HOMELESSNESS

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#CCFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="09f506e1egerbq.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#339900" FACE="Arial" ><B>Our Family History</B></FONT><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B> </B><B>|    </B><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Family History"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> HOMELESSNESS   |   <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cars that I remember"><U>Cars that I remember</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id248.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="IRANIAN NUCLEAR THREAT"><U>IRANIAN NUCLEAR THREAT</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id247.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="MEXICAN CITIZENSHIP"><U>MEXICAN CITIZENSHIP</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id249.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="BAILOUT"><U>BAILOUT</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id250.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHED DO YOU WANT TO PAY YOUR TAXES"><U>WHED DO YOU WANT TO PAY YOUR TAXES</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id251.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="U.S. MILITARY POSTURE"><U>U.S. MILITARY POSTURE</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id252.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="WHO AM I?"><U>WHO AM I?</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id254.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CAMPS"><U>CAMPS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id255.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CLIFFS SUGGESTIONS"><U>CLIFFS SUGGESTIONS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id256.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Life After Life"><U>Life After Life</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id257.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="EVOLUTION"><U>EVOLUTION</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id258.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="SIMPLE SOLUTIONS"><U>SIMPLE SOLUTIONS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id260.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="AN ARMY OF CONVICTS"><U>AN ARMY OF CONVICTS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id261.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A COLONY ON MARS"><U>A COLONY ON MARS</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id297.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dominick Granelli, Ghost or Spirit "><U>Dominick Granelli, Ghost or Spirit      (formerly called Haunted Hotel)</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id310.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="last page"><U>last page</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#339900" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="id104.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="CLIFFS NOTEBOOK HOME"><U>CLICK HERE</U></A> TORETURN TO CLIFF'S NOTEBOOK HOME PAGE</div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#99CC00" TEXT="#080000"> <div> HOMELESSNESS</div> <div> Part 1:  The Family</div> <bR> <div> The Simstads were a typical American working family.  Tom worked as a construction foreman for a housing tract and strip mall development company.  Tom's wife Alma worked as a sales manager in an upscale department store.  Both Tom and Alma had finished High School but neither had attended College.  They had been married for fifteen years.  Their Parents had passed on and they had no siblings.  They had a son Ralph, seven and a daughter Nora who was eleven.</div> <bR> <div> For the first twelve years of their marriage they had rented an apartment but then in 2005 they had invested the bulk of their life savings as a down payment on a new four bedroom home in the suburbs of the city.  </div> <bR> <div> They had paid $275,000 for the home with $50,000 down payment.  At the time it was appraised $281,000.  Because of their excellent credit and Tom's work connections he had obtained a loan of $227,000 at a very favorable interest rate with a balloon due in three years of balance in full 222,500.  </div> <bR> <div> In the fall of 2008 When they went to refinance there was a mortgage crises and they couldn't  borrow enough to pay the balloon.  House now appraised at 215,000.  They had talked to lenders and thought they had put a deal together.  Then, just before the refinance closed Tom finished the project he had been working on and was unable to find another construction job as no one was starting new projects.   Business was off at the store where Alma worked and she was also laid off.</div> <bR> <div> They owned an 12 year old 35' motor home that was paid for.  Tom had a five year old pick-up truck that he used as a work truck.  He only owed a little over $3,000 on the truck.  She drove a two year old SUV that they still owed $14,000 on.  She was three months behind on the payments of $622.00 per month and the finance company re-posed the car.  </div> <bR> <div> Then they received notice  that their house was in foreclosure.  They hung on to the house for another three months.  Toward the end they held a moving sale and sold all of their furniture and most of their personal belongings.  They decided to live in their  motor home until they got things turned around.  </div> <bR> <div> They moved into a trashy RV Park.  Tom did odd jobs as a day laborer and continued to look for permanent employment.  