End of a session, and an era

First let me say that all my positive energy is directed toward recovery and healing for the Japanese people in their time of tragedy.

If you didn’t know, the Utah State Legislature wrapped up its annual 20 day session this week. Both the best news and the worst news can be found in its docket of bills, bevy of protests, and comings and goings.

I have never been happier to see anyone quit their job as I am to see the rear end of Utah Senator Chris Buttars. He is the narrow-minded, squinty-faced, hypocritical, self-righteous, bigoted enemy of all evolving life forms. He is the antichrist of Utah’s disadvantaged, downtrodden, disenfranchised masses, an enemy to logic and rationale. He is the nemesis of human progress, and I wish him well in his private life. That is because he will now have no say about mine.

The bad news is the roundabout passage of HB0477, and our milquetoast governor’s signing of it. this bill will make more government records less public. So I guess they’re all saying, “We have nothing to hide, but you can’t see it.”

I touch upon legislative and government matters because I feel that of all groups of people, homeless people should be more informed, active, and involved in the process. Why? Every year a group of guys sit in meeting, and argue debates, then vote on bills that affect our lives. these bills often become laws, as you know from Schoolhouse Rock. Don’t you want some say in what they do? After all, we elected them, and they work for us.

I was pleasantly surprised by my interaction with my elected officials. I wrote some e-mails, made some phone calls. I received thoughtful, professional replies to all. Unfortunately, my schedule didn’t allow for visits to Capitol Hill to participate directly. That’s a goal for next year.

Were you happy with the result of our legislative session this year? I challenge everyone, especially homeless people, to find out who their officials are, then get more involved with local and state government. If nothing else, you may discover an official outlet to express your complaints constructively. At most, we could all change our little piece of the world for the better.

Here are this week’s links:

Income inequality in America: An illustrated interview March 11, 2011 KUED 7 (PBS) Interview and video

What Can Foundations/Philanthropy Do? 7th March 2011 written by Catherine An endhomelessness.org (NAEH)

Life after foreclosure: Organizers seek answers, solutions through the fog… Posted on March 7, 2011 By Joanne Zuhl, Staff Writer for Street Roots at wordpress.com

 

The Skeptic Hour int of Joe Zamecki - Atheists Helping the Homeless 3-6-11 Audio and Slideshow youtube.com

Sen. Buttars resigns seat in Utah State Senate Reported by : Chris Vanocur SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News)

Utah Senator Chris Buttars Bill Brussard, ABC 4 News) 

No “Hall of Shame” listings to be found this week.

Until next time...

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, have fun, but be careful and stay outa jail.

—your editor

---

Related Links:

Preventable tragedy

Every day when we turn on the news we are shocked by horrible accidents and acts of terror. Men, women and children by the thousand, or hundreds of thousands die every day. Many people refuse to watch the news on TV or read a newspaper.  It’s just too  depressing. They feel powerless. It gets to me often too.

Granted, there is nothing that can be done about some tragedies. They are just freak accidents, mechanical failure, human error, or natural disasters. Life is full of unanticipated events. That’s one of the things that make it so interesting, but dangerous as well.

However, there are things we can do to protect ourselves from life-threatening occurrences. We look both ways before crossing the street. We take our cars for routine maintenance. We have our furnaces and other major appliances serviced regularly. We don’t play with fire. We get vaccinations. We see doctors and dentists. We eat right and take care of ourselves.

These are relatively simple things to do. You don’t have to be a genius to know that if these rules aren’t followed, there are consequences. sometimes, the results are deadly. If warning signs are ignored, things only get worse.

When we see all the problems in our world, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and feel powerless. However, simple solutions often exist. If we turn a blind eye, or refuse to help, problems just become worse. it is true in our personal life, and it is true in relation to everything that’s wrong in our world.

On the other hand, when even one person sees injustice, inequality, violence, and discrimination, then acts to correct it, the ripples travel across the pond, and change occurs.

Maybe one person can’t change the world (it has happened, however). But by doing one right thing every day, we set an example for others to do the same. Before you know it, that one act, combined with the acts of others, has affected significant change.

Homelessness and poverty are preventable human tragedies.

