Author: Sage

Rocky, my wife, opened up this morning’s family conversation with: “Whelp. It’s official. Selena Gomez is back with Justin Bieber and her mom is NOT happy.”
Selena is not an uncommon topic in our family because, like my wife, she has Lupus. In fact, Selena’s lupus is so bad that she has had chemo treatments and a kidney transplant… and she’s only 26.
Selena also has depression. If you type in her name into Google this article comes up on the front page:
Selena Gomez Opens Up About Mental Health and Instagram Fatigue – Vogue
In the article she says about her world tour: “Basically I felt I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t capable. I felt I wasn’t giving my fans anything, and they could see it.”
There are some studies that are suggesting autoimmune disorders are connected to depression because of inflammation.
Famous, successful people experiencing depression and anxiety is not uncommon at all.
Lady Gaga Opens Up About Her Depression | Teen Vogue
Kurt Cobain and Manic Depression (Bipolar Disorder) | Bipolar Lives:
Kurt was diagnosed at a young age with Attention Deficit Disorder [ADD], then later with bipolar disorder [also known as manic-depression].
There is an almost endless list of examples like this. Successful people experiencing significant mental health issues is a common recurring story.
In our family we often discuss how success is irrelevant to depression and other mental health issues. You live your life and mental health issues lay on top of your life no matter how successful or unsuccessful you are.
For years I’ve been on a steady dose of Citalopram. It’s a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) used to treat depression.
I’m not “celebrity” successful. But I’ve done OK in business. I now get to help the homeless with our day center and tent village. And my family is out of this world. They are SO amazing.
Yet depression and anxiety chase me around too.
I set this stage for you to now imagine this scenario:

• All of your family is dead or hates you.
• All your friends have given up on you and don’t answer your calls any more.
• You’ve spent years in prison.
• Your father beat you and your mother regularly.
• You were repeatedly molested as a kid.
• You started self medicating because $5 of Fentanyl takes away all the pain.
• Now your opiate tolerance is so high you are spending every penny just to stop the pain from coming back. Being “high” is a long gone dream.
• Chasing drugs takes all your time.
• You lost your job months ago.
• You can’t afford living anywhere.
• You stay in shelters with people you hate and can’t believe you are now on their level.

If Selena Gomez thinks “Basically I felt I wasn’t good enough,” imagine how homeless people feel.
They are in free fall. Every societal backup plan has failed. The bottom fell out long ago.
I just talked to a person yesterday who, through tears, cried, “How many times can I handle being at the end of my rope?”
These are people who hit “bottom” long ago. Bottom flew past them and now they have no idea where any of this ends.
Mental health issues are at the root of most homeless people I know.
Depression, anxiety and many more mental health conditions are constantly presenting themselves.
Because of the mental health issues along with the homeless issues, seeing some people just totally give up on society is common.
Yet, through all this they are survivors. They are resilient, determined and rarely will you hear them complain about any hardship they experience.
However, as soon as you start talking about mental health support and addiction support they often start to glaze over.
Clawing their way back into society is exhausting. Endless paperwork, hoops and logistical mazes.
The first step is getting 3 forms of identification: birth certificate, state id and social security card. Most people I know start here. They have lost all of these a long time ago.
These are sometimes adopted kids that were born in other states. I just paid $80 to some service to help a person get his out of state birth certificate. It required navigating a series of online forms and ended with paying with a credit card.
I don’t think I know a single homeless person with a credit card, much less $80.
But you need all of these. You can’t get a social security card if you don’t have a picture id. You can’t get a picture id if you don’t have a birth certificate.
And without these you can’t get any services. No food stamps. No Medicaid. No getting on a housing list.
There is a collective “screw it!” among many of these people.
Surviving takes all their time.
Engaging with the maze of society doesn’t feel worth it. Society hasn’t shown to be worth the effort.
And that’s when it begins to happen. These people begin to disappear. You very likely pass by these people every day of your life.
They are in the gas stations. They are walking down the sidewalk. They are in the library.
They try very hard to blend in. If they don’t have severe mental illness that causes them to talk to the voices in their heads, they are very quiet. They don’t look up. They don’t talk in front of strangers. If you go into their camp site they likely will not easily come out of their tents no matter what you offer them.
They move around really early in the morning and late at night.
And so they become invisible to society. And society is cool with that. Society is afraid of these people and embarrassed that we have these people.
It is a convenient symbiotic relationship. We won’t look at you if you don’t look at us. It’s an unspoken agreement.
Occasionally, these people do try to be seen. They try to take a stand to interact with society. They try not to be invisible.
These are the panhandlers.
But they have broken the agreement. They decided to not be invisible.
And many of us are upset by the broken agreement.
They should “get a job!” They probably are actually con artists driving into the city (often in Mercedes) from the suburbs to take all the sweet, easy inner city panhandling cash.
We scorn them because their visibility makes us uncomfortable. We aren’t supposed to have to look at them.
They need to become invisible again so we don’t have to deal with their existence. And in reality, most of these people would rather become invisible too.
They don’t want to beg from you. They don’t want to stand there and take your ignorant, closed minded verbal abuse. But they are fighting to get back in. They are fighting to be back in the mechanism of society through getting money.
Money is the admission pass to society. No money, no society, no community.
Not making money betrays your obligation to society. And so society excommunicates you. Your punishment is to become invisible.

