A firestorm of community outrage unlike anything I've ever seen has been elicited by the recent article about Arnold Abbott, which was published on February 10, and the mail response from someone who works with the homeless, but obviously isn't pleased doing so, published on February 17. These letters were published in City Link on February 24, 1999, including letters written by a former Tent City resident,the vice president of Love Thy Neighbor,Andrew P. Abbott,who just happens to be Arnold Abbott's son, and myself.
Your unsigned letter from someone who "works with the homeless" [Feb. 17] proves conclusively what is wrong with Fort Lauderdale's pitifully feeble attempts to help the homeless population. These workers [like Name Withheld by Request] are, by and large, no more than a bunch of whores. They accept very large paychecks - made up of tax dollars, including those taxes paid by homeless day labor workers - pretending to represent a group of people that they actually hate. How could anyone that really gives a damn say: "The homeless need many things - food is not one of them"?
And anyone that can belittle and question Arnold Abbott's motivations is truly a foold (your newspaper once called him the "Mother Teresa of Broward County," but, I guess Name Withheld would question her motives, too). Mr. Abbott wants nothing more than to bring the plight of the homeless to the forefront of the public consciousness and has never misleadingly sought public acclaim, unlike Mayor Naugle and Chief Brasfield who falsely claim that the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC) has solved every problem. (Right, guys. Do your math: 6,400 homeless goes into one $9.7 million building with 200 beds, how many times, for how long? And don't forget homelessness is on the increase.)
Love Thy Neighbor is not a newfound pastime for Mr. Abbott. His entire life has been spent fighting for the rights of his fellow human beings - the Civil Rights March on Washington, the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, the fight against capital punishment, and the fight for a women's right to choose, gay rights, and the equal treatment of all Anericans - you know, like it says in the United States Constitution. That's what he's all about. Unlike his politically motivated opponents, he genuinely cares about keeping the homeless strong and healthy and getting them back in mainstream society. His organization has helped more people than any other South Florida group. (It is not necessary to recap all of his incredible accomplishments at this time.) But, they are the stuff legends are made of. But, then, I guess that is the motivation for Name Withheld's nastiness. Mr Abbott is right on the mark, showing genuine love and compassion, with his demands for a new "Safe Zone" where he can conduct his feedings of these down-on-their-luck individuals (who, but for the grace of God, could be any of us).
Name Withheld is obviously a jealous, mean-spirited compassionless fool who is wagging the dog to increase his/her own self-worth by demeaning the work of someone who is very vocal about the failings of city and county officials to recognize this need.
N.W. is trying to divert attention from the very poorly thought-out HAC facility and to its many shortcomings. Like:Where do residents go after 60 days (back to the street?)? Why are there 100 beds for men and 60 for women? And, how can they discriminatingly decide whay constitutes a family? Also, exactly, where the hell did that $9.7 million go? On cinder block or on salaries or to pay back contractors who were shortchanged on other Huizenga building endeavors?
Let's talk about some of those things at length.
In other words: Don't mess with Arnold Abbott. An awful lot of us owe our lives to him and his program. He's the very best there is.
Lauren Whitney
Fort Lauderdale
Let me tell you the truth about Arnold Abbott. I know him well.
I had to stay in Tent City for about eight months when I had to leave the foster homes where I was living for my whole life. During that timw, some tent people who wanted me to believe they were my friends told me they would help me get an apartment of my own. All I had to do was let them save my disability check money for me. (I could not open a bank account of my own because I did not have enough I.D. Salvation Army, Social Security and Henderson Clinic would not help me. So I believed these people would, since they were in the same situation I was and we all wanted to get out.) Every month, this girl and her boyfriend would follow me when I picked up my check, have me cash it and take the money from me. After seven months, they got arrested and left the tent. One of their friends, a big fat mean woman named Missy said the other two wanted her to get whatever money I got and save it till they got out. I was scared.