Here are this week’s links, and some simple ways to educate yourself, become aware, and help:

---

Documentary depicts struggles of Ogden Vietnam veterans Published: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011 3:56 a.m. MST By Spencer Garn , Deseret News

An uncertain future after jobless benefits expire Published: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011 9:20 p.m. MST By Cristina Silva, Associated Press

Agencies and volunteers combine efforts to survey Utah's homeless Published: Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011 4:25 p.m. MST By Marjorie Cortez, Deseret News

[There are at least 500 people who live in camps along the Jordan River in Salt Lake County. A Point In Time Count of the homeless population is underway in Salt Lake City on Jan. 27, 2011. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)]

A super souper bowl »By Paul Rolly Tribune Columnist First published Jan 28 2011 06:06PM Updated Jan 28, 2011 06:06PM: “With Super Bowl Sunday coming up, Andrew Hagedorn would like to get word out about the Souper Bowl of Caring, a national volunteer project, founded in 1990, that encourages donations to charities for the homeless or hungry....” www.souperbowl.org

Legislature: Social-services advocates try to stave off budget cuts By dan weist The Salt Lake Tribune First published Jan 25 2011 02:35PM Updated Jan 25, 2011 09:28PM

Burger with Relish: Music

Tom Waits releases poem to help the homeless by David Burger The Salt Lake Tribune Published on Jan 13, 2011 12:42PM            [Tom Waits]

Radio executives need to hire this man by David Burger Published on Jan 5, 2011 “The homeless Man With the Golden Voice is the latest YouTube viral video:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTysXITBCmk

---

Related Links:

The Road Home   Salt Lake City Mission   Rescue Mission of Salt Lake   Salt Lake Street News   North American Street Newspaper Association   National Alliance to End Homelessness   National Coalition for the Homeless

---

You may have noticed, I am concentrating more on local issues affecting homeless and low-income people. That’s because grass roots activism and advocacy tend to trickle up.

At the recent celebration, rally and marade for Martin Luther King Junior Day(click here to view post), Jennifer Williams Molock reminded all present that we do not need the education, experience, or charisma of people like Dr. King. We don’t need to be a movie star,or a rock star, or a best-selling author. Anyone can make a difference. All we need is passion, and compassion for our fellow human beings.

The Utah State Legislature is in session now through March 10th. Your Representatives, Senators, and Congressmen work for you. Find out who they are, then call and write them. You can even meet them. Daily legislative agenda and other information are at www.utah.gov/Documents/find.htm .

Until next time: Get involved, give ‘em hell, care, make a difference in your life and the lives of others.

---your editor

“Souper Bowl,” “home snatchers”, and a not so small victory.

I thought I was going to have to suspend this blog for a while, due to internet access problems and a temporary return to work for the tax season. But I have connectivity, at least for the time being, and there’s been a lot of homeless news already this year.
Read up, get involved, volunteer or donate if you can. As hard as we have it in our warm caves, it’s even harder on the street.

---

Well, we have a lot going on so far in 2011: Dying animals, killer floods, deranged gunmen. That is not the worst of it. According to the latest findings by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “The New Depression” (as I am wont to call it) has led to a great increase in people experiencing homelessness. Of course, that’s something you and I already knew, innit? The stats are broken down into regions, states, and subcategories such as families, unsheltered, and youth. Go to the NAEH website for a summary of their data. You can also read the entire 48-page study, The State of Homelessness in America, or download it for later if you have that capacity. Click the image above and use the “interactive tools” page to view maps charting economic indicators, demographic drivers, and states with multiple risk factors in relation to homelessness.
With things going on like the shameless shenanigans of voraciously greedy financial institutions reported in an article from the November 25, 2010 Rolling Stone, it’s no wonder there are more people on the street. Subtitled ...how foreclosure courts are helping big banks screw over homeowners, Matt Taibbi’s Invasion of the Home Snatchers is jaw-droppingly unbelievable. Let’s hope the expose, which accuses our courts of complicity in pushing through obviously fraudulent foreclosures, to the banks’ favor, rings some bells.
With nosebleed seats for Super Bowl XLV starting at $2586 each, I don’t know anyone who is going to Arlington, TX on February 6. How many children could the price of one crappy ticket feed? Well, you don’t have to pony up that kind of dough to make a difference. Beginning Monday, and ongoing until the game day, you can donate some of the money you would have spent on partying to help homeless people in Salt Lake City. Just $1 from everybody is all they’re asking. More details on The Road Home’s “Souper Bowl of Caring” here, or on Facebook.
Also Salt Lake City Mission’s, ABC News Good Morning America and Burlington Coat Factory’s Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Coat Drive has been extended to February 13th. Join these fine organizations in helping to keep our homeless friends warm through this exceptionally cold winter.
Last, but not least, is a tale of great victory for three homeless panhandlers who were cited by Salt Lake City police officers for holding a sign to solicit funds. Even though the Salt Lake City Council suspended a December vote on a new panhandling ordinance, I guess the cops were already enforcing one of their own. Well, Terry Lee Wilkinson, Patty Eagle, and Jackie Sanchez filed a lawsuit against the city, the police chief, the mayor, and the state’s Attorney General. With the help of Brian Barnard and other attorney’s from Utah Civil Rights & Liberties Foundation, Inc. THEY WON! The plaintiffs now have to pay the legal costs, and it’s still our 1st Amendment right to ask for help. Click here to view Judge Ted Stewart’s ruling, or read my recent Special Bulletin. You can read the ridiculous proposed ordinance in yet another recent post.

