JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW,,,,,,,,,,,

I am not on here to just rant. It may come across that way, but everything I will write about will be from what I have experienced in my last 23 years of this Homeless/Suicidal assistance work I do or from present experiences on the streets doing the actual work.

I will try to keep most of it from present experiences and so far that is what you are reading.

Also, I am not here to just complain. I go into the streets and do my work. I get down and dirty in the ugliness of it all. It is not usually pretty and can get violent, depressing, uplifting, scarey and many times fun. I will also try to share some of the fun with you. Looking back I can see so far it is all too serious and all about the ugly stuff so far.

I apologize. I will work on that and try to write something uplifting on my next blog.

Just So You Know,,,,,I also have a plan to be one of the "Solutions" to the problems and frustrations I write about. It is a 34 page plan and if you would like to see it just email me and I will be glad to share it with you.

straightaheadlwg@gmail.com or you may call me @ 865-964-1461 on my cell. I am in the Eastern Zone USA.

Take Care and thank you all for reading.

Lance :-))!

The prescibing of medications(anti-depressants) to the Homeless

Well, here we go,,
The prescribing of medications(anti-depressants) to the Homeless is a very sensitive subject. One of which I am sure I will get criticized for my opinion of.

FIRST, to all of you who will jump to try and prove me wrong. I am fully aware there are individuals who need to be on medications. Who even need to be on them whether they want to be or not. For their safety and for the safety of others. As long as those meds are taken in a safe, responsible situation. You are right. THAT is not always possible. Thus, my frustrations with the medical communities.

First, a story if you will. A very true story.
A homeless "friend" of mine, had a tent mate. Wayne. Wayne is one of many homeless VETS, just like many others out there. Wayne got into some harsh meds. It was just fortunate my homeless "friend" came back to their "camp" tent one morning to find Wayne writhing in the tent with the tent collapsed around him. Wayne went to the hospital, James and I spent many hours there. I was the only one Wayne could communicate with by grunts and nods. Wayne still is unable to talk to this day and he never came out of his vegetative state. Wayne went from the hospital in Knoxville TN straight to a nursing home. James, saved his friends life that day.

Medications should not be prescribed, given, or mailed to people whom the prescribing Doctor or facility knows nothing about the patient other then they are ill in some way, mentally or physically. The Hospital who prescribed the meds to the homeless "friend" of mine did not "know" the living conditions or status of the individual. They did not know he was "homeless"sleeping in a tent until I had a very direct talk with them advising them of their need to re-evaluate their handling of the individual and the anti-depressant medications they had prescribed to and mailed to him so many times at an address which of course had nothing to do with him.
I am sorry. If you do not use your knowledge to get to know your patient, then DO NOT prescribe something just to make a profit. IT CAN KILL. And HAO's like myself end up having to scramble and pick up the pieces from the effects of your " Care Less" or "Hardened" attitudes. These things affect numerous people when they happen in the homeless world. The sad thing is, these cases where people lose their lives over prescribed medications which the homeless community are prescribed and obtain legally, many times just disappear because of who the people are. Unacceptable. Period.
Do not tell me there is no other way. Please. Do not. Do not even bother going there. Do not give me your medical excuses. It takes time with the patient. THAT is the problem.
It takes coordinating with organizations such as ours and finding out more about that person. It takes a direct question to see if they are homeless. We can help you with it. We can help you prevent many of these situations.
If my homeless "friend" was not there and did not know Straight Ahead Outreach, Wayne would have lay prostrate and died right there in that tent. It will be one of Straight Ahead Outreach’s' directives to seek out those who are lying prostrate and or being ignored or missed by the system. We will do it by both on the street monitoring and by referrals from other homeless individuals. Yes, it all will be a painstaking process. That is just the way it is.

