So proud of my dear friend, Rev. Gerald Britt and so is The Dallas Morning News!

Check this out!

Strong backs, unbroken spirits

[A slightly edited version of the following post appeared in yesterday's edition of The Dallas Morning News.]

Homeless people are human beings.   

As such, they must find restroom facilities.  They must satisfy their hunger.  They must identify places where they can sit and rest periodically.  And, just like me, they need at least a modest amount of capital to survive, even if hand to mouth.   

Most of my friends, who experience life today without a place to call home, face tough odds when it comes to landing a job.  Earning money is a huge challenge when your home base is an emergency, night shelter or worse, the hard, mean streets.  The countless day-to-day details and challenges of poverty this deep exhaust my capacity to comprehend. 

Like all human beings homeless people make mistakes.  By comparison, the mistakes I make seem to be much more forgiving than the missteps of a person so poor that they have no place to call home.  The social safety net beneath my feet is so strong and woven so tightly that my missteps don’t affect me for very long.  Such is not the case with my very poor friends who need a place to live.   

Recently, during a Dallas City Council Quality of Life Committee meeting, we heard harsh words about some of our weakest neighbors from more than one elected official.  Frustration over “panhandlers” escalated to the extreme counsel that the city needed to get tough on people who beg for money on our streets.  “Break their backs break their spirit — that’s the only way we’re going to win this battle,” one city council member demanded of police. Referencing the negative impact the presence of beggars had on business interests in his district and extremely frustrated, this otherwise, sensible, measured member of city leadership erupted in anger.  

Homelessness frustrates everyone who knows anything about, including and most especially those who live in its terrible grip. 

I would suggest that the person I meet on the street who begs for pocket change or a meal already has had his/her spirit broken at least to some extent.  I also know that the remedy to the frustrating reality of people begging on our streets will not be found by throwing folks in jail.   

So, what can we do? 

First, we need aggressive, stepped up outreach to chronically homeless persons who live on our streets.  The goal would be to assess vulnerability and to secure every available benefit for this segment of our community, including disability income, health care, SNAP (food stamps), shelter and ultimately permanent supportive housing.  This will require political will, an increase in public funding, and additional case workers from the public and non-profit sectors who willingly work together to deliver relief and hope.  The return on such investment for everyone would be substantial. 

Second, we must realize that our jails can no longer be allowed to serve as the public mental health system for the poorest people among us. Adequate funding for our mental health system would dramatically improve the “quality of life” all of us experience on our streets.   We’re paying today for three decades of under-investment in these vital services.

Third, we must develop hundreds of additional units of permanent supportive housing for those who live in shelters and/or on the streets of our city.  No matter how effectively we may intervene in the lives of people so poor that they are forced to beg on our streets, without real housing we will not achieve the outcomes we all desire.   

Homelessness frustrates everyone who knows anything about it.  Business owners and merchants, law enforcement personnel, homeowners in crossroads neighborhoods, drivers stopped at traffic lights at busy, urban intersections, couples out for an evening downtown—all share concern and some aggravation at the presence of homeless persons who beg for assistance.  However, none are more frustrated than those who know homelessness as a personal, defining experience and reality.  

Rather than breaking human backs and human spirits, the better approach would involve us in straightening and strengthening backs and restoring spirits as a community distinguished by its radical care for all of its members. 

 

Payday Lenders Move Loans to Avoid Law

As I've noted on this page in the past, Rev. Gerald Britt leads the way in the public policy work orchestrated by CitySquare.  Among the issues we've tackled is the impact of payday lenders on low-income persons and households. 

Earlier this year the Dallas City Council, led by Council Member Jerry Allen, passed two of the most restrictive payday lending ordinances in the nation.  We are most grateful for Mr. Allen's leadership on this crucial issue.

Now, to avoid compliance with the new laws, payday lending companies are moving their loans into suburban offices where the limits on operations are not yet in place. 

You will be able to view a report by WFAA Channel 8 on the issue and recent developments here or in the frame below. 

The fight continues!

Celebrating leadership!

2011 Inaugural Celebration of
the Mayor and City Council

Monday, June 27, 2011

10 a.m. (doors open at 9 a.m.)


Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center


2310 Flora Street, Dallas, Texas 75201

Latest news on the Plaza Inn: CDM steps back. . .homeless likely the losers

Dallas Morning News' reporter, Roy Appleton published an update story on the Plaza Inn in today's edition. Read it here.

As the story reveals, Central Dallas Ministries stepped out of the project in face of neighborhood opposition. Hopefully, Hamilton Properties Corporation will be able to carry forward the tax credit process that we began. The application that the Hamiltons now pick up received the highest preliminary score in the state of Texas for this year's round of credit awards.

If successful, it appears that the project will result in many, much-needed units of affordable housing for working people who desire to live Downtown.

The only downside from my point of view is the fact that it is now doubtful that any of the new units will be set aside for permanent supportive housing, a type of housing Dallas must find a way to develop if we are to realistically address the problem homelessness in our city.

As Appleton's report notes, we wish Larry and Ted Hamilton well, and we'll do whatever we can to assist them. At the same time, we'll roll up our sleeves and continue working to develop needed housing for our community's poorest citizens.

Thanks to Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert for stepping in to get the proposal at least another month for consideration before the final City Council vote on March 25.

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More housing for the homeless--likely a round we lose

You can have a look at the current status of our plans to upgrade and renovate the old Plaza Inn at I-30 and S. Akard here in Downtown Dallas on last night's Channel 11 CBS TV.

From the start we knew that without neighborhood support the plan would not be possible due to the scoring rules imposed by the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) in Austin on the one hand, and the local political reality on the other.

As it turns out, our application received the highest score in the entire state for this round of low-income housing tax credit funding. So, we might have gotten the deal funded without neighborhood backing, had that been our attitude and style.

Then, there is the question of what constitutes "the neighborhood" and "the neighbors" in this case. I'm not at all sure that the Cedars Neighborhood Association (powered by an "overwhelming" 54 total votes in the poll to determine the fate of our deal--we received 15 favorable votes) is very representative of the community in question. Hundreds of people live and work in the area.

Several hundred of our neighbors call the Dallas Life Foundation emergency shelter home every night. Wonder how they would vote on the plan to create homes for those who don't have them? Or, how about those who walk the streets of the Cedars area daily and nightly? I wonder about the hundreds of police officers who work at the new Dallas Police Headquarters building. How would they feel about an upgrade for the old Plaza Inn, now shut down by its owners and soon to be boarded up?

We are of the opinion that the state rule ought to be changed in regard to the weight given community responses to solid real estate plans, especially those benefitting very low income homeless persons. And, frankly, I should have done a better job thinking this all through before we started. Like most deal opportunities of this nature, there just wasn't enough time to cover all the bases. We never had the intention of ramming something through, though some charged us of employing such tactics.

Then, there is the political reality. Without the supportive vote of Council Member Pauline Medrano, we will not get the City Council approval we need next Wednesday when our leaders take up the issue.

I continue to wish that we could find a way, acceptable to all parties, to get just one more month for conversation with the neighborhood.

If we could get a positive vote on Wednesday, February 25 from the City Council, the Cedars Neighborhood Association could send their letter of opposition to the TDHCA. We would continue to negotiate in good faith until the next and final council vote on the matter on March 25. If we couldn't convince the community to support us by then, we would commit to withdraw our proposal and go away. If we did convince the Cedars' group, they could withdraw their letter of opposition and we could all go forward together to improve the neighborhood.

Nothing lost in this approach but one month, and $10,000 in contract costs on our part and lots of additional effort. Those are losses we are willing to incur.

The way it looks today, everyone loses:

. . .the city that needs 700 new units of permanent supportive housing according to its recently approved plan will turn down the first viable project since their vote to go forward with this new housing commitment less than a month ago. . .

. . .the homeless who need a place to call home. . .

. . .the Cedars community that needs to see the old hotel re-done before it deteriorates even further. . .

. . .and Central Dallas Community Development Corporation. We just want to see the heart of Dallas changed for everyone who works and lives there, including the extremely poor.

I wish I could hear some positive vibes from Cedars' folk.

It is not too late, but you are in control.

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What's in a name? Plenty, actually!

