Homeless in Long Beach

Grave Endings

2009-07-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Several homeless mentions in Grave Endings by Rochelle Krich. In describing a neighborhood in Hollywood the author writes that "...the LAPD would periodically chase the street people away, but without conviction, the way you half-heatedly swat at flies..." and "You know the flies will be back the minute you stop waving your hand, and they know that you know that after a while you'll get tired of waving."

She continues saying even though the undesirables "trickle back, along with the homeless..." "the area has improved."

I am not sure if that is true of Long Beach. Not being out there 24/7 anymore I have less knowledge of the street living scene. When I visit the library Main branch, I see about 1/2 dozen people who were homeless and hanging 'round Lincoln Park in 2004 (forward) and a few dozen new faces. A common sight around the railings separating the lower library level from the promenade and the park is carts. They might be baby buggies or the type sold for grocery shopping hauling. Sometimes there are large suitcases chained to the railings ~ all left unattended.

There is a sheltered area to the left of the Main Entrance and railed area where I would often see a group of homeless hanging out. They would leave packs there unattended or were "campers". It seemed those homeless got "waved away" to return later only the faces were different. The downtown promenade area has been swept clean of homeless due to the area's redevelopment. The regulars at the Transit Mall ~ those who sat or slept on bus benches are gone also and very few other homeless can be seen there ~ waved away with the fountain area homeless, perhaps.

Flies die quickly, to be replaced by new ones. Not so homeless people. Some do die, some become homed, others leave town, but like those flies, newcomers quickly fill the roster.

The novel features Rachel's Tent. One service it provides is temporary shelter for abused and homeless women. A character giving a tour of the place says "We try to help homeless women achieve independent living and regain their dignity."

The wealthy gentleman who funded Rachel's Tent was motivated because his unwed mother put him in foster care. He later found out she "died, hungry and homeless."

The star of this murder mystery novel is Molly, a reporter who does a Crime Digest. Thus the chapters start with a short crime report that have nothing to do with the story. Some of these remind me of the crime digests reported by the Beach Comber. Nothing funny about crime, but some of the fictional reports are told in the manner of the Beach Comber ~ with humor.
The last report was of a man who asked two men for directions to a homeless shelter. The men then followed him and beat him with his own crutches. That is hardly fiction when beating homeless for sport is all too common in real life, often leading to death of the defenseless homeless person.

Phat Drum Circle

2009-07-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Took a long walk yesterday up to Signal Hill then downtown to listen to the Phat Drum Circle drummers play. A friend gave me a card about the Drum for Love event. It said the Long Beach Phat Drum Circle met at 3:30 on Sundays until Sundown.

When I arrived at Alamitos beach area one man was drumming at the Alfredo's picnic area. My old every morning (just about) sitting spot waiting for sun-up and heat. I walked to the helicopter landing pad. Country was on his way back to the picnic area. I went back and listened to Country and John play. Another guy joined them. He did not seem to have much interest in the drumming.

Soon other drummers arrived and they moved to the landing pad where they usually met and play. It was fun as it always is and I actually tried playing a drum at the insistance of a guy whose name I did not get. Had a bit of a problem sending myself photos. The guy to the left of Country had offered to let me use his phone to take photos and said he would email them to me. Maybe next time.

The guy posted a Phat Circle druming video at You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa04FpiySZo

I did not stay until sundown, too tired from that long walk and even more walking to get back home no matter which bus I took. Because the drumming started much later than 3:30PM, think next Sunday I will head to the beach much later in the day and enjoy the music right up until sundown.

Death on the Fourth of July

2009-07-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

All Long Beach libraries closed July 3rd and 4th. They are now all closed on Sunday's. Stocked up on books. "Death on the Fourth of July" seemed an apt title to read over the long weekend. The book by David A. Neiwert is subtitled "The Story of A Killing, A Trial, And Hate Crime In America". The killing has nothing to do with homelessness, but many homeless are victims of hate crimes or crimes committed simply due to bias against homeless people. Killings of homeless for sport by teens ~ usually drunk young men ~ often makes the news.

The death happened in a sleepy ocean resort town, Ocean Shores, which was the hometown of Kurt Cobain. I once checked out a book with Cobain's scribblings; quickly lost interest in it; boring. The "well-graffitied brige" that Cobain slept under when he was homeless is mentioned. The author says Cobain was "one of most influencial songwriters in rock history." Huh? Okay, I am old and not a huge rock fan ~ yet I think of Cobain as having a cult following, not a leader in writing of rock songs. I could be wrong. Think he had one song that I liked.

