Homeless Voice; Making Changes

serving our community since 1997

FLORIDAS L ARGEST STREET NEWSPAPER

Part of the International Network of Street Papers

If you received this issue of the Homeless Voice in your mailbox please go to pg 4

COSAC Foundation | PO Box 292-577 Davie, FL 33329 | 954-924-3571

Sugary drinks and cigarettes were a big part of Sean’s diet

Making Changes For a Better Future Staff Writer

Check out our new Homeless Outreach iPhone App! Download our app, snap a photo and tag your location

The beginning of a new year is a time when many Americans make resolutions. Quit smoking, start exercising, eat healthier are among the most popular. But January 1 isn’t the only time you can make a plan to get healthier. Any time of year is a good time to start taking care of yourself and making your health a priority.

For years Sean Cononie’s health and habits have popped into the stories that are published on these pages. Between his chain smoking and diet, stress levels and lack of sleep- many feel he is heading towards an early grave.

Next month Sean is taking a big leap of faith and subjecting himself to one week at The Biggest Loser Resort on Amelia Island.

For seven days his meals and activities will be chosen by the staffgoodbye Monster energy drinks, hello lemon water?!

The Biggest Loser Resort health program is built around five pillars of overall well-being. They are: Fitness, Nutrition, Education, Relaxation and Close group camaraderie. Sean will spend most of the day engaged in a physical activity- swimming, outdoor hike, or open gym. He’ll learn about menu planning and relaxation techniques. While his stay will be very challenging for him, the real challenge will be when he comes home and has to implement what he’s learned on his own. A week into New Year’s Resolutions, only 77% of people are still on track, and by 6 months only 40 %.

We here at The Homeless Voice are in full support of Sean and are very excited for this new start. Follow us on Facebook for updates on Sean’s progress!

Our Purpose: To Help the Homeless Learn How to Help Themselves

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

2

~Monthly Angels~ Amparo Penuela Amy Isherwood Anna Hadley AnnaBelle Werling Angel Porras Angela Martinez Arturo & Amelia Rodriguez Barbara Robinson Bill & Laura Fash Charles & Tracy Rice Chelsea Navucet Daniel Cavanaugh Daniel Guevara David Reiff Deco Illusions Inc Edwin H Kluge Jr

Ellen Heron Erin Gardner Ernest Bove Francisco Pozo Frank Barreras Gavin on the Beach Gerald Keller Greentree Financial Group Hoang Kimmell Isa-Aura Rosenthal Ivan & Lazara Figueroa Jared Carrell John Dinielli John & Linda Evans John Rahael Jorge Herrera

Jorge Sanchez Joseph Maiuro Joyce Maynard Judith Temple Junyan Song Karen Cohen Karen Povlock Kat Pwen Kadino Corp Katia Acosta Kely Romeus Kelly Filer Laurence Goldsmith Lilian A De Paz Valenzuela Linda Macfarlane Lizabeth Miguel Loise Goldberg

LongReach Maria Colmenares Mark Duske Mark Link Mark Targett Michael Prokop Nadine Coulson Nolan Santiago Patrice & George Shurland Paula Cole Paul & Rosalie Pierce Praxi Solutions Ralph Hill Randy Conklin Richard Berk RM Beaulieu

Roanne Cobuzio Rufino Garcia Samantha Boehm Sean Campbell Sean Cononie Steve Fullielove Tatiana Da Cunha Temple Aron Hakodesh Teresa Black Thomas Digiacomo Timothy Osborn Victor Lanza Walton Brown

Thank you for your support Angels! Your support keeps our doors open!

Your contribution keeps our organization afloat! Our Angels are a very important part of our service and ease the burden of our monthly bills. Thank you for your help in caring for our poor! With your donation, we are happy to send you our Homeless Voice newspaper.

Choose your preferred method of subscription below: Digital Download Yes, I would like a newspaper emailed to me once a month.

Home Delivery Yes, I would like a newspaper mailed to me once a month.

Delivery Address: (if different from above)

Neither No, I prefer to get my newspaper at street corners.

Donate Online: HomelessVoice.org/Donate

Donations are tax deductable & help South Florida’s Homeless

3

The COSAC Foundation was originally established in May 1997 to partner with other social service agencies, in the area, that provided help to the homeless population. COSAC also independently feeds the homeless or anyone in need of food. The COSAC Foundation opened it’s first homeless shelter in 1999 and named it COSAC Quarters (the shelter money was raised by spare change). We have grown into a multifaceted agency that feeds, shelters, and arranges for each homeless person to receive the necessary access to social and noncompulsory religious services to enable a return to a self-reliant lifestyle. And for the small percentage of people incapable of living independent lives, we provide a caring and supportive environment for their long-term residency.

