Why I love Arise; why we work for social justice Part One

Excuse this more personal post as a way to talking about Arise's recent work and what lies ahead.  I've been a little teary today, but only once from sadness; mostly I've been moved by the remarkable number of people who have given so much of their lives to making things right with the world.

This past week didn't start out very well.  We'd signed up for Toys for Tots for some of our members and close contacts, and, when we were called to pick up our order, we discovered we had less than half the toys we needed!  We put a call for help to the folks in our network, and folks are starting to make commitment to help.  (Still need more help, though; email, leave a comment or call us at 734-4948).

This was all my fault-- I'll tell you why-- so I'm determined to make it right.  Here's what happened.  Way back at the beginning of Arise, when our office was next door to an infamous "welfare motel,"  we decided we were going to do a Christmas Party for all the homeless children in Springfield.  We'd find out the names and ages of all the kids in shelters, plus our motel folks, spend months recruiting toys from every agency and church we we could think of, and then throw a huge party, with Santa and presents and lots of food.  It was lots of fun and utterly exhausting.

We did this every year for four years and every year we had to start earlier and work harder.  On the fifth year, after much discussion and soul-searching, we sent a letter to everyone who had ever donated a toy.  We said that after thinking it through, we'd decided that these parties were not really what Arise was all about.   We wanted to be about social change, not charity, and that we felt our parties were diverting our time and energy from our real mission.  We asked people if they would be willing to contribute the money they would have spent on toys directly to Arise instead.  To our joyful surprise, a number of people did so.  And that was the birth of our base of donors which has helped sustain us ever since.

These days, there's absolutely no way we could take care of all the homeless children in Springfield.  And besides, who's to say which child is homeless and which is not?  70% of homeless or about to be homeless families who apply for shelter from the Dept. of Housing and Community Development   Keep that in mind when you look at this chart.

But we know that this year, families are hurting more than ever before, and when  I realized we were eligible to apply for Toys for Tots, I gave in to temptation and asked other staff and board what they thought-- and we did it.

Maybe it's because it's the holiday season, or the sun is in Sagittarius, my sign, but I believe this is going to work out.

More about everything tomorrow.

March for Homeless Families on Wednesday!

International Human Rights Day: Rally, Dinner, Conversation

People's Music Network coming to Springfield!

OK, this is exciting-- the People's Music Network Winter Gathering will take place in Springfield this year!
Lots going on-- and I will keep posting about this-- but right now I want to invite you to a meeting of local musicians, artists and those who believe in the power of music on Tuesday, December 11, 6 pm at Arise, 467 State St.  Let's make sure that the color, composition and creativity of our community is in full force at the PMN Gathering in January.

Here's the PMN press release:

The Peoples Music Network will hold its Winter Gathering at the Duggan Middle School, 1015 Wilbraham Rd., Springfield, MA on the weekend of January 25-27, 2013.  The theme for the weekend will be “Taking Back Our Communities”.

           The Peoples Music Network (PMN) uses music and culture to bring about social change.  PMN is a network of musicians, performers, song-writers, DJs, sound and recording engineers, music lovers, record and concert producers, promoters and archivists, whose artistry is rooted in political and social activism.  In the words of Paul Robeson, “The artist must fight for freedom or slavery.”

      

            Since 1977, PMN has developed a format that includes a Friday night concert, a weekend of workshops, and a round robin. Members come from all over the country to share their love of music. The gatherings are held in different cities each winter. Summer gatherings are at a camp in the Hudson Valley.                                      

           PMN is a place to come to work on issues pertaining to cultural survival. It is a welcoming place for new musicians and songwriters as well as seasoned veterans.  It is a culturally diverse group of people committed to working on issues of oppression, having fun in the process.

             The winter gathering will present a dynamic group of musicians at its Friday night concert on January 25.  The concert will be held in the Duggan Middle School Auditorium and will begin at 7:30 pm.  The evening’s line-up will combine the political poignancy of emma’s revolution, comprised of Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow, PMN’s Artists-in-Residence, the revolutionary lyrics of David Rovics, the musical version of Democracy Now!,  the passion and power of multilingual singer/songwriter Colleen Kattau & Some Guys, the kamikaze guitar style of Pamela Means, the driving beat of Springfield’s hip hop artists from the “Like It Or Not” collective, and the jazz-infused, hip-hop bred, politicized texts of Lenelle Moise. All the performers have a strong commitment to social, ecological and economic justice.

Weekend workshops and song swaps focus on topics such as songwriting, the marketing of musicians, funny songs, choral and improvisational singing, rounds, labor, protest, war and peace songs, environmental, economics, homelessness, and gay/lesbian/bisexual issues.

