AUSTIN ADVOCATE

Stop Criminalizing Homeless People
By Richard Troxell

Let's be perfectly clear, no one wants homelessness. No one wants to have people experiencing homelessness filling up our parks, confronting our patrons, or blocking our sidewalks. The goal of House the Homeless (HTH) is to end homelessness, as it exists today. Additionally, HTH neither supports nor advocates panhandling. However, let's recognize the truth. These ordinances and their changes won't help to end homelessness. The same businesses that are driving this anti-panhandling, anti-homeless movement and the other ordinance changes are the same businesses that pay their workers as little as $5.15 per hour or $10,700 per year. The businesses in the restaurant industry pay as little as $2.13 per hour so long as the tips provided by you and me as patrons bring the base wage up to $5.15 per hour. This is a subsidy for business. In fact, this is just as much a subsidy for business as are food stamps where employers won't pay their employees enough to get basic rental housing and eat at the same time. This is immoral and a burden to us the taxpayers. This "wage gouging" creates people too poor to house themselves.

The Austin City Council, the Travis County Commissioners Court, the Austin Fire Fighters Association, the Austin Area Interreligious Ministries and hundreds of other organizations have endorsed the Universal Living Wage (ULW) recognizing poor wages as a root cause of homelessness. The ULW formula, based on existing government guidelines, ensures that anyone working a 40 hour week will be able to afford and keep basic rental housing. Otherwise, where is the incentive to work a full time job at McDonalds and still not be able to afford a roof over your head? We need to re-establish the opportunity which allows people to work themselves off of our streets. Instead of providing that opportunity, these ordinances criminalize the condition of being homeless.

There is no doubt that the city has made serious responses to the needs of people experiencing homelessness. It helped to create the new five million dollar emergency shelter, ARCH; but let's examine the situation. First, it was paid for with Federal dollars. Additionally, when the ARCH was at its previous location it slept 73 people. Today, the new ARCH has been placed in the very heart of the downtown business/entertainment district. This was a huge mistake (one which HTH spoke strongly against). The facility now sleeps 100 people. This is an increase of only 27 beds. A few weeks ago, the Salvation Army, citing the fact that the ARCH is now located immediately next door, now sees no need to continue its mat sleeping and has reduced its sleeping capacity by 150 to 250 beds each night. This is a net loss of 77 to 177 sleep units. Now the Salvation Army has announced its intention to stop cold weather sleeping for all but 31 people. At the same time, Safe Place is reducing its bed capacity from 122 to 100. All of this in a city where the City/County Health Department says there are between 4,000 and 6,000 people experiencing homelessness. You do the math.

It is true that there is a new health clinic at the new ARCH. However, there was a brand new health clinic at a previous homeless resource center with a $50,000 TB air filtration system. However, the city failed to staff the clinic and then dispersed all of the equipment to the other city health clinics leaving people experiencing homelessness to use the Brackenridge emergency room at a cost of $3,000,000 per year. Note-the previous homeless resource center was driven from that site when the City gave it to Computer Science Corporation along with $10.4 million dollars in grounds "improvements" which included tearing down the building and ripping up a dozen live oak trees all of which were over 200 years old. Now, years later, the CSC building remains unfinished and with a dirt floor.

The point here is that there has been a series of half thought out knee-jerk responses to some very serious problems facing this particular population and this community as a whole. After 10 years of advocacy, there still remains only two publicly funded detoxification beds for single homeless adult males outside of the criminal justice system. We say- provide adequate healthcare that includes substance treatment upon request. Finally, we say house the homeless by paying fair, living wages. This in turn will help stimulate the local economy and create the affordable housing necessary for these people to work themselves off of our streets. We advocate all of this in the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. While the needs to be expanded to include homeless youth and families, it is a good start and it calls for steps that provide the basics of life including Living Wages.

The business community, led by the Downtown Austin Business Alliance, has long shirked its role in this scenario. The city has at least stepped up to the plate. Local businesses, on the other hand, just want the problem to go away on the cheap. Remember, people will survive. Many people experiencing homelessness have struggled desperately to change their situation. In fact, they have launched their own newspaper, The Austin Advocate. It is written by the homeless. It tells their story, and it brings them income born of their own blood, sweat, and tears. One of these proposed ordinance changes will wipeout that self-help initiative. If you take this revenue source away without insisting that our employers pay a fair wage for a fair day's work, people will still do whatever it takes to survive, be it selling drugs, or selling other people. Let's not add one more bad decision to the mix. Oppose the Downtown Business Alliance initiative to criminalize homelessness with these ordinances. Register to vote and stand up for yourself.

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Illegal to be Homeless
a report from the National Coalition for the Homeless

Class discrimination is still legal and acceptable in the United States. There is no protected status for those who are economically oppressed or excluded, much less those who are homeless, although homeless people are very often the targets of discrimination. On the contrary, the growing body of laws passed by local governments criminalizes activities necessary to survival on the streets. Because people without homes often have no option but to perform necessary functions in public, they are vulnerable to judgment, harassment and arrest for committing "nuisance" violations in public. For these people, economic or housing status effectively becomes the cause of their incarceration under "quality of life" ordinances. Instead of providing affordable housing and livable wages, our communities choose to protect themselves from visible homelessness under the guise of assumed threats to public safety.

Criminalization is the process of legislating penalties for the performance of life-sustaining functions in public. It also refers to the selective enforcement of existing ordinances. Both practices are intended to harass and arrest homeless people. Laws against obstruction of sidewalks and public ways such as sitting or lying in public spaces are largely enforced against homeless people. This report focuses on both kinds of criminalization.

Police in many cities commonly conduct "sweeps" in downtown areas before large political, religious, athletic or entertainment events. Police routinely stop people they suspect are homeless, ask for identification and run warrant checks. There have been many reports of police urging homeless people to leave town or face arrest if they are stopped again.