Some of us lucky enough to be employed have a three-day weekend, so enjoy it, remember what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fought and died for, and do something to make the world a better place.
Until next time...
---your editor
Next Report: Hate crimes against homeless people.

---

Related links:
Salt Lake Street News and related local news coverage
North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA)
Salt Lake City Mission
Rescue Mission of Salt Lake
National Coalition for the Homeless

Judge Stewart’s order in panhandling lawsuit

Here’s an image of the order. Click on the pages to enlarge for reading. Sorry they're out of order.
Congrats, Terry Lee, Jackie, and Patty. Thanks for standing up for our 1st Amendment rights. You should be proud.



Until next time,
---your editor

Victory for SLC homeless panhandlers

In my last actual report, I mentioned Salt Lake City’s proposed panhandling ordinance. Three persons had been issued citations for panhandling with signs. They filed a lawsuit against the city, and they have won. Here’s all the coverage I could find. Thanks to attorney Brian Barnard for bringing the suit, and winning it. It’s rare to find a good lawyer who is willing to listen to homeless people, let alone defend them. Kudos, Mr. Barnard!and to the federal judge who ruled. What has your experience with panhandlers been? Comment to let me know, from SLC or anywhere.

---

Panhandlers settle lawsuit with Salt Lake City - By Jared Page ksl5.com 

---

Salt Lake City panhandling lawsuit settled abc4news.com

---

City settles lawsuit saying no panhandling citations will be issued - Fox 13 Now

---

Salt Lake City panhandling suit settled - by Eric Petersen city weekly.net

---

SLC agrees not to ticket homeless bearing signs – by Roxana Orellana The Salt Lake Tribune

---

There’s a lot of text, video, and pics to peruse, while delighting in the fact that the “little guys” won (this time). The city says it will still combat “agressive” panhandling. All I have to say about that is that in all my years on the street I never heard of any panhandler threatening or doing bodily harm to anyone. The only time I felt uncomfortable around someone asking for money was many years ago. Turned out it was Brain David Mitchell.
Until next time
---your editor

National Homeless Persons Memorial Day

I love the Winter Solstice. It means the nights are getting shorter, and the days are getting longer from here on in until Summer Solstice. It has also been called “The Longest Night of the Year.” From this context arose National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. It is a night to remember those who have died on the streets.

There are dozens of activities from Thanksgiving Day to New Year’s that help homeless persons, and raise awareness during this period. I think this one needs more attention. It is not a happy message, but it is a reality check. As we rush from store to store, spending dollar after dollar on menial things that we think will make our loved ones happy, people are dying in our “back yard.”

So I am attending our candlelight vigil for National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day here in Salt Lake City (see ad at top of article). As a person who was homeless here for quite a long time, I knew people who died because they had lost everything and everyone, and could find no place to sleep one night when it just happened to get a little too cold. I was lucky not to be one of them.

Attend your local event for NHPMD, if there is one. If not, click the link below to see how you can start one. Please comment to let me know other ways you are all helping to combat homelessness year-round...

---

from the National Alliance to End Homelessness 

National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day 21st December 2010 written by Catherine An

Photo courtesy of smif.

...If you’re interested in holding your own service, you can visit the National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day page on the website of the National Coalition for the Homeless and download a how-to manual. But as you’re doing that – and definitely do – remember that it’s up to us to remember people experiencing homelessness more than once a year....

§

from Homeless Nation “its cold here”  by Shul

A woman died in Winnipeg this week, when she was taking refuge in a dumpster.

§

from US Conference of Mayors Hunger, Homeless-ness Still Major Challenges in U.S. Cities Press Release | Report (12/20)

---

Here are some ways we are helping homeless and low income people around our city. If you know of any others, please leave the info as a comment, or email: streetnewspaper@gmail.com

§

THE ROAD HOME: JOIN US!
Tuesday & Wednesday, December 21 & 22, 2010
6:00am - 6:00pm
The Road Home Salt Lake Shelter
210 S. Rio Grande St. (455 W.)
Join us for our 16th Annual Holiday Broadcast. DJ's from FM 100, 103.5 The Arrow, X96, 1280 The Zone, Movin 100.7 and 101.5 The Eagle, U92, The Mix 107.9 and Jack 103.1...

