Wednesday, May 30, 2007

HHH's Dance is Upcoming

When: Saturday, June 9th, 7 pm - 10 pm

Where: St. Martin's Church, 1501 E. 7th St.

What: HHH Oldies Dance

Cost: $10 (Includes pizza and soda)

Who: The entire community.

More info.........

Homeless Community Hosts Dance for Wider Community

Charlotte, NC – May 29, 2007

The homeless community is about to turn the tables. Homeless individuals are accustomed to being hosted by various churches and community groups for meals and shelters. On Saturday, June 9th from 7 pm – 10 pm, the homeless community will be the hosts for a community Oldies dance. The event will take place at St. Martins Episcopal Church at 1501 E. 7th Street in Charlotte. All are welcome. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the door or pre-purchased at the Urban Ministry Center. All proceeds will go to support the advocacy work of Homeless Helping Homeless, the dance sponsors.

The dance will be an alcohol free event. Pizza and drink are included with the ticket, thanks to sponsors Fuel Pizza and Coca-Cola. Door prizes will be offered (thanks to Fox and Hound and Rock Bottom Brewery), as well as a 50/50 raffle.

Homeless Helping Homeless (HHH), a program of the Urban Ministry Center, is an advocacy organization made up of formerly and currently homeless individuals. HHH’s mission is to build bridges, empower change, and end homelessness. As group member Richard Lincoln states, “We hope to eliminate the word homelessness in Mecklenburg County.” The dance is an attempt to break down stereotypes of homelessness and increase the leadership skills of group members.

For more information, contact Liz Clasen at 704-926-0608, lclasen@urbanministrycenter.org

HHH Members Honored at Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful Luncheon

Commissioner Jennifer Roberts presents HHH members Johnnie Huntly, Mohammed Osman, and Rollon Washington with $25 gift cards in honor of their hard work.
Clean-up Crew leader Rollon Washington with a fan from Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful
Rollon, Mohammed, and Johnnie gleaming with pride before the luncheon

Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful honored Homeless Helping Homeless at their annual Mecklenburg County Waste Reduction and Recycling Business Recognition Awards Banquet on Tuesday, May 29th. HHH was honored for their bi-weekly clean-up efforts along Tryon St. Since April, over 40 members of the homeless community have worked to pick up over 200 bags of litter.


The group was represented by clean-up leader Rollon Washington and regular clean-up participants Mohammed Osman and Johnnie Huntley. We were treated to a fancy lunch (Johnnie and Mohammed both tasted asparagus for the first time) and were warmly welcomed with a standing ovation from the crowd. Before leaving, the luncheon organizer's loaded us up with leftover food to share with our homeless brothers and sisters.

Rollon Washington smiles broadly, "I am proud of the efforts we have made to keep Mecklenburg County clean." The group has hopes to expand the clean-up efforts this summer. With a recent grant from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development we are now able to provide a token of gratitude to participants - for every 4 clean-up sessions attended, participants receive a weekly bus pass.

Op-Ed: Housing the homeless pays off

HHH facilitator Liz Clasen recently published an op-ed piece in the Charlotte Observer.

http://www.charlotte.com/409/story/130929.html

Housing the homeless pays off

Chilly-Willy Major shows high cost to the public of living on the street

From Liz Clasen, associate executive director, and Paul Hanneman, program director, at Charlotte's Urban Ministry Center.

In his May 6 column, Tommy Tomlinson mentioned Murray Barr, a homeless alcoholic who ran up a bill of more than $100,000 at one hospital in six months in Reno, Nev. We have our own Murray Barrs in Charlotte -- individuals such as William "Chilly-Willy" Major, whose frequent minor arrests due to his alcohol addiction have cost taxpayers $10,000 for jail time in the last two years alone. If the costs incurred for medical care, detox and social services' staff time were included for Major's nearly 30 years on the street, the total would be shockingly high.
Tomlinson said it would be more efficient to buy Barr a house and hire a full-time nurse. While that might seem outrageous, the economics of poverty are driving a new housing approach for the chronically homeless called Housing First that's much like Tomlinson's proposal.
Instead of waiting for such individuals to get sober, transition into the Uptown Men's Shelter, find a source of income and then locate a permanent place to live, the Housing First approach moves a chronically homeless person from the streets into permanent supportive housing, where he's surrounded by supportive services such as intensive case management, mental health help and substance-abuse recovery.

The Housing First model flies in the face of America's "pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps" mentality, but the economics of the approach helped it gain momentum. A 1999 study on a New York City's Housing First program found that each placement of a mentally ill, chronically homeless individual into permanent supportive housing reduced public spending by $12,145 through savings at emergency medical, mental health, jail and shelter facilities. These savings covered the cost of maintaining permanent supportive housing units.
Chronic addiction and mental illness make it difficult for persons such as Barr and Major to exist in a shelter setting. They're more likely to sleep and live in public spaces, a lifestyle that makes them vulnerable to arrest for minor offenses, such as trespassing and public urination. A recent study by the Sheriff's Department found that 40 percent of Mecklenburg's most chronic offenders were homeless and the vast majority of their crimes were misdemeanors.
The chronically homeless are more likely to use health care, mental health and substance abuse services at the most expensive points: emergency rooms and detoxification facilities. Once in stable housing, however, they are more likely to access primary health care and less likely to be arrested or go to detox.

Further examination of the issue makes the economics even more compelling. Despite fitting the common stereotypes of homelessness, the chronically homeless make up only 10 to 20 percent of the homeless population. Yet this small portion is estimated to consume 50 percent of the resources targeted toward relieving homelessness. By housing individuals like Major, the shelters and service center resources are freed up to serve the remaining 80 percent of the homeless population, who are able to transition out of homelessness with much less intensive support.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg's proposed 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness calls for the creation of 500 units of supportive housing for the chronically homeless. This proposal offers an opportunity to be both compassionate and cost-effective. It's time to come together and put a priority on creative housing solutions for our community's William Majors and Murray Barrs.