In another case, this one just as disturbing but in a different way. Another one of our homeless "friends" goes to the local Health system in Knoxville TN.
She is a female and is very fragile mentally in many different ways. She just recently got into a new apartment. There are numerous issues that surround her life, which could knock her down at any moment and cause her to go into an all out spiral. Because of these issues, she sees a therapist at the local Health system. She called me one day here this March 2009 and was very distraught. When she told me what was wrong, I was stunned, speechless and very upset.
She began to tell me she did not think she wanted to go to her therapist anymore because of how traumatic her visit was when she last went. She told me they placed her in a small room. Then her "therapist" came to visit her,,,,,,,,,,,ON A VIDEO MONITOR,,,,,like in a jail! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
So, they interview and prescribe my homeless "friend" and many others from a video monitor? SERIOUSLY! Are you kidding me? How do you feel them? How do you get to know them? How? Tell me?
I will do everything in my power to keep the homeless "friends" and anyone else I encounter away from this particular facility and from now on I will inquire of each Mental Health facilities of their practices.
This is not a death row, solitary confinement type situation people! You are not located in a prison. What are you doing? I want an answer. What are you doing? Your insensitivity and lack of willingness to get to know your patients will KILL people. I guarantee you.

Mental Health Systems: Please listen. I guarantee you, YOU will be responsible for pushing people to take their lives by this irresponsible act. You may never know it, because they will be the invisible ones, the homeless ones. But trust me, I will let you know who they are.

You should be ashamed.

We are in Desperate Need,,,,,Can You Help?

Boy,,,,,I am very good at helping others, but I stink at asking for money. The reality of all this is, that if I do not learn to ask more we will not be able to continue the work we do in helping those we help.
I have done this work since 1985, and everything I do I have done out of my own pocket up until last year 2008 when we received $600.00 to help a few specific homeless. This year so far we have received $1220.00 so far to date.

While it is greatly appreciated and I feel the obligation to fullfill the work in order to properly thank those who "gifted" what they did, it just is not enough to allow us to continue our work helping the homeless and depressed. We help anyone who is down and wants to "Take Back Their Life". Not just the homeless.

We are desperate. There, I said it. My pride usually will not let me do that. But facts are facts.
We are not yet 501c3 Non Profit, but as of 3/15/09 we have submitted the paperwork to our attorney for the two year journey towards it. BUT, BELIEVE ME,,,,we ARE most definitely NOT making any profits and never intend to.

Bottomline, we have gotten to the point where we can no longer fund this on our own. I have always done this work myself, (Lance Greene) out of the wages I earned at my regular jobs. The problem is I am no longer employed. I am only able to do the work mainly now via phone.
In order to continue the work and to further expand the work we need your HELP. BIG TIME!

Please, if you can help,,,at all. Please go to our website,,,read about us a little at: http://sites.google.com/site/straightaheadoutreach/Home

We do great work. We are committed to helping the Homeless or anyone depressed and in need.
If you want to ask me questions before you give, call me on my cell: 865-964-1461 and I will answer anything you ask.
We base our Straight Ahead Outreach out of Knoxville TN. That is where the bulk of our work is done.
If you want to help us, please go to our website and you will find our contact and address info for mailing your check. Our website is a free site form Google so I am unable to put a donation button on for PayPaL. It is a big pain as Google doesn't make provisions for the button to be easily added.

We are real, we can be verified.
So please, anything you can do, any amount will help and is appreciated.

Thank you,

Lance Greene - Founder
Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking Back Your Life
865-964-1461

The bringing of a Homeless individual from the Street and into housing,,,,

Have you ever seen what happens when you take a homeless person from where they have been living on the streets or in camps for the last 5, 10, 20 years and drop them into housing?
I say "drop" into housing because that is what happens many times in the Homeless Assistance World, by HAO's.

The HAO will get the homeless person all geared up for their possible "new housing" in hopes of getting them off the street and to satisfy their "numbers" for the Homeless Management System databases. Numbers = funding. However, numbers+poorly fitted housing=higher homeless numbers. Many do not see this for some reason.

