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WYOMING WINDS
October 2008
 A publication of
The Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless
907 Logan Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001-5247
phone: 307-634-8499 fax: 307-634-9089
            email: wch@vcn.com ©1990-2008                

[VolunteerMatch - Where Volunteering Begins.]  GoodSearch: You Search...We Give!  

Click Here for Table of Contents

Thanks to Dan Clark and crew from St. Peter's Church for installing the day care
playground.

The Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless is in need of volunteers to help with the clothing closets, computer, life skills, job skills, music and art classes as well as supervise yard care,
and help build 2 interior walls. If you are interested contact Virginia at 634-8499.

Pioneer Construction has started work on the Day Care at the WCH Richards Center. Grant funds are available for the 1st two phases of construction. Funds are still needed for the other 3 phases. If you would like to donate to the construction fund, send your check marked "construction" to WCH at 907 Logan Avenue, Cheyenne 82001. Those donating to the construction will have their names listed in the day care lobby and will be honored at the grand opening of the day care.

2008 HOMELESS MEMORIAL DAY, December 22, 2008, the State Capitol Building, 12:00 Noon
     
Click on pictures to see more about Homeless Memorial Day


September 2, 2008 Bridging the Gap Day
Photo by Larry Brinlee/Courtesty of Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Click on picture above for more infomration on Universal Living Wage Campaigns

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What You Always Wanted to Know About WCH But Were Afraid to Ask

Even though the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless has been active since 1990 it seems that a lot of people are still unaware of the agency and/or have misconceptions about WCH. In the beginning WCH put out a monthly newsletter, held Homeless Memorial Day on December 21 of each year and passed information from national agencies/causes to Wyoming agencies.

In 1993 a couple of formerly homeless individuals approached WCH asking if an empowerment program using the arts could be established. The board approved of this activity and started looking for a location. It took until May of 1994 to find the location upstairs in the Needs building. It did not take long to realize that more than the empowerment program was needed -- the location soon evolved into the Welcome Mat Day Center - Cheyenne's ONLY day center for the homeless. With the Day Center came nutritional snacks, coffee, and the company of others. The arts program led to the publication of StreetViews, a literary magazine and several art shows by homeless artists. At the present time WCH is working on an annual StreetViews, the book, publication. In addition, WCH volunteers began making sleeping bags for homeless individuals -- both children and adults.

WCH still holds Homeless Memorial Day each year on December 21st, puts out their monthly newsletter (you're reading it now), and relays information on national/international homeless issues as well as local to other agencies around the state.

In 1999 Needs changed their rules at their clothing closet and since they excluded the homeless WCH opened a closet. In addition, in 1999 WCH was gifted with a large amount of stocks and bonds, and a search began for a new location. In August 2000 WCH purchased, on contract for deed, the building at 907 Logan Avenue. Also in 2000 WCH began taking donated bicycles, repairing them and giving them to homeless in need of transportation.

In 2005 WCH applied for the former Naval Reserve building at 4700 Ocean Loop. The building was government surplus and homeless programs were given preference. WCH received the keys on November 2, 2005. The building houses the Art From The Streets Gallery and Studio, a computer lab, bicycle repair shop, conference room, library, sewing and fabric rooms for making sleeping bags. Work has been moving slowly towards the opening of Cheyenne Kid Korral Day Care in the same building. There is hope that this work will be complete by fall.

In 2006 thanks to a grant from the Daniel's Fund WCH installed a shower and a laundry facility in the Welcome Mat at 907 Logan Avenue. Thus providing the only free laundry facility for the homeless and the only place homeless camping out or traveling though the area can take a shower during the day. For more information on the number of people using the 2 facilities and the services provided click here.

Additional grants for construction of the day care, day care equipment, purchase of day care furnishings, playground equipment, painting - inside and out - added doors, walls, upgrading of the fire sprinkler system, installation of a lawn sprinkler system, trees, flowers, and other required repairs and upgrades. These grants included The Daniels Fund, CDBG funds, Union Pacific, Burlington Northern, Wells Fargo, Women's Civic League, Wyoming Community Foundation, and the generosity of several local residents and the proceeds from the WCH annual fundraiser, Walk In My Shoes.

Volunteers from St. Peter's Church, Warren Air Force Base, Eagle Scout projects, Central High School and others have repaired bikes, moved furniture and equipment to the building, painted, made minor repairs, re-arranged doors and walls, and set up the playground for the day care.

