In search of a hero

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (5 Comments)

You know it’s funny, the way people are. In times of chaos and what seems like never ending misery, people go looking for heroes. Someone they can look up to for inspiration and maybe a little encouragement too. If ever there was a time for heroes, now certainly looks like a good time. The thing is though, the very people being hailed as heroes don’t see themselves that way. Often they don’t realize it until someone mentions it so I have a request to make……

Please don’t call me that. I don’t consider myself to be extraordinary. What I do and how I feel about helping other people comes from spending a lifetime watching other people’s pain. I do not understand how anyone can look a homeless family in the face and walk away. I do not understand politicians willing to hold a country hostage to further interests for the few instead of the many yet all the while the people suffer. The so-called “moral majority” is anything but moral. How can they be when they continue to undermine programs to help the poor? You wanna do more with less? Start by eliminating government waste and useless bureaucracy.

I get emails all the time from a lot of people asking me how and why I haven’t lost my mind yet. How do you know I haven’t? Lol…but seriously, this is how I look at my situation. Yes, I’m homeless and it was a tough decision to “out” my situation to everybody that I’ve been homeless for about eight years now. I did it because I know I’m not the only one living this way. My thinking was and still is that you don’t have to be housed to make a difference. Some would say I could make more of a difference if I were housed but is that really true? Who better to talk about this life than someone actually living it? We all know there aren’t enough programs or funding to help the massive numbers of people entering homelessness on a daily basis so while I’m out here trying to help myself, I might as well talk to folks about the reality I live in. Fact of the matter is…I will be out here for awhile and there’s no getting around that. Until major changes occur in social services, so will the rest of us.

Even with all the hurdles I face, I don’t sit around dwelling on doom and gloom. I can understand why some people go that route since many are caught up on a snag called fear. Fear of not knowing where their lives are going or where they’ll end up is a natural reaction to being shocked into hardship. Been there, done that. I too went through a stage of shock the first time I was homeless. Mainly because the man I thought I would spend forever with, packed up everything and ran away when I was eight and a half months pregnant. What would you do if you came home after a weekend with family only to be told by the doorman of the building you lived in that while you were away, your significant other brought in a moving truck and moved out? I was homeless, only had the clothes on my back and didn’t know what to do. I was told by DSHS that because I was single, I didn’t qualify for help until after the baby was born. I couldn’t get Section 8 back then either and that was 16 years ago! The difference then was that jobs were available and I was working through my pregnancy and after delivery. Didn’t matter that I almost died in the hospital from extreme blood loss, I had to keep working and had no time to “go home and rest” like my doctor kept advising me to do.

With a newborn in tow, I left the hospital 3 days later and bounced around from the YWCA and cheap motels thanks to the generosity of bus drivers. That’s right, metro bus drivers that guessed my situation because they saw me riding buses all night to stay warm in the winter and to be somewhat safe until the sun came up. I remember wandering around for about 3 days in a state of stupor. I couldn’t think and I couldn’t feel. Back then, welfare only paid $347.00 a month and when my firstborn was 4 months old, I found a cheap, rundown apartment in Tukwila that was $340.00 a month, utilities were extra. I learned to live an entire year without electricity.

The economy was bad then but not like it is now. I managed to find someone I could trust to watch my baby while I worked two minimum wage jobs to get off welfare. I succeeded and paid my way through various classes to upgrade my job market skills. Even though I could pay rent and childcare, that was all I managed to pay for. I still had to use the local food banks to feed my daughter and get diapers. While working nights at the airport, there were times I felt like I couldn’t keep living this way. The only thing that kept me there was the little photograph I kept in my pocket of my daughter. Whenever I felt like giving up, I looked at that picture to remind me of what I was working for. Something about staring at her little face made it all seem worthwhile. That’s what I do now. I look for those little moments that make life worthwhile. …and so should you. Don’t let opportunities for good memories slip away from you. In the end, you’ll regret it.

