Stream of consciousness, random thoughts on deep poverty

Dallas' "Tent City" mushroomed over night because of two things:  trash dumpsters and port-o-potties.  Homeless people spend their days looking for food, a place to rest/sit, restroom facilities and a bed.  When the city provided a place to manage biological realities and a place to throw away trash, it didn't create new homeless persons.  It simply provided the solution to one major problem and it provided for trash management at the encampment that grew up nearby.  Tent City reminds me that homeless persons are just that, persons.  Persons who, like me, need a restroom every day, several times.  Remove that basic need and I'll camp out near the solution. 

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Landlords and property owners contribute to the problems facing homeless persons because they routinely discriminate on the basis of "payer source," that is from what source a person pays the rent.  Housing dollars go unspent monthly--I estimate between 25-30% of what the local Continuum of Care has to spend on housing the homeless because those in charge of the housing units won't rent to our homeless neighbors with whom we work. Closing this gap would provide housing if not for all, for almost all who live in Tent City.  Something to think about:  is this a civil rights issue?  

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Dallas definitely needs to include funding for permanent supportive housing development in the upcoming 2017 bond issue.  And that provision needs to be to the tune of $100 million. 

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Homerless shelters need to become extremely aggressive "triage" centers with established goals to move people into permanent housing in no longer than 30 days.  This system change would turn 100 shelter beds into 1,200 over a year.  Prerequisite:  ample supply of permanent supportive housing that employs a Housing First strategy.

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Apparently, the Texas Rangers Baseball club no longer advertises for payday lenders!  No signs on the outfield walls or anywhere else in the building.  Progress!

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Downtown Dallas, Inc. could really help the homeless presence in the CBD by reinstating homeless outreach workers as a part of the strategy to care for the very poor and the very rich investors.  Just sayin'.

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The more I am around Dallas City Council member Casey Thomas, the more I like him.

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Living without a home is a genuine trauma crisis.

 

Enough.

 

Bethlehem and housing

Bethlehem, it has me thinking today.

About that young couple. 

Can you imagine? 

I know with certainty that the experience had nothing in common with our typical, pristine images of bucolic sweetness and peace!

Joseph, the one who heard from angels, even Gabriel, did his best, but he found no housing for his young bride and their soon-to-arrive son.

He settled for a stable stall and made the best of it.  Really not so different from trying to begin a family under the I-45 bridge here in Dallas. 

An experience like many of my friends live through every night.

Just such a homeless world greeted the baby Jesus.  

However, some don't make it through the night. 

A few nights ago here in the city, an evil person murdered a woman who tried to live in this manger-like environment.    Possibly motivated by some deep mental illness--produced by the street or arising from something equally terrible before the street, who knows?--her killer found it easy to take advantage of the wide open vulnerability of life lived without housing.  

Not much protection available when you have no place to call home.

My friend died a horrible death.

Why?

Like that young couple so long ago, she had no housing--there was "no room in the inn" for her.

As I reflect on the concept and reality of Bethlehem, I realize how important housing is to safety and life.  Housing is a human right, not some option provided by charitable hearts. 

I also realize where God lines up on all aspects of this reality.  The Jesus story reveals that God encountered life as we know it, and God began at the very bottom. 

Where else is there for us to begin?

Christmas thoughts.

Hassled

Last Thursday a Dallas Marshall harassed me as I sat on the steps of Billy Merendino's old, abandoned house at the corner of Dawson and Malcolm X.

Nathan Rivers, Wendy and I were just sitting on the porch talking.  Nathan was finishing up his lunch, an entire rotisserie chicken!

During the course of his meal, Nathan shared a great one liner on his approach to the streets:  "Yeah Larry, I walk softly and carry a big thought," he declared.  "I look a long time before I leap!"  

As we discussed Nathan's attempt to get off the streets and out of "the walk in," a Marshall's car passed by very slowly with the two officers giving the three of us a careful once over.

As the squad car pulled away, Nathan remarked, "Larry, they would have stopped if you hadn't been sitting here."  

"Really?" I replied.

"You don't believe me?"  Nathan asked.  "The only reason they didn't stop is because you were sitting here."

"Because I'm white?" I pressed him.

"Yes sir, that's right," he answered.

Our conversation changed gears a bit as we discussed racism, profiling and how homeless persons are constantly hassled and shoved away from almost everywhere.