During the past year the Salvation Army has had to cut back their meal service on the week-ends, so WCH provides a crock pot meal on Saturday and Sunday for those coming into the Welcome Mat.

In March 2008 WCH opened the Look Your Best Clothing Room  at the Richards Center, 4700 Ocean Loop. This closet is open to all, but is there mainly to provide a place for those attending Life Skills and Job Skills classes, to find clothing for jobs or job interviews.

WCH works with the other social service agencies in town, providing for those that fall through the cracks, and providing extra services for those coming into the Welcome Mat and the empowerment programs. No one agency can cover all the needs of the poor and homeless. A coordination of agencies serving this population means that more people will be able to receive the needed help. COMEA House, Salvation Army, Community Action, Needs, St. Joseph's Catholic Church Pantry are among the agencies that share clients and are able to work together to assist clients. Click here to see what is available at each of WCH's locations.

WCH shares donated items that cannot be used at WCH or surplus items with other agencies and individuals in need.

For a more detailed history of WCH click here

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More housing for homeless
$1.9-million building will house 20 people
By DAVENE JEFFREY Staff Reporter
Chronicle Herald

A $1.9-million supportive housing complex to be built in central Halifax will give 20 homeless people a safe home, individuals like Randy Cross.

Mr. Cross used to live in a bad part of town with drug dealers operating in his building and Dumpsters on the property were regularly lit on fire. But that was seven years ago, before he moved into 75 Primrose St. a Dartmouth apartment building owned by the Metro Non-Profit Housing Association.

"It’s nice and safe. It’s quiet there at night. It’s perfect. We’re all like one big family, especially on the first floor," Mr. Cross said.

The association opened an 18-unit building at 2330 Gottingen St. in 2002.

The new building will be erected just a couple of blocks away on Maynard Street and will have 20 units — all self-contained, large bachelor apartments.

Conservative Senator Donald Oliver announced the federal funding Wednesday at the Metro Non-Profit Housing Support Centre on Gottingen Street.

Land for the building has been purchased and builders are ready to break ground as soon as the city issues the building permits, said Carol Charlebois, executive director of the association.

"Our community is changing and that’s not a bad thing," said social worker and board vice-chairman Paul O’Hara, pointing out the number of condominium developments going up in the area. "We want to make sure that (all) people have a decent place to live."

The new facility will focus on providing stable housing for people with mental health and addiction issues.

"This new facility will give vulnerable individuals an opportunity to build a stronger future for themselves," Mr. Oliver said in a release.

The new units, however, represent less than 10 per cent of the need, Mr. O’Hara said.

"We’re one of many (organizations) wanting to provide housing for people who just can’t participate in the economy."

Many of those people need a helping hand to live on their own, and this project supports that, Mr. O’Hara said.

The building will also have a common area to encourage a sense of community among the tenants, Ms. Charlebois said.

A staff member will also have an office in the building and will be on hand during the day, she said.

Ottawa is also providing over $150,000 through its Homelessness Partnering Strategy to establish a program to support people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Halifax Housing Help will be the name of a new office that will open on Gottingen Street.

The office will provide "out of the box" services to help keep people from having to live in a box, said Cindy MacIsaac, who heads Direction 180, Halifax’s methadone program. Direction 180 is partnering in the project.

Many people with addictions or mental health issues need help with a variety of concerns like managing their money in order to avoid eviction.

Staff at Halifax Housing Help can help with issues like that, she said.

Darcy Harvey, who will be running the office, says the service will offer high levels of help to its clients and develop a model of how community agencies can come together to support individuals and help them maintain stable housing.

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Thames A Homeless Haven?
London Free Press

Jim Watkin slaps an errant branch out of the way as he pushes through the brush toward the Thames River.

"This could just be garbage," he says, gesturing toward an assortment of cardboard boxes and bottles strewn on the riverbank.

Watkin, an outreach worker with the London Harm Reduction Program, is patrolling the riverbank on a glaringly bright afternoon, pointing out evidence.

For early-morning joggers and cyclists, it's not an uncommon sight.

It might be hard to notice at first, but Watkin easily points out the signs left behind on the riverbank -- an old blanket, empty bottles, even a beaten-up armchair.

Then, sprawled under a bridge by the forks of the river, a man in a red windbreaker comes into view, napping among the boulders.

A popular recreational area for many, the Thames is also a last refuge for some of London's homeless population.