The underlying assumption behind these actions is that homelessness is a "public safety" issue. Therefore, cities attempt to eliminate visible homelessness through enforcing "quality of life" ordinances, which seek to improve the "quality of life" of housed and higher-income individuals by removing from sight those people who look poor and homeless. Arrest and incarceration has become an expedited way of removing individuals from sight. Unfortunately, many people justify criminalization as a "benevolent" means of coercing individuals into treatment and other services that are not voluntarily available.

Desperately needed voluntary services are diverted into the correction's system, which in some communities have actually become part of the Continuum of Care, the explanation for the diversion is to provide an "alternative" to hard time. The growing tendency to "track" homeless people and their use of services is an insidious means of controlling the actual quantification of need. This tracking system also classifies some people as "service resistant" or not really homeless; the system excludes others as criminals.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is no state or local jurisdiction in this country where a person who works a minimum-wage job can afford housing at HUD’s Fair Market Rents. The continuing decline in real value of minimum wage income, as well as the dramatic reduction of income supports like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), without the subsequent availability of public housing units, creates and increases homelessness.

Forty-two percent (42%) of homeless people, nationwide, work. However, the income they earn is not sufficient for accessing safe, affordable and appropriate housing. In many cities the majority of available emergency housing or shelter costs at least $7.00 per night. Labor Pools become the trap for homeless people who must pay for their shelter and take whatever income-producing work is available. Making the transition from labor pool to permanent, living wage employment is the only way into permanent, reliable housing.

For women and families who live on TANF benefits (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) and must work for their monthly allowance, housing in the private market at 30% of income is impossible to find.

Access to health care for individuals experiencing homelessness is limited and difficult to obtain. Homeless people with chronic illnesses often do not continue receiving treatment or medication in jail. Incarceration also poses deeper health care dangers. With incarceration comes an increased risk of contracting chronic illnesses or serious health problems such as tuberculosis and hepatitis.

Because of the limited availability of mental health care facilities, many individuals with mental health problems live on the streets or are incarcerated in jails where they are unlikely to receive the treatment they need. Due to the lack of long-term residential mental health care services and the number of people with mental health problems living on the streets, police officers often assume the role of determining the need for treatment. Following the model Memphis has developed, some cities are training special units to specifically deal with people with mental health problems. These programs seem to be successful, but not without sufficient housing and supportive services.

In many cities residential treatment and recovery for addictions are not readily available. As a result, cities often jail users. The cost of jail time far exceeds the money spent for residential treatment with supportive housing.

Most communities in this country lack enough shelter beds for the number of homeless people. Many shelters charge between $5.00 and $10.00 per night for a bed or even a mat on the floor. An overwhelming majority of communities lack sufficient social services to meet the needs of all their low-income/homeless individuals and families. And the recent economic recession has caused major cutbacks in funding to non-profit and service organizations. Already shelters operate above capacity and some have had to close for lack of funds. Thousands of people across the country need shelter and cannot get it. According to the 2003 U.S. Conference of Mayors Report, requests for emergency shelter increased by 13% over the previous year, with requests from homeless families with children increasing by 15%. Of the number of people requesting emergency shelter, 30% of homeless people and 33% of homeless families were turned away.

Every year hundreds of people die from exposure or from illnesses associated with long-term exposure.

Criminalizing the life-sustaining acts of people experiencing homelessness without offering legal alternatives is supported by conservative think tanks like the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation (CJLF), www.cjlf.org, and the Center for the Community Interest (CCI), formerly the American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities, www.communityinterest.org. These think tanks apply the rules of private ownership to public space. These groups advocate anti-homeless policies under the guise of preserving the "common good."

The CJLF has especially targeted "begging" under the justification that whatever is good for private development is good for all urban residents. In addition, the CCI publishes anti-panhandling guides and defines itself as "a leading advocate for urban quality-of-life and safe-streets measures" that work "to get guns out of schools, gangs off of street corners, drug dealers out of housing projects, porn shops out of neighborhoods, aggressive panhandlers out of ATM lobbies and put mentally ill substance abusers into treatment and off the streets."

Bans on aggressive panhandling are viewed as a means of severely restricting panhandling without violating a person’s freedom of speech. Laws or ordinances that include the language "aggressive" panhandling or solicitation are common. Most aggressive panhandling laws restrict locations where panhandling is permitted and the way in which individuals ask for money or goods.

Public spaces like streets, sidewalks, and parks are by definition "common property" and may be used by anyone. Private property owners are often able to persuade city officials to limit the use of public space and establish Business Improvement Districts, or BIDs. These areas exclude people with no access to private property from public property. The CJLF and the CCI’s recommendations for regulating public space limits the use of common property and seeks to justify exclusion by calling homeless people criminals and threats to public safety.

20 Meanest Cities
1. Little Rock, Arkansas
2. Atlanta, Georgia
3. Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Las Vegas, Nevada
5. Gainesville, Florida
6. New York City, New York
7. Los Angeles, California
8. San Francisco, California
9. Honolulu, Hawaii
10. Austin, Texas
11. Sarasota, Florida
12. Key West, Florida
13. Nashville, Tennessee
14. Berkeley, California
15. Dallas, Texas
16. Fresno, California
17. San Antonio, Texas
18. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
19. St. Paul, Minnesota
20. Manchester, New Hampshire

Meanest States
1. California
2. Florida
3. Hawaii
4. Texas

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LifeWorks Helps Homeless Youths in the Austin Area
By Leigh McCormick

LifeWorks is an organization that provides nearly 10,000 families a year with helpful programs for homeless youths all across Austin. They offer several programs, such as providing shelter, education, and safety to kids who otherwise wouldn’t have those things. They also work to strengthen families and give kids the tools they need to become self-sufficient and successful.

First of all, LifeWorks offers several shelter programs. For example, the Street Outreach program that was created in 1993 allowed 40 homeless children to find a home last year. Another program, Emergency Shelter, reunited 175 homeless children with their families last year. A transitional living program sponsored by LifeWorks gives young adults the opportunity to live in a safe environment while they develop the skills they need to get better jobs and educations. In fact, 95% of the young adults admitted to the program since 1989 have increased their skill levels in employment, living skills, and education. Also, 94% of pregnant teens under the supportive housing program have been provided with prenatal care and parenting education.