Dallas can be a downright confusing place in which to live. In some ways, it's even worse when you've been here most all of your life.

Take the Cesar Chavez naming controversy that's been in the news since last summer.

Here's a summary.

With the Trinity River project going forward, the City decided to have a contest to rename Industrial Boulevard. Given all the new development, the anticipated park land and the rebirth of the Trinity River and its corridor, a new name seemed appropriate. You know, something like "Riverside Drive" or "Park Lake Lane."

Right?

Well no, wrong.

The name that won, and won overwhelmingly, was Cesar Chavez, the iconic Latino labor and civil rights leader of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s era and value-vision. In the Hispanic community Chavez holds the place of Dr. King, as should both for the entire nation in terms of how their lives affected needed change, progress and the further realization of justice in the nation as a whole.

Not hard to see how the name of Mr. Chavez won out in the contest, what with the growing Hispanic population in our community and the dearth of Latino street names to celebrate the various achievements of folks who shared this ethnic heritage.

But, our city leaders see it differently. Last week they voted to go with the name "Riverfront." In addition, they turned back the suggestion that Ross Avenue be renamed after the civil rights leader. The argument being that changing historic designations like the use of a family name of a prominent figure in the history of Dallas would be inappropriate. Needless to say, the Hispanic members of the City Council--Dr. Elba Garcia, Pauline Medrano, and Steve Salazar--were not pleased.

Alternative suggestions are now floating about, including the idea to rename the Dallas Farmers Market after Chavez, possibly a fitting tribute to a leader who did so much to ease the burden for so many farm workers.

Even The Dallas Morning News' editorial board expressed concern over the snub to Hispanic Dallasites. You can read their opinion here.

But, back to being from Dallas.

There are lots of street names here, mostly Anglo, though we do have our M. L. King Boulevard and Malcolm X Boulevard. Even our freeways hold out lots of prominent Anglo names: George H. W. Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson, Woodall Rogers, John Stemmons, John Carpenter, R. L. Thornton.

Hmmm. That last one is interesting.

"R. L. Thornton. "

Robert L. Thornton, to be exact.

I grew up hearing my dad speak fondly of "Uncle Bob" Thornton. Thornton served as Dallas Mayor from 1953 to 1961. He was president of the Dallas County State Bank and a prominent business and civic figure in the city.

What's really interesting is the fact that, like most Dallas leaders of the era, Thornton was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Thornton's firm proudly advertised in local media that the bank he led was a "KKK business firm 100%" (see Michael Phillips, White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Relgion In Dallas, 1841-2001, University of Texas Press, page 96).

I'm sure "Uncle Bob" did a lot of good back in the day for folks who looked about like me. But I suspect that African American, Mexican American, Catholic and Jewish folks didn't get along quite as well under his leadership.

I don't know, but a little digging into these Anglo street and freeway names might not be such a bad idea. Maybe brushing up on the history of our city might take the luster off of some of the old names we seem so bound and determined to hang on to.

Of course, I don't see why we can't rename Main, Elm, Commerce or Pacific after Cesar Chavez. It's not like we don't have lots of options. In my view, it would be a really good thing to have the memory of Cesar Chavez running right through the middle of Downtown Dallas.

What do you think?

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Live in Dallas? Action needed!

Urgent Action MEMO

To: Readers residing in Dallas, Texas
From: Larry James
Subject: City of Dallas FY 08-09 Budget

Message: We have work to do with our Mayor and City Council members. The City Manager of Dallas is recommending cuts in the city’s budget that will have devastating effects on programs that affect the poor and the elderly in our community.

WE MUST ACT NOW!

IMPACTS:

1. People Helping People. A city initiative providing much needed repairs to homes owned mainly by Dallas’ lowest income senior adults, as well as disabled citizens.

Challenge: The budget for this program totals $1,232,284.00. Currently, People Helping People is set to be cut completely from the proposed FY08-09 budget. This would be a blow to several hundred Dallas homeowners annually who need the assistance.

From October 2006 through June 9, 2008 (20 months), this important city program restored and improved almost 700 homes.

The program leverages thousands of hours of volunteer involvement among the faith, civic and business communities in Dallas.