"There's different things going on. Sometimes, people use it as a place that becomes a normal residence for the summer," said Watkin.

"For other people, it becomes that place to hang out so they can chill and be away from some of the pressures and enjoy the tranquility."

Watkin has been a social and outreach worker for almost a decade, dealing mainly with people suffering from drug addictions.

Every afternoon and evening, he patrols London's downtown core, checking up on the vulnerable street population and offering assistance, counselling and education.

But the trees and brush along the Thames are areas where Watkin can't do much.

"If you're going to follow someone down here, it'll be a tough go. You might be trying to catch up to them, but as soon as they hit the river they disappear," he said.

"It's amazing, but you can see it happen. That's how people isolate and keep themselves safe. And they learn that. That is a strategy."

Since the river winds through downtown London, Watkin said it's hardly surprising some people would choose to stay there during balmy summer nights.

The city has 360 shelter beds available, but an estimated 1,500 people without access to permanent housing.

At the Unity Project for Relief of Homelessness on Dundas Street, manager Charlene Lazenby said the shelter is full nearly every night.

While staff at the 38-bed facility will do everything they can to find a spot for someone in need, she said she understands why some people would choose to park themselves along the Thames.

"I think shelters can be restrictive to some people, and it's a personal choice. People need to be able to have their own freedoms," she said.

"I also think that sometimes people do get asked to leave the shelters."

Someone kicked out of a shelter for being intoxicated might not cause as many problems along the river as one might think, said Ian Peer, London's deputy police chief.

"I don't know if we've ever had a call of a noise disturbance. When people call, it's mostly so we can check on the welfare of the people staying down there," he said.

In fact, homeless people sleeping along the river face many more threats than they pose, said Watkin.

"There's quite a few risks -- health, violence, just the elements of being outside and alone. There's violence and harassment and theft."

Watkin, who only patrols the river by day, said such threats intensify for those spending the night in the forests.

The city's system for dealing with vulnerable people who might suffer from addictions, mental illness or alcohol-related problems is sometimes inadequate, said Ross Fair, the city's manager of community services.

"Addiction is a medical problem and so far the police have been the only ones available to handle it. Police are the only 24/7 social services agency in town," said Fair.

But things are looking up. London Cares, a multimillion-dollar, made-in-London strategy to help get homeless addicts off the streets and clean, kicked off this summer.

The program, based on a San Francisco model, has already opened three "safe havens" where street people can go during the day for food, laundry, counselling and other programs.

A fourth safe haven is slated to open this fall. And with a team of outreach workers helping police by patrolling the streets, Fair said the situation may improve.

Until then, Watkin said he understands the draw of the river and why the homeless might feel as if it's their own.

"It's pretty damn tranquil and a great escape," he said.

"When you get a little bit further down to some of the plains areas, you'll see deer and a lot of different wildlife. . . . When that happens, it allows you to recognize your place," he said.

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It takes a village (and a mayor)
By Stephen Terence Gould
The Denver Post

Chances are, if you're in town for the Democratic National Convention, you won't see many homeless.

That's not because Denver has no homeless. At last count, there were more than 9,000 homeless individuals (including families) in the city and county of Denver.

Nor is Denver "hiding" its homeless. In fact, the opposite is true. Some of Denver's beauty salons have offered their services free to the homeless — which means that if you have the stereotypical view of scrawny, bearded guys flying cardboard signs, yes, we're "hiding" some of our homeless behind good, clean looks.

Denver's homeless are being treated with special regard during the DNC. There are extra volunteers, some even flying in from California, to help. Homeless shelters are staying open for extended hours during the hot August days. For some, that will be a refuge from all of the hullabaloo going on outdoors. And, indoors at many of the larger shelters, there'll be cable television and big-screen TVs (on-loan for the convention).

One possible inconvenience for the homeless is that Cuernavaca Park, near the intersection of 20th Street and I-25, is where Tent State University is headquartering its activities. That's not all that far from Denver's "Ground Zero" for the homeless, the so-called Triangle Park at 23rd and Lawrence. And Cuernavaca Park is just a few blocks from one of Denver's main homeless shelters, the Salvation Army's Crossroads shelter for homeless men on 29th Street.

Of course, the homeless can participate in the many activities, protest-wise or otherwise, in the four-day DNC span. In Denver, surely as elsewhere, the homeless have the right to their freedoms as any other free citizen. Aggressive panhandling, however, is prohibited. In downtown Denver, you probably won't be hassled too much. There's a long list of prohibited begging activities and "distance-from" rules, developed by the Denver Commission to End Homelessness.