Alma found a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant.  The restaurant soon closed because it could not compete with the large chain outfits.  She tried to find employment and some of the other fast food places but by this time she was in her late thirties and way over qualified for that kind of work.  Teen agers were mostly the ones that were finding those kinds of jobs.</div> <bR> <div> By selling all their possessions and cashing his life insurance policy they had $8,000 still in the bank.</div> <bR> <div> Within a year and a half their savings had been used up Tom had a series of minimum wage jobs as a Security Guard and janitorial work but there was a serious recession on in 2009 and it seemed that no one was hiring for any kind of job. </div> <bR> <div> They eventually evicted from the RV Park.</div> <bR> <div> They were parked in a store parking lot when the Police knocked at their door and told them to move.</div> <bR> <div> They tried parking on the street and behind the post office on week ends but by now the Police were familiar with their motor home and they were frequently told to move.</div> <bR> <div> They were truly now a part of America's growing homeless swell.</div> <bR> <div> Part 2:  The County</div> <bR> <div> The Board of Supervisors discussed the number of homeless that was accumulating in the three principal Cities of the County.  </div> <bR> <div> People were becoming alarmed at the potential threat posed by the homeless and wanted something done about it.</div> <bR> <div> One of the members made the following proposal:  “You know the empty section of land that we own that is situated pretty much in the center of the Tri-Cities area.  There are half a dozen old Army Barracks siting abandoned on the property.  There is water, electricity and sewer to the property.  What I propose is that we spend the money to rehabilitate the old Army Post and to mark out a couple hundred campsites, each with water and electricity.  We could then direct the homeless to that location and transport them by Police car if necessary.”</div> <bR> <div> “How would you pay for this?” one of the members asked.  “Several ways come to mind, one would be by requiring the residents of the camp to do community service,  another would be by using welfare funds, we could require anyone on welfare to reside in the facility.  Another would be to charge a nominal rent to the residents.  Some of these people are the working poor rather than unemployed they do work and have jobs but do not earn enough to afford an apartment or a house.</div> <bR> <div> In this way we could have all of the homeless in one place where we could keep an eye on them.  There would be a significant savings in Police man hours and the social welfare programs would have all of their clients in one place where they could be served more efficiently.  I am sure that the churches in the  Tri-Cities would get behind the program and set up soup kitchens and collections of used clothing and household items that could be distributed.  </div> <bR> <div> I estimate that it would cost us about 1.5 million dollars to get the whole thing in operation, after all the   homeless themselves could be employed to do the work.  The cost of maintaining the facility would be borne by the homeless themselves.  </div> <bR> <div> There was much discussion but the county was drowning in homeless and this seemed to be the best solution.  The measure carried 5 to 4.  </div> <bR> <div> The next day the newspaper and local radio television and radio stations were abuzz with the story.</div> <bR> <div> Over the next three months work proceeded smoothly and by the time the camp was officially opened there were already over a hundred residents.</div> <bR> <div> Part 3:  The Simstad Family ends up at the facility.</div> <bR> <div> The Simstad family had run out of gas in their motor home just outside one of the Tri-Cities.  It was late evening and having nothing better to do they just turned in for the night.  Tom thought he would go to one of the large local hardware stores the next morning and try to get a day job that would buy them some food and enough gas to get a little further down the road.</div> <bR> <div> Around 2:00 AM there was a knock at the door.  The police officer was very nice but informed them that they could not remain where they were.  The family told him their story and he told them about the homeless camp just up the road about 20 miles.  The officer told them that someone would be by with a can of gasoline the next morning that would be sufficient to get them to the camp.</div> <bR> <div> Sure enough, while they were eating the last of their food for breakfast about 6:30 AM there was another knock at the door.  The man that was standing there had a five gallon gas can in his hand.  He instructed them to follow him to the camp.</div> <bR> <div> The man at the gate, who was dressed as a Security Guard greeted them warmly and said ”Let me guess, your holding tanks are full and your water tank is empty, right”. “They sure are.”  “There is a dump station just off to your right, over there.”  The water is potable so you can fill your water tank with it.  Someone will be along shortly to escort you to your campsite.”  “Wait, before you go to far with this it is only fair to tell you that we are presently without funds, we can not afford to pay for any services or space rent.”  “I heard all about your predicament, we will take care of everything and perhaps you will be able to work it off later.”</div> <bR> <div> “As soon as you are through there follow me to your site.”  