In addition to offering shelter programs, LifeWorks is committed to keeping kids safe and educated. LifeWorks’ Pregnancy Prevention Program educates kids in 4th through 8th grades about how to prevent pregnancy at an early age. Last year alone, 64% of the children who went through the program reported that they learned a lot about how to prevent “risky behavior.” LifeWorks’ Next Step program teaches kids how to avoid substance abuse, work well with their peers, and learn appropriate social behavior. Last school year, this helped 831 children to improve their skills in educational and social settings. Another program offers services to pregnant teens to encourage them to stay in school and become good parents, and 97% of the teens who were in the program said that they knew how to prevent future pregnancies from occurring. 89% demonstrated increased knowledge of parenting skills.

LifeWorks also gives adolescents and their families support and works to strengthen family relationships to avoid future problems. The Youth and Adult Counseling Program counseled 1,642 families last year. 76% of those counseled reported an improvement in family relationships after receiving counseling. The Family Violence Diversion Network (FVDN) helps children and adults to learn how to cope with anger effectively and successfully without having to resort to violence. According to LifeWorks, 98% of those in the program say that they will not use violence as long as they continue to receive counseling from the program.

LifeWorks also helps kids to become successful adults. They offer a GED Program that offers young adults 16-26 educational services. LifeWorks also added a component that teaches them on-the-job skills for success: how to act during an interview, how to dress, how to market things, etc. This program services 230 young adults per year, and about three fourths of them are prepared to take the GED exam upon completion. LifeWorks is also working with Ben & Jerry’s to open up a “Scoop Shop” to teach teens about employment and success in the workplace.

This holiday season, LifeWorks will be providing many children and families with food, clothes, and gifts through several programs. Among other things, sponsors can help people in need through the Adopt a Family, Adopt a Homeless Youth, and Be a Hero programs. They can also sponsor holiday parties to bring some joy into the lives of people who otherwise might not have a happy holiday season. Last year, over 90 families were adopted. Over 200 homeless youths were provided with warm clothing, sleeping bags, and hygiene supplies. Those who are interested in helping can call (512) 735-2222 or email LifeWorks at holidayhelp@lifeworksweb.org.

In September of this year, LifeWorks was given an award for “Most Outstanding Organization Dealing with Youth and Homelessness” for the second time since 2002. LifeWorks was also accredited as being the only COA compliant street outreach program in Texas, which allowed more innovations and additions to other programs to help homeless youths.

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A MIRACLE UNFOLDS
By Ryan Middleton

This has been a really interesting month.

I was in the throes of despair as I have had a very difficult time finding work in the computer field but could not find anyone who would have faith in me. As I qualified as I am for an entry-level position, no one would hire me. I would dress up real nice, present a neat, simple resume, answer all questions frankly and concisely, and ask plenty of pertinent questions. I've been through plenty of job search and interview training seminars. I naturally believe that I pass each interview; that is until I hear the punch line, "Don't call us; we'll call you."

That really gets my goat. There I am being straightforward with them and they don't return the favor. I wish they would just say, "I wont' hire you because____". After being dissed like that a hundred times a person begins to doubt his self -worth. I did. I was ready to just hang it up. If my life was going to emulate the bottom of a dung heap, I was going to call it quits.

Nevertheless, against all hope I chose to go to the Texas Workforce Commission to check my e-mail. What a surprise! One employer who had interviewed me actually sent me an e-mail!
"I was unable to reach you by phone...and wanted to touch base with you. Please call me at your earliest convenience so that we may discuss your employment with _____".

I was so elated to receive a genuine job offer, and a job I really wanted, too! I was so overcome that I couldn't talk to any one for at least 15 minutes! I finally regained my composure, made the call, and now I have been with the company since the beginning of November.

They are really cool people (There's a Game Boy in the break room). All I do is take calls all day from people who cannot connect their computers to the internet or can't get their e-mail. I tell them what to do to fix it. I have so much fun talking to them that time just flies.

The company already has hired other people from ARCH. This is proof-positive that ARCH works. Slowly but surely ARCH is developing a more positive public image. Not only local churches but businesses as well are volunteering in the cafeteria. That is an excellent program. One week was dedicated to local hotel volunteers. That was a great way to interact with them. It also gave some of us the chance to discuss the possibility of the hotels donating toiletries and used but clean linen. I will be following up on this.

Recently Austin held a book promotion around the capitol, and I had the chance to speak to some authors, one of whom is a former homeless person currently living in San Antonio. He had written two fiction books about homelessness. I will see if he or his publisher will advertise his books in the Austin Advocate.

The Veteran's Day parade was a wonderful way to promote UniversalLivingWage.com and House the Homeless, two projects promoted by Richard Troxell. Although just a few people showed dup to hold the banners, we got quite a good reception from the crowd...

All this had brightened my outlook overall, so I tend to be a little exuberant. A favorite former employee of ARCH, who has gone on to greener pastures, wrote us, "When you are down to nothing, God is up to something. Don't give up before the miracle!”

Once we begin to take charge of our lives, then we get a recharge from above. The world begins to make way for us. Mountains actually move. The sea really parts as soon as we set foot in it. All this because we set our mind on it.

I want to encourage everyone to take a more positive proactive approach to resolve the homeless issue. The public must reach out to and get involved with the homeless on a personal level. The homeless must do everything to improve their station, and make themselves acceptable to the public. All this must be done with genuine care and pure intention. Let's all go out there and do our parts well. Let's fight the good fight.

Cheerio, y'all!