           

             There will be a Plenary on Saturday afternoon, focusing on music and the movement that is working to take back our communities. Co-sponsors of the weekend are the community organizations of Jobs with Justice, Arise for Social Justice and the Pioneer Valley Project. We invite you or your organization to co-sponsor the PMN weekend. The primary responsibility of co-sponsors is to help publicize the weekend and to encourage your members/associates to attend.

Over 100 PMNers will be coming from out of town and will need lodging for the weekend. If you can provide a homestay for the weekend and for more information, contact Diane Crowe, at diacrowe@yahoo.com  -   413-548-9394.

www.peoplesmusic.org

The “Grand Bargain”: Thanks But No Thanks!

The “Grand Bargain”: Thanks But No Thanks!

WHAT:            Press Conference

WHEN:           Thursday, November 29, 11:30 am

WHERE:        Old Federal Building, 1500 Main St.

WHO:              20 people including Union and Peace activists, green energy small business people, social service and medical providers, National Priorities Project, and religious leaders

President Obama and congressional Republicans are negotiating a “Grand Bargain”.  The danger is that such a bargain will undermine the economy and slash vital social programs instead of growing the economy and improving the quality of life for Americans.

“Reports indicate that a “Grand Bargain” may increase the Medicare eligibility age, switch to a ‘chained CPI’ to reduce future benefits for Social Security recipients, allow extended unemployment insurance to expire, or make similar cuts," said Susan Theberge of Fund Our Communities Not War.  “Any 'Grand Bargain' with further cuts beyond the $1.5 trillion already adopted by Congress should be rejected out of hand. In the spirit of this holiday season, ‘thanks but no thanks.’”

Adds Jon Weissman of Western Massachusetts Jobs with Justice, "We’re not broke! We need our Senators to heed the will of Massachusetts voters who overwhelmingly passed the Budget for All question, to oppose any 'deal' that would cut programs that benefit us all, and to invest in jobs instead.”

The "Budget for All" referendum question passed in all 91 cities and towns in which it was on the ballot by an average 3 to 1 margin. The referendum called on Congress and the President to prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits and other vital safety net programs; stimulate the economy by creating and protecting jobs; raising revenues by closing corporate tax loopholes and raising taxes from the top 2% income earners; and redirecting military spending to domestic needs and ending the Afghanistan war now. 

The “Deal for All” resolution, H. Res. 733, makes similar proposals as the “Budget for All”. It is cosponsored by 41 members of Congress, including Massachusetts Reps. Capuano, Frank, Markey, McGovern, and Olver.

Join us for a press conference calling on the President and Congress to heed the will of Massachusetts voters, fiscal responsibility and the social conscience in the imminent budget deal.

Standing up for what you believe in

Ellen Graves will be missing a few days of work at Arise next week-- she and five other members of the Shut It Down Affinity Group will be going to trial for a protest at Vermont Yankee in August.

Here's a link about the trial.  There a chance that she and others will be serving some time and we'll have to get by without her for a while, which won't be easy.  But whatever happens, we know Ellen and her affinity group are acting on behalf of us all.

What if everyone were willing to stand up, lie down, sing, chant, link arms and say, "Enough is enough!"

“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
― Martin Luther King Jr.

“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.”
― Howard Zinn

“Colorful demonstrations and weekend marches are vital but alone are not powerful enough to stop wars. Wars will be stopped only when soldiers refuse to fight, when workers refuse to load weapons onto ships and aircraft, when people boycott the economic outposts of Empire that are strung across the globe. ”
― Arundhati Roy, Public Power in the Age of Empire  



 

What next for homeless families?

So after two public hearings, many phone calls and emails, and more than one protest here in Springfield, DHCD has made some changes in the regulations that govern homeless families' access to shelter.  So the situation facing homeless families is somewhat improved.  But the situation is still worse than I've ever seen it.

The gap between people's incomes and the cost of housing and other necessities of life is big enough to swallow the 35% of Springfield's residents who live below the poverty level.  TAFDC benefits-- welfare for families-- had a 10% increase twelve years ago and nothing since. In the last ten years, wages have grown at the slowest rate since the decade of the Great Depression. 

Families who become homeless are those pushed over the edge of the cliff by the backward movement of the working and middle class.The question is, of course, who's doing the pushing?  Who benefits from the misery of so many?

To: Interested Parties

From: Ruth Bourquin (MLRI) and Kelly Turley (Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless)

Date: November 20, 2012

Re: DHCD’s Proposed Changes to “Final” Emergency Assistance Regulations and Guidance

We received today from a third party a memorandum from DHCD outlining certain changes they intend to make to the emergency EA regulations and related pieces of Guidance before they become final.  Some of the planned changes are very important and meaningful, for which we thank the Administration.

But the proposal on the key issue of “imminent risk of having to stay in a place not meant for human habitation” and the requirements for proving “irregular housing” are unsatisfactory and will continue to leave too many children at risk. For this reason, we urge additional changes.