I will help you get settled in and hook up your water and electricity.”  While they were finishing the hookups the camp employee suggested that when they were finished there would be someone drop by to explain the facility to them.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Part 4:  The Welcome committee.</div> <bR> <div> After connecting the utilities he went inside and shut the door.  The family was dumbfounded at their good fortune.  There was a knock at the door, a woman carrying a large box ask where they wanted their groceries.  “Actually these groceries are just the fun stuff she said, snacks and the like, meals are served at the club dining room from six to eight every morning, eleven to one every afternoon and from five to seven every evening.  From seven thirty to nine every evening support groups meet and classes are held to prepare folks to take their GED tests and get their high school diploma.  The support groups include AA, NA, Prison release, rape victims, other crime victims.  There are even classes on preparing a resume and finding work.  Many of these groups interact with each other.  We have regular religious services for Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, though there really aren't enough Jews to make their services worthwhile, the Rabi always shows up anyway and prays with one or two of them.    </div> <div> The Simstads invited the woman in and visited with her for almost an hour.  </div> <bR> <div> Each morning men who were interested in doing day labor could wait at the gate for residents of the Tri-Cities to show up and hire them for the day.  There was sick call every morning from 5:00 AM until Noon, where anyone could talk to an RN or a PA.  They could receive simple medication on the spot.  If the health care provider thought the person needed more medical care than the local clinic could provide they were referred to one of the local volunteer Doctors and if necessary admitted to one of the local hospitals.</div> <bR> <div> “Who foots the bill for all of this?” Tom asked.   You do, of course, you can stay here on two conditions, you must either perform twenty hours per week of community service or you can pay $50.00 per week for each adult in your family and skip the community service.  Since all of the homeless people in this county reside here all of the charity organizations focus their efforts on helping the people here.  That includes, all of the churches, and all local chapters of the national organizations such as the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Big Brothers, Elks, Moose, VFW, Masons, Cancer Victims etc.  Besides all of that the county provides an operating budget to make up any short fall every  year.  You know the guard that greeted you at the gate when you came in, he is one of our residents who is performing his community service obligation.  </div> <bR> <div> The County Sheriff has a station right here in the camp.  There is a Deputy on Duty 24 hours a day.  There is only one but he can have thirty Police here in 15 minutes or less.</div> <bR> <div> “What if a homeless person does not want to live in the camp?”  “They have two choices, they can either leave the county or they can do 90 days at hard labor for vagrancy, if they want to leave the county we will transport them to the county line.”</div> <bR> <div> “Is there a dope problem here?”  “Not as much as you would think, any resident who sees a problem can summon a Deputy and from time to time the county sends in undercover police to ferret out such problems.  They are seldom here but everyone thinks that they are.  The local courts have the option of doubling the sentence of anyone convicted of a crime in this camp.  All in all, when you come to live in this camp you better want to play it straight or you should take the option of being driven to the county line.”</div> <bR> <div> “Who all is allowed to come here to live?”  “Anyone who wants to, providing they live by our rules. Actually anyone who does not need the kind of assistance that we offer would want to move out into the regular community.  Despite our best efforts there is somewhat of a stigma to living here.  This is really no ones home of choice but it sure beats the bottom rung of the ladder in any other community.  Many people have moved out after getting a good paying job and having the financial ability to maintain a normal life style.   Many of them come back for visits, support groups and special occasions, some of them are our biggest supporters.  We are developing a problem with senior citizens moving in just because they can live here cheaper than they can in town, but the board is aware of that and there are plans on the drawing board for a senior facility behind this one that opens on to the other highway.  It will have different rules and a different purpose.  Senior citizens just don't fit our mold for a variety of reasons.  The county board of supervisors who approved this project are all still in office.  The Tri-Cities loves the program because of this camp the county has one of the lowest crime rates in the United States and the county jail is only half the size that it would have to be if it weren't for this camp.  Anyone seeking welfare is directed to the camp this is the only welfare program the county offers.  We maintain a fully staffed day care center so welfare mothers can work.”</div> <bR> <div> Part 6, A Tour of the Camp.</div> <bR> <div> The Lady offered them a tour of the camp.  </div> <bR> <div> They were in the RV section because they had an RV.  There were almost 100 other RV's in the camp.  “Since you own your own RV you will be living in it but many of the RV's you see here were donations channeled through one of the participating charities.  Since gasoline is selling for more than five dollars per gallon a lot of people are donating their RV's when they find that they can not sell them.  We used to have a lot of tents but those are all gone now, replaced by the donated RV's or the small cabins that you see beyond the RV section there must have been more than 200 small cabins.  The residents had personalized most of them but Tom noticed that there was no junk or garbage strewn around, the place was neat as a pin.  </div> <bR> <div> These cabins were constructed completely with donated material and resident labor, that is why they do not appear uniform but they are all neatly arranged and in their proper place.  </div> <bR> <div> “What about sewer and bath facilities?”  “There are ample public restrooms situated around the camp and there is a pumper truck that pumps out the RV holding tanks twice a week.  There are dumpsters for garbage and pick up is twice a week also.”</div> <bR> <div> “I know that you are going to ask about schools because I noticed that you have small children.  The school buses pick them up in front of the camp at various times every morning and drop them off in the evening.  Scheduling depends on each individual school.  Once your children are enrolled they will know when to expect their bus.”</div> <bR> <div> “What about heating and cooling?”  Everyone has electricity, they use window air conditioners or electric heaters as needed.  There are no electric bills or metering but most residents are fairly contentious about their use.”</div> <bR> <div> “This is the day room she explained as they entered the down stairs of one of the large Army barracks.”  Copies of the daily newspaper were available by the door.  He noticed that they were the same price here as they were in town.  “Over here is our Notice Board.  You will become very familiar with this board.  You should check it at least once a day, it is one of the ways you will have to stay in touch with what is happening in the community.  You would probably want to check the help wanted board over against that other wall.  The State Department of Employment also visits the camp on Tuesday and Thursday.  You can register with them for benefits or for work.  There are DMV people that come in every Monday to give driving tests, issue driver licenses and register vehicles”. </div> <bR> <div> “There is an adult education representative here on Wednesday mornings to counsel residents.  They  help by telling residents what job fields are hiring and directing them to trade schools that can prepare them for those jobs.  There is lots more but you will discover that over the next few days as you get acquainted with the camp.  Right now though it is lunch time and the dining room is on the ground floor of the next barracks.”</div> <bR> <div> As they entered they found themselves at the end of a short line.  They picked up a tray, silverware and napkins and then went through a small but excellent buffet.  “Take anything you want but please eat everything you take. There used to be a State Law and a County ordinance that prohibited restaurants and Casinos from donating unused food from their operations but The County Board of Supervisors and our State Legislators got that law changed.  We now operate a large van that picks up all of the surplus food from these places and from all the super markets in the area.  The kitchen staff here are all resident's who are working off their community service obligation, actually many of these people are putting in from 40 to 60 hours per week because they like their work and they believe in what they are doing.  Most of the other camp employees put in more hours than is required of them.  They have made a rewarding life for themselves right here in the camp.  Many of the Churches in the community also have food drives and the local theaters run special showings that admit people for free that donate three cans of food.  The camp fund also has adequate funds to purchase what food is still required.”</div> <bR> <div> “How many resident's are presently living here?”  “There are about 800 at present, many of the single people live in small rooms upstairs in the two story barracks.  There are actually more of them than there are families living in the RV's and bungalows.  Our numbers keep growing but we seem to be able to accommodate everyone that needs our services.  We average three weddings a week between single resident's and unfortunately we average one divorce per week but I guess that is a little better ratio than the society at large. We have about fifteen people per week that are able to rent an apartment or buy a house and move out but we seem to take in about 20 new people to replace them.  As times improve we hope to reverse that ratio.”</div> <bR> <div> Part 6:  The Simstads settle in.</div> <div> After lunch they read the bulletin board and the help wanted board.  Alma picked up on a promising lead for a job as a caregiver at a local nursing home.  Tom didn't see anything that appealed to him and decided to try day work several days a week while volunteering for twenty hours of community service.  Tom was offered a job as repair man.  He was given an electric golf cart with all the necessary tools and told that he could work from 6 PM to 10 PM four nights a week.  His job would be to repair anything in the way of plumbing or wiring that needed repair during his shift.  When there were no repairs he would work on a continuing project of installing plumbing and wiring in some of the new cabins that were under construction at the facility.