Personal Belongings of the Homeless VS the HAO's,,,

Personal Belongings:
We have a problem, one that can be difficult yes. I know we as HAO's have to take control but we need to keep in mind as we do this, the control needs to be consistent, gentle, like a "Gentle Giant". The "friends" we assist look up to us in many cases and we have a "responsibility" to be that "Gentle Giant". Oh, I know we also must be tough many times,,,,but tough can be done in a way so people know you actually care.

In the following situations I am about to discuss it may look and sound as though I am placing ALL the blame on the HAO's. It is not about "blame." It is about "Responsibility."

The Situation:
My organization Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking Back Your Life was involved in assisting with an elderly female in Knoxville, TN who is very difficult. She is a professional chronically homeless person who can be very uncooperative, but not impossible. I do not intend to compromise anyone so forgive me for being fairly general in form here. We, Straight Ahead Outreach have been part of the Critical Case Management team for Homelessness in Knoxville, TN. We stopped going to the meetings after this situation arose.

This elderly woman would go to the shelters, take buses & taxi's everywhere with all her personal belongings in tow. Up to 13 bags including a couple of large suitcases. She had been evicted from her most recent residence. I, Lance Greene of Straight Ahead Outreach facilitated the return of her apartment keys to the facility as they were holding her personal belongings until she returned the key. I convinced this elderly woman into letting me have the key to her apartment, by promising to go get her luggage, bring it to her and show her that I indeed did have it. I went to the facility, spoke with management, obtained her belongings and took them to her to show her that I had them. She then handed me the apartment keys which I returned them to the facility. I then convinced the elderly woman into letting us "store" her personal belongings at our house (we run everything out of our home - yes our personal home) She agreed and so we stored all 13 of her bags. It took up a 3x3x3 area in our shed. This way she did not have to tow them all over and they were safe. She does NOT like to be without her items, they are ALL she has in the world. Sure, some of it may be due to mental health issues, sorry,,,no excuse for not assisting.

Back to the Critical Case Management meetings. So, it came to be that someone had been putting this elderly woman up in motels to get her off the street. No one was quite sure who the person was assisting her and the "Powers That Be" wanted to get a message to this person to stop putting her up. The "Powers That Be" felt it was not helping her get off the street in the long run. I disagree 1000%. The "Powers That Be"were looking for a way to force her into complying to 'giving up her personal belongs' and actually hoped to get her off the street WITHOUT them. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!

At the Critical Case Managment meeting there was a discussion to send a directive out to all the churches in the area to NOT ASSIST this elderly woman if she came with her personal belongings in tow. She was no longer allowed to ride the City bus system, taxi companies were asked not to assist her and the emergency responders were told not to assist with her bags (some of the ambulances still did anyway). All assistance was shut down for her if she had her personal belongings with her. We, straight Ahead Outreach continued to try and assist her.
HMIS was directed to note in their system database not to assist if this woman had her bags in tow.

The the day came. She was sleeping in a bus stop on Chapman Hwy in Knoxville when a drunk driver smashed into the bus stop. She sustained major injuries and ended up in a nursing home.

WOW. I wish I could say I was speechless - but obviously I am not!!!

So, when the individual who had been trying to put her in motels told me this story of her being hit by a drunk driver as she slept, I was so angry I could barely speak with him. I was running all this crap through my head,,,,,What could I have done! What could I have done! I should have done more! DAMNIT! I should have spent more hours with her,,,I had spent many late hours already ,,,many. I should have fought the Powers to Be more! I should have taken them to task! I wanted to go straight to them and tell them to remove their Mission Statement plaques off their walls and take another look at why they are in this business!

Instead, it pushed me harder to want to "Change the Face of Homelessness". I decided to re-direct my anger into a more positive direction and re-positioned myself to do even more on behalf of the Homeless. One is by creating this blog. Another is by creating my new website: www.homelesscrisis.wordpress.com

I am committed, driven, creative and have the help of Jesus on my side,,,,literally.

Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking back Your Life is very small, but we do alot of great work. I feel as though we get lost in the shuffle a bit as we are not a 501c non-profit. Most of what we do comes out of our own pockets except for "gifts" from a handlful of very special people.

We have only collected a total of $1720.00 in the last 23 years I have been doing this.
ALL of it was in the last year. Crazy huh?

Point of the story:
We are very small. We run everything out of our home.
If we can store someones personal belongings for over a month, then the larger, high-budget HAO's have the same "Responsibility". Yes, "Responsibility".

We would have stored her belongings longer but she needed them back and was in a motel.
Do I expect HAO's to provide storage and a process to accomodate this need?
MOST DEFINITELY! You welcomed them through your doors.

It is NOT in your budget? Then one of the executive's should take a pay reduction for the next year or two or whatever it takes to put this in place.
You are in this for the Homeless,,,correct? Or am I missing something?
You are in this for the very same people
YOU, YOU invite through your doors and state in your Mission Statement on your brass plaques that you will help.

We need to be more creative, yes, forceful at times but very creative. If we set out a directive to not assist someone then we have separated ourselves, the HAO's from the one-on-one that person so desparately needs.

In defense of the HAO's who cut this elderly woman off, they did try for quite some time to help her with her bags and assist her. I just think they made a big mistake, they lost focus.

In another case:
One of our "friends" who was being assisted by another local HAO had her bag spray painted with flourescent orange spray paint by one of the "Day Room" workers. A big "X" on it. It was a nice bag given to her by a donor, a $70 bag. They ruined it. Ruined it. All because of a ego out of control. Sorry, there was a different more creative way to handle this. It is up to us HAO's to figure this out. It is our "Responsibility."

I have said it many times and I will say it again here.,, "We" in the "Assistance Organization World" (HAO's) most definitely have a major "RESPONSIBILITY" to assist those we welcome through our doors. Do not just make it part of your Mission Statement and put it on a plaque in your entry way in order to solicit funds,,,,MEAN IT.

If a person - remember they are people, is welcomed through our doors and they refuse our assistance and leave,,then that is on them. If they return to ask again and we push them away that is on US. If they do leave, it does not mean we do not have a responsibility to seek them out and try try again to pull them around.

Be the "Gentle Giant."

Thank you

Lance Greene-Founder- Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking Back Your Life