Our vision is to end discrimination against the homeless population and to develop such an effective network of services that we greatly reduce the time a person or family emerges out of homelessness back into self-reliance.

If you received this issue of the Homeless Voice in your mailbox please go to pg 4 We have an Emergency!

Homeless Voice Newspaper Staff Publisher- Sean Cononie Editor in Chief- Mark Targett

Executive Editor- Sara Targett

www.HomelessVoice.org/contact

Home Improvement Gift Cards Always Needed Send us a gift! P.O. Box 292-577 Davie, FL 33329

G et ! ce d i t o N Place your Ad!

Starting at $75 954-410-6275 HomelessVoice.org/ Advertising Reasonable Rates, Huge Circulation!

~ Cathy’s Prayer List ~ Charlene Duarte * *Diane Karm * Jefferson Wilson * Amy & Mr. Jason * Lorena * Lilly * Beth Ann * The Coakleys * Eddie Mercer * Bob * Michael Loffredo * Natacha Lewis * Steven Green * Josh Wynn * Bianca * James * Lois * Robert Tansey * Veronica & John * Mary Summers * Cassandra Wilson To add a name to Cathy’s Prayer List, call or text 954-410-6275

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

About the COSAC Foundation

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

4

We continue to lose street corners where we collect all of your generous donations. The cities are banning us and we need your support now more than ever. We are currently only able to collect in one city!Please donate today at homelessvoice.org/donate

Looking for organized, energetic volunteers For more details and to sign up visit: hvoice.org/volunteer

“Among our tasks as witnesses to the love of Christ is that of giving a voice to the cry of the poor.� ~Pope Francis

On Spirituality...what is it?

5 The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

Learning to pray can leave many of us as non prayers. When we consider the first prayers we ever learned: the Our Father, Hail Mary," now I lay me down to sleep" they were all someone else's idea of how to pray, even if they have great merit and were from Jesus Himself, as in the case of the Our Father, they may not always work for us and might feel like work or penance, when what we really need is peace and comfort. True prayer can only come from true faith. Our prayer is not for God but for us. When we pray, we are speaking to God. Having a conversation. When we talk to someone we also listen, with God, this is the difficult part because we don't hear Him with our ears but with our heart, and that takes practice. As a Catholic I have prayed many rosaries in my life and have received great blessings as a result, but today my favorite prayer is thank you. Thank you Jesus, thank you. And I might have to say that ten or twenty times before I begin to feel connected, but I always do eventually, and from there can go to so many places, places of comfort and peace.

To mention people who are hurting or really need a miracle in their life, or to just spend some time with the Lord not having to ask for anything, knowing He already knows and cares. Our country and our world need our prayers today. The recent shootings, the remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr., and the realization that, even with a black president, we have a long way to go towards treating all human beings as Gods' children, I ask you to say a prayer today, the one that is from your heart. Gods' Peace and Blessings. DEACON BOB (originally published Feb 2011)

8 Smart Ways to Pay Off Debt Fast From time to time we at the Homeless Voice try to prevent people from becoming homeless. If the US government did this and local communities had homeless prevention programs it would cut about 14 percent of new homeless cases. How does one not become homeless? For starters most people become homeless because they have life issues called barriers.

Barriers are their issues such as mental health, getting hurt waiting for disability to kick in or other things such as a person who has a seizure condition and no company wants to hire that person because if they hurt their head it now becomes a workers comp case.

For others it is not controlling their money matters.

If one budgeted correctly and had reserves in the bank like three months’ worth of bills, many would prevent homelessness in the first place. Not only preventing homelessness but it saves you cash and that cash can be invested where you will let your money grow. If you have a home mortgage check online on how to pay off your loan fast cutting years of payments and saving you tens of thousands of dollars. Search on line “ways to save money on your mortgage”.

In the below story you will see ways of helping you start a future that prevents homelessness and also helps put dollars back in your pocket. Believe me, you don’t want to come to our doors and hear us say “How can we help you?” Most shelters don’t work for normal people without issues. Sometimes you will get stuck in a system that is already set up for people to fail. Our shelters are set up for people who have many barriers and we keep them stable by us offering them a place for ever. Now they call it “Housing First” this is what HUD is now doing. One issue with their model and ours is we have mom and dad there so if they fail we pick them back up and not disqualify them from future housing. Huds model; puts them in the inner community where no one lives on site. We are the creators of “Housing First” for we have been doing it for almost 20 years and this one HUD can’t take credit for.

