You've had your fun. Now go get in your houses.

There was an opinion piece in yesterday’s Akron Beacon Journal titled, “After the Tent Village.”
Basically it is a message to city council to vote no on our tent city.
As a message to whoever wrote that piece, it was probably unnecessary. My belief is that we have 4 votes and probably can’t get to the needed 7.
Let me also say that I agree on the idea that we have made progress. That if I disappeared from earth tomorrow I believe the homeless situation in Akron would be incrementally better than when we started.
But I’m not an incrementalist. If I was able to speak with my activist mentors: Jesus, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., do you think a single one of them would pat me on the back and tell me I did a good job?
I highly doubt it. I would hope they would critique me as an enthusiastic apprentice, tell me how I’ve screwed up so far and how I need to stop pussyfooting around and get to the serious work of the matter.
This is not some pet project for me. That I helped 40 people and now I can feel satisfied with my work.
By the time I’m done I hope to change the lives of all the hundreds of thousands of homeless that live in squalor and terror on the streets of America.
I didn’t come here to be told I did a good job. I came to do the job.
If, and likely when, the city forces the homeless of Akron to walk away from the only place that truly cared about them, we will move our work to the streets of Akron. We will care for them in the hovels the city will so graciously allow them to stay in until they decide they can’t stay there anymore. And then we’ll move to the next place and the next place and the next.
Because the truth of the matter is there is not enough housing for all the people that need it in Akron. If there is then give me the addresses and I’ll drive them there tomorrow. It’s a strawman argument. You are intentionally misrepresenting the amount of actual houses in Akron because it is easier to defeat than the real argument.
We who work with the homeless world know that there are 20,000 people on the wait list for subsidized housing through the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority.
And homeless service providers will even admit it, except when talking about us. It was made abundantly clear in this Akron Beacon Journal article on November 1, 2016 about the new homeless facility, Stoney Pointe: 

Demand for long-term housing for the homeless in the Akron area far exceeds the supply. At The Commons at Madeline Park, a similar project developed by Community Support Services and Testa Enterprises, some 1,000 are on the waiting list.

They change their “facts” however it suits them.
Joe Scalise from the rapid rehousing program, Home Again, says it very clearly in this Cleveland.com article from July 13, 2018:

Are there enough shelters?
No. Residents seeking housing vouchers through Akron’s housing authority have about a three-year wait, Scalise.

So start thinking about how you’re going to spin how great it is for these people living terrified for their lives on the streets.  Because that’s where these people are headed.
This I assure you, the homeless of Akron are going to go into hiding no longer. We have given them something more powerful than anything you can fight them with. We have given them dignity. We have given them respect. We have given them back their humanity which you stole from them when you told them to go shut up and hide under that bridge.
We will share their story and we will encourage them to stand as the heirs of the American inalienable right of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. They have come from generations of hard working Americans and have, up until this moment, been exemplary American citizens. And as soon as they fell down America turned their back on them.
This is unjust. This is inhumane. This is un-American.
They will not hide any more.

The Inevitable Locomotive of Change and Innovation

(The featured image here is of Brian. He was attacked on the street because he hears voices and speaks to them.)
Truly, I’ve never experienced anything like this.
I’ve certainly read about it.
Dr. King writes in “Letter From Birmingham Jail:”

You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

Change the word “demonstrations” with “Tent City” and “Birmingham” with “Akron” and you will have a nearly identical set of circumstances. History does indeed repeat itself.
I have these very pleasant meetings with the homeless services providers in Akron, the Continuum of Care. And then they go out in public and thrash around blaming me and the homeless for the homeless crisis.
From the Letter To The Editor from the Continuum of Care:

This past year we have seen an increase in homelessness. In exploring the cause of this increase, it appears the growth and development of the Second Chance Village is a primary factor.

According to them, we are the primary cause of homelessness in Akron. Never mind that Dozens of local homeless mothers and children are turned away at shelter every night in Cleveland – News 5 Cleveland
Never mind that the Continuum of Care is reporting an increase in homelessness in Barberton.
In Akron, the reason there is an increase in homelessness is because of the work we are doing at The Homeless Charity.
They have reported that the reason people “won’t leave” The Homeless Charity is because we have such an amazing community. I find it absurdly amusing that somehow people have turned a supportive, self-governing homeless community into a bad thing.
And now I’m hearing that it is my “charismatic personality.” “They will only go if Sage tells them to go,” they say.  So I did an impromptu video of some of the residents of The Homeless Charity asking them if they wanted to get housing. Here is their response:

So, they then turn their blame on the victim.
I received this statement in an email from a leader at the Continuum of Care:

There are options and solutions, but sometimes it just comes down to a person not capable of understanding or not having the ability to get along with others or follow through on plans.

