Homeless families rise 22% in a year

By Milton J. Valencia
Globe Staff / January 6, 2009
The number of homeless families living in Boston has jumped for the fourth straight year, making children without a home the fastest-growing group, according to results from the mayor's annual census.
The Homeless Census showed that the number of families living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, or even in motels jumped 22 percent in the past year, from 3,175 in 2007 to 3,870 in December. The number of children without a home soared 24 percent in 2008, from 1,850 to 2,288.
As past programs have targeted the elderly and people with drug addictions and mental illnesses, city officials said a new, concerted effort is needed to assist homeless families as their numbers climb during tough economic times.
"For families, it's really about insufficient income to afford a place to live," said Jim Greene, director of the city's Emergency Shelter Commission. "Family homelessness is caused by the divide between people's incomes and housing costs, and when the gap is too great the problem gets worse."
The Homeless Census, required by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, is based on a count of the overall number of people living in emergency shelters, transitional housing, hospitals and medical facilities, hotels and motels, and on the streets on one given night.
On Dec. 15, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and about 350 volunteers including city and state officials went into Boston's neighborhoods, reaching out to people living in alleys and under bridges and referring them to shelters and programs.
City officials counted an overall total of 7,681 homeless people that night - which included individuals and family members - up from 6,930 last year, an 11 percent jump.
The census, however, also showed that while the number of families without homes has climbed, the count of homeless individuals only - those considered unaccompanied by anyone - has held steady over the last several years, a tribute to new strategies in reaching out to people living on the streets.
According to the census, the city counted 3,811 homeless individuals, compared with 3,705 last year, a 3 percent increase.
A positive sign of the survey was that the number of elderly people living on the street dropped from a high of 77 in 2004 to fewer than 30 last month.
"We have made some progress, but more needs to be done," Menino said in a statement, adding, "this census reflects the growing challenge that low-income families, especially young mothers, are facing during tough economic times."
Joe Finn, executive director of the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance, said the stable number of homeless individuals is a credit to Menino's strategy to find people homes before treatment is discussed.
Only then, he said, can officials work with someone to address the root problems that caused them to be homeless - mental illness, substance abuse, or economic woes.
Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn, a Boston homeless shelter, said the increase in the number of families without homes is an ugly sign of the touch economic times.
"I think it's part of a trend across the country, where a combination of so many things going on with the economy are really hitting families in every way," she said.
Greene said that the homeless families often include a single parent who lost a job. In other cases, parents have jobs but still can't afford housing. Meantime, funding for housing vouchers has plunged, he said.
"We need more than just what the city can do," Greene said. "We need the state and federal government to look at the housing crisis for families. We need every level of government and the private and nonprofit sector aligning their resources to address this housing crisis."
Milton Valencia can be reached at mvalencia@globe. com.

http://www.boston. com/news/ local/massachuse tts/articles/ 2009/01/06/ homeless_ families_ rise_22_in_ a_year/

Homelessness, heating oil, health care: Bad news just keeps on coming

Don't look at the Boston Globe this morning if you don't want to be depressed.

Heating oil: Citgo Petroleum Corp., a Venezuelan oil company, will no longer be making donations of oil to Citizens Energy Corp, a non-profit which has provided heating oil at reduced cost to low-income people and Native American communities in 23 states. Declining oil prices-- which means declining profit-- is cited as the chief reason.

Homelessness: The number of homeless families living in shelters or motels in Boston has jumped 22 percent in one year. (I imagine it's similar across the state.) Reason? "For families, it's really about insufficient income to afford a place to live," said Jim Greene, director of the city's Emergency Shelter Commission. "Family homelessness is caused by the divide between people's incomes and housing costs, and when the gap is too great the problem gets worse."

Health Care: Increasing health care costs around the state are jeopardizing the state's new mandated health insurance plan. Meanwhile, Tufts Medical Center in Boston has announced it will no longer accept Blue Cross/Blue Sheild health insurance because the reimbursement rates from the insurer are too low for the medical center to operate efficiantly. A sign of things to come?