The dead guy, Chris Kinison, had been sort of homeless. He became sullen after his parents divorce, dropped out of High School, had a falling out with his mother and spent time sleeping on friend's couches, living "on the Beach", before leaving town. He was in town that 4th of July weekend to visit friends.

The prosecuting attorney, Jerry Fuller, is quoted by Neiwert as saying "You don't bring a knife to a fistfight," invoking "a basis law of combat." Seems to me Fuller was implying that Minh Hong agreed to a gentlemanly fight with Kinison, and as thus was obligated to obey some unspoken rules of conduct. This was not the case.

Hong, his twin brother and a friend drove to Ocean Shores for a holiday celebration. Some young ladies who drove in a separate car, met them at the hotel where the young men had reserved a room. After a day enjoying the beach and pool, one of the guys was hungry. The three guys drove to a Texaco station mini-mart, the only place to get a snack at that late hour, in seach of Ramaen Noodles. A fistfight was not on their agenda.

When the boys got out of the car, walking towards the store entrance, Kinison, who had a Confederate flag drapped over his shoulders, began taunting the boys with racial slurs and "go back to your own country". Kinison was much larger than the young men and joined in his taunts by a group of between 5 and 10 other young men. Kinison began rapping on the window of the store, waving his flag and making a slit throat motion with his hand. I guess he was inviting the tourists to a fistfight. One of them asked the clerk to call the police. The clerk refused to do so. Obvious the kids did not want to accept the challenge to fight.

Kinison's death may have been avoided if the clerk had remembered "The customer is always right." It was not his place to decide the boys did not need the police, his job was to comply with their request. Customers do not generally ask a clerk to call the cops unless they are badly frightened. The town has about 3,000 year-round residents. Logic; they are tourists, do not know their way 'round town, they want to speak to local cops, CALL for them.

The clerk must be well aware that local kids hung around in the parking lot, drinking late at night. The scene, as described, reminded me of the 7/11 on 4th Street, where a number of homeless hung around in front of the store. I hung out for a 1/2 hour or so once, under the overhang to stay out of the rain, chatting with a homeless guy. They were not harassing customers. Bothersome, yes, with their panhandling efforts. I spoke to Juan, the clerk about his handling of that nuisance. Some would go into the 7/11, usually drunk, sometimes belligerent, demanding free coffee or food "Ah, gimmie a break," kind of pleas.

It also reminds me of 1968 when I walked to a nearby Dairy Queen. I saw some people I knew, stopped to chat. Cop pulled in the parking lot and made all of us late teen-age kids leave. No loitering. I was rather angry at the time. We were doing nothing wrong, simply eating ice cream and talking to each other. The clerk then, knowing the parking lot was a hang out for rowdy, drinking kids, was remiss in not complying with the request for help from Hong's group.

What happened while the boys were in the store is a police cruiser made a run through the grocery store parking lot across the street. Someone warned Kinison to "cool it" and he stopped his taunting through the store windows, moving around to the side of the building with his gang. Hong, his brother and friend, were relieved and headed to the car. Kinison accosted them, shouting more racial slurs, spitting on them. The young men got to their car and decided to leave the parking lot the way they arrived, onto the main drag, rather than an unfamilar side street.
As they neared the Texaco station pumps, Kinison jumped in front of the car, throwing his Confederate flag on the hood. Hong claims they heard a thump at the back of the car and they were hemmed in, decided to get out and run. Witnesses say no one was behind them. As soon as the brother jumped out of the passenger seat, Kinison started punching him, knocking him to the ground, his eyeglasses went flying. Hong rushed over to help his brother. One of Kinison's friends was beating up the friend.

Hong was also hit by Kinison as he tried to help his brother who Kinison was kicking. Like his brother, his glasses went flying and he was acting in blind rage. Outsized and outnumbered, Hong had shoplifted a couple of paring knives inside the store, preparing for his defense if need be. He began rapidly stabbing at Kinison. He says he was not aware that the knife penatrated. There were a lot of stab wounds and the serious ones are what killed Kenison.

Okay, if I were Hong, I would not shoplift. Like the young men, I am small. Women are told to hold car keys straight with an index finger to stab an attacker in the eye. Or to use a pen. Walking late at night I often had a pen at the ready for any potential attacks. I also routinely kept my car or house key at the ready when heading home. I worked odd hours, doing grocery store re-sets. Parking an issue in Long Beach. Often had to drive 'round and 'round during wee hours of the morning finding a parking space. Silly in retrospect of my homeless days. I would spot groups of people at 2 - 3 AM hanging out by Bixby Park and was leery walking the four or five blocks home. Alone at that hour. The chances, I thought, of me actually being able to stab an attacker in the eye were slim and none. But I was prepared.