I told Arnold and his volunteers, Sue and Bob, about it. (I forgot to tell you, Missy said she would kill me if I said anything to anybody. And she would.) Right away, Love Thy Neighbor got me out of the tent. They opened a bank account where my check could be direct-deposited. The very same day, they got me my very own apartment. (I did not know how to read and write very good. So they put me in school and got me tutors.) Since I couldn't go to the tent for food, Arnold sent food right over to my apartment all the time. They gave me clothes and furniture and books and school supplies. They helped me study and do my school work. They taught me that even I could be successful.
Now I can read better. I still go to school. I do my work on computers. And I have a job. Arnold and Love Thy Neighbor changed my whole life, like I never thought possible. Every single day, I go to church and get down on my knees and thank God for Arnold and Love Thy Neighbor. Without them, I really would be dead by now. I also pray I can be like Arnold and help other people who are like I used to be.
I know Arnold. I love Arnold and love Love Thy Neighbor. He is not anything like that letter said he was. He is a wonderful man. Instead of my being dead, I am living for the very first time in my whole life. It feels wonderful.
Robert Galloza
Fort Lauderdale
I really should not dignify the unsigned letter in last week's paper with a response. But because of the writer's insistence that his name not be used, I must.
Certainly, everyone is entitled to express his personal convictions. But to not stand up and acknowledge them is the sign of a weak, insecure wuss who is afraid of putting a job - that he is not obviously qualified for - on the line. By contrast, Arnold Abbott doesn't have to think twice about not only putting his name but also his life on the line. He will gladly face a jail sentence rather than give in the inhumane whims of temporarily elected public officials who are willing to completely ignore the existence of over 6,000 men, women and children, of every demographic, who live in our community. These are people who pay taxes (in most cases a larger percentage of their paycheck than Wayne Huizenga does), most of whom are (thanks to great part to a 1996 City Link campaign) registered voters.
If you want additional character references, talk to any of the recipients of the 400,000 meals he has served since 1992. Or the countless numbers who have relied on him for the scores of decent paying jobs we've found. Or are living in the affordable housing we arranged. Or, the 200 people we have reunited with friends and family, all across the continental United States, to begin their lives anew.
Robert Semak
Vice President
Love Thy Neighbor
Fort Lauderdale
This is in response to the letter to the editor, "Give A Man a Fish and Watch Him Smoke Some Crack". I am writing this letter to set "Name Withheld by Request" straight. I'm not writing this because I am related to the "egotistical old man" Arnold Abbott but because people need to know the true facts about him.
My father has done nothing but care about the poor and the homeless and to be called in so many words a useless old man is outrageous and downright silly. This man is up at nights because he can't sleep worrying about where the homeless will go, what they will eat, what they will do. Yes, this man does live his life to help the homeless, but is there anything wrong with that?
I have lived with this man for 19 years and I feel that I knoe this "old man" better than the anonymous writer of the poison-pen letter thinks he does. Does this writer know that my dad risked his life in Mississippi registering black voters in the early '60s? Was he there when Arnold Abbott walked the length of Italy as an infantry soldier in World War II? Was he present when Dad served with the 1964 and 1968 Democratic National Convention as a delegate and fought his heart out for civil rights issues? Are you there when calls ring in, in the middle of the night, pleading for help? And do you have to go food shopping all the time to keep food in the house because Dad is always giving it to people who need it much more than we do?
Were you the one who arranged for 800 blankets to come into Broward County this week for use by the poor and the homeless? I know it wasn't you! Do you listen to him at night spilling his heart about his passion and what helping these people means to him? No, I didn't think so.
And in defense of Dad being an "old man," he has more energy than any two 37-year-old men put together. Up at 6, in bed after midnight and working 60-hour weeks for the homeless with no pay, and never a hint of a complaint exits his mouth.
And in response to the writer about Dad only using his passion to feel important, how wrong you are! He is a published author with unfinished novels that would undoubtedly put him in a financially comfortable situation, but instead is using his own money to help the poor and the homeless. Last time I checked, that is defined as total dedication and genuine care.
