Homelessness in New York City

My kid, Indy, and I just spent the weekend in New York City. We both love it there.
I was curious about the homeless situation in New York. So I stopped to talk to two homeless people while we were there.
It has been reported that homelessness in New York City has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression.
That article states “In May 2017, there were 61,113 homeless people.”
 
Both men knew that number, roughly.
I asked them how many people lived outdoors. They didn’t know the number, but said it was a lot. That is exactly what the article said. It is thousands. But the actual number is impossible to know.
The number of homeless New Yorkers sleeping each night in municipal shelters is now 75 percent higher than it was ten years ago.
I asked them why people were homeless. Both men said the same thing: mental health issues mixed with drug use.
They said phentenal and cat tranquilizer (Ketamine) were really big.
In the summer the police will let them sleep outside, in parks and on the street. But in the winter they try to push everyone to shelters.
They said there are some people that simply won’t go. They felt this had to do with mental health issues.
This is a fact that will likely plague homeless professionals for some time. There are some people that simply don’t want to come into any group.
Shelters are disliked almost universally. I’ve never talked to a single homeless person that spoke favorably of a shelter.
The number one complaint: it reminds them of prison.
You can read the reviews of the Armory Men’s Shelter in Brooklyn for yourself:
 I’m not trying to pick on them. One of the men I talked to was staying there. He had similar things to say.
I’ve read reviews of shelters all over the country that are similar.
And honestly, it sounds better than our shelter situation in Akron. You can check into until 10:00pm. And they give you lockers for your belongings.
In Akron our shelters don’t let people in after 6pm and lights out is around 8pm. Thai means you can’t work at night. Considering I don’t get home until 6:30 I would not be able to stay at a shelter if I needed it.
Both men said getting food was not a problem. That’s true in Akron as well.
So, in truth, Akron and New York are in similar situations.
  • Food is always available.
  • Opiates are rampant.
  • Mental health issues are a huge component to homelessness.
  • Shelter is available to everyone in the winter.
  • The shelters are focused on food and shelter with little concern for human dignity.
  • Some people, for varying reasons, prefer to not go into shelters.
I believe there is incentive for shelters to consider working on human rights issues.
If there were places people could go that were desirable it would entice people to come out of the woods. Then we would have the opportunity to work on the mental health issues.
Treating mental health would potentially help people to want to reintegrate into society in some way.
That’s the goal we are ultimately trying to achieve in our cities. Reintegration. Cities are simply not well suited for isolationists. We have places for those folks with the National Forests. But I simply don’t see cities having the vision and innovation to open up public lands for open camping.
So we have to entice people to come out of the woods.
First, we’ve got to change the narrative. We have to stop “sheltering” people. We might as well call it warehousing. That’s all we’re doing right now.
We need to think about building communities, not shelters. 
Sheltering doesn’t fix the problem. It’s just a bandage for a festering wound.
We can give people food and shelter while also giving them stability, support and community. Not doing this is a huge missed opportunity.
This reviewer of the Armory Men’s Shelter had the right idea:
The problem is PEOPLE not the building! Replacing staff on a regular basis and change the system from a treat everyone like garbage to a work your way up to royal treatment will change people! A carrot in front of a mule gets the donkey going! Dangle good things in front of these people / give them some incentive! There needs to be more structure! If they ran these places like military facilities and treated the soldiers who preformed the best with better treatment and the soldiers who preformed worse with worse treatment you would see things change in society SO FAST!
I’m sure that reviewer is homeless. They are in the best position to know what needs done. We think the homeless are some sort of worthless humans. Every single person was something before they were homeless.
A good start would be to begin listening to the homeless. They have a lot to offer.
He’s right  Having something to move towards is a fundamental human desire.
Entice the homeless to:
  • Volunteer time
  • Go to mental health professionals
  • Go to AA
  • Come in doors once a week
  • Talk to an outreach person
It is very similar to enticing a scared, sick animal out of its hole. It needs to be done slowly and carefully.
It’s quite possible, however, you will never get them into a home.
I work with veterans that simply won’t be part of the system. But they’ll come to me for a shower, laundry and food.
Maybe I can get them in a tent in our village. That will get them back into a group of people. That might get them to talk to their doctor which might inspire them to take their medicine.
I love the idea of housing first. But it might not be the best answer for all of the homeless community.
Integration into a community is my primary interest right now.
Entice them out of the woods through a variety of incentives. Get them interested in being part of your community. Just keep them coming back.

