“I want to (believe it) really bad,” said John Mathews, a homeless man, after all the candidates running for Wichita mayor and City Council endorsed a 24/7 homeless shelter. “But, no, I just can’t believe it.”
His skepticism is justified. After all, it’s been 16 years since the city began its “temporary solution” for housing the homeless during cold winter nights.
The city and Sedgwick County do have a blue-ribbon task force examining the homeless issue. It will make recommendations, which may or may not include a 24/7 shelter.
But as Ed Haynie, a member of the Advocates for Ending Chronic Homelessness, noted, several of the candidates are incumbents who have had at least four years to act. “What have they done for you lately?” he asked.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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21 Comments
The answer to the question of the homeless MIGHT be (in part) a 24/7 shelter – for those who are in a tough spot NOW, but in the long term – they need employment.
And from the moment they walk in the door – and services they receive need to be paid for in labor of some sort. No one feels pride in taking charity. Able-bodied folks can wash dishes, do laundry, paint, mop, etc. The truly disabled may have a tougher time.
Don’t breed ‘victim’ mentality. Make each person aware that THEY are ultimately responsible for their lives – and they have to take the reins to make it work.
Network with local private charities and churches to provide housing assistance and employment opportunities.
I would add, mental health care #1 priority. They’re not going to get and maintain work if they are untreated for mental illness.
There are many projects across the state of Kansas. Let’s look at relocating some to other communities in the state where low income housing or section 8 is available to them.
Allow them to apply for SSI disabilty if they are disabled as well, those projects are designed just for that especially.
The “homeless” are not all the same kind of people. About half of them are mentally ill and, in most countries, would be in mental institutions for their own good. That is what we need here too. Another good amount of them are drug addicted. These need to be put into mandatory treatment. The rest of them are just people down on their luck for a bit- often women and kids fleeing a domestic situation. These folks just need temporary shelter and a social worker to help them get on their feet.
The reasons that a person becomes homeless varies from person to person. Mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse and then there are those that simply have slid down the slipper slope. Once one becomes homeless finding a job with out a valid address or a vehicle become almost impossible. Perhaps the last category is the easiest to fix and could have actually lead to the prior two categories.As I have told my children, “ you can do everything right, maintain a 4.0 GPA, live a good life and still fall flat on your face! The difference is that if you have done your best and still fail at least you can truly state it was not your fault. ”. I am not sure we can ever truly rid this country of the homeless crisis, but a hard look at the reasons someone becomes homeless and fix the problems we can lead to a reduction.
G is right that for some it would simply be a matter of once again get a level playing field and to get a sense of pride again.
People who are homeless due to drug/alcohol addiction will not benefit from such a shelter unless/until they do something about their addiction. There are many free programs available for those who want to help themselves. But, until they do, all a homeless shelter is doing is ‘enabling’ them to continue in their addiction.
No, I don’t advocate ignoring them or throwing them out, just recognizing the fact that as above posters have mentioned, without addressing the cause, building a shelter will do nothing to end “chronic homelessness’, and it might just attract others from other cities and states.
http://www.brm.org/index.aspx?sec_id=10&page_id=26&page_url=
* The average age of a homeless person living in the US is nine years-old.* 3.5 million people (1.35 million of which are children) will experience homelessness in a given year.* Children under the age of 18 account for 39% of the homeless population. 42% of these are under the age of 5.* 43% of the homeless population are women; 40% of these women are unaccompanied. 22% of homeless women claim domestic abuse as reason for homelessness. 25% of these claim to have been abused within the past year.* Families with children comprise 33% of the homeless population.* Vets constitute 40% of the homeless population.* 1 in every 5 homeless persons has a severe or persistent mental illness.* 25% of the homeless nationwide are employed.
Interesting statistics.
All the stats in the world, even down to a scientificly proven level are virtually useless when a solution is sought and inacted.The money, property and manpower is there, from all the “Hey look at Wichita” projects built to show off or display someones wealth. The largest yet to be built, the all-mighty Arena.Oh but the homeless and the issues involved won’t bring new business in.It’s been said, “Life isn’t fair”, it can also be said of a City, A prosperous city isn’t always pretty.
