'It's Ugly Out There'

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
With the kids jingle belling,
And everyone telling you,
"Be of good cheer,"
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

There'll be parties for hosting,
Marshmallows for toasting and
Caroling out in the snow.
There'll be scary ghost stories and
Tales of the glories of Christmases
Long, long ago.

It's the most wonderful time of the year.
There'll be much mistletoeing
And hearts will be glowing,
When loved ones are near.
It's the most wonderful time of the year.

--"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
(Eddie Pola and Georgie Wyle, 1963)

Amid the festive spirits on Wall Street and in Washington, I thought it would be a great time to higlight stories showing what a growing number of Americans will be getting up to this holiday season:

"Homeless Campground Cleared By City Police" (Chattanooga Pulse)

According to a mayoral spokesman, it was an “unfortunate thing to do” but it still had to be done.  After receiving numerous complaints from nearby residents, city employees and police officers cleared out the vagrant camp underneath the I-24 overpass at Broad Street.

Unfortunately, the homeless who had been sheltering there have few alternatives.

The city has no emergency shelter, only what local charities can provide … and those shelters simply do not have enough space for all the homeless currently living on the streets in Chattanooga.

"Homeless Camp Sites Pose Serious Danger" (WINK News)

CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla - A walk into these woods and you will see why Deputies aren't phased by a problem plaguing the county. Homeless camps are turning up on plots of vacant lots and the Sheriff's Office has been dealing with them for some time now.

We counted three camps well with-in 100 feet from a strip mall just off Cochran Boulevard north of U.S. 41. While there we found dirty mattresses, dozens of beer cans scattered everywhere and trash left over from several bon fires.

Our cameras even spotted pre-packaged meals given out at homeless shelters that were left to rot on the ground.

Deputies warn the camp sites pose a serious safety and health risk. Two homeless people died at various camps last month. Inmates will be brought out to clean the camp on Saturday.

The Sheriff's Office says it has removed 70,000 pounds of trash from more than 40 different camp sites this year alone.

"With Rhode Island’s 5 Winter Shelters Nearly Full, Homeless Need More than the Cover of Night" (The Providence Journal)

PROVIDENCE — On a rainy night, outreach worker John Joyce looks for the homeless men and women who sleep under the steps at Waterplace Park or on blankets by the river.

He frowns. His flashlight reveals a few bedrolls but no people. “It will be miserable out here by 3 a.m.,” says the soggy codirector of the Rhode Island Homeless Advocacy Project.

Under a dark overpass, Joyce urges a man in a jacket to join 19 others sprawled on cots at the nearby Mathewson Street United Methodist Church, which opened its emergency shelter last month. The man, Randy, agrees. “I can stand the rain,” he says, “but the wind …” His voice trails off.

Just weeks after they opened, the state’s five winter shelters are nearly full, and homeless advocates worry there won’t be enough beds when the colder weather hits.

“It’s ugly out there,” says Sheryl Marshall, program director of ACCESS Rhode Island, the Pawtucket agency that oversees the emergency shelters at Mathewson Street United Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pawtucket.

"As Homeless Seek Safe Haven, Counties Seek Out Solutions" (Herald Tribune)

Charlotte sweeps put spotlight on a growing phenomenon

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - In the woods near the Port Charlotte Town Center mall, a weathered, plastic red and blue flowered wreath marks a path where sheriff's deputies and a prisoner crew will navigate heavy equipment to clean out 16 homeless camp sites today.

Deputies warned a half-dozen or so camp residents last week to clear out as part of an ongoing crackdown on what officials call "vagrants." By the time a cold front chilled Southwest Florida this week, the camps were abandoned, presumably, advocates for the homeless said, in favor of sites deeper in the woods.

Across the region, the number of homeless has grown with the recession, with many turning to camping to survive. No one has quantified how many more homeless camps have arisen in Southwest Florida's abundant wooded areas since the downturn began. But with about 150 shelter beds available from Manatee to Charlotte County, some charities have resorted to giving out tents to people seeking help.

Charlotte has responded to the increase in camps and rising public complaints by clearing many of them through "sweeps." They consider the sweeps a successful strategy for protecting public health and safety.

But homeless experts call the sweeps an ineffective approach to a social problem exacerbated by the protracted economic downturn. Ordering homeless from a camp site just shifts the problem from one place to another, they contend.