Do you desperately want to speed up your debt-reduction efforts? Here are 8 smart ways to do so without sacrificing the things you love the most.

By Allison Martin Similar to a weight-loss plan, paying off debt requires dedication, determination and persistence. Trying to pay it down with drastic measures is not the wise way to go because you can’t really get to the root of the problem by doing so.

Don’t believe me? Just think about what happens to those who crash diet. Debt reduction works in the same manner; brief bouts of deprivation only make things worse.

Here are a few smart ways to pay off debt fast: 1. Stop using your cards I hear people complaining all the time about how much debt they’re in and how they desperately want a way out. My response: Are you still using your credit cards?

The answer is typically yes, which presents a big problem. If you really want to get out of debt, you will have to stop using your cards. The more you swipe,

the more the balance climbs.

Having a hard time letting go? Try freezing the cards in a cup of ice. By the time you are able to access them again, hopefully you’ve changed your mind. And if you feel as if you can’t afford to let go because of financial constraints, start by setting up a spending plan and building an emergency fund to get you through those tough situations without having to resort to debt.

2. Pay as much as you can afford to each month Once you have an emergency fund intact, use any residual funds you have at your disposal to put toward debt, even if it’s only a few dollars. The more you pay, the faster you’ll get out of debt. Did you save money at the grocery store by stacking coupons with sales? Use the savings to pay off debt. Did you work some overtime last week? And if you find spare change lying around, use that as well.

3. Make cuts to your spending This may be tough to accomplish, as you’ll have to take a good look at where your money is going and separate the necessities from the mere wants. I’m not suggesting that you cut every single expense in the book by 75 percent, because your well-being is of the utmost importance. However, you can go without the daily trips to the local coffee shop or to your favorite lunch spot. Over time, these savings can add up and dig you out of the hole much quicker than you probably expected.

4. Double up on payments So you’ve paid off one credit card? Congratulations, but that doesn’t mean it’s party time. A small and reasonably priced reward for your accomplishment is OK, but you need to keep the momentum going by allocating those funds that are now freed up to the next balance in line.

5. Use nonrecurring sources of income to pay down balances As tempting as it is to use nonrecurring income to buy something that you really want, bite the bullet and use a portion of the funds to pay off debt. Tax season is upon us, so here’s

your opportunity if you will be receiving a refund. Or maybe you’re set to receive an inheritance? Be wise about where you spend your money; completely ignoring the debt to go on a shopping spree is definitely not a wise choice.

6. Freelance to earn extra money Do you have a talent or skill in an area that people would be willing to pay you for? Try your hand at freelancing to make a few dollars on the side. In some instances, you may be able to generate a substantial amount of cash, all of which should be contributed to the debt-payoff fund to move things right along, unless you are behind on your bills or you barely have enough money in your possession to meet your basic needs.

7. Tackle those debts with the highest interest rates first Although some prefer the debt snowball method, which suggests that you pay the debts with the lowest balances first to build momentum, I think it’s wiser to get those with the higher interest rates out of the way first. Even if the size of the balances is intimidating, just paying the minimum while you tackle smaller debts and letting the interest grow is not appealing.

But the ultimate goal is to pay off debt, so the choice is yours.

8. Don’t sacrifice the things you love the most Paying off debt may require you to make a few lifestyle changes, but it doesn’t have to be depressing.

If you have a difficult time adjusting to new circumstances, implement gradual changes so the process won’t become too overwhelming.

Most people become homeless because they have life issues called barriers, such as mental health problems.

