Most readers don’t give change to homeless on the street

Over 250 people responded to the poll last week:

Q: When a homeless person asks you for change, do you give it to them?

1. never: 143 [56.3%]
2. sometimes: 87 [34.3%]
3. frequently: 20 [7.9%]
4. n/a — I don’t visit places where there are homeless: 4 [1.6%]
5. always: 0 [0%]

Four people live sheltered lives if they don’t go where they may encounter a homeless person. The majority do not give change to the homeless.  While I count myself among those who do not give change,  I do give other ways.  It is important to note is not every panhandler is homeless.  But often the homeless do panhandle to raise money.   Here is a story of the homeless:

‘I asked what he meant and heard a story that was to be repeated to me by many people. Each person I asked told me essentially the same thing: they were ignored as if they did not exist.

A pattern began to emerge. First was the loss of work, then housing, going begging to GA (General Assistance, welfare) where they were treated like second class citizens and beggars. Not finding a bed at the shelter, they are hassled on the streets by police. Then finally they get the courage, yes I mean courage, to ask others for a little change.

A person must feel awfully low inside to have to resort to panhandling as a way of getting money for food and a place to sleep, let along clean clothes and phone change. (Bus money to look for work is about as far as GA money goes).

A person gets tired of sleeping on the streets. I know. Men are lucky to get a shelter bed once or twice a month. Women fare a little better with a couple of nights a week, but even that gets tiring. After a while you need to sleep in a real bed, have some privacy, and take a bath alone. But you do not have money for a hotel room. Where do you get the money? Your last resort, panhandling. When you begin to see what a person must go through day after day, month after month, you gain a little understanding.

But you ask what you could do.

The reason why I was not yelled at was that I acknowledged panhandlers. I let them know I knew they existed. It was not much, just a look saying that I cannot help. I would look at them, pat my pocket, and show an empty hand, or I pointed behind me with my thumb indicating I gave what I could to the last one who asked me. Sometimes I have just said “sorry.” I have also said “not this time,” “I wish I could help,” or “I just gave to the last guy.” All of which was true; I would never lie.

When I did these small things I said a lot more than my words did. I said to them, “I acknowledge you exist, I do not look down on you, you are no less a human being than I, and I respect you as a person.” All that in a gesture or a few words.

A person who is down on their luck needs a little dignity left inside. If you look, you can even see the depression in their eyes. Panhandling is their last resort as it takes the loss of a lot of self respect to do it. And courage to look someone in the face and say, “I need your help.”  – Rae Chamberlain’

Acknowledging the homeless takes very little effort on my part but it means so much to them to not be ignored. Here are some other tips:

• Don’t ignore them. say hello, good afternoon or just make eye contact.  It is okay to give them dignity.
• Buy What’s Up magazine (or the street newspaper in your city)
• Give money to and/or volunteer at organizations that work directly with the homeless in your community.

Resources:

• News… From Our Shoes
• National Coalition for the Homeless
• PBS’ NeedCom

An interesting way to give change is located in the  Central West End:

“The Central West End Association and the City of St. Louis have announced the launch of the “Real Change” campaign. The goal of the campaign is to discourage the random giving of money to panhandlers while encouraging contributions to local social service providers. The campaign is conjuction with a new city ordinance restricting panhandling.

Parking meters donated by the St. Louis Treasurer’s Office have been installed at four locations in the Central West End. These meters will be used to collect change that will be distributed to area service providers. In addition, neighborhood businesses will distribute cards informing residents and visitors of the campaign and encouraging participation in “real change.” (Real Change program)

Homelessness continues to exist primarily in urban areas but that is changing:

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual survey last year found homelessness remained steady at about 1.6 million people, but the percentage of rural or suburban homelessness rose from 23 percent to 32 percent. The 2009 HUD report, which reflected the 12 months ending Sept. 30, 2008, also found the number of sheltered homeless families grew from about 473,000 to 517,000.  (NY Times: Suburban Homeless: Rising Tide of Women, Families)

Suburban & rural communities need to address homelessness and the plan can’t be dropping them off at the closest urban center. Thanks to Jay Swoboda of What’s Up for his help with resources for this post.

