This Land is Whose Land?

“As I was walkin’ – I saw a sign there
And that sign said – no tress passin’
But on the other side …. it didn’t say nothin!
Now that side was made for you and me!

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me

In the squares of the city – In the shadow of the steeple
Near the relief office – I see my people
And some are grumblin’ and some are wonderin’
If this land’s still made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California, to the New York Island
From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters
This land was made for you and me” – Woody Guthrie 1940

Marijuana Farming for the Homeless

Before you roll your eyes, we’ve got to start thinking outside the box, to create the revenue and community support needed to house those without a roof.

I’ve often promoted the idea of a federal megabucks lottery. Every week a million dollar winner, the rest going towards a just healthcare system, and affordable housing. Those that would rather gamble their money than put it to good use, may now do both. Casinos may also provide a source of revenue to help alleviate poverty issues. Of course, we’d have to do a better job than we did with state lottery money meant to build on and enhance public education.

The revenue that could be tapped from sales and taxes on marijuana grown could alleviate the affordable housing issue overnight, relatively speaking. We take an acre or two of state or city land to be used as a prototype for future growers, who will supply the legal dispensaries of medical marijuana with their product. This project could be done with support from UNH Agricultural Dept, and provide the city with a valuable template for future growers, as well as test the chains of distribution for medical marijuana. The city would become the state’s first grower, and from the sale of the product, provide financial resources to alleviate housing shortages. Workers could be enlisted from the homeless population, with either cash or housing accommodations as payment. A bunkhouse/shelter could be built on the same property, with showers and laundry, and solar-paneled roofs, with help from grants.

I’m thinking back to the all day sun received on the city owned property adjacent to the Friendly Kitchen, and what a convenient spot that might be. Maybe further outside town, with shuttles for workers. Concord could become known as the model city who solved the housing for homeless issue, and implemented fast-track prototypes for dealing with the legalizing marijuana issue, medical or otherwise, all in one stroke.

Outside the box, down on the farm.

Legalized

RIP Hardy Macias

Home Grown

Earth Redux – System Down

“War on Urantia will never end so long as nations cling to the illusive notions of unlimited national sovereignty. There are only two levels of relative sovereignty on an inhabited world: the spiritual free will of the individual mortal and the collective sovereignty of mankind as a whole. Between the level of the individual human being and the level of the total of mankind, all groupings and associations are relative, transitory, and of value only in so far as they enhance the welfare, well-being, and progress of the individual and the planetary grand total — man and mankind.” – The Urantia Book (p.1487.9 ch.134:5.2)

When I read about the $23 million raised in a week for the 100+ victims of the Boston bombings, my feelings were conflicted. Certainly, the victims deserve the means to recover, if that’s even possible. We’re horrified, as a nation, when death and destruction come into our backyard. Yet we as citizens appear to be tolerating the $2 billion a week spent in Afghanistan and Iraq reaping resources and wreaking havoc. In their backyard.

When I think of what $23 million could mean to the homeless communities across the state, or what $2 billion a week could mean to ending homelessness in this country, my head wants to explode. Is the money that much easier found for “terror attack” relief, than for “failing infrastructure” repair? Couldn’t $100 billion dollars a year alleviate the affordable housing shortage, as well as provide mortgage relief for current homeowners? Where are our priorities, and why?

A recent city hall memo recognizes the system dysfunction that creates many new residents to the homeless community. Outcasts from financially failed state hospitals and overcrowded prison systems are left by the side of the street like so many stray cats.

These problems of war, poverty and homelessness cannot be repaired with money alone, even if it were available. A mindset needs adjusting. We are citizens of a town, in a state, in a country on a planet, in a solar system, in a universe among millions. We must work to respect human life everywhere, or perish. In our communities, we can make the money and time available to shelter, feed and shower the needy, despite their societal shortcomings. In our nation, we can become more aware of our global outreach, and seek to end war, and extend our compassion across the earth.

Let’s begin here in Concord with a simple concrete shower and laundry facility for the homeless, as part of an expanded resource center. Certainly the expense won’t exceed the low five figures. And the number of lives it could change is in-estimable.