A friend from Universal Care told me to carry a sock filled with a roll of quarters around with me. Long ago a woman who used a hat pin on an assailant was found guilty of using a "concealed weapon". My friend said if one used the sock to smack the attacker, one could say the quarters were for the laundromat, as to why she had a sock full of quarters. No concealed weapon, ya see.
I have zero sympathy for Kinison. His mother was quite upset as any mom would be when a child is stabbed to death. She, and others, cried loudly that Kinison was not a racist, just used racial slurs to start fights. What does that have to do with anything? Why was he picking fights? Especially with tourists. Sorry, but only a hardcore bigot would carry around a Confederate flag. That flag is an anti-American symbol. We are called the United States of America. The flag is a reminder and desire for the Divided States of America.

The southern states did not think African slaves were human beings. They were property and things. Anyone who admires the flag or symbol from those days and those states is a bigot. (I do not know if I am writing an article or a blog post here, sigh, but yet more to say about this book.)
Fuller asked the jury why Hong's group did not leave by the back door when they felt threatened. I have been in many mini-marts. I do not recall ever seeing a back door to escape from. I have also taken several trips across the country, stopping at mini-marts or other rest stop areas for food or to use a bathroom. The larger places usually do have back doors, some have several entrances. Yet they all lead to the same parking lot. Hong's group had to get to where their car was parked. Unreasonable to expect a tourist to know of the existance of a back door or alternate route to their vehicle.

Small tourist town, that "rolls up the sidewalks at night", I suppose the cops tolerate groups of kids hanging in the parking lots, getting drunk. Yet when the cop cruised the parking lot across the street, might not he have cruised the Texaco lot as well? Did he not see the shaved and buzz cut heads and the Confederate flag? When confronted by the group, Hong's first thought was: Skinheads. Skinhead association: violent and hateful people. Ignorant also. Hong's actions were motivated out of fear for his life and the lives of his brother and friend. He said he did not want to end up like "that guy in Texas."

That guy being James Byrd who was tied to the back of a pickup truck after being beat up, dragged around town until death and his body fell apart, the head and arm being found a mile from the torso. Kinison's mother and the prosecuter can cry all they want about Hong being unfair, but as I see it, Kinison got what he gave. Don't do the crime, if you can't do the time. The time was his death for the crime of wanting to beat up guys much smaller than himself.

Hate Crimes

2009-07-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Kinison's mother insists her son was not a racist. He was raised to respect all people. People who pick fights are not respecting anyone. They are bullies. His friends say he was not a racist. He just used racial slurs to pick fights. Anyone who thinks it is okay to pick fights are not great character witnesses. Oh, it is okay to pick a fight with tourists of a much smaller size by taunting them with racial slurs, threats of slitting their throat and spitting on them? Just some Saturday night fun, is all, those that see Kinison as the victim, not the perpetrator of his own death.

Neiwert states that Kinison "fit the profile" or "These traits fit the psychological profile of a typical recruit for white-supremacists." They become "quite adept at hiding" the "new ideas they have cultivated." I find this hard to believe. The Christian Bible talks about the "cornerstone" or foundation laid in childhood which affects the adult the child becomes.
As a child, Kinison lived in Hawaii, where his father was stationed. He was the minority during those formative years. From what I have read natives to Hawaii have a bit of prejudice and bigotry towards "whites" or people from the "main land". That does not mean that Kinison was subjected to any bigotry; his mother claims he had a lot of multi-cultured friends in those days. Having seen many babies grow into adulthood, I do not understand how a young adult could make a complete transformation, become a white supremacist, if the seeds of superiority and hatred towards other nationalities was not evident in childhood. Most often Children Live What They Learn.

His parents divorce bothered him, as it does most children. Not much is said in "Death On The Fourth of July" about his father and personal life. Military fathers are often overly strict disciplinarians. They demand perfection and often use physical violence to discipline the children for minor infractions. And the wives. The parents divorced for some reason. Could domestic violence be the reason? That would explain Kinison's need to pick on people smaller than himself, bullies never pick on people they think can beat them, cowards they pick weaker people as victims. Kinison's need to fight must have developed somewhere, most likely in his home.

The "fight or flight reaction" is mentioned in the book. Author says victims of hate or bias based crimes "...experience post-trauma stress syndromes similar to those experienced by rape victims, because the sense of violation can be so profound. The result is a commingling of shame, fear and rage." If the "crisis reactions" are not dealt with, "they become worse." Or in my mind, lead to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Dr. Gary Connor is quoted as saying that a person facing a threat such as with Kinison, has a sense of "...terror, chaos, loss of control. It's like what happens in a war."

