.
The group is calling on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make greater use of federal housing programs like Section 8 vouchers to move families to permanent homes.
Patrick Markee, a Senior Policy Analyst for the coalition, spoke to 1010 WINS on Monday and directed criticism at Bloomberg’s policies.
“More than six years ago, Mayor Bloomberg cut off homeless families in New York City from access to successful federal housing programs, which had been used by every previous mayor from Ed Koch through Rudy Giuliani,” he said.
According to Markee, the city does not have a plan in place to move families from the shelters into long-term housing. He added that he believes the city has been unsuccessful in combating the issue by using initiatives like the Advantage program.
“That’s a program that’s not working and it’s a bad deal for taxpayers and homeless kids and families,” Markee said.
Homeless Services Commissioner Seth Diamond said the coalition is being unrealistic if it expects the city will receive more federal housing subsidies.
He said the city’s priority is helping homeless people find jobs.
(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

Daisy Littlebear interview part 1

12/11/2010

Daisy Littlebear is a good friend of mine I met over 10 years ago.  She is the wife of one of my best friends.   I first met Daisy by chance.  I was walking through Coney Island during the summer of 1999 and I ran into Mike (her now husband).  I believe it was then I found out that they were an item and that she had given birth to their son (and my Godson).  I think it was then that I found out that they were homeless for awhile.  It was my first time meeting Daisy as I mentioned but I would never have expected that fate to come to Mike. 

For my project the two of them were kind enough to relive their experience and share it .  I had to break it up a bit, due to my just learning how to upload video, lol.

Daytona Beach pics 12/23/2010

I took these pictures once again with my cell phone.  Granted the photos would come out better with a standard digital camera but out of respect I use the cell phone.  Granted, it seems disrespectful to take their picture inthe first place but I think you hit the point better with an image.  This is how people are living.

There were actually more displaced people in the area when I took this shot but when you are trying to be discreet you cannot actually take a group photo.

On this day the temperature finally warmed up to near 70 degrees.  quite a few people conjugated by the library, both outside and inside.

As mentioned these displaced people are not bothered as long as they do not sleep.  Interestingly though as I approached the library some people were sitting by a tree not too far from the door.  The security guard for the library came out and instructed the folks to move further down the side of the library.  I specifically heard the guard tell them that as long as people could not see them it was ok.

STATS 1

Here are some interesting stats on Homelessness in New York City, according to www.ysop.org/statistics.htm

1. Each year 100,000 New Yorkers experience homelessness
2. Each night over 38,000 homeless individuals sleep in the New York City shelter system. This figure includes more than 16,000 children and 8,000 single adults. Thousands more sleep on city streets and public places.
3. Nearly 1 in 20 New York City residents have experienced homelessness.
4. There are over 1,000 soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City and 2, 700 in New York State serving 2 million New Yorkers annually. They will serve 60 million meals this year to hungry men, women and children and every day have to turn away over 2,500 people.
5. It is estimates that between 40% and 50% of homeless single adults residing in the municipal shelter system have a chronic mental illness.

This information is from the Youth Service Opportunities Project who according to the site gathered their statistics from the Coalition for the Homeless


My problems with the information…there are over 1,000 soup kitchens and pantries in New York City and I couldn't tell you where two are. I personally know people with no homes to go to and they couldn't tell me where a fraction of the 1,000 are and get their meals the best way they can. From those who go to social services they damn sure don't get the information there

December 10, 2010

There is not much to be analyzed in this photo.  I used my camera phone for this one.  I am not certain whether or not this gentleman was drunk or sick but it is safe to say that he did not want to be in that spot.

Sadly, nobody bothered to see if the guy was alive or not while I was there.

This was taken at Grand Central Station by the 4, 5, and 6 trains.

I have been in a situation where I have seen a person out cold on the subway or street and I will stick around to see if the person is breathing.  On one occasion I even told a cop that someone was out and I couldn't tell if the person was breathing.  Once I tell I leave.  I realize I am limited in what I personally can do (at least for now) and people generally seem indifferent to folks sleeping on the street.

What am I doing?

A few years ago I came up with the idea to create a website which would have information for displaced people and people seeking shelter and food.  The idea was that a person in need would access the site through a friend or at the library or any place that offered the Internet.  If you were on the street then the site would serve as a database and offer information about shelters and other information that could help.  If you had a place but you were hungry the database would let you know about soup kitchens and food pantries out there.

Between work, family life and other things I never worked on the idea.  Plus I felt after a while that if a person had access to the Internet then they probably would not be homeless or in that type of need.  I realize years later I was wrong.  Being homeless does not mean you have no access.  For the most part it means you have no home.  Depending on your situation you may be able to get to a library or a friend and you might even be able to access information from your job.

I am of the belief that no one deserves to live on the street.  In the richest country in the world there is no reason for people to be homeless, be hungry or be without health care

I am blessed to have food, health care and affordable housing.  However I am not blind to what goes on outside.  This blog actually started as a class project at City College, but I rapidly realized that I could use this to list resources to people who may not have them.  I could also use this blog to bring awareness to the fact that people are struggling.  It's not intended for some of the images to be offensive or exploitative.  I learned though from taking journalism years ago that you need images to better bring home your point.  So from time to time you will see pictures I am not proud of.

If in reading my blog you should have information you want to share please email me or leave comments.