Hate motivates attacks on homeless

 

 

Unless I somehow missed it, we don't seem to have a Cleveland homeless thread ... to date, it appears that our homeless population only comes up in threads discussing how they'll impact downtown developments and how aggressive the panhandlers are  :-P

 

At any rate, here's a disturbing article, with some definite relevance to http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php?topic=12488.0. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

 

Hate motivates attacks on homeless

Diane Suchetka

(Cleveland) Plain Dealer Reporter

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

 

Bands of young men wielding baseball bats and pipes have beaten at least six homeless people on Cleveland's West Side since February. And homeless advocates, who have no way of knowing if the assaults are connected, say they appear to be hate crimes motivated by a dislike for those who have no place to live.

 

Two victims described their attackers as young, short-haired men driving a black Trans Am ...

 

... More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/117990940684830.xml&coll=2&thispage=1

^That's sad.

 

I know the Downtown Cleveland Alliance has a task force on homelessness. It included the Cleveland police chief, though I don't know the current status of their talks. Perhaps another forumer knows....

 

It's a tough problem for any city. Despite the above story, I think Cleveland as a city is more tolerant of its homeless population than many other cities. In New York, for example, cops whisk homeless people off sidewalks and benches as soon as they sit down. Some California cities have passed laws forbidding homeless people from sitting or lying down within X feet of a retail store or business. Still, homeless here are generally maligned and I'm sure much more could be done to help them. Downtown ambassadors are supposedly trained to counsel homeless people, though I have yet to see that happening in person.

^ Good points. There are also two Cleveland police officers whose sole job is to deal with issues of homelessness (basically serving as ombudsmen for complaints about the homeless or for complaints from the homeless).

The DCA has a full time social worker out on the streets and the ambassadors are trained to call the social worker whenever they encounter someone who is homeless, but that doesn't help the victims since these crimes are happening outside of the BID.

^True.

Just wondering, any word on the outcome of the homelessness task force?

The last I heard the Cleveland Foundation was considering their proposal.

Experts fear more attacks on homeless

Incidents rise during summer

Diane Suchetka

(Cleveland) Plain Dealer Reporter

Friday, May 25, 2007

 

The recent spate of attacks against the homeless in Cleveland doesn't surprise national experts. They have watched assaults on the homeless soar 65 percent between 2005 and 2006.

 

But they are worried.

 

Summer hasn't started yet. And that's when most attacks against the homeless occur ... 

 

... More at http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/118008218734110.xml&coll=2

I have a feeling that somebody's going to end up getting killed one of these days.  A homeless person beaten to death or dies in a hospital, or one of these stupid kids getting beaten, stabbed or shot to death by a homeless person who can actually defend himself.

 

Unfortunately, the latter incident will most likely draw more media attention than the former.

I have a feeling that somebody's going to end up getting killed one of these days.  A homeless person beaten to death or dies in a hospital, or one of these stupid kids getting beaten, stabbed or shot to death by a homeless person who can actually defend himself.

 

Unfortunately, the latter incident will most likely draw more media attention than the former.

I have a feeling that somebody's going to end up getting killed one of these days.  A homeless person beaten to death or dies in a hospital, or one of these stupid kids getting beaten, stabbed or shot to death by a homeless person who can actually defend himself.

 

Unfortunately, the latter incident will most likely draw more media attention than the former.

 

it is already happening...homless getting beaten to death. that bumfight thing...what kind of disgusting people would exploit someone so vulnerable and down on their luck? So sick and sad.

I don't want this to turn into a pissing match about first amendment rights, but lately I'm having more and more problems with the churches that come down onto Public Square and hand out food and then pick up and leave.  As a downtown resident, I'm sick of walking around and seeing all of the food and chicken bones lying around, and then having my dog choke on them.

 

I find it to be highly hypocritical that these suburban churches come down to my front door (not literally, i.e. Public Square) and decide they can turn it into a gigantic soup kitchen.  Then pick and leave all the trash.  Something tells me they wouldn't be too happy if I rented a van, took all the homeless people to their house, and had a feeding on their lawn in Strongsville.

 

Everyone wants to help the homeless, and I do believe they mean well, but in the end they are doing more harm than good.  The homeless aren't being provided the services they can receive at conventional areas, i.e. Cosgrove.  These church members can't provide the mental health medication they can get elsewhere.  At the end of the day, I find it very UN-Christian that these people won't work out of conventional service areas just so they can preach their version of the gospel.

