Advised to tell the story,,,,,,,,,,

1. A kind Soul, a Twitter friend of mine @_stoicone_ stated I MUST tell my story if I want people to donate. So here are a few of my attempts at telling my story.
   
   I could go on for hours on this subject, but I will try and save you from my "ranting".....:-))! I will rant a little bit however.
   
   Warning: This might show a little of my disappointment in the way the system is handling the homeless situation. Not just Knoxville,,,,,,anywhere,,,,,,,,,everywhere is just the same. I believe it is time for a wake up call. My goal for Straight Ahead Outreach is to remove the homeless from the "Homeless Mentality" and from the Homeless Assistance World as a whole, relying on themselves. I have specific very private thoughts on what I will do to accomplish that. I will try to keep each point below as brief as possible as I could go on and on.
   
   Here we go: The "gaps" 'STA" will fill in the community.
   
   First, the current system provides for example section 8 vouchers to many individuals with many different backgrounds, records etc. "We"(Homeless Assistance programs, "HAO's") place them in too many clumps together. What we end up doing is taking 10 severe drug users, placing them in housing with 30 other drug users and hope that the rehabs they are being sent to whether court ordered or what have you work and they go on happy. It does not work. All it creates is transference. We move them from one bad area and create another.
   
   Some examples of a few of our "STA" "friends" and a brief story.
   
   1) John: John has lived on the streets for the last approx 18 years. When I became involved with him at the request of the organization trying to assist him he was living in a section of woods in the downtown Knoxville area. He had been there for quite some time. Yes, he has a history. I never in my life thought I would be assisting one like John, Jesus teaches me little lessons ALLLLL the time like John. There is a great deal to this story, but I will condense it here. His parole officer placed John in housing, in a small apartment complex one mile from my home in Knoxville. In that building were 5 other tenants under the watch of that same parole officer. The organization case managing him applied and secured his SSI benefits. John had a place to live out of the woods an SSI check PLUS $2500 approx in back pay!!! John thought he was RICH! Of COURSE he would! John was freaked. I went though MANY long nights, days, weeks of John calling me in the late night from the streets, jail etc due to this living arrangement. It does not work properly. This is a story which incenses, yet drives me harder and harder to do what I do. "We" need to be creative in finding housing etc. I would LOVE to talk to you more on John as it is a very disturbing story,,,,,not only emotionally, but,,,,,legally. John continues to struggle to this day. I am not his case manager but have always been involved heavily with John and provided extensive support, monetarily(before he got SSI), emotionally and physically. Straight Ahead will work to fill this type of gap with our creativity and persistence.
   
   2) Teresa: Teresa, has stood on the corner outside of the mission in Knoxville for at least the last 3 years. She has only ever been an overnight guest not ever a resident or in any of the programs from what I understand from the mission. I have spoke to her a few times, done her laundry, purchased jackets etc for her. Yes she has some issues mentally, but workable I believe. Not easily however because she is pretty tough, creating a wall to everyone and can be very uncooperative. To make a very long story as short as possible. I mean no disrespect. This is unacceptable. "We" as homeless assistance organizations have a responsibility to handle, to facilitate the improvement of the quality of life of the individuals we allow to come into our facilities to get help or that we say we will provide help to. To facilitate, meaning sometimes to push. If the person is fed up with us, doesn't like what we do etc and leaves,,,,ok,,,then they decided to leave. BUT, if they stand in the same location, in the rain,,,in the cold,,in the heat,,,and continue to enter into our realm of assistance, we have the obligation to "push" that individual. As I mentioned. Teresa needs much more help then she has been receiving. It takes many hours, lots of patience and yes, alot of money. Please donate so we may help Teresa and others like her.
   