There is an aspect to working with the homeless that I try not to discuss much.
There is a constant hum of fear and desperation in parts of the homeless population that is perverse, grotesque and endless.
I won’t do these kinds of stories often. I want this to be an arc of hope, salvation and redemption.
But this part of homelessness is something you need to know about.
It is not uncommon for the homeless to come to us having been robbed and/or beaten.
They rarely complain about it. It’s almost like it comes with the territory, in their eyes. They have a certain kind of resignation that something like this happened to them. They typically are smiling and hopeful and usually grateful that it wasn’t worse.
But this is a level of savagery that reaches some of the darkest most evil depths of humanity.
A person that has nothing, causes no trouble and then is stomped repeatedly in the face by a group of people could possibly represent the worst example of human capability.
The person in this picture is named Brian. It’s important that you know that. His name is Brian.

He is one of the countless invisible homeless that has no place in society.
He has found a barn in an area in Akron where he has setup a tent inside. He comes to our facility to get food and supplies. He takes the bus back and forth.
Brian has significant mental health issues. He constantly hears voices and can’t resist talking to them out loud. They are conflicting, evil  voices. The voices in his head talk almost continuously.
In spite of that, he is a kind, sweet man. I’ve never seen him hurt anyone. Even though his voices are scary he is able to control them.
I’m quite sure these voices were talking out loud when he was attacked. We know for certain, because of witnesses, Brian did not provoke this brutal attack. He was attacked without any provocation, other than likely the voices these others might have heard.
We asked if he wanted to press charges. He said no. He just wanted to go back to his tent.
There was talk from his friends of going after these people. They all agreed not to because violent revenge leads nowhere good.
This is a story with no happy ending. There is no uptick, happy arc I can give you here.
This brutal savagery will likely not stop because this isn’t seen as a hate crime. If he had been gay or Muslim and it was clear these people hated him for that this would be front page news.
But the homeless are not a protected class. People in government will still say things like, “Let’s be honest, no one wants to live next to the homeless.”
How we can in good conscience and moral certitude allow the shocking, unbelievable treatment of the poorest and weakest among us to continue is utterly unfathomable to me.
They aren’t allowed to exist anywhere. They can be kicked out of their hovel with a single call from a person who finds homelessness distasteful and having to look at them uncomfortable.
The cruel and unusual punishment of the homeless has no end.
Here are 71 Cities That Have Laws Against Feeding Homeless People
And then there are countless stories like these:
Death of Kelly Thomas – Wikipedia

Kelly Thomas (April 5, 1974 – July 10, 2011) was a homeless man diagnosed with schizophrenia who lived on the streets of Fullerton, California. He was killed by six members of the Fullerton Police Department, on July 5, 2011.

Police searching for teens who allegedly beat a homeless man to death, then ‘ran away laughing’ – The Washington Post
Cop beating homeless woman caught on camera
I’m telling you this story for one reason: The homeless MUST become a protected class. They have no rights whatsoever. They lose their freedom of religion at shelters. They are held to absurd and childish required bedtimes at shelters.
The laws of America make it illegal to be homeless.
Spikes are put on floors to keep homeless out of alcoves.


In Akron, an abandoned building owner put up an iron fence to not allow the homeless to sit under his small, unused awning during the day.
This is hate. Pure and simple.
This is the great American tragedy of our time. We cannot allow this violence and total lack of regard from our government any longer.
The Homeless Charity will be working on legislation to end the blatant disregard and total lack of compassion for the homeless.

My mom has been dead 2 Christmas’ now.
She always had a day after Christmas party.
It was one of those things that I didn’t always look forward to, because I was exhausted from all the other holiday events. But I was always glad we had it once I got there.
We’d have simple foods like bagels and fruit and appetizers. And then we’d usually go see a movie in the afternoon.
It was a low key event that tapered the end of Christmas without the abrupt end to it all that would normally happen.
I thought a lot about the meaning of Christmas this year. I’m not really sure I ever asked myself that question before: What is the meaning of Christmas?
Like all good religious stories, the meaning of Christmas is many layered.
The top layer is the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. That’s the one that is easy to get. It’s a very important layer. But it’s not the only layer.
The story of Jesus being born in a manger, in poverty, is no less astounding. Why would you take the son of God and have him born like that? That’s such a cool touch, when you think about it. If someone like that is the son of God what does it mean about how we treat all people?
What will the son of God look like in the second coming? Will we know him when we see him?
Mother Teresa is a big inspiration to me.
Jesus in His Most Distressing Disguise | Word On Fire

The secret to her infectious joy and boundless compassion was that in every person—every paralytic, every leper, every invalid, and every orphan—she recognized Jesus.