"Code Blue Declared; Local Church Helping to Homeless" (The Reporter)

LANSDALE — With chilly temperatures forecast for the next several nights, the Montgomery County Health Department has declared a ‘Code Blue’ will be in effect from noon Saturday through noon Wednesday.

Volunteers and shelter space at Lansdale’s Trinity Lutheran Church are ready to house individuals who need shelter on those nights, but Trinity’s volunteers are hoping to build on that foundation this winter.

“We’re ready and able to house people now, but we can only house people on Code Blue nights, when it’s 20 degrees or below, and there are people right here in Lansdale who need more help than that,” said Terri Gillespie, Trinity’s Code Blue volunteer coordinator.

"Homeless Shelters Prepare for Crowds" (KJRH.com)

Cold temperatures could mean busy shelters

TULSA - Thermometers around Green Country will be dropping the next few nights.

And those cold temperatures can be dangerous for the homeless.

Tulsa's homeless shelters are preparing to get crowded. Temperatures are expected to dip into the 20s the next few nights.

"When the first cold hits, it kind of surprises us all. It's a little unbelievable until it happens, particularly in Oklahoma, we all know how our weather is," said Steven M. Whitaker, COO of John 3:16 Mission.

Whitaker says it's critical to get the word out to the homeless when the first cold fronts hit. John 3:16 Mission has 110 beds and mats for those seeking shelter from the cold.

"We allow people to come in and sleep on the floor if they have to, on the rails inside the building, on the benches. And we have mats we put on the floor. Whatever we have to do to put people inside," Whitaker said.

Between the chronic homeless and people who recently lost their jobs and homes in the down economy, volunteers at John 3:16 aren't sure what to expect this winter.

"I hope we don't see more, we may see more. We don't know what to expect, we just need to be ready for whatever comes and see what happens," Whitaker said.

"Thurston County Seeks Permanent Homeless Site" (The News Tribune)

OLYMPIA – The Thurston County Commission has proposed using a piece of county property as a permanent site for Camp Quixote, an itinerant tent city for the homeless.

The 1.6-acre, county-owned site, on Mottman Road west of R.W. Johnson Boulevard, could accommodate the campers’ dream of a permanent village, said Jill Severn of the Panza Board, the nonprofit that oversees Camp Quixote.

The camp has a vision for its permanent site: 30 one-room cottages, with a central building for cooking, laundry, showers and meetings. It would have a community garden and plenty of trees.

Severn’s hope is that the village, thought to be the only one of its kind in the nation, could open before the end of 2011.

"Homeless Camps Spur Ashland Complaints" (The Mail Tribune)

Church-run shelter opens when it drops to 20 degrees, but it isn't always open

ASHLAND — As temperatures creep below freezing, homeless residents are finding creative — and often illegal — places to camp, leading to complaints from downtown business owners and citations from police.

Ashland police cited seven transients last week in four separate cases for illegally camping or trespassing. Homeless residents were found illegally sleeping under an overhang on Wells Fargo property, near the creek at Ashland Christian Fellowship, inside the Main Street Laundromat and under a tarp at the city's Recycling Center.

"It's always a bit of a rude awakening for folks when the weather changes like this and they realize they've got to do more than they have, that they've got to figure something out to stay warm," said Ruth Coulthard, organizer of a cold-weather shelter sponsored by Ashland churches.

"Homeless in the Desert" (Mohave Daily News)

BLM, social workers visiting encampments within walking distance of casinos

LAUGHLIN — Panoramic views of the mountains and vistas surrounding the Colorado River greet visitors as they fly into the area. The vast ruggedness of the landscape isn’t something they normally get to see coming into bigger cities. The simple beauty of the scenery tells them life is at a much slower pace here.

Lately, however, those desert vistas include views of homeless camps dotting the landscape.

News West was granted a helicopter ride to photograph some of these camps, illustrating the same view as visitors who fly into the area.

These encampments, located on public land, are close to Casino Drive, to food and to water — the basic needs of every human being. Everything is within walking distance.

The makeup of these camps, however, is more than tents and sleeping bags. They are made from pieces of cardboard, plywood and other objects, fashioned into shacks, with trash rapidly accumulating.

The inhabitants also are staying far longer than the 14-day camping limit.

"Local Homeless Set Up Camp for Winter" (The Durango Herald)

The keys to surviving cold winters outdoors are dry clothes and a tarp over the tent, said Jesse Roe, who has lived in Horse Gulch for seven years.

