Hidden from view

Have you ever walked a path each day and seen the homeless? Of course you have, because 1 out of every 237 people in Tucson are homeless and this number is rising. Could this be you or one you love?

I believe so because its happened to me and many people I have known. Some came quietly, not letting others know they were in financial trouble, others were more emotionally unstable. Still they ended up where no one wants to be. Yes some might argue they like the lifestyle or they choose not to be in a shelter. But once you experienced it, you gain courage and knowledge. At the same time we our taught to focus on our selves and not others.

William Kunsler once said" And that is the terrible myth of organized society, that everything that’s done through the established system is legal – and that word has a powerful psychological impact. It makes people believe that there is an order to life, and an order to a system, and that a person that goes through this order and is convicted, has gotten all that is due him. And therefore society can turn its conscience off, and look to other things and other times."

But a few months ago I spent two weeks in jail for protesting on the sidewalk charged with sitting on the sidewalk. My cell mate had just signed a plea bargain for Manslaughter. While you might say the act was heiness, that is not something I would ague, this young man 19 years of age, was easy going, a lover and wise man. But in a second of fury, he had done the unimaginable, that will cost him 14 years of his life and cause him to live in poverty or go back behind prison. To place a homeless activist in jail over protesting , then placing him with a murderer , while being prosecuted over a misdemeanor is unbelievable. Worse for safeties sake, was the jail was so understaffed that one officer over saw 4 housing units. He or she, could be gone for up to 2 hours or more. If you had a family member there with health problems, the jail staff would not know for 2 hours. That means a heart attack, stroke or major injury would go unattended for hours. A simply " I'm sorry would be offered for the jail" Most in the community would say well that's what happens when you decide to break the law. Yet the person might be a political prisoner of the government for drawing attention to an issue its not helping with. It could be a mentally ill person, who never knew that was in his or her DNA. It could be a innocent person falsely accused. Either way, it is an unsafe environment. You are in a place where you have no control, you have limited communication with the outside world. Yet we take a blind eye, because what is legal is justified and we need to worry about other priorities. But where is the homeless person you used to always see? Did he move on or is he locked up because he couldn't find a safe place to sleep, bathe, or use the restroom? Shall we be a society that says its ok to lock someone up for free speak or doing a basic human behavior in public, when no other choice was given? We all have been guilty of seeking a dark corner at some point. Whether its parting downtown, on a long road trip, or we got a surprise case of the runs.

Yet while in Video Court , they had a blind elderly man locked up for interfering with traffic. He was not allowed any stick or assistance with walking. The guards scolded him for not staying in line and veering off. They scolded inmates for assisting him. Day after day he had to remind the guards. Yet in court the judge asked him if he could see him on camera. He told the judge no, The judge asked again. He said no because I'm blind. The judge asked him to speak into the mic because he couldn't see it. He reached around, only to be scolded by the guard. The judge told he since he probably doesn't want to stay in jail, he is willing to offer him 35 hours of community service to plead guilty to the charge. He told the judge that he was trying to cross the road to get to Savvy. A non profit that helps the visually impaired. That people started honking at him, He moved only to get honked at more. Nobody got out to communicate with him. The officers arrested him immediately. He did not mean to get in anyone's way. The judge apologized and said he should take the deal, there is no other recourse. The man had no legal council. Under the law, if you are charged with a misdemeanor and the prosecution isn't asking for jail time you cannot be given a public defender. In jail, it can take a week to put your booking number into the phone system. To get around that you need to ask the guard for the universal number to use. You can't do that under lock down in a unsupervised setting. To think that this man had been arrested by one police agency, booked and process by the sheriffs department and convicted by the courts without consideration to his handicapped or a chance to meet with a lawyer is not justice. Its a money racket. Something we need to give priority to. I would not wish my jail experience on anyone.

But what am I to say about a state that criminalized gender orientation, colored skin, and poverty? Should I agree to live in the shadows, with my fellow refugees? Because I am persecuted by my government, just as they left your old home for what they thought was a better one here? Should I be the silent to such tyranny and social injustice? Or should I like Jesus, Gandhi and Buddha, Abbie Hoffman, speak up and show a better way? We are called to bear a light on the shadows of society of we are going to make it better. We can only know what is in the black market by welcoming the hidden jewels in it, while casting down the bad parts. As a motto goes " house keys not handcuffs". Offer acceptance to people not behaviors. Offer a economy that helps as many as possible. To make people matter we must speak up and act or become the statistic that we are reading. Be afraid not of asking for help, do not be shy to help. Be the missing piece of the puzzle. Teach what you know to another, and see how your life changes.

