Sunday, February 22, 2015

BRAINSTORM IN THE SNOWSTORM- HOMELESS SOLUTIONS

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Gina Burgess
February 17 at 10:50pm · Edited · 
Some of my more affluent friends are having a hard time understanding why so many people in our community are passionate about the plight of the local homeless. These well-meaning friends understand that its cold outside and that it sucks to be homeless. (Sound familiar? Like some of our City councilmen....) But they don't get why so many people who aren't in this situation are so angry and passionate about homelessness now. As one friend put it, "it's not like it hasn't been around forever."
And right there....this lack of understanding between the classes....this is why something like the Jeff Landis Homeless Challenge was soooo vitally important. It was a submersion in a real-life school-of-hard-knocks experience that if undertaken would have totally changed the life of the participant.
To my affluent friends and to members of City Council who don't get why so many are upset by how the homeless are being treated, maybe this cartoon will help you visualize the true state of our local economy and how so many people are one or two paychecks away from being homeless themselves.
Its pretty simple--you can't "develop an economy" that doesn't produce the kind of self-sustaining jobs that your people can be employed to pay the kind of excessive taxes that you suffer them to pay, creating a situation where they are barely surviving and then expect them to be quiet when their family or friends or neighbors or strangers that they see at church or in the line at the food bank, etc. and not expect them to feel empathetic for a situation that they could find themselves in at any given time.
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Gina Burgess
February 16 at 3:00pm · 
People have criticized me when I say that we need to focus on temporary pre-shelter shelters that consists of sleeping bags and tents, but folks....that proposal is far more humane than what the street homeless currently have access too. Mayor Henry and all NINE members of City Council should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this needless suffering to continue.
Sally Becker Segerson added 2 new photos.
ill possible, wind chills could fall as low as -25°! Frostbite can occur in as little as 30 minutes with this kind of bitter cold .... Warming Centers for the NIGHT??? Citi Link buses lined up and running? Anything? Anything at all for those OUR men and women of the elements as they battle to make it through the night on the streets of this city .... on this oh so special day of love?? Anything???
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  • Ken Miller, Bill Bean and 6 others like this.
  • David Roach 200 bucks a head- bus ticket to houston texas- the weather yesterday was 68 degrees. 60 degrees warmer. wont freeze to death in that..
    a tent would be down comfy.
    think about it- at 200 bucks a head- for 200,000 dollars we could ship 1000 willi    ng(?) homeless folks to Texas- a state awash in Oil;gas;energy industry cash. Houston is a boom town- lots of work for those who want it. Plenty of equally compassinate homeless activists there im sure too. 
    anyway- if i was homeless - hobo; bum, tramp, vagrant " king of the world( jack- the adventurere. man of the world in TITANIC)- well; nothing bu the clothes on my back and a backpack; and a carry-on- no ties to fort wayne- because obviosly- if anyone cared about themhere in town- family, freinds etc- they would be housed:
    well- seems like a no-brainer to me.. 
    How much do the homeless cost us inall this annual quixotic effort anyway? surely a LOT more than 20 bucks?
    I havent checked air fares to LAS VEGAS- but Nevada always has discount airfares to Vegas Baby- another warm weather boom town, where its easy to be homeless or get a job.
    SOOO.BUS TICKETS FOR THE HOMELESS. Born again- a new life somewhere new.. freedom! (?)
    February 16 at 3:10pm · Like · 2
  • Gina Burgess I have proposed that as an idea as well---some street homeless want that. Some want to go to Utah where they might have access to housing. Some want to go to other places where they have family. But we need to do something here and now for the majority of the street homeless. Shame on the Mayor for not opening up a 24-hour warming shelter 12 hours in advance of when temps are going to drop below 32 degrees.
