March 30, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 30, 2019:


Homeless Human 1:


My boyfriend shot me in the head in 2008, but I'm alive.

I have some memory problems due to the T.B.I. (traumatic brain injury), but I'm still talented.

A few days ago, a day shelter took a group of women to the Museum of Fine Arts, and I took these pictures:

Copyright Homeless Humans, March 30, 2019

March 27, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 27, 2019


Homeless Human 1:

When I was 16, DCF (Department of Children and Families) in Connecticut pulled me out of high school.  All I needed were 5 more credits to graduate.  I wanted to be a fashion designer.  At that time, Harvard had a fashion school; I could have gone to Harvard, Pratt, UConn and several different universities.  There was one out in California that I wanted to go to, too.  DCF turned around and said “We’re not paying your way through college.  We’re not paying for your graduation, your prom, high school class ring, school yearbook.”  When they realized that I was about to graduate and go to college, they pulled me out of high school and put me in their private school that was attached to the group home.  It was basically a room with a bunch of desks.  They even had a pool that was empty but filled with schoolbooks, like U.S. History, all of that.  I’d take them and bring them to my room, but then they would take them from me, telling me “You don’t need those, those are garbage.”

I argued with them, saying “Why can’t I go back to high school, why can’t I graduate?”  They said “We don’t have the funding for you to graduate.” 

When I turned 18, DCF told me “Pack your bags, the shelter is down the street.”  That’s when I became homeless.


Copyright Homeless Humans, March 27, 2019

March 26, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 26, 2019:


Homeless Human 1:

Today, the Pine Street Inn’s website says that it has 850 tenants in Pine Street Inn housing and 670 emergency shelter beds in 4 locations across Boston.

Here's the address for the page which has that statistic:

https://www.pinestreetinn.org/

This March 20, 2019 Tweet from the Pine Street Inn’s Twitter says that only one of the Pine Street Inn's shelters is for women: 

https://twitter.com/PineStreetInn/status/1108436796554256384

Here's a quote from an article published January 26, 2018:

“Boston’s individual shelters now serve 7 percent more people annually than they did in June 2015.”

Here's another quote from the January 26, 2018 article, attributed to:

“…Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of Pine Street Inn, according to the press release. ‘Our goal is to move people out of shelter as quickly as possible; and better yet, to prevent them from entering in the first place.’”

This is the address for that article:

http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/2018/01/26/citys-emergency-shelter-system-to-be-redesigned/

There is no question that Ms. Downie does not want homeless people to live in Pine Street Inn homeless shelters.  You’d think that her motivation to have us leave would lead her to upgrade the Pine Street Inn’s practices for moving people out of homelessness into appropriate situations, rather than making all of the homeless people in the Pine Street Inn’s shelters suffer from appalling living conditions and personal treatment while she asks the government and other donors for millions of dollars to build more Pine Street Inn housing.   

It’s my impression that one of the main reasons that homelessness is worsening in Boston is that the Pine Street Inn, which declares itself “New England’s leading provider of homeless services,” is doing worse than nothing to help shelter guests obtain or keep housing.  All of its money is going toward building its own housing so that it can be a landlord, living off tenants’ disability checks.  Also, it doesn’t seem to me that anyone is conducting real research to find out how tenants of Pine Street Inn’s housing feel about where they live and the services which they receive.  Obviously, the Pine Street Inn is only publishing testimony from those of its tenants who are willing to say positive things.   

Inclusionary Housing Programs are good housing opportunities.  However, there ought to be more advocacy for low-income tenants in the market-rate buildings, and more education and oversight for the property managements of market-rate buildings which are required to have 13% of their units be affordable.  

I had a nice apartment from 2016-2017 through an Inclusionary Housing Program, but I was mistreated by the property management of that building and received no help at all from the program or from other agencies which I contacted to protect my rights.  The accurate assumption by the property management that it could abuse me with impunity because I am poor caused me to lose that apartment.  My options were to speak up for my rights and be thrown out or to submit to degrading and criminal treatment.  On June 1, 2019, I will begin my 3^rd year of homelessness since losing that apartment; my 7^th year of homelessness since 2011.