I read somewhere "Out of control by you, means in control by them." Something to do with the alcoholic's button-pushing. They feel they are powerless in life and over their addiction, and get a real sense of satisfaction when they can drive a spouse (or strangers in a parking lot or cops) to lose control. Makes them feel powerful.

Connor says the fight or flight reaction is characterized by tunnel-vision, limited hearing, faster heart-beat, hand-eye coordination worsens and thinking deteriorates rapidly. Or, when threatened with physical harm the mind goes blank and one is out of control, the body reacting to the stress. One either takes flight or one fights. That is the condition Hong was in when he stole the paring knife.

Neiwert says "While most American whites tend to shun that chapter of their history, the litany of horrifying murders produced during the lynchings era lingers, generations later, as a well-spring of deep distrust and fear among minorities, and blacks particularly."

I am considered white and a citizen of the U.S.A. Neiwert said "most" so that discludes me from his statement. I am quite prejudiced against people who wave the Confederate flag. Words like violent, crazy and ignorant redneck come to mind. I tense around such people with a "deep distrust and fear" of them. I do know white Americans who shun that chapter of history, they are still at it today, is why, White Makes Right. Yeah, they may not be able to get away with lynchings anymore but the attitudes are still the same. Those white Americans are not shunning their history, they cling to it with pride and a desire for a new American Revolution.

I take exception, though to the words "their history". I am a white American who does not shun that part of U.S. history. It is not my history. Like many U.S. citizens I am a first generation American on the paternal side and second generation on the maternal. My grandparents were not U.S. citizens in those early 1900 days. I am nitpicking here. I would agree with "most" but a better sentence would be "Many American whites shunt that chapter of U.S. history." People like my grandparents could be condemned for tolerating the horror of lynchings, but they were dealing with being foreigners in a strange land, poor people living through the great Depression and wars.

So what becomes of Hong? How should he be punished for taking a life? His intention was never to murder Kinison. Kinison was threatening to slit the young men's throats. Despite what the prosecuting attorney said about not bringing knives to fistfights, in the young man's mind, Kinison invited him to a knife fight: I am gonna kill you by slitting your throat. Ha, ha. Ho, ho, ho. Hong had no way of knowing if Kinison had a knife and intended to use it.

The law is that one is in the wrong if they terrorize others, even if they do not intend to carry out the threat. If the person's words and actions cause fear for their safety, any citizen can press charges against them. The reaction, not the intent is important in this type of situation. Kinison may not have been a racist, but he was most definitely guilty of terrorism. As far as I can tell, Hong simply acted in self-defense with no malicious forethought and definitely had no intention of committing manslaughter of which he was charged.

Monster

2009-06-30T11:36:00.001-07:00

Having nothing to do with homelessness, except that many homeless use library computers to do job searches via the Internet...

Library updated the search system. Like most anything else new and improved is not. Old and adequate much preferred. Latest search was for a movie Monster. I type "Monster" in search box and search by TITLE. Results?

Ceres, Celestial Lengend Vol. 1
The Best Short Plays 1960-1961
The Book of Other People
Get Some, Go Again
Great Short Works of Stephen Crane
Halloween Side ffects
Maggie, a girl of the streets and other short fiction

Maggie, a girl of the streets and other short fiction

No that was not a typo, the last was listed twice.

Ah, finally a TITLE with the word Monster, was next in the results. Actually several of them, one was the movie I sought. Number 22 through 27 were all:

Naaki Urasawa's Monster and number 28 was Prose and Poetry.

Notice I did not search SUBJECT and I am only assuming that all those unrelated TITLES have to do with monsters.

That is but one example why the new search system simply sucks.

make a change

2009-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

torture

2009-06-09T11:21:00.000-07:00

The sign on the church says: "Torture is a moral issue".

This is the church that was a temporary Winter Shelter where we homeless slept on cots in the basement. The church now has a homeless drop-in center on Sunday afternoons. People can watch television, read newspapers, books, magazines and use the computer room. Food served is usually sandwiches, canned fruit and dried cereal. Sometimes there are hotdogs. This is popular with homeless and hungry. Homed and hungry, the people usually eat and leave. Homeless enjoy being indoors for an afternoon in addition to the meals which are self-serve and as many seconds as they want ~ until cereal and stuff runs out that is.