And you probably won't see drunks lying on the street. It's against the law, too.

But in Denver, drunks are treated differently than in some cities. Before a drunk is busted or cited, a homeless outreach worker is called in, to see if there can be a help-based — not arrest-based — solution to the problem. That's one of the humane results of Denver's Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness.

Although it wasn't always so, there's been a transformation in attitude about the homeless in Denver that, I think, other cities can admire and, perhaps, learn from.

Many of the communities represented at the DNC already have a 10-year plan, of some sort, to end homelessness. And many readers probably already know something about homelessness. There are some homeless issues that seem to be common to most cities.

The major issue, in my mind, is how to deal effectively with the chronically homeless, where drugs and alcohol are involved. In Denver, they eat free at the Denver Rescue Mission, then sit around the triangle-shaped park that's "Ground Zero" for the homeless, waiting for a free floor mat across the street at the Samaritan House shelter. What they're doing, meanwhile, in the park is often illicit. Crack, meth and weed can easily be found among the homeless, and those who use, often sell. It turns out eventually to be a circular saw of hopelessness. Even the homeless outreach workers get burned out from dealing with the total "caringlessness" of the chronic, often drug-induced, homeless.

Denver's Road Home, the project name for the Denver Commission to End Homelessness, is now considered one of America's leading 10-year plans. It had its start just before the election of 2003. The Denver Homeless Planning Group had brought together a disparate group of Denver's homeless agencies, business leaders, police, and homeless citizens to struggle toward a general plan to deal with Denver's homeless. That plan proved to be the backbone of Denver's Ten-Year Plan.

Then Mayor John Hickenlooper got elected in 2003, along with 10 of 11 new city council members. Shortly after, the mayor was asked by HUD for Denver to join one of 100 communities to develop a 10-year plan. The mayor, in his inimitable fashion, accepted the challenge and, like a bright kite, ran with it. In short order, Hickenlooper appointed Roxane White as head of Human Services and chair of the Commission to End Homelessness. The commission itself is a wonderful mix of community leadership, from City Council president to homeless reps, from police chief to the Downtown Business Bureau.

But without the initial push from the mayor and his continued, aggressive support, and without the brilliant chairmanship of Roxane White, Denver would still be just a collection of scattered huts, instead of a purposeful village building toward the hopes of civilization.

Stephen Terence Gould is a member of the Denver Commission to End Homelessness, and received the 2007 Michael Gilbert Award for Outstanding Achievement by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. He was a member of the Colorado Voices panel in 2006.

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Committee tackles housing needs
By Kat Lee - Terrace Standard

THE CITY of Terrace’s first-ever housing committee has identified some of their top priorities: housing for seniors and those with mental illness and addiction, and help for first-time home buyers.

“It kind of started with the homeless situation last winter,” mayor Jack Talstra said, adding that it then grew to housing for seniors, and then the types of housing available to residents.

“Now we’re sort of looking at the whole range,” he said.

Talstra said council has discussed the idea of putting a housing committee together for some time, although the issue has been addressed in other committees.

“It’s quite exciting,” said councillor Lynne Christiansen, a member of the committee. “It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a long time, it’s something there’s a need for.”

The committee has met a few times over the summer and is thinking about taking another look at zoning bylaws to see if “granny” suites can be put into some homes.

“With the population aging, the best solution for seniors housing is always with family,” said councillor and committee member Brad Pollard. “Currently bylaws make this a little bit restrictive.”

Members are also tossing around the idea of a project like Habitat for Humanity, but there are concerns that the project may not fit a community of this size.

“It’s a pretty significant thing to organize,” said city planner David Block, adding that there is a lot of work involved with planning and getting volunteers. Habitat for Humanity also tends to support communities with a population around 100,000. However, Block says since Habitat for Humanity does support interested communities with models and advice, a small project could be possible under the right volunteer leadership.

What may happen sooner is a housing inventory of the community. The city is applying to the Real Estate Foundation for money to see what sort of housing is in the community, the availability, and what is needed. Talstra says the city has gotten money for projects like this in the past.

Committee members also met with seniors at the Happy Gang Centre last week to hear their concerns, as well as with Kate Mancer, a consultant with the Real Estate Foundation who is currently doing a study of seniors housing in the North.