A Thief. A Dealer. A Beggar.

While it doesn’t illicit death threats like our tent city, Second Chance Village, panhandling is, by far, the most controversial activity I promote.
You can find all kinds of articles and videos these days “exposing” panhandlers:
Stop AKRON Panhandlers – This person just runs around photographing and videoing panhandlers in Akron that he believes are scammers.
Virginia woman in ‘fake homeless video’ is arrested | Daily Mail Online
Pregnant panhandler caught driving off in Mercedes Benz | WGN-TV
Panhandler Caught Driving Fiat Is Confronted by Furious Man Who Gave Her Money
Scammer claims he pulls in $100K a year panhandling – CBS News
These stories always get a lot of attention. I’m not exactly sure why.

  • Maybe it makes people feel justified in not giving these people money.
  • Maybe it helps people validate their beliefs that these people are all just lazy.
  • Maybe it’s just yet another story of shock and disbelief that we can add to our entire shocking world.

I work with a lot of panhandlers. So I thought I’d share what I know about them. Maybe it will strengthen your current beliefs. Maybe it will influence your thinking a little. Who knows.
You should know that I used to be a person who never gave to anyone on the street or on a street corner. I believed it was a con. I felt like I was just being deceived out of my money.
I now give to panhandlers when I have a few dollars in my pocket. I’m not some extreme giver. But I definitely give when I can.
This is my story on why I changed.
One of the first people I ever met from the homeless community was Ryan Scanlon. He’s a former drug dealer and now he is going to college and owns a home. Most of that money comes from student loans and, you guessed it, panhandling. You can read his story on his gofundme:
Fundraiser for Ryan Scanlon : A Homeless Homeowner
He writes:

I am a father of two young children (one of which has special needs due to autism). It is my dream that when it is my time I can make up for my mistakes and times of absence by leaving them this home in my living will so that they will never ever be forced to go through what I had.

This is his genuine belief. He is an incredibly committed dad.
He’s also incredibly smart and studied.
He quit drugs and alcohol not through Alcoholics Anonymous but through his own behaviorist therapy plan.
He is incredibly understanding of humans and human nature. He understands what makes people tick.

Why doesn’t he just get a job?

There are two reasons:

  1. He has seizures. Regularly. So it’s very difficult to do manual labor, such as roofing, with the likelihood that he would fall off.
  2. He likes panhandling.

That’s as honest as I (and he) can be.
He is the person who changed my thinking on panhandling.
There are several points he made that changed my thinking.

First, and maybe most importantly, you can’t possibly know the motivation of any panhandler.

Some panhandlers are definitely trying to get money for alcohol and drugs.
I will say, I’ve never met a wealthy panhandler.
Even my friend Ryan Scanlon is FAR from wealthy. He bought a condemned house for a few hundred dollars. And through sheer brute force and will power made that house livable. It was one of the greatest struggles I’ve ever seen anyone go through.
He lives in one of the lowest property value neighborhoods in Akron. Houses sell for $16,000 or less.
So, the most successful panhandler I know isn’t driving a fancy car or living in a fancy house. (He can’t drive at all, because of his seizures.)
Several panhandlers I know are living beer to beer. They make a few dollars and go buy a couple beers. They drink them and then get some more money so they could buy more beers.
I know one panhandler, who is now sober, that had a tab with the local gas station. They would give him his first beer of the morning free. He’d calm his nerves so he could stand on the street to get a few dollars so he could start his day over again.
That’s something you need to understand. Every single panhandler I know that is panhandling for beer has a serious drinking problem. They are jittery. They aren’t drinking for fun. They are drinking because they need to drink. It’s something that’s very difficult to understand unless you have been there or are close to someone who is.
This isn’t panhandling for fun. This is panhandling for medicine for their addiction.
And then there is Ellen: Fundraiser by Sage Lewis : Homeless to HomeFULL. She panhandles for diapers and her $50/month rent.