82-72- 65

2009-06-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

According to weather bar below, it is 65 degrees in Long Beach CA right now. It is 82 in Allentown, PA and 72 in neighboring state, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Usually temps between Allentown and New Brunswick are quite close, like 65 vs. 72. Usually it is hotter in southern California, especially in June. My mother and daughters hate the heat, so know they all have air conditioners on already. I love heat and wish it were 82 degrees here. Now. Although homeless peers are most likely more comfortable without the hot days.

doorway

2009-06-05T11:18:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of photograph of a doorway I slept on a couple of times. Quite tired, quite wet, quite desperate for sleep ~ even if only an hour or two until dawn. Did not stay there long ~ too scary with a young man waking me ~ the drug dealing kind of young man. Unpleasant spot also due to the smell of urine. I had a piece of cardboard and plastic over the concrete, but did not hide the smell.

The Jazz Funeral

2009-06-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Some homeless mentions in The Jazz Funeral by Julie Smith.

"Turn into pediatricians who work for the homeless on weekends, that kind of thing."
"She's currently homeless and probably penniless. She probably feels like she doesn't have a friend in the world."

I wonder if all homeless have that feeling of not having a friend in the world; I sure did. It seems to me that a person with friends would not end up living on the streets. I know if I had the means to keep a friend from becoming homeless I would help them stay homed.
Yes I had places I could stay. The trade-off was being treated as a child after having been a self-supporting adult for years by those offering shelter. Not something my pride and mental health could tolerate. None of those adults would consider themselves to be verbally abusive people with their little jabs at my character designed to whittle away at self-esteem. Not being able to pay ones own way in life, makes one as helpless as a child. Being thus treated as one made street-living preferable.

"...a place called Covenant house ~ a shelter for homeless kids." "They call it the Hilton for the Homeless."

"They say homeless teenagers have a pretty lousy chance of growing up."

The characters in the book said they die from murder, suicide or accidents due to "self-destructive behavior". They thought 3% was a large percentage of homeless teen deaths. I do not know the percentage for teens who did not live to grow up, among the non-homeless population. It seems to me every high school graduating class losses at least one teen due to drunk driving. A lot of L.A. teens die due gangbanger violence. Yet I guess if 3 out of 100 homeless youth die on the streets, that is a lot.

12 Simple Things

2009-05-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

12 Easy Things You Can Do To Help The Homeless by C. Jeanne Heida is another AC article, I found recently. Why help homeless people? Most people complain about homeless people, so idealy helping homeless people become homed would help society in general. In the meantime people have lived without homes through out history. As some point out, Jesus was homeless.

Prior to my joining the ranks of street living people I felt fortunate to have a decent job and roof over my head, with a little bit leftover to share with those less fortunate than myself. As I often say "Here comes that tsunami wave, we all be running," so that it seems helping some of the most needy is a good enough reason.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/318769/12_easy_things_you_can_do_to_help_the.html?singlepage=true&cat=5

New Shoreline Park Benches

2009-05-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

The round green building houses the restrooms. My favorite picnic table at this park was the one closest to that building. I would leave my backpack on the table, run barefoot over the scalding hot sidewalk, cool strip of grass, round the building to get a drink of water, hurry back again. If there were few people around, I would do likewise when needing to use the bathroom. My second favorite table was the one in the photo foreground.

The concrete bench is one of two new benches at the park. All over town, benches are being removed, so surprised me to find new ones erected. One of these benches was provided to honor Gene Connor, "Volunteer Extraordinaire!". Among Conor's volunteer activities is in conjunction with the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon. Conor was one of the volunteers who that "best exemplify the marathon spirit" receiving the "Tom Hennessey Spirit Award".
I would not have remembered what words were etched into the bench and on two plaques if I had not picked up a small magazine lying on a bench. The mag was The Naples News, Oct-Nov 2008 issue. Do not think it was a coincidence that the mag happened to be sitting on the bench in May, 2009.

Unlike downtown ~ promenade, along Long Beach Blvd. around the Albertson shopping mall, near Walmart ~ only a newly homeless would use these new benches for overnight sleeping. The Beach Patrol rangers, make regular swings through the park and the "Park Closed at 10PM" rule is enforced. Exception being for fisher people on the wooden piers. The restrooms do close at 10, but think the parking lot is free after X hour.

Seniors, especially, need those downtown benches to sit for a moment or two when shopping downtown. It seems removing them to prevent homeless from sleeping on them or sitting on them for hours during the day, is the wrong approach. I was sitting on one such bench waiting upon Albertson's to open one morning. The lot security guard came over and told me to leave. I thought, at the time, those benches belonged to the city ~ they are on city sidewalks ~ but he told me they were owned by the shopping complex. I pointed out that I had only just sat down and would be going into Albertsons within the next 10 minutes, but he insisted I vacate.

