Help with annual homeless census

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: David Gruber, Development Manager, MDHA

469-222-0047, David.Gruber@mdhadallas.org 

 

2015 Point-In-Time (PIT) Homeless Count

This Thursday, January 22, 2015

 

Dallas, Texas – If you happen to be standing in front of Dallas City Hall this coming Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 5pm, you will see an interesting sight. A few hundred people will gather in front of the building, only to then fan out into the night. Their mission? To count and survey those in our community who are experiencing homelessness. The Point-In-Time (PIT) Homeless Count in Dallas is conducted by the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), and is a requirement under U.S. Law. 

 

In fact, during the final ten days of January such counts will take place in every community across our nation. The PIT, which occurs every year, allows communities and the nation as whole to track progress towards ending homelessness, and gather vital data about the needs of those experiencing homelessness. Dallas and the nation as a whole are committed to ending veteran homelessness this year and chronic homelessness next year.

 

Here in Dallas, MDHA’s grantees and partner agencies count guests and residents in shelters and housing sites, while the above mentioned community volunteers, escorted by Dallas police officers, locate and count those living elsewhere. Similar counts are conducted the same night by the Collin County Homeless Coalition and by the cities of Garland, Irving and Mesquite, who are all part the Dallas area Continuum of Care organization, which is led by MDHA.

 

MDHA still needs volunteers for this huge operation, which in Dallas is subsidized by the Real Estate Council Foundation. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, should wear clothing appropriate for the weather and comfortable shoes, and bring a flashlight, a pen, and a clipboard.

 

SIGN UP HERE TO TODAY TO VOLUNTEER:
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0a4ea8ae2aa02-2015

 

For questions, contact Shavon Moore, at shavon.moore@mdhadallas.org or 972.638.5627  

 

Capital and wages

CEO of major U. S. company "gets it" thanks to Piketty! 

Read all about it here. 

Living with a bridge over your head. . .

My friend, Patrick Kennedy started the debate over a year ago.  His "crazy idea" to tear down the-badly-in-need-of-repair I-345 bridge to re-route traffic through Downtown Dallas gained legs and continues to spark a lively community argument. 

Patrick has lots of allies.  And, I find the idea one worth more conversation for sure.

The move promises to bring more economic development to the center city.  I'd like it much better, to the point of excitement, if I had confidence that the planners and deal makers would include low-income folks in the planning, especially as it relates to the development of much-needed housing stock for low-income and no-income residents. 

DMagazine this month has a word from its publisher, Wick Allison.  Wick is all for the tear down ( "Breaking the Concrete Noose,"  DMagazine, January 2015, page 13).  I respect his perspective.  His arguments are convincing, especially as they relate to economic development and expansion Downtown. 

There is a lot of wasted space beneath those interstate bridges.  Routing folks through and, in very different case of I-30, around the city makes all sorts of sense from economic and quality of life considerations.

That said, the chances of something this creative happening seems remote to me. 

That sad assessment of what's possible in reality sent me off in pursuit of a real dream development! 

This happens to me all the time. 

Tell me no or go away or forget it, and what do I do?  I press harder and toward even more extreme "solutions." 

Sorry, it's just me.

So, about all that wasted space beneath the bridges near Downtown.  How is it used today? 

Well, it appears fair game for graffiti artists, blowing trash tossed out carelessly from speeding traffic and, yes, people who set up encampments because they have no place to call home. 

Homeless people live under our overpass highway bridges all over this city.  Walk under any of these bridges where you find dry ground.  You'll find squatters who prefer their freedom of choice and habit to night shelters. 

Here's my crazy, big "what if?"

What if we developed these under-spaces with housing units for some of our poorest neighbors? 

Think about that for just a moment--give me 30-45 seconds at least!

Combine the work of a creative architect and a land planner to develop a housing concept for these under-freeway dwellings. 

Sign on area non-profits who specialize in high touch concierge services/counsel for prospective residents.  Work with local business owners to help locate some of these folks in jobs Downtown and elsewhere, thanks to DART. 

The effect would not bring more homeless persons Downtown.  If anything, close-in housing would attract chronically homeless, vagrant types to become residents. 

What do you have when you add an apartment to the life experience of a homeless person?  A person with a home, and therefore one less homeless person on our streets. 

Housing under our streets, not on them! 

Any designers, architects and land planners want to take a stab at "underpass housing" sketches for me?  I'll publish them here and on all my social media if you'll just send them my way! 