Most of the time, people who are supposed to advocate for the poor start with the assumption that the poor person is at fault.  My experience in more than one situation was that the person or people who were supposed to advocate for me knew little to nothing about the law or my rights and wouldn't even advocate for me when I had explained to them what the law and my rights were.  Their approach was to start by apologizing for me as if I were stupid, as if it were a given that I was in the wrong and that resolving the situation required helping others to "understand" my craziness rather confronting others to stop exploiting stigma to abuse me.  Obviously, I wasn't allowed to be angry at my "helpers" about this, because they were "just trying to help" and "did everything they could."  

Copyright Homeless Humans, March 26, 2019

March 25, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 25, 2019:


Homeless Human 1:

So, I was working.  I had an accident in a parking lot and fell, and then I had a mark on my leg.  I was always a healthy person.  I couldn’t get rid of the mark; it kept getting bigger and bigger.  I ended up going to the hospital.

4 ½ hours after I got to the hospital, they diagnosed me with sarcoidosis of the kidneys and liver.  My digestive system was no longer working; I take medication for that, to make it work.  It was all over my skin and in my mouth; they had to remove my teeth.  They had to clip a lot of pieces of my gums out.

I still maintained working until they said my liver was elevated.  Then I had to stop working.

I did maintain a home for a year after I stopped working.  I’m a saver, so I had money in the bank to pay my rent and bills.  Then I was evicted, not quite a year ago. 

I ended up at this shelter.

My initial contact with the shelter was with a gentleman who worked here.  He knew that I had family, so the shelter kicked me out.  I have no family to go to; they have their own families and their own homes.  I thought it was a HIPAA violation for him to do that. 

After the shelter did that, I had to go to the State House.  I spoke to a state aide; she called the shelter and made the shelter take me.  I was sleeping in my car.

Ever since I returned here, since the day I walked back in, I feel like I’ve been retaliated against.

It’s been one bad thing after another.  Walking in here, you know, for a fact, that you’re homeless.  There’s nothing that gives you that encouragement that makes you want to get up and make something of your life.  The staff treats you like you’re nothing. 

I feel like they make you feel homeless, every day that you’re here.

As far as the shelter working with you to get housing:  they put me with a case manager who didn’t do what she said she was doing for me.  I’ve been on a housing waitlist for a specific apartment building for 5 years, since before I was homeless.  I just found out that I’ve been kicked off the waitlist because the case manager who was supposed to be helping me did not call to change my address, didn’t contact these people at all, and was telling me that she did.  Because she told me that she was contacting them, she told me that I didn’t have to contact them.  She’s been lying to me since September 2018, telling me that she was in contact with them and that I was still on their waitlist.  I finally called them because I just got my Section 8.  They have never heard of my case manager, nor did they know that I was really in the shelter.  They told me that I had to send them a letter saying that I am staying at the shelter; the case manager was supposed to do that.  They definitely told me that they had never heard of her.

I asked the case manager, “Who did you speak to?  Can I have a copy of the letter that you said you wrote them back in September?”  She doesn’t have it, and she doesn’t know who she talked to. 

I’m so upset with her; she claims today that she’s going to call them. 

I just don’t understand the lying.  Why would you tell people that you’re doing things when you’re not, making them think that things are being taken care of?  That’s the kicker; I could have, and would have, done all of the work if I had known that she wasn’t doing it.

There’s only one person at the apartment building where I wanted to live who deals with the application process.  I have known her for 5 years.  When I finally called her to find out what was going on, she said “I thought you dropped off the face of the earth.  You used to call me every other month. “  I told her “My case manager was calling you, wasn’t she?”  She said “No, nobody has called.” 

My case manager was even telling me for those months “I talked to them today.”  She was just stringing me along.  There’s another guest of the shelter who’s my witness, who was happy for me, because we thought I’d have housing soon.  Everybody knew that building was where I wanted to be.

The apartment building kicked me off the waitlist in September 2018.  If I had caught it then, they could have put me back on their waitlist.  For all of that time, my case manager at this shelter was lying to me.

That’s what really kills me about her.  I thought “Wow, who does that?  If you don’t want to do this job, why not move on?”  I thought they were here to help us, but obviously not. 

My sister has said “It’s a good thing that you were doing some of the footwork, because they can’t even do the little things that need to be done.” 

Today, my case manager walked right by me like I wasn’t even there.

I don’t know what to do to get back on the housing list for that building.  To have 5 years thrown away is really horrible. 

I think they should hold her accountable, and she’s not the only one.  They all need to be held accountable for what they do here.

