Merry Christmas from my hometown!

Love this photo of Downtown Dallas, published in the latest issue of American Infrastructure Magazine, largely due to the fact that CitySquare's building at 511 N. Akard Street can be seen nestled in the middle of the scene just to the left of the Bank of America tower (orangeish/pinkish building!)

 Merry Christmas!!!

In between. . .

Classic case of "between a rock and a hard place" for us at CitySquare.

See the video posted below.

On the one hand, the pressure created by the time frame to "move along" imposed on the people living in this encampment made it nearly impossible to transition folks from the street to housing.

We could have refused to be involved in the removal.

On the other, we couldn't walk away from so many friends and neighbors who endured the trauma of being removed.

We know most of these people. Our Homeless Outreach Team interviewed every one of them in an attempt to begin the process of moving toward permanent housing.  We had no choice but to be with them and attempt to ease their burden, even if inadequately.

Dallas (City and County) and its leaders need to stop, take stock and recognize the fact that every homeless person on our streets is just as important as the person living in the best housing available. Homeless persons are citizens and constituents, and must not continually be defined as a problem.

I believe the Mayor's Commission on Homelessness provides us the opportunity to "re-boot" and approach the challenge in a much different, more comprehensive manner.

Time will tell.

I know one thing for sure: Dallas must do better.


 

"Tent City" and human dignity

100

If Dallas were 100 people. . .

• 24 would be below the poverty level
• 76 would be above
• 29 would be white
• 25 would be black
• 42 would be Hispanic
• 3 would be Asian
• 1 would be Other
• 9 travel less than 10 minutes to work
• 30 travel 10-19 minutes to work
• 23 travel 20-29 minutes to work
• 25 travel 30-44 minutes to work
• 13 travel 45 or more minutes to work
• 16 less than $15,000 in household income/benefits
• 26 $15,000 to $34,999 in household income/benefits
• 15 $35,000 to $49,999 in household income/benefits
• 17 $50,000 to $74,999 in household income/benefits
• 9 $75,000 to $99,999 in household income/benefits
• 9 $100,000 to $149,999 in household income/benefits
• 10 $150,000 or more in household income/benefits
• 39 with private health insurance
• 21 with public health insurance
• 31 no health insurance
• 9 other health insurance coverage
• 30 own home with mortgage
• 14 own home free and clear
• 56 rent
• DISD students:  70 Hispanic, 5 white, 23 black
• 85 DISD students economically disadvantaged
• 15 DISD students not economically disadvantaged
• 58 speak only English at home
• 38 speak only Spanish at home
• 2 speak other Indo-European languages at home
• 2 speak Asian and Pacific Island languages at home
• 1 speaks other language
• 14 less than 9th grade education
• 12 high school but didn't graduate
• 22 high school graduate
• 18 some college but no degree
• 9 associate's degree
• 18 bachelor's degree
• 11 graduate degree or higher
• 38 Evangelicals
• 14 Mainline Protestants
• 7 Historically black Protestant
• 15 Catholics
• 7 Other faiths
• 18 Unaffiliated
• 77 drive alone
• 11car pool
• 4 public transportation
• 2 walk
• 1 Bicycle
• taxi, motorcycle or other
• 4 work at home
• 83 work in Dallas County
• 17 work outside Dallas County

From a report in The Dallas Morning News (July 12, 2015)

Mayor Rawlings to share annual report. . .

Mayor Mike. . .a great leader!

Mayor 2014 from City of Dallas on Vimeo.

Housing First

The following report appeared in the Sunday, July 1, 2012 edition of The Dallas Morning News. "Housing first" and the work of CitySquare's Homeless Outreach Team is the focus. Not mentioned in the report are the details of a very creative, innovative alliance that involves Downtown Dallas, Inc. and CitySquare's Social Work Services department and our AmeriCorps team. Lots to think about here. As always, I'm eager to read your reactions!

Housing first, treatment later: Dallas homeless agencies experiment with new approach

CHRISTINA ROSALES

Grant Wells often wakes up on the back porch of his social worker’s house in East Dallas, having slept off a half-liter of vodka.

He is among the hardest of the hard-core homeless, an alcoholic who has been on the streets 20 years. And soon, he’ll move into his own, publicly subsidized apartment, without any prior obligation to get counseling or quit drinking. “We want to get him a home that’s near the bar,” said the social worker, Jonathan Grace, who has been on the case eight months. “It sounds strange, but that’s his comfort zone and those people there are his support system.” Wells is being placed through a method called “housing first,” in which people are moved directly from the streets into homes.