I’m nobody’s hero. I’m one of you just doing the best I can.

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Branding your community

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (0 Comments)

 

How does one brand humanity or human dignity? Can compassion be scaled down to a basic concept that can be exploited for marketing purposes? In the business world there is a practice called branding. For those of you unfamiliar with the term it basically means a company putting its name on a product. A good example of corporate branding is the Nike “swoosh”. When consumers see that image, they associate it with Nike and have come to expect the same level of quality on all of Nike’s products. It would seem that the trick with branding is that it works well IF…the company is well known, consistently produces a good product and is in good standing with the public.

Now what if cities used corporate branding techniques to work for the purpose of creating a better community? Voters are a lot like consumers only the “product” they are buying are the promises given by any candidate seeking office. If you, the voters, were to be given a survey to rate how well those promises have been kept by your officials, what kind of rating would you give them? Just like in the corporate world, a bad product will travel fast by word of mouth and irreversible damage or images can result. Voters have more power than they realize the problem is they aren’t exercising that power by educating themselves on their rights or actively being involved with what’s going on in their community but they will howl loudly when they come to realize just how much is being taken away from them.

For those of you holding positions as public officials, how aware are you of your city’s image with the public? Do you truly offer representation for all? You can come up with all the initiatives you want but are they working in real time? What’s on record doesn’t always translate well into the messy reality of what’s on the street and until you address that, your initiatives aren’t worth the paper you wrote them on. Sure, it looks nice and polished when your websites insist that you have “resources” available to help the less fortunate however…you fail to mention that there are years long waiting lists IF an individual seeking help doesn’t get turned away first because of no room available and lack of funding. Then there are the barriers inherent with programs that often exclude others because of the criteria requirements written into those programs. If you can’t even apply for help, what are your options? What alternatives does the city provide other than using police officers to harass those individuals out of the public’s view?

The short sightedness of city councils and the public at large has devastating effects but they cannot see that when there’s an attitude of disbelief prevalent among those who haven’t had to experience the consequences of policies borne out of ignorance. A prime example of this can be seen when communities fail to police…their police. Don’t assume that just because YOU haven’t been profiled, the police aren’t out there doing exactly that because I can speak from experience that they are. It’s always amusing to me to see the look on some people’s faces once I tell them about what has happened to me because they want to believe that their community doesn’t practice ugly traits. The fact of the matter is, everyone needs to be proactive against obvious misconduct.

Just because we are all facing hard times does not mean it’s an excuse to look the other way whenever injustice and suffering exist all around you. Communities should be working together to end the crisis of poverty invading their neighborhoods especially when statistics are pointing to even harder times ahead. There’s no such thing as being insulated from hardship because one way or another it will affect your life. Preventing homelessness is less expensive than finding housing and other services after families and individuals have landed on the street.

When people are driven to desperation, what do you think that will do to your crime rate? The police department is just a response mechanism and in some neighborhoods, not a very good one. Officers don’t realize they are representatives of the cities they’re supposed to be protecting and serving. It may surprise you to learn that not every officer is trained on how to deal with diversity in a positive manner so they may be adding to an already dim view of that particular community.

There are all kinds of groups engaged in programs but…can those groups leave their personal differences and different belief systems aside to work together at achieving the same goals for their community? What good are you to the community as a whole if the only people you’re willing to help are those you deem worthy of your help? United you stand, divided you fail….

Whether you realize it or not, your actions and in-actions, brand the community you live in. Because of that, shouldn’t it be common sense to do everything possible to make sure that the image your town invokes in the minds of others is a positive one? Good leadership should be making their cities a model of compassion with a healthy dose of human dignity involved. Building a strong economy and encouraging financial growth is fine as long as it’s not done at the expense of the most vulnerable members of our society.

What kind of image were you branded with today?