    February 16 at 3:14pm · Like · 5
  • Christina Augustyniak This treatment is so wrong! I hope they find a solution quick. Check this out Benjamin Ehinger
    February 16 at 3:43pm · Edited · Like · 1
  • Gina Burgess Christina Augustyniak -- Yes, this is very wrong. The worst part is that Tom Henry and some of the councilmen, like Tom Didier, are "good Catholics". I believe that Henry went to CC and Didier, I know for a fact, went to Dwenger. These guys hide behind small "achievements" where homelessness is concerned, but they turn an absolute blind eye to those who are most vulnerable....and at the time they are most vulnerable.
    February 16 at 3:46pm · Like · 4
  • David Roach Witch burnings, the inquisition- also courtesy of "good Catholics"- the crusades- slaughter of Islamics - thank you Vatican.
    I have observed the 2 aforementioned politicians- are fond of wearing their religions on ther chests- for all to see- thuming t    hem- saying- what a pious religious bible quoting person i am- well- the walk sometimes ( oft times) failes to match the talk. and dont even get me startted on a certain very wealthy membership out in south west about township.. - Megachurches- they have access to millions preach a fiery brand of holy roler, holier than the rest of us brand of what they call"christianity"- but there not one single thing "christin " about their behavior. more in common with ISIL; than anything Jesus christ ever said or did or told us to do.. its only 50 pages- of quotes in red in your NKJ- edition.
    February 16 at 3:51pm · Like · 1
  • Tina Taviano i thought they opened the citizen square?
    February 16 at 8:13pm · Like · 1
  • John Veltum This just makes me sick. To all the investors in our great city,does it always have to be about making money?
    February 16 at 9:43pm · Like
  • Jeannette Jaquish David Roach, Gina Burgess, John Veltum, Let's get 600 people to donate $100 and buy four $150,000 5 bedroom houses and fill them full of beds to house homeless people. One for men, one for women and two for families. I pledge $100. Each could be supervised by one or two of the residents, and the rest have to chip in a little money to share utilities. Each $100 pledger could get a vote to make the rules of running the place, how long people get to stay, behavior, legal compliance and so on.
    February 16 at 11:30pm · Like · 3
  • Gina Burgess Tina Taviano -- They did eventually open up the Community Center. To their most recent credit, they have decided to keep that warming shelter open for 24 hours. I don't have the details on how many days or what the criteria will be to shut that warming shelter. What's been really, really disturbing is the pure inhumanity of knowing that there are people who are living out on the street in these weather conditions and having to be shamed by the community during an election year to do something as morally right and economically simple as keeping one place open 24 hours during severe freezing conditions. Frankly, anytime the temps dip below freezing warming shelters--plural--should be open and operating for at least the duration of the freezing conditions. What happened to the City of Churches?? It really makes me shudder to think how cold and calloused our so-called elected leaders would be if this were not an election year. This isn't a Democrat thing nor is it a Republican thing---its a doing what's right by your community thing. It's shameful and heartwrenching.
    February 17 at 8:40am · Like · 2
  • Gina Burgess John Veltum -- As much as I would like to blame the investors in our community (especially those who would like to profit from downtown and/or riverfront development), the reality here is that homelessness is a public policy issue. Our elected officials (Mayor, City Council, County Commissioners, County Council, Township Trustees, etc) have all systematically failed the most vulnerable in our community. The Wayne Township Trustee has a huge building with heated offices that could have and should have been opened up to the public. Citizen Square--a co-op between City and County government---could have and should have been opened up to the public as a warming shelter (as could other government buildings, like the Botanical Gardens or the Public Library or the Memorial Coliseum, or buildings that are heavily subsidized by local government such as Parkview Field). 

