| Title | HOMELESS ASSISTANCE CENTER WILL BE MORE THAN MUCH-NEEDED SHELTER |
| Date | - Saturday, July 25, 1998
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| re the recent articles regarding the new homeless shelter which is to open on Sunrise Boulevard: Much attention has been directed to the homeless population currently living in ``Tent City.'' Some of the articles dwell on the negati
ves, such as that those who need the shelter the most will not want to live there due to the rules and the curfews.
The city of Fort Lauderdale has allowed Tent City to exist for five years. I have lived there before, sleeping on a piece of cardboard on the asphalt. I believe my former homelessness qualifies my views on this subject.
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| The window of opportunity to better yourself is virtually nonexistent.
Basically, a person is ``permitted to exist.'' Tent City, while the security personnel do an admirable job under challenging conditions, is a den of crime and rampant drug and alcohol abuse. For the most part, those living there have very f ew rules and limited structure to live by. The new shelter must have structure in order to give every individual every chance to become a productive member of society. While there are those who want no structure to live by, I truly believe the greater percentage of the homeles s population desire it in their lives not only to enhance their physical self, but also their spiritual being and self-esteem. I am currently a resident of Broward Outreach Center in Hollywood. The center here not only teaches about addiction and negative behavior, but gives us hope in learning new life skills and in their Recovery Principles. I have had talks with Allen Reesor, who is the director of the center, and Steve Werthman, who is the director of Homeless Initiative Partnership, and the level of compassion and empathy for those less fortunate truly astounds me. The Broward Coalition for the Homeless is doing a magnificent job in an arena that has been neglected for many years. I want to say thank you, not only to them, but also to the Broward County Commission for passing the penny gas tax to help fund this effort. It is greatly appreciated by those of us who have been less fortunate. Again thank you to all those involved for moving in this positive direction. I truly believe the new center will produce productive members of our society. Thank you , Broward County, for giving us a chance. GARY LINDENBERGER Hollywood |
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| Copyright | Copyright Sun-Sentinel Company 1998
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| HOMELESS ASSISTANCE CENTER NOT A `SAFE ZONE'
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| Date | - Sunday, July 19, 1998
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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| I am ashamed and embarrassed that on July 4, Independence Day, the Sun-Sentinel, chose to print the shopworn ramblings of Amy Jones Hamilton, who, as usual, showed her loathing and unbridled contempt for her less-fortun
ate fellow man (woman and child) by disdainfully filling her diatribe with scathing misinformation.
The Homeless Assistance Center was never intended to and never will ``fulfill the legal requirements of a `safe zone'.'' Only those formally enrolled in the HAC program, for which Hamilton has ``always known that a majority of the tent ci ty residents would not be appropriate,'' will legally be allowed to be fed, bathed, clothed, sheltered or to take advantage of the ``help through the system to self-sufficiency.'' If there are 200 `'appropriate'' tenants at the center, that me ans there are as many as 5,800 (inappropriate) human beings who will have nowhere to be regularly fed and given a new lease on life. (And, I am quite sure that officials, with the lack of compassion of Ms. Hamilton, will make it next to impos sible for care-giving organizations to supply these needs.) |
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| Hamilton's comments were so full of hyperbole that I should not attempt to dignify it with an answer. But, for the sake of a lot of very nice people, people who are trying very hard to get their lives back on track, I had to respon
d. In fact, a large number of your very own Sun-Sentinel street-corner vendors would not qualify for admission to the HAC because it would be against the rules for them to leave at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning in order to sell your newspape
r. So, why don't you stand behind your sales force and stop giving your valuable editorial space to praise a very weak program with unrealistic goals?