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By order of the Mayor

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (1 Comments)

As I am still waiting for a response from Suzette Cooke regarding the open letter I sent her, I thought the voting public of Kent would like to hear from some of its disenfranchised youth. I find it interesting that it is almost unanimous among the homeless youth that Kent police officers declare that it is by order of the Mayor, Suzette Cooke, that they are trespassing homeless youth out of public parks. All of this of course, was enforced heavily right before the Kent Cornucopia Days event. There are those in the community who are speculating that the only reason the Mayor attended last year’s One Night Count was so that police would know which areas to target when sweeping the city of homeless youth.

When I asked several homeless youth if anyone from the city of Kent, including the police department, even offered to help them find services, put them in contact with agencies that could help or downright act like they know what compassion means, I got an overwhelming “No!” Private agencies and churches are doing what they can but they acknowledge there aren’t enough housing options available to these youth. The city of Kent isn’t providing any alternative options either. According to some of the community leaders I’ve been speaking to regarding their dealings with the Kent city council, it has become apparent that there is a history of failing to deal with diversity issues and in case you didn’t know it, diversity doesn’t just encompass the color of your skin.

To the voters of Kent I’d like to say this, you are responsible for holding your elected officials accountable for failures within your community. Where are you in asking your leaders for a better response than using the local police to round up homeless kids simply because they’re an eyesore that might make the city look bad? Where is the diversity training for police officers when dealing with homeless youth? How educated are you on the issues of homelessness? When you see kids on the street begging for spare change for food or bus fare, do you ask them how they became homeless? Are you sponsoring community initiatives to get these kids into safer environments? Are you actively involved in making your community a better place for everyone?

I watch you walk past these kids with looks of disdain. I’ve heard your comments about how all homeless kids are responsible for where they are because they just don’t want to “follow the rules” or “they must be on drugs”. The kids I talked to told me that they “spange” so they can have money to buy food or ride the buses all night in the winter as that is the only safe way they can sleep. It’s one of the ways they have learned how to avoid police harassment and as one kid put it “What else can we do? Where are we supposed to go? It’s illegal to be homeless in Kent.” One of the reasons they are saying its “illegal” to be homeless in Kent is because they have been put in a jail cell when they had nowhere else to go.

“Matt” told me that he rode his bike 20 feet without a bike helmet (he doesn’t own one) and a police officer gave him a $90.00 ticket. “Matt” asked this officer how he was supposed to pay it since he’s homeless and can’t get a job? If he doesn’t pay it, he will go to jail. “Matt” shrugged his shoulders and said “How are they going to serve me? I have no address.” When “Matt” brought this up to the officers they shrugged it off and told him they didn’t care, it wasn’t their problem. Police officers, whether you like it or not, you are often the first contact for these kids and your behavior represents the city you are sworn to protect and serve. Callous attitudes translate into a negative image in the minds of all you come into contact with.

Police Chief Ken Thomas, what kind of diversity training are officers under your command engaged in, not only on the homelessness issue but on racial profiling as well? Citizens of Kent I’d like to tell you about an incident I had with one of Kent’s finest at Morrill Meadows Park about two and half, maybe three years ago. At the time, I was working two jobs while living out of a 1981 Minnie Winnebago.  My eldest daughter was in school and my youngest was at my babysitter’s. I was on my way to pick them up but had to pull over and Morrill Meadows Park was the closest place I could do it. The left side of my face went numb and my left arm was going numb as well. I started shaking uncontrollably and was slumped over my steering wheel. I thought I was having a stroke. A police car pulled up behind my RV and a female officer tapped on the driver’s side window. I managed to roll down the window and turn my head towards her. This officer asked me what I was doing at the park. I managed to turn my head towards her and my speech was slurred when I asked her what the probable cause was for approaching my vehicle. I also asked if she was in the habit of targeting people of color, people in RV’s or people of color that happen to be living out of RV’s as I noticed she said absolutely nothing to the white couple across the parking lot who were in their RV as well. Not once did the officer bother to notice that something was wrong with me. She just stared at me, then turned and walked away. She got in her squad car and drove off. Chief Thomas, what does the law say about an officer who fails to offer assistance to a civilian who requires it? I never saw this officer call over the radio that she was stopping a vehicle since I was already parked and I’m willing to bet a report was never filed on it. Not once did this officer bother to even ask if I was alright. Needless to say, I have already sought legal counsel against the Kent Police department……..By the way, I saw this same officer the other day in the parking lot of Starbucks near the golf course.

