Homeless Man beaten by Juvenile Scumbags

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

“One of the worst beatings I've ever seen,” said one of Livermore's finest. He was talking about our friend Eric, who back on June 13 was beaten in the Mocho Creek area near AM/PM on Stanley and Murrieta.

The story is that four to six teenagers, all underage, wanted Eric to get tobacco for them from the AM/PM. If he agreed to do it or not is unclear. Apparently there was some disagreement between them and Eric was beaten with in an inch of his life with one or more baseball bats.

Officers who investigated it were universally horrified at Eric's condition. He's since undergone several surgeries to repair his jaw, which was shattered, with more to come. He also sustained several other injuries, enough that those at the scene were dubious about Eric's survival. Eric was taken to Eden Hospital where he's still being treated.

I apologize for not having all the details, wish I did. If I manage to speak with Eric directly I may have more later...

Right now I'm just curious. I know I've been out of the loop for some time, but this story hasn't been reported anywhere! Not the Patch, not B.A.N.G., and certainly not the boob tube... Homeless Man Severely beaten by Juvenile Scumbags... shouldn't that be a headline SOMEWHERE?

Nor has there been much more than rumour about amongst the homeless. It simply hasn't been much on anyone's radar. I found out about it a week and a half after it happened, and usually this sort of thing is on everyone's mind.

Eric isn't a saint. But he is well liked by most, including me. He has an issue with his legs that I can't remember whether he was born with or if that came about at a young age, so he walks with an interesting gait. Other than that he could be an Abercrombie model, yes, he's that good looking a kid. And he just tends to be a very, very likeable guy, unlike yours truly, who tends to be more abrasive.

Having seen “Midnight Express” I'm fond of saying most American Teens need to spend time in a Turkish Prison, and this story reinforces my attitude. Teenagers in this town seem, more and more, to be either the few who are decent human beings, and the majority, who are those worth avoiding at all costs. That's not news to anyone paying attention, even if it should be.

What is far more disturbing is that this incident is not on anyone's mind. How horrific does it have to get out there before Livermorons buy into the notion that this town has some very real social problems that are making this town not a good place to be?

I'm tempted to go on an extended rant, but I think I'll resist it. I know, for instance, that there are those who truly do give a rats-rear-end about these things, though they seem too few. These people are so rare, it seems, that when I encounter one that does it's both uplifting and refreshing to the point that I become very, very attracted to that person's energy... It's infectious and inspirational to me. Yes, Henry, I'm talking about you.

That leaves us with the idea that the vast majority just don't care...

For those of you who don't, I have a message for you: nobody lives in a vacuum.

Eric, and whoever knows Eric, please fill us all in on his current condition. He should be in everyone's thoughts and prayers.

Just to follow up on my last posting... I did say I would report what happened at the Homeless Summit last April and I would have had there been anything of value to report. Other than the fact that a bunch of people with Government Funded Lives spoke with top-down “solutions” that amounted to...well, not much at all, I couldn't bring myself to talk about a whole lot of nothing...

I did suggest to one of the leaders of an important volunteer group that they should have their own summit independent of the Government Funded types... this particular volunteer was originally invited to speak then dis-invited... which I found very interesting...

What would be worth seeing are some of the private outfits getting together and having a public conference on goals to work toward... it would be nice...

So... did you hear about that Fire last month?

Astonishing to me is how many people out there ignore the wisdom of the ages and seek to solve certain social issues by throwing massive, and I do mean MASSIVE, amounts of money (usually in the form of tax dollars) at problems. Now that we nearly 100 years of this kind of ridiculousness we should be able to look back and figure out that it never works...

Homelessness as an economic issue was created by the states and the federal government in the first place. No local community is going to end it. There are simply too many economic factors pushing the cost of living up and private sector wages down. More and more one has to have a government or tax-payer funded job in order to make ends meat which, consequently, drives the cost of living higher and private sector wages lower... It's a vicious cycle that won't be solved any time soon. 'Nuff said on that.

Homelessness as a social problem, however, is another matter entirely.

The largest single issue we have seen here in Livermore is the squalor one finds at most homeless encampments. Legislation has been issued by the city criminalizing homelessness as a result, but it still goes on. As I write this a pretty nasty one exists under the First Street Railway Overpass between Inman and Scott Street (the one near U-Haul). The objective of the legislation was to rid Livermore of such encampments especially along the Arroyos... but if you have a blanket, with intent to use it outside, you are a criminal under that law no matter where you are...