§

Eagle Ranch Chuck Wagon [I’m certain that Jennie Dudley’s group, plans to serve the Sunday (their usual serving day) after Christmas around 9:00 AM. I was unable to reach them about any special meal for Christmas Day.] Eagle Ministries  P.O. Box 26144
Salt Lake City, UT 84126
Telephone : 1 (801) 254-4945

§

Christmas Basket Giveaway Wednesday December 22nd 

Salt Lake Dream Center

1624 S. 1000 W.

1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

© Copyright 2000 Salt Lake City Mission

 

§

© Copyright 2009 RescueSaltLake.com All rights reserved.

Christmas Dinner at Rescue Mission of Salt Lake Thursday December 23 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM 463 S. 400 West - Salt Lake City, UT 84101 Phone: 801.355.1302

§

Christmas Celebration (brought to you by Salt Lake City Mission) Saturday, December 25 Call for bus pick up locations or other info: (801) 355-6310 © Copyright 2000 Salt Lake City Mission

§

New Year's Day at The Christian Life Center
1055 N. Redwood Road 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Volunteers need from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Our shifts will be in two hour increments. Volunteer Online Request Form

---

Have the best of holidays, and look to the New Year to be the time when we all do what we can to make the world a better place  ̶  your editor

A little late

Sorry there was no new Rio Grande Report yesterday. I had no internet access for the better part of last week.
Expect a new edition some time this week, and some special editions throughout the rest of the month of December.
---your editor

City governments need new vision, and some compassion.

 [Editor’s note: At the suggestion of the facilitator of a recent blog workshop, I’m clarifying the expectations of The Rio Grande Report, and trying to stick to a set schedule. So tentatively, expect a new report here each Sunday. All content is the sole property of the author(s). Comments are encouraged and appreciated, but will be moderated before publication. The publication of comments is at the sole discretion of the blog administrator. Comments considered abusive, inappropriate, or which contain offensive or hateful language will not be published. If a commenter continues to post inappropriate content, they will be blocked from the blog. If you would like to submit something for publication, e-mail it as an attachment to streetnewspaper@gmail.com. ---your editor.]

 

The West Hotel on Northwest 6th Avenue. [Portland, OR]

Clock winds down on remaining West Hotel residents

by Amanda Waldroupe, Staff Writer

With one day until they could be legally evicted from the West Hotel, 15 of the West Hotel’s 27 tenants have found housing and already moved...Read more

 

Street Roots

Auditor’s report on homelessness confusing, misleading… | For those who can’t afford free speech

streetroots.wordpress.com

---

As I read these articles from a link on Facebook, I was reminded of our city’s propensity to solve certain problems, and simultaneously create new ones, by putting people out on the street in the name of progress. In February of this year, residents of the Windsor and Regis hotels were served eviction notices. The buildings were slated to be razed, and the block redeveloped. As of this date, they still stand, mostly empty. A popular night spot, Port O’ Call, in the historic Shubrick Building has been torn down. Residents living in the apartments above, some of them elderly and/or disabled, have been evicted. there is nothing on the site now but another huge vacant lot of dirt, because the federal government has no money for the actual construction of the planned new federal courthouse there. (read more) This affected not only short and long term tenants, but has created hardship for small businesses and organizations on the street level of these buildings. Most residents were given alternatives, but some refused relocation to Palmer Court or Rio Grande Hotel, stating that visiting rules and other regulations at the new locations seemed too restrictive.

I can recall a similar incident in the 1980’s here in Salt Lake City. The Plandome Hotel was considered a nuisance, which here means the LDS Church had some issues. Granted, illegal activities were a regular occurrence, but no more so than any other similar places. Everyone was evicted, and in my time on the street 20 years after, I met several people who were victims of the Plandome’s closing, still living at shelters or on the streets.

Obviously, I can’t single out RDA in Salt Lake as the sole instigators of such activities (see article above). Nor has every SRO been abandoned to decay or destruction, here or elsewhere. In 2006 the Stratford Hotel, which was gutted by fire, was remodeled into low-income apartments, with a new bicycle shop at street level. However, many rooms are miniscule, and quickly became infested with bedbugs. The aforementioned Rio Grande Hotel was recently remodeled. Two years  ago in Brooklyn, 200 tenants of the 475 Kent building were evicted in the middle of January due to fire code violations, and an unauthorized matzo factory in the basement. One hundred one days later, the building was finally re-opened and many tenants were happy to return (read more). The fates of Regis and Windsor remain to be seen.