Jewel Speaks Out On What It Was Really Like To Be Homeless

Sara Boboltz The Huffington Post The ReThink documentary Jewel narrates, “Our Journey Jewel has been in a reflective mood lately. The singHome,” emphasizes the dignity a home -- any home -- proer, famous for folksy tracks like “Hands” and “You vides. In it, she tells three stories of people and families who Were Meant For Me,” released an album comprised used their stint in public housing to put themselves through of songs written in her teens back in September. Days medical school and other occupational training. Then, they later, she published a memoir recounting her tumultumoved out. ous years growing up in rural Alaska. And just last It echoes the singer’s own bootstrapping tale, which she atweek, she debuted a heartfelt documentary with the tributes, in part, to her self-reliant early years. public housing advocacy group ReThink that argues “I knew at 15 that girls like me end up, statistically, repeatfor public housing projects to combat homelessness ing what we’re raised around, and I didn’t have very much -- an issue dear to her heart. going for me,” the singer explained. “But I did have a sort of For what a then-teenage Jewel thought would be a pervasive pioneer spirit that’s very prevalent in Alaska,” she couple months, turned into a year -- she lived out of said, adding that she believes girls are taught differently in her car in San Diego, California, writing songs and the “lower 48.” Different in a bad way. poetry and performing regular gigs at a cafe. Atlantic “We do women a disservice as young girls by not teaching Records eventually yanked her out of poverty, but she them how the world works, and that they’ll be making their hasn’t forgotten what it was like. own way,” Jewel said. “In Alaska, the female pioneers built “It’s very difficult to work your way out of that when their own houses, they felled their own trees ... very capable you don’t have a physical women.” Capable of working address to put on a job aptheir way out of impoverishplication,” Jewel, whose ment, even. full name is Jewel Kilcher, For all the adversity she has “In Alaska, the female pioneers built faced, Jewel maintains a hopetold The Huffington Post.

In San Diego, she came to lessly optimistic outlook. In their own houses, they felled their resent the idea that someage when sincerity is often own trees ... very capable women.” an one could think she wasn’t mocked, that earnestness can Capable of working their way out of make us uncomfortable -- just a hard worker because she didn’t have a home. Jewel look at Twitter whenever an acimpoverishment, even tried to work hard. At 15, tor or actress tears up during an she’d left her abusive alcoOscars acceptance speech. To holic father for an unheated Jewel, though, it’s not just sapcabin, riding horseback or py sentiment. It’s honesty. She hitchhiking to work in Alaska. Later, after relocating doesn’t have time for feigned nonchalance, or a tolerance under sunnier skies, health problems made it difficult for irony. for her to hold down a regular job. When she refuted “Maybe it is the age of cynicism,” the singer mused, before one employer’s come-on and didn’t get her paycheck, adding, “I think cynicism is a luxury of spoiled people.”

Jewel was turned out of her apartment in California.

It’s certainly a luxury she doesn’t afford herself. Decades In our interview, she remembered washing her hair have passed since Jewel’s home ran on four wheels, but she one day in a Denny’s bathroom, suddenly making eye still doesn’t seem jaded. She has stayed the same -- stubcontact through the mirror with a pair of women bebornly, charmingly -- “sensitive girl,” like she confessed dehind her. They looked horrified, she recalled, intent on cades ago. To her, it’s a sign of strong character. keeping their distance. Humiliated, Jewel left.

“I think if you really have hard times, you find a way to “They were just so judgmental and so happy to write overcome,” Jewel said. “You can’t afford cynicism, because me off -- which we do every day with homeless peoit will break you.” ple -- and it makes you feel very insignificant,” the singer said.

Graffiti artist spray-paints beds and windows onto the walls of Skid Row to make the homeless feel more human

By MARGOT PEPPERS A street artist is using his creative talents to bring joy to the homeless by spray-painting beds, windows and furniture onto the walls they sleep against.

The Los Angeles-based artist, who goes by Skid Robot, posts photos on Instagram of all the imaginary homes he creates for homeless people on Skid Row - from four-poster beds and pillows to windows with a view of the moon.

In creating these make-believe spaces, he also befriends the homeless, giving them money, bringing them care packages and raising awareness of poverty by telling their stories.

His aim is to change the way people see the homeless. ‘It’s taking something that is nothing and making it something that people enjoy,’ he explained to Vice.

‘By taking something heartbreaking that is overlooked as nothing of importance and artistically transforming it into something with meaning that people can enjoy and be inspired by.’

One of Skid Robot’s subjects is J.W., a former artist from Florida who is pictured lying down in a pile of blankets in front of a red wall.

The wall has been painted to look as though it is inside a bedroom, with a four-poster bed, two bedside tables with lamps and a window overhead.

‘He asked for art supplies and some gear.

We’ll do our best to hook him up proper,’ Skid Robot writes in the caption.

‘J.W had a lot to say that made me reflect on my own life. Always keep an open mind and a open heart, wisdom is found in listening.’

He ends the post with a sequence of hashtags including ‘help the poor,’ ‘feed the needy’ and ‘save humanity.’

Another person featured in Skid Robot’s series is a man named Ben. In his photo, he hunches over in a wheelchair. The wall behind him has been painted to make the chair look like a royal throne atop a castle.

‘Ben was released from the hospital with no shoes. He was unable to walk as a result of being shot in the back and eventually the hospital booted him on the street like so many others,’ writes the artist.