Two factions exist in Livermore: Those that want the homeless gone versus the homeless advocacy. Those that want the homeless gone seem to want the lot of us round up and shipped out of the town or even the county. Those amongst the advocacy want more services and a whole lot more money spent by government on the homeless especially for free housing. Neither will happen, and neither would have anywhere near the kind of results people hope for.

Over the course of the existence of this blog, I've documented a lot of cases where homeless people who, employed or not, avoid being a problem. These folks are darn near invisible to the rest of you. I know them because I have existed in that world. I understand how it is they survive and manage to keep under the radar. Explaining the why of it would take volumes, but I did a blog on conduct to address the how.

I also know that when they are discovered to be homeless, they are lumped in with those abusing alcohol or methamphetamine and generally making a nuisance and a mess of themselves. It's not just the general population that does this, but those in homeless advocacy that do so. Everyone is the same, there is no distinction, you're homeless you get what you get along with the abusive thieving Meth-Addicted homeless guy who will beat you down with a shovel just for looking at him wrong...

Yes, Shower Nazi Doug, I did hear what happened... I hope you're okay...

It is incumbent upon those involved to recognize what it is they can and cannot change. The first steps were taken when the Livermore Homeless Refuge, Open Heart Kitchen and showers three days a week were implemented.

I have never been opposed to any of these operations. They are necessary in that they do, quite literally, save lives.

However, one must also recognize that these very same operations which are so necessary for the survival of many also allow those who are causing issues within our midsts to continue to do so.... Adam... Ray... Lenny... Mr. French... yes, I'm talking about you...

What I have been trying, and failing miserably, to communicate is this: there are certain standards of behaviour that cannot be tolerated by anyone, especially the advocacy, and one should not receive help without putting some form of effort in to repay the kindness.

The point is that none of these operations exist in a vacuum. For better of for worse what you do affects the community at large. Why is it that the homeless cannot perform some level of community service in order to receive help? Why is there such opposition to that idea?

Many of the homeless you will meet out and about, most of whom you would not recognize as homeless, are more than receptive to this idea. It could be as simple a thing as picking up cigarette butts in and around Livermore Parks... (or the Civic Centre Library, or the Civic Centre in general!)

Homelessness is a symptom of enormous socio-economic issues as well as personal issues. The larger issues are unsolvable on the local level. San Francisco is now housing some five thousand (formerly) homeless people in various places and, in each one of those places they bring their squalor and other problems right along with them. Places that house the (formerly) homeless are not the types of places one would want to go visit, assuming you could get though the door with so much accumulated garbage inside... yes it's that bad.

Locally it's' even worse.

Six homeless men were selected to be housed, reportedly by ABODE and the City''s Department of Human Services, though that is unconfirmed. One of them was put up at 975 Murrieta Blvd. (across from the Nob Hill Shopping Centre). I've known this one for years to have terrible problems with drugs and alcohol. He's usually not prone to violence but he has the occasional issue with it. He's been known to defecate outside the Livermore Public Library... that should be clue enough for many of you...

Well, in the wee hours of March 27, 2014 he started a fire. It gutted his taxpayer funded apartment as well as several others and left ten more people homeless (not counting this young man, he makes eleven). The report says that he attempted to extinguish it, however there seems to be more to that story. Apparently he fled the scene and returned later saying he had no idea what had happened even though he had third degree burns on one hand and his hair was burned off. Putting this man up unsupervised has proven to be a very temporary and very expensive solution... not to mention it resulted in ten more homeless people... the Red Cross put at least some of them up.

So, house six people, subtract one, and end up with ten homeless... net gain: negative five... The Housing First initiative has repeatedly failed to accomplish anything but spend massive amounts of public money.

Nobody locally or regionally is going to solve homelessness. It's here, it's going to stay with us unless there is a socio-economic sea-change. It would probably take a civil war for that to happen. Fortunately nobody alive is likely to see one of those around here.

Recognize, however, that while we cannot solve homelessness locally, we can go a very long way toward reducing the negative effects of homelessness on the community at large. In the process we can help those who are homeless cope with their circumstance and improve themselves. Standards of Behaviour and requiring some level of community service for help given will go a long way toward these ends.

I'll be at the meeting on April 30 at the Robert Livermore Community Centre.

The meeting is taking place at a very interesting point. The Livermore Homeless Refuge season ends on April 30 and it will be closed till November 1. That means that most if not all of those who use the refuge will be sleeping out of doors for the next six months. So all those issues that are going to be dealt with at the mayor's Homeless Summit will be experienced more so following that meeting than in the six months prior.