"Lots of patrol cars out here today," Nathan observed.  "They must be doing a 'sweep' or something." 

About 15 minutes later the same two marshals pulled slowly toward us.  This time the car stopped and the officer lowered his window.  Neither officer said a word.  The driver simply pointed his finger at me and motioned for me to come over to the car.

I suppose I was a bit surprised.

"Me?" I asked.

He simply shook his head and nodded yes.

He also pointed to Nathan, skipping over Wendy, and motioned for him to come over as well.

We did as he instructed, moving over to the side of the car.

He asked for ID, which we both produced.

"Do you own this house?" he asked me, the first words he had spoken.

"No, my friend Billy at the gas station here owns the house," I answered, pointing to the station next door.

"Do you have permission to sit here," he went on.

"Yes, I do," I replied, as I turned toward the old service station and called out to Billy for his assistance.

As Billy walked over, the marshal turned to Nathan and asked, "What about you?" 

As he attempted to explain Billy's hospitality, Billy leaned into the car and confirmed that the three of us were all his guests.

The officer handed back our identification documents, rolled up the window and drove away without a word.

Nathan spun out a calm, sad commentary on what had just happened.

"They drove around the corner and got their nerve up and came back and confronted you, Larry.  It happens to us every day.  There just ain't no place for us to go" he said.

Nathan had been to court that very morning to clear up a warrant for a "crime" he committed 7 years ago.

"What was the offense, " I asked him.

"'Sleeping in a public place'" he informed me.

"I'm such a criminal, Larry!"  he joked as I noted his eyes filling with tears.  "I'm as harmless as a teddy bear, Larry, really."

For his offense the judge directed that he do several hours of public service.  He plans to volunteer at the CitySquare Food Pantry.  He will be welcomed gladly.

As I've reflected on the day, our conversation, the marshals and the sadness, my emotions  ranged from anger, to disgust, to sadness, to shame, to resignation.

One thing I know for certain:  most of us have no clue as to how hard it is to be extremely poor and alone on the streets of a city like Dallas, Texas.

We simply must do better than this.

Futuristic Housing New Orleans Style

Back in the November 2009 issue of The Atlantic, Wayne Curtis offered a great report on housing renewal in New Orleans since Katrina.  Worth taking a look.  Could be lessons for the entire country. 

Reactions invited!

Houses of the Future


Four years after the levee failures, New Orleans is seeing an unexpected boom in architectural experimentation. Small, independent developers are succeeding in getting houses built where the government has failed. And the city's unique challenges—among them environmental impediments, an entrenched culture of leisure, and a casual acquaintance with regulation—are spurring design innovations that may redefine American architecture for a generation.

To read the entire essay click here.

"Not Welcome" in Frisco

What follows is a report on a propsed affordable housing development in Frisco, Texas, a far North Dallas suburban and one of the most affluent communities in the nation.  The report describes a plan to open up living options to low-income persons. 


The reaction of a rather large number of Frisco citizens is interesting, but not too surprising to me. 


Read it and let me know what you think. 

Here's how the report begins: 

Frisco affordable housing plan gains board's support but meets resistance
Friday, February 12, 2010
By VALERIE WIGGLESWORTH / The Dallas Morning News

In a first of its kind effort, Frisco is helping developers build affordable housing with money from a nonprofit in Dallas.

The catch: The partnership with Inclusive Communities Project Inc. requires some of the low-income apartments be available first to certain Dallas Housing Authority clients with Section 8 vouchers.

That has some people in this affluent suburb concerned.

"How does this help residents of Frisco?" asked Mark Walsh, who raised concerns in an e-mail to his neighbors. "It's helping Dallas Housing Authority people to move to Frisco."

Betsy Julian, president of the nonprofit, said Dallas residents want what everyone wants: attractive communities with amenities, good schools and low crime rates. Frisco fits that bill.

"Our mission is to promote healthy inclusive communities, and if there's no affordable housing, it's not an inclusive community," she said.

The two apartment complexes proposed on vacant lots in Frisco are dependent on acceptance into the state's Housing Tax Credit program. The competitive program provides federal tax incentives for developments with rents at below-market rates. Developers in the Dallas region have applied for more than $92 million in tax credits for 60 projects. The state has about $10 million available for the region this year.

To read the entire report click here.

What would it be like to live in a community with continual awareness that you and yours were regarded as "a real problem"?