She has carpal tunnel, which has made it very difficult for her to get a job at the only profession she knows: fast food. So she does the only other job she knows: panhandling.
You should know that there are many people in America who are getting apartments for $50/month because of some sort of disability or illness. They can’t work. And so what I, and many others tell them is: “Go fly a sign.”
That’s the only way these people are going to make their $50/month. And if they don’t make their $50 then they will lose their apartment and be back on the street.
So, if no one gave any money to any panhandlers homelessness would, without a doubt, increase.
The question is: who is who?
Who is drinking their money? Who is shooting up their money? And who is using their money for rent, diapers and college?
You can’t know.
I barely can know.
People that are con artists are some of the most believable people you will ever meet. It’s very strange to be lied to with such sincerity and seeming honesty.
I know a panhandler that flies a sign that says, “Yes. I’m using this money for drugs.” He finds that it converts better sometimes. He is completely sober and uses the money for very good reasons, some of which are to help other homeless people.
These are all people that need cash. The don’t need a bus pass. They don’t need food. They need cash money. They all have things that need paid for with cash.
So, if you ever run into a panhandler that doesn’t seem very happy with your bottle of water or bus pass or granola, that’s why.
They are about to go into withdrawal.
They are about to lose their apartment.
They are always living on the razor’s edge of existence. Your dollar will save them from calling an ambulance to go to the emergency room. Your dollar will keep them in their apartment and not in the woods.

This leads me to the second reason I now give to panhandlers.

One way or another, these people are going to get money.
They have chosen the legal path. It’s the humiliating path. They constantly get yelled at and scorned. But it’s the legal path.
Many others chose other paths.
Some chose to sell drugs. And some chose to break into your house and steal your things.
Which would you prefer?
I can all but guarantee that if panhandling is outlawed crime will go up. That’s the next career opportunity these people know.
I am surrounded by thieves here at The Homeless Charity. Just this morning one of our previous residents returned a box of CDs a friend of theirs stole from us. Why did he steal them? He wanted to listen to them. I almost told them to give them back to the guy. But they were so strong doing the right thing I thanked them profusely and kept the CDs.
So the next time you see a panhandler you might just be thankful they aren’t selling your kids drugs or breaking into your house in the middle of the night.

And finally here is my third reason for giving to panhandlers:

I once interviewed Ryan Scanlon. During the interview I asked him if their was a segment of society that typically never gave to panhandlers. He quickly said, “Yes there is.”
I asked him who that group was. He said, “You.”
Middle aged white males never give to panhandlers.

  • Women give.
  • Other panhandlers give.
  • Poor minorities give.

But middle aged white men in nice cars never give.
I hate being a stereotype. So that was the very day I started giving.
I have so much and I’m judging people I don’t know anything about.
Who am I to judge?
How much more power and privilege do I need that I finally can stop lording my success and prosperity over the poor?
I will say, if you are interested in helping a specific person but only want the money to go to things you feel comfortable with, I can help with that. Just email me: sage@thehomelesscharity.org.
I can basically help you sponsor a homeless person who needs the money for rent or for their baby or whatever you are inspired to help with. I know people in pretty much every terrible situation you can imagine. So I can find you a person you might like to help.
Otherwise, just give the person on the corner a buck or 2. It’s really going to help them out in whatever part of their journey they are on. And you will be really surprised at how good it will make you feel.
It will be the best dollar you’ll spend all day.
I also recommend giving to the same person over and over. You’ll build a relationship with them. It will likely become a part of your daily commute that you look forward to.
Helping the poor is fun and a joy filled experience. That’s all I can say. In fact, you might find that it feels so good you’d like to do more.
 
 
 
 

