This is absolutely ridiculous. But I suppose given the state of the city right now it is to be expected. Pocket Councilman, Fertel and Rackman reversed their decision to hold an open proposal on the shelter giving no reason of their doing so. I can only assume that some of the same tactics used in Echo Bay were used here. People are going to suffer. You may have heard me shout as I was leaving, it might not have been the best way to express how I felt but I am angry, and I think I have a right to be. Mostly at the things I heard last night.
How the mayor claimed there are no other options. Dimensions, and other churches and organizations have been around for 18/ 20 years. How according to Mr. Bramson the conditions at the shelter don’t matter, because this is about making them better (he says) , just about opening the program. About how 100,000 dollars is going to open a building, feed 100 people an good meal, provide casework to everyone run the gas for two vans etc. About how Hope would not be running the shelter, which is funny since this whole time he has been insisting as has Carol that it is ok to give the shelter money if Hope is “running it” This proves what I have been saying all along that this is just a way to give the shelter more funding. How than can the conditions not matter
This was a clear case of partisan politics winning over doing the right thing. Councilmen Trangucci and Tarantino were wonderful. They stuck by their decision despite the pressure, and asked the mayor why he was not interested in what the county had to say when the legislators expressed interest at the open proposal. The mayor pretty much in paraphrase said that he didn’t care. He doesn’t care about a lot of things. That the appointed Reverend Dawkins he had his city manager appoint to the MHA is running a bedbug infested shelter, that Hope has a very poor track record in housing
(I haven’t really shared the horror stories I have heard on that end because I wanted to focus on the shelter, but I do not know more than a handful or people who they have housed, and some of those they gave housing had very mismanaged cases, my own experience trying to use them last year was a nightmare and I have heard some other tales, more on that later). The fact that the city currently lets them run the pathways (designed to house many homeless) programs is actually a reason NOT to fund them, they have had little success as evidenced by the number of us not provided shelter.) and a lot more.
If the mayor were confident in Hope himself he would have supported the open proposal. This is similar to the reason that dictators don’t have fair elections, were they to be held they know that someone else would win. But we are not going to give up. This program is going to prove itself to be embarrassing, ineffective, and abusive. We are going to prove that. But in the meantime if you are as disgusted last night by what happened as I am please call your council-people especially Ms. Rackman and Mr. Fertel and express how you feel. I am considering a few other options, if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them. Unlike the mayor I am not afraid to hear other people’s views.