Tick Tock Sheptock

On March 11th, during the Human Services Budget Oversight Hearing, many people listened to the testimonies of 4 young mothers who were denied shelter during the winter right along with their little ones. Several of them told of how they were given bus tokens by those who are contracted with the city to provide shelter to families with children and were then told to ride the bus all night in order to stay warm. One mother told of how she gave birth on February 10th, left the hospital on the 12th and slept in the Greyhound Station or the stairwell of an unsecured apartment building with her baby for the entire first month of his life. On April 19th, during the ICH (Inter-agency Council on Homelessness) meeting, Fred Swan of DHS (the Dept. of Human Services) explained that the budget for Fiscal Year 2012 contained a $20.5 million budget shortfall for Homeless Services -- a line item that usually runs right around $60 million. During the pre-meeting he led an exercise that was designed t...

During the media blitz that I was the subject of this past December, it was said that I stopped police harassment at a certain women's shelter. While that assertion is substantially correct, the facts are a little off. Women who stay at the Open Door Shelter were leaving at 7 AM (when the shelter closes) and buying breakfast at the food court on the first floor of the Judiciary Square government building (441 4th Street NW, Washington, DC) Even though the food court seats 200 people easily and hardly ever has 50 or more people in it, the women were being told to leave by security -- sometimes right after they'd purchased their food. One particular cop was especially notorious for his crass manner in dealing with these women. due to my intervention, he has been re-assigned and the homeless women are able to eat in peace and stay warm in this de facto shelter -- to get the homeless 2-for-1: buy food and/or drink and also benefit from the warmth. Well, now the mistreatment is...

I'm sure that, at some point in your life, you've heard at least one person being referred to as a "lazy bum". You might have been the one to call them that. Well, I'm here to tell you that most "bums" are not lazy at all. During a recent media frenzy that focused on my use of the internet and social media to advocate pro bono for the homeless, there were those who gave me accolades and those who essentially called me lazy and said that I should just get a job -- as if homeless advocacy isn't work. Also, a Huffington Post article erroneously said that I have not worked a full-time job since 1994. I, therefore, saw fit to inform people as to how hard other homeless people and I really do work. I apologize in advance for what promises to be a longer-than-usual blog post, as there is much to be said about the hard work of the homeless. Before addressing the paid work done by the homeless, I must say that just BEING homeless is a lot of work. Hom...

Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. (Wikipedia) England has begun to bring closure to the events of January 30th, 1972, also known as "Bloody Sunday". On that day 14 people were killed and 12 wounded by the British military during a non-violent protest. The Saville Inquiry (1998-2010) has concluded that what the soldiers did was "unjustified and unjustifiable". This country had its own "Bloody Sunday" on March 7th, 1965 as police beat 600 peaceful protesters during a march for voting rights for Blacks. Then, on May31st, of this year nine people were killed by Israeli soldiers as the civilians attempted to break through a blockade in order to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip. The fact of the matter is that holding a non-violent demonstration doesn't guarantee that the police and military won...

I posted an article that was forwarded to me via e-mail. It makes some very important points about why homelessness is not being ended in our country. Read and enjoy..... Can Life Be Lived in Dignity by Every San Diegan? BY Rocky Neptun November 12, 2009. East Village, San Diego…………… Bill Foster rolls his tattered sleeping bag up carefully, not to disturb the layers of newspaper underneath, avoiding the dirt soiled sidewalk and looks at me with a smile. He knows I’ll be good for breakfast and plenty of coffee. Almost clean-shaven, ruddy-faced without many wrinkles to show his 54 years, Foster often panhandles enough change for only one meal a day. He tells me he’s just no good at it, even after all these years. He sleeps in the downtown because “there is safety in numbers;” having been attacked by territorial transients along the San Diego River bank and by neighborhood youth when he moved to a creek near Bancroft Street in Spring Valley. “I have enoug...