“We’re meeting with seniors in the communities to see what the current market is like in seniors house care, what the gaps are, and how the gaps can be filled,” she said later. Mancer has organized focus groups with seniors in Terrace, and will meet with seniors in Williams Lake and Prince George in September.

While her research of the communities is in the early stages, Mancer says she has been told that there is a lack of supportive housing, as well as housing for seniors who can afford it.

“For people who have some money and are willing and able to pay, there’s nothing in Terrace at all,” she said, noting that this is a typical challenge for small communities around the province.

A report on the findings will be presented in a conference in Prince George in early October, and Mancer is hoping the information will be on the Real Estate Foundation’s website by the end of that month.

To try to better understand the housing problem for the mentally ill and addicted, the housing committee invited new Terrace and District Community Services Society homeless outreach worker Casey Eys to its meeting last week.

Eys works with the homeless and those at risk of being homeless. This includes couch surfers who are too old to live with their parents, families living in cramped and substandard housing, and the absolute homeless.

He has met families who have the means to rent a home but there is no place vacant in town.

“It’s a landlord’s market,” he said. “Any place you go to, landlords are getting numerous people applying...and they can choose who they want.”

But it’s the mentally ill and addicted who are the hardest to house, Eys says.

“These are the people who need the most help,” he said.

Talstra says once the city’s housing inventory is complete, the city will look for money from as many resources as possible, then look at next year’s budget to see what kind of money is needed.

“By the end of November we will have a complete package, hopefully, of the housing needs in Terrace,” he said.

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Corona Man Says, Despite Restrictions, He Keeps Feeding Homeless
By PAIGE AUSTIN
The Press-Enterprise

CORONA - Despite his heart condition and aching bones, 71-year-old Corona resident John Atkins is hoping to get thrown in jail.

At the very least, he wants a citation and a fine.

Either one, Atkins said, would give him a court date and the fight he's been spoiling for.

Similarly, the city of Corona isn't backing down from a showdown with Atkins over his right to feed the hungry at a city park.

In August, the city's park ranger began issuing warning tickets to Atkins for violating an ordinance requiring a permit to donate food at a city park and limits it to once a month for three months.

Atkins said Corona police detained him last week and threatened to arrest him and impound his car if he didn't stop feeding the homeless at Corona's City Park.

Atkins refuses to get the permit and vows he won't stop delivering food to those in need at the park -- something he has been doing almost daily for more than a year.

For Atkins, who has been allowed to give food to the elderly at the city's Senior Center for more than a decade, the crackdown at the park is a form of discrimination against the homeless.

It's also an infringement upon Atkins' First Amendment right to freedom of expression, said his attorney Richard Ackerman.

"If you or I can share a sandwich with a co-worker at the park, why can't John share food with the people he knows?" asked Ackerman.

For city officials, however, it's about regulating activity and safety at a park plagued by crime and nuisance complaints from the community.

"Corona has been dealing with homeless issues for several years," said Corona Mayor Jeff Miller. "Corona can't solve the California homeless problem and we can't become a sanctuary city."

During the last couple of years, Corona has raided homeless camps and demolished vacant buildings where they congregated.

The crackdown on homeless feeding at City Park is "one component to make sure that our children and family's can enjoy our parks," Miller wrote in an e-mail.

On a given morning, Atkins pulls up to the City Park picnic area laden down with everything from bread and Lunchables to bacon and salad.

A handful of people are usually waiting for him. Most live in their cars and depend on Atkins and other volunteers to eat.

San Bernardino native Robert Hammer has been coming to City Park for a year.

Last July he moved in with his mother in Corona to care for her as she battled cancer, but she was evicted while dying in the hospital, and Hammer has been living in his car ever since, he said.

"We get blamed for a lot of the stuff that goes on here, but it's not us," Hammer said. "I nearly got beat up recently when I tried to stop some gang-bangers that were spray-painting the wall."

Most of the homeless at the park take pains to keep it clean and stay out of trouble, he said.

But the activity of homeless people at the park has been a problem, police said.

Between March and August, 39 calls for service to the park resulted in eight arrests.

During that period, officers investigated 249 incidents they saw while on patrol, arresting 18 people and issuing four citations.

The arrests ranged from kidnapping and robbery to drug and alcohol use.

When Atkins was recently detained by police officers, several of the homeless people he was feeding were cited for drinking alcohol in the park and littering, said Corona police spokesman Jerry Pawluczenko.