 

Or maybe I'm just tired of pulling chicken bones out of my dogs throat?

It's not about helping the homeless.  It's about showing everyone what a good person you are.

 

Anyway, how do we go about redirecting their efforts towards a more responsible outlet for charit?

X...good question.  What are your thoughts?  Is simply moving it to a different location do it or is that just moving the problem around?

This could have gone in several threads, but since there is one already a discussion created for specifically for Cleveland's homeless, I choose here.

 

pd:

 

Homeless man stabbed at Public Square protest against curfew

Organizer: Activity prevented killing; lawmaker disagrees

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Brie Zeltner

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

A group of peaceful protesters and homeless advocates spent the night on Public Square Sunday to challenge the city's new curfew.

 

During the campout, they witnessed one homeless man stab another homeless man. The experience made the organizer feel the protest was even more important.

 

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

[email protected], 216-999-4283

"Wilson and others there believe that their presence prevented a killing."

 

Fine, let her and the others give up their jobs and patrol Public Square :roll:

You know what would have averted this killing?  A curfew law, especially which would have caused this guy to be picked up and then either refered to a shelter, a mental health operation, or a night in a drunk/high tank.

I love seeing a clan of homeless people and their trash as the front page of cleveland.com.  Thanks suburban catholic girl.

Also of note from this article is that there is still a knife wielding psycho wandering the streets Downtown.  Apparently their protest didn't stop that!  But then again, why should they care about people's safety, when there is the right of the mentally ill or drug addicted to sleep in my neighborhood park to be protected?

"That's not the kind of violence that's affected by a curfew ordinance," she said. "If they hadn't been allowed on Public Square, they would have just fought somewhere less public where someone would have been less likely to see them and intervene and we would have had one more murder on the books in Cleveland."

 

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Public Square isn't the cage in Ultimate Fighting; it's a public space for the residents of this region.

"I love seeing a clan of homeless people and their trash as the front page of cleveland.com.  Thanks suburban catholic girl."

 

I'm pretty sure she lives in the city - she takes part in a lot of protests (from the Peace Show - the counterpart to the National Air Show):

Those are the sloppiest chalk outlines I've ever seen.  Real bush league stuff.

Has anyone else heard this old saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"

I just got an email from the group that was on public square on Sunday trying to do a letter to the Editor campaign against the curfew.  I don't agree with Megan, and I have radically different opinions on the curfew (need it), but I do respect her.  I think anyone who agrees with the curfew should write a letter also.  I've posted it below:

 

Friends,

 

I'm sure many of you have already seen the headline in today's Metro section about our protest of Public Square's curfew ordinance on Sunday night. If not, you can read it online here: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/118829095717580.xml&coll=2. 

I have also attached the text of the article below.

 

The story implies that the curfew ordinance is exactly what's needed to prevent the kind of violence we experienced on Sunday night - and ignores the effectiveness of community presence and nonviolent action to defuse violence at every level - including the streets. I encourage you, if you can, to write to the editor today with your comments. Undoubtedly those who disagree with us will be sending in piles of letters to say so - let's make sure our voice is represented in the dialogue.

 

The PD article described us as "peaceful protesters" - but in the context of the article, our peacefulness is cast in the light of passive, fearful people who call the police at the first sign of trouble... rather than people who are actively involved with nonviolent resistance to violence, at every level, street to world. This isn't the first time most of us have experienced violence on the streets - or defused it.

 

We had a dozen well-trained nonviolent peacekeepers in attendance at our protest, and it was these people's quick thinking and nonviolent tactics that defused the situation and prevented something much worse from happening. We called 911 in order to get medical care for the man who was hurt; by the time police arrived we had already successfully broken up the fight.

 

It was peacekeepers' direct intervention - using nonviolent conflict resolution techniques that we have been trained to use - that kept two men from killing each other on Sunday night. Even the police thanked us for stepping in nonviolently. Nonviolence, though, doesn't make for a good headline news story. Can you help make it part of the story by writing to the editor today?

 

To submit a letter by e-mail, please fill out the form at http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/lettertoeditor.ssf or send an e-mail directly to [email protected].  Letters may also be mailed to Letters to the Editor, The Plain Dealer, 1801 Superior Ave., Cleveland 44114, or sent by fax to 216-999-6209. Your letter must include your full name and contact information for verification purposes. Concise letters are more likely to be published.

 

Thanks for all you do, thank you for being present on Sunday night, thank you for your commitment to nonviolence and your love of justice. A new world is on its way - we are creating it.

