Los Angeles Mission's Blog

Thanks to Shelter Partnership we now have some facts on what we at the Los Angeles Mission and others have been observing.

From an LA Times story: linked here.  retirement years?

“The nonprofit Shelter Partnership spent the last two years studying the plight of Los Angeles County's homeless elderly -- a population, it concluded, of 3,000 to 4,000. The study, which is being released Thursday March 20, 2008, marks the first time that the region's elderly homeless population has been studied.

Their conclusion: Homeless adults 62 and older are among the fastest-growing and most vulnerable homeless populations in Los Angeles County -- and that while a host of programs serve homeless families and individuals, there are few programs specifically for the elderly.”

"We have seen this anecdotally," said Los Angeles City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the council's Ad-Hoc Committee on Homelessness. "But this puts it down in hard-core words that can't be ignored."

The elderly homeless, according to the study, are a disparate group.  At least a third, and perhaps as many as half, are considered chronically homeless – who officials have traditionally had a hard time getting off the streets.

Is this just a case of 60 being the new 50 or does is say something about an aging population ill prepared for those blissful There’s nothing wistful about spending your last years on the concrete in LA.  The elderly present unique challenges for the Los Angeles Mission and other providers.  Do they need shelter, rehab or job skills for the future? Do they just need housing with some assistance with food and medical care?  One thing we do know is that they need hope.  We believe hope begins with a meal.  With that first step we can then build relationships to ascertain individual needs.  Then, we offer tangible solutions that spring from hope, love and compassion.

This new assignment will surely test his professional judgment and his moral compass.

Cmdr. Smith has become a veteran of our street events. We extent a permanent VIP pass to him any time he wants to come back to the old neighborhood. South Bureau is getting a fine officer and humanitarian.

Go Andy!

--Herb Smith, President

Where do we begin with this incredible example of a life gone wrong?

The New York Times story by Amy Green has the following:

“What could possibly be in the mind of a 10- or 12-year-old that would possess them to pick up a rock and pick up a brick and beat another human being in the head?” said Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. “It defies any rational thought process, but it’s also why we felt so strongly we had to do something.”

Where are the parents of these kids? One thing we do know is that they are human beings capable of greatness or great evil. Education helps. We support homeless outreach efforts in schools. We support youth activities and personal accountability of our kids.

Warren Messner’s tats of “hope, faith and love” call out for the greatness of humanity. What happens to him in 22 years when he gets his release? Will he end up homeless like so many prisoner releases? Or, will he find hope, faith and love for a life-time of repentance and forgiveness? Where will he go on the first day of freedom?

Playing the blame game will not help Warren or his friends. It will not bring a homeless man back to life.

“He does not like prison much. He keeps busy doing yard work, exercising and reading. He likes James Patterson novels and murder mysteries. He has dropped at least 40 pounds and developed a penchant for prison tattoos. One arm reads “thug” while the other reads “life.” His mother’s name, Lori, is on one hand. On one arm is the same cross he wears around his neck, surrounded by the words “hope,” “faith” and “love.”

“I’m not a killer. I know that,” Mr. Messner said. “A lot of people, they see this story and call us killers. I’m not a killer. I regret what I did. I wish I could take it back.”

Sorry Warren, one life lesson learned: we cannot take back the wrongs we have done. Life lesson two: You can learn to give back so others don’t follow in your stumbling footsteps.

Housing First – Services Second? Or Recovery First – Housing Second?

Herein is the dilemma of the decade. There are an increasing number of 10 year plans to end homelessness spearheaded by Philip Mangano with his tireless trips across this country. He deserves a great deal of applause for his unceasing efforts to “work the plan.”

Nobody disagrees that homeless need housing. Nobody disagrees that addicts and the mentally ill need services. Nobody disagrees that everyone needs education and training to get and sustain housing.

We do disagree on which comes first: the chicken or the egg? For this metaphor the chicken of housing or the egg of nurturing a person through recovery.

Two articles that contrast the issue well are:

This is from then Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0226/p20s01-ussc.html deals with a Santa Monica program. The story is one of the many positive views of the housing first model. But read carefully as the story has a unique twist with a great outcome.

This one is from the Boston Globe: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/02/24/for_the_homeless_keys_to_a_home?mode=PF This story is less positive and more realistic about the problems when someone goes into housing without rehab or recovery first. Loneliness and addictions don’t just go away.

Which comes first? For the Los Angeles Mission we serve from a model of recovery first, housing second. We focus on issues that lead to homelessness. If the issue is purely economic and we realize our recovery programs are not needed then we do our best to find housing resources.

We do our best to offer hope and service to everyone who comes through our doors.

--Herb Smith, President

There have been two recent articles on the process and problems of attempts to count the homeless. One appeared in the New York Times “Counting the Homeless to Help End Their Plight ” by Alison Leigh Cowan Published: February 26, 2008, and the other by Kurt Schauppner in The Desert Trail in Twentynine Palms “Surveyor Says Homeless Count Faked.”

TWENTYNINE PALMS — Results of a homeless survey which claimed to show 993 homeless people in Twentynine Palms was called into question at the Tuesday, Feb. 12 Twentynine Palms City Council meeting.

Both articles point out the potential flaws in the process. Dishonesty by those employed to count is a problem. But, so to is the way these counts are then estimated into total numbers. I applaud the hard work that goes into the process. Due diligence is important to assure the numbers are representative of the population. But…

The reality is that these are at best, estimates. The truth is that the numbers are important – but the lives they represent are what really counts! I hope that Twentynine Palms gets its numbers corrected. I pray they take the number to heart and keep going until the end result is ZERO homeless in Twentynine Palms.

In New Haven, the sad truth is that best intentions don’t always convince those in need to change their ways. As the title of the article suggests, we can help but not change a person’s condition. At the Los Angeles Mission we believe that is no reason to give up. When someone gets sick-and-tired of being sick and tired, then progress can be made getting them off the streets and into shelter. We never give up hope! Sometimes, hope begins with a meal. Sometimes it just takes a while to sink in.