At the conference on Tuesday, there were several ideas to have various outreach teams approach homeless in the downtown. Talking to the homeless is a good idea but the current programs have to be fixed before outreach is a priority. People seem to think that if they tell homeless to go inside it will solve everything. People know about Oasis. People just don’t want to go there. Any outreach teams need to be independent, they need to discuss people only with their consent, and they need to be focused on system reform, aka advocating for the homeless.
The fact that Mr. Mosley and Carol immediately volunteered for one task force scares me (though I have been told much to my relief that the team in question will be independent, several outreach programs were discussed)
Honestly, as a homeless person I can tell you a group of people surrounding you while you are eating/reading/walking/talking can feel mighty like intimidation if it is not done the right way. If they are involved with outreach they could use this as a way to get the homeless out of sight, and to punish anyone who doesn’t use the shelter due to conditions. Without their consent people would be talked about, planned about, and then surrounded by the people they are trying to avoid. But outreach isn’t really the problem. The thought that it is fits with Mr. Mcguire’s statement that the homeless want to be in drop-ins. No one, and I repeat no one, is staying in Oasis because they like it, and many who are not have reasons related to it. Want to decrease our visibility, really? Give us a good day program, fix Oasis, and give the grants to someone else (though that shouldn’t be the primary reasoning.)
Saying this, outreach can be very helpful if done correctly . Talking to the homeless, not to push them into shelters, but to hear their complaints and problems, listen to what they have to say, (discussing only with consent) and try to get them housing is another story. If the focus of a outreach team becomes not getting us out of the downtown, but understanding and housing it could help. Mr. Killoran (of Habitat) has proposed a (possibly different sort of) outreach team and while I have concerns (Carol and Mr. Mosley like the idea and immediately volunteered leading me to worry about the above) (he says it will be independent however) if run right, as a connection to people, rather than a extension of current systems it could become a resource for us. If it helps the city see us as individuals rather than “those homeless” it would be a great resource.Time will tell.
One of the overall consensuses was that the shelter needs more money, despite my showing the assembled the conditions. This is also unacceptable. What would they do with more funding? They just got 100,000 from the city and nothing has improved (they can be inside during the day-but they can’t leave) Several of the politicians there were related to Wesctop (Mr. Latimer, Mr. Rice etc. which is the shelter’s parent nonprofit.)
I showed part of my footage about the shelter (bedbugs etc.) besides Carol shouting at me no one responded, none of those elected officials said a word (a church leader did though). At the end of the conference I heard Carol hiss to an individual “I am sick and tired of duplicate services” This is the schedule of soup kitchens open more than twice a month.
Monday
-Bag Lunch at Trinity Church 10:30-11:00
-Hope 2-6 (dinner is at 5) last two days of month only
(Overlap with)
-Westcop 5
Tuesday (This is not “overlap” this is us actually getting three meals for a change)
-Salvation Army Breakfast 9
-Bag Lunch at Trinity 10:30
-Hope 2-6
Wed
-Bag lunch at Trinity (10:30)
– Hope 2-6
Thursday
-Breakfast Salvation Army 9
-Bag lunch at Trinity 10:30
-Westcop at 5 (as you can see the only overlap is Westcop itself)
-Trinity (but served by Union Baptist-complete with pantry bag) Dinner at 5 (most people go here)
Friday
-Bag Lunch 10:30
-Hope 2-6
Saturday (the only day we are not hungry)
-Bethesda Baptist Church 12
-Assembly of God 3
-New York Covenant Church 5
Sunday (the hardest day)
-Shiloh Baptist at 8:30ish
-Salvation Army at 3
So as you can see, most days we only get two meals, not counting the “snack”, usually dry franks and beans in a tiny bowl at Oasis.
Channel Twelve News covered this event with the tagline that Oasis needs more money. Covering the conference itself was alright, but they should have covered divergent viewpoints. I wrote them that they hadn’t interviewed any homeless people. They responded to me that that had. As I said a very wonderful gentleman had spoken at the conference about getting out of homelessness, in the 80’s as proof that we are responsible people too. But I don’t believe he was homeless in New Rochelle and he is not now homeless, so to say he was a representative of the current situation (he never claimed to be channel twelve news did so) is deeply disturbing.
http://westchester.news12.com/news/new-coalition-to-address-homelessness-in-new-rochelle-1.9448162
Mr. Mosley made a speech after the conference on Homelessness at Family Christian Center last Tuesday about the footage I showed. He said he knew who took it (which we don’t believe to be true) and that he could make sure they never get to stay at another shelter in Westchester County. He also said that the footage isn’t valid since “no one uses the basement bathroom any way.” How long is he going to be allowed to treat these people as if they are his prisoners?
Over the next few days and weeks they are going to try to cover up these claims as much as possible. They have done the same thing every time an investigation or publicity occurs it gets better for two weeks, though not exponentially so, then it goes back. As long as the current management is in place, as long as the two current grantees are in place it will continue.