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Austin Co-Housing
by Caroline Davis

The Lack or interpersonal communication between Americans has been declining rapidly and affecting many types of values throughout the United States. A well-known sociologist, Ferdinand Tonnies, studied the effects of the changing communities and thoroughly described them. Tonnies identified the shift from traditional, intimate communities known as Gemeinschaft to Gesellschaft, a type of society that is dominated by impersonal relationships, individual accomplishments, and self interests. In this type of community people have short term acquaintances, greater tolerance of deviance, relationships are subordinate, and social interactions are task-specific negotiations. This type of community affects everything from trustworthy neighbors to voter turnout. In a sense, when people live in a community where social integration is so belittled and formal, life can become difficult and extremely redundant. Thanks to the new hope of co-housing, the hardships of life can be lessened, and one can always count on a neighbor for help.

To help reverse the negative affects of Gesellschaft communities, a team of experts from Central Austin Co-Housing has been trying to help implement traditional values and instill a neighborhood community. Many do not know what co-housing is, but it is simply “ a neighborhood concept designed to foster a sense of community between neighbors” “Austin Co-Housing Website). This concept of community and personal space has been increasingly popular with communities all over the world, including North America and Europe. Co-Housing provides the benefits of friends to always help out or to hang out with, or even provide a sense of security to know someone is always there.

Many people have become members of co-housing because there is a “common house” where many meals and social events are held, a community lawn where kids can play, and private town houses, apartments, or homes where families or singles can reside. With all these amenities co-housing provides the perfect balance of privacy and neighborhood. All the common land in Co-housing, such as the Common house and lawn ore owned by the Homeowners Association. Therefore, expenses are minimized, while benefits are maximized. Many people ask if the income is shared, but it is not and neither are specific religious, ethics, racial, or political standards. Central Austin Co-housing is very specific to Austin in that they want to help the communities of Austin.

The Central Austin Co-Housing Project is work in progress and they are trying to build up communities today. The project began when some great innovators decided to view the co-housing in San Marcos, Texas. Understanding that many people struggle to afford houses in neighborhoods, they decided to take initiative and provide affordable living with amazing benefits. From their Internet site they claim “ it has been found that day-to-day living in co-housing neighborhood can be less expensive due to the variety of shared resources (e.g. meal, lawn and garden equipment, childcare, and transportation”. With all these perks, most would love to live in this type of positive environment. Co-Housing even benefits the old because with the concern and security of close neighbors, someone is always willing to help. Many may be wondering where co-housing exists and Central Austin Co-Housing, or CAC, has been looking into many wonderful sites right in the Austin area. In 2000 CAC became very interested by a site called Mueller. Mueller Redevelopment Area in central Austin seemed to be the perfect place to establish Austin’s finest co-housing. Sadly, the United States fell into economic hardships and strained most everyone. Since our economy is slowly but steadily climbing, Central Austin Co-Housing decided to try another place to encourage the development of co-housing. Now, CAC has been pursuing and developing constructive goals to enhance the positive affects of co-housing. The dedicated team that supports co-housing came up with numerous goals to help stabilize their community and help others envision the remarkable assets and characteristics of adopting a co-housing lifestyle. Some of their goals include, “ Our current goal is to meet with builders to settle on an architectural model and a timeline. The housing types offered at Mueller are: conventional apartments, shop houses (commercial on ground floor, living units above), row houses (attached townhouses), ‘Mueller’ homes (4-6 homes at Mueller), and carriage homes (over-garage efficiencies in backyard of home). There will be a mixture of rowhomes and yard homes” (Austin Co-Housing Website). These goals will ensure the production of a successful co-housing environment.

In order to understand the revolutionary characteristics of Co-Housing, a quick peak into the routine life of a person who lives in a co-house would help. When Jane rises early in the morning to help send her two elementary school kids to school and feed her two year old baby, she would normally be tired after breakfast, but now that Jane lives in a co-house her and her family eat all their meals at the co-house. She and her neighbors divide and conquer by someone preparing the food, someone serving, and others helping clean and do other duties in the common house. This laid-back approach to breakfast associates easy-going peaceful feelings with a normally stressful time of day. Breakfast goes smoothly and Jane can even socialize with her neighbors! As the day unfolds, usually Jane would have to do numerous errands. The lawn care, childcare, and food preparation are all divided because that’s what co-housing is all about! Jane can now live a much more relaxed lifestyle devoting time to her family and friends and not fretting over the menial chores that separation of neighborhoods evoke. By reversing the negative affects of Gesellschaft communities, co-housing provides benefits for all.

To get involved with Central Austin Co-Housing there are ways to join. Each second and fourth Sunday the CAC group has potluck dinners. These are held at Griffin School. Central Austin Co-Housing will help provide affordable housing to families and singles throughout central Austin. This new type of living will hopefully unite Americans and instill powerful communities throughout our nation.

Central Austin Cohousing
http://www.austincohousing.org/

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Salvation Army Donations Versus Expenditures: Do They Measure Up?

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the Universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

This is the mission statement of the Salvation Army--quite a tall order. Can any organization measure up to a mission this mighty? Where does the money come from for all of this motivation? And do they provide the salvation that this statement describes? It looks as if they provide a myriad of services to the community. Rehabilitation centers, community centers, day care, medical facilities, senior citizen centers, thrift stores, and other centers of operation total over 9,000 according to their annual reports. They estimate the total number of people assisted in 2003 at almost 33 million—a very impressive figure. Hot meals, job referrals, disaster assistance…seemingly an all-around resource to those in need.

The first question is, where does the money come from? Obviously the Salvation Army relies upon the generosity of the public through donations of furniture, salable items, and cash. But they also rely upon corporate donations, the income derived from investments, and other sources. The Christmas donation drive, for example, is a substantial source of income, as is the income derived from sales in their stores.

