This is my own personal response that I wrote in City Link in response to the article written on August 19, 1998 and the defamatory letter to the editor that followed.
Dear City Link,
As a current Tent City resident, I too was moved by the article "Street fighting man" which appeared August 19. Yet, after reading rebuttal letters such as that written by Brad Cohen, I boil inside at the stereotypical characterization that most people se
em to have about the homeless, and Tent City in particular.
Although I have been at Tent City since March, 1997 I have been fortunate enough to have actually left the tent and find meaningful
employment, albeit short-lived.
In a period of time extending from September, 1997 to June, 1998 I have been employed by a regional Internet company,a major department store, and a medical processing facility. In each case, I left the tent, only to come back because the circumstances of
the commuting by public transportation or immediate moving caused difficulties in terms of not being able to save up money to find decent housing instead of literally having to move out of the tent on my first paycheck at each employer.
The characterization that all 200-400 people (or whatever the tent population is now) are shiftless, worthless individuals that are just
lounging around doing nothing but drinking and smoking crack is highly biased and unfair. Yes, there is that element in the tent, but I would estimate that only accounts for about 15% of the tent population.
Indeed, there are those who are so inconsiderate at feeding time that feel it is their right to cut in line in front of others because they feel they're more entitled than the rest. In addition, there are those who wait for church groups to distribute clo
thes (again impatiently, crowding out those who really are in need), only to throw out perfectly good items that could be used for job seeking purposes or at least nice casual clothes and T-shirts/jeans, etc., and
then whine and lie to the churches that they have nothing to wear.
If these people who are working for substandard wages and who also happen to be substance abusers would spend their money (only $3-4) on laundry instead of on crack or alcohol, then they'd have opportunities for nice clothes and a real job. Again, this
is not to imply that every person at the tent who is in a labor pool or low-paying job is a substance abuser, but there is a small minority that would fit that description. I know that I will probably be singled out and probably end up physically assaulte
d or beat up for my opinions, but I cannot hold in my anger any more.
There are people in my tent, for example, that are clean cut,college educated, who have or have had families,that have made prior productive contributions in the workplace and have been dealt some bad hands in life, due to unfortunate circumstances that h
ave nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. I, for example, have good computer programming skills (including a Tent City web site and information page), but because I've been out of the mainframe marketplace, and I'm an unproven commodity in the Windows-base
d desktop computer arena
I have had a lot of difficulty finding the right type of employment in those areas.
So, just because one is a resident at Tent City, it doesn't mean that
they should automatically be labeled a crackhead or alcoholic. If people like Brad, and others, although entitled to their opinions, would realize that there are just as many 'normal' people at the tent as substance abusers, perhaps there would be a bette
r community comprehension of the homelessness situation in Fort Lauderdale, although I'm not getting my hopes up because there will always be a general apathy towards the homeless.
I, for one, am happy that they are building the Homeless Assistance Center on Sunrise Boulevard, but I also realize that since there are only 200 beds available, that there are those who need the help that won't be able to get it, but then again, there ar
e thosw who won't want the help anyway and choose to stay on the streets. I know that in my particular situation that I won't be a candidate for the HAC, but I'll be glad when it opens and community awareness shifts away from putting down and demeaning th
e residents of Tent City to a better understanding what life would be like for John Q. Citizen if he/she suddenly became homeless in Fort Lauderdale.
Cordially yours,
John Balderson
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