    But just as disturbing is--we live in a City of Churches. Why didn't any of them open their doors when local government failed? For example--the Mayor recently "appointed" one of the at-large candidates on the Democratic ballot who is the former pastor of First Presbyterian Church (located in Downtown) and is (or was) the associate director of the Associated Churches of Fort Wayne--where was this guy? He's the Mayor's senior advisor on "community engagement." He's supposed to "promote Fort Wayne as a community of compassion, civility, and character where all people are deserving of dignity and respect." I don't see the street homeless or those living on fixed income who can't afford heat being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve--the very thing that warming shelters could help provide.

    Our elected leaders are so clearly out of touch with our community. Warming shelters aren't just for the street homeless (although the street homeless are by far some of the most vulnerable members of our community). Warming shelters are for those who can't afford heat--senior citizens living on fixed incomes, families unable to make ends meet, the unemployed, etc. 

    With an executive order from the Mayor or Commissioners--shelters could have been opened up immediately before the need, which was well promoted in advance by all news media. With legislation, City Council could craft new policy so that under certain conditions, as a matter of law, shelters are opened up without need of an executive order. Those who could have come to aid of those in need of heat--the township trustee and the pastor of a church--could have done more in their capacity. That's why I said that investors in our community (whether you agree or disagree with what those investors may be trying to do) can't be held responsible. At the end of the day, those who deal with public policy matters--those with the elected authority to deal with public policy matters or the means the community has provied them to deal with public policy matters---have a duty and responsibility to deal with those public policy matters.
    February 17 at 9:02am · Like · 3
  • John Veltum I'm on board Gina. You are so right.
    February 17 at 11:10am · Like · 1
  • David Roach Jeanette Jaquish-the city has oh- 50- 60 MILLION BUCKS burning a hole in their purse. theres another 100 !! OR MORE MILLION BUCKS- stashed away under various "mattresses"- around FTW as well- they city code enforcement just got around 8 MILLION BUCKS- to demolish vacant houses- at 25,000 bucks a "POP"- seems every 2nd or 3rd house-50k; 75k- could be used to renovate;'rehab;restore
    well-320 houses- at 25K each; 160 houses at 50K; and 106- at 75K-
    I did some "mini-max calculations in college decades ago- 
    so- i saw a colored chart- most houses in the part of town in question- are assessed at from 50K to 75K; and a few at more.
    so- there needs to be a systematic inventory done of what houses are out and about- how many are too far gone; how many -well- each neighborhood- could be given a stack of papers- with a inventory checklist- to walk around their neighborhoods- 
    do a walk around inspection- check the boxes- so then we can know what houses are salvageable; which ones need to be inspected inside- which ones - the roof is caved in; fire damaged; bulldoze the hopeless ones- or better- have HOMELESS;; and unemployed;underemployed youth, and others; students enrolled in construction classes at anthis; or Ivy tech; or IPFW- to DE-CONSTRUCT ALL THESE HOUSES. 
    and salvage all the hardware; plumbing fixtures- cool old bath tubs; faucets; sinks; etc- wood doors, window hardware; kitchen cupboards
    as for the wood- some will be usable; some wont.

    where to stockpile all this stuff? seems GE has lots of vacant space
    if the city govt; etc- truly cared about rebuilding the citys tax base- well- 1- lets think small; and 2- well- lets construct instead of destruct.
    even if these now fixer-uppers are fixed up; the outside landscaping is cut back; and so on- well- if they dont sell tomorrow; they WILL sell- 
    same as West central NBH; ; Nebraska; Blooming dale- Lakeside NBH- etc-
    its a lot better idea than smashing everything flat, scraping it clean; and letting it sit- barren- vacant- vast swaths of nothing- 
    its not like some suburb subdivision brand spanking new- waiting for mc Mansions- REALITY CHECK- THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN .

    but- if all these retro' quaint; historical charming houses are retroed- well- whats cooler- a new car hot off the line? or an old 40s' 50's vintage street rod? no one ever says- oh- is that a new honda! can i see inside? NO- its like oh- cool- is that an old auburn? a duesenburg? a 57 chevy?
    people will visit FTW; and just drive around, and check out all the old vintage homes- like a time machine.. 
    I cant make this short-but it will work and is better than the present scheme..
    February 17 at 1:53pm · Like
  • Esther Sue Creger so glad you sied it... it needs to be to said...I just hope he dose somthing about it....
    February 17 at 2:53pm · Like · 1
  • Justin Kuhnle The other part of the problem is the current administration and party members of both parties had to concede having multiple calls and inquires prior to authorizing a pro-active approach to the impending artic blast we are starting to experience. That is inappropriate and inhumane, in my personal opinion. This is attributed to all public office holders in waiting to the very last minute to open even warming stations, yet want to sit on the publicity of establishing a commission to look into the homeless crisis starting in April, when Spring begins.
    February 17 at 10:55pm · Like · 2
  • David Christopher Roach
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