1.         “Imminent risk of staying in a place not meant for human habitation.”

In its memorandum entitled “Further Actions to Strengthen the Safety Net for Homeless Families” dated November 19, 2012, DHCD states on page 2 that it will provide eligibility for certain families at “imminent risk”. But the limitations on this “imminent risk” category are too extreme, e.g. it applies only to (a) those with a child under the age of 6 months, (b) households with a family member with a documented medical condition or diagnosed disability, and (c) those in double up situations in which the presence violates the lease and there is documentation that the landlord will take action to terminate the tenancy if the homeless family remains.

This leaves out most families with vulnerable children whose health and safety will of course be threatened by staying in a place not meant for human habitation, including those with a child over the age of 6 months.

Moreover, the proposed language about “imminent risk” is nowhere in the actual, enforceable regulations. It appears only in a sub-regulatory policy document, Housing Stabilization Notice 2012-06B, p. 7. And the language there does not require that eligibility be conferred in such situations. It only gives DHCD workers discretion to request a DCF health and safety assessment.

While we appreciate that the Administration has made some movement, this is not a satisfactory response with respect either to the substance of the policy or the failure to include the limited protection in the actual regulations.

2.         Irregular Housing Situation/Chronic Couch Surfing.

            On page 2 of its November 19 memorandum, DHCD says it has provided additional instruction on “irregular housing situation.” This additional instruction is also in Housing Stabilization Notice 2012-6B, pages 5- 6. Unfortunately, this additional instruction makes this category more, not less, restrictive than current practice,[1] and will relegate families to as much as a full month of bouncing from one place to another for very short periods of time in each place.

            On page 6 of the Notice, DHCD says:

The determination of what constitutes “persistent irregular housing” in a particular case will vary dependent on a weighing of all the factors. The shorter the lengths of stay in particular places, the greater the number of total moves, the greater the number of different locations, and the longer the time since the family last had regular housing, the more likely that the family will be found to have had persistent irregular housing. In general, a family that has moved every 2–4 days, to at least 6 different locations, over a period of over one month, will be considered to face persistent irregular housing. For daily moves to a different place every night, the total time period might be somewhat shorter; for weekly moves among 6 different families, but without any regular pattern of rotation forming, the total time period should be considerably longer. (emphasis supplied)

This is not a reasonable policy for families with children most of whom are trying to maintain regular attendance at school and parents who are trying to retain employment. And this is a policy that will subject homeless families to additional serious stress and related health risks.

3.         Positive Changes.

            The regulations are being amended to provide:

a) that a family evicted for purely no fault reasons can be eligible for shelter without first staying in a place not meant for human habitation or engaging in irregular housing, 67.06(1)(a)3.e;

b) that a double-up housing situation will qualify as a significant threat to health and safety if it qualifies as “unfit for human habitation” pursuant to the State Sanitary Code, 67.06(1)(f)6.d.(iv); and

c) that the exhaustion of time limits in a time-limited emergency family homeless shelter not funded by EA qualifies as “irregular overnight sleeping situation.” This should cover the end of stays in motels paid for by Travelers Aid, regional networks, faith community groups and others, although clarification of that from DHCD would be helpful.

Certain sub-regulatory Guidance is also being amended as follows:

a) DHCD sub-regulatory Guidance on Domestic Violence is being amended to allow required third-party professional documentation to be dated close in time to the EA application even if the domestic violence that was fled occurred more than 60 days before the application. To avoid confusion, we would continue to suggest that DHCD simply remove the language about requiring documentation “dated close in time to the domestic violence incident” on page 7 of the Notice 2012-07A, instead of keeping that requirement and then creating a fiction that more recent documentation meets that standard. Most importantly, the DV Guidance has not yet been amended to allow crediting of a domestic violence survivor’s own declaration of the violence or of statements by family members, friends, neighbors or other third parties who do not meet the definition of a “professional” yet have knowledge of the violence.

b) A provision has been included in new Housing Stabilization Notice 2012-06B recognizing that a family is eligible for shelter if they are being kicked out of a double-up because their presence violates a lease and there is documentation confirming that the landlord will take action to enforce the lease. This change is positive, but too limited. Many host tenants will reasonably not want to tell their landlords that they have violated the lease by having guests. Proof that the presence of the EA applicant family violates the lease should be enough.

c)  Former homeowners who were foreclosed upon and then evicted may qualify under the “no fault” eviction provisions but only if their foreclosure was based on failure to make mortgage payments due to decreased income within the past 12 months or due to a disability or medical condition. No provision is made to confer eligibility on victims of predatory lending.