There was a number of homeless who hung out in the vicinity all day long. An overhang out of the rain. It seems a simple task, for that same (and other) security guards to keep an eye on who is sitting (or sleeping, daytime) for long time periods, telling them to move along. If the homeless that do that cause them a problem, a cop is but a phone call away. I was often tempted to take a nap on one of those benches or even use one as a sleep spot overnight, but never did. I did however sit on some of them for 15 minutes or a 1/2 hour off my feet, simply exhausted.

Can not say that homeless will not be sleeping during the day on the new benches at Shoreline Park. I do not visit often and notice a lot fewer homeless hang around there than during my street living days. It has been a dry winter season. There are sprinklers, yet napping in the grass is a common sight ~ both by homed and homeless persons. Despite the lack of rain, benches still tempting for a homeless nap, due to ants. Will be interesting to see if the new benches remain there or are removed like the ones downtown.

She Smiled Sweetly

2009-05-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

She Smiled Sweetly" by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith is the third in a mystery series featuring Poppy Rice. There are several mentions of homeless and street living in the story, because one of the characters had fled home due to abuse.

A partial quote: "...first she had to remove herself from the people..." "...the people who joined her in the taking of drugs, her street family."

Some of my street family did not use drugs in their former life and when off the streets they ceased using them. Others, like Eddie, spent many months becoming free of his twin addictions ~ alcohol and drugs ~ returned to the streets having no place to go. It did not take him long to accept an offer of that first beer and hard to resist a toke when a joint was passed around. I knew other men who got clean and sober. The guys would congratulate and applaud them. Yet they soon were drinking (or using drugs) again.

Some resided in Sober Living facilities. Others, who were court-ordered to reside there, had no intention of cleaning up. They were the ones constantly tempting the others. It is true of the homed as well as the homeless, a life style change is needed in order to remain off the booze and drugs. That means there can be no more association with the old crew. Moving outside that comfort zone can be too daunting for many, no matter how good their intentions to turn their life around.

A simple sentence in a fiction novel sums it up: had to remove herself from her street family.

Simple Ways To Help A Homelesss Person

2009-05-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Simple Ways To Help A Homelesss Person was written by a former homeless person, Christian Jean.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1310941/simple_ways_to_help_a_homeless_person.html?cat=25

2009-05-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

At the end of Ocean Blvd. just before the bridge that crosses the Los Angeles River, is the entrance to the 710 Freeway. The Freeway circular on and off ramps creates a small island of grass and trees where a dozen or so homeless camp for the night. Lisa had told me about her great sleep spot. Sleep deprivation, confused brain, I never "got it", where she meant. Some time later, wandering, I realized: ah, that is what Lisa tried to describe, that stripe of land and that building.

I was in quite a bad mood one night when I decided to go sleep there. The tree to the right of the ivy covered pole is where I laid out my plastic, then curled up with my blanket on my backpack pillow. Did not last long. Rain woke me. Only it was not rain, it was a sprinkler. I scouted out other areas, but anyplace dry was occupied. Grabbed my stuff and found another tree, closer to that road. Oops, original sprinkler shut down, only to have another start up. Again picked up my stuff, and stood in the corner by the road, watching the synchronized sprinklers spay all the grass. I considered sleeping next to the tall ivy covered wall which is below the bridge railing shown in photo.

Assured that night watering was over, I returned to my spot under the first tree. I could feel the cold, damp ground underneath my plastic. May have had an hours sleep before heading back downtown to wander the streets until morning. No one from the groups of homeless approached me. My mood was so angry, I did not care if any of them tried to rob me while I slept and hoped to die if I was stabbed. I had heard that it was a rough area to hang out. The usual: drugs. When Lisa slept there on a regular basis, she was part of a group of homeless friends who watched each other's backs. After a scary incident she deemed it unsafe and refused to go back.

Exploring the area, I found there was a much safer way to get to Bear's sleep spot then running across the 710 Freeway to get there. It amazed me that Bear with his bad hip and wheelchair was able to safely cross every day. To the left of his cross spot, the 710 curves. Cars speeding onto the freeway coming round that curve could be quite dangerous to anyone crossing the road.

Illegally, I might add.

The Pike Top

2009-05-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

Not being a native of Long Beach, I never saw the old Pike. Long time residents often spoke with fondness about that Pike. I read about this pike building top; did not retain the news. Some, I think, wanted it destroyed or moved. Others want it kept as a historical keepsake.

The Beachcomber has a Guessing game in each issue. They post a photo of something in Long Beach and the people who guess the location win prizes. Just after I snapped this photo, guess what the mystery Long Beach item was? Their photo showed the pike top from above, which was a much better snapshot.