The lack of privacy of homeless life.

 I once told people that the only difference between those in homes and those homeless was the privacy of four walls. This is true, but also lacking are showers, storage, a safe place to be, and a restroom. All of things are basic human needs to help us rest, work and have security. Many people pay top dollar for security to protect many useless material things they think people less fortunate would take. When in truth many people that are homeless have lived so long without stuff, if you offered to purchase something that could make their life's better and provide them with sustainable income, they would need lots of time to think, because they have learned to live without stuff.

Yet privacy is about more than just wanting solitude, but security. Your home is your sanctuary no matter if its in a wash, a tunnel, a domicile or a vehicle. They may not have walls, but to just let yourself in and wonder around their camp, is disrespectful, inconsiderate and home invasion! This is not something any homeless person would take lightly , just as you would not if you came home to someone who let themselves into your home , uninvited. This of course happens, because government workers feel public land isn't there for the purpose of giving a safe place for someone with no place. Other homeless with separate morals may come to visit a friend, when he is not home and sit in his place, hoping he comes home soon. Others will steal items to take to their camps. Other people feeling the homeless are a threat to their own financial security may come and destroy the camp or beat the person if they find them there. For all these reasons, a camp will be hidden from view.

Leaving a gift near the camp is welcome, but be sure to leave a note, so the person knows its for them and not something being stored or something someone lost. Because it may stay there. If you are invited, stay a distance until your met, or come to the camp with them. Never tell where the camp is.

The nice part of having a place or knowing others with a place is good for safety, is good for emergency.

What makes you homeless? Not having a lease, not having a deed. Many living in a camp, will not consider themselves homeless. Many people living in motels do, as do people staying on a friend or family members couch, but the government doesn't count these people. Anything Homeless people do, people do in the privacy of walls, so who are homeless people? They are our siblings, our cousins, are aunts and uncles, our parents, our grandparents, our children and grandchildren. Maybe even you and me. respect is given and received, it goes along way. tread lite and show love. That is the word of every spiritual leader who were homeless themselves.

The Lonelyness of Homelessness

We all see them everyday, we don't always pay attention but they might be what we are missing. What we really miss is what happens when we go home for the day, we shower, clean the house take care of the kids. We finish the day many times drinking and doing a hobby or watching whatever on tv. We know out side can be hot or cold, and feel blessed not to be there. What we don't see is the the world grow dark, the city become lifeless, one person remains. He roams hungry, uncomfortable and wanting company. But day in and day out, his luck has not changed, his or her situation unchanged. A situational depression you may call it. As living beings we are social creatures, we work better with companionship, like a pair of birds, a cacti and a tree. When choices are made, priorities change, and some fall behind. When we leave are fellow man behind, we are to adapt to this change, ignoring our emotional response for the more rational choice. We slowly become divided. We no longer have a helping hand, a person there when we can use it, a younger guy to help the older folks.

It reminds me of a friend that works day labor, never enough to move ahead, like many others the bad economy effected him, financial woes started to divide the household, the kids became increasingly disruptive. Hi wife started looking elsewhere, and he went to his own devices. So know sleeping on a bus bunch, he dreams of those happier days, waking to the reality of being alone on a bus stop. We gets up to head to a job that doesn't pay him enough to afford he place with higher rent than a bus bench. He sees kids at play, reminding him of his own, now far away. He sees a couple, the loving cuddling kind, it reminds him of the love he lost. he sees friends walking and joking, something he no longer has. He notices that many don't have the same hobbies or interests. He is a blue collar family man, left behind, left to wonder the urban city desert like any nomad, struggling in the present, searching for the future, trying to rise from the heartbreaking past.

Another is more educated and hippy. left to hustle any way he can, but living alone, we is your hopeless romantic. Life to be a urban nomad himself. Located about 2 miles from the other. He enjoys the livelihood of the busy downtown area, enjoy the different venues and cafes. But when five o'clock comes , he sits alone. Pondering the wisdom he can gain from today's events, pondering why the universe place him here, and how tomorrow he can make someone else's day better. Still he sits, crowded by empty towers, lifeless shops, and a couple or family walking by.

Next time you see someone say hi, spend some time and tomorrow , maybe do it again. This is an easy life change, something we can all do, if anything we get things going its us coming together.