‘I offered him a meal but he declined, instead he asked for paper, pencils, pens so that he can write and draw... I had a sketchbook that was fairly new and a few pens and markers I was able to give him on the spot along with a lil money so he can eat later’.

Tony, another homeless man in Skid Robot’s series, told him that he and the other residents on his block were in desperate need of water, so Skid Robot brought them ten gallons.

Often Skid Robot strikes up a friendship with those involved in his art - like Birdman, one of the more outgoing homeless men he has encountered.

‘We got him Chick-fil-A that night, and he’d never had it, so to him it was an extraordinary treat,’ he recalls.

‘We talked to him, and he shared with us some of his Hollywood stories. It got real personal with Birdman.’

In some instances, Skid Robot paints thought bubbles above sleeping homeless people, with the bubbles depicting food or dollar signs.

And for one homeless man sleeping in a tent, he created a forest scene in the background, giving the impression that the man was simply camping in the woods.

In his Instagram bio, Skid Robot describes himself as ‘an anonymous artist amongst the streets of skidrow, giving to those in need. Creating a dialogue for a solution to extreme poverty through art.’

A Los Angeles street artist named Skid Robot is using his creative talents to bring joy to the homeless by spray painting beds, windows and furniture onto the walls they sleep against In his Instagram bio, Skid Robot describes himself as ‘an anonymous artist amongst the streets of skidrow, giving to those in need.

Creating a dialogue for a solution to extreme poverty through art’

7 The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

6

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

8

How the city of Copenhagen is giving the homeless dignified burials Daniel Lombardi, Deseret News - dlombardi@de“A family graveyard is where you seretnews.com can talk about the old ones and reThe homeless often die and are buried without ceremember,” said Michael Espensen, mony in anonymous, cheap graves. But that is changwho works for Giv Din Hånd. “It’s ing in Copenhagen, Denmark, where a prestigious the same for the homeless. And bespot in the city’s most famous cemetery has been set cause most of the homeless don’t aside for the homeless, Smithsonian Magazine reporthave family, their friends on the ed last week. street become their family.”

About 10 homeless people have been cremated and In the U.S., many major cities bury buried in the new section of the cemetery and Stine their poor and homeless in so-called Helweg, a specialist in the cemeteries of Copenhagen, paupers graves. The thousands of told the Atlantic’s CityLab blog that some homeless homeless who die every year in people have made it part of their daily routine to visit New York City are buried by conand mourn in the new cemetery section. “They colvicts in nameless graves on a small lect flowers from flower shops and come with 20 bouuninhabited island, according to an quets.” earlier article in the Smithsonian.

Assistens is Denmark’s most famous graveyard But a few places have found ways where more than 300,000 people have been buried. In to honor deceased homeless, acthe past the homeless were cording cremated in urns and buried to the Nation. In Seattle, a group of there in unmarked graves women hold sidewalk vigils for the with little or no biographi- And because most of the homeless homeless who die on the streets and cal information to identify other cities host similar memorials. don’t have family, their friends on the “It’s a spiritual thing and also a ralthe deceased.

With no specific grave to lying cry,” said Carol Cameron of street become their family. visit, mourners often methe Homeless Remembrance Project morialized their deceased in Seattle. “We are crying out and loved ones with photopeople are hearing us. There are so graphs hung on a prominent tree. After the tree was many more homeless people now. Alive or dead, homeless removed by local government, a local advocacy people do matter.” group, Giv Din Hånd, convinced the city to set aside a In the United Kingdom, impoverished families can receive portion of the cemetery for the homeless. a small funeral payment to help with burial costs of a family

member, but this doesn’t help the homeless without families.

The anonymity the homeless take to their graves has also been addressed in popular entertainment. A 2009 scene of NBC’s fictional TV show “The West Wing,” now on YouTube, the president’s communication director secretly arranges a memorial for a homeless Korean War veteran who froze to death.

The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognized adequate housing as a basic human right but the right to a dignified burial was not included.

The World Health Organization has advocated against mass burials in disaster situations.

App Connects Homeless Youth With Services

By JENNIFER SZWEDA JORDAN

A new app, in development, could connect homeless youth with services ranging from mental health care to a meal.

The Homeless Children’s Education Fund worked with Bob Firth, founder of Informing Design, to create the Big Burgh Homeless Services app. Pulling out his iPhone, Firth shows how a prototype works.