Dreaming of a better city.

 

Homelessness should be illegal

You read me correctly. 

We should pass laws that make being homeless a crime in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. 

The idea is not a new one.  More and more people talk like it's exactly what ought to be done. 

I agree. 

Of course, there is a slight "catch" in the plan I envision.  Follow with me.

If we determined homelessness to be against the law in our community and we found that a group of our neighbors possessed absolutely no capacity to obey such an ordinance due to the fact that they had no home and no capacity to secure one, then it would be absolutely incumbent on us to provide accessible housing for those who had no options regarding housing and the law we want to enforce. 

To impose legal categories and requirements on people possessing no chance of being compliant would be unjust, don't you think?

By the way, emergency night shelters don't count as homes.  Everyone who uses a shelter at night is still categorized as homeless by everyone from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to those who manage local night shelters.  As a matter of fact, certification from a shelter is one of the main ways a person can establish or prove that they are in fact homeless. 

Any law passed to make a behavior illegal should also include a provision that offers some reasonable pathway for a person to obey its requirements.

So, outlaw homelessness and at the same time you pass that ordinance open up permanent housing for everyone who needs it. 

Everyone would win! 

The public would save tax dollars because keeping people on the street or allowing them to stay there costs much more than providing permanent housing. 

Can't you see it working out? 

"Homelessness is now illegal.   Get off the street!"

"Here are keys to your home"--be it house, apartment or group home. 

That's a statute to outlaw homelessness that I could get behind!

The Cottages at Hickory Crossing coming out of the ground at last!

At last, construction is underway at The Cottages at Hickory Crossing! 

The video below shows crews preparing to pour the foundation for the community services building.  Next comes 50 single family  houses for 50 of the "most expensive" homeless persons to Dallas County:  those who use the most public resources to survive, including hospital, ER services, mental health services, EMS services and jail services.

We hope to occupy this new development before summer 2015.

Old Deuteronomy, a class act!

You have to know this fellow to really appreciate him!

A scared stray who'd obviously been mistreated, Old Deuteronomy, as he's called now, is nothing but a class act. 

About like an over-stuffed teddy bear weighing in at almost 20 pounds, this big guy brings me lots of joy!

From a Koch brother: Sane prison policy and poverty

[Possibly things can change for the better!  After you read this, tell me what you think.]

The Overcriminalization of America

How to reduce poverty and improve race relations by rethinking our justice system.

By CHARLES G. KOCH and MARK V. HOLDEN

January 07, 2015

        

As Americans, we like to believe the rule of law in our country is respected and fairly applied, and that only those who commit crimes of fraud or violence are punished and imprisoned.  But the reality is often different. It is surprisingly easy for otherwise law-abiding citizens to run afoul of the overwhelming number of federal and state criminal laws. This proliferation is sometimes referred to as “overcriminalization,”which affects us all, but most profoundly harms our disadvantaged citizens.

 

Overcriminalization has led to the mass incarceration of those ensnared by our criminal justice system, even though such imprisonment does not always enhance public safety.  Indeed, more than half of federal inmates are nonviolent drug offenders.  Enforcing so many victimless crimes inevitably leads to conflict between our citizens and law enforcement.  As we have seen all too often, it can place our police officers in harm’s way, leading to tragic consequences for all involved.

How did we get in this situation?  It began with well-intentioned lawmakers who went overboard trying to solve perceived or actual problems.  Congress creates, on average, more than 50 new criminal laws each year.  Over  time, this has translated into more than 4,500 federal criminal laws spread across 27,000 pages of the United States federal code.  (This number does not include the thousands of criminal penalties in federal regulations.)  As a result, the United States is the world’s largest jailer — first in the world for total number imprisoned and first among industrialized nations in the rate of incarceration.  The United States represents about 5 percent of the world's population, but houses around 25 percent of the world's prisoners.

We have paid a heavy price for mass incarceration and could benefit by reversing this trend.  It has been estimated that at least 53 percent of those entering prison were living at or below the U.S. poverty line when their sentence began. Incarceration leads to a 40 percent decrease in annual earnings, reduced job tenure and higher unemployment.  A Pew Charitable Trust study revealed that two-thirds of former inmates with earnings in the bottom fifth upon release in 1986, remained at or below that level 20 years later. A Villanova University study concluded that “had mass incarceration not occurred, poverty would have decreased by more than 20 percent, or about 2.8 percentage points” and “several million fewer people would have been in poverty in recent years.”

