GET YOUR WOTS HERE!!!!

 

ELLIS can be found in the Fallsway area dwtn!

CHELSIE RAPSKI
VENDOR

ZACH HUBER
VENDOR

 

CHELSIE & ZACH will be in the City Hall/ Lexington Market area daily!

MAY 11TH AT 10 AM AT MONTFORD & BIDDLE STREETS FOR THE POOR PEOPLE’S MARCH!

LINDA BRYANT
VENDOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 LINDA BRYANT will be at the COMMUNITY KICKOFF FOR THE POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN FRI MAY 1OTH AT 5 PM AT MONTFORD & BIDDLE STREETS & AT BALTIMORE & LIGHT STREETS NEXT MON,WED & THURSDAYS 12-3PM

JEREMY MC COY
VENDOR  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JEREMY will be at the COMMUNITY KICKOFF FOR THE POOR PEOPLE’S MARCH FRI MAY 10 AT 5 PM AT MONTFORD & BIDDLE STREETS THEN ALSO AT THURS/FRI/SAT/SUN AT JHU BAYVIEW!

COREY BRIDGES
VENDOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COREY WILL BE AT MORGAN STATE NEXT WEEK ABOUT 9:30 AM

 

WOTS ANNOUNCES 5 NEW VENDORS!

WOTS NEW VENDORS ISSUE 5! CHELSIE,ZACH,COREY, LINDA & JEREMY!

LETTER FROM JOHN, A HOMELESS MAN DWELLING UNDER I-83

Greetings:

My names is John. I am one of many homeless people that sleeps under the 83 overpass on the Fallsway. Year after year I see developers building neighborhoods, taking houses that one could stay in and tearing them down,  instead building parking garages and hotels, etc. Also, year after year there are advocates for us homeless that are fighting for funding or vouchers to help us. I am one that needs their voices.

My experience sleeping under this 83 overpass is pain, anguish, and sadness, especially as I walk around neighborhoods North, South, East, and West seeing houses boarded up, being demolished, and given to those that are fortunate. But, not many shelters or organizations such as Health Care for the Homeless are being built.

Sleeping underneath this 83 overpass is not fun. Some people are on medication, such as myself, that we cannot take on a daily basis because we are afraid of what may happen to us when we are asleep. Our homeless advocates are fighting and fighting to allow for us to sleep underneath the 83 overpass until our benefits, SSI, etc. are approved—which who knows when that will be.

Now, underneath the 83 overpass there is a clean up schedule, which is on Wednesday and Friday from 5-7pm. Some of us go to soup kitchens for our final meals of the day, but we miss dinner on Wednesdays and Fridays waiting on those who clean the parking lot. Sometimes they don’t come at all.  I don’t understand why the voices of many advocates for the homeless are not being heard. There are mentally ill people such as myself that need shelter. I receive Temporary Disability Assistance (TDAP) for $185 and food stamps for $189 a month. I am waiting to get approved for SSI benefits and have not been able to find affordable housing.

Just imagine sleeping on frozen ice. Imagine being robed by someone who sticks or points a knife or gun in your face and takes what money you have for survival throughout the month. Yes, you may say some don’t deserve or need or want shelter. Please don’t make those who need, want, and will appreciate your funding for affordable housing suffer.

Sincerely,

John and the Homeless of 83

(ORIGINAL LETTER FROM JOHN. CONTENT HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED.)

HOMELESS YOUTH AGES 12 – 18 YEARS OLD!!!!

HOMELESS

Youth ages 12 – 18 years old

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE CALL LOVING ARMS @443-415-1174 OR 443-473-5323

ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME, HAVE A DISAGREEMENT WITH YOUR PARENT(S) CALL US

Our program provides youth: with a stabilized living environment, emergency shelter and help finding a safe place to live, food, clothing, referrals for counseling, medical care, and mental health care, family reunification, survival kits, transportation, referrals for employment and independent living

When you call us, you can be sure that:

·        You will be listened to.

·        You will be treated with dignity and respect.

·        Youth’s safety is our first concern.

·        Youth’s privacy and maintaining confidentiality are important to us.

·        Youth will design a plan to meet their needs, with the help of Listening Ear staff. 

                          

SERVICES ARE FREE

(THIS CONTENT WAS PROVIDED BY LOVING ARMS!)

Seeing Value- Art Show By HCH Art Expressions Group a Smashing Success!

The HCH Art  Expressions Group facilitated by Lisa Muscato had an art show at Bruun Studios, Sunday April 13, 2013.

Lisa Muscato, HCH art group facilitator

The exhibit titled Seeing Value showcased the fact that all people are valuable especially the homeless. Here are a few of the works that were  featured:

Pastel by Eddie Leese

“I may be homeless but I’m not a criminal” by Larry Lewis

Solidarity Collage by Bonnie Lane

The show included a discussion of the art works facilitated by Peter Bruun.  Several artists attended to talk about their masterpieces including Henry Bell, Monique Pryor,  Larry Lewis and Bonnie Lane.

Peter Bruun, studio artist w Monique Pryor, show artist

Kirk Wulf and Chris K. Doyle performed some Americana folk music for the artists and attendees alike.

Kirk Wulf & Chris K. Doyle

The show was enjoyed by all.

 

 

 

 

NEW ISSUE OF WOTS HITS STREETS MONDAY APRIL 15TH!

ART SHOW Featuring HCH’s Art Expressions Group

 Friends and family of Health Care for the Homeless

:Art Exhibition Event: “Value” – Featuring HCH’s ART EXPRESSIONS GROUP!

