New Haven shelters: are homeless turned away?

Some homeless people are saying that they've been turned away from shelters in New Haven and they're worried about what's going to happen as the weather turns colder.

According to WTNH Channel 8, one woman who made it in to the Columbus shelter last night has been turned away in the past when the shelter is full. A spokesperson for Columbus House says homeless people are bussed to another emergency shelter.

Interestingly, New Haven, Ct., with a population of 123,600 people, has five shelters where single people can go while Springfield MA, with a population of 150,000, has three, only one of which accepts women.

Child shoots self, dog dragged to death, senator takes bribe-- stupid, stupid, stupid

In recounting three incidences of incredible stupidity here in Massachusetts and Connecticut in the last three days, I do not mean to imply that the incidents are in any way equally stupid. Nothing surpasses the unnecessary death of a child.

Sunday, July 26: eight year old Christopher Bizilj is with his father, Dr. Charles Bizilj, at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo held at the Sportsman's Club in Westfield. He holds a 9mm micro Uzi submachine gun in his hand. Moments ago his father has taken his picture, the last of his life. With a firearms instructor at his side, Christopher pulls the trigger of the submachine gun. As the rounds fire, the gun recoils and Christopher loses control. The gun flies upwards, shooting him in the head. where Christopher Bizilj of Ashford, Conn., died after accidentally shooting himself in the head. A few hours later he is pronounced dead.

The Expo was a wholesome, family-oriented event. Children under 16 were admitted free. Come one, come all.

Dr. Bizihj is the medical director of the emergency department at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford Springs, Conn. Has he never seen a gunshot wound? Just what does one do with an UZI submachine gun, anyway, except shoot it? And why, why, would anyone think it appropriate for an eight year old buy to fire one?

Every parent has thought about what it would be like to be responsible for the death of your child. Just thinking about it is like approaching a the edge of a steep cliff. I know two people who backed over their own children with their vehicles and killed them. They were never whole again. How can they forgive themselves? How can others? My thoughts are with this family that they can understand what has happened to them and come to some kind of peace.

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On Sunday, in Suffield, CT, thirty-five year old Brian J. Moson, smashed out his mind, ties his dog to the back of his pick-up truck. Ten minutes later, having completely forgotten about his dog (and the fact that he was drunk) and decides to drive into town and sets off down the road in his truck. Some horrified person observes what s happening and calls the police. Brian is arrested a few miles later; his dog is taken to the Boston Road Animal Hospital where he is euthanized.

I would not want to be Brian, stopped by the police and stepping out of his truck, and seeing his dog.

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Yesterday, Massachusetts Senator Diane Wilkerson, the only African-American woman in the Senate and a longtime champion of the poor and oppressed, is arrested at her home by the F.B.I. on charges she accepted more than $23,000 in bribes from undercover agents posing as businesspeople. She had helped one of them to obtain a liquor license denied once already, and helped another develop property by promoting legislation on his behalf. Today, she is free on bail and keeping a low profile.

The Boston Globe has many articles about Sen. Wilkerson's troubles recently and in the past, including a timeline of her run-ins with ethics probes, her disbarment for income tax evasion, and campaign finance problems.

I remember Sen. Wilkerson at many State House hearings. I went there with others to fight for better health care, a living wage, more affordable housing. She always appeared to be on our side.

i would not want to be Diane Wilkerson, facing the people of her district.

Remember Kitty Genovese? Some Hartford citizens should.

I was 17 years old in 1964 when Queens, New York resident Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death. Her killer stabbed her twice and then came back half an hour later to finish the job. She was nearly home when it happened, and portions of the attack were witnessed by at least a dozen people, who did not intervene. One man called out, "Leave her alone!" Another man called the police. The rest did nothing.

The public's reaction to the neighbors' apathy that night of the murder was both horrified and introspective. There was much discussion of the Bystander Effect, a psychological phenomen in which a person is less likely to interfere in an emergency if there are other people standing by who could also help but don't. Yet the same person, if alone, might help.