Conclusion

            We thank the Administration for making the positive changes and Legislators for helping to make them happen. But we look forward to continued dialogue and further, much-needed changes, particularly with respect to the issues of “imminent risk of staying in a housing situation not meant for human habitation” and requirements for proving an “irregular housing situation.” 

---

[1] The adoption of this more restrictive language without another 60 days advance notice to the legislature is arguably unlawful.

Life in Gaza

'Kill the Gays" bill back before Ugandan parliment

Readers of this blog know that we have our own local villain in Springfield-- "Rev." Scott Lively.  Join us on December 7 for a standout for International Human Rights Day-- details to follow.  Take action!

Act now to stop the "Kill the Gays" bill in Uganda. Join the global outcry now and make sure Museveni keeps his promise to veto. Dear amy, Uganda's infamous "Kill the Gays" bill is back. If it passes, this horrific law would allow the death penalty for lesbian and gay Ugandans. It could pass at any moment.  President Museveni once promised to veto this heinous bill. But Uganda's politicians are desperate to pass the bill and they're pressuring Museveni to give in. The Speaker of the Parliament is actually calling it a "Christmas gift" to Uganda! Last May, millions of us stood up with activists from across Uganda to stop this very same law - and it worked.  Now we have to do it again.  We need to take action and share this far and wide.  We need every voice to build a massive outcry that the media and world leaders can't ignore.  The pressure could be enough to stop this bill in its tracks: www.allout.org/uganda According to our partners, the bill is now up for debate and can be voted on at any moment.  As Ugandan politicians work to finalize the the text of the bill, one thing is clear - if passed, it will force lesbian, gay, bi and trans Ugandans into the shadows.  Despite global opposition, some politicians in Uganda refuse to give up the bill and one is even calling for a new regional law, that would send every gay person in Africa to jail – for life. If this bill passes in Uganda, it wouldn't just mean tragedy for gay and lesbian Ugandans – it could set off a domino effect across the continent. Will you add your name and ask your friends to sign with you now? www.allout.org/uganda These politicians are using homophobia to distract Ugandans – and the world – from the very real problems they're supposed to be addressing at home, from corruption to freedom of the media. They're playing political games with people's very lives and lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans Ugandans will pay a steep price if they win. With millions of us together, we helped knocked this bill off course once before. Our friends in Uganda need to know we still have their backs.  Sign now and then ask your friends to get on board – there's no time to lose! www.allout.org/uganda This global movement for the simple right to live and love freely is unstoppable. But, as this hateful bill shows, there are still many hurdles in the historic battle for human rights and full equality. This is one of those milestone moments, and by raising your voice you are making a huge difference. Thanks for going All Out. Best, Andre, Hayley, Jeremy, Sara and the rest of the All Out team. SOURCES: Uganda's anti-gay bill to be passed by end of year www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/official-ugandas-anti-gay-bill-to-be-passed-by-end-of-year-despite-criticism-abroad/2012/11/12/a4f5d3b8-2cb4-11e2-b631-2aad9d9c73ac_story

Contact:

Jen Nessel, CCR, (917) 442-0112, jnessel@ccrjustice.org

 

 

Center for Constitutional Rights

Condemns Reintroduction of Ugandan

Anti-Homosexuality “Kill the Gays” Bill

 

 

November 21, 2012, New York, NY –  In response to today’s announcement that the Ugandan parliament has reintroduced its notorious anti-homosexuality bill, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement:

 

The Center for Constitutional Rights strongly condemns the Ugandan parliament’s reintroduction of its notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Whether the bill is passed into law or not, it intensifies a climate of hatred and persecution of the Ugandan LGBTI community, where activists have been outed in the press, attacked and killed. While we have not yet seen the current version of the bill, earlier versions have led to the death penalty for homosexual acts between consenting adults, criminalized writing, speaking, demonstrating, or otherwise advocating for LGBTI rights, and required extended prison sentences for anyone  – including family members, doctors and clergy – who does not turn a suspected member of the LGBTI community over to the authorities.

 

The reintroduction of this bill comes, as it has several times in the past, at a time of political turmoil in Uganda.  It serves as a convenient distraction from foreign aid embezzlement scandals, a pension scam involving a high-level government official and a damaging UN report on Uganda’s role in the Congo.

 

U.S. evangelicals have played a major role in fomenting this hate as well as creating the legislative strategy, which puts a special onus on the U.S. government to publicly condemn the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The Center for Constitutional Rights stands with Sexual Minorities Uganda and everyone in Uganda fighting for the rights of LGBTI people, and we join international calls for this bill to be stopped once and for all. 

   

 

The Center for Constitutional Rights brought the case Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively against Abiding Truth Ministries President Scott Lively for his anti-gay efforts in Uganda, including his efforts to strip away fundamental rights form LGBTI persons in Uganda.

