No easy answers

I’ve always liked the fairy tale of there being a magic wand that can be waved that instantly makes everything OK. Then again, that is a fairy tale and there is no such thing as a real magic wand. In reality, problems are complex and there are many variables.

The crisis with the homeless is no different. There is no quick easy solution that can be fixed in a snap. We have cities looking out for the concerns of economic development on one side and the souls who are chronically challenged migrating to cities for services on the other. Where CAN the homeless go legally? Where do you go when you are not welcome anywhere?

Then there are service providers. They need rules and structure but the rules can chase away the very people they are meant to serve.  Shelters are not places that fling open their doors and welcome you in with easy and grace. If you go to a shelter you sign over everything you have including your money. You get searched. You get a promise to get your stuff back when you leave. You may be required to pay a fee for the bed and meal. You are not allowed to visit more then a set amount of times a month. You share a room with people you may feel uncomfortable around. You may need to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior too depending on which shelter is visited. Shelters need to have a plan and follow it to offer a safe and valuable service. They are doing the best they can. Even if the people in need of services can find fault with shelters at least they are doing something.

The homeless population is a reflection of our society. Some of them are as good as gold and are loving beautiful souls. Others are not so charming. People can have so many dysfunctions and issues that sorting them out could be endless. Like I said, the homeless are a refection of our society as a whole and we are all a mix of good, bad and ugly.

Since there is no national policy to deal with homelessness, the problems are pushed around from place to place. Literally some cities do offer one way bus tickets to unload the issue elsewhere. When one city does a good job being graceful than it attracts more people in need of services.

On the other hand, when a city is too strict and heartless they risk being sued for civil rights violations. Lets be honest, if city government can succeed at stripping people in poverty of their civil rights they may attack the middle class next.  Where do you draw the line?

The solutions to easing chronic homelessness are not easy. Humanity has it weaknesses. It is easy to find people to complain about and to point fingers at. No one is perfect. The city government certainly does not want to put out a welcome mat and attract more people in need of services. The issue does not come with an easy button.

The best we can hope for is that we as a society face the challenges without trying to sweep it all away. While the solutions presently available may not make everyone happy, trying to do what is right is better than not doing not doing anything at all. At the end of the day we should hope that everyone tries to “do the right thing ” and that those actions ease the problems without adding to it.

What we resist persists. WILL THEY SWEEP AGAIN?

New Orleans Homeless Camps update:  Last week 160 homeless people were swept away from under an elevated highway  on the edge of New Orleans Central Business District. The homeless camps were visible to local traffic. The displaced residents set up camps in new locations close to were they were evicted last week. One of those sites is visible to the public and has about 20 tents. The campers requested that I not photograph it yet.

Last night on the news the city promised to do another sweep to finish the job they started and cleanse the city of  the homeless problem. Today I went out to visit the new camps.  None of the faces of the homeless residents were familiar to me.  These new people didn’t know what to think of me either. I’m used to this process.

One camp leader agreed to speak with me. He is planning a meeting tonight with the other campers to discuss their issues including whether or not I would be able to document their story. It is hard for them to trust the media. These people are vulnerable. I get it. I understand and appreciate their apprehension.

As I stood there and chatted with him he was articulate, polite and clean. In the middle of our chat a passing car threw trash out the window and he was disgusted and worried that his camp would be blamed. No doubt he will take responsibility for the motorist and clean it up. The camp was clean and organized and had no smell of human waste.  Many of the residents were away at work.

On the news the neighbors in the warehouse district were interviewed about the homeless issue and the message was that the homeless problems should be cleaned up. I found it odd that in four different camps I visited all of them were out of the line of sight from the apartments and condos. You couldn’t see several of the camps unless you went looking for them. The only house that had a view of the tent city was on Camp Street and they were not on the news complaining about it.

This is a continual dance around human and civil rights inside the world of chronic poverty. There are ways to confront, address and heal these homeless issues on a local scale without constantly fight against it. The universal law is that what we resist persists and what we accept we move beyond. Chances are most local governments will choose to fight homelessness since they have the upper hand and that is the easiest path. And the campers will continue their battle because they have no other choice.  I expect the tent city on Camp street will get a sweep very soon but the issue will persist and the story of homelessness in New Orleans will continue.

Sweep away the problem

[New Orleans, Louisiana USA] Today New Orleans police conducted a sweep from St Charles Avenue to Claiborne along Calliope where the homeless population lives in tents under an elevated expressway. A sweep is where they clean out all the homeless from their campsites and return the area to a clean vacant lot. The excuse for the sweep was that the camps attract rats, are in the way of termite exterminators, campers have it too good being fed leftover’s from fancy restaurants and the camps are a public health hazard.

Let us not forget that the opening PRESEASON SAINT’S game is taking place tomorrow is also an important factor in eliminating the camps today. Homelessness is bad for tourism and New Orleans is a tourist destination.

It is a violation of homeless people’s civil rights to arrest them prior to public events as  the city of Miami, Florida found out in the 1990’s. However it is totally legal to sweep them away and suggesting they get into a treatment program. Anyone in resistance of a sweep can be arrested.

Some sweeps include help with treatment alternatives, hotel or shelter vouchers, or other offers of assistance. From the people I spoke to today alternatives were not offered or explained but extra shelter beds became available. Most campers do not feel comfortable going to a shelter. This is a population that does not cope well with rules and regulations and shelters are full of rules.

Residents who did not remove belongings from their campsite on time lost all their treasures to a bulldozer, cleaning crew and a garbage truck. The area looks really clean now and the 12 block stretch was cleared out by 11 am.  There were still plenty of panhandlers everywhere and many campers just relocated to another areas.

One homeless man I spoke to said that the SPCA took his dog. He had no choice in the matter. The SPCA said they would license, spay and give shots to the dog before returning it to him. He expects to see his pet again.  I really hope they keep that promise. He showed me the business card of his dog shelter contact. He will know in a few days if they keep their word. I have never heard of the SPCA returning an animal. It would be very nice if they did.

On the news this event was reported as part of the process towards ending homelessness in the city. Unfortunately, all a sweep does is add chaos to the lives of people who are already experiencing the worst possible reality.