"We're trying to respond to the community's needs," Pawluczenko said.

Five years ago, San Bernardino similarly cracked down on charities that feed the homeless in parks, citing a Loma Linda church and shortening park hours.

But Atkins has no intention of stopping.

He picks up food donations from grocery stores and hands out the food at the park and seniors' homes two and three times a day.

Delivering at the park just once a month wouldn't have any impact on the hunger problem, he said.

"Unless they can show me that I am reading the wrong Bible, that it is wrong to feed the hungry, I am not going to stop," he said. "There are more and more hungry people, and everybody's got to eat."

Staff writer Gene Ghiotto contributed to this report.

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Pantry merges with thrift shop
New location allows privacy for patrons
By MEG HECKMAN
Concord Monitor staff

For years, using Barnstead's food pantry was anything but discreet. Clients had to visit town hall on Saturday mornings, where their cars stood out in the empty, all-too-public parking lot.

That changed earlier this summer. Now coolers full of meat and eggs, and shelves packed with canned goods are housed in a retail building on Route 28. In the same space is a new thrift shop that subsidizes the pantry and other efforts to help Barnstead residents in need.

The new arrangement provides more privacy for pantry patrons, says Elaine Swinford, who was elected overseer of the public welfare in March. No one knows if customers are picking up kitchen staples or looking for a great deal on furniture, prom dresses or any of the shop's other eclectic wares.

Income from the shop, about $1,800 last month, is enough to pay rent, buy meat and allow Swinford to help more residents who are down on their luck. Over the last month, about 90 families used the pantry, twice as many as when it was in town hall. The increase, Swinford says, is partly because of July's tornado and partly because of the new location. She has also helped a few people with unexpected expenses.

"If somebody needs a car repair, a tank of gas to get them through the week, to keep their jobs, we can do that," Swinford said. "We fill in the gaps."

The new pantry is bigger and brighter and lacks the rickety stairs clients used to navigate to reach the basement of town hall. Swinford says there are still plenty of problems the office can't solve - high rents, limited apartments, medical bills - but at least she can provide dignity.

"Now that we're here people aren't so shy about coming in," she said.

Swinford lived in Laconia before moving to Barnstead seven years ago. She's worked with people with disabilities and as an addiction counselor. She's back in school now in hopes of earning a master's degree in behavioral health. She's been married - and widowed - twice.

"This is what's filling my life now," she said.

Since the shop opened, merchandise and customers have arrived with similar frequency. Dressers, chairs, drying racks and knickknacks overflow into the parking lot. The walls are covered with paintings, teddy bears and holiday decorations. Prom dresses, baby jumpers and suit coats pack clothing racks.

"The people of town have stepped up," Swinford said. "Two months ago, we had bare walls."

Towns people visit the store regularly, but sales have been especially brisk on the weekends. Tourists stop to fill their tanks at the Bosco Bell gas station next door. Many swing by the shop in search of a bargain.

Prices start at 25 cents - 5 cents for kids - and fussy children are greeted with a smile and a juice box, often handed to them by volunteer Earnest Bass. Bass has helped with Barnstead's pantry for years and loves the new location.

"You wouldn't believe what a curiosity this place has turned into," Bass said.

He arranges merchandise, boxes up food orders and carries items to customers' cars. Another way, he said, of providing help that's discreet.

The thrift shop's official hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, but it's often open other times during the week as well. Questions about the pantry, the welfare department or the thrift shop should be directed to Swinford. You can reach her at 235-1895. .

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County Pays Homeless Man $10,000 In Civil Suit
Settlement includes county paying all attorney's fees
By CHRISTOPHER CURRY
Ocala Star-Banner

OCALA - Marion County will pay the homeless man who filed a federal civil rights lawsuit over the county’s panhandling ordinance $10,000 for lost income, emotional distress and mental anguish.

The county also will pay attorney’s fees for David Booher, 51, when a federal judge signs off on the settlement agreement. The settlement also allows Booher to file a new lawsuit if the County Commission passes a similar panhandling ordinance in the future.

The case was scheduled to go to trial Oct. 6. The County Commission had closed door executive sessions on the lawsuit and individual discussions with their attorneys, but did not vote on the settlement at a public meeting. Following closed door discussions, it was approved by an administrative order of the county attorney and county administrator.