Read the entire article here. 

Same Old Hustle

It happens to me a lot, especially around church settings.

The latest experience came on Christmas Eve as I attempted to make my way into the late night service.

I saw the old man, bent over, but determined as he approached me.

I'd seen him before, and often outside the YMCA downtown.

He worked the same con on me.

 "Sir, I mean no disrespect, but I'm just out of the hospital and I'm trying to get home to Abilene, " he made his pitch as he extended a handful of documents and offered his Texas ID.

I'd heard the story, with a variation or two many times from him.  In previous iterations his health distress was complicated by his having missed a bus west.

"Sir, we've talked often.  You need what I don't have, my previous counsel didn't satisfy you, nor can I tonight," I tried to explain.

He walked away in disgust.

I watched him, feeling conflicted as I walked into the warmth of a dimly lit sanctuary about to burst with celebration, memories, rich sentiment and the inspiration of grace made real.

I know I did the correct thing technically, unless my goal was to purchase him a bottle of comfort.

Still, as I walked my way and he his, I knew in a deeper way possibly as never before that to the one I'd come to remember and thank, I appeared and behaved like this poor, struggling man.

I have my own cons with their ridiculous pitches.

I want my needs satisfied in my own ways, and on my terms, thank you very much.

At times I fool myself, and even try to fool those around me, including the one I'd come to worship during Advent.

The bent over gentleman and I need exactly the same thing: grace, honesty and another chance to get life right.

Neither of us can make much progress without a mutual respect for one another.

Both of us need to ditch the pitch, the hustle, the passing game.

I hope to see him again.

Possibly we can talk about what we both really need.

How to rebuild a broken city. . .

   Commitment to Change

Deep in us we know that the transformation of a city is dependent on transformed people and that finally a commitment to the building of the city has to involve a commitment to change in us.

Elizabeth O'Connor
Source: Our Many Selves

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Anyone for a serious dicussion about tax policy?

Change

A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke from Alexandre Kishimoto on Vimeo.

Grown up Christmas list. . .

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.

Understanding the mission and meaning of this child

Mary’s Song of Praise on the meaning and mission of the gift of God

(The Gospel According to St. Luke 1)

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸ for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
    Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰ His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
⁵² He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
    and lifted up the lowly;
⁵³ he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵ according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

 

Praying a blessed Christmas for you and yours, as well as a faith in keeping with the meaning and mission of this amazing child!

Fundamentals

Never Too Late

It is no use to say that we are born two thousand years too late to give room to Christ. Nor will those who live at the end of the world have been born too late. Christ is always with us, always asking for room in our hearts. But now it is with the voice of our contemporaries that he speaks, with the eyes of store clerks, factory workers and children that he gazes; with the hands of office workers, slum dwellers and suburban housewives that he gives. It is with the feet of soldiers and tramps that he walks, and with the heart of anyone in need that he longs for shelter. And giving shelter or food to anyone who asks for it, or needs it, is giving it to Christ.

Dorothy Day
Source: The Catholic Worker (December 1945)

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Christmas 2014

The Christmas story blows my mind.

See for yourself. 

Take 30 minutes and read Matthew 1:1-2:23 and Luke 1:1-2:40.  I think you'll get my point quickly.

For the beginning of the story of possibly the most famous, well-known birth in history, the account we're provided by Matthew and Luke is, well. . .it's a real mess!

For certain, these events shove up against an extremely "thin place" in the wall that separates human reality from the "other side," from the eternal. 

There are rank sinners in the pedigree of this child, Jesus.

There are surprising happenings.  I mean, really surprising.

Consider.

An unwed teenage girl, now pregnant, but still a virgin, told by an angel that her child is the doing of God via the Holy Spirit. 

A young man, pledged to the young woman, crushed by the news of her pregnancy, naturally.  But, he too, reassured by an angel and by an angel's dreams that the entire turn of events is God's work and workings. 

In fact, angels are everywhere in this story, as are the dreams they inspire. 

And, it's an extended family deal with an old couple, related to the young, soon-to-be mother, now told again by an angel that they will have a child in their old age!  The old man, who reasonably doubts this message,  is struck speechless (by the head angel) until the child, John, arrives. 

There are shepherds--labor union types, working men--looked down upon by most respectable people--whose days turn out uniformly tough, low wage affairs, now caught up in the atmospherics of absolute change and revolution of some sort.

