Political Responsibility, Salt Lake Street News, Police Harrasment

Greetings readers and homeless friends:

Had a great time volunteering at the Salt Lake City Farmer's Market for the Democratic Party. Registered some people to vote, distributed a lot of lawn signs and bumper stickers and literature. I never pass up a chance to do my civic duty, and neither should you. After all, we get the government we support and vote for. I want to encourage every one to get involved this year at any level you can. Most important of all, register and vote.

Volunteering is also a great opportunity to bend the ears of the candidates toward your pet issues. Click the links at the end of the blog to see who you'd like to support.

One disturbing incident: as I was leaving and walking through the market, I encountered a couple of police officers (Officers Lovell and Sitwell, namely) harassing a man in a wheel chair who had no shoes and was carrying a sign claiming to be a veteran. I guess things haven't changed much, unfortunately, since I was homeless down in  the Rio Grande neighborhood. Homeless people are the sole targets of the police down there, and can do nothing right. They are harassed and vilified simply because they exist.

Come to find out, these officers are not even on duty, they are paid privately for market security.


Chief Burbank, what gives? Are people who are homeless or perceived to be homeless unwelcome at public events? 

If this type of activity concerns and disturbs you as much as it does me, contact  Salt Lake City Police here and tell them.

Here is an important and informative event being put on by KCPW and 4th Street Clinic:

Lastly, thanks to the vendor of Salt Lake Street News who was on the corner informing the public and making some pocket money. It's good to see this publication is still around, helping homeless people become more self-sufficient. When you see a vendor on the street, give up a buck to help them out.


Just a few issues and items I wanted to bring to attention. Until next time, enjoy the cooler weather, support and stand up for your rights, speak out and be visible, and try to avoid the predatory cops in the 'hood. 


-your editor


http://www.democrats.org/?nosplash=true

http://gop.com/


http://www.utahdemocrats.org/

http://utgop.org/index.asp

https://www.facebook.com/RepJimMatheson

https://www.facebook.com/BenForMayor

http://votebriscoe.com/about/

https://ec.volunteernow.com/custom/1374/

http://www.nasna.org/

http://www.street-papers.org/

If you would like your issues, efforts, and organizations to help the homeless featured here, e-mail to streetnewspaper@gmail.com.

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:

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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

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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

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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

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...

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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)

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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

 

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

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New Salt Lake Street News

Look for the new issue of Salt Lake Street News on street corners everywhere July 1!

 Image from: Salt Lake City Mission.

And have a great Independence Day!

your editor

image from: http://www.trawelmart.com/

How to Succeed at Homelessness Without Really Trying

Here's the very beginning of my novel, which I hashed out in the SLCC Community Writing Center Scenewriting Mini-Workshop during Utah Arts Festival 2010:

"Mr Evanston wants to see you in his office first thing," the receptionist informed Donald as he walked into the Daily Monitor's offices.

Oh shit, thought Don. Well, I knew I'd be sticking my neck out and stepping on some toes with this one.

His editor's personal office was all the way to the back of the news room. The door was ajar, and Don could see that Mr. Evanston was talking very fervently with whomever was on the other end of the line. His face was scarlet. don attempted a quick turnaround back toward his desk,, but was stopped by a hoarse shout.

"Morton! Get your ass back here!" Evanston turned his attention back to the mystery caller, made apologies, said goodbye and hung up the phone. "Sit down," he ordered, pointing to a very uncomfortable looking chair at the front side of his desk. He took a piece of chewing gum from his desk drawer, removed a stick, rolled it up and popped it into his mouth. "I need a cig. Fucking clean air laws."

Donald squirmed around, trying to get comfortable in the chair, and failing. "You wanted to see me?"

"Damned right I wanted to see you. Do you have any idea who that was on the phone just now?"

"The pope?" Don guessed, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, wise ass. It was the governor. Our governor.

"Oh. How's he doing?"

Evanston rose from his chair, turned his back to Don, facing out the big office window. He took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind his back. "You, young man, have really stepped in the shit."

Don made a big production of checking his shoes for foreign substances and sniffing the air for any foul smell. Evanston saw this reflected in the window pane and turned to face his budding future Pulitzer winning columnist.

"I took a chance on you five years ago because I like you. But this is not alt press. We're a daily. The Daily Monitor. It's in the name. We don't expose people. We don't print anything that doesn't come from an although confidential, a reliable source. And we don't bite hands that feed us. This paper is a prestigious publication, not some rag."

"Yes, sir."

Evanston picked up the morning edition of his newspaper from the desktop. "Whatever possessed you to write this? Whatever made you think I would approve of this being printed in my paper? The mayor is a close friend, and the governor is his close friend. I can't save you on this one. You're fired, Donald. I'm sorry."



Feel free to comment.

your editor

Turf War?

Selling Salt Lake Street News is fun. Although it's harder than I imagined, I keep hitting the events and street corners whenever I have the time. People in Salt Lake City are generally polite, and receptive to the idea of what we're trying to do, whether or not they buy a copy of the paper. I've only been hassled by security guards at a couple of places, and had only one chat with the police. I just figure they are people doing their job, no sweat. Word will spread as more vendors appear on the city streets.

Unfortunately, there are always people who want to make things difficult.

The entire time I was homeless, I never panhandled. I didn't feel right asking hard working people for their money without giving something in return. Yet I know there are people on the street who have done it for years, at the same spot, everyday, without fail. They get to know people and people get to know them, so it becomes a sweet deal.

So I try to be respectful of that. I never sell on the same corner as panhandlers. If they are there first, I cross the street or go to the next intersection. At the Bees games I talk and have a laugh with the sign flyers. When I do well selling the paper, I've even been known to slip them a buck or two.

So  it was frustrating the other day when a panhandler showed up on the corner where I'd already been selling for two hours. He proceeded to solicit change. I pleaded the case that I'd been there first, and asked him could he please go across the street to an unoccupied corner.

You would have thought that I had asked for a pound of flesh. This man called me everything but a human being, began to badmouth Street News, the Salt Lake City Mission, and those running the organization and the street paper project. Everyone within earshot heard his slanderous remarks. I tried to stand my ground, but sir kept talking smack, interfering with my right to sell. To avoid losing my temper, I left, so angry that I quit selling for the day.

The way I see it, we're all in the same boat and have the same goal-to put a buck in our pocket. I give the panhandlers respect and courtesy. I would expect the same in return. So I have a proposition and a challenge for those with whom we have to share the streets.

When you see vendors selling our paper, don't hassle us, put us down, or try to intimidate us. There are a lot of street corners, people, and events to go around. If you are there first, OK, but if you're not, it's only fair that you concede to whomever is. Nobody wants a turf war; you'll lose eventually anyway. Let's be civil and fair to one another. Those of us who are no longer homeless still remember what it was like. We vendors are just trying to improve our lives a little and make some cash, just like you.

I challenge panhandlers to try vending SLSN before you go around knocking it. At least come to an orientation and get the information. It may not be for you, but at least you'll know. Just don't blame the dedicated people who put this program-along with others from which you may benefit-together without having the facts. They deserve your thanks, not your distrust and badmouthing.

If we cooperate, everyone can benefit from the kindness and generosity of everyone, resident or visitor, on the streets of Salt Lake City.

Peace