I was ambivalent about going till recently when someone posted a response to one of my old blogs asking me to attend. I'll report on what is said. I'll note anything interesting... I doubt any of the ideas above will even be mentioned... but I will be there...

In the meantime, I am in possession of a concealed blanket and am not afraid to use it.

A Federal Case

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

What a night Monday was...

The Carnegie People showed up in force and managed to make the Livermore City Council meeting a tedious affair as we we sat in this crowded room and listened to grown men whine about problems at Carnegie Park... why were they there? No idea. Livermore City Government hasn't got a damned thing to do with Carnegie! Thank you guys for a glorious waste of time... I felt truly sorry for those City Workers who staggered out (two hours later than usual) of the City Council Chambers and came into work this morning bleary eyed from exhaustion...

There were important issues to discuss, as there always are... I've found the council meetings to be rife with drama since I started going late last year... who knew?

Anyway, the Urban Camping Ordinance Passed...

I heard some people saying it was pushed through with lightning speed... No... it wasn't. I told you people about it last October! I spoke to many of you about it face to face!

But... there will be a Homeless Summit... maybe this year... we don't have a date, because now we're going to get one or two difficult to coordinate federal agencies involved...

My question is: why?

Why are we bothering the Feds..? unless there's a lot of money on the table, and there probably is...

I maintain this is a local issue. I hear people talking about all these homeless people arriving in Livermore to take advantage of services, etc... one or two, sure... but the implication is that there are hundreds, the number of homeless has gone from ten to fifty thousand in four years and other towns are dumping their homeless on us...

Huey!

I have a little news for everyone: the problems you're seeing in Livermore caused by the homeless are being caused by the same number in the same proportion as it was four years ago. The number of Homeless is also pretty static. I say 300, my guess, and it has been about that for as long as I've been homeless.

There was a study done two and a half years ago which included a portion on the Homeless... but the way it was run it was as if they didn't want anyone to participate... the estimate of homeless at the time was about fifty... yeah, 50... 25 people showed up at the last meeting on short notice because somebody (me) bothered to tell them. Yes, it's online here, and it's not worth reading if you want anything approaching reality, but knock yourself out if you're interested...

To the city council I say this: forget the feds. Councilman Woerner wants data, great, the Feds aren't going to give you any and you're already working on getting that yourselves. If you want the Feds involved, plan a meeting sometime in 2015 after you've engaged the locals... getting the Feds involved is going to make things more complex and take your attention away from those who you need to be talking to...

Everything we need to take deal with the Homeless issue is right here.

People asked for creative solutions?

I spoke with Terry McCune last night. McCune spoke on the garbage the homeless leave on the Arroyo Mocho and how his neighbours clean it up. I told him about the idea I had been trying to get through to Trinity Church for months... They take meals out to the Homeless and I had suggested that they pick a park and do clean-up with the Homeless before serving food... Terry seemed to like that idea...

But nobody else does. Or if they do, they have a funny way of showing it...

Maybe it'll get play if some U.S. Government Official suggests it... then those Glorified Welfare Recipients might be good for something...

Solution: SNUGGIES!

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

Oh... we all brainstormed this morning and someone came up with an impressive suggestion: SNUGGIES! Snuggies are not mentioned in the new ordinance and, so far as I know, are not considered camping paraphenalia... right? Everybody ditch your blankets, sleeping bags and tarps and we all get Snuggies!

I wonder if they come in camouflage?

Mickey made a great speech at Vineyard just before breakfast telling everyone two things: one, the Creeks are off limits! And two, don't make a mess! And she expects the homeless to do a little better job self-policing. I'd so like to see that become a reality... my only problem with this is that more than a few of these folks simply are not adults, they're children in adult bodies and discipline isn't familiar to them...

Yes, the ordinance is still very much at the forefront of conversation, and, I'm proud to tell you, the person most to blame for the existence of this ordinance, according to the scuttle butt, is none other than yours truly!

Maybe...

I dunno, I'm getting this second and third hand from a lot of people who relay what others are supposedly saying... “That MF started that MF-ing blog and now we have this MF-ing law...”

Okay, it's all my fault... I'm the one who got high of the notion of having a popular blog, I'll admit. It's been one whole heck of a lot of fun, especially the death threats, both overt and subtle. I can't tell you what a rush it is to get one... I highly recommend it! It helped me understand Adrenaline junkies...

Someone posted a note asking why I thought there were more homeless than there were in response to my last posting...