Mason Square Library

There has recently been positive movement in returning the Mason Square Library to the citizens of Springfield. Over the past five years there have been many organizations and community leaders pressing for the return of the Mason Square Library to its original location.
Arise for Social Justice has been one of those organizations that have spoken out many times in support of a full service library at Mason Square. Arise will continue to monitor the progress of the city in taking the former library location back by eminent domain and will continue to work toward that end. There are still a few hurdles to overcome and we the community at large, cannot afford to let our guard down. It's not a done deal yet so we must remain diligent in our efforts to return the library to its former capacity. If all goes as planned, the Mason Square Library will soon be back in its original location on State Street and back to serve the people and especially the children of Springfield. Stay tuned.

D.J.

Native American radio journalists urge war crimes tribunal for Bush,

http://www.bsnorrell.blogspot.com/

Posted by Brenda Norrell - January 1, 2009 at 4:52 am
Native American radio journalists urge war crimes tribunal for Bush, immediate withdrawal from Iraq and protection of Native sacred places
By Brenda Norrell
LOS ANGELES -- On American Indian Airwaves, Native American radio hosts Kehaulani Kauanui, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) and James Brown, Elm Pomo Nation in California, called for a tribunal to hold President Bush responsible for war crimes, during a panel discussion by distinguished Indigenous journalists and scholars.

"I think we need to pursue trying George Bush and company for war crimes related to this illegal and unlawful occupation in Iraq," Kauanui said."We need to have a war crimes tribunal and bring all these people in," Brown added. Both Kauanui and Brown called on President elect Obama to initiate immediate withdrawal from Iraq upon entering office.

During the panel on KPFK Radio Los Angeles/Santa Barbara, Suzan Harjo joined James Brown, producer of "Tribal Voices Radio" on KPFZ, and Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Lakota Nation. Ghosthorse serves as host of "First Voices Indigenous Radio,"at WBAI in New York. Kehaulani Kauanui, an associate professor and producer of "Indigenous Politics: From Native New England and Beyond," on WESU, in Middletown, Conn., completed the panel on Dec. 31, 2008.

The show demonstrated Indigenous programming and shared the history, girth and diversity on Pacifica since the 1960s, according to American Indian Airwaves cohosts Marcus Lopez (Chumash Nation) and Larry Smith (Lumbee Nation.)James Brown, Pomo, spoke about Rattlesnake Island and the incompetence of the BIA.

"Our so-called protectors can not be trusted with the land," Brown said. The BIA sold off Pomo land for mercury mining in the 1940s, leaving the tribe with only 50 acres of land, located 100 miles north of San Francisco.

"We have all our Creation stories here. We were basically fishing villages," he said.

Brown said Pomo is a matriarchal society, which resulted in the strength of the culture which has lasted so long. Earlier, Pomo fought Boise Cascade and prevented Rattlesnake Island from being subdivided for condominiums. Now, a wealthy businessman, John Nady, is attempting to build a mansion on their sacred mound and burial grounds at Rattlesnake Island.

"We may end up occupying this island to help preserve it this coming summer," Brown said.

Harzo praised President elect Obama for promising to protect Native American sacred places. Harzo said Native Americans have no way of protecting their "churches," or sacred places because of the lack of legislation. Harjo, now president of the Morning Star Institute, said she was a WBAI broadcaster for "Seeing Red" in the 60s and 70s.

"We have hundreds and hundreds of sacred places being desecrated as we speak," Harjo said.

Native American radio hosts described the desecration of sacred places, including San Francisco Peaks, and how US courts have closed the door to Native Americans protecting their sacred places.Kauanui pointed out that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is allowing "sewage to be turned into snow so the rich can ski" on San Francisco Peaks. However, countries in South America have made strides in Indigenous rights.

Harjo said the Bush administration has not honored federal laws regarding the protection of endangered species or of Native peoples' human remains. Harjo said this sent a signal that it was "open season" on Native remains.B rown said Obama's appointment to head the Interior, Ken Salazar, is a disappointment. Describing Salazar as a "cowboy," Brown said a Native American should have been appointed to head the Interior. "Let's light a fire under Obama," Brown said.

Brown said he supported the Green Party and Cynthia McKinney, who has a better understanding of Native Americans.Brown also pointed out that universities, including UC Berkeley, are violating the Native American Graves Protection Repatriation Act.

Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Lakota Nation, said he is watching to see what Obama will do once in office. Ghosthorse said there is a "mystical" feeling that something is going to change, but he wants to wait and see. Ghosthorse said Native Americans must dictate their own sovereignty and not allow the seizure of their lands for energy development.

"We have to see past the system that depleted us of our spiritual values," Ghosthorse said, adding that countries in South America are now stating the rights of nature within their laws. He said the treaties have not been honored in the United States. Further, the United States and New Zealand still have not signed the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Kauanui urged the Obama administration to honor the petition from the Lipan Apache women to halt construction on the US/Mexico border wall and stop the forced removal of Indigenous individuals and communities. Kauanui said Obama should take a stand on the state sponsored terrorism and attacks on Palestine and the issue of colonialism. She said there must be careful watch to make sure the US does not "start aggravating in Iran."Kauanui said US universities can lose all federal funding if they do not comply with NAGPRA laws. But the problem is the Bush administration has not gone after the violators.

"Obama needs to turn this around," she said. She urged Obama to oppose the Native Hawaiian Reorganization Act, also known as the Akaka bill, which does not ensure Native Hawaiian rights.After the show, Kauanui explained that the problem with the bill is that it is being sold as federal recognition and therefore packaged as a solution for Native Hawaiians. But it actually states that any future Native Hawaiian governing entity would be subject to both state civil and criminal law.

"We Native Hawaiians have sovereignty claims that the US government already recognizes and exceed US federal policy regarding tribal nations. This bill is about setting up a 'reorganized' Hawaiian government that would settle un-adjudicated land claims to 1.8 million acres, the same lands recognized in the Apology Resolution," she explained.Kauanui said Obama must honor the apology resolution of 1993, US Public Law 103-150, which states "the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum."She said the Akaka Bill undermines this resolution.

On the radio show, Ghosthorse said there must be withdrawal from Iraq and soldiers must have a way to come home, without bringing the violence with them.

"Instead of honoring the killing, they have to reinstate their relationship with the Creator," Ghosthorse said. Harjo said there are cleansing ceremonies for soldiers returning home.Ghosthorse said Pacifica radio and pirate radio stations have helped counter the mainstream media and more needs to be accomplished to reveal the truth from Israel and Palestine.Ghosthorse has served as host of "First Voices Indigenous Radio,"at WBAI in New York since 2002, after beginning with KAOS in Olympia, Washington in 1992.

"Other Indigenous radio stations in South America have formed a broadcasting relationship with First Voices Indigenous Radio largely due to their participation at the United Nations' Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues," Ghosthorse said.Today's show, broadcast on New Year's Eve 2008, will be available in KPFK archives at: http://www.kpfk.org/

One in five elders in MA live below the poverty level

Here's a video (and text, in case you don't have sound) about a program helping homeless seniors in Boston get into shelter. This week I'm going to be interviewing seniors at the Loaves and Fishes soup kitchen in Springfield, MAto find out why they need to eat there instead of at home. If anyone is interested in helping, let me know.

Hearth works to end elder homelessness in Boston

Play video

(Greg Wayland, NECN: Boston) - For many older Americans, the new year marks the beginning of a new chapter in their "Golden Years". Still others will begin the new year in a homeless shelter. Homelessness among older citizens is the special concern of one Boston-based organization.

A snowy New Year's Eve at Boston's Pine Street Inn. This is the men's shelter in a system of shelters that care for ten thousand men and women a year.

Inside it is lunch hour. And it is busy.

25-year-old Kate Waters is the outreach case worker for Hearth -- a seventeen-year-old Boston-based non-profit organization working exclusively to end elder homelessness.

"I got the news from the Section Eight lottery, so we can go over that today. Where you are on the waiting list."

Since 1991, Hearth has placed 1300 elders in housing. -- elders being defined as men and women over fifty. Through outreach workers such as kate, hearth tries to integrate housing, mental health, medical and social services in an effort to gain independence for its struggling clients such as 66-year-old James Coleman.

My hopes are to get into an apartment and get out of here

There are some success stories in the making at pine street. Al Davis is among them. Kate got him an interview with the boston housing authority for a possible apartment.