Is that what happened in Hartford, CT last Friday, when a 78 year old man was the victim of a hit and run and no one came to his rescue? The whole sorry incident was caught on video and if you want to know how long 50 seconds is-- that's how long it took for someone even to step into the street although that person still did not approach Mr. Torres, or take any particular role in trying to stop the cars headed straight toward Mr. Torres.

This hit and run came on top of another sad story earlier this week on Monday when former Deputy Mayor Nicholas Carbone was robbed and beaten so severely that he remains hospitalized in fair condition. Mr. Torres is in critical condition.

The Hartford Courant is covering the soul-searching the city is experiencing right now about the level of violence in Hartford, which is not unlike what Springfield MA has been going through since the death of Mario Hornsby Jr. Digging to the roots of violence is hard work andI can only wish all of us well

News roundup from homeless and poverty blogs

New Orleans: The 13th Juror reports that Phil Mangano, executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, is not happy with Mayor Nagle's plan relocating homeless people from under a bridge into a large, barracks-like tent, and would prefer him to focus on long-term solutions...wonder why he was so quiet when the decision was made to tear down hundred of units of public housing. Tulane students are tracking new in New Orleans at their blog, Homeless of New Orleans. I got an email this week from the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. Their national coordinator Cheri Honkala (I should say "our" national coordinator, seeing as Arise is a part of PPEHRC) had charges of impersonating an officer dismissed in court this week; fellow PPEHRC organizer JR Fleming, Chicago Coalition to Protect Public Housing, still has charges pending.

Nashvillian Kevin Barbieux' site The Homeless Guy is running a survey on whether liquor stores should sell alcohol to alcoholics. Stop in and vote. At Humanity for Homeless, you can sign a petition protesting the City of Santa Cruz CA's new 15 minute parking lot law. Lots of good organizing going on in Santa Cruz.Text from the petition:

• Anyone who remains in a Public Santa Cruz parking lot for longer than fifteen minutes, regardless if you have a car or bike on premises is in violation of the new Parking Lot Trespass law and is guilty of trespassing, punishable as an infraction with a fine ranging from $100-$200.
• This means no napping or reading in your car, no resting while your other half shops, no sleeping off too much to drink. No associating with others on land we all collectively own. This stifles free speech and assembly rights and is unconstitutional in nature.
• These types of laws lead to "No speech zones" with small inadequate "Free Speech Zones" nearby -- in a Country where Free Speech is supposed to be a basic right human right we all equally share.

Over at Chosen Fast, Guilford County North Carolina's Point in Time Count shows the homeless population was 981, a drop of 33 people over last year's 1014-- but a real decrease in the number of people going unsheltered.
Cleveland Homeless reports homeless folks not faring too well: "The FAA and Department of Homeland Security closed Aviation High School as the Overflow Shelter for homeless men in Cleveland on February 1, 2008. With the snow and the cold this week, how have homeless people faired since this decision was implemented? 2100 Lakeside shelter is bursting at the seams, and on Thursday February 21, 2008, 25 guys waited throughout the night for a bed to open."

I'll save more news for another post, but there's a blog really worth checking out and reading regularly: Save Feral Human Habitat. This blog from British Columbia is " about what’s happening, what we’re doing and what we could be doing. It’s about freedom of speech and the decriminalization of dissent. It’s about our right to eat and our right to sleep. It’s about the struggles right here in our communities to protect the land we live on and to protect the basic human rights of the people in our community. among other things " Treesitter photo from their site.
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FOURTH homeless man in a week found dead

On Saturday, another homeless man was found dead, this time in Northampton, MA. Craig Carpenter, 42 years old, was found near the Super Stop and Shop. Police said he appeared to have died of exposure after having fallen asleep while intoxicated.

I know the City of Springfield wants to "share the responsibility" of homelessness with surrounding communities. Perhaps the deaths of four Massachusetts men in one week-- one in Springfield, one in Northampton, one in Westfield and one in Waterford, CT-- is a sign the city is succeeding?