Sunday, October 25, 2020

Carmen Best Resigns As SPD Police Chief
 I Read the above linked article this morning. I had mixed emotions about Carmen Best's decision to leave the SPD. However, after reading this article, I think I am glad she left. The part of the article that stood out to me the most was that Donald Trump said he was "sad to see her go" and William Barr said, :..Her leadership and demonstrated commitment to her oath of office reflected all that is good about America's law enforcement." Statements of support from two people that many believe are avowed racists. Do I believe we should defund the police by 50%? Well, I will say those who appose it are scared Shi@#$less of everything...from being robbed, to someone breaking into their beautiful home, to anything that might cause them to have to defend themselves or do anything that might remotely look like standing up for themselves physically. If you are so scary that you think defunding the police is going to give someone a chance to rob you as you go to Safeway, buy a gun and learn how to use it properly. If you are scared of a physical confrontation, learn how to defend yourself and stop being a pu$$y! The BLM movement was (among other things) about police brutality and the state-sanctioned killing of unarmed black and brown men and women. Why the hell would I as a black man want more police on my block if that is what might happen to me??? Maybe some of you white folks are just a little too comfortable in your white privilege. I've read studies that show the more police you put in a predominantly black neighborhood, the more illegal arrests and police brutality occurs. Is that because them niggers are just running wild in the Hood committing crimes and doing general thuggery? That is exactly what a lot of white people think is going on. Hyper-Fear is what is really behind the argument not to defund the police. Many whites fear anything that might cause them a little discomfort. America freaked out when the unemployment rate hit 14% because of Covid-19. Black folks have been living with an unemployment rate of almost 16% for the last 50 years! How uncomfortable do you white folks think that made us? There are a lot of things that blacks experience almost daily that make us uncomfortable - that white people never have and never will experience. Community Policing and Social Services working together has always been a good idea - at least for poor and minority communities. It's working in other places. We simply must stop the police from treating mental illness situations as a criminal matter. and we must also stop the police from treating black people like animals. It is my guess that those who don't want to defund the SPD are the same ones who, deep down, believe George Floyd probably in some way deserved what he got, just like all the other blacks who were brutalized, shot and killed by the police. They must have been doing SOMETHING wrong, right? 

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Minority Homelessness in Seattle - Can Progressive public policies save us?

 

King County’s plan to fix homelessness was supposed to put power in the hands of those who’ve been homeless. Did it?

Monday, March 30, 2020

Will the Homeless get a Stimulus Check?

Last week, the US Senate passed HR 748, the Cares Act, that will provide assistance for most Americans to the tune of $2.2 Trillion. As we have all heard, the money will go to aid businesses, workers, health care systems, and hospitals overwhelmed by the Carnivorous pandemic. 

According to the measure, the aid package would provide a direct cash payment of $1,200 to individuals and households earning less than $75k per year gross income. Couples with  a combined gross income under $150k would be eligible for $2,400. I'm not even going to talk about people earning more money than $200k because I don't really care about them, except to mention that the aid numbers increase by $500.00 per child for families regardless of income. 

But What about the Homeless? 
I recently had a conversation with a family member about homeless persons and the stimulus package. He was convinced that any monies that people in those and similar conditions would receive would probably be just "party time" money that would most likely be spent on doing what they've already been doing: spending it on drugs and alcohol. Because he's family, and he is intelligent, I understood that there was absolutely no judgement in his comment, but rather was an objective observation based upon the opinions of  many republicans in congress who don't think the aid package should focus upon individuals as opposed to corporate giants, big business, and "tax paying" citizens. 

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who has a net worth of $1.2 million, thought the stimulus package was "too generous" to the unemployed, stating that the package would incentivise the unemployed to lay themselves off rather than go to work. Graham told reporters that the "bill pays you more not to work than if you were working" noting that the stimulus bill would provide the equivalent of $24.00 per hour while the state of SC only pays $7.25 per hour for minimum wage. If Senator Graham feels that way about the working poor in his state, I can only assume his views of what the homeless deserve are much worse. 

If you are homeless, and don't have a known legal address it will be very difficult to get a stimulus check via the method the US Treasury is using to distribute the aid. The money is going to be distributed by the US Treasury Department to persons who:

  • Filed a 2018 or 2019 income tax return - payment will be sent to person's last know address.
  • Are employed - payment will come through your current employer's direct deposit system
  • Have a social security number
Unfortunately, many of the homeless do not have an address where they can receive mail. When I was homeless, I remember having a couple of places where I received mail. One address was my son's mother's address because she was kind enough to to allow me to stay there for several months. Another place I received mail was a place called the Compass Center in downtown Seattle. Any homeless person can go there and sign up to get their mail delivered there. You must have a Washington State id card, however to take advantage of that service. 

The Compass Center is run by the Compass Housing Alliance, which is a low-income housing non-profit. The address to the compass Center is: 77 S. Washington St. Seattle, WA 98104. The phone number is 206.474.1000. 