– Steve Patterson

Maryland Heights residents to discuss redesign of two highway interchanges

Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth, is hosting a public event with MoDOT and the City of Maryland Heights on the reconstruction of the I-270 interchanges at Dorsett Road and Page Avenue, which begin this month.

Wednesday – February 17, 2010
6:00 – 7:00 p.m. – Presentation and Q&A with MoDOT and City of Maryland Heights Public Works
7:00 -8:00 p.m. – Open Forum with Community

Maryland Heights Community Centre – Auditorium
2344 McKelvey Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63043

This is the first public forum with specific details and time lines on this two-year construction project. The project will start on I-270 and Dorsett Road the first year, then move to Page Avenue interchange in 2011. The project is expected to take two years. MoDOT will also be showing the public the animated driving sequences on the “divergent diamond” design on Dorsett at the I-270 interchange.

180,000 cars a day travel on I-270 through Maryland Heights every day and this is going to cause big disruptions for both local traffic in Maryland Heights, Westport and Creve Couer as well as those who are just traveling through the area on I-270 from Page Ave. to I-70. There will be lane detours and reduced lanes as they completely rebuild the bridges/interchanges.

There will also be a major, parallel Maryland Heights city project moving Prospect Parkway away from the rebuilt Dorsett interchange which will place the finished road further east on Dorsett. It will relocate the road on the north side of Dorsett past Syberg’s and cross to the south-side of Dorsett just east of the Drury Inn. The south-side construction will feature a “jug-handle” design and is designed to assist with traffic congestion from the newly expanded Edward Jones campus as well as funnel traffic in and out of the Westport area.

Maryland Heights Residents is a relatively new organization that originally formed in 2008 in response to development proposals for the Howard Bend area. In general, there seemed to be no community information or engagement with residents of Maryland Heights. Only the business and property owners were routinely notified of public meetings and asked to participate in community development discussions. The residents realized we needed to step up as citizens and inject ourselves into the process.

The organization has developed since then into a group dedicated to making Maryland Heights a better place to live and giving residents a voice in community development. Our four main goals are:

• Preserve Howard Bend green space
• Revitalize our neighborhoods
• Protect our environment
• Promote public engagement

You can get more information on Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth at www.marylandheightsresidents.com.

Full disclosure: I am one of the organizing partners for Maryland Heights Residents for Responsible Growth.

– Deborah Moulton

Starting bid 900K

The handsome building at 1701 Locust was sold twice in 2005: for $1.25 million in August and for $1.8 million in December 2005.  Next week it will be auctioned online with bids starting at 900K.  Ouch!

Many buildings downtown faced similar issues.  When times were great building prices rose quickly but they have cooled even faster than they heated up.

Nothing appears to have been done, except architectural drawings for lofts.  This 4-story building contains over 76,000sf.  From the listing;

“Exceptional user purchase or redevelopment opportunity. The Property is a vacant office building measuring approximately 76,000 sf in downtown St. Louis. The property is an ideal candidate for a user purchase or redevelopment to mixed-use of commercial and residential. Phase I and Phase II applications for local, state and federal historical tax credits have been completed and approved, which provide for tax credits of 25% (state and local) and 20% (federal) of eligible costs and expenses of renovations to offset state and federal income taxes.”

It is located a block West of me so I hope someone will buy and rehab it. There are plenty of for sale condos on the market already so rental units makes more sense currently.  More information can be found at Auction.com.

– Steve Patterson

Conservatives can support public transit on April 6th

Liberals do not hold a monopoly on supporting public transportation.   Thanks to a post on Sprawled Out I learned of an interview by Street Films with conservative author William S. Lind.  Some of his points include:

• Auto dominance in the U.S. is not a free market outcome
• Liberal transit advocates should not mention reduction of greenhouse gases when talking transit to conservatives
• Libertarian anti-transit critics use wrong measurements
• “When you tax one competitor and subsidize the other the subsidized competitor wins.”

