HOMELESS
VOICE J
ust two years ago I was traveling on the way to New York with the homeless for a reason we have never had before. We, as an agency under our name Helping People In America Disaster Services division, have in the past been at towns struck by tornados, hurricanes and even large fires like the ones in Orlando and Daytona area some five years ago. This time, the trip to New York was for a real special reason. The first reason was to give aid to the people of New York who had been affected by the 9-11-2001 Terrorist attacks. The second reason was to assist the homeless who were misplaced by the bombings and were forced to leave a town where they have been living on the streets for years. Let’s not forget even the homeless have their own little communities in the streets. They use the same facilities in the am, go to the same garbage bags to get left over food and they know where they can find temporary employment. And when these attacks happened it displaced them. At first New York was asking for case mangers, medical and people who have worked in big disasters before, and that was that. But when we arrived in New York just a few days after 911 we were shocked to find out there was nothing for us to do. Everybody who did not get out of World Trade Centers was dead and there was nothing we really could do for anybody other than some small support services to the emergency workers who were doing the digging. We did manage to help a few homeless who were displaced by feeding them. We helped more homeless in DC than in New York because many of them were displaced by the severe level of security at the capitol that (Continued on page 6)
Far right, Artist Victor Jonaitis who does his almost every day has put down his art supplies own personal flag. I wanted to ask him if planning to make a drawing of our 9-11 tribute so we can hang it in Arnold's Cafe where our Homeless eat and
art work to hold his he was
learn.
P
eter, Peter, Peter, it was one party too much. The party that ended your life. So many times I have told our population that drugs and alcohol lead to three places, institutions, jails and death. And for Peter it finally led to death. I have said these words so many times, when that coffin closes, it never opens up again. I said in the memorial service that, even if Peter could have banged on a coffin it would have gone unnoticed and it would not ever open back up. Tonight his good friend came to share his story of how he knew Peter, from NA. He added a word to the famous three words of institutions, jails and death, the fourth word was recovery. Peter had some recoveries but after he was clean for a while he would fall once again.
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How I met Peter. I met Peter several years ago. Peter was sent to us from Hollywood Memorial Hospital after he was in admitted for alcohol poising from drinking some Listerine. Peter was famous for drinking everything in a drug store from hair spray to cologne. I have personally sent him in an ambulance at least four times from chemical poising that he would consume when he wanted to get drunk. At times he would end up in ICU. He has been to all the shelters in the community and the best detox program such as the Share Program, but Peter could just not get it right. He did get one thing right at the time of his death; his death gave a message to the rest of his friends at (Continued on page 10)