 

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org and follow @theCCR.

EPA Brownfield Forum in McKnight

 

THE CHILDREN AND I NEED SHELTER – LAST NIGHT WE SLEPT IN A CAR (MASSACHUSETTS FOUND POEM)*

THE CHILDREN AND I NEED SHELTER – LAST NIGHT WE SLEPT IN A CAR   (MASSACHUSETTS FOUND POEM)*

I. From the official Department of Housing and Community Development Homeless Coordinator’s training Powerpoint

Where were you sleeping before you slept in the car?

How many nights have you spent in the car?

Were your children with you?

Do you own the car?

Do you have the keys to the car?

Do you have the registration or insurance paperwork for the car?

Can you identify the car by make, model, or license plate?

Can you describe the interior color or exterior color?

Are your belongings in the car now?

Where was the car parked when you slept in it?

Where is it parked now?

How did you get to our office?

Can you substantiate that you slept in the car

with a parking ticket, citation

police report or letter from the owner?

II.The Unofficial questions

How cold did it get?

How many people tried to break into the car?

How many people did break into the car?

Where did you relieve your bladder?

Why is your hair so neat if you slept in a car?

Why are you giving your child carbon monoxide poisoning?  

Why should you not lose custody of your child for resorting to these irresponsible measures?

And can you tell me the color of the seats?
And how many cars passed you in the night?
What time did the birds start singing?
What time did the children stop crying?

*In August and September of 2012, new regulations came into effect which drastically reduced the right to shelter for homeless families.  Mothers and children who should have been eligible for shelter slept in cars, police stations, subway stations, and still they were turned away. The administration claimed that indigent mothers and children were sleeping in cars and emergency rooms deliberately to make themselves eligible for shelter, or were lying about having done so.  Part I of the poem is from an official DHCD training Powerpoint for the workers who screen shelter applicants. Parts II is culled from the spontaneous email responses of community services organizations to the Power point. 

Just published in Cutthroat 

Hurricane Sandy and Climate Change

[This is a reflection on Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath in New York City. D.O. recently returned from delivering hurricane relief supplies to Occupy Sandy in Brooklyn]

As a born and raised New Yorker I've always identified deeply with the City. As an accidental environmental activist and broadcaster, I always fear for our planet and all her inhabitants. I feel certain most people do as well, when they actually think about it. Sometimes it takes a disaster to bring these things into our everyday lives. Twenty years ago I helped to promote The World Scientists' Warning to Humanity, a paper that told us "No more than one or a few decades remain before the chance to avert the threats we now confront will be lost and the prospects for humanity immeasurably diminished".  Those one or a few decades have passed and it's not just humanity whose prospects are immeasurably diminished, it's most of life on Earth. Now, the streets I walked so often on the Lower Eastside of Manhattan have been under water.  A lot of water.  And this is just the beginning. Frankly, I take that personally.  I am saddened and I am outraged.

The Climate Crisis is not some abstract scientific paper. It's certainly not the alleged hoax so many far-right reactionary ideologues would have us believe. It is real, it is human-caused, and it is upon us. We can take down greedy financiers and traders on Wall Street, we can stop immoral home evictions, and we can rebuild devastated communities, but how can we push back the change in our climate? There are multiple answers to that question and it is a personal thing for each and every one of us, even for those who have never given the natural environment a second thought. Some of the answers are as simple as committing ourselves to use less: less energy, less junk from China, less resources. Other answers involve the larger community, the state and federal government. That can require getting into the streets or to seemingly endless hearings and meetings. And still other answers involve confronting Corporate America, the companies and forces that are most responsible for destroying the planet. That takes a lot of time and personal energy. Since we are legion we can address all these answers and more. We can change the way industrial civilization uses the planet we all live upon. We can do this thing, really, but we must do it now.

-Don Ogden (d.o.)

d.o. is the producer of The Enviro Show and co-producer of Occupy the Airwaves
WXOJ-LP, Valley Free Radio
Florence, Masachusetts

Photo from U.S. Coast Guard's photostream at Flickr

Greenwashing at Walmart

As Walmart and Walmart supply-chain workers rise up for dignity and respect, we can support them in Western Massachusetts and across the nation.

On November 23 (“Black Friday”) Jobs with Justice coalitions are adopting Walmart stores to engage in creative action.  In areas where OUR Walmart members are walking out, coalitions will mobilize community/labor solidarity for the picket line, coordinating with the workers’ plans.  Elsewhere, actions will include Walmart-focused Christmas caroling, leafleting shoppers, asking them to wear “I support Walmart workers” stickers inside, flash mobs inside the stores, and more.