A life changing thing we saw running the Safe Park Protest, was that within 24 hours  a new resident had their stress level went down dramatically. Part of that is people with no where to go, now have a place to return to. They had a place to keep their stuff. They had blankets given to them, and notified that a small breakfast of donuts and coffee would come at 8 am. They had other people they slept with that gave them comfort. With a great diversity of people, each moved towards others with like interests. Couple slept near couples, Girls slept near the more protective men. The nite owls with the night owls, the elderly with the elderly. As the community grew, these groups intermingled. Offering a trade or barter system. Helping each other, socializing, having a sense of community, being a part of something. No longer lonely.

Now after months of police making people file uncomfortable there, we now see many of the people who had been lifted out of this situational loneliness, brought back into this because they are alone again left to be roaming urban nomads, being removed from a happy place again, re traumatized as the courts or mental health would call it. Because they now feel that homelessness is a crime, being seen poor is a crime, and standing with a voice is a crime, they also have become domestic refugees. The change, is they still have friends, they have a community or spread apart, they learned some new skills, they found people willing to spend time, lend a hand with no strings attached.

Cleaning the city cleans the soul.

Everyone wants to live in a utopia, a place where everyone has a place, is part of something and no problems exist. This is not where we currently find our selves, but this morning I awoke from my safe slumber at the Safe Park dream Center. I had slept good, feeling the cool breeze of the storm last night and felt refreshed. I was off to go help with the Tucson Arts Brigade  Day of Service. A annual event of giving back to the community in remembrance of the September 11th Attack. The problem is I missed my bus, and had to take a more scenic route. I got there just in time to get started. Many were still trying to wake up as responsibility is a full time job. It was sunny, but not hot, people were friendly and introduced themselves . There were several organizations including R4 Community and Our Family Services. We started with picking up garage left on the sides of the road and near schools and churches. We continued with cleaning the mural made by the Tucson Arts Brigade years ago, that had been designed by some of their Art Students. We then touched up the mural, removed the tagging. When looking at the difference I could not help but mention how it reminded me of what happens when we invest on someone down on their luck. They lack the resources to be neat and presentable, but you give them some TLC and you see what looks to be a successful person. The murals looked much better and even given a new look. (Hint look at the 3D effect when walking up the steps.)

News 4 Tucson  Reporter- Domenica Fuller, stopped by for a show and tell session.
One of the Young Artists is currently designing another mural the Tucson Arts Brigade talking about making at Central City Assembly, as all of you that follow my blog would know is the Safe Park Dream. Another was adding extra flavor to another mural at the Pedestrian Over Pass on 29th and Columbus. I also got a chance to work with a beautiful single mother, who is training to be an abstract artist. There was no more than a dozen people but that area looked much better afterwards. many of the neighborhood residents walked by with smiles and giving us thanks. All I could do was be glad to giving back to a community that has helped me so much, they deserved this and it only takes getting involved. Even a thumbs up from a cop who went by in a patrol car.
So there we were a few artists in training, a homeless Activist offering Sweat trade, a few other community supported organizations and Tucson Arts Brigade doing what it does the best. The only tagging we left was one that stated We Want The Arts Brigade!

Storage. This is something we all need, but because we believe resources to be limited we are made to pay for space. According to Physics every piece of matter must have a place , even a few educated police have quoted this and believe it to be true, even when letting us know earlier this year that we could be arrested for acquiring property because we could only have a backpack, water bottle and bedroll. Funny part is they need to extend that to a sign because it was a protest.

But what does storage matter if you don't have anything? Everything because to offer a service you need to have the tools to acquire and a place to store them. You need a place to put your homeless survival gear when you go for a interview, or to the court you always get stuck going to. Some would like storage just to hide their situation because of the stigma associated with being homeless, that you have to be a criminal, an addict, mentally ill, a vet. Why could it not be just a person on hard times and struggling? Because the non profit sector, law enforcement, mental health and the rest could not have as much job security. While you may not be able to end homelessness you can make it less stress for and easier on someone Struggling.

For instance you may know that I'm a homeless activist, living on the street to really know what the issues are and know the places to fix. Even that it a struggle. But you may not know I am an artist. At my mothers house there is a 3 foot by 4 foot painting of Downtown Tucson, that I painted and gave to her as a gift. I did this while in phoenix all based on memory. You may not know other works Ive done, partly is because I didn't have storage or money to keep storage so many got legs and walked off like a laptop I had valued at $1000.

