Day 27 of Homelessness

Please join us for a sidewalk protest against DRCOG for failing to support the homeless!

When: Friday, October 16th, 11:30am -- 1:30pm
Where: 1290 Broadway, Denver
Why: To recapture funding for homeless seniors

The committee of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) that defunded Senior Support Services will be meeting at the same time and in the same place as our protest on Friday.

Senior Support Services feeds, clothes and houses the poorest of the poor and helps make each day better than the last. For more information: http://www.seniorsupportservices.org

Thank you!

Day 26 of Homelessness

Greg (left) brought a fine cup of coffee to my tent this morning. I’m getting spoiled.

A week or two ago, I found a bedbug on my coat in my office and promptly killed it. Today, I found a bedbug full of blood on me. Bedbugs are a huge problem for us. A number of our homeless clients slough off bedbugs while at our day shelter and they migrate throughout the facility, hiding in chairs and then hitching rides home on the unsuspecting. A staff member recently had to fumigate his house and bedbugs are a lot harder to get rid of than your average pest. It's expensive, a special pesticide must be used, all clothing has to be washed in hot water, and they can apparently go a year without a meal. I just hope I haven’t brought pestilence down upon the friends' homes where I’ve showered or upon those with whom I've camped.

Day 25 of Homelessness

Yesterday, I watched the Bronco game at my friend John’s house and had a great meal and a shower. It had been about 4 days since I’d bathed so it was nice to feel human again. Being an avid sports fan gives me something to do and helps me remain connected. On that score, I watched the Rockies game with my friend Shiraz at the bar closest to my campsite but had to leave at the end of the 8th in order to make camp, and try to get some sleep. Too bad they weren't quite able to pull it off.

Last night I was a bit cold perhaps because of the humidity as opposed to the temperature as I think it was technically a few degrees warmer than the night before when I had no trouble sleeping. I didn’t sleep as well as I usually do but Steve came by this morning with coffee (pictured above), which is about the kindest thing you can do for an urban camper.

Day 24 of Homelessness

Immediately above are a few pictures I took today, a typical Sunday at Senior Support Services.

I believe that as social animals, we are compelled to help one another, and we do so in any variety of ways from charitable giving to shoveling a neighbor's walk. If we decline to do so, we rob ourselves of something we desperately need. In some ways, our homeless are better off than those seniors who rarely leave their homes as our day center provides a place for them to interact and help each other out, lending moral support.

On three nights so far at my favorite campsite, my only companion has been what I thought was a coyote, fox or rat. The first time I heard him, I could not figure out what he was doing. He was obviouly struggling but it was for what seemed like an hour directly across the river from me. He started moaning for a time and then I heard a big splash. The next morning I spotted the tree he had cut down and I've since learned that he tends to moan shortly before he finishes the job. On the second night, he awakened me, I got up to take a leak, he got frightened and slammed his tail on the water's surface. Last night, he was creeping around my tent and then headed out into the water.

A few weeks back, a homeless man was found dead in the river. I was worried he was my opera singer who was camped nearby and whom I hadn't heard since, but I'm happy to report he was singing away this morning, cheerful as ever.

Day 23 of Homelessness

At right, my tent this morning with the night's snowfall on it. Last night was the coldest night thus far but I managed to stay reasonably comfortable thanks to a friend's tent I've borrowed.

Please find below a copy of the letter I mailed today to all 20 members of the Advisory Committee on Aging. This is the DRCOG committee that reviews applications and distributes Older Americans Act funds.

Dear Committee Member,

I am writing to you in your capacity as a member of the Advisory Committee on Aging of DRCOG.

Congress passed the Older Americans Act (OAA) specifically to serve those seniors with the “greatest social need” and “greatest economic need” (Title III, Section 305). In violation of the Act, DRCOG awarded OAA funds this year to organizations that serve those who are already housed and have far greater means than, for instance, the homeless.

The OAA also requires that as a “focal point for comprehensive service delivery in each community,” special consideration be given to “designating multipurpose senior centers” (Title III, Section 306). Instead, DRCOG favored specific services such as in-home and transportation services for the housed as opposed to funding centers like Senior Support Services where comprehensive, one-stop shopping is provided for the homeless.

Senior Support Services is the safety net organization for the seniors of the Denver Metro area, serving the poorest of the poor. There is no group of seniors with greater needs than those served by our organization, which explains why Senior Support had received funding from DRCOG every year for 25 years. When DRCOG experienced a funding cut of 13%, it could have and should have passed on that 13% funding cut to each of its grantees. Instead, it cut all funding to Senior Support Services.

On September 17th, I declared myself homeless to call attention to the plight of the homeless seniors we serve, and to protest the failure of DRCOG to serve the homeless. I am still homeless and waiting for a response from DRCOG, and a plan as to how it will take care of homeless seniors (i.e. seniors with the greatest needs) in the future. Here are links to a Denver Post story and my homeless blog:
http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_13423857
http://tedshomelessstrike.blogspot.com/

At the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Aging on October 16th, please make the following two motions:

1) Restore funding to Senior Support Services as of July 1st of this year.
2) Create a detailed plan as to how DRCOG is going to serve homeless seniors thereby meeting the requirements of the Older Americans Act.

(Older Americans Act: http://www.aoa gov/AoARoot/ AoA_Programs/OAA/oaa_full.asp#_Toc153957659)

Thank you for your consideration,

Ted Pascoe
Executive Director
Senior Support Services
303-832-1622 x207; tedpascoe@gmail.com

Day 21 of Homelessness

Hester Prynne is infinitely braver and more likable than anyone else in The Scarlet Letter. Reverend Dimmesdale is physically and mentally very weak, and of course ends up doing nothing for Hester and their daughter despite his complicity. Rather than owning up, he abandons them and dies of shame. That Hester bore the full brunt of the Scarlet A and vanquished it is even greater testament to her character. Of course, you could argue that the Reverend had farther to fall. Not having very far to fall has always given me more latitude to do idiotic things, or at least seriously contemplate them. Latitude my father, for instance, would never have been afforded.

But I finished this great story and moved on to another: The Jungle, which I was also undoubtedly supposed to have read. My life as a homeless person is a cakewalk compared to how these people lived; sleeping mattress-to-mattress in one filthy room; working in dangerous and horrible conditions at the Packinghouse. The prospect of being crammed together in one room (at a shelter) is why many of our homeless prefer to sleep outside, no matter how cold. The latter is certainly what I am opting for tonight.

Day 20 of Homelessness

Above left, I'm in my office on day 20 of my homeless protest. By contrast, Cleo (at left) who is a client of and a super-volunteer at Senior Support has been homeless for 7 years.

Should be chilly tonight as they are talking about a snowstorm materializing . . . .