I would say statistics are useless in this regard. If you are planning to do something about it, know what type of facilities to build or not to build is quite important.
eer…wouldn’t say
First of all, “homeless” can mean many things.
I am not talking about the wife and kids who needs a place to stay while she leaves her husband/boyfriend.
I am not talking about the guy who lost his job and everything else and is trying to get back on his feet.
I am talking about the guy who is pushing the shopping cart around with some wierd dog for the rest of his life.
Those homeless people have chosen that life. Go talk to them, live with them. It is a different world where they travel from city to city and what not.
What we consider to be normal: house, family, car, job they don’t care about.
There is a big difference between the typical “homeless” person we talk about and the statistics saying that 1 in 4 are a child…
Nathan you are so right about this. Our church has an organized homeless program in Wichita. We set up people in apartments, give them furniture, help them get jobs, help secure ssn’s and other documents they need (we have found this is one of their greatest problems). We have done this for hundreds of homeless.
But you are correct in saying that not all homeless people need or want help. Many are there because this is the life they have choosen. They will take a free meal or two if you will give them one but don’t want shelter. They aren’t comfortable in an enclosed area with other people. Maybe this is a sign of mental illness. I really don’t know.
The truly needy are people like a young family that was brought to us because they were living under a bridge. A mother, father, son and daughter. When the father lost his job in Chicago they decided to drive to California for a job that had been promised to him. Their car broke down outside Wichita and they had no money to fix it. They were staying here until he made enough money from odd jobs to fix the car and a little gas money before going on. We moved them into an apartment, helped enroll the kids in school and got him a job. They are still living here I think. I think many people might be in this situation – just one bad break away from disaster.
A shelter might not be the best way to go if all we have is an empty building and no programs to integrate them back into society.
Fact: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) with Medicaid medical benefits, SSI is state funded.Fact: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) with Medicare, SSDI is federally funded.Fact: An original qualification for SSDI was being unable to work because of physical and/or mental illness disabilities.Fact: Decisions for qualifications is largely impart based on examination reports conducted by a contracted physician groups for the state and federal.Note: Contracted physician groups are instructed to minimize claim applicant’s grievances.
So when it comes to homeless people, do anybody see a problem here?
I don’t know much about Wichita’s homeless situation except what I see out on the downtown streets. But I agree with Ksgrm above, a 24/7 homeless shelter might be less important than creating worthwhile programs to deal with the problems.
In fact on previous threads on WE Blog, some specialists have stated something to the effect that Wichita has a number of religious sponsored shelters already.
These might be more effective and better located than a new “government sponsored” building.
So I think new actual programs staffed by trained people to actually talk to the homeless is probably the best way to go.
As usual, a new building would be just a “feel good” approach by politicians.
Many people with cognitive disabilities or severe and persistant mental illnesses don’t have what it takes to navagate a complicated social network, if they have no one to advocate for them, they’re really vulnerable to being homeless. Others have severe drug and alcohol abuse issues, and refuse to stay in a shelter or halfway house because they don’t want to give up their addiction. You can build all the shelters you want, it doesn’t address the problem unless you combine it with resources that deal with the underlying reasons for homelessness. Even if you do that, most won’t take advantage of the help for many reasons. As long as people are comfortable in their dysfunctional lifestyle, they won’t be motivated to change. Giving them food, shelter, and clothing to ease their suffering makes those who are helping feel better, but it does nothing to solve the real problem.We have more homeless now than ever, and it’s not because people can’t find jobs. We have created and enabled an entire subculture of people who are fine with living on the fringe of society, because there is no real consequences in doing so.Wichita has lots of food banks, shelters, free clinics, and all sorts of give away programs, none of it does anything to reduce the number of homeless people, it just helps to create more.
Thanks Mary Caruso for expressing your view.
I’m glad you said it, I would have been chastised as some sort of ogre if I would have said that. :)
One sees the same in the military. I remember some real slobs that happened to wear the uniform; never bathing, drunk, disdain for anything that was authority and generally destined to be a failure.
Very few came out of their stupor and ended up being discharged even after intense counseling (drug and psychological), second, third and fourth chances.
I only heard back from one of these men and he was living in an abandoned house, drawing social security and generally wasting away.