In Seattle, there are several places where you can get a voucher to get an id card. The one place I know of is called the Solanus Casey Center located at 804 9th Avenue Seattle, WA 98104. 



Friday, March 13, 2020

Seattle's homeless and the Caronavirus

Tent City 3 is a homeless encampment located in the Phinney Ridge district of Seattle Washington. It is a part of a network of homeless encampments throughout King County. Most of the unsanctioned encampments are dirty, unsanitary and do not have provisions such as port- a-poties or dumpsters...an ideal breading ground not only for the Caronavirus, but many other diseases that can be spread by human contact, unsanitary conditions, or even the air.

I work for a local housing organization, and I come into direct contact with homeless people every day. Many of them tell me they know someone who is sick, or is sick themselves, but because they have no primary care physician, no health insurance, and no money, they can't get tested for Caronavirus, or any other health problem they are having. Per capita, Seattle has the third largest homeless population in the US. That fact, in addition to the poor and disjointed homeless services in this region is a clear prescription for bad things to happen regarding the control of the Caronavirus  in the homeless community.

Recently, I read that Seattle Mayor Durkan approved an expansion of Tiny Home villages in the Seattle area. Maybe these new tiny homes won't be built until the virus more under control, maybe they will. But the point here is that the Seattle City Council, state representatives, local police, and all quadrillion and two health agencies we have in King County don't seem to understand that a unique approach will be necessary to avoid a bona-fied outbreak of Covid-19 among the homeless. And the tragedy is that it's already too late.The virus is here. It has killed 31 people and it's being reported that  Washington State has over 370 known cases of the virus.

For all of the pretty names and concepts Seattle and King County uses for how we house people and provide social safety net services like: "wraparound services, housing first model, VI SPDAT indexing and prioritizing models, .... that are supposed to connect providers in order to treat the homeless and vulnerable populations, Seattle social services are as bad and disconnected as anywhere in the country as evidenced by our growing homeless numbers. If Seattle can't control its homeless population without the Caronavirus, it doesn't have a prayer of controlling the homeless population with a virus it can't control either. 

Friday, January 27, 2017

Thanks to Mallori Thompson for making this video. I was asked to speak about my personal experience with homelessness and how that motivated me to become an advocate for the poor and homeless.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

This Morning's Air


This Morning's Air

 

I awake to the soft thrum of my phone alarm on the ground near my head.  The morning air brings a familiar judgment that a few hours of rough sleep cannot erase.  I am homeless, and I am surrounded by trees and brush that hide me from the outside world but cannot hide me from myself. The damp, dewy earth has become a familiar friend. We have spent a lot of time together. It sees who I am and who I could become.  It knows me better than most, and listens to weakened pleas of mercy with casual ire like a priest in a cold gloomy confessional. 

 

The trees and brush and shadows are my shelter from the cruelty of the normal.  The new air of a chilly morning mocks my first breath.

 

I confess my sins but do not ask forgiveness because there is no forgiveness for the damned. I am alone by choice. I seek no friendships, but remain friendly. I ask for no hand-outs, but will not refuse a helping hand. I survive alone, but I am not lonely. I trust no one, yet I remain trustworthy. 

 

This morning's air slaps my world into focus and greets me with unfamiliar sights and sounds that are harsh and rude. The spot upon which I lay is covered with fresh dew and new leaves that fell during the night like a child's crayon outline on paper canvas.

 

This morning' air – this new air – brings new sorrow, and new hope and bids me decide which mask I will wear on my face today.  I open the book of my day with a groan and with slow, measured movements I begin the script of this new chapter.  It has been 1,735 days since I had a place to call home. As the cool morning air hits my face I shiver and silently curse my bland existence.

 

The warm morning breeze carries the sounds of fast moving commuters like caged beasts released into the wild to find their prey. The walkers will stare at me, but won't see me. They see an image – an intrusion.  To them, I am dead.

 

I am not dead.  I am not alive. I only exist – the mere outline of a man with no center or mass.

 

I sit up, brush a creeping crawler off my leg and check my watch as if I have somewhere important to go and casually realize I don't.  I am all alone and my soul cowers in shrouded shame, too weak to cast its own shadow…like a ghost afraid of its own presence.

 

This mornings' air reminds me that I must create something, do something, say something that will shake to life another stillborn morning that pulls me one step closer to becoming one of the downtown walking dead. 

 

Yet I am amazed every morning- by the beautiful and infinite hope of what could be. And I am amazed by the tragedy of my life in the distant wake of such infinite hope.  Hope that is alive, yet opaque as it dances just beyond my grasp even if I had the strength to reach out for it. 

 

This mornings' air, this new air. This new day belongs to me and gives me life, new life… I am touched by the Divine even as I am living in Hell. My life is an empty canvas brushed by the harsh and beautiful colors of life and death.

 

I tie my shoes, put on my mask, and walk back into my life.