This belief was based on Matthew 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
This was the truth from the day Jesus was born.
I truly believe God likes to watch how we treat the most poor. I feel like it’s this interesting test He’s giving us to see if we’ve learned what he taught.
I always imagine Him not angry but, instead, shockingly amused like he’s watching a reality TV show.
“Not in my back yard” is such a thing that it has now become an acronym: NIMBY
Prisons, homeless shelters, you name it. If it threatens the property value of our home the teachings of Jesus go right out the window.
I often imagine people thinking that the teachings of Jesus are nice and all. But they aren’t meant for serious and important issues like the ones I’m dealing with.
So it’s really no wonder that we haven’t had the Second Coming yet. God has given America more money and resources than has ever been achieved before in the history of humanity and we still have:

• Countless people living under bridges.
• Kids living in cars.
• Healthcare that is too expensive.
• Education that puts people in debt the rest of their lives.

I just can’t stop thinking that He’s watching all this like we’d binge watch Jersey Shore or the Kardashians.
I imagine Him just throwing more and more money on America just to see what shocking thing we’ll do next.
And then He puts empty malls and abandoned houses everywhere in the middle of America and watches as politicians come up with endless reasons why it isn’t a good idea to put humans in them.
And the end of every episode, every week, is watching these people stream into church on Sunday morning for an hour. Then the credits role, “Tune in next week when we see rich Americans throw away endless food because their lawyers told them it’s too unsafe to give away.”
I imagine He just can’t turn that show off.
So the poverty angle of Christmas interests me a great deal.
But there is another aspect of Christmas that isn’t talked about as much. But is maybe equally as important.
It’s the community of it all.
I always loved the story of the 3 Wise Men, the little drummer boy, angels and shepherds. They all show up to see Jesus be born.
And they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. That just seemed so cool to me. I still don’t know what frankincense and myrrh are but they sound REALLY fancy.
They traveled from the east a long distance to see this birth.
This is the magic I saw this week at Second Chance Village.
Yesterday, on Christmas Day, the Akron Jewish and Muslim community put on a HUGE dinner for the people living in tents in Second Chance Village.
On Christmas Eve a family of Asian decent came and put a massive dinner on for them that day.
The week before Christmas a group of very successful businessmen came into our facility to start building out what we need to electrify and heat our new community room.
The furnace is already in and the electric is going in this week.
This all was surrounded by countless others bringing food and clothing and hygiene supplies.
I have never in my life seen anything like it.
It was EXACTLY like all the wise men and angels and shepherds coming to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Shoot. We even had a kid named Timmy come by to bring homemade cookies.
Actually, the kids that participated in this week were all too many to count.
I imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt like that night when all those people came to see Jesus. It’s an ocean of giving and love and hope and charity.
Overwhelming isn’t even the word for it.
I’m telling you. I experienced the birth of Jesus this week with the way you all came out in support of the homeless.
You get it.
You know what the birth of Jesus is all about. Even if you can’t describe it in words you get it.
It’s about love.
It’s about loving something you can’t understand and can’t even fully appreciate.
It’s just showing up because there is a force that feels like you should show up.
And now I see it everywhere I look.

• The new Star Wars movie is about coming together.
• Walking Dead (which I don’t even know why I can’t stop watching) is about coming together.
• The Grinch That Stole Christmas
• Christmas church service where many families only come to church once a year.
• Black Friday
• Christmas parties

I’m telling you, the story of community and coming together is everywhere. It’s like it’s shouting at me. Come together. Come together.
And in the case of Second Chance Village all these people came together because of the most poor in our community.
The gifts we get by giving help to the poor are greater than anything we ever can give to them.
Coming together and giving allows us all to rise up. It allows us to transcend the daily grind of things that probably aren’t all that important.
When we come together to help a common cause we all rise up just a little bit. We become a little greater. We become more like the image of God that He’s always wanted us to be.
Christmas is a powerful force that shows us the message. It’s a great universal story that causes us to act and reminds us of where we come from.
We are the creation of God. Jesus called us his brothers and sisters.
We are trying to learn the lessons He has taught.
We are reminded of them on Christmas Day. But the question is, what will we do the day after Christmas?
Have we learned the message well enough to keep coming together? Or do we just go back to our same habits?
I know for many of you the message of giving and coming together is a life long pursuit. I see it every single day at our charity.
There are many people that have found the path. They have found the enlightenment God has taught.
But there are others that still have yet to internalize it. They are the people that give and come together in the spirit of Christmas. They get it. But then they slip back.
These are the people for whom I’ve written this story. You are so close!
You feel the power of it all. It is the path God wants us to be on. Try to stay on it. It is the path to salvation for us all.
It is you that will save the world. It is you that will bring us together and solve all the problems of the world. Don’t give up. Your instincts are right.
Keep coming together. Keep giving. You are the hope of humanity.