My answer was, I don't think there are more, at least not locally. I believe there are about 300 in town and that it has remained pretty static for several years. What I am seeing is a trickling in of young people, early 20s, who are homeless. Now, I don't tend to connect with the younger crowd very much. They and I don't have much to say to each other beyond “Hi” and “Bye...”

But today was a bit different. Two young women, I'll call them A and S, were telling me their personal stories this morning, or part of it, and they were both very candid about some very personal, private stuff that I should never repeat, and hopefully will slip my mind in short order. One is someone who's been around a little while and the other is more “new” to all this. What impressed me about both of them, and I hope I can relay this properly, is that both of them seem to recognize their own faults and are attempting to work around or with them... both could use some positive influence (they're sooo young!) and both of them are, it seems to me, overcoming the character flaws of their own parents.

A third young woman I know, I'll call her C, who is also very young, has given me a bit of a surprise. C isn't homeless, but had one of the most unstable times growing up I could imagine... yet she turned into this positive, industrious, well loved young woman who has a real future ahead of her complete with marriage, home and family... All that looks very much like a done deal, thought it will take a lot of work on C's part... but C has the character to meet that challenge having overcome so much more than what she's facing. A and S both seem to have similar characters and, in my opinion, could get to where C is.

To say that I worry about A and S would be an overstatement. I don't. I believe they'll do just fine in the end... but either could slide either way, as if they're sitting on a fulcrum which will determine the rest of their lives at this very moment. It could teeter for years for either or both of them without resolution... it would be pleasing to me to see someone take an interest in them, someone not from Social Services or some other tax funded group, give them a chance and be involved in their lives... and for them to accept such involvement...

I'll be seeing more cases like A and S, I'm sure... they're very different young women, save that they both are energetic and friendly... S more friendly because A is more experienced... S will probably get less so over time.

A also knows something about me... “If you write about me, I'll hurt you!” she told me this morning...

Don't be surprised if I'm typing with only my pinkies next week...

Surreal Reality

Vice Mayor Bob Woerner wants facts and figures on Livermore's Homeless. He expressed this in Monday's City Council Meeting in which item 4.04, the ordinance that would make being homeless in Livermore a crime, was introduced. I don't say that lightly, but the fact stand. The council supports this ordinance 4-1, will vote on it on February 10^th and it will take effect on March 12... on that Wednesday in March, I, and all the rest of Livermore's Homeless, become criminals.

I cannot hold the City Council to blame entirely for this. The state of Homelessness in Livermore is a mixed bag of big problems mixed in with people just trying to get by. The big problems make a mess. The people trying to get by suffer... I tried, people, I truly did try to get the word out on how to manage: A Guide to Proper Conduct and Being Conspicuous were both meant to help people NOT be a problem. Very few paid any attention... oh well...

Sometime in February, Mayor Marchand has said, there will be a summit on Homelessness in Livermore he says he is personally going to moderate. At the end of the City Council meeting on Monday, I managed to catch Vice Mayor Woerner and told him Mickey Kundert would be the best place to start for the information he wants. Mickey is, of all the volunteers, likely the one who understands the issues better than most and certainly knows more of their names and faces than any other. I hope one or the other picks up the phone and makes a call before that summit...

Monday's City Council meeting itself was not as packed as I expected it to be. I fully expected it to be standing room only. It certainly attracted a lot of media attention. I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but nothing I've heard from the media or any of the comments aired seem to address the very real issues facing the Livermore City Government.

Largely, and Mayor Marchand made this clear, the issue is the squalor in the Arroyos, especially the Mocho. He characterized the ordinance as a public health issue.

The three people who spoke in favour of this ordinance all described negative experiences in the Mocho with homeless people. I found them credible, valid, and perfectly consistent with my own experiences. Terry McCune (I apologize if I didn't spell your name correctly) spoke of how he and his neighbours who live along the Mocho are constantly policing garbage, and they're getting discouraged. That pleased Mayor Marchand, by the way, who is constantly speaking of how Livermorons should be responsible with trash... oh... he never said “Livermorons” that I'm aware of, by the way... my word, not his.

I have to kick myself because it should have occurred to me long ago that the Creeks should be off limits, and I should have written about that at least once. But here it is now:

The Creeks are Off Limits! Too little, too late from me... sorry...

Of the eleven speakers eight were opposed to the ordinance... I cringed as I heard people talk about the need for “more social services” which tend to be counterproductive and aren't coming anyway. Several Volunteers spoke, including the afore mentioned Mickey Kundert. I think Mickey said it very well when she asserted that Public Officials “Do Not Understand the Homeless.” Hopefully Vice Mayor Woerner will give her a call...