One of my homeless peers said he slept underneath this structure. He wanted me to join him which I refused to do. He went into a long-winded account of how we could sneak up into the room where the white shuttered windows are and make it our homeless home. I thought him daft, especially having read a bit about it's historical value.

Basically anywhere a homeless person chooses to sleep is trespassing or forbidden. Yet some places, such as this pike top, seems like any homeless person would know better than to trespass with intent to reside there.

WTC Fountain

2009-05-22T12:40:00.000-07:00

This fountain is surrounded by built-in wood benches like this one. I tried to capture the ducks who were hiding under the fountain ledge. The spraying waters were not operating the day I took the photo.

Cutting through the World Trade Center's promenade en route to downtown from Chavez Park was not a shortcut unless I was headed to Shoreline Park. It was part of my "pick up snipes" route. I would circle the entire area to pick up butts from ashtrays. When I took this photo, I noticed all those ashtrays are gone. I guess there is no more on-property smoke breaks for people who work in the shops or WTC, nor for shoppers or diners leaving the restaurants.

The WTC complex was a pleasant place to sit and relax. I liked watching this fountain, observing the many colorful flowers and architecture. I never sat there for long ~ 1/2 hour or a bit longer ~ too conspicuous, 'though I did see other homeless wander in and out of the area at times. Seemed like the business people would be quick to call the police if a homeless person loitered on the grounds. I also learned that I had competition for collecting those snipes.

Fishing Pier

2009-05-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

I could see people fishing at the Golden Shore Park fishing pier, as I walked to the end of the sidewalk at Shoreline Park and back again to stay warm. I was told by a homeless peer (or two) that he slept at the pier. Fisher people would be up all night and were friendly. I finally figured out how to get to that pier and went over one evening intending to join my peer, who was nowhere in sight. I tried to chat with the fishermen who were decidedly unfriendly, so did not hang around long. I did scope out some likely places to sleep undetected at the little park. Bugs and breaking the law deterred me from doing so.

Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve Park

2009-05-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

West of Catalina Landing, which is west of Shoreline Park with the lighthouse, is Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve Park. I had been told by several homeless people that they "camped" at Catalina Landing. Lots of hiding places, and evidence of homeless people, yet whenever I took a walk there, never found where my peers told me they slept at night.

I spotted Nicholas one evening as I was headed back downtown from Chavez Park, via cutting through the World Trade Center promenade. I hurried across Ocean Blvd. as much as one can hurry waiting upon the traffic light to change, trying to catch up with him. He had told me about his latest sleep spot, invited me there, gave directions, yet I was clueless to exactly where he meant. An empty fishing dock, perhaps. I kept my eye upon him, off in the distance and that was how I found Golden Shore Marine Biological Reserve Park. Nicholas disappeared into the night, but I found a new place to hide during the day.

A perk of being homeless is having the time to sit and observe the herons, seagulls and other birds flitting around or swooping to the water to catch dinner. I never tire of watching ducks take off or land . At the Birdcage area and Shoreline Park, often saw ducks that dove under the water, swimming away. I would try to guess where they would resurface. I often saw possum which should not have surprised me. I had seen raccoon in the city when I lived on Broadway.
Being a nature and outdoor lover, it was a little easier for me to be outside 24/7 then it would be for a city dweller that loathed camping.

There was a man sitting atop the single concrete picnic table, resting from bike riding, when I visited Golden Shore to get some pictures. Why a photo of steps when there are better views of the Ocean and L.A. river? The photo is for me; forgot all about them. I sometimes sat on the top step, dizzy, fearing I was about to fall down. Other days I could walk down them, sit on a rock at the jetty edge watching the water scenes.

Telltale Turtle

2009-05-19T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Telltale Turtle: A Pet Psychic Mystery by Joyce & Jim Lavene

In this story, a homeless man shows up at an animal clinic with his pet goat, Waldo. The city will not allow the guy to tie Waldo outside the shelter where he stays and eats grass. The city also stopped him from taking the goat to "Riverside Park" to eat. Obviously the man can not afford to buy Waldo food.

Also, a building had been vacant for several years. "The first floor had rats and burn spots where homeless people had made fires...".

Earthquake!

2009-05-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

Strange, last night's 4.7 magnitude earthquake is listed as happening at 8:39:36pm. When I stopped shaking, went to kitchen to check time the microwave clock said: 8:20PM. My cell phone was across the room, plugged into an outlet charging at the time the loud bangs startled me, followed by the violent shaking sofa bed. The microwave clock may be off a bit, but only by a minute or two. Did not think to check my watch that I never use which was an arms reach away.