So where does the money go? Over the last three years, there has been a substantial gap between donations received and operating expenses—as small as $5M and as large as almost $500M last year. Even in light of this gap, there still seems to be quite a disconnect between the quantity and quality of services. How is it that even with the excess income derived from the donations of the generous people of the world, the Salvation Army is cutting services? For example, the fact that in Austin, they are now denying shelter to those who are not participating in rehabilitation programming is very telling. Are the homeless who are not physically or mentally able to care for themselves any less deserving of a place to sleep at night? With an excess of $493,000,000 last year, why can they not continue to provide shelter to those who need it most? And what happens to this surplus? Meanwhile, the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) is made up of three components: a 100-bed shelter for men, a day resource center, and a health clinic for all homeless persons. ARCH is expandable to provide shelter to 250 men during extreme weather conditions…with a budget that is a mere fraction of the excess that the Salvation Army has each year; they are able to provide this service to the homeless of Austin. Imagine what could be done each and every year with more.

Of course, not everyone is so gung-ho on providing these kinds of services. The Austin City Council has been battling over what to be done with the homeless here, especially around the area of Eighth Street and Red River. People like the idea of helping those in need, but don’t actually want those people in their own backyards. Perhaps if those people were given more job skills training, rehabilitation (all of which SA offers to some extent), and assistance in getting back on their feet, area businesses wouldn’t have such an issue with the Salvation Army’s presence in their neighborhood.

In addition to the question posed above, another question that arises is this: Can more be done to increase the donation potential of generous and well-meaning donors? For example, when my grandmother passed away, she left a house full of furniture, the vast majority of which was in very good condition. Our first call was to the Salvation Army—we thought that she would have loved it if her things could be enjoyed by those less fortunate than herself, especially if the proceeds from the sale would help provide services for even more fellow community members with whom she’d lived for the past 75 years. But the Salvation Army did not want our donation. Apparently if furniture is not in near-perfect condition, the poor have no use for it. We ended up selling it privately, which while profitable, was not what we wanted to do nor was it what we thought she would have wanted.

Stories like this not only beg the question of whether the Salvation Army would be able to provide more services to those in need if they loosened their regulations a bit, but it also leaves a bad taste in the mouths of those who will now donate their time and resources elsewhere. Currently, sales to the public via thrift stores net only about 15% of the Salvation Army’s income, but is there a greater potential here than what is currently being explored? Perhaps. For example, about 84% of the income derived from Goodwill stores goes towards their programs, training, jobs, and other community services, and according to www.goodwill.org roughly 99% of all donated goods are re-sold in some way, shape or form. If the Salvation Army put as much of its resources into this type of model, perhaps they would not need to cut services or turn away those in need. Of course, with a $493M surplus in a single fiscal year, one would think that they wouldn’t have to cut any services at all or would even expand upon those already offered, but that doesn’t seem to be happening at this point in time.

For those of us who still want to help our fellow community members who are not as well off, do we have any alternatives? Of course we do. In Austin alone, there are many organizations that provide valuable services to the community in exchange for our time and donations. Goodwill, for example, while much smaller in size and scope, provides jobs and training to people with disabilities and other barriers to employment via their retail stores, ComputerWorks locations, and online auction site. St. Vincent de Paul offers meals to the needy, care for the elderly, mentoring for children, and help with pharmaceutical needs. HEB, who hosts annual holiday dinners in our community, donated a million pounds of food earlier this month in celebration of their 100th anniversary, and they make yearly donations to Habitat for Humanity, scholarships for our children, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and other Texas organizations. The United Way, Meals on Wheels, United Austin for the Elderly, and the ARCH all provide valuable services to the community and welcome our donations of time and resources. We have a lot of choices. Many people choose to give to the Salvation Army because they see it as an extension of their faith. Faith and belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ are powerful things, and not to be taken lightly. But when it comes down to dollars and cents, and the number of people helped, where can we help the most? The Salvation Army does a great deal to help our fellow man, but there is always more that can be done and more efficient ways in which to do it.

--G.K.

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2004 Homeless Memorial Service
November 14, 2004

Charles Lynch
Harold Hickey
Charles Reather
Lonnie Walter
Enrique Orta Zalazar
Robert Conklin
Steven Jess Simpson
John Anthony Volovar
Ernest Randolf
Frances Arispe
Clifton Washington
Ezequiel Salas
Arlene Burroghs
Shirley Estelle Jewell
Martin Finnin
James Shoaf
Ascension Veloz
Julian Jaimes
Dustin Justin Grey
Maxine Coon
Elizabeth Ann Saley
Linda Jeanette Spence
Timothy Parkin
Joseph Neal Jackson
Elroy Duvall McBride
Samuel Robinson
Olivar Garner
Daniel Chileab White
Eleanor Coleman
Arturo Cruz Miranda
Allen R. Alexander
Stanford Gibbs
Slan Daniel Marko
Robert Gonzales
Sandra Corks
Mike Montez
Bianca Hernandez
Roger M. Holmes
Claudia Aucutt
James M. Harris
Jerry Betts
Pedro Ramos
Mario Villarreal
Santos Liebas
Charles K. Davis
Paul Gonzalas
Eugene Sullivan
Jose Bocanegra
Raymond Frost
Joseph L'Herault
Mario Robiedo
Wilbert Adams
Alfreda Siomonowsky
Richard Joseph Predgo
Viola M. Humphries
John Wayn Baldwin
Daniel W. Ates
Ronald Ingram
Keyona Brock
Maria G. Hernandez
Robert Chavez
Donald Tennerd
Jesse Carr
Lisa Anderson
Hugh Long Flinn
Domingo Vallejo
Dennis K. True
William Cornish Kirley
"Big Rick" Stroud
Santo Alberto Perez
Velasquez
Margie La Prairie Millis
Gil Conner
Marlin Maxwell
Old Man Gene
Jimmy Frank
"Z"
Eric Wendler
Ron Korn
Charles Albert Webb
William Campbell
Cecil Parker
John Wilton
Robert Gonzales
Windy McKinney
Benjamin Martinez-Lopez
Stephen Sneed
Curtis Ray Wilson

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Sexual Harassment and Bigotry Are Alive and Well

Their fears have been tickled, the mongers pat each other on the back, and blood and sweat taxes keep going to selective freedom. Advocating free societies throughout the world, we claim freedom to worship, but if you are not of like mind, may my God have mercy on your soul. Our beliefs in a merciful God ring hollow when we claim innocence. Until we ask forgiveness for all of our sins, as well as all of the sins of all of our ancestors before us, we are just as guilty as anyone for allowing the problems of the world to continue. HOW? By participating in the “learned”, anti-spiritual, money culture. God’s wondrous material gifts are easier to manifest with more money. In order to protect our lifestyle we sacrifice our youth to pay the ultimate price. We were trained by our lizard survival instinct to react in order to survive, Ignoring all the brutal history lessons, we refuse to acknowledge science, we deny true spiritualism, we claim ignorance when land fills fill or wars are fought for oil. Immersed in fear we grease the wheels of oppression and injustice with our “hell in a handbasket" tax dollars. We overreact with ancient primordial fear to modern rational solutions that threaten our lifestyle. Our taxes should only be used for necessary function industry.