 

Peace and love,

 

Megan Wilson

Catholic Worker Community

 

These nonviolence experts didn't help get the unbalanced, knife wielding individual off of our streets, though.  Instead they let him wander off.  I wonder who he might stab next?

"I love seeing a clan of homeless people and their trash as the front page of cleveland.com.  Thanks suburban catholic girl."

 

I'm pretty sure she lives in the city - she takes part in a lot of protests (from the Peace Show - the counterpart to the National Air Show):

 

I think that she lives in Ohio City.

 

I give her props.  So many people talk about why they think Cleveland and the world can be better, but she takes action for the things she believes in.  She was involved in several causes, from helping almost daily at soup kitchens to promoting car-free lifestyles.  She was also really active in Ohio City to make the neighborhood safer before it was what it is today. 

 

And yes, to my knowledge, that group protests the air show every year and members get arrested every year.

I am not sure the curfew would have prevented this. this could have happened anywhere in the city (just really ironic it happened at the time of the protest).  Upon reviewing this thread from the beginning, it appears the homeless are in more danger than we are. I wonder what the effect of the new transitional housing will be? I am guessing the demand will far outweigh the supply. I am 100% against approaching people to panhandle , but where are homeless people supposed to sleep? most of these people have unaddressed mental illness and/or addictions and just can't go get a job. If we had a little more comprehensive housing and social services, we would ALL be better off.

We had a dozen well-trained nonviolent peacekeepers in attendance at our protest, and it was these people's quick thinking and nonviolent tactics that defused the situation and prevented something much worse from happening.

 

imo, the people who are normally walking through this area aren't trained in non-violent tactics to defuse these types of situations.

 

i guess i'd also like to see solutions.  the status quo of people sleeping or panhandling in the square doesn't solve the problem.  what is their position on the "right" answer?  who is funding it?  when can we start to implement? 

pd:

 

Homeless problem needs regional approach, Cleveland panel says

Friday, November 02, 2007

Stan Donaldson

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

Cleveland officials and social-service experts called Thursday for a regional approach to dealing with the 20,000 or more homeless people in the region.

 

Meeting at the City Club of Cleveland, a three-member panel also suggested working more with faith-based organizations, creating more affordable housing and providing more outreach services.

 

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

[email protected], 216-999-4885

http://clevelandhomeless.blogspot.com/2007/11/downtown-shows-marked-decline-in.html

 

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2007

Downtown Shows Marked Decline in Homeless

 

Every year since homeless people started being harassed in Downtown Cleveland, NEOCH staff and volunteers have gone downtown over the Thanksgiving weekend to see how many people are sleeping outside. For the last 10 years, we have tried to count and talk to everyone (if they are not sleeping) in the area between West 6th St. and East 20th St. then between the Lake and Carnegie Ave. We believe that this is a good baseline for the lowest number of people sleeping outside for the year in Cleveland. During the holidays, families take their relatives inside so they don't have to sleep outside or in the shelters. This count does not define the number of people sleeping outside, but it is a good indicator of the trends. The decline in 2000 was the first year that 2100 Lakeside Shelter opened.

 

Where Have All the Homeless (People) Gone???

 

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, volunteers from the Coalition for the Homeless were only able to find 17 homeless people sleeping downtown. This was a huge decline from the 40 in 2006, so we went back the next day to make sure. We verified the numbers. I cannot explain the reason for the decline, but can give you some observations on what changed in the last year. There is no single issue like in 2000 with the opening of the shelter causing this decline, but here are my thoughts on some of the reasons:

 

The clean up crews are now firmly established. The Downtown Cleveland Alliance funded clean up crews with their yellow and blue outfits have taken control of the downtown. They make it very uncomfortable for homeless people who want to be left alone, but for their own safety do not want to be invisible. It is hard to exist on the heated sidewalks with those huge blowers and cleaners running in the morning.

 

The City of Cleveland has recently disrupted the food program downtown. The groups have moved around and been made to feel unwelcome by City officials. Some have stopped feeding. Others have moved outside the Downtown area. This has caused homeless people to relocate closer to where there are churches or meal program operating.

 

With the anticipated closure of Aviation High School, the County has made a huge effort to open up housing for homeless people. From Stella Maris, Emerald Commons, Oriana House and additional housing vouchers, over the last three months there has been an unprecedented opportunity for people with disabilities to move out of the shelters.

 

The foreclosure crisis has made available an incredible number of vacant properties in neighborhoods. Often these properties are abandoned, some still have furniture, and many have heat. Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy.