This weekend represents a major milestone in the human rights movement of the homeless of Akron Ohio.
A group by the name of People 4 Homeless run by Dave Murray built this home.
The floor and all 4 sides are insulated. The slightly sloping roof is covered in a single piece of dense plastic that could be easily replaced if it gets holes.
There is a lock on the front door.
The entire back wall opens up to form a patio ceiling so you can relax under cover on nicer days.
This home took 5 days to build. And took about 1 hour to assemble on location.
It cost about $1000 in supplies.
Dave feels that costs could decrease to between $500 and $800. And he thinks he could get to the point where he could build 1 a day.
Here is a video of this amazing tiny home:

Let’s just stop and think about that for a minute.
You could house 100 of the most destitute homeless for $80,000.
This is the efficiency of innovation. Bureaucracy only looks at problems. Innovators only see solutions.
We have so much land in Akron that there should be almost no cost to get land from the Summit County Land Bank. There are currently 139 pieces of vacant land available right now in the Summit County Land Bank list.
There is only one excuse for not taking care of the homeless in Akron: FEAR.
The city has never faced its homeless crisis and therefore thinks it is a near impossibility to get a handle on it.
So let me lay it out for them:
Step 1: Stop the hemorrhaging. Give the homeless a place to exist. A tent. A tiny house. A vacant house. A vacant building. I don’t care. Give them a place where they are safe from the fear of being caught and thrown out. The administration is BY FAR the most dangerous threat to these people. Cold, violence, starvation, disease. All of these are secondary threats to the homeless.
Step 2: Have existing service providers go to these known locations to work with these people. Get them involved in mental health programs, addiction programs. Get them identifications. Get them food cards. Get them on the list for housing. Step 2 is incredibly easy. All of this currently exists.
Step 3: Work on affordable housing. There is no reason why we can’t build $20,000 homes in Akron. We have the talent and land to make this happen immediately.
Step 4: Assess the system and evolve with changing needs.
Step 1 and Step 4 will be the hardest for the administration to deal with. Changing and innovating are not their strong suits. So it is very likely we will constantly need to hold city officials accountable. I suspect a human rights law for the homeless will likely need to be created.
I honestly sometimes feel like I’m with the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars trying to restore freedom and justice for the homeless.
Everything we’re doing with the homeless is being met with suspicion and distrust from the administration.
According to them, we are jeopardizing the lives of the homeless. If we give them tents we are threatening them with hypothermia and death. If we let them sleep in our building we’re threatening them with fire and death.
Meanwhile, the actual homeless are living in the worst possible conditions imaginable because the administration doesn’t know what to do with them. The administration’s lack of action is the true and real threat to the homeless.
So, it is with a certain amount of trepidation that I tell you that the very first tiny home for the homeless has been built and put up in Akron Ohio.
To be VERY CLEAR it is NOT located in Second Chance Village.
We have built it in a secret camp in an undisclosed location.
It is our belief that the building department will not allow tiny homes to exist in Akron if they are not connected to utilities and meet all the building codes.
People living in infested, disease ridden illegal hidden camps are fine (until one person calls to complain about them). But trying to do something to make their lives slightly better is overtly illegal and must either comply or shut down.
So, until we get written confirmation that the city of Akron will allow homeless to live in tiny homes we will build them covertly and secretly.
But ultimately this is a great day for the homeless of Akron. The people of Akron are taking the lead in helping the homeless of Akron.
America was built on the foundation of “by the people, for the people.” This is how we will solve the homeless disease of America. The people will solve it.
 

To be clear : THIS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT Second Chance VILLAGE. This is about a Camp site we have been helping remotely near Haven of Rest. 
I just got word yesterday that the city of Akron is shutting down the outreach camp we’ve been working with.
It’s absurdly comical that officials shut down camps in the middle of the winter.
Second Chance Village was started because a group was kicked out of the space where Freedom Trail was being built. I’ll never forget the day. It was January 7, 2017.
Kabir Bhatia from WKSU was one of the first reporters on that story. This one was posted on January 8, 2017:
Homeless People In Akron Have Some Ideas After Being Asked to Leave the Freedom Trail | WKSU
The picture in that article is of our basement on that day.