“It starts with a ‘who’ screen, and you point at a dial in terms of what gender you are,” Firth said. “And you select one of these. What this enables us to do is, all services may say they welcome everyone but there’s one place that gets mostly 50- and 60-year-old men and you wouldn’t want to steer a 24-year-old female there. So this is basically taking the 300-page directory of services, boiling it down to who it applies to and very quickly giving you a very short narrative of how you get engaged with that service.”

Firth said that the organizers behind many of the homeless resources in Pittsburgh say it’s common for the homeless youth to have access to smart phones.

However the app was also designed to be used by bystanders who may want to help out someone they see, as well as police.

Twenty-five years ago, Firth became famous locally for an Atlas called “Pittsburgh Figured Out” and the

brightly colored way-finding signs posted high on poles at key Several homeless people in their 20s and 30s intercity intersections. The Big Burgh Homeless Services app inteviewed said they are skeptical about the role the app grates Firth’s maps in an online format. will play in the hands of police, like Tylor Kynor, The new app features what Firth calls a panic button. He said who’s been homeless nine times in the last 10 years, that it’s like the Uber ride sharing service, but for outreach and now works at the Gay and Lesbian Community workers to quickly be summoned.

Center.

“They check into the app like they are an Uber driver offering “I’m worried about it, because we do see a lot of driving services, except what they are offering is ways for the homeless individuals coming in here that are scared homeless to reach out for them, to them and connect,” Firth to go anywhere near a cop,” Kynor said. said.

While the cops will be the Firth was drawn into this effort by first to have access to the Joe Lagana, CEO of Homeless ChilSo this is basically taking the 300-page app, the Homeless Educadren’s Education Fund. Lagana said tion Fund is also looking to he’s been working with city police directory of services, boiling it down to who get loaner smartphones in officers on the idea for about a year, it applies to and very quickly giving you a the hands of what they call because they’re on the front lines of very short narrative of how you get engaged “trusted homeless youth,” dealing with people on the streets. He and to implement the Big with that service said the app will help them stay up to Burgh software at libraries date with date. and shelters.

“Obviously the information is dead Four foundations have as soon as they print it, so immediately the information is inadpitched in about $80,000 for the development of the equate,” Lagana said. app. Most of that will go to keep the information about Lagana said he hopes that the Big Burgh app can improve reshelters and services updated for two years. lations between police and homeless youth, who he said someFirth is donating his labor in hopes that he’ll be able times perceive that police are strictly in the business of chasing to reproduce a successful app in other cities. them down.

Have you ever been bullied before?

The Mayor of Tampa, FL has declared war on Homeless Helping Homeless, Inc., a nonprofit emergency shelter provider.

As you may know, the Mayor has failed miserably in solving the dilemma of thousands of homeless individuals sleeping on the street every night.

Find out what Homeless Helping Homeless is proposing – because no one should have to sleep on the street.

Call 813-675-0478

Homeless memorial, readers poll show changing attitudes toward homeless Kate Santich Orlando Sentinel moved him to tears.

Only four years ago, an annual memorial to honor “She was quite a spark Central Floridians who had died homeless drew just plug,” Wooden said. a handful of mourners. Nearly all who attended were “Christine had a lot of trousocial workers or homeless themselves. Some of the ble staying still... I first met dead didn’t even have names. her when our front-desk Police had found their bodies on the streets or in the staff called me and said, woods -- but no one who could identify them.

‘There’s a woman washing But late last month, as the 13th annual memorial recher hair in our water founognized the passing of another 52 homeless residents, tain’... Our outreach team it was clear that attitudes have changed. helped get her ready for This time, the chapel at First Presbyterian Church housing, and she was very, of Orlando was mostly full, and not only with social very close.” workers and fellow homeless residents. There were Huff died in the middle of family members, churchgoers, volunteers, Orlando a May day when the drivMayor Buddy Dyer, Orlando Police Chief John Mina er of an 18-wheeler took and a long list of the region’s pastors, including First a turn too tight, running Presbyterian’s David Swanson. her over as she stood on a Thanks to the enduring work of IDignity -- a nonstreet corner. profit that helps the homeless reclaim lost and stolen She was 60 years old and birth certificates, Social Security numbers and idention the region’s Top 25 list fication cards -- everyone had a name. And nearly evfor chronically homeless eryone had someone to share a piece of his or her life. people in line for permanent supportive housing.