We are embedded with materialism and justify excess as being blessed. If we were just the tiniest bit in the image of “ La Gran Creadora”, lapses in ethical judgement would be held accountable. Then again, who’s to say what is ethical? Is it the man of the cloth? Is it the man with the badge? Who owns the moral authority? Who is it that can afford the weapons slipping Darfur in to Chaos? Has anyone asked what is in the best interest of the warlords? Might their interest be selfish or selfless? What interest might we have to hack our neighbors to death? Are they a threat to the killer’s lifestyle? In our consumption zeal, we fail to see shysters and thieves, (well-connected corporations), fight to conceal the danger of their product. We sin, cleanse our soul in church, tithe and feel saintly. After all someone already died for our sins.

Protectionism now means one set of beliefs over another. Social security reform is code for protecting those who would worship correctly. The deficit is a minor nuisance to be paid by all those babies having babies. Kidnapping throughout the world is a quest for capital (however one would interpret wealth), and they aim to spend it any way the want. Local and international money mongers vulgarize well-meaning intentions for the underprivileged. Our hard earned tax dollars gush into the global war on terror, yet we fail to acknowledge the atrocities our reliance on materialism causes. Enamored with the stock market, some would have us invest our retirement savings in the hope that profit driver industry is the silver bullet. A rising tide lifts all boats but drowns the boat-less. Must we own a boat to enjoy the ocean? Investing in the free care of the masses will allow anyone of high initiative, to spend their hard-earned cash however one sees fit. Living in a less stress for success society (paid by redirecting misguided tax dollars), caring and compassionate businesses will guarantee their own existence. Presently, care and compassion, are not synonymous with the “bottom line”. In my deepest conviction against your deepest conviction “values”, confusion reigns. Why must our children go to war? Are we fighting for outsourcing, political graft, questionable medical practice? Are the indigent and homeless in our thoughts when we force our lifestyle on the rest of the world? The more lies that are uncovered, the more lies there are to uncover. The biggest lie is using God to disguise graft. In God we trust to help those who help themselves. Global warming is not waiting for Jesus to come back. The animals of the world try to tell us of the pain and destruction we cause. Innocent men, women, and children are collateral damage as we pound other cultures into submission.

Sexual harassment and bigotry is embedded in our lizard brain and rears its ugly head when our godly image or lifestyle is challenged. We have no right to be nation building with economic blueprints. Selfish greed must be replaced by investing our taxes only into what we truly need.

Tumen Soliz

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An Interview with Brother Duane
By Rebecca Jinks

I have attended the Bible study on tuesday nights at 12th and Chicon where Brother Duane... There is a dinner served which Brother Pete and other vounteers do an excellent job of preparing delicious meals. After the dinner, Bro. Duane plays the guitar and sings and we all join join in to praise the Lord. Brother Duane the leads the Bible Study, which is a great learning experience for myself.

So I asked Duane if I could interview him about the Tuesday night Bible Study.

How did the Bible Study get it's start?

It started about four years ago in response to a couple of brothers that shared the desire to learn more about Jesus and go deeper in their faith. We started at Festival Beach Park , I 35 and Town Lake, where we originally met for Church Under the Bridge.

What is the Bible Study's purpose?

A few of the purposes that we hope to cover are:
1. To provide a safe and comfortable environment to learn and grow in Christ.
2. To become a diciple making disciple.
3. To understand that as Christians we are a part of a family in Christ.
4. To be able to function and communicate as family.

How many of the homeless are serious about this Bible Study?

First of all, only the Lord knows the hearts of each one of us and understands all of our motives. Of the 40 - 50 that attend regularly many are attentive to hear the Word of God. As a believer, Isaiah 55: 10-11 teaches that God's Word is like a seed that is planted in our hearts. When we hear, there is great potential for the truths truths of God to transform our lives.

From your viewpoint, what is the importance of the Bible Study for the homeless?

I think that the purposes we seek to accomplish are directy related to this point. for a believer in Christ, we have been created as a part of a greater community or family called the Body of Christ. Whether on the streets or not, a vital part of our spiritual walk, other than our dirrect relationship with God, is our relationship with one another. We really stress the truth of being family and having a deep sense of belonging. This is very important to those on the streets, who often times have been rejected or abandoned by family and society. Jesus said "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28. All the Father gives me will come to me and "whoever comes to me I will in no way cast out" John 6:37. So I believe that understanding the Love of Jesus Christ and our purpose in belonging in His Family will bring great healing and restoration to a person's life.

Footnote - I sincerly thank Brother Duane for his time and for his beautiful answers . As a sister in Christ to a brother in Christ. May God Bless You and Yoours and especially your efforts to keep the Bible Study going strong and successfull.

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New City Hall to Open in January
By Kirk Becker

Austin's new City Hall was opened for public display the week of November 15-19, with a grand opening celebration on Saturday the 20th. It is impressive!