SUNDAY, APRIL 14TH FROM 2 TO 4 PM

Bruun Studios (former Cork Gallery), 302 E. Federal St., Baltimore, MD 21202

Details: This one day exhibition will feature art created by the Health Care for the Homeless Art Expressions Group. This program will share art conveying personal qualities of value that are otherwise invisible to the casual observer. The event includes performances by singer/songwriter Kirk Wulf, and is contextualized by an installation designed by Peter Bruun that include “value” paintings of his own.

 

Due to space limitations, please RSVP to Lisa Muscato at 443-703-1210 or lmuscato@hchmd.org                                                                         

Alarm Bells for Another Fallsway Homeless Encampment

The City is tightening the screws on a large encampment underneath the Jones Falls Expressway, across from the Health Care for the Homeless building. (WOTS reported on March 12 about an attempt to remove people’s belongings from the same area.) Friday afternoon, a police officer arrived and told those who were present that all those still present at night would be locked up.

One person present had received a flier from the City suggesting that an eviction was scheduled for April 3. The officer reported this information back to headquarters and was apparently deterred. No further copies of this flier were available; they were not posted on nearby surfaces as they were at Camp 83.

Advocates and media gathered at the camp to find out what had happened and to show their support for the dwellers. Residents report that police presence has increased recently, and fear that some sort of action is imminent. “They just sit there and watch and watch and watch”, said one. “Sometimes they circle around.”

Many have cited the weekly Baltimore Farmers Market, scheduled to begin operations on Sunday April 7, as a reason for the harassment. Some say they’re confused by that rationale, since in years past residents have simply packed up and moved elsewhere on Sundays.

Harassment of the large group under the I-83 bridge seems to be part of a larger attack by the City on outdoor homeless encampments. With shelters already overcrowded and outdoor space decreasing, many are left wondering where they will be able to go.

Watch videos taken on scene:

Code Blue Murder: What Really Happened

Police cars respond to stabbing at HRC shelter, viewed from the second floor dormitory.

Dana Bolden and Gary Burton had been rubbing each other the wrong way for weeks. On Sunday, March 17, their conflict reached a breaking point.

Bolden left the Davis St. overflow shelter, as usual, around 4:30 AM. Like many others who sleep at overflow, he headed over to the Weinberg Housing Resource Center (HRC), the City’s primary shelter, operated by Jobs Housing & Recovery Inc., a.k.a. JHR. (This shelter is known to many on the street as “Code Blue” because it is the go-to destination during extremely cold weather.)

HRC begins to admit people (who did not sleep there the previous night) at about 5:30 AM. Bolden was one of the first to enter. Burton, who had reportedly been banned for fighting in summer 2012, had already entered the shelter. His time and method of entry remain unknown.

Bolden was seated in the dayroom when he saw Burton about to walk past. Bolden stretched out his legs to block the narrow walkway,  intentionally obstructing Burton’s passage. This provocation led into a 25-minute argument in which both men raised their voices and postured aggressively.

At some point, Burton suggested that they settle their dispute outside. Bolden agreed. The two walked past clients at the water heater and workers at the front desk, turning left and entering the narrow set of stairs leading to the shelter’s only entrance. Witnesses outside saw the angry pair, obviously in conflict, move from the lobby into the small enclosed entranceway.

Bolden never made it outside. Within a minute of entering the area, Burton had stabbed him in the upper chest and managed to cut his throat. Burton headed out into the parking lot, still full of overflow sleepers and others waiting to enter the warm dayroom, as well as HRC security guards.

Map of the fight, drawn on HRC floorplan. Fallsway at the top, parking lot & main entrance below.

Bolden staggered back into the shelter lobby, where according to witnesses he tried to speak but was able only to cough up blood. He collapsed at the front desk and soon lost consciousness.

No money for the homeless? HUD audit suggests widespread mismanagement of $9.5 million federal grant

The almost textbook answer when advocates and homeless service provides ask why Baltimore doesn’t have a particular service or why we can’t create the service is “no money.”  Well, some money appeared on July 14, 2009, following federal approval of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Baltimore City wound up with a cool $9.5 million out of the $1.5 billion allocated nationally for emergency rental assistance. (Incidentally, the Act also provided the Department of Homeland Security with $100 million for Emergency Food and Shelter.)

Baltimore Homeless Services was responsible for the grant. The grant was for providing financial assistance and services to prevent individuals and families from becoming homeless and to help those who are experiencing homelessness to be quickly rehoused and stabilized. The funds were to be used for: short-term or medium-term rental assistance; housing relocations; stabilization services, including such activities as mediation, credit counseling, and case management; and financial assistance including security or utility deposits, utility payments, and moving cost assistance.

HOMELESS SERVICES & PROGRAM $$$ FOR SALE OR TRADE

What was the money actually used for? In 2011, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development did a little audit to try and find out. According to their final report, Baltimore City authorized reimbursements for program expenses based on prorated amounts rather than actual expenses. It could not support all expenditures. Grant funds were used for potentially ineligible activities. Baltimore City generally did not monitor the activity of its fiduciary agent and subgrantees.  HUD’s monitoring review disclosed many problems with the City’s administration of the grant. And some of the money… is simply missing.

For the purposes of spending grant money, the City identified the United Way of Central Maryland as its “fiduciary agent”, a.k.a. “fiscal manager”—seemingly accounting terms meaning that United Way “handles the money”. (We discovered that the United Way played a similar role for the City’s 10-year “Journey Home” plan. Does the City Department of Homeless Services have any budget that has not been privatized?)