Advocates argue that housing is a basic human right — not a reward for getting sober. Critics say it’s unfair to charge people with the responsibility of caring for their own homes before helping them overcome demons such as alcohol and drug abuse. Several studies done in Seattle, New York and Denver showed the method ultimately saved taxpayers money by cutting the amount of emergency and legal services needed to care for the homeless. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Seattle participants in a housing-first program cost taxpayers more than $4,000 a month. After six months in a housing-first program, the 95 participants cost an average of $1,500 monthly. After a year, they cost about $950 per month. The researchers showed costs eventually dropped off the longer participants stayed in permanent housing — and took advantage of support services.

The approach has been adopted by several local advocacy groups for the homeless, but others remain unconvinced, saying they don’t have enough caseworkers to constantly monitor a population placed in housing before treatment. “I can’t get too excited about the idea,” said Liam Mulvaney, president and chief executive of LifeNet, a nonprofit that provides supportive housing for those who suffer from mental illness. He acknowledged that the housing-first approach works in Seattle and Los Angeles, but he says that’s because those cities have more resources. “If we constantly have to deal with someone being drunk or smoking pot or hearing voices, it’s distracting,” Mulvaney said. “That doesn’t seem like the best use of our already scarce resources.”

‘Washing Christ’s feet’

Wells, 59, and his caseworker make an unlikely pair: Grace, with long hair and a love for heavy metal; Wells, a homeless former Marine. Grace’s employer, the nonprofit group CitySquare, took on Wells’ case after watching him fish through trash bins in Deep Ellum for meals. Wells hasn’t read the research on housing first. He’s unaware of the method, other than it’ll help him settle into a home. Until then, he often finds a bed on Grace’s porch, usually barefoot after losing his shoes. Grace doesn’t seem to mind. He drags Wells inside to clean him up for his next appointment at the Veterans Affairs office, washing his bruised and battered feet.

“It’s the closest I’ll come to washing Christ’s feet,” Grace said. “It’s this disgusting, humbling thing. But I realize taking care of Grant is not a chore. It’s a blessing. “There shouldn’t be any degradation,” Grace said. “They are our neighbors and our friends.”

Wells could be just days away from moving into his new apartment through the Housing First Program with Veterans Affairs of North Texas. After that, according to the plan, he’ll get treatment to wean him from vodka. No matter how long that takes, he will have a home, said Teresa House-Hatfield, director of the Comprehensive Homeless Center at the Dallas VA Medical Center.

Nontraditional model

The housing-first approach was developed by New York researchers and social workers in the 1990s to target mentally ill and chronically homeless people. Since then, several nonprofits have adopted the method across the country, from New York to Los Angeles. In traditional models, the homeless are moved from the streets to shelters, shelters to transitional housing, and, finally, into permanent housing.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated $1.5 billion in grants for a three-year program to end homelessness through prevention and “rapid re-housing.” They called housing-first methods among the best for communities to end homelessness.

“We have to find ways to have less transition time before permanence,” said Mike Faenza, president and chief executive of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance. “The value in this is people are best served when they are secure, when they are in permanent housing.” A few organizations have adopted variations of housing first, including Metrocare Services in 2006. The VA first received funding for its program late last year, but started providing vouchers about a month ago.

In the spring, a housing campaign called 100,000 Homes linked several local homeless advocacy groups to identify some of those “vulnerable” homeless men and women who would benefit from housing first. The groups went to homeless encampments to find those who refuse shelter and treatment.

Advocates and social workers such as Grace have worked to connect those hard-core homeless to the VA or other nonprofits, some of which use housing first as a method. House-Hatfield said about 50 out of the 740 housing vouchers issued by the Dallas VA are going toward housing-first approaches. Most of the men and women who are part of the effort were using no veterans’ services or benefits previously.

“If you think about it, it makes all kinds of sense,” said Larry James, president of CitySquare. “How do you get control of your life if you’re still on the street? You spend so much of your time and energy figuring out where you can sit and where you can eat.”

Wells agreed. Giving up drinking while sleeping on the streets “doesn’t seem to work,” he said. In exchange for his housing, he’ll sign a lease and prove that he is chronically homeless and agree to weekly visit from social workers or nurses. Wells also will pay a maximum 30 percent of his monthly income for the apartment, or at least $50 a month. The rest will be covered by the Dallas Housing Authority. The staff of counselors and nurses cannot discharge veterans if they relapse, though veterans involved in illegal activity can face consequences with police or landlords.