A Deepening Crisis

Panhandling Update

Editorial: Concord’s new panhandling ordinance deserves support

(Published in print: Thursday, April 18, 2013)

Panhandling has become a problem that Concord residents, visitors and business owners want the city to address. Motorists are forced to pass sign-wielding panhandlers posted like sentries at shopping plaza exits or wait in traffic stalled by a beggar who steps into the road to accept a handout. Pedestrians have been annoyed and sometimes intimidated by panhandlers who ask, sometimes persistently, for money. Yet there’s no crime in asking for help.

No ordinance, no matter how well-meaning, can interfere with anyone’s free speech rights. That makes regulating or prohibiting panhandling problematic at best and clearly illegal if done ham-handedly. Courts have repeatedly, and rightly, overturned panhandling ordinances on First Amendment grounds. But that doesn’t mean doing nothing is the only option.

The proposed panhandling ordinance that the Concord City Council will consider next month demonstrates what can be accomplished when city officials, the police, advocates for the homeless and defenders of free speech work together in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The ordinance, drafted by City Solicitor Jim Kennedy, does not even use the word “panhandling.” It addresses not speech, which is constitutionally protected, but behavior, which is not.

The ordinance would bar anyone from exchanging an item or items with someone inside a vehicle on a roadway. It penalizes equally the person soliciting aid and the person proffering it because the actions of both result in a safety hazard. It applies equally to panhandlers and charity fundraisers but not, of course, to police officers who, for instance, receive driver’s licenses and dispense tickets from the roadway.

The proposed ordinance deserves council support. It won’t end panhandling on sidewalks or private property – though the owners of private property can forbid panhandling and ask the police for help in enforcing the ban. But panhandlers, some of whom come to the city from elsewhere for that purpose, solicit at intersections because it is profitable to do so. Banning that activity, as the ordinance does, may lead to an overall decline in panhandling. That would be a good thing for shoppers, merchants and panhandlers.

Giving someone money that may be spent on alcohol, cigarettes or drugs does them no good, and it only perpetuates a problem rooted in homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness, unemployment and the lack of truly affordable housing.

The best way to help panhandlers is to donate to organizations that work to feed, clothe, treat and house them and put them on a path to employment.

AKA Harlan wrote:
04/18/2013
While I agree that this proposed ordinance is the best we’ve seen, I have to take issue with the statement “Giving someone money that may be spent on alcohol, cigarettes or drugs does them no good, and it only perpetuates a problem rooted in homelessness…”. If this were true, everyone that receives a regular paycheck would be subject to the same risk. When you’re living under a bridge, simple pleasures are hard to come by. That cold beer or fresh cigarette can take the hard edge off an otherwise miserable day. Yes, please give to those wonderful organisations that help create a path out of homelessness. But don’t deny one down on his luck a brief respite from his misery, out of fear or misplaced morality.

sail wrote:
04/18/2013
I would suggest that there is no difference in the liberal democrats holding out their had for govt to fill it with goodies stolen from the producers to fulfill the whims of the takers

Concord Monitor Editorial April 18

Blogspot Panhandling Question

Mysterium Tremendum

Payday arrived once again. And out it goes, just as quickly. A missing payday away from homelessness.

Without regard, however, I was feeling flush with cash. Wandered into the LLBeano outlet, and quickly discovered it catered to those living far above my means. I instead opted for a couple of cold brews at a local food-teria, my first in a few moons, a reward of sorts. Ordered an appetizer combo, met with a former homeless friend (now also employed and housed), and discussed our lessons learned over the past one hundred and twenty days, and our present anxiety of forgetting those lessons too soon. Now that we were “transitioning” and “comfortable”. The dulling of one’s senses, the lull of contentment, the routine of maintaining, or adding to, that comfort. Little challenge, or adventure. And I found myself momentarily yearning to suffer again.

Whaatt??!!

There is a moment by moment urgency experienced in homelessness. Mostly involving thought processes not normally accessed in the consumer-driven culture we share. Homeless, upon waking choose the appropriate layers of clothing to wear for the day, in walk mode. Enough pockets? Everything else you own stays behind until evening, if without a car. After breakfast at The Kitchen, what appointments need to be set, or met? Do I have cash for the day, and if not, how? Do I appear homeless to that stranger approaching? Could she/he be my next employer, or landlord? Not many that can hold out for that hope, and not that many cigarettes left. How can I, or do I need to, carry this around all day? Shit, missed my shower at the Y. Must fill the time between now, and shelter check-in tonight. Will I sleep? Stay busy, or drunk, anxious and depressed.