Stealing From Jesus

In many ways we are creating a brand new society in our facility.
We are literally pulling people out of the woods and integrating them into a community.
It’s fascinating.
These are hunters and gatherers. They went out everyday looking for items to stay alive. Begging for money. Waiting on line for meals. Waiting in line for services. Stealing to eat.
They are now farmers.
They need to work together as a community.
Hierarchies naturally form.
The leader. The organizer. The security.
The leader is the visionary. He’s the person who has a dream.
The organizer is quiet. But yet influential. They sign people in, control paperwork. They make the system flow.
Security is powerful. They too are idealists. Any society is at risk of being ruled by security. It’s probably why America is always at war. Security clamps down in the name of safety and security.
Security isn’t wrong. Crime is happening.
Things get stolen. Stolen property is entering our facility. We just found a needle in our trash pile. Fortunately the person put the cap on it so no one got hurt.
In a normal society these are infractions that need to be clamped down on. It undermines progress and the right to quiet enjoyment that we all have come to expect in our own community.
But there is one difference: this is not normal society. There wouldn’t be a need for us if it was.
These are addicts. This is a community with close to 100% having mental health issues. These are outcasts. These are thieves.
This is a stepping stone society. This is society lite. We are the transition.
Keep in mind, this community just started in January. And none of us are experts at community creation, much less creating a community made up entirely of damaged people.
We are feeling our way around in the dark.
But this is where my thinking is now: physical safety is crucial. We have women here. And some day I’m sure we’ll have children.
People come here because it’s safer than the woods. I’ve been told that by a woman who came here from the woods.
They also crave security of their belongings. This is an ongoing issue in the homeless community at large. I’m going to go buy wood and supplies for people to make lock boxes today. I think it will be our first wood project.
But then, in my mind, everything else possibly needs to get lax.
Our security people are incredibly vigilant. They work really hard. So evolving our security needs to be handled gently. I don’t want to undermine them. We need them.
We’ve been talking a lot about items that are being stolen from the facility.
In my mind, that seems a little ironic. We are here to give things away.
But on the other hand, as an example, we are finding that people are taking a lot of toiletries.
Security believes people are taking these items to sell for drugs or alcohol.
I suspect it’s less dubious. Staying clean is not easy for the homeless. I think they are just storing these things for future use.
As an example, we recently had a drama where a lot of toiletries were taken.
It turns out that the items were taken by a family with 7 kids. They truly needed them.
My belief is that if we don’t want items to get “stolen” then it should be on us to secure them.
We have a decent amount of hand tools in our woodworking shop. Those would be difficult to replace quickly. So we should secure those and maybe only let them be used in our shop by residents. Staff could use them around the facility.
All of our toiletries are sitting out in the open. This is our problem, not theirs. We should secure them and hand them out in bags if we’re concerned about people taking too many items.
Of course these people are going to “steal.” They have nothing. They are addicts. They are mentally ill. They are thieves by necessity.
Let them take what they want and secure the items we don’t want to lose.
We have the facility to secure anything we want to secure.
We are working with people that need help. We are working with people that require us to be better people.
Our goal is to be more than just a warehouse for people society doesn’t know what to do with. We constantly talk about trying not to become a prison. But it’s incredibly tempting.
We must give them an environment where they can transition gradually from being hunter and gatherer outsiders.
We must be a place where they can interact in ways they are comfortable interacting while not setting them up for failure.
You don’t put a quitting alcoholic in a bar. And you don’t put a thief in a sea of unsecured items they aren’t allowed to take. It’s just a recipe for failure.
And ultimately we have to remember it’s all just stuff.
One of the greatest lessons homelessness teaches is that things and money come and go. They don’t define us. They don’t matter. Truly, we can live without them (and focus on what is really important, I might add). It’s one of the greatest gifts homelessness gives you. Hopefully these people will carry it with them for the rest of their lives.
God is good. We came from nothing and now we have more than we need.
The lesson for us is: people before things. God is on our side. He will provide endlessly for us.
Don’t worry about things. Worry about people.