“Always keep an extra set of dry clothes,” he said recently while eating lunch at Manna Soup Kitchen. “I see a lot of homeless don’t keep up on that.”

As winter approaches, some homeless residents will pack up and head south. They are called snowbirds. But many others stay year-round, camped out on the public lands outside Durango.

They are motivated to stay for the same reasons others have chosen Durango as home: “I like it here,” Roe said. “I’ve met a lot of good people. The Durango people are very giving and helpful.”

"As Winter Descends, Some of Madison's Homeless Live in Tents" (Wisconsin State Journal)

The bare branches, not the cold November wind, are driving Michael Higgins out of the hidden urban encampment he's called home since May.

When the leaves fell, he realized that his four-tent compound was in danger of being spotted, so he's been trying to scrape together enough money for a locker to stow his gear while he spends the winter in an emergency shelter until trees fill out again in spring.

Concealment is the key for Higgins and a few dozen others who live under tents or tarps strung up furtively in obscure corners of Madison's busy landscape.

"It's not much, but it's home," Higgins said last week, as he showed a reporter his spot in a grove of poplars a 10-minute hike from a city bus line.

The State Journal agreed not to disclose Higgins' location because he didn't want others to learn of it and put his safety and belongings at risk. Another nearby site was abandoned by a group of men after it drew the attention of police, he said.

Nobody knows how often it happens, but homeless camps pop up in places Madisonians pass by every day — along railroad beds, in heavily wooded parks and the Arboretum, said Mike Fleenor, a Tellurian UCAN worker whose job is to find and help homeless men and women with serious mental illnesses.

Comments

[js]

Is this the super economic power called America, the land of opportunities, big American dream or a third world country ?
This is what happens in a country when the top 1% gets 25% of all income..

[Blurtman]

Thank God we bailed out the banks ot there would be a lot of homeless investment bankers.

[THANK GOD FOR FOOD PANTRIES]

@blurtman...but look the "saved ones" tell us to be thankful for this.....and it will get worse...because all their policies are skewed towards confiscation of the masses....to preserve the ruling classes!

Saturday, December 4, 2010
David Stockman: The Only Job Growth In the Last Year Has Been In Part-Time Jobs Averaging $20,000/Year

The former director of the Office of Management and Budget under Ronald Reagan - David Stockman - just gave some stunning statistics on unemployment.

Stockman told CNBC that two-thirds of the jobs which have been created in the last year - the jobs which everyone talks about each month - are only part-time jobs, averaging $20,000 per year.

http://tinyurl.com/3ym59lm

[none]

And yet so many properties sit vacant, either in foreclosure or scooped up and sat on by some 'investor'.

And yet if you point out that perhaps capitalism is NOT some automatic best allocator of resources 'libertarians' and other such defenders will simply claim it's the government's fault somehow.

[Elf]

@none

Well how about a nice deflationary reality imposed on the currency (the Austrian/libertarian solution), a nice Darwinian flush for the bankers - bye, enjoy prison or the shelter - the free market solution?

Um - the governments solution was to create this problem with CRA, excaberate it to fatal levels with letting Wall Street buy MBS's with our savings, then bailout the Bankers - their partners in crime. Now they're hyperinflating the currency so PIMCO and GS can front run America's Treasuries to the Dirty Fed.

This touching faith in Govt. You're the kind of people who died yelling Heil Hitler just before the SS shot you. Get a clue - they're dirty.

And what is the best allocator of resources? DC? Yeah, they're doing great. By themselves.

[roger]

Not in defense of...
Governments,the Federal Reserve,these evil body's
of governance, are they the only villains in these
stupid games we humans play? Lets abolish both of
them,then ask yourself,what happens in a system where
a small minority,whether by luck,superior intellect
or both,are allowed to accumulate unlimited wealth
with all the power it gives them. Is that the kind of
world you would like to live in?

[Yo Dawg]

Good Compilation.

This sounds like something out of a Ray Bradbury book; police run the dispossessed out of town and use prison labor to clean up after them.

As the ruling class atrophies and further militarizes it's going to get uglier and uglier. Maybe then more in the MSM will notice. As of now people barely notice because it's happening to the dispossessed and outcast whose ranks are swelling. Maybe the local media covers these stories more because they focus so much on the police beat and it's starting to impact local communities more, as these stories show. It's hard for me to read news like this anymore as I see it loaded with fascist propaganda and neoliberal hogwash.

[Yo Dawg]

"Libertarians" used to be equally worried about unbridled power of oligarchy as they were about governments.