This is time when what they;do is less important than what they are not doing. Not providing a real safe zone will only result in violent lawlessness. Does South Florida really need more of that? ROBERT M. SEMAK Fort Lauderdale
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| Copyright | Copyright Sun-Sentinel Company 1998
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| HAC'S POTENTIAL TO HELP WAS GIVEN SHORT SHRIFT
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| Date | - Saturday, July 4, 1998
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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| It's too bad David Fleshler chose to see the homeless issue as a glass ``half-empty'' and focus on the problems in his article about transitioning tent-city residents to the Homeless Assistance Center.
The neighborhood advocates have always known that a majority of the tent-city residents would not be appropriate for the HAC. However, there are less than 500 ``urban nomads'' and several thousand homeless people in Broward County.
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| The HAC will provide a comprehensive program to guide the homeless who want help through the system to self-sufficiency at the rate of 200 people every 60 days. The HAC will also fulfill the legal requirements for a ``safe-zone'' f
acility and those ``urban nomads'' who do not want help will no longer be allowed to sleep in parks or on sidewalks.
The HAC is the single factor allowing neighborhoods to reclaim their public spaces and regain the support of their police department to defend private property against trespassers.
It is unlawful to foul private property with bodily functions, sleep in doorways of private buildings, rummage through garbage cans placed at the curb for collection, exhibit public drunkenness or deal in narcotics. It is also unsafe to wander t he streets aimlessly when handicapped by mental illness or medical disorders. Until now, the city has not had a viable alternative place for ``urban nomads'' to go. The choices were the tent, jail or stay put _ all of which were expensive and uncomfortable for the taxpayers. The homeless who want help will begin to get it and the ``urban nomads'' who found their way here will find their way to easier pickins'. Where handouts without commitments are the norm and the public won't get involved enough to report trespassers on private property. The HAC is a reality and many of us who opposed it have chosen to rally behind its offerings to the people of Fort Lauderdale. Without it, we have status quo. With it, we've got a chance to rebuild neighborhoods, economic opportunity and lives. AMY JONES HAMILTON, Chair Neighborhood Advisory Committee to Broward Partnership for the Homeless Inc. Fort Lauderdale
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| Copyright | Copyright Sun-Sentinel Company 1998
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| HOMELESS CENTER WILL HELP NEIGHBORHOODS, TOO
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| Date | - Friday, June 26, 1998
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| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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| It's too bad David Fleshler chose to see the homeless issue as a glass ``half-empty'' and focus on the problems in his recent article about moving tent city residents to the Homeless Assistance Center.
The neighborhood advocates have always known that a majority of the tent city residents would not be appropriate for the HAC. However, there are fewer than 500 ``urban nomads'' and several thousand homeless people in Broward County.
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| The HAC will provide a comprehensive program to guide the homeless who want help to self-sufficiency at the rate of 200 people every 60 days. The HAC will also fulfill the legal requirements for a ``safe-zone'' facility.
Those ``urban nomads'' who do not want help will no longer be allowed to sleep in public places. The HAC is the single factor allowing neighborhoods to reclaim their public spaces and regain the support of their police department to defend private property against trespassers. It is unlawful to foul private property while performing bodily functions, sleep in doorways of privately owned buildings, rummage through garbage cans placed at the curb for collection, exhibit public drunkenness or deal in narcotics. I t is also unsafe to wander the streets when handicapped by mental illness or medical disorders. Until now, the city has not had a viable alternative for ``urban nomads.'' The choices were the tent, jail or stay put _ all of which were expensive and uncomfortable for the taxpayers. The homeless who want help will begin to get it and the ``urban nomads'' who found their way here will find their way to easier pickin's, where handouts without commitments are the norm and the public won't get involved enough to report trespasser s on private property. The HAC is a reality and many of us who opposed it have chosen to rally behind its offerings to the people of Fort Lauderdale. Without it, we have status quo. With it, we've got a chance to rebuild neighborhoods, economic opportunity and lives. AMY JONES HAMILTON, Chair Neighborhood Advisory Committee to Broward Partnership for the Homeless Inc. Fort Lauderdale |
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| Copyright | Copyright Sun-Sentinel Company 1998
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