I'm Sorry

I’ve spent my entire life trying to make people happy. I’m a proverbial “people pleaser.”
As other people pleasers can testify, it’s never enough. Sooner or later you mess up and let someone down.
That’s what this story is about.
Last week was busy.
We sent a person to rehab. We are moving the Second Chance store to another part of the building. And I got the opportunity to get interviewed by Jennifer Conn from Cleveland.com.
It was a wonderful week. Until I messed it up.
The article Jennifer wrote was amazing! It captured our story perfectly.  You can check it out here if you want: Auctioneer starts Akron Homeless Charity to fill gaps in safety net | cleveland.com
It tells where we came from, where we are and also our first benefit concert and silent auction that’s coming up this Wednesday, June 14.
It was a really in-depth interview. She interviewed me at my desk and then took a tour of our entire facility.
At the end of the interview we came back to my desk and she asked me details about our benefit event.
This is where it all went wrong for me.
She asked if we were going to have a food truck. I said yes and that we were really excited.
She asked me if it was going to be Food Truck “A”.
I said yes.
Last week was also difficult.
If you recall, I wrote a piece on the hatred of the homeless. I referenced a woman who I overheard complaining about our facility at a neighborhood meeting.
What I didn’t tell you about was the death threat.
We have a neighbor behind our privacy fence who vehemently despises us.
He came to the Second Chance Store last week, as he and his wife have done before loudly complaining that we are in the neighborhood.
But this time was different.
He told me and several homeless people standing with me that if he EVER saw any of us near his property he was going to shoot us.
I’ve never had a face to face death threat before. It’s a surreal experience. Is he just bluffing? Is he for real?
I feel confident that he is definitely unhinged with anger. So I don’t put it past him.
On top of that I have an ongoing, lingering cold that won’t quit.
I tell you all that just to give you a feeling that I have a lot on my mind.
Additionally, all the bands (11 of them) and silent auction donors are rightfully interested in being promoted.
The first response I got from the article when it came out was why I didn’t mention all the bands in the article.
I should have made that a point. I’m sorry for that too.
But as J- was asking me about the event, we had just come back from our facility tour and I didn’t have my event notes in front of me.
When she asked me if our food truck was Food Truck “A”, I had remembered we had talked about them. So I said yes.
But that was wrong.
All our material. Everything we have ever put out was promoting the actual food truck we had scheduled: Food Truck “B”.
But I told J-: Food Truck “A”. And that’s what got printed.
This embarrassed the owner of Food Truck “A”. She felt that it made her look bad because they already were booked somewhere else. 
She, rightfully, wrote me incredibly upset. She wanted to know how this could happen and also wanted to let me know that this significantly damaged her brand. To be clear: she didn’t feel that being part of our event made her look bad. Being mentioned as coming to the event and not being able to due to a conflict of schedule made her look bad.
And then just as quickly, Food Truck “B” posted on our event page that he was not coming because we promoted the wrong food truck.
I was mortified.
When I upset people I feel like a deer standing in the middle of the road staring down a semi truck barreling right for me.
It’s sheer terror.
My muscles pulse with a vibrating electricity. My head swims in fear and shame.
HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!!
But I was. And now it’s done.
All I have left is to say I’m sorry.
But otherwise, the show will go on.
We have an amazing lineup of bands. And we have an amazing lineup of silent auction items.
Additionally, this is happening right in and around our homeless center. This is a fully operational facility. And you will be enjoying the event with the homeless people that live there.
I’m SO excited for you to meet them. They all are at our place so they can move forward in their lives. They all are actively working on something to take the next step in their lives.
This will probably be the most unique, interesting venue for an event you will experience all year.
If you are a little nervous please don’t be. The people at our facility all are very kind and gentle. Plus, we will have our security team actively working as well.
We ask that this be an alcohol (and drug) free event. Many of the people at our center are actively trying to quit drinking or doing drugs. Seeing super cool people like yourselves drinking might be a pressure they don’t need.
We will have some light snacks and nonalcoholic drinks.
Our event is at:
15 Broad Street
Akron, Ohio
Wednesday, June 14 from 8pm-11pm.
You can make a donation to come if you want. But if you don’t have much money we definitely get it. Just come and hang out with us.
You can learn more about the event here:
Out Of The Shadows Benefit Concert and Silent Auction For Akron’s Homeless Tickets, Wed, Jun 14, 2017 at 8:00 PM | Eventbrite
 

Our Resident Jim Is June's Porta Potty Sponsor

Jim is a veteran.
He’s also a plumber, electrician, handyman and all around great guy.
He’s one of the few people at our facility that gets some sort of income. It’s not much. But it’s some.
He will often make donations to us for supplies and materials needed for repairs.
This month he decided to donate $100 to keep our Porta Potty up and running.
This Porta Potty was one of the features I didn’t really expect to need. But it has become critical for our residents and other homeless in the area.
So many places keep their restrooms locked. So there is no place to go.
This is the third months we’ve had our Porta Potty going.
The past sponsors have been:
ScanWorks, LLC and Deb Monaco – Our May 2017 Porta Potty Sponsor
American Mobile Ads and Bill Wise – Our First Porta Potty Sponsor 

How to Become A Sponsor

If you’d like to get some truly memorable marketing please become a sponsor of our porta-potty. It’s only $95/month.
Not only is this for a super important and good cause, we are a 501(c)3. So you are donating to a charity and it’s a write-off (I’m not an accountant so I don’t know what those words actually mean. But call YOUR accountant. They’ll give you the real scoop.)