When a homeless person is brought from the street into housing it must be done with as much creative thinking, a working knowledge of the persons personality and planning as possible. It must be a good fit. Many times it will take a great deal of "creative work". If you are not able to be creative or willing to push hard with it, then there is a high chance the person you are assisting is going to again become a homeless statistic.
Once the person loses their housing, (which was supplied via an HAO by obtaining Section 8 vouchers etc and placing the person into the Homeless Assistance Worlds management database stating they are no longer homeless) the person in too many cases is no longer looked upon as a person with an urgent need. They are looked upon as getting housing, which the City promotes as an accomplishment.

Then the person becomes homeless very soon after getting their new home. They are once again, on the streets sleeping under a bridge or under a tree in a cemetarywithout so much as a blanket, scared, helpless, uninformed and once again relying on the very same people who set them up to fail in the first place.
The housing placement must be a proper fit for the persons personality. This is where creativity comes in. Creativity in thinking and working. It is more difficult but it works.

Numbers = funding. However, numbers+poorly fitted housing=higher homeless numbers.

Mission Statement of Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking back Your Life

MISSION STATEMENT

To provide a relaxing atmosphere which promotes and allows room for change.

We will strive to provide relief to the poor, distressed, underprivileged and depressed.

To ease neighborhood tensions along with combating community deterioration and the over all community delinquency.

To remove our “friends in need” from the community as a tension force and "set them free" as a viable, positive contributing force to the community as a changed, New Person via their own strengths, their peers’ assistance and our assistance.

To be creative in our approach to the issues.

Having the goal of getting our "friends in need" out of the homeless assistance system and self reliant.

Some things That Upset Me in the Homeless Assistance World,,,,,

Homeless People having to stand outside an HAO for more then 3 months,,,,over three years even,,,,lost,,broken,,,with no creative assistance from the HAO's and the community, City governments etc.

People having to live, take up residence in their cars in this country for any length of time.


Children in this country going without any hope of food for the next however many hours,,,,,see http://www.ccmileecounty.com/childhoodhungerawarenesscampaign.html for their campaign against Child Hunger.

Ever seen what happens when a homeless drug user is taken from living in the woods for 18 yrs give them an SSI check & housing? And then the HAO walks away and basically says ,,,good luck! It is horribly devastating and the person will most usually end up homeless again in a short time. This is being set up to fail. NOT acceptable and that organization should lose its funding as far as I am concerned.

HAO's? What does it stand for??

HAO's stands for my abbreviation of: Homeless Assistance Organizations - We Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking Back Your Life are one of them. HOWEVER, we are striving to be different,,,not of the norm. Our processes are different and our beliefs in how we handle the homeless community and their situations are different.

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

Please,,,,,,,It could happen to you or I,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Please do not ever forget,,,U or I could be homeless at any moment,,no matter what our wealth is,,,,how would YOU want to be treated?

Where to Start,,,,,,,,,,,,

Man this just is not going to be pretty,,,,,Some may not be happy with, agree or like what I say,,,,but here we go,,,,

There are a few reasons in the last year that I have become so much more serious, intense and stubborn about my drive to "Change the Face of Homelessness" and also to change the attitiudes of many of the Homeless Assistance Organizations(HAO). I will attempt to describe the issues here as best I can. They are vast, sometimes complicated, gray-liners but I "Have To" address them.

I will begin with a few examples from the last year, which have really pushed me over the edge to step up my efforts in this work that I do. They will seem like generalizations, but trust me they are real and very specific.

When I say "we", I am typically meaning the HAO's(Homeless Assistance Organizations) or any type assistance organization for that matter,,,BUT NOT all of them.

1) I will touch on the handling of "personal belongings" issue.
2) The bringing of a Homeless individual from the woods/streets into housing and receiving disability checks.
3) The prescibing of medications(anti-depressants) to the Homeless.
4) The mentalities of HOA's and providing of food, clothing, tents, etc to those on the streets.

More tomorrow 4/23/09 as I need some sleep,,,thanks for stopping by!