My thoughts quickly went to homeless people, on the streets experiencing earthquakes. I never felt any during my street living days, although I did live outside during tornadoes and hurricane like winds.

Scherer Park

2009-05-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

These photos do not do justice to Scherer Park. This was a peaceful place to spend homeless days. I often went there when I was staying at the Los Angeles Shelter. Taking the bus downtown after arriving at Artesia and Sante Fe and returning in time to catch the bus back to the shelter, gave me about two hours for job seaching. Having my backpack made doing that a chore that I did not care to attempt. Easier to stay at the nearby park, read want ads and get back to Sante Fe in time to be driven back to Los Angeles.

Other homeless used the park, but it was not a daily hangout like some of the other parks. Most often when I saw other homeless people, they were napping or stopped to use the restrooms. There was a homeless family with a motorhome used to spend the day, so the kids could play in the park on non-rainy days.

Schroeder Hall

2009-05-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

City Council did not support Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske's motion to rescind using the Schroeder Hall property to house the Village-MHA. The mental health and homeless advocate facility is currently located on 5th Street downtown. Schipske put in the motion after constant pressure from residents in her district who are oppossed to the site being in their neighborhood.

I attended the City Council meeting when the plan was approved. I wondered what part of that piece of property is mandated for use in conjunction with the homeless. If the deal had been rescinded, Long Beach would have no say in the property's future use. Tho' I attended that original meeting to show support for the Village, when I heard the reports, I would rather the property be used as a sorely needed year-round homeless shelter.

The Council stipulated in Monday's decision that the Village would have to accept restrictions. One of them being that it can not be a drop-in center. Sad.

The Village could provide stats. I am guess-timating that between 80 - 120 homeless people "drop-in" the Village every morning. There they wait patiently to take a cold shower. Some use the clothing room. Some do laundry. Others have appointments to visit their Case Worker or psychiatrist.

Appointment, shower, laundry done, they leave. They do not hang 'round the Village Grounds. Homeless also drop in to pick up their mail or make telephone calls. That mail and those calls are important. A homeless person applying for a job gives their worker's extension number. The worker can not call the homeless person to say "They called for a job interview," so the homeless person can return the call ~ right there using the Village members phone.

There are some Village members who do hang out at the Village. In the Garden. They are usually homed people. Rules changed and Security Guards had to check for appointment cards. No hanging out allowed. Others in the Garden are waiting upon there turn to shower.

There are various other programs at the Village-MHA. A limited number of homeless can rent very tiny lockers to store their stuff. Especially useful for a homeless person going on a job interview or to potential job sites to fill out applications.

I hope the Village declines the stipulations and I hope the Federal government mandates a year-round shelter on the Schroeder Hall property. The complaining neighbors had less to fear from the Village-MHA being there, especially with a new police substation on the property than a shelter. Not that they had anything to fear from a shelter.

The quickest way to rid a neighborhood of homeless hanging 'round is to rescind sales of single cans of beer, pints, 1/2 pints, shorties, especially sold from Mom/Pop stores. The less liquor stores or grocers who sell alcohol, the less homeless will be in the area.

Oops

2009-05-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

Went off on a rant...

The Long Beach Comber article on the Schroder Hall Plan is the best; located here:

http://www.longbeachcomber.com/story.aspx?artID=1424

Another article is at the Gazette:
http://www.gazettes.com/articles/2009/05/06/community_news/doc4a01f3c4d18c5116416494.txt

Homeless & Pets

2009-05-11T00:25:00.000-07:00

A lot of 'the Homeless', love pets. They may have lost the roof over their heads, but giving up their dogs and cats? Never! Nicholas is one of the many who adopts strays, by naming and feeding them.

Shelters, of course, do not allow Pets inside. So what is a poor Homeless Person to do? They simply stay on the streets, no matter how cold, or rainy the night is, being sure their loved animal is protected from the elements.

Beverly. "Usually a woman like you won't talk to someone like me" she said. She had scabs all over her body and quite dirty. I could tell she wanted to talk, so accepted her invitation to join her at the picnic table. She and her guy (Clay) were drinking beer in plastic lidded cups, a ploy, so police wouldn't know.... She had her cage, letting the kittens out to run free, for a while. Tho' her self-grooming was poor, the kittens were brushed & groomed and she saw that they were well fed.

People may lose their homes and worldly goods, but they don't desert their beloved pets. A few seconds of time is all it takes to help feed an animal. Advertiser's donate per click. Visit The Animal Rescue Site.

Postscript: This was from one of my first gypsywoman website pages.