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Because some people won’t read past the first paragraph, I’ll put this link up here before discussing it later: read this piece on the quiet decision of Ben McAdams Mayor of Salt Lake County (i.e., the entire Utah County in which Salt Lake City lies, excluding the city itself) to spend three days and two nights posing as a homeless man and trying to seek shelter and other aid from the services in his area. It’s so good — especially in detailing what it is that actually keeps people away from shelters — that you wonder why this sort of “product testing” isn’t routine.
Now back to OC and our somewhat different approach to the issue. There’s an argument going around that we already have more than enough free room in OC to house the homeless. It is not one based, as you might expect, on interviewing the homeless about their own experiences — but it’s the kind of “fact” that can justify personal and collective inaction, which is pretty clearly its intended purpose. An anonymous commenter (naturally) in the Cunningblog typifies this “blame the poor” pitch:
Don’t be fooled. Those people do not want help. There are more than 100 shelters and facilities specifically designed to help the homeless in and around Orange county and they have plenty of room. Those people don’t like the idea of rules and not doing drugs, therefore they do not go to the shelters and do not want help.In case you doubt, here’s a list copied from the OC Register…
Isaiah House Orange County Catholic Worker
Families Forward Irvine, Casa Teresa Orange
Colette’s Children’s Home
The Courtyard, Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter
Serving People, South County Outreach Lake Forest
StepHouse Recovery, Fullerton City Lights – Single Room Occupancy
Casa Teresa, Inc. Orange, Wiseplace Santa Ana
His House Placentia – Homeless Transitional Shelter
Serving People in Need (SPIN)
We Care Of Los Alamitos
Eli Home Transitional Housing for women
New Directions For Women
Halcyon Landing – Anaheim Interfaith Shelter – Halcyon
A Safeplace Transitional Living Facility
Salvation Army Shelter Santa Ana – Hospitality House
Salvation Army Hospitality House Huntington Beach
Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services
Fullerton Interfaith Shelter
Fullerton, CA 92834
Thomas House Temporary Shelter
New Horizons Shelters of California
Mercy House – Fullerton Armory
Orange County Cold Weather Armory Emergency Shelter program
Apartment living shelters.
READY TO RECOVER HOME
Department of Housing & Urban Development – HUD
Women’s Transitional Living Center
Santa Ana Housing Authority
Unity House – Halfway House
All’s Well Home – Recovery Home
Casa Elena Woman’s Recovery Home
Cooper Fellowship Residential Recovery
Crossroads Transitional Housing Santa Ana
D.A.R.T. Inc. (Drug Alcohol Recovery Team)
Gerry House – Halfway House
Glenhaven Halfway House San Clemente
The Grace House – Halfway House Transitional Housing
Heritage House Haflway House For Women
Roque Center Halfway House
The Salvation Army Adult Rehab Center
Unidos Recovery Home Halfway House
First Steps at Beverly’s House
Straight Talk – Next Step Cypress
Grandma’s House of Hope
Harbor View Terrace Apartments – For Disabled
Mary Erickson Community Housing
Crittenton Services For Children & Families
Good Shepherd Communities
Costa Mesa Village Single Room Occupancy
Irvine Inn – Single Room Occupancy Apartments
Park Place Village – Single Room Apartments
Sisters of St Joseph of Orange – Bethany Ministry
Mary’s Shelter Transitional Housing
New Vista Shelter Transitional Housing
Precious Life Shelter
Illumination Foundation Supportive Housing and Services
Halfway Houses Inc Huntington Beach
Orange County Housing Authority Santa Ana
City Of Anaheim Housing Authority
Santa Ana Housing Authority Santa Ana
Garden Grove Housing Authority Garden Grove
Friendship Shelter Laguna Beach – Homeless Shelter
Thomas House Temporary Shelter
The Sheepfold – Women’s Transitional Housing Shelter Orange
Gilchrist House San Clemente
Homeaid America Newport Beach
South County Outreach Lake Forest