The suggested cuts would be a blow to the Housing Department. This proposal is inconsistent with the city’s stated goal of building capacity inside the Housing Department for the sake of maintaining and developing the city's affordable housing stock.

Action: Contact your council member, and other council members. Voice your support for the People Helping People program. Please email, call, write, and/or visit with members of the City Council today!

2. General Fund Allocation to the Housing Department.

Challenge: Our Housing Department receives less than 1/10th of 1 percent of the annual city budget of over $2.6 billion. Earlier this year, the Mayor’s Work Group on Affordable Housing recommended to the City Council’s Housing Committee an increase in the Housing Department’s allocation from the General Fund to at least ½ of 1 percent of the overall funding plan or approximately $13 million for FY08-09.

The city must invest more of its General Fund dollars in affordable housing if we are to reach our goals as a community.

Case Study: Seattle, Washington, budgets well over $40 million annually for its housing efforts. Dallas, approximately twice the size of Seattle, budgets approximately $22 million annually, with all but $2.5 million of that amount coming from the Federal Government (assuming funding for People Helping People this budget cycle).

Action: Again, please email, call, write, visit with members of the City Council.

The Dallas City Council is in recess during July, but will reconvene in August. Approval of the budget will conclude at the end of September.

Please take action today!

Pass this information along to your network of friends and associates.

To obtain contact information for your district's council member, go to: http://www.dallascityhall.com/.

14-1, inclusion and a lesson in Dallas history

If you want to read an informed, brief summary of the history of the advancement of civil rights and participatory democracy in Dallas, Texas, you must read the Op-Ed piece published Wednesday, June 25, 2008 by The Dallas Morning News that my dear friend and partner, Rev. Gerald Britt wrote.

Click on the title line above to get to the link.

Gerald has been making a difference in Dallas for a long, long time, and he is still a young man!

Reactions invited.

Share with a friend.


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Not in our neighborhood—role reversal

Almost twenty years ago, Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price caused quite a stir when he began a campaign to drive liquor billboard advertisements out of South Dallas. Mr. Price whitewashed a number of billboards himself as a way to call attention to the inordinate number of such signs in his district. He also pointed out the presence of far too many establishments with licenses to sell alcohol in his part of town. As a minister in far North Dallas at the time, I remember cheering him on, to the chagrin of some of my own parishioners.

More recently, protest efforts, community organizing and legal action have combined to focus attention on the area around and between Lincoln High School and Pearl C. Anderson Learning Center. The area immediately around Pearl C. is home to 10 liquor stores.

Not long ago, one of the stores lost its license to sell alcohol. The community celebrated the decision by Dallas County Clerk Cynthia Calhoun to close Buy N Save Discount Beer & Wine. Unfortunately, her decision was overturned last week by a Dallas County judge who cited “procedural errors” in the ruling and sent the case back to the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC). The TABC could decide to renew the store’s license or call for another public hearing on the matter.

Since the mid-1990s, neighbors, school leaders and students have been working to get the stores closed due to their proximity to the schools. In 1995, their efforts paid off as the Dallas City Council passed an ordinance that established a 1,000-foot alcohol free zone around specified schools.

Unfortunately, the existing stores were “grandfathered” and allowed to continue business inside the zone around Pearl C.

All sorts of negative activities have been reported and documented as occurring in and around stores like Buy N Save that do business in the Lincoln/Pearl C. area, including prostitution, selling alcohol to minors and drug trafficking. For years, students walking to and from school have been subjected to all sorts of negative experiences, influences and harassment.

Neighbors and school leaders have been vigilant in their protests and watchfulness, but the stores remain.

I’m reminded of Mr. Price’s earlier actions on behalf of some of the same families, and his entire district.

Why should South Dallas be subjected to such influences? Folks in North Dallas wouldn’t put up with such circumstances even for a moment. What's more, they would be heard. Folks in South Dallas don't seem to get the same sort of hearing, attention or responsiveness from public officials as those who live up North.

If you live in Dallas, write your Council Member, as the Council is considering the creation of more alcohol-free zones around other public schools in the city.

[For more details, see “Move against beer store near school reversed,” by Scott Goldstein, The Dallas Morning News, Thursday, March 22, 2007, page 8B.]