To get involved in Western Mass., click here to email us.  After you pick a store, the team captain will be in touch.  Our stores are:

Chicopee Walmart Supercenter

Hadley Walmart

North Adams Walmart

Northampton Walmart

Orange Walmart

Pittsfield Walmart

Springfield Walmart Supercenter

Ware Walmart Supercenter

Westfield Walmart

 

Arise's 25th Celebration- A success- A tribute to some of the members behind the scenes

The humble work of those behind the scenes.The value of those beautiful individuals who only wish to serve. I stand in awe. I embrace them. I honor them.

On Saturday, November 10^th I had the privilege of working closely with some amazing individuals. We, as a team, a well lubricated machine, a precisely choreographed dance, an act of Love and devotion to Arise for Social Justice, prepared a meal for 300 guests. Some of us met at Christ Church Cathedral in the morning. Throughout the day, others filtered in to lend their Love. In all of the years I have been working in the culinary field, I have never experienced the level of willingness to help, that I did for this event. It was a pleasure. I found each and every person there to be a gift. We gave it our all. No corners cut. Everything that we did that day was well focused. Our plan as a team was to prepare quality food and serve it hot. The kitchen was spotless when we left thanks to Sharon and all who helped clean up. The transportation team was something to be envied by UPS, fast, efficient and task oriented.   

A labor born of Love can only be a success. I have come to know that it is all about relationships. I have learned this through the devoted members of Arise for Social Justice. The priceless reward of working with all of you on Saturday has had a profound effect on my life. I am proud to be a fellow member of Arise with all of you. To all who helped that day, Thank You.

Mitchell-Ellen-Patti-Ruben-Alexie-Tonique-Zeborah-Lisa-Sharon-Madeline-Barbara- Vee –Jackie-Fran- (and all of the others whose names I have missed)

Additionally- Hats off to Margret Malloy for a splendid Alfredo Sauce and the coveted “Lemon Squares” and Mo Ringey for incredible potato, cheese and grape appetizers.

In Solidarity,

John Morris

Generosity brightens the day for homeless families

Today was a long day and we talked and met with two more homeless families but several people stepped up today and showed they cared.  

First let me say that the mom in the family who is staying with me is a great cook and whether I get home at 6, 7 or 8 pm., she has set aside a plate for me.  What a luxury, seeing as I don't do much cooking!

Sr. Claire from the Peace Pagoda came down and brought two bags of food.  We can sometimes have a lot of people in our too small office and they are often hungry (us, too)!

Another woman (I don't know if it's politic for her if I use her name) brought in 6 sleeping bags, a dozen pillows, and crayons and scribble pads for homeless kids!  The next family we hear of who is sleeping outside or in theircar, we can help to keep warm.

I met with a young woman and her amazingly blue-eyed baby today. They and the baby's father are homeless-- long story, and the only time she went down to DHCD to see if she could qualify for shelter, the worker said she would be calling DCF-- the Department of Children and Families.  (This was not for a "health and safety" assessment to help her qualify for shelter; it was a threat about the removal of her son.)  We will work with them to go down to DHCD and reapply, but meanwhile they are not in a tenable or stable situation.  

A Springfield couple who had read our recent newsletter had called us last week and offered their home for a homeless family for a few days at a time.  I gave them a call and they said, "Certainly!"  What a relief!

We need more households willing to do this-- to take a family in for a few days if they can.  I know it's not for everyone and not everyone has the space and some have families who say no, but please, for those who can....think about it.

Big thanks for help with bedding last week: Thanks, Mo Ringey-Gareau, Kathleen Ward and Nancy Woodman, for blankets, and thanks, Joe Oliverio, for hooking us up with Dave's furniture for mattresses.  They're beoing put to good use even as I write this.

Photo from JulieJordanScott's pohotostream at Flickr.

Correction/Update to last night's post

I owe HAP an apology for writing last night that the agency was responsible for leaving my family stranded at the motel.  They actually had paid for the family to stay three nights at the Springfield Inn, 1573 Riverdale St., W. Springfield.  Apparently what happened was that something got lost in translation when HAP gave that information to the DHCD worker to give to my family, because my mom has a note, not written in her own handwriting, that says Super 8 Motel, 1573 Riverdale St (The Super 8 is actually at 1500 Riverdale.)  So when my family saw the Super 8, they thought thatthat's where they were supposed to go, and didn't even notice that the address was not quite the same.

HAP responded well to this family by offering to pay for three nights in a motel, and I regret that I assumed that because HAP had said they would pay, that my family being stranded until nearly 10 pm. last night was HAP's fault. it was not.

The DHCD policy of leaving families hanging for as long as possible before providing a few of them with shelter is fraught with opportunities for error at the least and real trauma and tragedy for families at the worst. 