I tell the Continuum of Care that I will demand any person take a house if it is offered to them. That they either must take the house or leave our village.
And then the Continuum of Care tells me I’m being cruel to them by forcing them to leave.
Their excuses to why The Homeless Charity tent city is bad squirt this way and that way like squeezing a water balloon.

But the excuse never goes one direction: Blaming themselves.

It is Sage’s fault. It is the community’s fault. It is the homeless people’s fault. Never once have I even heard them suggest that they may need to look in the mirror themselves.
I think the debate over tents versus homes reveals a deep truth about homelessness. Homelessness isn’t just the lack of a home. If my home got crushed by a tree tomorrow, I’d have somewhere to go right away and I’d get a new one when the time was right or rebuild my old one. Homelessness is a manifestation of a deeper personal dysfunction related to addictions, trauma, bad luck, poor health, mental illness, loneliness, low job skills, the absence of a family who can help you, etc. Homeless people don’t simply need a home. They need this full range of human wants satisfied that are absent or diluted when you’re homeless: love, safety, sympathy, empathy, mutual support, productivity, some sense that life is more than suffering.
All the Continuum of Care has is houses. And, may I add, houses preceded by a great deal of paperwork, meetings and bureaucracy. There is no checkbox for needs like: love, sympathy, dignity or self-respect.
The Homeless Charity and Village has done one thing and one thing only: It has shown the glaring, gaping hole that is American homeless services.
Before us, homeless people coward in fear in dark allies, dumpsters, various woods and under train trestles.
Today, the homeless have come out of the shadows and have stood up for their rights as American citizens who demand to be treated with dignity and respect.
Homeless service providers make services for a people they have never consulted with. We are run by homeless people themselves.
Homeless service providers have a very strict process of entry into the system. We just take homeless people the way they are.
The entire homeless system of America is outdated and antiquated.
At the turn of the 20th century, cars were still a far-fetched idea. People didn’t know much about this newfangled vehicle and those that did, well they didn’t think it wouldn’t catch on.
I’m quite sure the ice business men of Sandusky said things like “People will always need ice.”

At one point, Sandusky was the largest American producer of ice west of the Hudson River. The ice blocks men harvested from Sandusky Bay were shipped as far as New Orleans, said James Miller, history chair of the city’s bicentennial celebration.

This is America. Things change. We are a country based on innovation and entrepreneurship.
American government and American homeless service providers must stop wringing their hands about the effects of things like self-governed tent villages and, instead, focus on the causes that created the tent villages.
I’m sorry to say, the soul searching is going to take you right to broken government policies and dilapidated homeless services that began in the 1980s.
I assure you: I did not cause our tent village. I merely let it happen. The cause of our tent village is the American homeless system.
The homeless services industry is fundamentally broken. They know it. And they are doing everything in their power to divert attention away from that reality.
So they accuse and blame and chastise in hope that the inevitable locomotive of change and evolution will not come roaring into town. But I’m here to say: the train is already at the station. The change has already come to town. Things will never be the same again. I will not back down and homeless people will cower in the shadows no longer.

I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom. – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Franklin Prieto III February 18, 1980 – July 14, 2018

We lost a village member this week: Franklin Prieto III.
He was found by Sully in his tent having a seizure. We called 911 immediately. He passed away at the hospital.
I know Franklin’s birth date because I’m looking at his birth certificate right now.
Last week he and I ordered his birth certificate. It came in the mail Monday. We were supposed to get his ID this week.
Franklin was quiet but extremely helpful. He and Sully and I would load up my truck about 3 times a week to take trash to our dumpster up the street.
He was Sully’s right hand man in the yard helping put up tents for new residents.
He was such a kind and warm person. I can’t say enough good about him.
Here is a picture of a prayer circle the villagers held for Franklin:

Franklin’s family has come by to collect his things. They said they might be able to shuttle some people to the funeral when that happens.
It’s sad that we lost Franklin. But I’m so thankful he was here and not on the street. He truly was loved and respected here.
Being loved and respected is about all you can hope to ask for in life.

