Our Neighbors On The Streets: A Social Justice Perspective

BLOWBACK Homeless enablers -- and proud of it 1 Share 99 A federal judge last year issued an injunction that temporarily barred the city from seizing or destroying the unattended property of homeless people in skid row. Business owners in the area say the ruling has resulted in unsanitary conditions on sidewalks.  ( April  13 , 2012 ) By Jeff Dietrich April 14, 2012 ,  6:00 a.m. Carol Schatz, a leading advocate for downtown business owners, says in her April 9 Times Op-Ed article  that a federal judge's ruling to uphold the property rights of skid row's homeless residents enables homelessness. I am a homeless enabler. My organization, Los Angeles Catholic Worker, has been publicly accused by police and the business community of being homeless enablers because we provide food -- more than 5,000 meals weekly. We provide blankets, raincoats and heavy blue tarps for shelter. We are homeless enablers, and we...

Program that offers a running start for the homeless toward jobs and new lives comes to NY     Text Size Print E-mail Reprints By  Associated Press , NEW YORK — Some homeless Americans are getting a running start on creating new lives. The Back on My Feet program spurs them into instant action in nine cities with a simple plan: Go for a run at dawn. 0 Comments Weigh In Corrections? Personal Post ( Mark Lennihan / Associated Press ) - In this Tuesday, April 10, 2012 photo, a homeless man runs through Times Square as he finishes a one mile run as part of the “Back on My Feet,” program, in New York. The non-profit organization helps homeless people gain confidence, strength and self-sufficiency through running. Those who do it three times a week for a month are then offered job training, education — and whatever else it takes “to get my life back,” says Albert Davis, 20, a native...

Oregon city tells woman to evict homeless from property Published April 13, 2012 Associated Press ESTACADA, Ore. –   After years of complaints from residents of a small Oregon town and now a judge's order, a 69-year-old woman who let as many as 30 down-on-their-luck people at a time stay in various shed-like outbuildings on her property has given up her struggle with the city and turned out most of the inhabitants. The Oregonian reports Ethel "Punki" McNamee faced a $10,000 fine if she didn't clear the structures. A handful of the people who stayed on her property have temporarily moved into McNamee's house while they seek permanent housing. On Wednesday, 48-year-old Matthew Smith came to McNamee looking for a place to stay but was turned away. He hoped for a spot at the area referred to as "Punki's Place," but will likely have to keep asking friends for help. "I'm just an old dog," he said. "I have nowhere to ...

[E.O.M.S.] NOISE ANNOYS!!! FRIDAY, 26 MARCH 2010 The psychology of homelessness When you see a blanket-covered body shifting uncomfortably ina doorway, hole-ridden boots protruding at one end, matted hair at the other, what do you think? That we don’t have enough houses? That the person in question should get a job? Do you feel compassion or disgust? The reality is that the filthy, dirt-poor person you’re looking at may well have been abused or neglected as a child. They’ve no doubt been rejected time and again. They’re almost certainly in bad health, physical and mental, and could be addicted to alcohol, drugs or both. If they’re female, it’s likely they’ve suffered domestic violence. Until recently, research on homelessness was focused on economic issues and social policy. But gradually psychology and society are waking up to the psychological processes that lead many people to become homeless in the first place. Researchers are tryin...