The bed situation is also terrible.  It’s a terrible thing to have to come here when you’re sick, when they tell you to bring all your doctors’ notes, and you do, and it doesn’t even matter.  They’re going to do whatever they want to do anyway.  Now I’m having to use the grievance process.  I put in a grievance process last month; I never heard from them.  That’s a waste of time. 

I’m supposed to be leaving April 1^st, to another apartment somewhere else.  I did all of the work for it alone.  When I asked my case manager if she wanted to visit the apartment with me, she said she had other clients to help and that she’d have to get back to me.  When I made the appointment and told her when it was, she said “I might be able to go.”  The day of the appointment, I went to the shelter's front desk and asked if they could call her to ask her if she’d go to the appointment with me; she told the front desk “Tell her to call me when she gets there (to the apartment).”  I didn’t bother to call her; what do I need to call her for? 

When I got there, the building manager said “Where’s your case manager?”  Everyone else had a case manager; I walked all around the building alone. 

I signed the lease.  I am leaving the shelter, but I have to advocate for people who are living here.  I can’t leave them here with the way that staff talk to them.  The other night, someone who works here screamed at a homeless woman so loudly that the woman dropped her tray.  Then the staffperson said “That’s your food for the night.”



Copyright Homeless Humans, March 25, 2019

March 24, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  


March 24, 2019:

Homeless Human 1:

Where should I start?  It’s more or less the unprofessionalism of the staff, especially the ones that are supervising.  They have a lot of retaliation against other people, due to their own personal issues, such as jealousy.  They’ll be jealous of you and take it out on you or your friends, or people that you associate with.  Also, for retaliation, they’ll switch a story after they have a personal conversation when they’re stuck in a jam, if they feel their jobs are on the line.  They try to make the guest look like she did something wrong; they’ll initiate inappropriate conversations with you and finagle the truth.  You’re the one who stays here, so they think that what they say about you to other people will be accepted as the truth even if it’s a lie.  That leads to the unknown; at the end of the day, they have the last call, the final say.  Then they can walk out of the building, and you have to wait until there’s someone that you can talk to about what really happened.  

I think that the staff have cliques, and they gossip about the guests.  They shouldn’t be telling the personal business of other people.  It’s like being in jail when you have that one CO (Correctional Officer) who breaks the rules, brings in drugs and has sex with people; I haven’t seen behavior that bad at the shelter, but I have my suspicions about who has personal encounters. 

They seem to give out SOS’s (Suspension of Services) and not give out a verbal warning; it’s an abuse of authority.  It all ties together.  When they do give you an SOS, they don’t make it clear.  You get up the next day and you think everything is fine, and then BAM, you have nowhere else to go.

Then, while you have the SOS, you’re not allowed in the building, so if you need to get something from your locker, you can’t get it, even if there’s a legitimate reason.  It’s really inconvenient for guests to have SOSs, so staff shouldn’t be giving them out for things that aren’t that important. 

There are nice people who work here.  The good staff are understanding.  A few of them give good advice.  They’re fair, consistent and by the book. 

The grievance process takes a long time and you have to write a lot of grievances.  It takes multiple grievances to solve every problem or to even get heard about serious matters.  Some people do write grievances because they’re being a pain in the ass to the system, but some people really need help right away.  I feel that the grievances should be dealt with within 24 hours, not three weeks.  I have done grievances about everything that I’m talking about today; that’s how mad I was. 

Favoritism is a problem, too.  I feel that there’s discrimination on the basis of race and sexual orientation.  It took me a while to see that.  I feel as though others can use abusive language, especially toward people who are of color, and they seem to get away with it.  It’s not right.  I have seen it happen numerous times.

Favoritism is a problem with saved beds.  I feel as though it all depends on who you are.  I don’t have a saved bed.  I’ve been working for this shelter, of all places, and I feel like they don’t take that into consideration.  They seem to think that just because I work for this shelter, I can come around the corner and be here as if it’s not a regular job.  Then there are people who are supposed to have saved beds, and when they get back, their beds weren’t even saved for them and they have to sleep in the lobby.  They told me that they came back crying.  Then they have to wake up at 4:15 a.m., almost two hours earlier than everyone else, after lying on cold, hard cots in the lobby where they have no privacy.  Staff talk really loudly during the change of shift and are very inconsiderate.  Some of the overnight staff also talk during the night, when people are trying to sleep in the lobby. 

Also, where’s all the money going??????


