Blue Notes from a Red Zone

The Price of Change

For ten years, I have worked for social change in my area. Generally I have been able to work behind the scenes, network with different community stakeholders, advocate with government officials, provide continuing education to professionals whose lives touch those of the persons I seek to help. Other than publishing the occasional op-ed piece in the paper (where by-lines usually go unnoticed), I've been able to slide under the radar while still contributing to positive outcomes.

In the last few days, this has not been the case. I made a speech to a packed crowd of business leaders, mayors, members of the Chamber of Commerce, interestned citizens and my "base" - providers of service to the homeless. At the time, I thought it went well. 50 or more people asked questions and made comments, and only two were negative. There were outbursts of applause for many of my comments, and the comments of those who were supporting a homeless shelter. I hoped that perhaps we reached a few new players, perhaps those who could truly turn a shelter into a reality.

The next day, I changed my mind. I still remembered the event as being a good experience, but the media didn't see it that way. They took the more lunatic response to my comments and played them up. A former legislative representative, Jerry Melvin, had said the answer to the homeless question was to round all the homeless up, fingerprint them, photograph them, give them medical screenings, and watch them. If they looked at someone funny, they should be locked up. If they didn't have a job in seven days, they should be deported. Meanwhile, to build a shelter was a crazed idea, since we had plenty of existing resources, and a shelter would be a duplication of services. His punch line was "we don't need to help Lenore build any more empires for herself and her company in this county."

He listed the existing resources, which not surprisingly added up to a total of 0 beds for the homeless. His first choice was the YMCA, which I'm sure would be startled to know it was a provider of homeless services. The YMCA offers a gym and a pool, all of which are open to members only. The next choice was the Salvation Army, which hasn't offered shelter for at least six years (and only offered 4 beds at $10 a night when they did). This should have been clear to Jerry, since the head of the Salvation Army had just announced he had no beds, his facility had no room, and their location was inaccesible to the homeless. The final suggestion was the Waterfront Rescue Mission, which allows homeless persons 3 nights of shelter. After that, a homeless individual must join their substance abuse recovery program or move on. They are not allowed back no matter how bitter the weather, or how desperate the individual. Contrary to public opinion, not every homeless person is an alcoholic or addict, and there are those who do not subscribe to the particular faith insisted upon by the Mission. Children don't even get the 3 nights.

Perhaps because these comments were so off-the-wall, they were the anchor to the newspaper account of the meeting. My empire building was particularly prominent in the news report, taking up the banner headline on the front page. The reporter described the meeting as one of testy exchange, and ignored the overall support expressed over the course of two hours.

Jerry's comments seemed to resonate with a substantial number of the rapid right-wing nuts (the very ones who find it un-Christian to help the poor). Jerry hosts a three-hour drive time talk-radio show, and I was the subject of his tirades and those of his call-in buddies. This was picked up by other talk radio hosts, and I was cursed and vilified off and on all day. Apparently my push to create a shelter is inciting the poor and homeless to flock to our area. I am doing this intentionally so as to engineer a take-over of local government, thus raising taxes and offering services that the poor don't deserve, and the government can't accomplish anyway. This would be laughable, except that the viciousness of most of the comments dampened the humorous aspect considerably. The hostility has carried over to letters and opinions printed in the newspaper.

My initial reactions are two-fold. My first instinct is to go on talk radio myself and set out my point of view. I know a review of the facts won't influence Jerry, but there might be a few of the 20,000 listeners who would hear them. The second instinct is to resign as head of the Continuum of Care that is spearheading the drive for a shelter. I question how effective I can be if I have become a lightning rod for anger and hate. Will the non-lunatic fringe be able to listen to what I have to offer, or will they see me as someone caught up in a petty and nasty fight? I already know from the original newspaper account that even though Jerry was the only one attacking anyone, the reporter apparently thought it a better story to make me a contender as well. The facts on this aspect no longer mean a thing.

I had lunch with a friend today, who said I should take all the furor as a sign of progress. People who have had their own way for decades are not excited about change, and it is clear that I have been effective enough to present a threat to the status quo. To flee the field now would be state that I had little belief in my own cause. I can see her point, but there is also merit in the concept that it is much safer, having roused a hornets nest, to put distance between yourself and the hornets.

If anyone has some great suggestions, I would appreciate hearing them in comments. I am feeling a bit lonely at the moment.

posted by Lenore Wilson @ 1:06 AM