By the way, to educate the writer who knows nothing about Dad, his dream is to put himself out of business by returning the homeless to society as productive citizens and putting an end to people living on the streets.
Two things of the greatest importance have been taught to me by Dad. They are: "I am my brother's keeper," and that humility is the mark of a true humanitarian. I always hear my dad telling reporters who want to interview him not to give him any praise, but instead, to credit his wonderful volunteers who do all the work for Love Thy Neighbor. Is that what an egomaniac does?
Knowing my Dad as I do, having my love and mutual respect, and the love of all who care about him, I'm sure that he will continue on his life-long mission of fighting for the civil rights of all underdogs, and he will survive just fine, thank you, without the friendship of a spineless creep like "Name Withheld".
Andrew P. Abbott
Fort Lauderdale
As a former Tent City resident who was on the first bus out to move into the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC) on February 1, 1999, I certainly have empathy for those who are less fortunate and do not have any current housing or feeding options since the tent closed for good on February 12.
Your article, "Hunger for Humanity" on February 10, certainly brings home the point that although it is a great step forward for resolving the homelessness issue, now that the HAC is now finally open, it is far from being the panacea that some community leaders and residents would like to make you believe it is.
First of all, one is reminded, just by the name, that it is a Homeless Assistance Center, and not so much a shelter, as the main function of the HAC is not only to provide meals and a place to stay for 60-90 days, but to rehabilitate individuals and give their life a new meaning to try to correct the issues that made them homeless to begin with.
It is also important to note that since the HAC is not a walk-in facility, that feeding and shelter is limited to those who are already residents of the HAC. This does not make it easier on those who do not have the luxury of having a roof over their head, but I think the city officials shouldn't be so exuberant that the tent is now gone from underneath their City Hall windows, and realize that there are still mouths to feed. The service Arnold Abbott provided to the Tent City residents in the two years I lived there and the four years before I was that was nothing short of manna from heaven, in my opinion.
Although I am no expert on zoning ordinances, why can't the city make arrangements to lease property from all the abandoned buildings up Broward just up the way from the I-95 parking lot Arnold is trying to negotiate for?
At the very least, you have the flea market building in a decrepit shopping plaza near the parking lot, with a shoe store as the sole business left.
You also have two almost-abandoned shopping malls near the corner of Broward and U.S. 441 that possibly could be implemented as feeding places or short term shelter solutions. I am sure that there are many other locations as well, but those three are the ones must visible as one travels west on Broward.
As for hiring police to patrol the riverfront area, I would hope that the merchants and some of the homeless themselves could police themselves, as I'm sure that walking around the $54 million Las Olas Riverfront complex or the adjoining Himmarshee Village area with a blanket tucked under your arm or wearing dirty clothes and not cleaning oneself up would be highly visible to all concerned. Use the money instead for implementing solutions to keep the homeless out of trouble.
The closing of the newly opened business Just for Fun at Broward and Federal Highway after less than a month, as well as the vandalism of the First Baptist Church, where the homeless can get several changes of clothing, some food, and divine inspiration every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., is allegedly attributed to homeless individuals, including some from the now dismantled tent. These types of activities are a societal call for help that another place for feeding and shelter is needed soon.
In the short time I have been at the HAC, I have received counseling about jobs and been able to go on job interviews. I have a warm place to stay and three meals a day, as well as availing myself of the medical services offered on campus.
I now have several short and long-term job prospects lined up because of my residency at the HAC, so this is proof that not every homeless individual is shiftless and worthless and just has their hand out for free services.
So, while the HAC is not going to solve all problems, it certainly is a good first step forward, and I'm glad to have the opportunity to be one of its first residents. I only hope that those who don't have this opportunity will also have some place to eat and sleep in the near future without fear of reprisals by fellow homeless, police, and government officials.
John Balderson
Resident
Broward County Homeless Assistance Center
Return to Home Page