There are temporary residences, such as hostels, and at least one SRO, that are clean, welcoming, and well-run. The first example in Salt Lake City that comes to mind is The Carlton Hotel and its Annex building.

All of this is my personal take, based on the fact that I have lived in every one of these places in Salt Lake at one time or another, with the exception of the Plandome.

Still, do any of these places, no matter how hospitable, fit the definition of a home? They are certainly no place for families and children. A home is a place where you can come and go as you please. It is a place filled with those special things and wonderful people whom you love. I doubt these are places people want to live; they are places people have to live. Many just get trapped there for a very long time.

Cities everywhere seem to say they are addressing their “homeless problem,” but out of the other side of their mouth they wheel and deal people out of any chance to take a step up. Perhaps they do not realize homelessness is not a “problem” or an “issue.” Homelessness is people. It is personal and social. It is everywhere, and directly or indirectly, it affects everyone.

  

Can a society which fails to provide for the most basic needs of all its citizens be anything but a damaged and sick society? In the richest country in the world, people have no homes, their nutritional, financial, medical, and emotional needs are not being met. Right here in America, in every state and every city, right in our backyard, people are needlessly suffering and dying. Many other countries, smaller countries with fewer resources, take care of their citizens’ basic needs. Why aren’t we?

One step towards diminishing this travesty is for grass roots governments to exercise some compassion, and consider people over progress and profit. Support local businesses, not conglomerates and Big Box stores. Another may be to abandon the status quo policy that cuts social services first, before eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations in times of budgetary crises. A huge step would be basic health care for everyone. What solutions do you think could work? What solutions are you willing to be part of?

Until next week, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

---your editor

 

A multitude of ways to help people who are homeless for the holidays

With the approach of winter and the holiday season, more attention falls upon those people in need, and their need is greater. Here are some easy and some fun ways to help your homeless neighbors right here in SLC. Thanks to these organizations and the people who make their work possible. I have also linked to a few national and international sites. Of course there’s not the time or space to include everyone, so why not help your editor by leaving comments and links to your favorite charity. As you donate goods, money, and time, please keep in mind that homeless people need your help the entire year...

---

Fun Events:

Utah Food Bank Fundraiser with Cameron Rafati this Saturday at In The Venue .

The good folks at Northplatte Records hit us with the lowdown on a great cause, and for music fans in Utah, it's a no-brainer. Headlining this gig is Cameron Rafati, who has worked with the likes of The Fugees and who just completed recording his first... Read More 

cityweekly.net 5 Spot: Coat Exchange With Deanna Taylor
By Rachel Piper

Six years ago, Deanna Taylor organized Utah's first annual Community Coat Exchange. The coat exchange takes place every year on the day after Thanksgiving (also referred to as Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day) at Library Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Coats are being collected now at four drop-off points, and on the day of... Read More

 

More sites to visit:

Local:

Salt Lake City Mission

Salt Lake Street News

 

Local News Coverage... By John Hollenhorst

Local News Coverage... By Julia Lyon

Crossroads Urban Center 

 

Thank you Harmon’s, Ten Thousand Villages, and Indian Walk-in Center.

 

The Road Home 

for the Red & Blue Rivalry Classic click on the pic above

Rescue Mission of Salt Lake 

Salvation Army 

United Way of Salt Lake (Season Of Sharing) 

(in partnership with 1430 KLO & Now 97.9)

Utah Food Bank 

Volunteers of America (VOA):

Homeless Youth Resource Center (HYRC)

Watch the video: (CBS News story on Utah’s homeless youth)

Homeless Outreach and Housing 

National/International:

Street News Service (SNS)

National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)

International Network of Street Papers (INSP)

North American Street Newspaper Association (NASNA)

---

The holidays are a time for giving, not just to friends and family, but to all who are in need. Won’t you please share with them? Please leave a comment to tell how you help those in need, or to make others aware of ways to help of which we might not be aware. Look for updates from now until the New Year, have a great holiday season, and blessed be for helping.