   3) Donna - We took her off the street in Late June of 2008 and moved her into our home. It was ugly,,,verrrrry ugly. It was a 24 hour situation. She has a brain injury but is extremely smart. We succeeded in turning her around and she now has housing as of 10/10/08. She lived with us until we found her housing and we supported her thru 12/15/08. But, we HAD to be creative. She was sleeping in her electric wheelchair on Market Square in Knoxville TN near Tomato Head every night. All of the organizations responsible for case managing her stated they "lost sight" of her. I am not naming them intentionally. Because of her history with KCDC housing, we could get absolutely no assistance from Knoxville. So, we had to go to Oak Ridge to get her housing. 10/10/08 we acquired and purchased furniture for her and moved her into the Manhattan Apts in Oak Ridge. We took care of her until 12/15/08 until she obtained her food stamps and her family took over responsibility for her. She paid for her own housing out of her SSI,,,angry as heck but she did it. We set her up with a payee, food stamps etc and got her out of the homeless assistance world. The most important success I believe we, "STA" had was the repair of Donna and her families relationship. They had not seen each other for over 3 years and were not assisted or contacted by anyone else to assist them in reaching Donna. Now, Donnas Son and her Father visit her often at her new apartment and they also take Donna to stay with them for holidays and weekends. SO AWESOME!
   
   4) Ms Edna:
   This one also incenses me, yet drives me harder to do this work. Please forgive me on this one. You will see my anger on this one. Long story, difficult to condense.
   Ms Edna is a 70ish year old female evicted from her residence in KNoxville. Ms. Edna is a very difficult case. HOWEVER, she is precisely who, the assistance organizations get funds to assist. I, we, Straight Ahead Outreach("STA"), went to her residence to retrieve her belongings and store them for her as they were holding it until she returned her apt key. We returned the key and stored the luggage until I received a call from an individual looking for the luggage on behalf of Ms. Edna. This individual had been putting her up in a Motel so she would not be sleeping in the streets as usual. Ms. Edna always hauls a good deal of belongings with her wherever she goes. I have hauled it a few times, others have hauled it more. Here is the big "gap." Miss Edna has been refused assistance on and off and a place to sleep, by the local HAP's and others due mainly to her amount of belongings. She is approx 70 years old, and yes a street professional, but not in good health. So, she was forced back into the streets, many times.
   
   Because of all Ms. Edna's belongings which could add up to 13 bags at times, which included her luggage, most of the bags being plastic grocery bags which held her Milk etc. she was refused and forced out into the streets. Where do you keep your food? I get to keep mine in the fridge just like you do. Ms. Edna does not, because she needs our creative assistance.
   
   During one of our meetings of the "Critical Cases Management" with all the other organizations, it was discussed to send out to all the churches, and other organizations to cease assisting Ms. Edna if she came with her belongings in tow. The City buses were advised not to allow her to ride. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! I was so incensed that after a few more meetings I never participated again.
   
   I want you to know what happened because of this. I will state it here as I learned it from the person who had given her motel stays in the past. When he told me, I was in his office and could barely contain myself. I was so angry, so devastated, I wanted to go take so many people to task. I have already been told they do not want someone to rock the boat. I decided I would put my energy in concentrating on what I can do to change the face of homeless everywhere. And yes, the boat will get rocked, but I will do it in a positive way concentrating ONLY on the individuals in need of the help.
   
   Miss Edna was sleeping in a bus stop. A drunk driver slammed into the bus stop giving Ms Edna major injuries. She spent a good length of time in the hospital and then was sent to a nursing home. Yes, she belongs in one. BUT not that way for crying out loud! That is completely unacceptable.
   
   So, here you go,,,,,,any organization anywhere, (including Straight Ahead Outreach someday hopefully) which has upwards of a $10 million dollar budget, if they can NOT figure a creative way to store someones belongings, which are the ONLY belongings they have in the stinkin world, then they need to find a different business to be in or re-evaluate the business they are in. I understand "we" cannot help everyone, I understand that. But this is a different story. This is one where the organizations let their attitudes and egos get in the way and it was in a planned, and constructed manner.
   
   These are examples of the gaps Straight Ahead HAS filled and will continue to do so if given the tools. I will work day and night, and will attract those to me who will help me do the same.
   
   Thank you for reading and listening to my rant,,,,,,, Isn't this fun!!
   
   It is Jesus's work. It has to be done right.
   
   Sorry to use a cliche,,,but in each one of the above,,,,,,,What Would Jesus Have Done?