Month: July 2017

When I was a kid there were these hushed conversations about Cousin Darrel.
“I hear he’s living in the woods.”
“I hear he drinks all day every day.”
It was clearly considered more of a shame put on the family than it was a concern for Cousin Darrel.
I would suspect this is how many families still feel when one of their own slips away into the woods.
But when it happens to your daughter all the emotions quickly intensify.
I know that’s the case because the only parents of homeless that ever contact me (so far) are the parents of homeless women.
In these cases, the parents, typically moms, are terrified.
They are in a state of shock, disbelief and fear. The conversations usually end in tears.

Here are my observations of homeless women:

They go homeless for the same reason men go homeless. A base of mental health issues sometimes mixed with addiction issues.
Everything is magnified for the homeless. Their mental health issues are worse than average. And their addiction issues are worse than average.
Then, when you mix mental health with addiction everything becomes out of control.
While mental health issues seem to be nearly universal with the homeless, addiction issues are not.
Not all homeless are addicted. But almost all homeless have mental health issues.
Personally, I believe we all have mental health issues to some degree. So it only makes sense that all the homeless have mental health issues.
That said, the mental health issues of the homeless in general are more apparent and exposed.
So, there is almost always something going on that could use work in the head of a homeless woman.
Then there are family issues.
It looks like to me that family issues are more heightened with homeless women than men.
But that’s likely just a bias I’m getting because families of homeless men don’t typically talk to me.
Just the same, I often see a conflict with the man the homeless woman is dating or is married to. This often leads to a conflict that can’t be resolved with the family.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think this would be as big a deal with a homeless man.
Homeless men often report being violent, selling drugs and stealing. Homeless men also are often dealing with anger issues.
Homeless women also have anger issues. But homeless men with anger issues are probably more scary.
So, if I had to guess, homeless men are probably not usually kicked out of their families because of who they are dating.
Now let me stop right there.
I want to make it very clear that while a family may feel guilty about forcing a loved one away, you never ever should feel guilty for doing so.
The men homeless women date could likely be a danger to the rest of your family. And homeless men can just be straight up a danger to your family.
When it is time to demand a person get out of your house then get them out. That’s a perfectly respectable and necessary action.
It’s OK to kick a man or a woman out of your house.
The reason it’s OK is because they are going to be OK on the street.
At least in Akron, the street doesn’t kill people. Opiates kill people.
Specifically, Fentanyl and Carfentanil kill people.
These drugs are mixed with other drugs in random doses. The user doesn’t have any idea how much is in there and then they overdose.
Fentanyl Crisis: Ohio Cop Accidentally Overdoses During Drug Call – NBC News
It takes such a small amount of this stuff to overdose a person.
And now I’m hearing they are starting to put it in marijuana.
Three Ohio toddlers overdose on opiates in one week

An Akron 1-year-old overdosed on pills and was revived at a nearby hospital on Tuesday, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal. He was given Naloxene and lived. Another Akron-area toddler wasn’t as lucky. Tymaine Thompson, 18 months old, died Sunday after overdosing on a combination of heroin, fentanyl and another unknown opioid.

Addiction city: Ohio’s opiate addicts would make the fifth largest city in the state | cleveland.com

There are an estimated 200,000 opioid addicts statewide, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said. That’s roughly the size of the city of Akron.

If a person dies that has passed through our facility it’s not because they are homeless it is because they accidentally overdosed.
And sadly, people do die. A woman named Lori who was staying with us recently passed away from a drug overdose.
This is a topic of great interest to me. While we currently don’t have any Narcan at our facility I’m going to be getting some if I’m able.
There is a lot of talk about not reviving people after a certain number of times but I do not believe in that.
All I have to do is think about my own kid dying on the street as someone with Narcan stands over him letting him go.
I don’t believe the first responders of a city can be the one and only solution to reviving people from a drug overdose. It is so prolific they simply don’t have the resources to do it.
But a place like ours could definitely help in the process.
Addicts are a great interest to me and I have no limit on how much I will try to help and revive them.
As far as homelessness goes, generally, homeless woman are protected.

• They stay with a man.
• They have a dog.
• They are part of a community that watches out for them.

Now, I’m not saying bad things don’t happen to them. But more often than not it’s the drugs that lead to these bad situations, not the homelessness.
And not everyone that is homeless is using opiates. They might be using another drug, they might be drinkers or they might be dealing with mental health issues.
So, this is my recommendation: talk to your homeless loved one, if you still have contact with them. See if you can help them get Narcan. If nothing else, they should have it in case one of their friends overdoses.
In Ohio you can get Narcan without a prescription. It has no other use than bringing people back from an opiate overdose. You can also safely give it to a person who isn’t overdosing. It has no other effect than just saving the lives of overdosing people.
You can go to this page and search on which pharmacies near you will give you Narcan: NARCAN® Nasal Spray Availability
And here is a letter you can take with you that your can show a pharmacist.  
As of now, I don’t have any personal experiencing working with Narcan. So I can’t tell you prices or how easy it is to use. But it’s a nasal spray. So hopefully it shouldn’t be too difficult to use.
As I get more involved I’ll report back.
So, as it stands right now, in Akron, try not to worry too much about your daughter being homeless. Chances are, she’s going to be ok.
The focus of concern needs to be more on opiates.
 

• 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.

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!

• Volunteer time
• Go to mental health professionals
• Go to AA
• Come in doors once a week
• Talk to an outreach person

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.