The Teen Project Rancho Santa Margarita
Orange County Community Housing Santa Ana
Mercy House Transitional Living Center Santa Ana
Community Housing Assistance Program Inc Orange
Community Housing Assistance Corporation Newport Beach
Jamboree Housing Corporation Irvine
Orange County Community Housing Corp. Santa Ana
Orange County Fair Housing Santa Ana
Neighborhood Housing Services Inc Anaheim
Santa Ana Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. Santa Ana
Garden Grove Housing Corporation Newport Beach
Affordable Housing Clearinghouse Lake Forest
Lutheran Social Services Of Southern California Orange
Orange County Rescue Mission, Inc. Tustin
Aids Services Foundation Orange County Irvine
Friendly Center, Inc. Orange
Project Dignity Garden Grove
Garden Grove, CA 92840
Veterans First Santa Ana
Lauras House Ladera Ranch
Orange County’s United Way Irvine
Caritas Of Vista Irvine
Savings Faith Ecumenical Churches Garden Grove
Orangewood Childrens Foundation Santa Ana
Christadelphian Joy Fund Huntingtn Beach
Riverside Charitable Corporation Orange
Pathways To Independence Los Alamitos
Orange County Affordable Homeownership Alliance Irvine
The Walking Shield American Indian Society Lake Forest
Steps Of Hope Outreach Fullerton
Seaview Lutheran Plaza Inc Corona Del Mar
Homeless Veterans Stand Down Foundation Newport Beach
Mary Christina Mercado Foundation Orange
Rebuilding Together Orange County Tustin
Neighborhood Housing Services Of Orange County Anaheim
Springboard – Mission Viejo Mission Viejo
Phoenix House Halfway House
Roque Center Garden Grove Halfway House
Stanton Halfway Home
Orange County Halfway House Inc, Fullerton
Mercy House – Guadalupe Residence
Mercy House – Santa Ana Armory
South County Outreach Sco – Transitional Housing Program
Orange County Rescue Mission – Men’s New Life And Emergency Shelter (for Men)
Orange County Rescue Mission – House Of Hope (for Women And Children)
Orange County Rescue Mission – Hope Family Housing
Community Services Programs – Youth Shelter Of Laguna Beach (for Ages 11 To 17)
Community Services Programs – Youth Shelter Of Huntington Beach
Casa Youth Shelter
Laurel House (for Ages 12 To 17)
Mercy House – San Miguel Residence
Mercy House – Assisi House
Mercy House – Joseph House (for Men)
Mercy House – Regina House (for Women And Children)
Mercy House – Emmanuel House (for Adults With Hiv/aids)I called a bunch of them. They have room…
I don’t believe that the anonymous author called many of them, or that the “room” they have is sufficient to the need. But that’s something that we can test! And I propose that we do.
So this is a challenge to Matt Cunningham, Dan Chmielewski, Norberto Santana (or Nick Gerda as his designee), Gustavo Arellano, Art Pedroza. and whatever male reporter (just to keep the comparisons better, although I’d love to see female bloggers or reporters try this as well) the OC Register would like to assign.
I’ll replicate the “McAdams test” if all of you agree to do so as well. We can work out the details, but I suggest that some trustworthy third party randomly assign each of us to contact 25 of the above locations (those catering to adult men) with supposedly available housing on the first morning of the experiment, arrange housing for the night, try to find food, do the same for the second day and night, and then make an arrangement for a third night without using it (it can be cancelled.) Ideally, one night would be spent outside of a formal shelter (the first night if need be, otherwise the second) and one within a formal shelter. (Come on, there’s supposedly plenty of room!) Then we’d write up the results in our individual publications and compare notes.
To any of the above who might hesitate: I’m willing to do it despite three significant disadvantages: (1) I’m strictly lacto-vegetarian and have been for almost 40 years, (2) I’m diabetic so combining that with my vegetarianism I’m much more likely to end up in trouble than those who aren’t, and (3) I really don’t like wearing shoes when I can avoid it — but for this I think that I’d be making an exception.