Speakers also asserted that 40% of the homeless are mentally ill... that's a bridge I just don't buy! I do see some mental illness out there, but not even close to the numbers “Homeless Advocates” like to say. What I see a whole lot more of is Methamphetamine Abuse, and to a lesser extent, Alcohol Abuse. Both eclipse the Mentally Ill in numbers each by themselves in my experience.

One homeless man spoke, my good friend Nick. Nick is an Air Force Veteran and one of the most single minded men I know. When he starts a task he'll be on it till it's perfect... and he's deathly afraid of this ordinance.

A few of years ago there was this guy, Mark Watters, who was, to put it lightly, a problem. He was enough of a problem that he scared a lot of us. Nick and I witnessed Mark terrorizing young mothers with children at the Library entrance. He vandalized at least one car in the Library parking lot. Nick, our late friend Richard Fincus, and I took it upon ourselves to watch him very, very carefully hopefully catch him in some act that would get him put away. Watters has since left town and hasn't been seen in Livermore for some time. But Nick was probably the most diligent of the three of us. We didn't accomplish anything beyond making Watters nervous, but at least we got the word out that this guy was dangerous and bore watching. Nick and I have been friends ever since. I also told another story about Nick in an earlier posting...

Nick was raised in Livermore. He's been here all his life, graduated from Livermore High... and is homeless... and will become, like myself, a criminal on March 12. It's pretty much a done deal. By the look of things, the council will vote it in 4-1...

Staring that reality in the face is frightening... it's a little surreal...

Carpet Bombing

Homelessness for Stupid People

The foibles of the most pampered homeless population in the Bay Area...

There was a little fear on faces this morning as the announcement came regarding the Urban Camping Ordinance to be submitted to the city council this evening. Urban Camping, according to the ordinance, involves anything down to laying down a “bed roll” on public or private property, with a $100 fine on the first offence, and a $300 fine and/or up to 30 days in jail for the second.

The City Council will receive the Ordinance at tonight's meeting at 3575 Pacific Avenue, the Mobile just beyond “The Barn.”

This affects every single homeless person I know. If passed, we all become criminals...

The issue I am specifically taking against the ordinance is this; that it makes the “use camp paraphernalia” unlawful.

In the ordinance itself, Camp Paraphernalia is defined in this manner:

“Camp paraphernalia” includes, but is not limited to: bedrolls; blankets; tarpaulins; cots; beds; sleeping bags; tents; hammocks; items used for cooking food; or any other equipment used to “camp.” Camp paraphernalia also includes other personal effects when used or stored with camp paraphernalia as described herein.

I first heard this was coming down the pike a couple of months ago, that Police Chief Harris was working on it and would present it as soon as it was ready.

Well, here it is... and Chief, sorry, I had hoped this would be a little more targeted against those who are a problem, instead of what amounts to legal carpet bombing... Use of a blanket is a criminal offence? Really?

This said, the city needs an ordinance to keep some of these problem camp sites from getting established. It has to happen. Speaking with Mayor Marchand a while back he noted that there were certain places that there would be zero tolerance for Urban Camping, such as the Arroyo Mocho. Many of you may remember the disaster that was the camp site just north of In and Out Burger on the Creek at North Livermore and I580. There was another, less conspicuous, but equally disastrous one a little east where a fire broke out and, rumour has it, where meth was being cooked... (Considering who was camping at that site, it would be consistent with their history...)

One of the local land owners described that site to me as a “Squalid Garbage Dump.” Another person I know said “There was no place to stand (without standing in garbage)”.

At the same time, nobody has ever counted the number of homeless who are also employed here in Livermore. And, though there may be such a survey, I've never heard of anyone counting employed homeless on any level, National, State or Local. Those of us who are working get lumped right in with those who... well... cause problems... with this ordinance.

I shouldn't be surprised, actually. Most volunteers who help the homeless lump us all together anyway... we're all the same so far as they're concerned. If you've followed this blog at all, and yeah, I know I've not written a word in a long, long time, you'll know I hold a very different view.

Just so you know, you cannot “Look Homeless” and get a job. You certainly can't “smell homeless.” I always get a kick out of people who tell me “You don't look homeless!” How many homeless people, who are not flying signs or wearing scraggly beards and filthy jeans would you recognize?

I was looking at the sad, haggard face of a friend of mine this morning. He's wondering what he's going to do if this passes... He'll lose his job. He'll have to leave town, most likely, and where will he go? He's been here his whole life.

I had nothing for him...

The Ordinance can be read as part of the current City Council Agenda on Page 40 of that document.