Then, the young mother of Jesus, sings a song of radical liberation that cuts in ways that mean to alter economics and politics as she envisions the work of her boy.  Her song is that of a poor woman who's read the Hebrew prophets with knowing recognition of experiences of oppression.

Even rich kings get in on the act and out fox an evil king who wants the virgin born boy dead.  They return home at the behest of another angel while the young couple end up in Bethlehem, homeless and making do with a barnyard stable for a birthing room.  After offering the sacrifice reserved for the poor (you see, these parents could be expected to show up at our food pantry today) to consecrate the infant, they go into exile in Egypt to escape the genocide perpetrated by mad King Herod. 

This little family knew toxic stress and embraced faith to get through.

The little family became immigrants, refugees, strangers in a foreign land. 

There is nothing about this narrative that is normal, ordinary or rational.

But then, that is its power.

Humanity stews in mess after mess of its own making.

God shows up with a light show only those open to revolution can comprehend!

Hang on, angels, kings, laborers, young folks, old folks, prophets and dreamers--God shows up again to shake the foundations for the healing, the repair of this world. 

God calls us only to believe, one more time.

Merry Christmas!

Low pressure freedom to heal. . .

[Recently, I received the message below from Lisa Ciminelli, our leader in providing neighbor support services to all of the folks living in CitySquare housing.  We've made a commitment to pursue a genuine "Housing First" methodology with our residents.  This means that a person's personal challenges and "issues" don't automatically result in their being ejected from the housing we manage, if and when mistakes and missteps are made.  We regard housing as a therapeutic tool in the hands of our team.  Housing often is essential in bringing healing and wholeness to formerly homeless men and women. Lisa's note spotlights the differentiation of the CitySquare approach. When we say that we are here to work with people, no matter what their challenges, we mean it.]

 

Gentlemen, 

I was listening to Valerie talk about a neighbor just now. Apparently he was in another housing program before CitySquare and he got kicked out for “behavioral” issues ( alcoholic) . We took him in and he was unsteady with us for quite a while.  

Now he is sober and brought everyone handmade art work that says “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year.” 

Valerie asked him why he thought he was so successful and he said, “Because you guys are not on me all the time. My last case manager at __________ was always waiting for me to mess up. It was like they expected me to fail.”  

We have 3 other neighbors that I know of, in our housing program right now, Eddie [a really challenging gentleman!] being one, that were terminated from other “Housing First” programs and are now successful with us.

I love this stuff!

Thank you,

Lisa Ciminelli, LCSW-S
Assistant Vice President of Neighbor Support Services
CitySquare
1610 S. Malcolm X Blvd., Building #101
Dallas, Texas 75226
(469) 904-7027
lciminelli@citysquare.org

 

Merry Christmas. . .the child

Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane

Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane / At Carnegie Hall

Good old St. Nick!

Two of my grandsons made The Dallas Morning News on Thursday while sitting on Santa's lap. 

I love Owen's eyes as he hears what Henry is telling Santa! 

Boy, do I love Christmas!

Volunteers who love. . .

Below I've shared a message that a volunteer organizer sent to his team after a Christmas meal served at CityWalk, our Downtown Dallas housing community.  The sentiment was so simple, sweet and significant that I had to pass it along.  Be blessed this Christmas!

 

All,

Thank you so much for your help last night with the Christmas Event for the residents at CitySquare.   This was our third year to participate and by far the best event yet.   

This morning early I was reading some material regarding love.   There was a paragraph in the material  that started with this:   “The best way to feel love is to give love."   I felt like we showed some of our Dallas community that we care about them and that we love them.   If only one person felt that we cared and loved them last night, then the whole effort was a huge success.  From my standpoint however,   I  think that many folks felt happy and loved last night as a result of the kindnesses you showed them.   For me, the Christmas season began last night.    I am so glad to have had the opportunity to share something this special with all of you.  

I am already thinking about the 2015 event and look forward to working with you again next year.  

Thank you all again.    I hope you have a very safe and happy Christmas season.  

Routine investment without extra cost!

Hello All!

There are routine ways to give back to CitySquare without opening your wallet.

 

Please take a couple of minutes to register CitySquare as the beneficiary of money you are already spending on groceries and Amazon!

1. Kroger: To register your Kroger rewards card, click here. All you have to do is click “enroll” and type in CitySquare. That’s it!