“We continue to work with them despite their use or relapse,” House-Hatfield said. “Even if they fail to be successful at one apartment location, it doesn’t mean we’d give up on them. As long as they’d be willing to try.”

Different approaches

At other agencies, the approach remains traditional. At The Bridge, the city’s downtown homeless assistance center, social workers continue to use a recovery-based approach. Someone who walks into The Bridge isn’t given a set of keys. “It could take two months or it can take two years,” said Jay Dunn, president of The Bridge.

The homeless are given support to deal with mental illness, addictions and legal issues before they are eligible for housing. And once they do get permanent housing, data show a 90 percent rate of success.

“There isn’t a competition between the two approaches,” Dunn said, referring to housing models for the homeless. “I think we need all of these approaches for different people.”

AT A GLANCE: A picture of the homeless in Dallas

The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance conducts an annual census of the homeless population. The most recent count found:
• 407 individuals classified as “chronically homeless,” meaning they’ve been on the streets longer than one year and have a disability.
• 3,447 total individuals who were homeless.
• 496 adults who responded to surveys said they had children living with them on the night of the count.
• 8 families counted were identified as “chronically homeless” and include a parent with a disability. • 25 percent of those surveyed reported becoming homeless in the past year.

ANOTHER LOOK: Cheaper alternative

A recent study of the cost of caring for the homeless in Dallas found:
• It costs an average of about $39,000 annually to care for homeless individuals who require the most attention. That includes emergency treatment and trips to jail.
• A person can be housed and treated for $15,000 a year under housing-first methods.

Violent Weather. . .

Yesterday presented the grave challenge of extremely violent weather.  Thankfully, no one died.  The poor often suffer more than any in a crisis like this one. 

Plan for Public Education by Mayoral Candidate Mike Rawlings

Dallas mayoral candidate, Mike Rawlings is out with his plan for how the City of Dallas can help improve the Dallas Independent School District. 

Read the plan here. 

One interesting aspect of the Rawlings plan involves recruiting a volunteer army of senior citizens to assist in the schools. . .Rawlings says up to 300,000! 

One thing you can say for Mike, he dreams big. 

My experience working with him when he was homeless czar for Dallas confirmed that he puts his money and his effort where his mouth is. 

Interesting race at t his point.

Thoughts?

Poor folks Downtown, continued

As promised a couple of days ago, here's an essay by Dallas Observer columnist, Jim Schutze worthy of your consideration.  I'd love to hear from anyone who is better informed on this than I.  Anyone with a differnt understanding would be welcome to argue with the essay.   

City Hall's Desire For A Fancy Downtown (Without Too Many Poor People) Costs Developers $30 Million
By Jim Schutze Thursday, May 6 2010

Don Hill, the Dallas City Council member recently sent to federal prison for 18 years for bribery and corruption, didn't use a baseball bat on people.

He was a lawyer. He used parliamentary procedure.

The table, I call it. Hill knew developers always have a clock ticking—money sifting away like sand in an hourglass—so he tabled their issues at council, and re-tabled, and re-tabled until he got his way.

Hill got sent away. The table is still with us.

Take the curious case of Curtis Lockey, Craig MacKenzie and the LTV Tower 1600 Pacific Avenue building. Lockey and MacKenzie, who have long, serious résumés as commercial developers, tried to do a redevelopment deal that would conform to federal law.

But the people running downtown Dallas don't want developers to comply with federal law. Federal law requires a lot of low-income housing. Dallas wants fancier things downtown.

So Lockey and Mackenzie got tabled. They tell me the table cost them $30 million. Cash. Dead presidents.

To keep reading click here.

Census 2010 and Dallas, Texas

Recently, Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Pauline Medrano was named Vice Chair to the National 2010 Census Committee.

Please take a look at this link.

In Dallas, and in every other city, town, hamlet and rural location, taking part in the census is critical to our democracy and to the well-being of our communities.

Consider just how census data is used:

--Decision making at all levels of government.

--Drawing federal, state, and local legislative districts.

--Attracting new businesses to state and local areas.

--Distributing billions in federal funds and even more in state funds.

--Forecasting future transportation needs for all segments of the population.

--Planning for hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and the location of other health services.

--Forecasting future housing needs for all segments of the population.