I’d like readers’ help in cajoling the above-named people to accepting the challenge — and I’m not really in touch with any of them other than maybe Norberto — so if you want to see this happen you can email them with this URL and encourage them to take “the McAdams Challenge.” (Each of us could take a buddy with us, as McAdams did, for added safety. Not a cop or anyone else armed, please.)
What McAdams found, by the way, is that the notion that “[Homeless] people don’t like the idea of rules and not doing drugs, therefore they do not go to the shelters and do not want help” is pretty much wrong. There was drug use in the facility he stayed in — as well as an ever-present threat of violence — and homeless people largely chose to sleep outside instead in order to stay away from it! This plausible notion totally upends the sorts of theories that people have about the homeless and the availability of help — and, incidentally, is a strong argument for outdoor lodging with ample security along the lines of Nancy West’s “Alfresco Gardens” proposal. (It’s also an argument for totally legalization of drugs, to take the money out of drug trafficking, but we don’t need to go there now.)
Homeless people live without access to what we relatively comfortable folks in my list take for granted — surely we can put up with it for a couple of days, for the greater glory of blog reporting, right? Let’s see who else has the guts to try.
*We have identified ….THREE solo and two family Professional Beggers in all of Orange County. Heck, there may be up to 20. They dress nice, have their own corners and locations…..(1) In Fashion Island, (1) Near the Gas Station by Crown Valley Parkway and PCH and the nice family across from the Post Office on Bison…in NB. You can probably set your watch by when they will be there. Heck, lots of them even bring little golf chairs to sit on. However, since we have conservatively 5100 to 15,000 homelss in “The OC” and if you can stop by and chat with some of them around the Board of Supervisors office and find out their names and why they have to wipe their butts on the walls…….the story may be a little more complicated than saying: “They don’t want help!” There are 93 Million Americans taking Opioids and quite a number that are daily sufferers of PTSD and Depression. Millions of Americans have been unemployable since they turned 46 (too old). Take a peek at the those employed demographically at Google and Silicon Valley in general……and the age range. No, not everyone – got a job with Fire Dept., retired at 50 and became a consultant for someone – and now get three pensions. Try pointing out where all these wonderful people are putting up Andy Gumps for the homeless they serve on the streets of Orange County…..
I am not sure what the writer hopes to accomplish with this stunt. Publicity? Attention?
I would suggest the mayors of ANAHIEM, SANTA ANA, ORANGE, FULLERTON AND HUNTINGTON BEACH (maybe police cheifs too!), not a bunch of unknown bloggers.
Several of the organizations listed are wonderful and yes many do have unused capacity/services. Maybe not for the reasons ypu think.
I know, my husband and I dedicate 20 hours a month to helping (not solving) the homeless problem. The later can ONLY BE DONE BY GOVERNMENT.
My last sentence should be interesting to those who read about Ben M. He of course has the support of his Church: LDS who have historically played a centrsl role in Utah’s social make-up. While in OC, we have Tita Smith (mayor of Orange) who’s brother is of course, rev. Chris Smith, the rector of the Half Billion Dollar Christ Cathedral, less than a mile from the SARB camp(s). The trouble is, only Smith and Pulido have proven receptive to Catholic Charities help. Pulido a leader in Rev. Smiths social Justice fight (including Taller San Jose) sits alone trying solve this COUNTY WIDE problem laid at his feet (and now kicked to a ACTIONLESS Anaheim).
So get the millionare politicans out there, not a bunch of blogget types.
Pardon me, Dawnee (or “Dawnee,” as the case may be), but this strikes me as a really strange reaction.
It would be for “attention,” yes — attention to the problem, and ideally generating some more informed perspectives (at least more so than those expressed on the Cunningblog) at what’s actually going on in shelters and why the homeless might reasonably want to avoid staying at some (or even all) of them.
You write as if “a bunch of unknown bloggers” doing this is somehow incompatible with a bunch of Mayors and Police Chiefs doing it. It OBVIOUSLY isn’t. In fact, I’d say that a stunt (I’ll cop to that label) like this would make it MORE likely that something like that could happen, by whetting the public’s appetite for such first-hand accounts.