Five kids, one wheelchair, one service dog and two exhausted parents in a van

I could tell you the recent stories of half a dozen homeless families tonight, but I will tell you only one: the story of a family with five children, one in a wheelchair, who would have spent the night sleeping in their van outside the Motel 8 in West Springfield, abandoned by HAP Housing, had not Arise staffer Liz driven over to the motel and used her car insurance money to rent them two rooms for the night.

Here's how this happened: Liz has been working with this family since September 27, trying to help them get into a family shelter.  Until recently, they lived in New York but traveled frequently to Springfield because their eight year old son has spina bifida, and has received treatment all his life from Shriner's Hospital.  The dad is the kind of guy who's always been able to do what he needed to take care of his family but he was recently diagnosed with heart problems and he can't go back to work until the docs can figure out-- and treat-- what's wrong with him.  The son receives disability but otherwise, the family has never been on public assistance.

Given that dad was not working anymore, they decided to move to Springfield to be closer to their son's doctors at Shriner's.  They found an apartment long-distance, negotiated, and and paid first month's rent.  But when they arrived in Springfield, the landlord saw the son's service dog, and refused to rent to them.  They had no place to go, and moved into Motel 6 in Chicopee, where they quickly went through their reserve money.  By last  Monday, they were down to their last week of money, and we referred them to the Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), housed in the welfare office.  They were told it didn't look good for them to qualify for shelter, but thus began the endless quest for "verifications" needed to determine their case.  Last Friday, when they were at the DHCD office, and told the workers there that they only had enough money to pay through till Monday night, they were told that they were not homeless yet, they were only "preparing to be homeless."  Unfortunately, the day that they would actually be homeless was on Monday, Columbus Day, a day the DHCD office was closed.

We started calling churches to see if anyone could help pay for the family to stay until Tuesday morning, a lo and behold, Grace Episcopal Church in Chicopee paid for the night.  And then, this morning, they packed up all their stuff and, at 9 am., went back to DHCD.

More verifcations.  They had to go to Shriner's to get a letter verifying their son had spina bifida and was a patient there!  All day the family called us from DHCD to keep us updated on how it was going with them.  Finally, after checking it was OK with the family, I called DHCD and left a message that if they didn't find a place for this family TODAY that they could see the family being interviewed on Channel 22 and then it would be up to DHCD so explain how they could leave a kid in a wheelchair out on the street.  Then I called the associate director of HAP, whose agency. I had heard has some Emergency Shelter Grant funds, and asked them if they would use that money to get the family back in a motel   Finally, at 4:30, I got a call from HAP, saying that they would pay for the family in the Super 8 motel until Friday morning.  We were all greatly relieved.  (I suspect DHCD and HAP were communicating about how to avoid negative publicity, as HAP administers several pots of money designed for families not eligible for shelter, or to help families already in shelter get out-- not enough to mitigate the now astounding 78% denial rate of families in need of shelter or housing.

At 9 pm tonight, Liz called me.  The mom had called Liz at home to say they were parked outside the Motel 8 because no verification that HAP was willing to pay for their rooms had ever arrived!  They'd actually gone to the motel much earlier, about 6 pm., and were told "No verification yet, come back later."  So they had just been waiting, two adults, one of them sick, 5 children, one in a wheelchair, and a service dog-- in the van, in the cold.

Liz called Prospect Shelter, a program of HAP, to see if they had an emergency number for HAP personnel, but they didn't.  I called the WMA director of DHCD, whose work cellphone number I happened to have, but she didn't pick up and I left a message.  Called Liz back and she said she could front the money to pay for two rooms for the night, but she would absolutely need it back. 

"Don't worry," I said, "HAP was willing to pay for them so why shouldn't they reimburse you?"

Liz set out to drive to West Springfield.  The DHCD director called me back and I filled her in.  She couldn't understand why HAP hadn't paid. .  I told her Liz was headed over to pay if necessary.  She said to give her tn minutes to see what she could do.Ten minutes later she called me back and said she'd called HAP's director, co-director, and the head of the consumer housing division and none of them could understand what happened, either!  However, she didn't say that any of them had a clue or a suggestion about what to do -- none of them had volunteered to drive to West Springfield.  I think they were supposed to call her back-- as it approached 10 pm at night!!--  but as we were talking Liz beeped in to say she had paid for the family and they were set for the night.

I beeped back over to the DHCD director and told her what had happened, and that Liz had paid.

"Why didn't the family call earlier?"

"How would they know that nobody at HAP would be working and calling the motel after 5 pm?  And besides-- what if they hadn't had Liz's number to call at all?"

"I know, that would have been awful," she said, "but, you know, you're absolutely not being reimbursed for this."

"What!!!" I said.

"Don't pay for a room for a family unless you're doing it out of the goodness of your heart."

"Goodness of our hearts?  What do you think we've been doing tonight?  But you don't understand-- we are these people-- we need the money back-- and if HAP was willing to pay for this family and then through their own incompetence failed to do so, then I think they can pay us back."

