Tick Tock Sheptock

In the course of history, more than a few people have found that they've been sent on wild goose chases or realized that they've been given a bum steer. Sometimes the misinformation is given intentionally. Other times it is given out of sheer ignorance. Sometimes it results in a person trying for years to do what can't be done -- the impossible dream. Consider the recent resignation of Robert V. Hess, the former director of New York City's Dept. of Homeless Services. He took on the job in 2004, with Mayor Bloomberg having set the goal of reducing homelessness by two thirds by the end of 2009. Six years later, there are actually MORE homeless people in the city than there were in 2004, due to a spike in family homelessness. (While homeless individuals are often blamed for their situation with some of them having used drugs or indulged in some other form of delinquent behavior, homeless families are understood by most to be victims of the economic downturn.) The econom...

On March 31st DC Councilman Tommy Wells (Dem-Ward 6) who oversees the Dept. of Human Services (DHS) held a post-hypothermia hearing during which he intended to hear testimony from the homeless and their service providers about homeless services this past winter. As is always the case, people strayed from the intended topic of discussion. Very little was said about homeless services that are specifically related to hypothermia. Much was said about year-round problems. There were the usual complaints about dilapidated buildings. several women complained about crumbling ceilings at the Families Forward Shelter on the grounds of the defunct DC General Hospital. At least one woman described how she moved her child to a spot where the ceiling wasn't crumbling and placed herself under the hole in the ceiling as a way of keeping the child safe. She was horrified by the thought of rodents falling out of the ceiling onto her or her child. People also described the filth that one sees upon ...