JUST SIGN UP HERE:

Click here to donate 1 month of Porta-Potty Naming rights for $95
Click here to donate 3 months of Porta-Potty Naming rights for $285
Click here to donate 6 months of Porta-Potty Naming rights for $570
You can also call me, Sage, at: 330-416-7519 or email me at: sage@thehomelesscharity.org.
 

June 14 Benefit Concert and Silent Auction

DATE AND TIME

Wed, June 14, 2017
8:00 PM – 11:00 PM EDT

LOCATION

The Homeless Charity
15 Broad Street
Akron, OH 44305

ALL DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TO THE HOMELESS CHARITY
The event is going to be on Wednesday, June 14. It’s going to be from 8:00pm to 11:00pm.
This is going to be a SUPER fun event that you aren’t going to want to miss.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND GET TICKETS TO OUR FIRST ANNUAL OUT OF THE SHADOWS BENEFIT CONCERT AND SILENT AUCTION.

The Hatred Of The Homeless

I was at a community meeting last night run by a local church. The minister is incredibly supportive of our work with the homeless. So much so that he often delivers leftover food to us from his events.
The meeting was wrapping up. As I was walking out I overhead an older lady complaining to one of the police officers that came to the event.
“What can you do about the homeless behind my apartment?”
“The yard is filled with tents! No one wants to live near the homeless. No one wants to look at that!
He knows all about our facility. He works with us. He recommended we designate security people and get them security shirts. We did that.
The homeless security volunteers take their positions very seriously. They’ve set up security cameras. They monitor the facility constantly. And they work with law enforcement all the time. If you do anything illegal on our property you will be caught and prosecuted. Their focus is: We are here to help the homeless that want help. If you don’t want help and don’t want to move to the next stage of your life you can’t be here.
If anything, by having the homeless in one place under close supervision and security, we are making the community safer. Otherwise they’d be in the woods or under bridges completely alone and unsupervised.
But it’s not about that. That’s not what she was upset about.
It’s about the homeless themselves. They are an inconvenient truth.
It is very obvious that no one wants to look at homeless people. We had to build a fence so our neighbor in his $16,000 rundown home doesn’t have to look at the homeless. He wants us to buy his house so he can get away as soon as possible.

And it’s not that this woman is afraid that the homeless are going to break into her secure apartment building. We are separated by a 10 foot wall and a large chain-link fence on top of that. If anything, the people in the facility are more of a danger to us than we are to them. We once had a kid throw a rock over the fence at the homeless.

 
I’m not totally sure what it is exactly.
– Long hair
– Lack of teeth
It can’t be that though. There are plenty of homeless that are well kept. Short hair and fine looking teeth.
In fact, we have a couple women that are just plain beautiful. And Paul, our director, he looks like Hugh Jackman in the movie Logan.


So being ugly isn’t it.
It’s fear.
People are afraid of the homeless.
They aren’t behaving the way people are “supposed” to behave.
“Just get a job. Get an apartment. And be like us.”
That’s the problem. They can’t be like us.
We’re working with a woman who has a young child. We recently helped get her out of a shelter and into an apartment.
The only work she has ever done is fast food. And she’d love to go do that again.
But she can’t. She has carpel tunnel and recently had surgery. She would need to wear wrist braces. But it’s a safety hazard. They won’t hire her.
So we’re brainstorming work ideas for her.