"Well, you know, HAP gets this pot of money the same way you do...through donations, contributions..."

"HAP gets ESG money," I said, and she didn't answer.

"Well, I'm not getting in the middle of this," she said.  "I just want to make sure this isn't splashed all over your blog, that DHCD won't pay you back.

"Well, you very well may see it in our blog, if I'm not too tired to write it, but it won't be DHDC I'm mad about, it'll be HAP."

Now I need to take back half those words and not the half about HAP.  Although the local DHCD office was not responsible for tonight's fiasco, the new regulations DHCD put in effect as of August 1 are creating panic and chaos across the low-income community.  "Not eligible" is not the same as not homeless, not in need, not cold and not hungry.  But "not eligible" more and more implies a judgment of  "not worthy" by our policy makers and enforcers. 

DHCD is having a hearing in Springfield on the new regulations, and how it's working out for everyone (!).  If you're an affected family, a housed community member who cares about what's happening to the most vulnerable families, or you just want to see dissembling at its best, we need you to be there.

Western Massachusetts Hearing:

Monday, October 22nd

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

Springfield State Office Building 

436 Dwight Street, Room 305 

Springfield, MA 01103

Calling all people of compassion

Rainy and cold this morning and I'm wondering how my young homeless couple fared last night.  They've been sleeping outside while their year old son stays sometimes with her sister, sometimes with his mother, both extremely tenuous situations that could end at any time because .  I've been trying to get them into shelter all week, but no luck so far.  They are "to blame" for their homelessness because a month ago, when the mom was living with her mom in Connecticut, they were evicted from private housing. I won't even try to explain all the hoops this family has been jumping through, trying to get qualified for shelter.  But in my last conversation with a DHCD worker yesterday, the worker said the Gram had been working 32 hours a week and the mom receiving cash assistance from welfare and they still couldn't pay the rent of $750!  Well, I'm calculating that at minimum wage, Gram was taking home about $700 a month, and mom's cash benefits were about $500, leaving them about $450 a month to pay all other utilities, transportation, clothing, etc. Maybe some families could have pulled this off, but my family couldn't; they gradually fell behind.    (Gram had 2 other children in the household, also.)  So it's their fault they were evicted, and they are therefore ineligible for shelter.

But what does it matter?  They are no less homeless.  Every morning my couple goes and picks up their son from whatever house he's been sleeping at the night before (both her sister and his mother work two jobs each) and then they wander the street.  But according to the DHCD worker, as long as the child has a place to sleep at night, that's all that matters.  And if the situation falls apart, and the child is out on the street with them, they still won't be eligible for shelter-- but most likely they will then lose their child to the custody of the Dept. of Children and Families.

More bad news for my couple-- when I told them that at least they, themselves, could get beds at Worthington St. Shelter, I found out that the shelter has changed its policy from taking all comers to the development of a waiting list.  You have to call at 9 am. and 5 pm. each day to see if a bed has opened up.  (There are only 36 beds for single homeless women in all of Springfield.)

This is scarcely the worst case of shelter denial I've heard in the last six weeks, since DHCD's new regulations went into effect.  Not surprisingly (to us, anyway), many housing and shelter providers choose to say these regs are good for the families, that shelter is a bad place, and what they have to offer, instead, is a housing benefit with a $4,000 maximum.  You can use it for first month's rent and a security deposit, but if my family can even find an apartment that is less than their monthly income (which is zero, at the moment), how far will $4,000 take them?  The thinking on DHCD's part, such as it is, is that before the $4,000 runs out, families will be able to increase their income and stabilize their lives to be able to carry the burden of market rate housing on their own-- at a time when market rate rents have never been higher, when there's a ten year waiting list for public housing, and when most jobs are part-time and low-paying.

I could go on, but let me come to the point of this blog post:  I am asking readers for two things:

First, who would be willing to open their homes and take a family in for a couple of days at a time?  We promise to send you only families who literally have nowhere else to go, and who are not eligible for shelter or are still jumping through hoops.  This is a very short-term solution, I know-- sort of like evacuating survivors from a war-torn country-- but it's all we can think of at the moment.  We've been trying to get the attention of the Greater Springfield Council of Churches and Catholic Charities, but they've shown a remarkable lack of interest in the issue of homelessness so far. 

Second, we know there are some other solutions that are possible-- and I won't describe them here-- but we need more people resources. Can you help us strategize and bring these solutions to reality? 

Let me end by saying that we are really over the top here at Arise with the number of families who come to us needing help..  I even had a (now shameful) moment yesterday when I hung up the phone after talking with another homeless family and shouted to the ceiling, :"God help me!"    But it's not me that needs help-- except help helping others.  What can you do to help?