The building comprises the width of a long city block and the length of a short city block, with a patio facing Town Lake. While nominally only a four story building, they're very high stories (tall tales?). The open area along Town Lake has a very “climbing the mountain” feel to it, with outside stairways and patios rising to the second and even third floors and crevices and waterfalls descending three stories belowground into the parking garage. Balconies and eaves, which protrude 10, 20, sometimes even 50 feet or more from the walls, are constructed of baffles that block the bright sun while still allowing an open view of the sky, represent democracy at its purest. While the shading is perfectly suited to the majority of Austin's hot, sunny days, the eaves provide absolutely no protection whatsoever from the rain on the minority of days when the weather is inclement.

To the side of the outside area is a sapling cut from the 500 year old Treaty Oak, with room to grow 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 years, that represents the hopes for a harmonious future. A nearby so-far unnamed fountain distinctively resembles a drain – somebody is sure to post a “Your Taxes At Work” sign next to it as they announce their candidacy for a seat on the Council.

While the view of the building from the outside is expansive and bold, properly reflective of the spirit, ideals and aspirations of democratic government, the atrium inside is labyrinthine, with stairways and balconies rising and extending in seemingly every direction, representing the city's conglomeration of ordinances, rules, and regulations. Occasional outcroppings along the balconies provide an ostentatious and exciting view of the whole inside of the building and are representative of special interests.

The Council Chambers are immediately inside and (of course) off to the left of the front entrance. The Council Dais is raised substantially higher than the previous Council Chambers, acknowledging their recent pay increase, their increased responsibilities as Austin has grown from a small town to a thriving metropolis, and their increased tendency to push more and more public discussion onto the advisory Boards and Commissions.

A single speaker's podium stands before the Council, with a bare minimum of seating for spectators rising up to the Council's level behind the podium. A giant screen TV provides a view of the speaker to all in the audience and additional large but not giant screen TV's are spread throughout the lobby for waiting speakers to gather and watch the proceedings. Hopefully counters showing the speaker number will be added in the Council Chambers and throughout the lobby as well.

A tinted picture window is installed along one side of the Council Chambers for speakers not granted time to speak to display signs and perform pantomimes for the audience as lobbyists explain how Looting the City is actually Good for the People and therefore the best possible course of action for the Council to take.

The remainder of the first floor has room for the City Clerk for basic public information and Council Sign-Ups and the downtown business community's pet Community Court to try and fine anybody who gets kicked out of the Council Meetings for overly expressive expressions of public expression.

The council members offices are located on the second floor along with the City's Economic Growth Office (to facilitate the Chamber of Commerce' lobby the council members) and the City Auditor's Office (to nail them when they do it). The Mayor is the only council member with a personal smoking area outside his office, a door to a narrow walkway along the outside of the building that extends beyond 15 feet from the doorway. (The Mayor says it's not a smoking area, but it still looks like it needs an ashtray and could accommodate a wet bar).

The City Manager's Office is located right above the Mayor's Office on the third floor (except that the City Manager doesn't have her own non-designated smoking area).
The Public Information Office so dear to the press is also located on the third floor along with some of the City's other, more obscure, departments.

The overall feel of the building incorporates both the City's historic desire for open, participatory government and modern focus on commercial attractiveness. The design is definitely pre-9/11, as was the architectural contract, but a strip of wood from the once poisoned Treaty Oak lines the Council Dais to remind the Council of just how much damage individual nuts pursuing their own agendas in complete disregard for the wishes of everybody else can do to our City.

There is one other notable architectural feature -- a striking, sharp copper clad balcony/point that extends from the third floor outside the north/back side of the building. No it's not pointed at the State Capitol, and no it can't be raised in salute to our State Legislators – the point merely represents the economic spikes that have boomed, brightened, busted, and bedeviled our City throughout its history.

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Games & Toys
By Why Change Cain

Christmas time was usually when the toys and games were best. My parents weren’t the wealthiest around but my father was a union carpenter and my mother worked part time at the Red Goose She Store in Dallas to help us afford a little extra.

One Christmas I was almost 5 years old when Santa brought us everything Army. We had big metal tanks, deuce and a half trucks that pulled trailers behind them with cannons on the trailers, and 100 little Army men (plastic toy soldiers) each. If that wasn’t enough mother even slaved over the sewing machine to make us Army uniforms. We had slacks, kaiki shirts with our own names on them, and Army dress caps, the whole nine yards. I was elated.

Mother wanted to take a lot of pictures so we posed at the back of the 55 Ford out in the driveway. Then we got to play with our toys. Playing with Army men was a little different than playing with the little plastic cowboys and Indians. Just saying I blew up all your men with my tank wasn’t enough. A certain amount of strategy had to be displayed before annihilation of the enemy was believable. But when I played with them by myself I could simulate the TV shows like Combat and the movies we had seen and dream of being the G.I. Joe to beat them all.

Another Christmas to remember was 1965. That was the year we had the new aluminum Christmas tree with circling colored spotlight shining on it. I had been talking to mother about how I wanted a bicycle for Christmas and I even showed her the one I wanted in the store add. It was the “Satellite” bicycle. Then before Christmas the 5 speed and 10 speed bicycles were becoming more and more popular. My friends were bragging that they were getting one for Christmas and how fast they could go.

I asked my mother if I could change my request and she said that Santa had already gotten my Christmas present. When the other kids at School and around the neighborhood asked me if I was getting a ten speed I hung my head and said no. Then I thought for a minute. I knew that I was the best rider in the whole neighborhood. I called myself, “The Night Rider” because I liked to ride my bike every evening after School until after dark. I liked to zoom up and down the neighborhood streets as fast as I could being careful to stop at a couple of spots to grab a handful of gravel for the mean dogs that would chase me barking at me and trying to bite my ankles. I would lay into their face with gravel just as they got close enough and at least one of them finally stopped. I liked to see how long I could ride “No Hands” and place my feet up on the handlebars to coast down the fastest hills.

