Several weeks back, in the waiting area of MEND, several residents or ex residents of Los Angeles Family Housing started talking about case management and the tactics used on them.
Residents or ex residents said that the threat of being sent to NEW IMAGE shelter in down town Los Angeles (skid row) had been made to them for "non compliance" (disobedience) when they were also threatened with termination from the LAFH program. "Non compliance" included refusing to "go mental" in order to get SSI benefits, having too many possessions in their assigned space, or not finding housing with a Section 8 voucher fast enough and included the threat that if they did not take an apartment they would loose the voucher and be "sent" to New Image.
We say this! NO ONE HAS TO GO TO A SHELTER just because CASE MANAGEMENT at one says they are "sending" them.
Homeless people who had stayed at NEW IMAGE said that they knew that case managers from both shelters seemed to have a relationship. There was even talk overheard of LAFH and NEW IMAGE employees going on a cruise together.
Then the fact that calling 211 for shelter or other needs means having your records accessed in a database. If you call for EMERGENCY SHELTER, if you are in the database (and you will be because LAFH and other Los Angeles County and Orange County shelters insist you sign that they be allowed to share information), you may be branded trouble because you DID NOT LIKE THE WAY YOU WERE TREATED AT ONE SHELTER OR ANOTHER and be refused admittance at another.
SHELTERS are NOT THE BIG SOLUTION FOR HOMELESS. They are temporary and better in most cases than being on the street but they are as close to the street as you can get.
Many homeless do not want to be part of a program that is cold hearted and all about statistics to get more funding which can be used for case managers pay checks.
SHELTERS should all be aware that homeless compare notes wherever they go.
2 comments:
There was a big event in Sun Valley the other day where some people including John Horn from LA Family Housing went out trying to take information down from people living on the street like they would try to help all these people. Wonder if they counted any of the people they put on the street who used to live at their shelter? Valley Shelter is a hell hole. Some of us would rather live in our vans.
MEND means Meeting Each Need With Dignity and its all volunteers. They treated me and my wife right when we were living in our car. We got a shower, something for breakfast and lunch, some clothes on Tuesdays which is homeless day. We're doing a little better now. SS
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