---your editor

 

New books, homeless youth scholarships NAEH Facebook post

There is a predominant stereotype that homeless people are homeless because they are lazy. I often tell people I was busier when I was homeless than when I wasn’t (experienced two separate bouts of homelessness, 3 years, then another 2 years AFTER 2 straight years of employment).
My experience was to survive, get what you needed to survive, and learn how to get out of my situation, I was constantly on the move. Sure, there are those who will probably always be homeless. Some want to be. Some are severely mentally ill, some have just given up. I’m glad I didn’t.
The majority of homeless people are lucky enough to be homeless only a short time. Those who are chronically homeless have very little support from government, family, and friends. They depend on what sparse assistance there is
Local, state, and government support for people in poverty and crises is minimal. There is talk of cutting them even further. At a time when the homeless population is growing at an alarming rate, this is disastrous.
Please donate time and money to organizations that helps homeless people. Not just because the holidays are here, but because they need your help, and they deserve it.
---your editor
It is a long fight up from the streets, but it’s worth it.

---

Welfare Reform Failing Poor Single Moms, Books Claim
Stretched Thin, Both Hands Tied, and The War on Welfare are three new books that lay bare the origins of welfare reform and its failure to address the enduring poverty of single mothers and their children.

---

I know there are thousands of resourceful, intelligent, talented kids on the street. It’s a growing epidemic. These kids have the right to an education, and their families aren’t going to give it to them.
Kids, you have to trust adults that do support you, and take every chance you get to better yourselves and follow your dreams. Don’t give up. If we give up, those who believe we are worthless will win.

National Alliance to End Homelessness This Saturday, October 30, is the deadline for homeless, formerly homeless, and at-risk high school students to apply for the nearly 1,000 college scholarships made available by the Horatio Alger Association. Please encourage eligible high school students to apply for this scholarship! There are over 100 national scholarships worth $20,000 each as well as state-specific scholarships of $2,500-$10,000.

Last Chance! Scholarships available for HS students

bit.ly

Nearly 1,000 scholarships are available this year. The Horatio Alger Association helps students who have overcome hardship attend college. This year, through a partnership with Give US Your Poor: The Campaign to End Homelessness (part of UMass Boston’s McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies)...

 

Until next time
-y.e.

Thought you’d never be homeless?think again!

Homelessness is everywhere, and can happen to anyone. One catastrophic accident or illness, one corporate or government decision or failure, a divorce or death of a spouse or partner...any of these things could happen to any of us. It happens in your family, it happens to your neighbors, it happens to your friends. It’s becoming more and more likely that it could happen to you.

Even if you don’t care about the myriad homeless men, women and children on the street today, it is in everybody’s interest to address homelessness and other poverty and to work together to create solutions. It could very well be YOU next.

[photo: (Scott Sommerdorf  l  The Salt Lake Tribune)  Crystal Childers and her 4-year-old daughter, Theorie Martinez,  play on the bed that has been assigned to them Monday at the homeless shelter in Midvale. The overflow space, which is only open during winter, opened slightly early this year due to the large number of families in need of a place to sleep. On Monday, about two dozen families moved in. ]  See story below.                 

---

Number of homeless Utah kids skyrockets Oct 14, 2010

The lingering recession has taken a toll on Utah’s youngest residents, leading to a 48 percent increase in the number of homeless school-age children since 2008, according to state data released Wednesday. 

Utah remains among highest in foreclosures  Oct. 27, 2010 SALT LAKE CITY — Utah and its largest metropolitan areas are again among the nation's highest foreclosure rates, according to a new report.

ksl.com -  The Road Home opens overflow shelter in Midvale

www.ksl.com

The KSL.COM Website

 

 

 

 

Utah winter homeless shelter opens early Oct 19, 2010

MIDVALE • When Stacey Hackle and her family arrived at the winter homeless shelter Monday morning, there was little moving-in to worry about. The parents and three children wore the only pants and shoes they own. Autumn, 8, had black sneakers so worn they were nearly split in half... .

Utah has lost 19,200 jobs to China since 2001 

Utah lost 19,200 jobs to China trade since that country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, according to a report released Tuesday by the …

3rd month of weak hiring signals long slog ahead 

WASHINGTON — The nation isn't creating nearly enough jobs to reduce persistently high unemployment. 

Economy loses 95K jobs due to government layoffs 

WASHINGTON — A wave of government layoffs in September outpaced weak hiring in the private sector, pushing down the nation's payrolls...

Find out who your government representatives are. Write to them. Find out where they stand and what they have done about these issues. Vote for or against them based on information from your self-education. It’s too late to register for this mid-term election, but don’t fail to vote just because you are a homeless person. A street corner address is all that’s necessary to register. But, especially if you are living in poverty, are in danger of losing your house, or are on the streets,VOTE. It’s your voice. Empower yourself. Get involved. Make a difference in your standing. 