_________


Homeless Human 2:

1)  The staff will bar guests of this shelter who call the cops or ambulance for themselves.

2)  The shelter makes the guests stand outside in line in the pouring rain, letting us get soaking wet for at least half an hour or more.

3)  They keep the disabled bathroom locked.  Because of them doing that, guests have had accidents.

4)  Most staff are very disrespectful to the guests.

5)  Staff have stolen items from the guests.  They see something they like and tell you it can't go into a locker.  When you go back to get it, it's gone.  Like a pair of hair clippers that I bought my husband; well, they liked them.  If clippers aren't allowed then why do I see other guests with them?

6)  Most of the food they call edible is nasty.  I would not even feed a dog what is served here.

7)  When will they have actual compassionate people?  We are homeless, down on our luck but still human beings.

8)  Why is there only one person hired for housing applications and why are there only 2 to 3 advocates?  How is it fair that only certain people get advocates but the rest are on their own?

9)  Too much discrimination around here.  They took our soft seats away and now we sit on hard chairs around tables.  It's getting worse here, but no one wants to listen because to them we are lower than dirt.  Not fair at all. 




Copyright Homeless Humans, March 25, 2019

March 23, 2019

Mission Statement:

-To increase the accuracy of the public’s perception of homelessness

Contributors are designated by number only for the day on which what we have to say is published; the numbers aren’t permanent identifiers.

Homeless shelters aren’t named, also to protect the identities of contributors, who have every reason to fear retaliation from the shelters which are supposed to help us.  

March 23, 2019

Homeless Human 1:

We should be able to have the same beds from Friday night to Monday morning.  Then the shelter wouldn’t have to worry about washing the sheets for the weekend unless they were extremely dirty, we could use the lockers upstairs and get a break from carrying our things around all day, and we could also get a break from having to be at the shelter for hours in the afternoon for the bed distribution. 

_____________

Homeless Human 2:

Hi.  I am a homeless woman, living in a shelter in Boston.  I have been ill twice with pneumonia during my time at the shelter, and I have also developed acute pancreatitis.  I have been unable, due to my illness, to take care of the issues related to my car, which are:  renewing the registration and getting an inspection sticker. 

When I got out of the hospital, I went to the registry and was informed that I owe $2,000 in parking tickets, which I couldn't afford to pay outright in order to register my car.  I haven’t driven my car since it’s been unregistered.  However, it’s insured.  I asked to make payment arrangements with the parking office, but they wouldn’t allow me to do that.  I asked to meet with someone at the parking office to file an appeal, but I was denied.  They told me that if I had a handicapped placard I could have the hearing that day; however, I don’t have one.  I also have a history of breast cancer, cardiac arrest after the surgery for breast cancer, two myocardial infections, septic shock, and a stroke. 

I struggle to be well on a day-to-day basis.  The parking ticket situation is a stressor that has affected me very negatively, in terms of my health.  I was given very little help by the two parking clerks that I spoke with at the parking office at City Hall. 

That evening, I began looking on Craigslist for a rental space for my car, to get it off the street.  The costs for rental spaces were things like $125/month, $300/month, $400/month.  I was lucky to find one for $80/month.  However, I was too tired to do it that night, as it was quite late. 

The next morning, I found a green Notice To Owner sticker on my car, which says:

“This motor vehicle has been declared abandoned under MGL Chapter 90. Sec. 22B and Chapter (illegible) of 1988.  Unless this vehicle is removed and disposed (of according) to law by the owner, the City will do so and charge the owner under Chapter 212 of the Acts of 1988.  Such charge will mean that the owner will be fined $250 (plus costs for removal and disposal) for the first offense and $500 (plus costs) for each offense thereafter.  Failure to pay fines and fees under this section will lead to registration and license non-renewal.  Conviction of multiple offenses may lead to license suspension.  This is the only notice you will receive prior to any such action.”

Being a homeless person in Boston is a totally demoralizing experience in so many ways.  You find market-rate rents are unaffordable.  It’s next to impossible to afford to keep a car in Boston as well as find affordable housing. 

I feel that the cities and towns are callous and cold and make a huge amount of money off citizens through tickets and the refusal to compromise, despite extenuating circumstances and a medical history that many people would not have even survived. 

My car is beginning to cost me what I paid for it.   I have a spotless driving record.  Now I can’t use my car to work.



Copyright Homeless Humans, March 25, 2019