 
 
[clearboth]
Less than a year later it looks more like this:
[clearboth]

 We started with just an empty basement.
And through work ENTIRELY done by the “useless”, forgotten, invisible homeless, we now have:

• Laundry
• Shower,
• Computer lab
• Clothes closet
• Food pantry

And for the record, we are working incredibly close with the fire inspector to get the building approved for people to use as a day center.
And ALSO for the record, no matter how cold it gets, no matter how much people beg, we are not allowing people to sleep in our building as an emergency shelter. We will be shuttling people to Haven of Rest and other places.
There are people in the world that are great at pointing out problems. But don’t have any solutions.
We are the product of that frustrating system.
We are a solution. And all we hear is all the problems we’re causing.
And now the city has so wisely found another problem.
They’ve found a tent community that is too cluttered. Is too unseemly.
So how do they solve that problem? How do they fix the glaring homeless epidemic that is America today?
They “solve” the problem by kicking people off land but offer no other solution. Do they think for one minute what will happen with those people? Do they not have one sliver of a heart? Do they not have even a mild curiosity for what happens next?
Well let me tell you what will happen next:

• These people were right behind Haven of Rest. When the temperature falls below 25 degrees Haven opens their doors to anyone. So these people had a quick way of getting out of the cold. That support is now gone. (And I’m the one being accused of threatening them with hypothermia and death.)
• The Haven of Rest offers lunch and dinner to the public. Now that is gone.
• People brought them firewood for their barrel. There is no way they can carry that. So that’s gone.
• They knew who their neighbors were so they knew who to trust and not trust. So that’s gone.
• The are scattering even as we speak. So people we could work with and support have disappeared. It’s likely we’ll never see some of them again.
• St Bernard Parish also has a bagged lunch program Monday-Friday from 8:30 A.M.-9:30 A.M in the Bill Corbett Center (Bologna House). That will now be gone.

These people will run like scared cats deeper into the woods. They will make themselves more isolated. More alone.
Don’t you see that actually seeing the homeless is what we want? It means they are willing to be vulnerable and open to society. They are willing to take help.
Now we’ve terrified them and they are running away. You’ve just made a bad situation 10 times worse. IN DECEMBER!!!
All the bonds we’ve made have been broken.
You think making them disappear is a good thing. But it is a wound festering and undermining your entire city.
You want these people back in society yet you have absolutely no understanding of who they are and how to work with them.
You likely have a better understanding how to work with a feral cat than you do with a homeless human. And the only reason is because you’ve never taken one minute to think about who they are and what they need.
But ya know what? We’ll handle it. We’ll take care of it.
Throw your homeless under a bridge. Then go to that bridge and throw them out of that place. We’ll sweep them up.
Your homeless situation will never get better with this cycle. It will only get worse.
But congratulations. You made some incredibly poor, incredibly damaged people disappear.
Good job.

Once upon a time there was a tent city in Akron Ohio.
It was not unlike the other tent cities all across the great country of America.
It was filled with intravenous drug users, dirty needles, meth addicts, crack heads, and most of all: alcoholics.
Tent city dwellers love their booze. There is a booze dealer on every corner. Every gas station, grocery store and convenient store is filled to the rim with sweet sweet booze. That’s because in the great country of America we like to belittle crackheads and meth heads. But gin and tonic guzzlers are just relaxing.
And don’t forget to ask your doctor about:

• codeine (only available in generic form)
• fentanyl (Actiq, Duragesic, Fentora)
• hydrocodone (Hysingla ER, Zohydro ER)
• hydrocodone/acetaminophen (Lorcet, Lortab, Norco, Vicodin)
• hydromorphone (Dilaudid, Exalgo)
• meperidine (Demerol)
• methadone (Dolophine, Methadose)
• morphine (Astramorph, Avinza, Kadian, MS Contin, Ora-Morph SR)
• oxycodone (OxyContin, Oxecta, Roxicodone)
• oxycodone and acetaminophen (Percocet, Endocet, Roxicet)
• oxycodone and naloxone (Targiniq ER)

Your doctor can prescribe any of these drugs at any time.
Any way. As I was saying. Once upon a time there was a man that lived in this tent:

That’s right. People live in tents that look just like this.
The zippers to the door have been torn out long ago. If they are lucky they find a paperclip and hold the door shut at night so it’s not totally wide open.
They often don’t have all the poles to their tent.
They almost never have a tarp covering their tent. So it rains directly inside their tent.
They have no ground cover to put their tent on. So their leaky tent sits directly on the ground so not only does it rain ON them, rain pours into their tent from the bottom.
I’m sorry. I digress.
The man that once lived in that tent was named Silk. No one knows his “real” name. But that’s what his friends at the camp all called him.
One night, Silk was sleeping in the tent you see there.
In the middle of the night another homeless man (currently on the run from the law) who has significant mental health issues was hopped up on some drug.
He came down to Silk’s tent, with a hammer, and bludgeoned him repeatedly on the head with this hammer.
Here is a picture of Silk’s pillow that he was sleeping on that night:




We’ve lost track of Silk. The last we heard he was hanging on by a string at City Hospital.
This is the story of tent cities that exist all over the great land of America.
Death, violence, drugs, alcohol, disease, filth, lack of sanitation, trash. Truly hell on earth.
These are the places that every city in America will tell you that the homeless “have chosen to live in” therefore there is nothing they can do. NO ONE chooses to live like this. Being homeless is being choiceless.
These people are citizens of America and the cities of America. 
It is neither just or morally acceptable at any level that cities allow the poorest of the poor to live like this.
The answer they provide is never a solution. The answer is to close the camps.
This is a completely absurd move that defies all logic and common sense.
What do these cities believe will happen with these people after they kick them out of their current tent city? Do they think they will magically awake like Snow White and say, “Silly me. What was I doing living in a tent? I’m going to go live in a house.”
The wait list for housing in Akron has over 10,000 people on it. Getting into housing, if (and that’s a big if) you qualify, takes anywhere from 5 months to 3 years.
THERE IS NO PLACE FOR THESE PEOPLE TO GO.
They have been kicked out of shelters. They can’t handle the strict rules of the shelters. They can’t function in that setting.
They have no family. Their family is dead. They have no friends with homes. They have no place to go other than another tent community.
But now they need to start all over again. They have to rebuild again. And then they just wait for the next time they get kicked out again.
The good news is we have adopted this particular tent city. We now have them signed up with the Food Bank and we deliver them food. We are getting them better tents. We are getting them tarps. We will get their tents off the ground. We will clean up all the trash.
We will help them when no one in positions of authority and responsibility will. No other shelters are helping them. And certainly no one from the city is helping them.
They are just left there to fester and die.
THE END.
The moral of the story is:
These hell on earth tent cities are the product of city administrations that turn a blind eye to the poorest of the poor. The weakest of the weak.
Second Chance Village is a transitional stepping stone to get those people out of that hell and put them in a community that loves them and supports them. We work with all the other agencies in the city to help with mental health issues, addiction issues. The health department comes here regularly to talk to us about communicable diseases. We demand everyone use hand sanitizer before the touch any food. We have gotten trained and have on hand Narcan to treat people from opiate overdoses.
We have a shower and laundry facility they are free to use.
We have been given a grant by the Akron Community Foundation to start a recovering opiate users experiencing homelessness program.
This is what our tent city looks like:

 
 
 
 
 
Oh, and here is a picture of our community on Thanksgiving Day:

 
We are a safe place for women. We are alcohol and drug free. We require everyone to contribute 1 hour a day to the village. And we require that people show proof that they are moving forward in their lives. They need to show proof that they are going to their mental health professionals, to their addiction programs, that they are working on getting a job.
But most of all we are a community. We love each other and help each other to succeed.
We want people to move on from here. We want them in housing. We are just the stepping stone to get them on the way.
 

The glaringly obvious fact of the matter is that the homeless of America are not treated equally to all the other citizens of America.
Because they have no money and often times no identification they have immediately lost all rights to legally live or even exist anywhere in our country. They have no rights. Any service or even place to sit is seen as a great gift from some kind and benevolent benefactor.
If you believe that every homeless person (or even most homeless people) have a place to go with shelters and churches you are misinformed.
Even if you believe the homeless have lost all their rights to freedom of religion and must succumb to mandatory prayer and church services in order to get a “free” meal and bed, shelters become filled. People are kicked out of shelters. There are a number of maximum days you can stay at a shelter if you aren’t in their approved “program.”
But it’s not just that homeless humans don’t have the same rights as other humans in America, homeless people don’t even have the same rights as animals.
In Akron even animals have rights built into the law. 

92.051 – Neglect of animals.
No person who owns or keeps an animal shall fail to provide the animal all of the following needs:
Shelter from the elements, including heat, cold, wind, rain, snow or excessive direct sunlight. If the animal is housed outside, a structure for shelter and protection must be provided that is suitable for the species, age, condition, size, and type of that animal. The structure must be completely enclosed and insulated, having a single entrance/exit secured with a flap or door or similar device. The structure shall be moisture-resistant, wind-resistant, and of suitable size and type to allow the animal to stand, turn about freely, lie in a normal position, and regulate proper body temperature. The structure shall be made of a durable material with a solid, moisture-proof floor and a floor raised at least two (2) inches from the ground. Suitable drainage shall be provided so that water cannot be reasonably expected to gather and stand within ten (10) feet of the structure, and so the animal has access to a dry area at all times. Proper bedding of straw or similar material, that remains dry, must be utilized inside the structure. All structures required by this section shall be subject to all building and zoning regulations.