Ben is a pretty liberal (for Utah) reformist Democrat. Most of the powers-that-be in Utah, in church and politics, would tend to oppose him — partly because he is the kind of person who could get elected to state or national office and displace the Sens. Hatch and Lee types that they prefer. So I don’t see what YOUR point was there other than perhaps to try to pique anti-Mormon prejudice.
Oh, wait — I wrote the above before I got to the end. You’re promoting that corrupt piece of scat Pulido. (That’s a clue to your identity; should have stopped a bit earlier to keep your cover.) Sorry for even paying attention to you.
Pulido is a leader in the “Using Government to Enrich Pulido” fight.
Coming from the fired County employee. Who has shown little ability to improve things.
Zenger stick to talking to yourself as “worlds greatest Dad” at Trader Joe’s Dave: “Shaky shaky shaky”. Right Dave??????
What did David Zenger base his comments on? Disgraced Adam Elhmerek? Michele “Bankrupt” Martienez? How about. Let’s leave Vince alone cause were scared of REAL lawyers. You are full of shit Zenger. What do you know about Orange and Santana?
I presume that Zenger can take care of himself in these sorts of situations, although he might want to watch his back at TJ’s, but as Adam Elmahrek isn’t here I feel the need to defend him.
What can you POSSIBLY be talking about when you call him “disgraced,” Nickenjack? Again, you’re revealing a familiar style among old commenters here.
As for Michele — having declared bankruptcy puts her in a class with the last two Republican nominees. But at least she has an excuse.
Nothing better to do there, champ?
I don’t know much about Orange but I know Santa Ana is run like a banana republic and Pulido is a criminal. I know being fired by the County is not a disgrace and I know I’ll see you at some Trader Joe’s sometime. I know you won’t introduce yourself, but I may. And you won’t like it.
P.S. “Nick and Jackie”:
Last week they were selling Meridian Chardonnay for $2.99. You should buy some while you have the chance.
Chumley responds! And it’s as obtuse as one could ever hope for:
I’m daring them to do something, at the same time I would do it, that I WOULD do — and am still willing to do. (How does someone write that last sentence of his? Is he just used to people not reading his writings closely? And what are these other supposed examples of dares I wouldn’t do?)
Listen, Chum: your actual pal Cunningham’s blog says that there are LOTS of fine places to sleep and eat open for free — I tend to think that this isn’t true (at least without some catches.) It’s pretty clearly worth knowing the truth. And I count two actual journalists (Gustavo and Norberto) and four “citizen journalists” on that list — who could find and reveal the truth.
I’d love to see Cunningham, Chumley, Gustavo, and Pedroza be goaded into joining me in such an effort — and I’m dangling the bait of my possibly ending up comatose as incentive for them. (Norberto should do it, or have someone from his staff do it, because it’s good journalism and he cares about the topic itself.) Hence the challenge.
Chumley continues:
It’s true: he’s not my monkey. He’s more like a giant blood-engorged tick. I certainly apologize for thinking that he might had even the slightest interest in actual investigative journalism about an issue of significant county importance. What does he want to do instead?
Ah, I see the problem now. Chumley — because the concept appears to be foreign to him — doesn’t understand that what I’m proposing does involve “getting out from [behind my] keyboard” and helping, in my role as an amateur investigative journalist. What a journalist — paid or otherwise — does is to try to discover facts that matter. That’s what we people who run blogs (and thus have audiences) can do that others can’t. We don’t HAVE to act out that role — but I think that we should.
Cunningham’s blog has offered some justifications for not helping the homeless — though he and his anonymous myrmidons would probably agree that ladling out a mean that someone else has prepared for an hour twice a year discharges anyone’s obligation to them — and the liberal (and ideally conscientious conservative as well) thing to do is to check out such assertions of fact.
But, since Dan just wants to write checks, we’ll let him buy his way out of this. If anyone wants to volunteer for a writing assignment along these lines, please ask Dan to write you a check of $100 or so to cover your time. Maybe he’ll let you publish it on his blog, at least if you can make it look like a press release; if not, you can publish it here.