Not homeless. The PC way is, Urban Outdoorsmen.
I have contacted the homeless shelter interested parties several times over the past few years. I have had some solid ideas for a 24/7 shelter, based on past experiences in other cities… I have been totally ignored by these people. NO, Wichita isnt doing anything about the problem… We KNOW they need jobs… that’s absurd to fall back to that argument… We KNOW there is a mental health care problem… That too is an absurd argument… We NEED a viable SHELTER!! I do hope you all will stay on the subject instead of getting off on bigoted type statements, and holier-than-thou attitudes… This is a SERIOUS problem that can realistically happen to ANYbody… Most people are only 3 paychecks from being homeless most of the time…
Everday I drive by and see the huge lines outside the food bank on Market and the Lord’s Diner on Broadway waiting for the doors to open, yet when I drive by the temporary service place that gives daily pay for a days labor, no one is standing outside waiting to get in.We don’t need a 24 hour shelter in the city…if homeless people would be willing to take advantage of what’s offered out there now, there wouldn’t be a problem.I’m not being “holier than thou”, I’m just stating the reality of the situation. Many wouldn’t stay at a 24 hour shelter, because they won’t give up the drugs and alcohol or else they’re too paranoid about it. If they don’t take advantage of what’s offered now, why would they take advantage of this? You’re not going to solve the problem of homelessness by throwing more money at it.You can’t save those who choose not to be saved. Most homeless people haven’t lost a job and are just down on their luck…it’s a lifestyle choice for the majority of them. The folks you speak of Chas are the ones who would take advantage of what’s already there. My sister sits on the board of Saint Anthony’s Shelter, they do a great job of helping families get back on their feet, and there’s a lot of help like that out there. We don’t need anymore shelters, we need solutions that will work.
I have also served on Shelter boards in past years… I KNOW we need solutions… But we also need a place where these people can safely go, where they can trust those who run it… Where they can find a support group among their own peers… THAT is the way we can help solve the problem… Many dont trust the people who open temporary shelters… Daily work lines can often be a form of cheap slave labor… Nothing permanent about those labor lines… Many of our homeless have children… Many temp shelters wont allow families… Some take women and children, but not MEN… Sorry Mary, we DO need a viable 24/7 facility AS WELL AS finding viable solutions to the problems on the streets!! It takes both…
Indeed, the homeless “problem” is complex. There are those that have for no fault of their own, fallen on hard times. I believe that we should help them, but not with coercion or consfication of tax dollars. We as a people should not “let the government take care of them” but should do it ourselves.There are those who because of mental illness cannot fend for themselves. I think we need to reverse the court rulings not allowing us to keep these folks in shelters for their own good. We should do so as a function of government, if there is none other to do it. Unfortunately, government is extremely wasteful in this regard so charitible organizations should take on the task. We should try and help them, but recognize some may be beyond repair and just need to be taken care of in an environment where they can be safe.The next group is the drug and alcohol dependant. Clean them up and give them the necessary life skills to survive at taxpayers expense if need be and send them on their way. Part of those life skills should be lessons in responsibility. Make them clean up the city streets or parks, or help at the shelter. If they refuse to participate, and cannot be made to see the error of their ways, let them be dependent on those who charitably give towards their care, and not coerce the rest of us to do so.Those who choose the life, let them do so. With no handouts or government coddling. Remove them from annoying others if need be, and let them be.
I agree littlejohn…those who choose to live that way should be left alone with no enabling from the government or from charities.Putting the mentally ill someplace where they can be safe is what we used to do, until the system de-institutionalized them with the idea that community support would provide the safety net they needed to survive…the only problem is the system that was set up to help them live independantly is complex and often inaccessable to those who need it the most. In the government’s attempt to protect the rights of the mentally ill, they made it much more difficult for family and loved ones to intervene when someone’s illness gets out of control. It’s a vicious cycle…because we want to protect their rights, they can refuse help and stay sick, often ending up homeless.The other side of homelessness is the drug addict, who because of all the generosity and support from well intentioned and good hearted people, can live on the streets and use without fear of being cold, unclothed, or going hungry, they don’t have to take responsibility or work in order survive, which allows them focus all their energy on their addictions.