Our facility is filled with people with stories like this.
You might not believe me. But please try. There are people who can’t get work. There are people who have zero income, zero services. They have nothing.
These are the extreme cases of homelessness that we specialize in.
All they want is a slight bit of stability and a sliver of dignity. They just want a place to quietly live in peace.
We work with people that are quitting drinking, quitting drugs, dealing with mental health. We work with people that are ready to take their lives to the next level.
We have 25 people and 10 tents of people like this. If you aren’t here to better yourself you are out. We will help you setup a tent in the woods and you can come use our laundry, food and shower any time you are sober. But you can’t stay with us if you aren’t trying to better yourself.
And we have a waiting list. We have a man who is coming from Pittsburgh to be part of our tent community.
We are a positive force in our community.
But our neighbors hate us. No one wants to live next to the homeless no matter how put together they are.
I know hate is a strong word. But the fear is extreme and it leads to hate. It’s just nothing other than hate.
And while we can all sit back and judge them, you probably wouldn’t like it if I brought my tent city to your neighbor’s backyard either.
Homelessness is a problem that people acknowledge but don’t want to deal with. “Not in my backyard” is a real issue in working with the homeless.
And the funny thing is we are in one of the absolute shittiest parts of Akron. Houses sell for less than $20,000. There are prostitutes, drug dealers and abandoned homes everywhere. I couldn’t find a more bombed out slum if I tried.
And we’ve secluded them incredibly well. There is no street you can drive down where you will see our homeless living. Our fence hides them from the one home that can see them. All we have is an apartment building that if you look down your back window you will see 10 tents.
If not here then where?
We joked about digging a hole and putting them underground. If I had the money I’d probably try it.

Believe it or not, there is a point to all of this.

In a country where 70% of the adult population identifies as Christian we are talking about burying the homeless.
I understand that there are debatable topics in Christianity.

  • Does God hate fags?
  • Should we ban Muslims from coming into America?

These are topics debated in Christian circles. I’d call those topics intermediate-level Christianity challenges.
But I have never once heard a Christian ever say the words: God hates the homeless.
On top of that, most of the people we work with are Christian. I bet I hear “have a blessed day” or “I’m blessed” a dozen times a day.
And if you are a little uncomfortable about minorities the vast majority of people are white men. The next major group are white women. There are only a couple African Americans that even stop by our facility. Oh! There is one Ukrainian. He has an accent. But still. He’s very, very white.
It’s as if God is playing a game with us.
The game is called: “How Christian are you?”
He is making the game as easy as possible. It’s like playing on Novice mode in a video game. It couldn’t be easier.
White men (some of which are veterans) and women who have fallen through all the safety nets of society. They are standing looking at you. And God says: “It’s your turn. What’s your move?”
Be honest. How would you feel if 20 homeless people were camped out in your neighbor’s backyard?
This isn’t about judging people. This isn’t some sort of reverse condemnation. Your feelings don’t make you bad or evil.
God is simply offering you a chance to grow. He’s asking you to consider your faith and decide what being a Christian means to you.
The homeless of America are giving you more than you could ever give them. They are giving you the opportunity to find the love Jesus asked you 2000 years ago to try and find.
Most people haven’t learned that love playing the game for 2000 years. Maybe 2017 is the year people finally learn what Jesus was saying and make it part of their lives.
 
 
 

Trying to get Gary into rehab

One of the things that is becoming a big part of our lives here at The Homeless Charity is helping people get off alcohol and drugs.
We consistently now sending people to rehab facilities.
Here’s a story of Gary who we are now trying to get into a facility:

 

Dealing With Safety and Security at The Homeless Charity

We are very new.
Even as an entrepreneur who is used to moving fast and pivoting quickly, things are moving faster than maybe anything I’ve ever dealt with before.
We started with The Second Chance Store when the Summit Metro Parks told 50 homeless men and women on January 7, 2017 to move out of their camps to make way for Freedom Trail.
(I love the Metro Parks and support their trail building. But I find the name of their trail, “Freedom Trail” a little ironic given this situation.)
So people started coming to our facility.
In 5 months we have built a Day Center, Tent City, Wood Working Shop, Raised Bed Gardens, Thrift Store and Food Distribution center.
It’s the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done in my life. I’m nearly obsessed with it.
But we often find that we are getting ahead of ourselves.
We are building the airplane in midair.
We have approximately 20 people living in 10 tents in our backyard and about 8 people living indoors. The indoor people are called The Crew. They fill jobs like:

  • Security
  • Administration
  • Overseeing cleaning and organization
  • Running the computer lab, woodworking shop and gardens

