Posted on 02/07/2007 3:18:40 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
People seem to care more about the pit-bull dogs seized in a recent drug raid, Larry Petty said, than they do about men like him, who line up in the cold every night to race for a cot in Madison's oldest homeless shelter.
"No one pays any attention," said Petty, 48, a standout on the University of Wisconsin-Madison basketball team in the late 1970s who recently finished a prison term and now lives on the streets.
He was among a couple of dozen men waiting in frigid temperatures Tuesday for the doors to open at the men's shelter at Grace Episcopal Church, 116 W. Washington Ave.
The plight of the dogs captured a lot of media attention in recent weeks, after the Dane County Humane Society said it could no longer afford to feed and house them while their owner made his way through the criminal justice system.
But the men's shelter, operated by Porchlight Inc., also has been in the news of late, after Porchlight executive director Steve Schooler reported an unexplained spike in the number of men using the facility in recent weeks.
The shelter, which typically houses 80 or 90 men a night, has steadily seen up to 120 a night this winter, and surpassed 150 several times, Schooler said.
Petty was among a dozen men to raise complaints about conditions in the shelter during interviews this week.
Schooler said he was surprised to hear most of the beefs. He cited a survey taken at the shelter last month, in which 48 men participated and which reported a pretty strong level of satisfaction.
Men waiting to get into the shelter Tuesday had a litany of complaints, starting with how they have to wait outside in the cold.
The men said they have to wait down the street from the courtyard entrance to the shelter until 4:30 p.m., when shelter staff give a signal and they run to form a line.
At the signal Tuesday, the men, carrying oversized packs and bundles, raced in a pack to the courtyard.
"They treat us like cattle," said one man.
"We have to run like dogs," said another.
Schooler said he wasn't aware that the men had a problem with the line-up procedure, but admitted he didn't understand why it was set up that way. All the 50 or so men typically waiting when the doors open get a bed, he said.
But shelter users say they prefer certain beds that have fewer other beds around them in the crowded, noisy facility.
"I like my corner, so I can see everyone coming and protect my stuff," said one man, a disabled welder who is trying to raise public awareness about conditions at the shelter.
Men who use the shelter say that staff members are condescending to them.
"They take things personal instead of professional," said Todd Grigspy. He was among the men who stopped to talk after leaving the shelter today.
The men said they would spend the day trying to stay warm at the nearby Capitol building, the downtown public library or a series of coffee shops before probably trudging back to the shelter tonight.
"We're treated as second class," Bernard Lewis, a 56-year-old retired General Motors worker, said today.
Other men have been reluctant to attach their names to complaints, saying they fear being barred from the shelter in retaliation. One man waiting Tuesday outside the shelter and talking to a reporter blanched when a staff member walked by, and muttered, "I'm in trouble."
Staff got high marks for professionalism on the recent survey, Schooler said, adding he would take seriously any complaints that were brought to him.
"It's definitely hard to sleep because of the noise," said Lewis, who said he wears ear plugs.
Several men complained of others who are drunk or high - conditions that are supposed to bar entry - who come in and scream and holler. The recent crowding has also increased the number of arguments overall, they said.
In addition, the men say that the blankets and pillows they use are not laundered often enough. "They stink," they said.
Their discomfort about sharing unwashed bed linens is compounded by what several called very common body lice among shelter users.
The tale of a recent shelter guest covered with bugs was widespread.
Schooler said that there was a recent case of a man with scabies, a contagious body disease caused by mites, but that the man was given treatment and told he could not return to the shelter with the condition.
The men also complained that of the three showerheads in the communal shower room, only one works. And to get hot water from the shower, you've got to get hot water running in the bathroom sinks, one said.
Of the three toilet stalls, the men said, only one has a door. Blankets hang over the openings of the other two stalls, they said. Schooler said that replacement doors are on order, remarking that the doors were ripped off their hinges.
Vandalism grows out of the way the men are treated, said the man who has been working to bring public attention to shelter conditions. "We disrespect the place because we get no respect," he said.
The facility has been written up a couple of times for building code violations in the past few years, said George Hanks, housing inspection supervisor for the city of Madison.
In 2005, shelter operators were ordered to clean floors and walls in the kitchen, bathroom and stairway and to repair missing tiles in the shower, as well as make minor repairs to and paint other walls.
In 2006, the shelter was ordered to repair a broken urinal and replace the floor around the urinals.
For a facility as heavily used as the shelter is, its recent record did not seem "out of line," Hank said.
Schooler said he knew nothing of broken showerheads and that management has been satisfied with the daily cleaning done by the current janitor.