How can it be that we have spent so much time in our laws thinking about the protection of our animals? But the poorest people in our community have not one single solitary right.
A city is “keeping” homeless. They are citizens of the city. Therefore they are the obligation of the city.
Cities of America are hoping no one thinks anyone should have to be responsible for the homeless people. How can it be that we are proud of our large Animal Control Facility to help homeless animals yet there is not one mention of how the county or the city are taking steps to help homeless humans?
They have fully outsourced homeless human help.
The 19,494 square foot state-of-the-art Animal Control Facility opened in August of 2010. Animal Control is a high performance green facility with administrative office space, an adoption zone, an intake area, outdoor visiting space, quarantine quarters, staff locker rooms, a veterinary clinic and more.

But a person who is responsible for an animal doesn’t have to simply house the animal.
They also are required by law to provide:

• Clean, potable drinking water at all times, and suitable food, of sufficient quality and quantity as to ensure normal growth and the maintenance of normal body weight;
• Food and water receptacles that are kept clean and disinfected, and located so as to avoid contamination by feces or other wastes;
• Regular exercise sufficient to maintain the animal’s good health;
• Necessary veterinary care;

Doing a search of the Code of Ordinances | Akron, OH | Municode Library shows exactly how much more we care about our animals than our homeless.
A search for the word “animals” produces 75 results including items like:

92.02 – Abandoning animals.

92.051 – Neglect of animals.

92.05 – Cruelty to animals.

 
How many times do you think the times the homeless are mentioned in Akron law?
ZERO. Not one single time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And quite honestly I sort of am glad.
When cities mention the homeless in the law it’s rarely a good thing. There are currently laws in other cities like:

• Restricting the public areas in which sitting or sleeping are allowed.
• Removing the homeless from particular areas.
• Prohibiting begging.

There is so much wrong with how we are treating the poor in America.
26 percent of all Akron residents now live below the poverty level.
42.5 percent of ALL kids in Akron live below the poverty level.
How can this be? How can we be drowning in poverty?
Truly, I’d like to deal with that issue too. But the way we treat our poorest of the poor, the way we treat people that make no money, have no medical care, have no food cards is brutal.
I can’t morally ignore the tragedy, the crisis, the monstrous way we ignore and abuse our poorest of the poor.
And here’s the thing. I’m not even asking the city to take care of the homeless. They clearly don’t think it’s part of their job description to care about them.
All I’m asking is that they let me take care of them for them.
It’s not convenient having to care for the homeless. I’m sorry it makes you feel uncomfortable. But I don’t care.
I would truly love to work together with you on solving the homeless epidemic in your city (as apposed to hearing passive aggressive rumors about what you think of me and what your plans are). I’m not irrational. I’m not obstinate. And I did not invent these people I’m caring for in my backyard. They were (and still are) festering in your city, under your bridges, in your woods.
But one way or another, we’re fixing the homeless problem in Akron. When we’re done every homeless person in Akron will have the right to live somewhere that is near their needed services and food.
 

Here is the interview I did with Jasen Sokol at WAKR:

 

A common talking point I hear is that homelessness is a choice.

• They get kicked out of shelters because they don’t follow the rules.
• They would rather do drugs than use a shelter.
• They are lazy.

I like to play these kinds of philosophical games.
“Is homelessness a choice?”
I guess the first step is that we all have to agree what the definition of homelessness is.
This is how the government defines being homeless:
What is the official definition of homelessness? | National Health Care for the Homeless Council

A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation.

If we accept that definition of being homeless then I think it’s fairly easy to imagine how someone becomes homeless.
Their home gets foreclosed. They get evicted from their rental. And they have no family or friend support system.
One of the key parts of homelessness that many people find hard to imagine is the total and complete lack of a support system.
If you got evicted it’s possible you would be able to turn to a friend or family member to let you “crash” on their couch for a while.
Technically, you are still homeless because you have found yourself in a non-permanent situation. But maybe you don’t feel homeless. And you are in the enviable position of having someone to help you.
And then there is this:
For First Time In 130 Years, More Young Adults Live With Parents Than With Partners : The Two-Way : NPR
Adult kids are just going back home to live with parents.
They also don’t feel homeless. But without their parents to support them it’s quite possible they would end up homeless.
In big cities homelessness is significantly increasing simply because of the lack of affordable housing.
Homelessness increasing in big U.S. cities – SFGate

Homelessness increased in New York by 11 percent from 2014, by 13 percent in Seattle and 8 percent in Chicago, data show. Major cities accounted for almost half of all homeless people in the U.S., and more than one in five were either in New York or Los Angeles, the report said.

And I would think you’d have to be pretty cold-hearted to blame the 2.5 million homeless kids in America for their lack of a house.
One in 30 American Children Is Homeless, Report Says – NBC News

That’s about 2.5 million kids, and an 8 percent increase to “an historic high,” according to the study from the National Center on Family Homelesness. Just over half are younger than six years old.

I could continue this exercise with statistics and anecdotes for quite some time.
But my point is this: Would you agree that some homeless people are homeless not by choice but by circumstances?
So, perhaps a more accurate statement would be: “Some homeless people are homeless by choice.”
The next step would be to ask: “Do any homeless people choose to be homeless?”