Oh, it really helped me a lot. Because, you know when I first came here, I was still in the shelter. I was living on the floors.

Hearth tries to serve a diverse population. Ramone Torriente-Rodrigues is Cuban, 63-years old and one of Kate's clients. "In everything she every day is helping for me, you know?"

Kate "It can take anywhere from six months to a year if somebody's meeting with an advocate on a weekly basis for them to get into housing."

Kate says both young and old come to homelessness from many paths. "I can't say that there's one certain path that leads to it. Certainly there are issues of mental illness for some folks. Substance abuse for some folks. Others maybe loss of income, job."

A lot of them don't have the resources to fall back on. Either they've burned bridges with family or friends or some family and friends...

Hearth expects to lose 12 percent of its federal funding...and has lost a quarter of the philanthropic funding it had anticipated.

Even before the onset of these hard times, the people at Hearth knew we were working in a tough environment. They say that here in Massachusetts, one in five people over the age of 65 lives below the poverty line.

"Yeah, I think there's just a lot more demand and there's a lot less housing."

But hearth will labor on, believing a person's golden years should not be spent on the street.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A DONATION TO HEARTH, YOU CAN VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT www.hearth-home.org

Board Meeting

Don't forget-- Arise board meeting Monday, 6 pm-- send agenda items to DJ.

Food Bank needs volunteers for hunger survey

The Western Mass. Food Bank is looking for volunteers to help with a survey to collect information for Hunger in America 2009.

This survey is done every four years across the country by the organization Feeding America to get a comprehensive look at how many people are hungry in this country and why.

If you're interested in volunteering, you'll attend a three hour training at the end of January and can then conduct your surveys anytime between February and April.

For more information, contact Erin Sullivan, (413) 247-9738, ext. 143, or sullivane@foodbankwma.org.

Just a reminder......

Just a reminder that the EJ committee is meeting Thursday, January 8, 2009 at 6:00 pm. Hope to see you all there.

Peace
Liz

Homeless children By Chris Bohjalian

Homeless childrenBy Chris Bohjalian
December 31, 2008


There are a great many reasons why I was down right jubilant back on Nov. 5 and have vacillated between unrestrained giddiness and a more appropriate middle-aged optimism ever since. Part of my exhilaration was the election ofBarack Obama and the signal to the world that America's moral compass is sound,after all. And, yes, it will be nice to know that for at least the next four years the White House will no longer be mired in the Love Canal of Verbal Gibberish. But part of my excitement was simply relief that a campaign that began when trilobites were the lobsters of the seas and John and Cindy McCain owned merely a half-dozen cars was over. No more pandering, no more attack ads, no more fairy tale-like juxtaposition of the words "clean" and "coal."
Nevertheless, here are two more words that we rarely heard spoken in the same sentence in the long campaign and that haven't been linked with any frequency since it ended: "homeless" and "children." In all the debates about whom to bail out (pre- and post-election), in all the discussions of recession and depression, Wall Street and Main Street, there hasn't been a whole lot of focus on homelessness in America. Even now if you visit the website for the Office of the President-Elect and search "homeless children" you won't find them on the agenda. You will find a pledge to combat homelessness among our nation's veterans, which I applaud. But just as we should judge ourselves by how we care for our sick and elderly, we should judge ourselves by how we embrace and lift up the poorest among us. According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, 1.35 million children were homeless at some point this year; on any given night, at least 200,000 have no place to live. Obama has monumental tasks before him. The truth is, we all do. We all must roll up our sleeves as we haven't in generations. There probably hasn't been a better time for us to add two more words - and one more task - to our agenda.

Chris Bohjalian's novels include "Midwives," "The Double Bind," and"Skeletons at the Feast."© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
_http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/31/homeless_children/_(http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/31/homeless_children/)

Life in a tent city

This was first shown on CBS News in October, but I know this tent city is still there.