--Directing funds for services for people in poverty.

--Designing public safety strategies.

--Development of rural areas.

--Analyzing local trends.

--Estimating the number of people displaced by natural disasters.

--Developing assistance programs for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

--Creating maps to speed emergency services to households in need of assistance.

--Delivering goods and services to local markets.

--Designing facilities for people with disabilities, the elderly, or children.

--Planning future government services.

--Planning investments and evaluating financial risk.

--Publishing economic and statistical reports about the United States and its people.

--Facilitating scientific research.

--Developing “intelligent” maps for government and business.

--Providing proof of age, relationship, or residence certificates provided by the Census Bureau.

--Distributing medical research.

--Reapportioning seats in the House of Representatives.

--Planning and researching for media as backup for news stories.

--Providing evidence in litigation involving land use, voting rights, and equal opportunity.

--Drawing school district boundaries.

--Planning budgets for government at all levels.

--Spotting trends in the economic well-being of the nation.

--Planning for public transportation services.

--Planning health and educational services for people with disabilities.

--Establishing fair market rents and enforcing fair lending practices.

--Directing services to children and adults with limited English language proficiency.

--Planning urban land use.

--Planning outreach strategies.

--Understanding labor supply.

--Assessing the potential for spread of communicable diseases.

--Analyzing military potential.

--Making business decisions.

--Understanding consumer needs.

--Planning for congregations.

--Locating factory sites and distribution centers.

--Distributing catalogs and developing direct mail pieces.

--Setting a standard for creating both public and private sector surveys.

--Evaluating programs in different geographic areas.

--Providing genealogical research.

--Planning for school projects.

--Developing adult education programs.

--Researching historical subject areas.

--Determining areas eligible for housing assistance and rehabilitation loans.

Plan now to get involved by promoting the census in your sphere of influence.

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Re:Vision Dallas makes Observer's cover!

Here's the latest on the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation's Re:Vision Dallas project--cover story in this week's edition of The Dallas Observer!

Big, big news!

Definitely worth your time.

Reactions would be appreciated.

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Penny wise, pound foolish

My dad always believed that you usually got what you paid for. As a result, he was never shy about paying a little more to move the quality needle upward. He knew that the additional investment would usually return to him, and then some.

I guess I've carried that notion into my own life. Certainly, I've not always been able to go for the best or the most expensive, but I have recognized the value of paying more today for an expected payoff later on.

All of the recent reports about the budget shortfall facing the City of Dallas and the City's plans to meet the funding shortage have me thinking about my dad.

So, I've done a little research on the City of Dallas, the current shortfall and the tax base for the city.

We are told that the shortfall will amount to $190 million for the next fiscal year. That represents 1/10 of the city's $1.9 billion spending plan to be approved by the City Council in September.

I got to thinking about that $190 million gap.

The City of Dallas' Tax Office told me when I called (they were extremely helpful, by the way) that the city received property tax payments from 390,932 taxpayers last year.

The city also receives funds from sales taxes and fees for various services, fines and permits. I realize that funding for the different departments and positions flows from various funds, each with complicating limitations and restrictions. The City's budget process is complicated.

Forgetting about these other sources of funding and the inherent complications for now, I calculate that if the property tax payers, all 390,932 of us, paid $486.02 more in property taxes this year lots of good things would happen in the city.

For example, all of the city employees (variously reported at between 900 and 1,300 individuals) who lost their jobs last Friday could be retained. Wonder what that would mean to their families and to the same tax base that pays their wages or to the status of their mortgages? Based on what I read in the news reports last Saturday morning, it sounds to me like the extra funds might not be needed for the entire year to maintain the city's full workforce. The City expects to be able to hire back many of those laid off within a few months, likely due to expected new sources of funds.

What's up with that? Why not raise taxes now, save all the jobs now, and next year pass along a tax reduction if that turns out to be possible?

No hours would need to be eliminated from the city's libraries or the swimming pools next summer or the recreation centers during the school year or the public health clinics. . .the list goes on and on.

$486.02.

Not an inconsiderable amount. And, I know, some would pay more based on the value of the home in question, but it's not a regressive system of taxation.

$486.02 at most. . .that works out to $40.50 per month or $9.35 a week or $1.33 daily. . .to save hundreds of jobs now, lost by my neighbors here in Dallas.

It appears to me that all of this pain and strain is being inflicted and endured so that we can all boast, "We balanced the budget without a tax increase!"