</div> <bR> <div> Tom didn't like to broach the subject but he was dead broke.  Pauline said “We have a special fund for that purpose, Tom, we can advance you up to $500.00 to help you start out for gas money or what ever you need but you don't need to take the whole amount now or ever.  Just fill out a request and state how much you need and what the money will be used for then turn it in at the cashiers office and you will be given the advance.  We would appreciate it if you repaid the money as soon as possible because the fund is not very large and others will be needing it.  Tom drew $100.00 for a tank of gas for his pickup which he had been towing behind the motor home. </div> <bR> <div> The next morning was Wednesday,  after breakfast Tom visited the job training counselor, he had to wait about half an hour.  When he spoke with the counselor he was encouraged to find that there was a crying need for electric technicians to work in a nearby wind generation plant nearby.  Tom had a sound basic knowledge of electric wiring from his building construction days.  He jotted down the contact information for the wind generation plant.  Then the whole family piled into Toms pickup truck and headed out.  The first thing they did was to register the children for school.  The registrar at the school was nice enough but you could tell she was not thrilled to have two more kids from the homeless shelter attending her school.  They met their teachers and got a copy of their bus schedule.  Tom left them off at the city park while he went to check up on the job he was interested in.  </div> <bR> <div> “Tom it looks like you have a world of experience in construction and even in 110v electricity but this is a different world with these windmills.  We were and still are regular electricians but we got the contract to install and maintain these windmills, eventually perhaps more than a thousand of them.  We are hiring but from the looks of your resume you are in the same boat that we were all in when we bid on this contract.  We all had to attend an eight week course on windmills and twelve volt electricity generated by solar panels.  A class just started and we pay the tuition for our employees but we can't pay you wages while you attend.  I like the looks of your background so much though here is what I can do for you.  We still have some conventional electric wiring installation jobs from time to time and if you would be interested we could start you at $40.00 an hour and assign you to those jobs when they come up.  We have one now that will require about a week to complete the wiring of a new small strip mall over on Broadway.  When you finish that there is nothing else on the horizon but we would love to have you working for us on call.  What number can I reach you at?”</div> <bR> <div> “I don't have a phone at the moment but I will sign up for service today and call you to let you know my number.  When do I start that wiring job?”  “How does Monday morning sound? We should have all the parts and materials in by then, give me a call though and I will let you know for sure that everything is ready for you to go to work.”</div> <bR> <div> Tom stopped by a cell phone outlet but they turned him down for bad credit.  The clerk offered a suggestion though, “You could buy one of these prepaid phones, you don't need credit to get one of them.  Tom bought a prepaid phone for the minimum cost then the clerk got him a number and said he was good to go.  He used the store's land line to call Wind-Electric and give him his new number.</div> <bR> <div> Then Tom joined the kids in the park and Alma went over to the nursing home.  The place was disgusting and the work she would be doing was disgusting.  She wanted no part of this operation no matter how badly she needed work.  She picked up Tom and the kids and they returned to the camp in plenty of time for dinner.</div> <bR> <div> When they arrived home there was a note pinned to their door asking Alma to check in with the kitchen manager about a community service job.  Alma was hired of course busing tables and cleaning up in the dining room, she could start the next day.  Dave, the kitchen manager said he could get her on twenty hours a week at a local fast food place.  The next morning Alma went in to the fast food restaurant that Dave had mentioned.  The manager said they were not hiring but when he heard that Dave from the camp had sent her in he hired her for 20 hours a week at minimum wage.  He said I will get together with Dave and work out a schedule for you.</div> <bR> <div> The restaurant was right on the bus line.  She could finish her shift at the camp kitchen and then take the bus to the restaurant.  When her shift ended at the restaurant she could take the bus home again.  She had to work both Saturday and Sunday but she was grateful to have the job.</div> <bR> <div> Tom worked his first shift that evening in the maintenance department at the camp.  He told the boss about his upcoming job as an electrician and said he would not be able to continue with this community service job for about a week starting Monday.  They arranged for Tom to get his 20 hours in before he started his paid job on Monday.  </div> <bR> <div> That Sunday morning they were all able to attend church together before either of them had to go to work.  They were fitting in nicely at the camp and they knew they had a lot to be thankful for.   </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div>     </div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>