Baltimore continues efforts to relocate homeless
by Lori Barrett | June 10, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Posted in baltimore news
Baltimore’s fight against homelessness continues.
Although city officials previously came to an agreement with St. Vincent de Paul (the homeless would be allowed to stay in the church’s park, if the city could visit and encourage them to move into permanent housing), things seem to have changed over the past few weeks. A nonprofit organization recently conducted a survey of the park’s residents and found the conditions to be “deplorable.”
Twenty-one people were interviewed by Common Ground for the survey. Seventeen of them were found to have at least one risk factor (cirrhosis, renal disease, or repeat ER visits) for increased mortality. The city is using the results of that survey to push again for a closure of the park.
The pastor of St. Vincent de Paul is concerned that the city will declare a public health emergency, allowing them to forcibly remove the homeless from the church’s property. If that’s the case, he plans to fight it: “The first time someone is arrested for sleeping on a bench, I will be the second person arrested because I will go out and sleep on a bench myself.”
Even the head of the city’s Homeless Services said of the park’s residents: “If we give them the option [of permanent housing], they won’t go. They want to stay at the park.”
In a city with 3,000 or so homeless citizens, why is Baltimore focusing so much energy on these twenty-some people? Is it because they are, in fact, the “neediest”? Or perhaps because, at the corner of President and Fayette Streets, they are the homeless who are most visible to tourists?
I have to commend the church for putting up a fight against the city. Said the pastor: “There is always a fine line edge between compassion and enabling, and you are always trying to walk that edge…. The city has a bias; they want everything neat and pretty for the tourists and so they lean a different way. It doesn’t mean we are evil people. We just have different temptations.”
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June 10th, 2008 at 5:30 pm | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Closest to tourists, not to mention in plain view of city hall. S'funny, they really don't pay too much attention to the oodles of other homeless people parked out front of the other inner harbor retail locations with the exception of maybe making them move every so often.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:24 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Don't you see? This is all part of Sheila Dixon's plan to end homelessness. Instead of actually finding the root of the problem...we just push them off someplace where we don't have to see them. Then tada...no more homelessness. See how easy it is? I don't see any homeless people, do you? Problem fixed.
Martin Omalley did the same thing years ago - he's so ahead of his time...forced homeless services to stop feeding people right out in the open...made them move under the JFX. In fact, if I remember correctly, he threatened arrest if anyone continued to feed people anywhere but that area. See what a great guy he is...no wonder he an Shelia are friends.
Unfortunately the city will win this battle...they always do. Particularly when they fight one of the most vulnerable and least self-actualized populations. And do you think those people will end up in these fantasy "apartments" they're talking about? Hell no. They'll end up under the Howard street bridge with the rest of the homeless...and that my friends is where the REAL messed up **** happens. It ain't no well-lit church parking lot down there my friend. Funny how "common ground" isn't doing there survey there...or at any of the other encampments that aren't visable to tourists.
!
June 11th, 2008 at 6:14 am | Please log in to reply. | Log in to rate this comment | report this comment
Man, being homeless is a choice. I know. I have immediate family who chooses to be homeless. There's not any way of becoming homeless, that you can tell me that a person cannot come out of it. Now, i do think that the city really needs to boost up their efforts marketing of resources (im not talking about welfare) But its not the city to get a person OUT of homelessness.
Going off the "root" of homelessness. We know what is it. Its LIFE. Life will always throw off curve balls. Its not how it hits you, its how you handle it. Now like i said, the government really needs like a mofo to bump up the resources, but its also the job of the government to promote the the city . The park is in a prime space that is one of the gates(83) to this great historical beautiful city. I have no objection in the city tastefully ,legally, morally cleaning weak spots the city that can improve the physical beauty of this city. I believe that tourism is a great thing. It allows the city to raise money and believe it or not its life its america you need money to do this. Education. Construction. Wellness Programs. Social Services Funding. Tourism can boost up those things. More and More Companies are choosing to house events in baltimore. Esp. with the new convention addition/hotel we are expected to have a boost in our economy. We want even more to come, so that besides the city, the local merchants and businesses can get chunks out of this.
We have to stop fighting the government at things like this. Now, im not saying that we should stop defending the homeless but instead of pushing them to stay in the park/on the streets, we should be boosting them to get HELP. Instead of going to the hall and moaning and hounding about them , help them and hound them to research better or successful solutions that have helped other areas.
Last, if the church is so concerned. Why haven't they built some kind of solution. I mean its a historic catholic church, there's got to be some money lying around. I know they can think of a better