 

The outreach teams are now coordinating their work. The Coalition has begun hosting monthly meetings to get all the professional outreach teams on the same page. This has resulted in the teams mapping out the city (on Google maps), and they each talk to the men and women sleeping out on a regular schedule and try to convince those resistant to shelter to come inside. They all carry the same message, and they regularly talk to each other.

 

The tent city was displaced. Last year, there was a growing group sleeping in tents near the Brown's stadium. This group was forced to relocate out of the Downtown area.

 

The curfew on Public Square was passed by Cleveland City Council over the last year. During the 2006 walk, there were between 15 to 17 sleeping around the Square. This year there were three.

 

I am not sure that this means that there are fewer homeless people, because the numbers at 2100 Lakeside have not decreased at all. In fact, they have had near record nights six times in this last month and two near record nights in October. I also do not think that people moved just outside of the downtown clean up area. I feared that maybe this was the case, but I drove all around the Flats and in the St. Clair/Superior neighborhood and did not find any large groups. There were some places that homeless people have lived for years on sidewalks and out of the way areas that are no longer sites for homeless people in 2007. This is good news.

 

Overall, I was impressed with how much better the buildings and streets look downtown. I was sad that there were so few if any people walking around and now there were not even any homeless people, but the Downtown looked good. If our goal in the community is to get homeless people off the streets, we have done a great job. We have unfortunately done that at the expense of the thousands of former home owners who had to endure the foreclosure nightmare. If the goal is to get these men and women into stable, decent, affordable places to live, then we have a long way to go.

 

Brian

Posts by Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless staff and Board.

^.. "If our goal in the community is to get homeless people off the streets, we have done a great job. We have unfortunately done that at the expense of the thousands of former home owners who had to endure the foreclosure nightmare. ..".

 

I am not sure I understand this..is he saying formally homeless folks are "squatting" in recently forclosed or abandoned homes? this is obviously a real safety issue (fire hazard) and is hardly a solution. It would be hard to believe that actual homeless numbers have decreased, but where they are is a really good question. I wonder what the status of the transitional housing is on St Clair.

I don't know what he's talking about either. If people were squatting in foreclosed houses, they're hurting themselves and the people who still own houses in the neighborhood. I think our plan for dealing with the homeless is flawed because I don't think there is a plan. People sleeping on the street is insane and dangerous.

 

I thought this article from Malcolm Gladwell on homelessness was interesting: http://www.gladwell.com/2006/2006_02_13_a_murray.html

There is a plan, though the resources to carry it out are scarce.  It is known as the "Continuum of Care" plan.  It has been awhile since I've looked at it, but if I remember right it maps out the housing needs and resources for homeless people from shelters to permanent housing as well as social and mental health service needs and resources.  I don't know if it is available online.

That was a great article.  Presented long term solutions rather than temporary fixes (which is what I believe giving money to panhandlers is, a temporary fix and does nothing to solve the problem).

Bravo.

 

pd:

 

 

Cleveland shifts homeless food programs from Public Square

Trash attracts rats, officials contend

Monday, December 03, 2007

Stan Donaldson

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

For more than a decade, churches, volunteers and outreach groups used a small area on Public Square to distribute meals to feed Cleveland's homeless.

 

 

[email protected], 216-999-4885

"If the city is serious about cleaning up, they should also be targeting the Browns fans who go there and leave trash after games. You just can't attack one population."

 

I have to agree with this sentiment. Following any major sports game, I've found the major routes from the stadia to Terminal Tower to be littered with trash. And yet I've never heard that their refuse was drawing vermin.

Apples to oranges, my friend... apples to oranges.

When those apples are some of the most marginalized citizens in society and are having additional barriers to service placed upon them in order to make the environment more aesthetically pleasing and welcoming for those oranges, I think that we should at the very least require a minimum standard that applies to both apples and oranges.

 

Sorry, this article got me a little riled up. In five years of living in Cleveland, and hundreds of walks through three of the four quadrants of Public Square (less the Sailors & Soldier Monument), I have never seen any vermin ... including my most recent walk on Saturday eve. I really hope that there are documented cases of this occurring and that the administration will produce data, anectdotes, etc. that support these claims. Otherwise, the tactic reeks of fear-mongering in order to diffuse any negative reaction to moving the volunteer food providers. And if that's the case, then I've lost a lot of respect for a mayor that I was hoping would be more of an advocate for poor residents.

i saw three rats run across ontario at public square a few weeks ago (on 3 different days)...and this was after all of the infrastructure had been rebuilt.  these were the only rats i have even seen downtown.