Letter to the Editor "Voices of homeless too often unheard"

Voices of homelVoices of homeless too often unheard
I'm surprised by the bias exposed in the story about efforts to curb panhandling in downtown Northampton (The Republican, Oct. 27).
The reporter interviewed only one source against the ordinance, while citing three sources for it. The reporter didn't even speak to members of Poverty Is Not A Crime, a loosely affiliated organization of street people, community organizers, city citizens, local business owners and student activists, supported by the Freedom Center, Arise for Social Justice, and the Northampton chapter of Food Not Bomb, that are allied against the ordinance - despite our sending a press release. We've spoken out at the last three City Council meetings, held a protest that involved 50 people or more right before the last meeting and have handed out information to the public almost daily, motivating many to sign our petition or call their city councilors urging them to vote against the ordinance.
Many of us do social service work, and we know that while there are a few proverbial bad apples, most people on the street are exactly what they say they are: homeless and/or poverty ridden and in need. Statements by Mayor Clare Higgins and other city officials that most or many panhandlers are not needy is specious and insulting. Our work in local social justice organizations proves it's not so.
For the vast majority, it still takes desperation to submit to the humiliation of begging. Despite what Northampton does for the poor, a great many of them are forced into this humiliation, because it's just not enough. There's a huge dearth of low-income housing in this city, the Grove Street shelter only has 16 beds, only four for women, and the winter shelter won't even double this number, while the need is much, much larger - and funding has been cut yet again to the shelters this year. Welfare doesn't cover the cost of living for more than a week out of a month in a place like Northampton, and in this economy, there are very, very few jobs available, especially for unskilled laborers. There are no job-training programs available to low income people here. Food is incredibly expensive for the homeless, as they have no place to store, refrigerate or cook it, forcing them to buy expensive pre-prepared foodsand there are only a few free meals available a week, while the Survival Center is little advertised, far away and out of the way from Main Street. The story also doesn't mention the fact that, despite the rhetoric, this ordinance wouldn't regulate panhandling, it would outlaw it. Just look at the language of the legislation. Can you think of a place where there's foot traffic, where it's possible to panhandle that's 5 feet away from the entrance to any building, 15 feet away from any parking meter, parking pay box, ATM, bank, pay phone, etc., not on a bench, not under any overpass? And the list goes on.
As for "aggressive" panhandling, there are already laws on the books against harassment - there's no need for a class-specific law. And despite the self-conscious addition of charity solicitation to the legislation, make no mistake, it's a class-specific law.
As for fears of violence from panhandlers, most homeless/poor people are much more likely to be victims of violence, while middle/upper class people in Northampton are much more likely to suffer violence at the hands of someone in their own class, especially in a domestic violence context.
CATY SIMON
member
Poverty Is Not A Crime
Arise for Social Justice and the Free
dom
Northampton ess too often unheard

Question # 2

There is a suprising response from the DA's office to the passage of question #2. You can all read it at the link below.
O:nen
liz
http://www.masslive .com/news/ index.ssf/ 2008/11/hampden_ county_da_ to_drop_all. html%3fcategory= Politics

Budget cuts

Here's two stories about the impact of Massachusetts' budget cuts: Dan Ring at the Republican talks about the threats to seniors; the Boston Globe takes a look at Fitchburg.

Graphic from Boston.com

We registered homeless people!

I don't have the exact total yet-- I'll find out tomorrow-- but Lamont and others did a great job getting single homeless people registered to vote. He'll be getting back to people who registered to make sure they know where to vote, and encouraging others already registered to get out there and DO IT!

We did a less good job with homeless families-- just ran out of time-- but we can do better next year, which will also be important: the first year that Springfield voters will elect councilors from their wards as well as five councilors at large.

But let's get through the presidential election first.

Photo from Le Blog Exuberance

Homes with Reach progress report

There's an article in the Republican today which features Springfield's Homes Within Reach efforts to house homeless people. Check it out.

New York Times Food Issue

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine is devoted to food and the focus is more politics than recipes-- how agribusiness is destroying us, what the new president should do about food, how a new Jewish food movement is working to expand kosher food into the sustainability and social justice movements and more. Check it out.

Graphic from Greenleaf Gardens.

In her natural habitat

Graphic from Zina Saunders.

just heard some depressing news on my way into work,
damn, how many small islands and coast line communities will be swallowed up in the next year??