Living in the National Forests

Did you know that you can legally live totally for free in the National Forests? This is a thing people do.
There are little communities that exist in National Forests. You can hunt, fish and just live off the land as along as you want.
The downside is that there is no running water. There are no toilets. There is rarely any access to a cell phone signal. You are out there all alone.
And then there is Ted Kaczynski – Wikipedia

In 1971, he moved to a remote cabin without electricity or running water in Lincoln, Montana, where he lived as a recluse while learning survival skills in an attempt to become self-sufficient.

I believe these people are not homeless.
The people that live in National Forests and live in isolation have created a home.
I think there is the possibility for examining whether or not these people have complete autonomous, free will in their choice to live like this. Clearly Ted Kaczynski has mental health issues. And I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the people living in the National Forests also are fighting issues like PTSD, depression and other mental health challenges.
But let’s just assume they have other options available to them and therefore they have “chosen” to live in isolation in a homeless-like setting.

The defining factor of the homeless is: non-permanent.

They live in an environment that could change at any given moment. Today they could be sleeping in a tent somewhere and tonight it could be legally taken from them.
This non-permanence is the major destabilizing factor of the homeless population. They can’t rely on where they live from one day to the next.
Imagine how you feel Sunday night when you have to go back to work. Or if you’re a teacher, the last couple days of summer break. Transitions are incredibly challenging for humans. We crave a foundation. We need consistency.
A homeless person has no stability. The fundamental grounding of a permanent place to live is non-existent for them.
A homeless person is someone who is in a system where they have no control over their fundamental living stability.
If you don’t know where you’re going to live from one day to the next and you have not chosen that existence you are homeless.
At that point all your energy is focused on survival and minimizing suffering.
Your mental health issues spike because of the chaos of your life. Then your addictions spike as you attempt to self medicate. You are cold. You are hungry. You are dirty. You have no choice but to focus on basic survival.
Homelessness, by definition, is a total lack of choice.
You have nowhere else to go but where you are right at this moment.
If I spend the year camping I am not homeless. I could return to my home at any time.
If a homeless person spends a year camping in the same exact locations I camped they are homeless because they don’t have a choice.

Being homeless is being choiceless.

If you think the homeless have a choice in their existence you haven’t spent much time talking to the homeless.
And further, your simplistic views of the most poor, most weak (the VERY people Jesus told us to love) is hurting them even more. Your words make others turn on the poorest of the poor.
These people have no ID’s, so they have no jobs. They have no food cards. They make zero dollars a day. They couldn’t be more poor. And yet you see the “sense” is blaming them for their poverty and their plight.
If you don’t have even a tinge of compassion for the poorest of poor in your neighborhood when DO you have compassion?
So I’m actually BEGGING you. Please stop saying homelessness is a choice. You are just making a bad situation worse.

There have been a couple times in my history where authority figures were surprised I listened to them.
When I was 14 a manager of Perkins Restaurant told me I was doing too much. He said that between my dish washing job, playing the cello, playing the trombone and other school activities I needed to quit something. I came in the next day and thanked him for the advice. I quit my dish washing job. He told me that’s not what he meant. (My cello got me a full ride to Baldwin-Wallace College. There was no place on the application about how well I washed dishes.)
Then in college the conductor of the symphony made a statement to the entire orchestra that if any of us weren’t serious and thought there was something else we should do with our life we should get the hell out of music. So the next day I switched my major to English. I was the principal cellist in their orchestra. He called me into his office to tell me he wasn’t talking to me. That’s not what he meant.
I listen to what people tell me.
Once a week, I drive to the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank to get food for our food pantry at Second Chance.
Every week I drive across Rosa Parks Dr. as we get our food for the homeless of Akron. It was named in 2010. 
I am a devout follower of Martin Luther King Jr. He is the man I want to be.
I want to be as brave as him.
I want to be as good a speaker as him.
I want to strive to make as much change as him.
I. Love. That. Man.
So when I drive across Rosa Parks Dr. what do you think is going to happen? Do you think I’m not going to listen to her?
Are you going to tell me “that’s not what we meant?”
We don’t want the 381 day boycott she started. We just want to say the words “Rosa Parks” and not listen to her movement.
I am listening.
You told me to listen when you put her name on a street. You can’t have it both ways.
Society is a bus.
Every single person in society has the right to sit on this bus.
Every single person has the right to exist on this bus.
We first have to admit that the homeless are not invited to sit on the bus. They are chased off the bus at every turn.
When you have a city you have a moral and legal obligation to allow every single citizen, regardless of income and net worth, a place on your bus.
Every human deserves a place to exist. It is unjust to think you can kick them into deeper and deeper holes in your society until you no longer have to look at them and think about them.
Rosa Parks means something to me.
The homeless deserve a seat on your bus.