Yes, Mayor Horrigan. Homeless people are real.

Dear Dan,
I thought it was time we should probably start talking.
In my idealistic and naive head I always imagined you would come by our homeless center. I’d show you around. We’d talk about cool and innovative ways to fix homelessness in America.
That never happened. But don’t feel bad. I often have unrealistic fantasies of idealism and innovation.
Now is a good time to talk because, as I’m sure you know, not this November but next November you will be up for re-election.
This was made apparent to me by someone near you that offered to be my campaign manager to run again for mayor.
My greatest adviser is my wife. She strongly encourages me to not run for mayor. Rightfully, she says I have little interest in sewers and residential tax credits for wealthy people to move into Akron.
For what it’s worth, you should know that people I speak with in the fire department are enjoying working with you. They appreciate that you will listen to their ideas.
And you should also know that I respected your position on being a sanctuary city. I’d probably have also supported the idea of eliminating taxes on new construction of residential housing that you implemented.
The fact of the matter is: we want the exact same thing. We want Akron to be great. We’re just coming at it from different directions. You are working at it from the top. I’m working at it from the bottom.
You are trying to bring in new revenue to the city. I’m trying to fix homelessness, which whether you know it or not is a big financial drag on your city.
If I was mayor I’d be focusing on poverty.
But whatever. We all have to pick and choose our battles.
Let me get back to the point of this first letter to you.
Your office has said several time that “any homeless person that wants housing can get it.”
Take this April 28, 2018 Akron Beacon Journal article for example:
Volunteers build small, single shelters for Akron’s homeless

“No Akron resident should be living in a tent or a shack – period; and they don’t need to,” Lander Nischt [City spokeswoman ] said in an email. “Unlike some other urban communities across the nation, we are very fortunate here in Akron and Summit County to have healthy, stable, clean and safe housing available for any homeless person or family who needs it.”