 

i'm all for moving the homeless off public square, but i think even the temporary solution needs to provide shelter, restrooms, tables, trash facilities, etc.  if there is no toilet, what do people expect the homeless/hungry to use after their meal? 

A temporary outdoor feeding site was set up near the county administration building. Groups can serve food to the homeless on weekday evenings and weekends until a permanent indoor facility is found, Walker said.

 

They are still providing food and a more appropriate site will be selected. I don't see the problem with this?

I've seen rats on the square especially during this summer in the Northeast Quad when the people providing the food were leaving it on the square and people who are homeless setting up camp in the bushes.  Let's not forget too that this was going to happen anyway when the ECTP was started because of having no parking lanes on the Square.  If RTA is towing CPD cars and arresting jaywalkers, I'm pretty freakin sure they're going to arrest anyone who blocks the BRT's path.

 

There needs to be a indoor feeding location with proper restrooms and showers, aka a 24/hour drop in center.

Cue Connie Schultz

They are still providing food and a more appropriate site will be selected. I don't see the problem with this?

 

Nothing's wrong with it, per se, except that if the underriding issue is a public health concern around vermin, moving them to an outdoor site without restrooms, etc. (as other posters noted) doesn't really address the issue ... it just leads the rats to pack their suitcases and head two blocks to the northeast.

There aren't the number of RTA riders and other people in that location, though.

 

There needs to be a indoor feeding location with proper restrooms and showers, aka a 24/hour drop in center.

 

That is the solution that needs to come.  Is anyone working on this?

There aren't the number of RTA riders and other people in that location, though.

 

Definitely a good point. But trying to figure out how this site will work in light of trying to shift the homeless away from nearby Public Square and with additional regulations preventing them from loitering on the mall and in front of the Convention Center. And while on the weekends there isn't a lot of traffic over here, I could see a worker outcry if the homeless start congregating around the Justice Center, the Old Court House and the County Admin building during working hours.

 

It seems like we're placing more and more restrictions on where homeless people can congregate, but none of this is really addressing the underlying need for extension of coordinated services in some central, easy-to-access location.

 

 

There needs to be a indoor feeding location with proper restrooms and showers, aka a 24/hour drop in center.

 

That is the solution that needs to come.  Is anyone working on this?

 

In TOTAL agreement, but it seems like there is a lack of willpower and resources moving this plan forward. I remember hearing about efforts around such a facility, with additional "one-stop shop" services about 3 years ago but have yet to see anything concrete come from those meetings, other than relocation and modernization of Mental Health Services, which I think was already in motion before these discussions.

Unfortunately, it's pretty obvious that this has nothing to do with a massive rat infestation.  The city knows that it cannot flat out say "we need to get as many homeless of public square and definitely not feed them there!"  It does definitely hurt insider and outsider  perception of the city when you walk by a line of homeless people getting food at the heart of a city center, and the city realizes this.  Since there really is no way of banning people from giving away food on public square...the next best option -- promote some sort of indoor facility with heat, bathrooms, showers.  But who's neightborhood is that going to be in...the avenue district??  Like stated above...doesn't really address the underlying problem.  Only a temporary "fix"

Aren't there health codes to follow, etc.? I can't just open a diner without being inspected by the health department.

But who's neightborhood is that going to be in...the avenue district?? 

 

Hmmm, how about Parma, Mentor, Bay Village, Beechwood, Strongsville, North Royalton, Pepper Pike, Chagrin Falls, Berea, North Olmsted... You get the picture?

 

No?

 

Here, this should help.

 

I agree that municipalities throughout the region should share the burden of caring for the poor. But in dealing with homeless populations, it's helpful to have resources in relatively close proximity, as these people have very limited disposable income and often don't have access to reliable transportation ... not to mention the time burden of having to go all over the county, potentially by bus, to access shelter, food, healthcare, job training, etc.

Building one-stop drop in centers with all the above services under one roof could also address that though.

True ... though if the one-stop center is in Chagrin Falls and the homeless are living in the Quadrangle, it's still quite a time commitment. Not to mention the scale of a one-stop center I'm sure would have the NIMBYs outraged ... particularly when they're so reluctant to even support subsidized housing, let alone services for the homeless ... and particularly when cities like Bay Village get outraged over expansion of a senior community facility. Can't imagine what those folks would say if you tried to throw up a social service center. Dick Feagler would likely have to move to Sandusky.