Remembering how well I could ride, I started telling the other kids that I didn’t need a 10 speed, I was getting something better and yes even faster; a “Satellite”. They would say, “There’s no way you can outrun a 10 speed!” Rodney, one of the more spoiled kids challenged me to a race. He said, “Alright, if you think you can outrun my new 10 speed on your old fashioned heavy bike then let’s just find out who’s the fastest on Christmas and we’ll see who’s King of the Road.” He said, “Let’s meet at Danieldale and Houston School Road on Christmas day. I said, “Alright, you’re on!” The other kids listening decided to join in the race too.

Well come Christmas morning I was in heaven. I walked into the living room and there standing in front of the shiny aluminum tree was the most beautiful bicycle I had ever laid my eyes on. Daddy had slaved for two hours in the garage the night before building it for me and he was the best shade tree mechanic in the world. It had so much to it. It had a heavy steel frame with a streamlined headlight, a switch for the headlight, and a switch for the horn built into a console on the frame. It also had a rear bumper seat with tie down bars and a taillight built in to it. It had the look of a spaceship and that was right up my alley.

Of course mother wanted a picture of me sitting on it in front of the Christmas tree, in front of the house, and in front of the car in the driveway. I obliged and then I started to take off. Mother said, “Now don’t go too far”. I didn’t tell her about my challenge cause I knew that she might not approve. The location was at least three miles away.

Now the strip of Danieldale Road between Houston School Road and Lancaster road was what everyone around my age that road bicycles referred to as, “Roller Coaster Road”. For obvious reasons, one could gather up a great deal of speed coming down the hills but climbing up the steep hills was required first and that required a great deal of hard work, especially if you road a heavy framed bicycle.

When I got there I couldn’t believe the kids that had showed up for the race. Most everyone it seemed had gotten a new bike for Christmas that year and most of them were 10 speeds.

Rodney, the one that made the original challenge was there too. He said, “Alright, let’s start right here and the first one to get to
Wintergreen Road wins.” I realized the route he picked was mostly uphill, giving him the advantage so I said, “Naww that’s no fun! Let’s go from here to the last street before Lancaster Road. That’s further with more hills.” The other kids rang out, “Yeah, that sounds like more fun, let’s go that way!” He reluctantly agreed and as soon as we all lined up, someone yelled out, “Go!” and the race was on.

I jumped down hard on my pedal and as I did, I took a quick glance and noticed it was just as I expected. I was already in the lead. Most of the other kids weren’t quite familiar with their new 10 speed bicycles and they were still fiddling with the gears trying to shift them to the right one. The first part of the race was a downhill run and I quickly increased my distance away from all the others. Just then a car came over the hill facing us. I had to quickly swerve to the shoulder of the road to avoid it. I almost lost it as I cut back to avoid heading into the ditch. As I regained control I took another glance behind me to see the car quickly reducing speed and the rest of the kids splitting up towards both sides trying to get out of the way. No one was hit but I knew that was a close call for everyone in the race, especially me.

I had reached the bottom of the first hill and my momentum carried me about half way up the next one before I began to slow down. I peddled as fast as I could but Rodney and most of the others had gotten the hang of which gears to use, and they were closing fast. I was almost to the top when a sudden whoosh went by right next to me. It was Rodney. He was flying. His feet were peddling as fast as fan blades on the water-cooling fan in the window by my dad’s recliner in the living room. He hollered out as he zoomed by, “What’s the matter? Satellite not working right?” Just then 3 more kids on 10 speed bicycles sped by, all of them laughing and jeering.

I saw them disappear over the hill one by one hoping they would somehow crash into each other but they didn’t. I gave one more hard lunge down on the pedal to reach the top. As I topped the hill I could see they all had a substantial lead. The only one still left behind me was Ronnie. He didn’t get a new Bike for Christmas and no one expected him to be any competition anyway.

I looked ahead and I saw what I was hoping I had remembered. The hill we were all ascending was the longest and steepest one on Roller Coaster Road and the uphill climb after it wasn’t very steep nor was it very long before it leveled out to the finish line.

I yelled out loud to my bike, “Satellite, I said, now it’s time to do your stuff!” I could feel the wait of my heavy steel frame gaining momentum. I could pedal faster and faster until I was moving so fast down that hill I thought I might break the sound barrier. I remembered the first time I rode down that hill with my old bike and how exciting it felt to be going so fast. The rest of them were still peddling fast but the gravitational pull on my heavy bike had given me just the edge I was counting on. I zoomed by all of them so fast they didn’t know what hit them. I felt like the superhero, “Flash” in the comic books I had read.

When I caught up with Rodney he was still in the lead. I just hollered, “Whoopee!” as I went by. It startled him so much; he almost fell off his bike. My momentum carried me pretty far up the final hill but not all the way. There was no more downhill saving grace ahead so I knew this was it. As I got over halfway up the hill I began to slow again and I could feel Rodney breathing down my neck.

I pushed so hard on my pedals I thought my legs were going to burst or my new pedals were going to bend. Rodney was closing fast as we almost simultaneously reached the top. Now all we had left was the straight and level 100 feet or so to go before the finish line. The rest were way behind and no threat to either of us.

Rodney started gaining on me. I could hear him switching gears on his new bike. He gradually passed me up. So gradually that we could have had lunch together and shared a hot dog before he got out in front. I was exasperated. We were only a short distance from the finish line. I was already trying to think of how I was going to tell the rest of them not to laugh cause I was going to beat them anyway.

Just then I heard a loud noise, a kind of crunching, grinding noise. Rodney was looking down at the gears on his bike and evidently he had tried to switch gears again without pulling back on his clutch first. Or maybe it was because his dad wasn’t the mechanic that my dad was. Whatever the reason was, his bike had suddenly locked up in low gear. It was all he could do to keep from flipping off his bike. I sailed by him just in time to reach the last street before Lancaster road (The Finish Line). As I began to put some more distance between Rodney, and me I turned around and said, “Hey Rodney! Looks like your new bike needs some work huh?” He didn’t say a word he just shook his fist at me.

I didn’t bother to turn around and gloat over my victory. I knew Rodney would be a sore looser anyway and I wanted to go on into Lancaster so I could show off my new, shiny, victorious, Satellite bike to my friends.