And if you don’t vote, don’t bitch.

---your editor

 

Not better late than never

[Want to share this from Deseret News  and Associated Press. We’re unfortunately catching up with the rest of the nation. Reported today on Fox 13 that Utah unemployment rate is now 7.5%. We top the country in home foreclosures. All of this, of course exacerbates the homelessness problem. –your editor]

www.flickr.com/photos/khalilshah/272829684/

Tough economic times head West after recession

Published: Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 6:40 p.m. MDT

By Christopher S. Rugaber, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A delayed decline in home prices and drops in manufacturing and tourism have caused unemployment in western mountain states to rise faster in the past year than in any other region.

The jobless rate in the eight-state Mountain West region has jumped to 9.3 percent from 8.7 percent a year ago. That's still lower than the 9.6 percent national average. But the gap is narrowing with the rest of the nation. The jobs crisis in regions with higher unemployment has mainly stabilized.

Developer Scott Kimball sits in one of the penthouses of his condo project "The Aspen" in Boise Friday. In Boise, the housing slump has cost the state 4,000 construction jobs in the past year.

The lagging pace represents a sharp turnaround for a region that had been growing at a healthy pace before the recession. And it illustrates how broadly the Great Recession and its aftershocks are affecting the country.

A rush of young people and California transplants helped make the region — covering ground from New Mexico to Montana — one of the fastest-growing parts of the country in the past decade. Housing boomed in Boise, Salt Lake City and in Denver.

Thriving cattle farms, wheat crops and copper mines insulated much of the region from the level of layoffs the rest of the country experienced in 2008. And while Nevada and Arizona were among those hit hardest when the housing bubble burst, the six other states in the region had milder housing booms and fewer subprime borrowers.

Still, as the economy and home prices soured elsewhere, fewer people were willing or able to move for work. Home sales slumped. Prices fell. Idaho, Colorado and Montana lost thousands of construction jobs. Timber companies lost business.

The states' snow-capped mountains and prized national forests received fewer visitors. And the ones who did arrive after the recession traveled on tighter budgets.

A big blow to Idaho came in early 2009, when technology companies such as chipmaker Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard Co. laid off thousands of workers. The industry has rebounded, but the jobs haven't come back.

In Idaho, the number of people receiving food stamps has surged.

"We got pulled in a little bit later than the rest of the country," said Larry Swanson, an economist at the University of Montana and director of the Center for the Rocky Mountain West. Now "we are catching up," he said.

After previous recessions, the region has usually benefited from rebounds in homebuilding, tourism, and other service industries, said Addison Franz, an assistant economist at Moody's Analytics. But those trends haven't helped this time. Consumers around the country are still cautious and housing is still weak.

"You would expect (the region) to catch the wave of recovery, but they haven't been able to this time," she said.

Montana, for example, has seen its unemployment rate rise by the most in the country since September 2009, to 7.4 percent from 6.5 percent. The state has lost jobs in its timber and tourism industries. People aren't spending as much even when they do visit popular sites like Glacier National Park or Yellowstone, according to Patrick Barkey, an economics professor at the University of Montana.

Montana's Flathead Valley, which includes Glacier National Park, a popular ski resort and blue-ribbon fly fishing, has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state. It reached nearly 14 percent at its peak in March.

After visitor numbers flagged last year, many seasonal employees weren't hired back this summer. The timber industry's continued slide also added to job losses in the region.

The situation appears to be turning around, in part spurred by Glacier National Park's centennial celebration this summer. That's caused the number of visitors to rebound. But employment and hiring hasn't followed.

Darwon Stoneman, a co-owner of Glacier Raft Co., which guides tourists on rafting and fishing trips, said business was better this year and he expects it to be good next year, too. But while he is building new guest cabins, he is still being cautious about hiring.

He doesn't expect to add back the guide jobs that he didn't fill last year or this year.

Idaho has seen the second-steepest rise in unemployment in the nation since the recession began, to 9 percent from 3.5 percent in December 2007.

In Boise, home prices are still falling faster than the national average, Franz said. The housing slump has cost the state 4,000 construction jobs in the past year.

A 75-unit condominium high-rise downtown offers a stark symbol of the downturn.

Scott Kimball, a Boise developer, built it in 2008, just as the state's unemployment rate was starting to bulge and housing values started to slump.

Two years later, sales have been slow and only half the building is occupied. Last month, he held an auction to generate sales and interest, setting a minimum bid for studio and 1-bedroom units of $99,000 — half the previous asking price.