They are the leaders.
One of the interesting strategies we are testing is making the facility completely homeless run and operated.
We have no “professional” administrators or outside volunteers in any position of authority.
I make it a big point to not be the deciding factor on anything. I always am pushing decisions back to them.
That has been the best decision we’ve made so far.
These people have an invested interest in making The Homeless Charity be a place that is safe and valuable to the homeless that come here.
As long as the mission, vision and values are continually discussed and internalized, you can’t make a wrong decision.
Stability is the first thing we’re trying to provide. Then we try to offer our guests a platform where they can take their next step:

  • Quit drinking
  • Stop using drugs
  • Go to the doctor
  • Get a job
  • Learn a skill

Each person here has a different path. We’re trying to give them a place where they can move down that path a little bit further.
All that said, safety and security are foundational to our program.
If people aren’t safe and secure then nothing else matters. Stability can’t happen without safety.
This becomes an incredibly challenging balance.
We don’t want to become a prison. But we don’t want to become the Wild West either.
This is a daily process we are working through.
The first thing we did was create The Homeless Charity Code of Conduct. We are very careful to not just continue to throw endless rules at people.
The homeless are, by definition, outsiders. Many homeless that come to us have issues that make it difficult for them to exist in traditional society. So we are very conscious of being understanding of the mentality of an outsider.
But we also can’t let people run wild through the facility.
To address this we’ve developed a 3 Strike System.
If you violate the Code of Conduct 3 times you are kicked out for 30 days. If you come back and get another 3 strikes you are kicked out for 60 days. If it happens again you are permanently kicked out.
Unfortunately, we have people violating the Code of Conduct regularly. (That said, most people have never gotten a single strike.)
The positive side of that is that we have continual calls for people that want to get into our tent city. So we can quickly fill spots that become open.
We never ever accuse people that get kicked out as being bad or less than others. We simply see them as not ready for what we have to offer.
We’re trying to create something innovative here. We’re trying to be the next step in these people’s lives. We’re trying to be their “Second Chance”. Which is what we call our store. 
The reason for me writing this post today is because we had an interesting issue over the weekend.
We had a person who was given a third strike. (A woman who has a crack dealer looking for her.) She was asked to leave that night.
But the issue was that she was given her third strike based on a questionable infraction.
She was accused of stealing a vacuum.
Allegedly she had taken a vacuum that belonged to another guest and hid it in the area where she stays.
There are several extenuating circumstances to this accusation:

  1. No one saw her take it.
  2. There is a question as to whether the vacuum actually belonged to the other guest.
  3. It was under a tarp in an area where other items are being stored for our store and auctions.
  4. And then we have the whole being a woman with a crack dealer bounty on her head.

Paul, our director of services, and I talked. I advocated for this woman and said that the accusation seemed iffy. But I made it a clear point that I was not the deciding factor. I made Paul decide.
He chose to remove the strike. That meant she could stay.
This happened on Friday.
The problems with this decision were brought to me almost as soon as I walked in the door this morning. (I did get to go to the bathroom first which I was very thankful for.)
The problem is that this undermined the authority of our security people.
It also suggests that perhaps the rules don’t actually matter. That there is no real “Rule of Law” at our facility.
You should also know that we are extremely vigilant about adhering to traditional laws. We are very, very sensitive to our relationship with the police, fire and EMS. We want them to feel very welcome here and that we are great supporters of them.
So, all regular society laws are strictly enforced here.
But what happens when a strike is given for which the accused may be innocent?
So later today Paul and I will likely talk about this. I’m going to suggest that people can be given one appeal if they choose. The appeal process would possibly include the security officer who gave the strike, the defendant and then our director, Paul. Paul would then make the final decision.
I also feel like the safety of women and people under 18 needs to be a priority. I would like to see us have a transition solution for these people. So maybe we could try to get them into another facility and they wouldn’t have to be put on the street.
The larger problem with that is that these people that cause trouble are often kicked out of other facilities and programs as well. So it’s quite feasible that we would be forced to put them on the street because they have no other options.
It’s a difficult process. But it’s also extremely interesting and meaningful.
We have so many people in America that just want a safe place to put their tent. (I have to make a call right after this post letting a woman know that we don’t have space right now.)
If we can’t give people a place to put a tent in America then what can we do? This is the great American tragedy of the 21st Century.
The difficulties that come with creating this community are far outweighed by the opportunities we are giving to those Americans who have absolutely nothing.
It’s all worth it.
 
 

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