My dad wouldn't buy it. And, come to think of it, I bet my fellow citizens who lost their jobs wouldn't be celebrating either.

Lots of things are worse than an increase in taxes to support the common good, like, for instance, the overall decline of the common good.

I'd find it refreshing if our leaders reconsidered the challenge, got really responsible and levied a tax increase.

Maybe I'm just weird. But I come by it naturally. I got it from dad.
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Our river

If you live in Dallas or simply want to understand the city, its history and an important dimension of its psyche, you'll want to visit "Living with the Trinity," a multi-media project developed by KERA, our local PBS station.

I find the site a "must visit" on my Favorites list.

After you've had a chance to explore, let me know your impressions, questions, reactions, etc.

Convention Center Hotel: Good Analysis

If you are looking for sound analysis of the issues surrounding the proposed Convention Center hotel development that Dallas residents will vote on this coming Saturday, read what John Greenan writes here.

John serves as the Executive Director of the Central Dallas Community Development Corporation.

As usual, you'll find his insights smart and on-target.

To vote for the hotel, vote NO on the ballot!

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City Election: the hotel and so much more

Voters who live in the City of Dallas return to the polls on May 9 to decide the fate of Mayor Tom Leppert's proposed convention center hotel, as well as to set a course for significant development and renewal strategies going forward. Voters must decide between "yes" and "no" on two propositions.

Proposition One will amend the city charter to prohibit the City of Dallas from financing, constructing, acquiring, leasing or operating a hotel or other lodging facility. Here's another slightly confusing choice for voters. If you are against the Mayor's hotel plan, you vote "Yes" on the proposition. If you favor the plan for a new convention center hotel, you vote "No" on the proposition.

Proposition Two also amends the city's charter to prohibit the City of Dallas from "providing more than a total of $1,000,000 in financial assistance. . .to any private development project . . .unless the city gives at least 65 days’ public notice. . .before approving the financial assistance and obtains voter approval" to do so.

This idea is amazing to me. In short, every time the City of Dallas, via the action of its duly elected City Council, determines to invest in any development project valued over $1 million, it must submit such an action to the voters for approval!

Mayor Leppert is correct. Such a proposal would shut down development in the City of Dallas and stifle the city's leadership in promoting much needed development. Again, if you want to put the brakes on aggressive development and urban renewal, vote "Yes." If you want to keep things open and free to our elected officials, vote "No."

A word about Tom Leppert. If you live in Dallas, you've seen the professional media blitz every day on television. The ads are very well done, but carry a negative, divisive message that our city doesn't need. Specifically objectionable to me, and to thousands of others who know this mayor, is the accusation that Mayor Leppert is "arrogant." Nothing could be further from the truth in my experience over the past two years. I and a number of others here at CDM, as well as numerous of our partners, have worked closely with the mayor and his team on many issues, including homelessness, affordable housing, public education, health and human services and emergency preparedness to mention just a few. We have learned that Tom Leppert is a wise, smart dedicated leader who wakes up every day thinking of the interests of all of our citizens in every corner of our city.

On a personal note, I don't think that I've ever met a better listener than Tom Leppert.

To call him arrogant is not only untrue, it is offensive.

What about the hotel our mayor wants to build?

I can't see the downside.

Hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction. Hundreds more permanent jobs will follow in the operations phase. New convention business will be attracted to the city. The proposed development will encourage more activity and renewal Downtown. In short, the plan is a great investment in the future of our city's core and its overall enterprise.

Even Steve Blow thinks the idea has merit! And, he is convinced our mayor is an honest man and a great leader, as he lays out here.

Because I want a big "Yes" for my hometown, I will vote "No" on both propositions come May 9.

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Conversations about my poorest friends--1

For a long time I've wished there were a way to carry on a conversation with those who visit this site on a regular basis.

Thanks to video technology, we can now get half-way there!

This is my first foray into video blogging. We'll see how it goes!

There is little effort here to be anything but informal, as would be the case if you visited me in my office where this was shot.

I'd love your reactions!



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Systemic decisions. . .systemic results

The children of Dallas, Texas grow up in at least two very different communities.

At a meeting not long ago, I sat transfixed, staring at the E. T. look-alike outline of the map of our city. The red portion of the city map indicated areas of high poverty. The green sections marked out the affluent parts of town.

The red overwhelms the green, as well as the "in between" sections of blue.

The facts back of the colors startle anyone who cares about quality of life issues and the city.