So let me tell you how I took this position initially.
I honestly thought you were just trying to gaslight and basically lie to Akron by saying we have housing for all homeless people.
Everybody talks about politicians playing 4D chess these days. I thought you were cleverly trying to put misinformation out into the public discourse to confuse people. While frustrating, I thought it was a clever tactic.
But just this weekend I was talking to someone who has worked with your office on homelessness and they said you actually believe this.
They said that you actually think housing is available for any homeless person that wants it.
I have to admit I was shocked. But then I quickly realized people believe a lot of crazy things.
We have flat earthers. Our current president believed our past president wasn’t born in the United States. And I began to think about all the mass stereotyping American society has done to minorities since the beginning of our country right up to this day in 2018.
Like anyone that has a belief not based in reality or any form of fact whatsoever, I have very little hope of trying to convince you that you are wildly wrong that “we are very fortunate here in Akron and Summit County to have healthy, stable, clean and safe housing available for any homeless person or family who needs it.”
But as I mentioned early on in this letter my idealism and naivete are truly boundless. So let me try swaying you just a little bit.
Imagine this scenario. You are an 18 year old woman living in a very poor part of East Akron. You have a baby out of wedlock. You never finished high school. You are living with your mom. Your mom is a heroin addict. But you are clean.
One day your mom overdoses and dies.
You mom was your only supporter. You never knew your dad. You have no siblings. The only person who ever gave the slightest damn about you just died.
You have no high school diploma or GED. You relied on your mom to take care of you and your baby.
Now you are being evicted from the house your mom was renting.
Quick! What do you do?
Well I’m going to tell you what you do.
You start going to friend’s houses. You stay as long as they’ll let you. But they keep kicking you out.
You do that over and over again.
Someone reports you to Child and Family Services. Before you know it you’ve lost your baby.
Now that you’ve lost your mom and your baby you fall into a deep depression.
A “friend” offers you some heroin to smoke. You take it.
You spend a night sleeping on the street.
Your backpack that had all your identification in it gets stolen.
You get more depressed. You liked how that heroin felt. But you have no money.
So now you try having sex for money.
You get picked up by a pimp that turns you out and starts to beat you because you aren’t performing well enough.
And that’s where we, The Homeless Charity, usually come in.
In the case of women who have been repeatedly raped, beaten and tricked, they come to us for safety.
The street for anyone is hell on earth. But for a young woman it is a complete and total nightmare.
Now before you say you wouldn’t have let it get that far if you were this woman let me tell you this fall happens quickly.
The story I just told above can happen in 2 to 4 weeks.
If you think you would have done better in that scenario you are either deceiving yourself or are just imagining coming at it from the privileged middle class white male perspective that is the only thing you’ve ever known.
Let’s say this young women is one of the strongest 10% of homeless. She is laser focused on getting a job, getting a house and getting her baby back. She is all in.
The first thing she needs to do is get her birth certificate. (You can’t get into housing without a birth certificate, photo ID and social security card.) If she was born in Ohio that’s ideal. Ohio is really good about giving people their birth certificates. She just needs to come up with the $21 and transportation to the west side of Akron to get it. The Homeless Charity will do that for her.
Next she needs a photo ID. As of yesterday, July 2, they are now mailing out photo IDs. So you can no longer get one in the BMV office. They know me on a first name basis at the Tallmadge Road BMV. I was there yesterday and I’ll be there again today getting IDs for people.
But now we have to wait for the IDs to come in the mail. I’m imagining that’s 7-10 days. An ID costs about $17. We pay for those and take them to the BMV to get them.
Then you have to get a social security card. Fortunately they are free. But they are also mailed and take 7-10 days.
At the very earliest this young woman will get all her required IDs in 2 to 4 weeks.
Keep in mind I’ve helped people get birth certificates from other states that have taken as long as 6 weeks all by itself.
And Texas is the worst. They are incredibly protective of birth certificates. That process more often than not requires a lawyer to get involved.
So, if you believe the truth that I’m telling you that you need all 3 forms of identification to get into housing, you have to believe me that we are looking at anywhere from 2 weeks to several months of homelessness just to get on the list for housing.
The next thing I’d like you to do is call AMHA, Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority. Here is their number: 330-762-9631.
They will tell you that they have over 20,000 people on their waiting list to get into housing. Ask them how many months it takes a homeless veteran to get into housing. (Because it’s months. Not weeks or days. It’s months.)
Of the hundreds of people that have come through our doors I think maybe a half dozen have gotten housing through AMHA. It’s not that they aren’t awesome. They are just inundated with need.
The program we LOVE is Home Again. They are a rapid rehousing program.
Ironically, they make me send a letter for each person that enters their program confirming they live in a tent. You see in order to be part of Home Again you must either be staying in a shelter or a place not fit for human habitation… such as a tent.
If you spend one night on a friend’s couch you get thrown off the list.
They must have all forms of ID. But I’ve seen people get into housing in as little as 2 days.
But all the stars need to be aligned properly. You have to have income or have a solid plan for getting income soon.
Home Again pays the deposit and first month’s rent. But then the entire rent is on you.
If you can’t work and don’t have any other form of income then you are stuck.
A felon with a violence charge is a hot potato. It’s really hard for them to get work. And I’m not sure if you have ever talked to a homeless 18 year old woman with no diploma about her experience getting a job. But I can tell you she isn’t really qualified for anything, including fry cook at McDonald’s. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone without a high school diploma ever get a legitimate job.
I could go on and on. But I’m sure you have more to do today than read this letter.
I do, however, appreciate you reading it.
I’m not angry that you don’t understand the reality of what’s really happening on the ground of your city. There are a lot of moving parts. You can only focus on so many things.
I just ask you to consider this: Do you think it’s possible that a person could find it difficult to get into “healthy, stable, clean and safe housing?”
Because if you could imagine that it might be at least slightly difficult for one person to navigate that system, maybe you could imagine that it would be difficult for another person of whose circumstances you don’t understand having similar difficulties.
Most of these people are street smart. But they aren’t bureaucracy smart. These systems to help the homeless are made the way they are for a reason. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t incredibly challenging for a person trying to just stay alive while they are living on the street.
We can do better. We can fix homelessness.
All I ask is for you to consider the possibility that some people are homeless and can’t get into a house tonight or tomorrow night or the night after. They have to go somewhere.
Thanks again for reading. We’ll talk more.
Sincerely,
Sage
P.S. If you’d ever like to see our facility I’d LOVE to show you around. Just call me on my cell phone: 330-416-7519
Sage
 

X