2. Tom Thumb: Register your Tom Thumb rewards card here. Make sure you enter CitySquare’s charity number—it's 1247. Tom Thumb will give a portion of your purchase back to CitySquare!

3. AmazonSmile: When you shop on Amazon through AmazonSmile, it donates a percentage of your purchase back to us! Click here and select CitySquare as your charity of choice.

 

It’s that easy!

 

Feel free to forward this email on to your family and friends and encourage them to do the same. It’s a simple way to support CitySquare!

Thank you for all that you do for CitySquare.

Jill Williams
Director of Development

CitySquare
511 N Akard Street Ste 302
Dallas, TX 75201

D: 214.303.2138

P: 214.823.8710

F: 214.824.5355

jwilliams@CitySquare.org

www.CitySquare.org

 

True Mystics

I have come to believe that the true mystics are not those who contemplate holiness in isolation, reaching godlike illumination in serene silence, but those who manage to find God in a life filled with noise, the demands of other people and relentless daily duties that can consume the self…. If they are wise, they treasure the rare moments of solitude and silence that come their way, and use them not to escape, to distract themselves with television and the like. Instead, they listen for a sign of God’s presence and they open their hearts toward prayer.   Kathleen Norris Source: The Quotidian Mysteries Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Reduced

two beggars

befriend me
for twenty
bucks apiece
every week.

telling stories
give cause
and rationale
for lies
that pay.

witness creativity,
both bring
me joy
and laughter,
friendship stuff.

one man
one woman
both smiling
love me,
use me.

others advise
stop funding
continued failure
for friends
I love.

how different
are "respectable"
friends who
do the
same things?

mercy, Lord
dear Lord
open me
to life,
their life.

Loss

Death stalks my homeless neighbors.

Life on the street can be terribly unforgiving. 

The elements, poor diet, unattended medical threats, and toxic stress combine to injure and often permanently damage, not only the spirits, but the physical bodies of important men and women. 

Even when housing is secured, the affects of a previous life "out side" linger and often catch up to a person.  As a result, we lose a number of our friends every year simply because their past, deep wounds couldn't be overcome.   Dying with dignity at home provides small solace every time a friend slips away.

We count on losing people to the point that we have an annual memorial service for those who have slipped away from us. 

Most horrid is self-inflected departure from this world. 

We lost a young man to suicide a couple of weeks ago. 

He seemed to be doing well. 

He had been in housing with us for about a year.  He was a model tenant.  He had found a job at a local hospital.  He was working, and seemed to be ready to thrive. 

Then, came a shift change--what to most would be a small distraction calling for modest adjustments. 

Somehow though, for this friend, this disruption or maybe something else threw him off course. 

His pain mounted and broke him. 

He took his own life.

The community erupted with grief, despair and deep sorrow.  We won't soon get over this loss. 

We live in a mystery.

If you pray, pray for us and for all who loved him. 

Loss is real, very real.

Heart of Dallas Bowl 2014

Again this year, CitySquare feels grateful to be in a partnership with ESPN and the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl! 

The game will be played at the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium at noon, on Friday, December 26. 

CitySquare is one of the beneficiaries of the game that pits the University of Illinois Fighting Illini against the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. 

Interested in tickets? 

Just let me know at ljames@CitySquare.org.

"Alone" people

After awhile you develop a 6th sense that I call "recognition of reality."  For me it kicks in big time when I'm in an observant role and alone myself. 

It happened for me most recently on Sunday as I drove to my favorite breakfast joint by myself.

I saw three people.

The first was an old woman.  She made her way up the broken sidewalk on a walker.  Hers was not an easy trek.  She carried a bag or two of what looked like groceries.  The bags, though necessary,  made her journey even more difficult.  As I watched her, I knew she was alone, I mean all alone.  I have no idea her destination, but I do know (much more than suspect) that the end of her journey last Sunday morning would be an alone place.

Then, there was a homeless man on a bicycle.  Don't ask me how I knew he was homeless, but he was.  All his possessions seemed lashed to the bike, except for the backpack that he wore.  As I watched him navigate the same sidewalk as the woman, I knew again that his destination would involve a different sort of aloneness.  There would be others present, under a bridge or in a shelter, but still he would end this day all alone.