You wouldn't know a friend of mine that is a homeless artist is one because of no resources. Lucky for him, his brother lets him keep his art in his shed. Every once in awhile he holds a gala there. Another friend is a drummer in a rock band, he is disabled and therefore has limited resources. He used to be seen pushing a shopping cart across town, to get his drum set from his camp, to the show. He now lives in a van, the only place he can store them.

Another guy, is a mechanic by trade, living on the sidewalk or a hidden camp, he needs places to keep tools, part , etc, or he cant work. Another is a girl, who totes around her suit case, not willing to part from her cherished memories and not trying to look like any less of a lady than the sweet flower we know her to be.

Downtown years ago , their were lockers at the greyhound station. Small but an answered prayer for the homeless community and a loss when the city moved greyhound for gentrification renovations downtown. At the Safe Park Dream Center , patrons will have choices between huts, sleeping pods and tents, which during the day acts as storage. This has the ear of the homeless community, and never at a better time because Fred grays Tucson Park and Rec workers take any property not in hand. The police also do this time to time in what they call assisting beautification and downtown business owners. if you really wanted to beautify, and protect peoples rights helping to provide the homeless with a safe place to put their stuff would be key. Its about making people matter, giving everyone the opportunity.7800 homeless people in Pima County and no where to put stuff, this is a easy fix for a very big hearted or well meant community. How you treat people in your city says alot to outside businesses that may want to come do business there. That definitely matters! Thanks to the Tucson Arts Brigade for helping homeless artists!

 

Do you have what it takes to be a business owner? Most quickly say yes or no. The reasons being they have lots of work history and have learned the process, others reply no, because they lack the knowledge of the costs, where to go, and the security of getting a paycheck every two weeks.


Most of us are taught it takes lots of resources, time and determination.


In most cases when looking for work we are told our experiences and skills are what companies need. We are not told companies need them because they lack them, if so we would feel we have room to negotiate. We are not taught that with that skills or knowledge, you can offer them to other people for a charge. There you have a basic business, you offer a service, they ask for help, you can use everyday talk, business cards, or online ads to make the platform for both to meet. With a government issued phone and a Internet connection a business is started.


Still the problem is most places that are there to help those who need it most are not teaching self employment, recently , I was in a van, with many of those people, their eyes lit up and their souls became alive, they loved the idea, One worker said that's what thing she has been wanting to do, but way having trouble pitching the idea to her agency for acceptance. Instead they encourage them to find work in one of the most devastated economies in the nation. How do you find a job, in a place where they are limited? You show your self as intelligent, optimistic, creative, and one who likes a challenge. Either that or create your own, and at some point you will get so busy you will need to hire people.


So where do you hire people that want to work, and need work? When I have been a hiring manager for a local business , I always headed to DES, Day labor, libraries, and shelters. Why these places? That's where lots of people needing work or wanting work gather. To look else where may be a wasted investment. Besides these are people that form their own thoughts and don't follow the established lead, they are Internet savvy, sharp in multimedia, and most of all they have worked hard for little result and would do so much more for bigger result.

Look at some of these ads from people already doing so:





http://prepaidmechanicservices.weebly.com/


http://poorboiprints.weebly.com/index.html


http://tucson.craigslist.org/cps/4648926718.html

Something to think about, learn how to make starting a business more affordable. Be ready to help successful local businesses to expand, while bring down the costs for sustainable energy ,and putting more public bathrooms around town, Lets work on fixing lives in this town before material things, abolish poverty, raise the minimum wage, create free business licences, that will create a local tax base so we can run this town more efficiently. No person in a home should go hungry and no one should be ran off because its too expensive to start a business and unable to get employed because there aren't enough showers, bathrooms, storage, and laundry places for the poorest of the poor. Should I mention all this sun we get and the poorest of the poor don't have access to sustainable energy and have to fork up money to TEP, sending American money off shore? How about in turn, helping local companies that have proven to be successful, to become large corporations that bring us tax revenues from other city's and states like Sears does for Chicago, Microsoft does for Seattle and Walmart does for Arkansas. In turn we Offer those with no place to go Safe park dream center or the ability to survive and exist on public land.What if Safe Park had already kept a situation like the gabby giffords shooting from happening again? What if the next person found a place they were accepted, found help and living a new found life? What if the next vet suicide came threw safe park and found other vets he could talk to and never pulled a trigger. What if the next news story never came because of people like Tig Collins, Michael Martin, Ken Lee, Occupy Erica, Danielsan Helix, Doctress Neutopia, Wendy Thompson, Michele Ream, Johnny Elvis, Pastor Amos, Pastor Dave Ferrari, Jon McLane, Junior Morris, Michael B Schwartz, Brian Flagg or even myself? Would you know, would you care, would any awards be handed out or would they just be the same friendly faces you see on the streets each day trying to make this a better place to live? But then again, it could have been you just helping someone out because you know what its like to go threw hard times. The mental health agency's are unseen and no where to be found much like Isabell Celis, but hold those who could use help to make first contact whereas they may be so out of touch with reality that they are incompetent to make such as decisions. Out side of the repore and community the homeless have at safe park, including getting information on getting off the street , and knowing where to find assistance, there is no change that has been made to keep any shooting from happening again in Tucson. The City government is very silent on solutions but loves talking about problems only to leave it as talk. This lack of response and the lack of city officials being out there meeting with the community especially the hardest hit by the economy, is where their attention should be focused. Much like the President and members of Congress after a disaster. In so much, you have neighborhoods in Tucson who have never had anybody from city hall in their neighborhood or taking concern. In these neighborhoods you have generations of minority families who are not educated to even a GED, who all the male members are incarcerated, and the only jobs within 10 miles are illegal ones because they are left by the city to fend for them selves creating their own subculture that is not popular by the rest of society.You have numbers and numbers of foster children in Tucson that may be wards of the state but are still children of our village not being given attention by city officials. I understand that such things take manpower and resources but above I name ways to do that, as well as to tell you that to get people in neighborhoods to become true neighbors, one they got to be brought out of poverty and debt, then engaged to join the circle, in doing so, each neighbor brings their own set of skills and resources to help fill the gap. Then you must empower the people of Tucson , to know they have permission to fulfill their pursuit of happiness but at the same time allowing them to know the true permission and courage comes from themselves. But it is the city officials and the neighborhood leaders and activists like us who must put this to action.

Safe Park Dream Center, a place for the homeless and disfranchised to rest and call their own. That's where I now find myself. a back yard of a church offering help with no strings attached. Nestled as a pilot program finely settled among trees, a wall, a park, and an army of mosquitoes

and ants. Not much to appeal to the eye, but just what the doctor ordered, for someone without storage, a safe place to be , a place to do basic human needs. The wooden structures, sturdy, solid, and dust still settling.  I guess that's how I was feeling. A year ago I had lost my job at Sears, joined an activism group and co founded Safe Park. We had offered a safe legal place to sleep by starting a protest in the heart of the Tucson Downtown Business and Government District, in a park with a rich history of occupation. In the middle of the park you see General Poncho Villa turning his back to Superior court, making sure he faced the Mexican Consulate and had his horse mooning the government that we know sought to speak out to over its lack of representation of the poorest of the poor, offering handcuffs rather than a place to exist. We had fought against eviction, we had fought against business who spoke to criminalize us, we had filmed police, taking water, blankets, and more from the homeless in our camp to let them know if they choose to stay it would be an unforgettable experience. We had lived on a hard brick sidewalk, faced the heat the cold, the rain, even a dying hurricane named norbett. We had been ppubliclyridiculed by the status quo, those who wouldn't know propaganda if it admitted to be so. Still the government was silenced by the community supported us and key leaders reached out from different groups.

So here I stand, in our new home, a place we can take ownership of, a place we can create to be our own world, an opportunity to set things right. No longer on borrowed time, but a place to grow sustainable independence. Before we stuff we had acquired but had stored in many places across town. A heavy coat, from when it was 29 degrees, raining and no place to sleep. A banner from time of the gem show, when they wanted us to hide. A flyer from a feeding, a flyer from our Homeless Forum. Meanwhile, with windows not yet installed mosquitoes , enjoy my legs and arms. Ants march, growing their own camp within ours. Keys in my pocket, no bag wearing me down, or police to confront, a porta-pottie waiting to be used. A shower. Water, that is an eye opener, a place for the homeless to wash up, clean up, and be aided with in the dry hot  desert .A place to regain the human that had been lost years before, a place where we could start ways to help people up, so they can do the same for the next, a place to learn job skills, how to start a business.

So like the hut I now reside, settled, but unfinished, we need to get a staff, we need to get those we have fought for to own the project as their own. We have a name, we have a right to exist, we dream. Join us!