Thursday, June 3, 2010

HELP!!! Keep that Homeless Person Away From My Kid!!

Group seeks to stop plan for Oak Cliff apartments for homeless News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Oak Cliff News

So, all of a sudden, Oak Cliff folks are screaming about Cliff Manor Apartments housing chronically homeless adults, even though it has been housing very similar clientele forever. One of the primary arguments they put forth is the possible danger to school kids vis a vis the proximity of the apartments to area schools. It's like, all of a sudden, all of the perpetrators in Dallas will be moved into Cliff Manor and swoop down on the kids or sell them drugs or abduct them or god-knows what else. The companion argument is, why not let Cliff Manor continue to house senior citizens and disabled citizens.......as if, once you reach a certain age or if you're disabled, you can no longer be a perpetrator! Sorry folks, but grandpa (or grandma, for that matter) is just as likely to be a perpetrator as is chronically homeless Joe or Jane; and a disability hardly disqualifies you from being a perpetrator.

The folks who will live in Cliff Manor have NO greater chance of being terrible people than the ones already living there. In fact, they stand a much better chance of being productive, contributing citizens, because of the intense support services that will be available to them i.e., counseling, case management, psychiatric services, help finding jobs, etc. There are no such services available to the current residents.

There is also upset about some kind of permit being needed. Why now, when DHA has been operating this apartment building as is for years.....?

So are you really upset about the change in clientele, or is the upset because Mary Ann Russ, CEO of the Dallas Housing Authority, didn't come begging for approval from all 12 neighborhood association presidents who are so up in arms about this? Or, that she dared say that DHA did not require a permit to operate THEIR OWN building?

And, just so you know that I am not pointing my finger from afar, I live AND work in Oak Cliff and have for 22 years. Like all of you, I'm not crazy about this kind of housing, but homeless folks deserve a shot at life just like the rest of us. And this kind of set-up (housing with support services attached) is exactly what can give them that shot.

Here is my question. Would you rather have them living in Cliff Manor, getting lots of help......or in your alley, or park, or on your doorstep?? And, as I've said before, many of the chronically homeless are veterans who, in return for their service to our country, get to end up on the street.

How's that for patriotism on our part???

1 comment:

  1. A big issue from Oak Cliff residents in this neighborhood is how it will be run and how it will benefit the neighborhood? We found out tonight LifeNet will provide 1 Case Manager for every 35 to 40 individuals. If you work at Promise House, you already can imagine how difficult it will be to manage 35 to 40 cases at a time. That Case Manager will be spread too thin, and this is before they may have budget problems which affect operational costs. This will be difficult to manage, and it's not going to benefit the neighborhood. There will be homeless who will definitely benefit, but don't tell the folks who have worked so hard to turn that area around that this will be good for them.

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