Finally, on that same stretch of sidewalk another man without a place to call home and on foot.  He stepped off the sidewalk to make way for the chap on the bike.  Some small talk exchanged between the two created something just short of a smile.  This final man, loaded down himself, presented a deep sort of almost palpable sadness to me, though he had no idea I was observing. 

Three people alone, in a deep loneliness. 

As I ate my hot breakfast at my favorite hole-in-the-wall café, I wondered why I hadn't invited them all to share a table with me. 

"Alone" can be a nice place to visit, but it seems to me a terrible place to live.

Podcast with Norsworthy. . .

Enjoyed my conversation with Luke Norsworthy today!  I grew up with his dad, Larry.  You can listen to it here. 

Newsworthy with Norsworthy Podcast

Larry James

December 3, 2014 Luke Leave a comment

Larry James, CEO and President of CitySquare joins the show to talk about The Wealth of the Poor, Ferguson, the importance of relationships across racial lines, personal responsibility verses systemic change, how people can get involved in the life of the poor.

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CitySquare employment trainees experience work on The Cottages

Recently, CitySquare's Build 4 Success construction trades training program participants worked on site at The Cottages at Hickory Crossing. It was a great experience for our students, and it is great to see these 50 new homes coming out of the ground at last!

When you support CitySquare, you lift neighbors to a higher place!

Ferguson, MO

How do we think about Ferguson, MO? 

Lots of opinions have been expressed, many leading in the direction of further, national polarization at a time when we need just the opposite. 

I haven't read the 3,000 pages of grand jury transcription.  I haven't heard all of "the facts of the case," not to equate the recorded proceedings with "fact." 

Here's what I think I know about Ferguson, MO, and what I suspect may be in the background of considerations of recent horrific events there.

People of color in the small St. Louis suburb are vastly under-represented in public institutions such as government, school district and law enforcement. 

People of color in Ferguson receive a disproportionate level of attention and ticketing from law enforcement officers who evidently play a large, some would say undue, role in raising operating capital for the city through writing citations.  As a result, frustration with the police has been a long-standing fact of life in the small town. 

The Ferguson tragedy that involved the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, is not unique in our nation.  The fact that  nationally young black men are shot by police officers 21 times the rate of young white men doesn't help the community atmosphere.  Just here I could list a number of names in the news recently whose encounters with law enforcement officials needed in horror and loss. 

For years African American parents have coached their children, especially their sons, about how to react to police attention or encounters.  During the time I was a member of the Central Dallas Church, I had numerous discussions about this necessary "talk" that occurred again and again among our young men and their parents and peers. 

People who wield power have a responsibility to approach conflict with a mindset and attitude of de-escalation and "win-win," rather than "win-lose."  Controlling conflict accompanied by super-charged emotions requires special skills, servant leadership, expertise and great heart.  Developing these special skills requires training and re-training as a part of a normal law enforcement regimen.

Community policing is all about establishing meaningful relationships with and in neighborhoods that move beyond heavy-handed confrontation.  Again, this approach to law enforcement calls for special training and special law officers.  Community policing by definition builds relationships, depends on residents to support police work and instills confidence, not fear in the lives of those being served.

Looting, burning, vandalizing and violence are never acceptable responses to the failure or the injustice of public policy or institutions.  The rule of law is central to the stability and health of our communities and our nation.  Non-violent actions of dissent are vital to a movement for change, but not violence that so often destroys neighborhoods and businesses already oppressed by social factors so evident in this case.

The vast majority of Ferguson residents involved in protests conducted themselves peacefully, with strength, dignity and determination.  Such organized, community responses stand in the best, rich tradition of the American Civil Rights Movement, and should be encouraged and defended.

Poverty, a deep poverty, disproportionately affects African Americans in this small town.  Consider these facts:

• 21% of Ferguson residents live in poverty
• Almost 7% live below 50% of the federal poverty level
• 30% of males between 12-14 years old live in poverty
• Almost 40% of males 15 years old live in poverty
• 30% of males 16-17 years old live in poverty
• Almost 35% of children under 5 years old live in poverty
• 26% of all youth live in poverty
• Under 600 white residents live in poverty
• Over 2,400 black residents live in poverty
• African Americans represent 67% of Ferguson residents
• Ferguson Police Department employs 53 officers, only 3 are African American

As I read, hear and learn more about the dynamics of the Ferguson experience, I realize that countless American communities are set up for terrible events just like these. 

As friends and neighbors, we need to work for a better life together here in Dallas.  

We need more friendships.

And, we need to talk.