"When you get the numbers we're struggling to deal with, there's just going to be more wear and tear," he said.
The shelter usually gives the men dinner and breakfast. "Sometimes there's food and sometimes there's not," Lewis said.
Schooler acknowledged there have occasionally been times when the volunteers slated to prepare and deliver food don't show up. "We don't have the resources to buy meals," Schooler said. Instead, the shelter relies on some 60 communities of faith that take turns.
Many of the men said that shelter staff don't make any effort to help the men pull themselves out of homelessness. "They're using laymen to do a professional job," said Mark Elvord, who questions if staff are adequately trained to assist the men. "I pulled myself up," said Elvord, who said he is waiting for a check from a new job to get an apartment.
Petty, who was released from prison in August after serving four years of a six-year term for forgery, said that finding work or housing is a real challenge with a criminal record.
Even with Social Security disability income because of a back injury, he's finding it hard to find an apartment.
Petty's looking to network with people he knew from his days as a UW athlete, but many others at the shelter don't have that option.
He's particularly concerned with the mentally ill guys, who don't seem to be getting the help they need.
"They want people out here so they continue to get money," Petty said. "They're not using the tools they have to help people get independent."
Schooler said that staff is present every night to answer questions about available services and that the night manager may seek out someone who he notices has not been referred.
With up to 150 men in shelter, "I would say there are some deficiencies, but where would the money come from for additional resources?"
For someone who has seen his share of high times and hard knocks, Petty said homelessness has been very difficult.
"It's a life you've got to experience to understand," Petty said.
Another man, who traces his problems to alcoholism, said life at the shelter is enough to drive him to drink.
"You wake up and think about going out and getting drunk," he said.
Hey, Einstein! It's been SUB ZERO for a week straight now.
"People seem to care more about ...than they do about men like him, who line up in the cold every night to race for a cot in Madison's oldest homeless shelter."
He gets it. Now he should use that new-found knowledge to make a life assessment.
Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy them all a one-way bus ticket to San Fransicko?
I would think that even if the place had everything but bubonic plague, it also had the one thing the outdoors in Madison, Wisconsin lacked this time of year: heat. While that alone might not earn it a five-star in Zuggat's, it should at least merit some appreciation.
I'm curious about Bernand Lewis, the 56 year old retired GM employee. I wonder why he retired so young, and I also wonder where his retirement checks are.
I'm curious about Bernand Lewis, the 56 year old retired GM employee. I wonder why he retired so young, and I also wonder where his retirement checks are.
Nah. "Helping" the homeless and other (mostly self-inflicted) "victims" is the mainstay of a "Feel Good, Do Nothing" Socialist town like Madistan. ;)
And Gawd-forbid the courts actually order the mentally ill be hospitalized! That would just be mean. They should be allowed to roam at will amongst us! *Rolleyes*
There's a stigma attached to the homeless and that's as it should be - it makes for less of them.
Thanks a lot.
A GM retiree who can't afford to support himself?
"In addition, the men say that the blankets and pillows they use are not laundered often enough. "They stink," they said"
To this idiot: Get off your %$#$%%$#@ a-- and help the shelter people that are giving you your welfare!
(oh, wait, there is a reason you and the others are on the street isn't there?)
My apologies to both Republicans in San Francisco.
How many of them were once punkish youths demanding drug freedom, and promising not to leech off of others if they ever lost control of their habit?
They are the same addicts we see here occasionally, just in a different stage of life.
Have these guys ever heard the expression, "beggars can't be choosers?" Actually, they can be choosers. They are free men, and they are free to find other places to go which are more to their liking. If they don't like the free accommodations and service at this church, why do they keep coming back?
Beggars can't be choosers.
"Of the three toilet stalls, the men said, only one has a door. Blankets hang over the openings of the other two stalls, they said. Schooler said that replacement doors are on order, remarking that the doors were ripped off their hinges.
Vandalism grows out of the way the men are treated, said the man who has been working to bring public attention to shelter conditions. "We disrespect the place because we get no respect," he said."
They tear the place up, then complain conditions are substandard. The "logic" of complete losers.
These guys were sleeping under bridges and on park benches, and they complain about the showers and the tiles on the floor.
A major step in the right direction would be to move on from self pity. His life is his fault. After accepting that, he'd be more appreciative of the kindness of others and possibly start to better himself.
"No one pays any attention," said Petty, 48, a standout on the University of Wisconsin-Madison basketball team in the late 1970s who recently finished a prison term and now lives on the streets. "
A major step in the right direction would be to move on from self pity. His life is his fault. After accepting that, he'd be more appreciative of the kindness of others and possibly start to better himself.
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