The modern "libertarian" is simply a conservative and/or Republican that may be open to a bit more personal liberty (especially if it's white-man-style liberty--they're not so hot on black or latino liberty, for e.g.), which is better than other conservatives, but who is also a firm believer in free market fairies and all the neoliberal hogwash. The keyword one can use to spot such fairy tale "libertarians" is blaming the recent depression on the CRA. What a ridiculously skewed way to look at the crisis (as it is also probably intended to play on racist prejudices about the Dems giving black people free stuff and crashing the economy).

Most modern "libertarians" claim to be against the state but of course they end up supporting conservative policies which use the government to prop up oligarchies that are destroying the vast majority of the citizens. If there must be a state it should be used for the common good.

[crazy]

Yo Dawg, you a retodd

[recovering_progressive]

"Is this the super economic power called America, the land of opportunities, big American dream or a third world country ?
This is what happens in a country when the top 1% gets 25% of all income.."

No, this is what happens when all the political power is concentrated in one place, Washington, contrary to the US constitution. The wealth consolidation is a natural consequence of that. You you want wealth consolidation/creation since that is how people get rich but people get unnaturally rich when the political power is in once place to be captured and influenced. Any secular progressive out there who think more regulation is the answer is on the side of evil.

[Pat]

Everyone say " Not in my backyard", but where does everyone want the homeless people now around 500k and counting to live. Unemployment numbers are up there with 4 million plus people and counting. The question I have for big brother is this " Get off your fat, money grubbing asses and start helping out the people"

[Mitch]

Some of you make me laugh. The top one percent of income earners in the US payed 39 percent of the taxes in 2008. How much did the top 5 percent pay? 59 percent. So you kids complaining about how 'unfair' it is for people to make a lot of money SHOULD be out there thanking the top 5 percent for funding all of your social programs and what-not.

[Blammo]

Ummmm. Gawd Blass Amerikka_stan ?
It's one nation under God alright..........they just forgot to specify which one.

[Chris]

To Pat - you bring tears to my eyes. Your excuse that the uber-rich pay most of the taxes is simply a justification for the current unfair policies that dictate the political and economic structure of this country. Are the lower 95% supposed to bow down and thank the upper 5% for their gracious tax allocation, so that street-corner Fred and window-washing Martha can get their free soup at the corner shelter? I rebuke your selfish, arrogant, and woefully mispoken statements. Fundamentally, why do some people (top 5%) deserve to earn 30% of the wealth in the nation - is it something naturally ingrained in them; a supreme gift of God? I think not, for so many people who earn modest wages work just as hard, and are not fairly compensated for their efforts. Many of the rich mistaken assume that their efforts justify their paycheck - not so, and I bless the day when you of such mind discover how wrong you are.

[The will of the people]

There are hundreds of thousands of square feet of vacant warehouse and office spaces around the country. Not to mention hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned industrial sites, military bases and unfinished real estate projects. I find it hard to believe that a tiny fraction of the money wasted in this country on questionable research programs, studies, subsidies and pork barrel projects cannot be diverted to opening up some of these sites to the homeless. There are plenty of people who are out of work that are in ideal positions to be able to administer and operate these sites. That in itself could be a jobs program while at the same time helping out those who need some stability to be able to get back into the workforce.

Once again, our leaders have shown that it's all about maintaining the status quo at the expense of the common person. As long as Wall Street and DC are happy, the rest of us are expendable.

[splashy]

This is the end game of unfettered capitalism. Ever play monopoly? All but one person ends up bankrupt, with nothing. Sound familiar?

The difference is that if we end up with a tipping point of numbers of people that have nothing, they have nothing to lose and become dangerous to everyone out of desperation.

The comment about all the empty buildings is right on. There is plenty of housing - but plenty of greed too that says "don't use that housing for the homeless, they don't deserve it!" denying humanity and reason.

[Rocketman]

I was arguing one time recently that our nation was going to turn into a third world country when my wife pointed out that we already were. We live in central FL and there are literally thousands of homeless wintering here. I opened my eyes during my travels over the next few days and she's right. We are already a third world country and it's going to get worse.

There will come a day soon when the homeless will defend their camps during a "sweep" and that's when things will get very interesting. When you have no where to go, been run out of every where else, there comes a time that these people will make a futile stand and fight the police even if it's with sticks and stones. Then we will see a bloody crackdown on these poor folks.

This will not end well by any means.