Here is the video (3:21 minutes):

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q9zeJnCx6Q

I often find myself agreeing with fiscal conservatives — and disagreeing with Libertarians.

“Conservatives And Public Transportation”Conservatives and Public Transportation” is a collection of studies originally published between 1997 and 2009 in booklet form by the American Public Transportation Association. The book includes a previously unpublished report on the activities of the National Surface Transportation Commission, appointed by Congress in 2005 to examine the infrastructure needs of this country. Weyrich served on the commission and wrote language that strongly supported public transportation for the commission’s final report. That language, which had been adopted on a 9-3 vote, was excised from the final report.The studies helped conservatives understand why transit should be an essential part of the conservative agenda: because it enhances national security, promotes economic development, helps maintain conservative values including a sense of community, and provides welfare recipients with access to jobs.”  (Reconnecting America)

More:

“The Free Congress Foundation has established The Center for Public Transportation under a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to offer a re-balanced vision of the national transportation system in which rail and highway travel complements each other. Some journeys will always be more convenient by car. But Americans should be able to travel from any point in the country to any other point without using a car, if they so choose. They had that option as recently as the 1950s. By re-creating it, we can ensure that America is not held hostage by crises in the Middle East or other oil-producing areas.”  (Free Congress Foundation)

Conservative or liberal, there are reasons to support good mass transit.

-Steve Patterson

Next deadline on Edward Jones Dome quickly approaching

Last week the agreement to sell the St. Louis Rams to Urbana, IL businessman Shahid Khan was announced in the news:

“The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the team’s owners, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, have agreed to sell the team to Illinois businessman Shahid Khan.” (USAToday)

Any sale must be approved by the NFL.  If the sale goes through it would very likely mean the Rams would not be leaving the St. Louis area.  But sale or not, the requirements of the lease remain in place:

“The next scheduled deadline for first-tier status is March 1, 2015. But the process that could lead to the Rams getting out of the lease and potentially relocating starts much sooner – in just 2 1/2 years.

On or before Feb. 1, 2012, the CVC must deliver a preliminary plan for first-tier improvements. The overall plan must include a financial plan, as well as the source of those funds.

The Rams then have until March 1, 2012, to notify the CVC if they approve or disapprove of those plans.

At that point, the Rams have until May 1, 2012, to submit an alternate plan, with the CVC then given until June 1, 2012, to accept or reject the Rams’ alternate plan.

If the CVC rejects the Rams’ alternate plan, the matter goes to arbitration on June 15, 2012. The arbitration must be completed by the end of 2012.

If no agreement is reached, the stadium lease would then convert to a year-to-year lease, with the Rams free to move after the 2014 season.”  (Source: ballparks.com)

So the CVC now has less than two years to put together a plan to satisfy the requirement that the dome be among the top 25% in the NFL.  We don’t yet know how much money is required, or where it would come from.  I’m sure the CVC folks are already sweating bullets thinking about it.  If the CVC meets the lease requirements then the Rams will be obligated through 2024.  At that point the dome will be more than 30 years old and the lease will terminate.

Assuming we get past this next deadline, I think we will hear talk around 2018-2020 about a new facility.  The poll this week asks where you think a new facility should be located.  I think any future facility should not be located downtown.  Baseball works well in an urban context — there are many more home games, the required facility is smaller, and baseball stadiums are more visually open. Football stadiums belong outside of an walkable urban context: suburbia basically.

By 2012 we may be asked to fund improvements to the Edward Jones Dome. If we are going to come up with additional money I want that money to go for a new facility outside of downtown. Put it next to MetroLink in Illinois or on the site of the former Chrysler plant on I-44.

– Steve Patterson