To date, the county has paid the Ocala law firm of Cameron, Hodges, Coleman LaPointe & Wright $12,188.05 for representation in the panhandling suit. The Sheriff’s Office, also a defendant because its deputies enforced the law, has its legal fees paid through the Florida Sheriffs’ Self Insurance Fund. The department pays $925,618 a year for that coverage.

The proposed settlement likely ends the saga of the controversial panhandling ordinance commissioners passed in May 2006.

The law required beggars to apply to the county administrator, at a cost of $100, for a license to panhandle. They had to provide the hours during which they would panhandle, the location where they’d do it and a permanent address, which could be a homeless shelter. Also, if anyone had ever violated the ordinance in the past by begging without a license, they couldn’t get a license.

But the ordinance’s licensing requirement and its ban on entering streets or standing on medians to collect money did not apply to anyone soliciting money for charities.

Booher, who applied for a permit and was turned down because he had violated the ordinance multiple times, was the plaintiff in a civil rights suit filed in July 2007. The suit argued the law violated the First Amendment because courts had ruled panhandling was a protected form of speech and violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment because the ordinance’s rules did not apply to charity groups.

“You can’t pick and choose who you’re not going to allow to solicit money,” said Pete Sleasman, an attorney with Florida Institutional Legal Services, who represented Booher.

During the Aug. 7, 2007, board meeting, Commissioner Barbara Fitos, who was not in office when commissioners passed the panhandling ordinance, tried to get the law repealed. Commissioners Stan McClain, Jim Payton, Charlie Stone and Andy Kesselring said no.

“I have no interest to change it whatsoever,” Stone said during that meeting.

The next month, U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges issued an injunction prohibiting enforcement of the law because it discriminated against an individual based on economic status and distinguished between who could and could not solicit money “based on the content of their speech.”

With little discussion, the County Commission repealed the ordinance in March of this year.

Booher declined an interview request Thursday. He has been in the county jail since early August on a charge of trespassing after a warning on a vacant lot that developer John Rudnianyn owns at the corner of Northeast 35th Street and Jacksonville Road. Booher has been kept in jail without bond because he had no address where he could be found if he failed to appear in court, according to an incident report.

Since July 2003, Booher has been arrested 21 times by Ocala police and the Sheriff’s Office. Most of the arrests were for violating the county or city’s panhandling ordinances. But he has also been arrested for passing bad checks, trespassing, driving with a suspended license and on a Volusia County warrant for failure to appear in court. He also had a Polk County warrant for failure to appear in court, according to the incident report for his latest arrest.

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City Aims to Get Homeless Off Streets
By Eloise Gibson

Council officers are working on ways to stop the homeless sleeping rough on city streets.

The move was prompted by complaints from the public about mattresses on footpaths, puddles of urine and people behaving offensively, especially near Aotea Square in the central city.

Auckland City Council's community services committee has asked officers for ways to increase the council's ability to intervene.

Councillor Paul Goldsmith has proposed asking Parliament to widen police powers to allow them to move rough sleepers along.

He said it was frustrating the council could order people around in all sorts of ways, but could not do anything about the people sleeping on footpaths.

"At the moment the approach seems to be that we can't do anything.

"You can't just stick a cafe on the footpath, but it seems you can stick a mattress on the footpath and leave it there until 9.30 in the morning and make the place look a mess."

Mr Goldsmith said the Bill of Rights limited the council's actions.

"Maybe all we can do is ask Parliament as loudly and clearly as we can to bring in legislation that allows the police to do the job - picking people up and moving them somewhere else."

Another option was hiring security guards to patrol troubled spots, he said.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson acknowledged there was problem with rough sleepers. She said she received a lot of complaints from people who felt unsafe, as well as shopkeepers who wanted people moved from their doorways.

But the first step to solving the problem was to give people somewhere to go.

"These are people who don't have anywhere to go and they're sleeping out in the wet and the cold," Ms Robertson said.

"If we had enough beds, and people used them, it would make a huge difference [to the number of rough sleepers]."

The mission plans to apply to Auckland City Council in November for resource consent to build an 80-bed facility.

Ms Robertson said other countries had provided long-term housing solutions and then legislated against vagrancy.

"We can't just move them along if there's nowhere to go."

Mr Goldsmith said the council would work with the City Mission in its push to get rough sleepers off the streets.

Council officers are expected to report back next month with their suggestions.

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Wyoming Winds is published by the Wyoming Coalition for the Homeless
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Editor: Virginia Sellner.
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© 2008.
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