“Dave Everhart was a wild man who lived on the “It’s hard for me to talk about her still,” Wooden said. east side of town. He had hitchhiked all around the But the fact that there is such a list, that there are people country,” said Joel Miller, like Wooden and Miller and scores an outreach specialist for of others who know the names of the Health Care Center for dead, that thousands of onceHuff died in the middle of a May day the the Homeless. “He’d call homeless veterans are now living in me up after listening to talk when the driver of an 18-wheeler took apartments and getting the medical radio -- he leaned a little a turn too tight, running her over as and mental-health care they need, bit to the right -- and let and that local businesses are investshe stood on a street corner. me know what he thought ing millions in helping homeless inabout the nation’s political dividuals and families change their climate.” lives -- all of that shows the dramatic Like Miller, Dewey Wooden, the director of behavturnaround in a region that once mostly arrested or ignored ioral health for the center, knew several of those who homeless people. had passed. But it was the loss of Christine Huff that In a year-end vote among readers to rank the top local sto-

ries of 2015, the “housing first” effort to get homeless residents into a place of their own was No. 1.

No one doubts that there is still much work to do, and a few skeptics still question the sustainability of housing programs for the homeless -- despite evidence that it actually costs taxpayers less to house people than to keep arresting and hospitalizing them.

But there are tangible reasons for hope.

“Four years ago when I spoke at this service, you could have thrown a blanket over the [handful of] people who were here,” Swanson had told the crowd gathered for the memorial. “What you see in this room represents a change that is taking place in the soul of our city.”

Tampa News Spiked smokes seen as possible culprit in rash of ER visits among homeless Hanna Marcus Tampa Bay Times ST. PETERSBURG — Since Thanksgiving, employees at St. Vincent de Paul — an organization that aids the homeless population in Tampa Bay — have seen numerous ambulances taking people from its shelter to emergency rooms.

Michael Raposa, its chief executive officer, and Sheila Lopez, the chief operating officer, both believe that their homeless clients are smoking something laced with toxins that are making them extremely sick.

“We believe someone out there may be intentionally putting something in there,” Raposa said.

Cliff Smith, manager of veterans, social and homeless services for St. Petersburg, said he wasn’t sure what’s causing the reactions, but believes it may be due to a bad batch of spice joints. Often called synthetic weed, a spice joint is a mix of herbs and chemicals that are supposed to mimic the effects of marijuana.

“There’s no good spice, but this may be a particularly bad batch that’s got into our county,” Smith said.

So far, police haven’t confirmed that anyone is intentionally trying to harm people.

Yolanda Fernandez, spokeswoman for the St. Petersburg Police Department said officers have heard rumors, noticed an uptick in medical episodes and have sent three samples to the lab for testing.

Fernandez said that spice is basically potpourri that’s sprayed with chemicals. When new laws are passed to ban a particular chemical, the mix is changed.

Although risky to smoke, it’s cheap. In St. Petersburg, homeless people are the ones who buy it, said Fernandez.

While police can’t say definitively if there’s a bad batch of spice, officers are telling people to stay away from it.

“We are aware of it,” Fernandez said. “We’re simply responding to the fact that there’s word on the street — we’re checking it out, we’re telling people to stay

away from it.”

Dwain Robins, a 62-year-old homeless man, said he believes rat poison or embalming fluid is lacing spice joints.

“A guy was here (earlier in the day) and he smoked that spice and then passed out on the ground,” Robins said in Williams Park on Tuesday afternoon. He said he has seen people pass out, hug trees, become frantic — all after they smoked spice joints.

Lopez said that’s how she has seen people react, too.

“They’re not good — they’re shaking, not being able to hear you,” she said.

Lopez has been making daily rounds during lunch and dinner

at the shelter for more than a week now, telling people not to take cigarettes from people.

Robins — who had a friend sitting next to him in the park who did not want to be named but also spoke at length about the spice joints — said he knows that nothing will stop drug dealers from lacing the joints.

“They can’t get high off regular stuff anymore, so they use spice, and then they add the other stuff — they’re (drug dealers) are not going to stop,” he said.

“It’s too profitable.”

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

Orlando News

9

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

10

Insurance Benefits that prevents Homelessness!

George Preacher

After 30 years as an insurance agent, I am writing this article to share with you that I believe insurance products such as Critical Illness, Accident, Hospital, and Cancer Indemnity plans are more valuable than Health Insurance. Health Insurance is necessary but consider the following: You're in a movie theatre and notice that your hospital administrator and your doctor are sitting in front of you with their families. Suddenly gunshots ring out and you jump up and take the administrator and his family to safety. You then return and take your doctor and his family to safety. Finally you come back for your family.

REALLY? Could you survive the catastrophic costs of a major illness? Even if you survive-could your finances survive? Fifty percent of all bankruptcies & home foreclosures are caused by such medical expenses, when 80% of them had health insurance.