"My plan was to build through the recession and come out on the other side when people were looking to buy and move in," Kimball said. "I thought this would be a typical recession .... But this one has been different."

Only Nevada — an epicenter of the foreclosure crisis — has seen its unemployment rate rise faster than Idaho. Other states with high rates, such as Michigan and California, were struggling before the recession began.

One painful impact of that change is that Idaho's food stamp rolls have jumped by 40 percent in the past year, the largest increase of any state. Nevada has seen the second-largest and Utah the fifth-largest.

"Idaho actually has had one of the worst times during this recession of any state," Franz said. It's gone from "a relatively fast-growing, vibrant state to a state experiencing job losses and home prices declining. It's a pretty stark change."

Associated Press Writers Todd Dvorak in Boise, Idaho, and Matt Volz in Helena, Mont., contributed to this report

E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + -  

NAEH weekly bulletin

National Alliance to End Homelessness website

Friday News Roundup: Youth Aging Out, Elderly Homelessness, and Domestic Violence

22nd October 2010 written by Catherine An
So, truth – it was a pretty slow news week. It seems like the news media covers homelessness in cycles: it gets really good (covering solutions and strategies and communities) and then it gets really bad (covering pan handling and camp outs).
I think we’re in an in-between phase.
This week, we noticed a very long feature on youth aging out of foster care in the Seattle Post Intelligencer written by reporters at Investigate West. While we at the Alliance wholeheartedly agree that this is an oft-overlooked and very important issue, we took serious issue with the article’s wildly inaccurate depiction of our own organization:
“At the national level, it’s barely on the radar of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a powerful advocacy group that provides information the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
In fact, not only is youth homelessness a 2010 Policy Priority for the Alliance, but in the last year alone, we’ve:

• published a series profiling the way some communities are using HPRP funds to assist youth,
• launched a youth site visit campaign encouraging legislators to examine the issue in their own communities,
• hired new staff to work on the issue,
• and – just this week – wrote a toolkit encouraging communities to fully incorporate youth in their January 2011 point-in-time counts.

I’m hoping that next time, before writing such inflammatory remarks, it would occur to a journalist to pick up the phone as I’m always happy to chat!
Moving right along: On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times put out a piece on the elderly living at (or below) the poverty line. Hat tip to writer Alexandra Zavis for covering an issue that, in my opinion, doesn’t get examined enough. We focus on children and adolescents and their parents but rarely, I think, do we shed any light on those in their golden years.

And it turns out, the years aren’t so golden. Zavis reveals that too many California seniors are just barely scraping by – and we agree. Last year, the Alliance published a brief called Demographics of Homelessness: The Rising Elderly Population in which we project that elderly homelessness will grow by a third by 2020 and double by 2050 if the current rate continues. It’s time to start talking about this problem.
And finally, Kamala Harris (currently the District Attorney of San Francisco and the Democratic nominee for California Attorney General) penned a piece for the Huffington Post on protetecting survivors of domestic violence.
In the piece, Harris writes about a San Francisco-started-turned-state law that prohibits landlords from evicting tenants who are survivors of domestic violence. Harris explains that in California, domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women and families. And for such vulnerable families, homelessness makes everything worse: women are less likely to access services or press charges, children’s schoolwork, health, and well-being suffers.
The relationship between domestic violence and homelessness is little acknowledged but significant. Here at the Alliance, we’re paying more and more attention to this relationship and researching ways to divert survivors from homelessness. Kudos to Harris for pointing it out so eloquently.
And that’s a wrap from us – have great weekend!
Tags: Youth Site Visit Campaign

from NPR on Facebook and The New York Times

Just a guess, but maybe this is why so many more people are becoming homeless:
We've Lost 8 Million Jobs. Here's A Closer Look. losses have been spread unevenly around the economy. Health care has grown, as millions of manufacturing and construction jobs have disappeared.

http://www.npr.org/ 

 

 

Employment Picture Dims as Government Cuts Back The United States economy shed 95,000 nonfarm jobs in September, as 159,000 government jobs were lost at all levels and business hiring slowed significantly. 

see you next time

your editor

 

 

 

audition for Oprah

I wanted to share this with you, from The Road Home  on facebook:

Oprah is looking for a young star to make a show on her new network. How does that impact homelessness? One auditionee has a profound idea...

Watch Chloe's audition for Your OWN show, titled Homeless Youth Awareness Show

Chloe was one of two participants in the Homeless Youth Pride Walk.
 
Logo image from The Road Home.