When we’re housed and employed the TV is turned on, the movies and popcorn, the video games played… we are instructed on how or what to feel, and what plan of action best suits society. Facebook and social networking apps keep us connected, but pre-occupied with our peers, and the standards they set. The newspaper steers our thought process, the radio quiets the buzz and hum of everyday life. Get more comfortable, have more fun, make more money.

And we are not stilled. This disquieting distraction that somehow, we just missed something. Fleeting moments, as we go about our daily work, that cannot be expressed with anecdotes….a tremendous mystery. Conscience. Instinct. Gut Feeling. Our bodies crave a sensible balance of nutrition and exercise. Our spirits seek a challenge to ascend, and the daily patterns of our lives should yield more than a weekly paycheck. This is the natural order, this introspection and directed energy available between all living things, of which we’re advised to deny. A bit of suffering re-activates our qis*.

Today is my one day off. I’ll play some music, and look forward to a meeting with The Hurricane later in the day. The sun is peeking out. There’ll be a walk to the park, expediting some laundry, grabbing some lunch, stopping by the store on the way home. No suffering expected, but ever mindful of that which I do not need, and that which they do not have.

That’s Another Story

*Simply, energy flow. I was taught this word in a game of online Scrabble by my fifth grade school crush from another era.

Shower the People

In my first week of homelessness, I was excited to learn of a shower option at the local Y. It took about a week to pass the background check to participate, but the shower that day was nothing short of heavenly, and gave me a sharp sense of renewal.
There are many homeless who cannot pass a background check, unfortunately, and I’d like to see them have this same opportunity.
To be able to cleanse yourself of road smog, dust, mud, and all kinds of nasty germs can only serve to renew your spirit, boost your confidence, and bless you with the motivation to propel yourself forward, and off the streets.
We take our showers for granted, but there are many who go without, for lack of options.
I’m just guessing at the cost of a simple concrete structure with plumbing, including two showers each for men, and two for women and children. If the money received exceeds the project, it would also be nice to have a laundry facility attached. Nothing like clean clothes to jump into after a hot shower!
I’ve been told a site can be made available, and funds received will be administered by a local non-profit agency.

The Homeless Shuffle

Approximately two weeks from today, and weather permitting, the church sponsored cold weather shelters will close for the seasons, leaving only two shelters in dire need of re-booting. The Dept of Transportation is actively posting no trespassing signs on public property in anticipation of new tent sites. The City Council is nearing the date when a newly amended panhandling ordinance will be approved. And quite likely, the local police and sheriff departments are gearing up to write tickets and arrest individuals for loitering, vagrancy and solicitation.

The shuffle begins. Which unlucky town or city will inherit the unresolved homeless problem remains to be seen. You can be assured that this issue is not unique to Concord, but shared across this great country of ours. As the economy stagnates and aims for recovery, many more will join the ranks of the disadvantaged. Companies downsized. Employees laid off, and no longer able to make house and car payments. Health benefits cut across the board, as health care costs rise. Renters will experience evictions and false trespassing charges. Food pantries and clothing banks will experience shortages, despite the goodwill of many to contribute. The war on poverty? Lost, due to apathy and bureaucratic dysfunction. The ten year plan to end homelessness? We don’t have ten years to wait.

The pot is boiling over, and someone needs to extinguish the flame.

It’s been simmering for decades, but continues being pushed to the back burner, by corporations who haven’t found a way to make a profit from homelessness. By politicians, whose only mission is to further enhance their lifestyles, and get re-elected. By charitable organizations, whose CEOs’ accumulate personal wealth on the backs of well-meaning donors, whose willing volunteers and low paid staff beg the mercy of the corporatocracy.

I have expounded in previous posts on the abundance of resources available in Concord, and duly expressed my gratitude for their existence. The spirit of volunteerism is high, and I and my brothers and sisters in the homeless community are wonderfully blessed by their service. Concord stands as a model of inventive thinking in dealing with these issues, not only for the state of New Hampshire, but the country at large. And it has the opportunity to raise the bar even further, in arriving at solutions that can be put into place, not in five or ten years, but today, right now. We need targets on which to squarely focus, be they land donations or authorizations, new housing builds, programs to get the homeless out of jails and into rehabs, off the streets, and into jobs that create a renewed sense of pride in themselves, and the community.

Driftin’ and Driftin’