Consider:

Poverty among households with children--almost 50% of the households in South Dallas proper; over 25% in the much larger Southern Sector; and a little above 15% in the Northern Sector.

Jobs per 1,000 people--a little under 300 in South Dallas; right at 200 in the Southern Sector; almost 900 in the Northern Sector.

Annual payroll (in billions)--way, way under one in the South Dallas; a little above 4 in the Southern Sector; a bit above 35 in the Northern Sector.

Houses older than 50 years--over 60% in South Dallas; just under 40% in the Southern Sector; 20% in the Northern Sector.

People with less than a high school diploma--right at 50% in South Dallas; 45% in the Southern Sector; a click above 20% in the Northern Sector.

Average SAT scores--to the north, 1102; in the south, 777.

Care to venture a guess as to which sector is doing better?

Our city's history of racism, classism and segregation, as well as our unwillingness to confront our past and to craft just policies and provide adequate resources to address these crippling problems, explains much of this hard reality.

We've much work to do. Much needs to change in the way things are set up and systematized.

[SOURCE: Institute for Urban Policy Research, University of Texas--Dallas]

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A wish list for 2009

By this time next year I wish. . .

. . .that the U. S. Congress will have enacted comprehensive immigration reform that would provide for the documentation of the millions of Mexican and Central American immigrants who currently work hard to keep things going in our nation without the protection and benefit of legal status. In this regard, I hope that early in 2009 the Congress will send the D. R. E. A. M. Act to President Obama for his signature. The children of undocumented immigrants, like many of my young friends whom I've written about here so often, need protection and legal status so they can remain in the United States as they pursue higher education, military service or both.

. . .that a major part of any economic stimulus package passed by the new Congress and signed into law by the new President will include significant provisions for expanded workforce training programs that are accessible in every major urban center in the nation and that are designed to assist low-income citizens to gain the skills needed to obtain and hold a living wage job.

. . .that the federal government, in cooperation with states and local urban municipalities, will provide significant tax rebates and subsidies to encourage the pursuit of green energy production by business, private and public sectors in an aggressive manner that encourages and achieves scale as quickly as possible. Note: due to differing tax structures, a state-by-state policy approach will be required. Time for new thinking.

. . .that the federal government will create partnerships with local community-based organizations with proven track records in workforce training to create "green job corps" whose members will be enabled to lead the way in turning urban communities green while creating millions of new, livable wage jobs.

. . .that the City of Dallas will see the wisdom of providing increased funding for affordable housing development, including scalable permanent supportive housing for the homeless, out of its general revenue budget over and above what outside sources of revenue currently generate.

. . .that local leaders will make a compelling case for using some of the promised economic stimulus funds to expand and "fast forward" plans for DART, our light rail public transportation system, to the end that the system is built out more aggressively across more of our community with special attention given to connecting neglected areas of the city to the whole.

. . .that faith communities of every variety would embrace a renewed concern for the poor that translates into effective action in terms of both meaningful service and unifed aggitation for systemic public policy reform.

. . .that everyone in Dallas would come together to make sure the Dallas Independent School District would work in an optimal way for every student.

. . .that the State of Texas would reform the Department of Health and Human Services so that it would get back to actually providing needed care, intervention and support for the poor, our children and our most vulnerable citizens.

Ambitious, you say?

Sure.

Hope does that to a soul!

What's on your list?

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Homeless and lost

Can you imagine being in the situtation described below?

How does this happen to a person?

How does community break down so terribly around us?

A thousand "little" decisions, good and bad, when strung together can result in the loss of a life.

What might have happened had we been able to provide this man a home? How might his story have been different?

What opportunity to change a life, make a difference will I encounter, but miss, today?

God have mercy on us. God help us to do better as we count our many blessings.

"I received a notice that a homeless veteran by the name of J. L. Sharpe, born January 27, 1957 was struck and killed in an accident while walking along Stemmons Freeway October 17, 2008. Mr. Sharpe spent a short time in the Army in the 1970’s. He was wearing a plastic black watch on his arm and a blue lighter in his pocket, but there appears to be no information regarding where he was born, what he did for a living, or even what J.L. stands for.

"He will be buried Wednesday, November 26, 2008 at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery at 10:30 am in Lane A.

"Dignity Memorial Homeless Veteran Burial Program has made all arrangements. Does anyone have any information regarding this person?"

Ron Cowart
City of Dallas, Crisis Intervention Division

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