Ask yourself this question? If faced with a critical illness-What are the most important monthly bills to pay? Would you and your family need help with the Mortgage, Out-of-Pocket medical expenses, car, food, electric, H20, etc...? Or how about actually trying to pay your Health Insurance Premiums? This would definitely not be a good time to lapse that policy!

Supplemental policies pay cash directly to you, to be used anyway you choose. You can buy policies with $5,000 to $50,000 or more in benefits.

Wouldn't you rather get a check instead of a get well card? Make sure you and YOUR FAMILY get PAID first.

Contact me, , Certified Medical Insurance Consultant at 954-880-2240 for more information!

The Homeless Voice is looking for a group of volunteers to gather donations in our name. You can put teams together and raise funds or products for the shelter. We need a team to get together and make plans to search for products. We need one person to contact hotels to get sheets, blankets, bed spreads and LED light bulbs.

www.homelessvoice.org/volunteer

If interested Please contact 954-924-3571

Each day at 3pm, say this prayer

11

By Associated Press January 12, 2016 | 6:45pm Hawaii lawmakers are considering a unique solution to the housing crisis: They want to make it possible for people to live in traditional Hawaiian grass huts.

Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland is introducing a bill in the state Legislature’s upcoming session that would let officials set aside land to build Native Hawaiian thatched homes. She discussed that and other bills designed to alleviate homelessness at a meeting of the Housing and Homeless Task Force on Monday.

“There is an interest in recapturing some of the traditional ways of living among our people here in Hawaii,” Chun Oakland said.

Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, a cultural practitioner, approached the senator with the idea. Officials creating housing solutions should take into account the culture of the people they’re trying to help, including the fact that Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders have large extended families, Wong-Kalu said.

“We have a different culture other than what housing will allow,” Wong-Kalu said. “When you look at shelters for the houseless, it’s all based on the nuclear family, and that’s not our culture.”

Not everyone at the meeting was immediately on board with the proposal.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” said Shannon Wood, co-founder of the Windward Ahupuaa Alliance, a nonprofit organization that advocates for smart growth solutions. “This is 2016, not 1616.”

Wood asked whether there would be toilets in the huts, and Chun Oakland said the details haven’t been fully worked out.

Proponents say they don’t know of any people in Hawaii currently living in the traditional structures, called “hale,” but it is technically legal. They say traditional hale are cheaper and more environmentally friendly than other types of housing.

The Legislature approved a law in 2007 pushing the idea of traditional Hawaiian architecture as part of a package of solutions to the state’s housing and homelessness crisis. That bill required each of the state’s counties to come up with their own permitting process within a year. But only Maui County came up with a

building code, and it’s for nonresidential structures.

Critics say living in traditional grass huts could pose safety hazards.

Chun Oakland and state Rep. Mark Hashem are planning to introduce additional bills or resolutions in the Senate and House to address homelessness. Among the proposals: Rental subsidy payments for programs like Section 8 would be exempted from paying the state general excise tax.

To help identify potential land for housing development, all state agencies would submit a list of land holdings and the agencies’ plans for the parcels to the Legislature.

A group would assess the housing needs of farm workers throughout the state.

High Schoolers Crocheting for the Homeless Ben Hooper UPI Students at a Michigan high school are seeking donations of plastic grocery bags for an unusual craft project: crocheting sleeping mats for the homeless.

The National Honor Society at Three Rivers High School said its “Mile of Mats” project is aimed at making enough crocheted grocery bag sleeping mats to stretch for an entire mile, but students have a ways to go -- they only finished two mats in the first week of the project.

The students said each 6-foot-by-4-foot mat requires 500-700 bags and multiple hours of work. They said production is expected to speed up as more volunteers are recruited for the project.

“It’s not an individual sport,” Ashley Eby, the school’s NHS adviser, told WXMI-TV. “We’ve got a lot of people involved. And really that’s what NHS is all about -- is getting our community involved and being able to serve and help all together.”

The NHS, which is aiming for a goal of 880 mats, is asking members of the public to pledge $200 per mat, with an aim of raising $176,000 for the NHS and other community projects. The group is also seeking donations of crocheting needles and recyclable plastic grocery bags.

“Its [means] quite a bit to be able to give back to the community, especially the homeless who, no one really realizes how many homeless people are here in Michigan,” junior Michael Hayes said.

The Homeless Voice Vol. 18 Issue 1 2016

Hawaii may bring back traditional grass huts for homeless