Enjoy the video…..

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An Open Letter to Suzette Cooke

Posted by Carey Fuller in Uncategorized - (5 Comments)

Recently I had the opportunity to speak with homeless youth in and about your city. I found it interesting that they are saying officers from the Kent Police department claim that the reason they harass homeless
youth near the Kent library and parks nearby comes from being pressured by the Mayor’s office. I would like to know why officers apparently use intimidation tactics like raiding homeless camps of these youth along with confiscating their belongings, the only ones they possess. Not only that, these youth say that officers “provoke” incidents resulting in the youth getting arrested. I encourage everyone to document on camera if they can, the behavior of these officers since the testimony of young people often ends up being marginalized by the adults who should be protecting them.

Apparently the Kent officers have never heard of the Donut Dialogues put on by the Seattle Police Department to help facilitate dealing with homeless youth in a positive manner. I’m an adult and can recount being harassed by police officers from Kent while in a public park with no apparent “probable cause” which raises many questions about racial profiling, another complaint often referred to whenever the Kent Police Department is mentioned in the conversations I’ve listened to.

How hard is it to have an open house dialogue to educate citizens on who the homeless really are instead of fostering preconceived notions that aren’t based on the facts of homelessness? How many of them have sat face to face with one of these homeless youth to find out that it’s safer for them to be on the streets than it is to be at home? There’s something wrong when officers start claiming they don’t have to give youth or adults their badge numbers or the names of their commanding officers….Could it be that these tactics stem from homeless individuals (who have nowhere else to go) being seen in areas in close proximity to City Hall and the Kent Regional Justice Center?

Right now, the city of Kent rates an “F”…….Second to Auburn and Federal Way. If you’re homeless, be forewarned about these three cities as their police departments have a street reputation for harassment and racial profiling…..I know, I’ve experienced it myself and in front of my two kids!

One more thing, for those of you who cling to outdated ideas that shelters are appropriate places to put the homeless, I encourage you to visit careyfuller.com to see for yourself how “easy” it is to get into a
shelter. In case you weren’t paying attention, there are more homeless people now than ever and the system was never intended to handle the flood of humanity coming in for help and if you didn’t know, over half the population of all homeless….are kids. Due to the current economy, how are you going to deal with homeless families living out of their cars or seniors who can’t afford to be put into a facility? Give carte blanche to your police force to bully them out of your city? Perhaps a better idea is to meet with outreach programs and other service providers who deal with homeless issues on a daily basis. This way, your decisions are based on the realities of homeless life.

Other cities in many states have shown better ways to deal with the “homeless” problem. Yes, there are chronic homeless people in our cities needing intense help due to severe mental illness so why are we letting
them sleep outside and under bridges? Whether you realize it or not, a city’s response is an indicator to what kind of community resides there so I’m asking you, what kind of community are you building?

 

Sincerely,

Carey Fuller

Checking out programs

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (0 Comments)

Here’s a short video I made while checking out an opportunity with the Seattle Conservation Corps. Maybe most of you didn’t realize just how many barriers there are in getting out of homelessness but it’s time you did!

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The problem with programs

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (4 Comments)

Ok so I went to check out a job opportunity today already knowing that questions would be asked along with filling out forms. The supervisor I met at the Seattle Conservation Corps was great I thought. She asked me questions and admitted that she learned a lot from me today. For one thing, many questions on the forms we filled out didn’t apply to me and these are the same types of questions used to determine if an applicant is eligible for employment with a job program like this one. Also, a question came up that I already know the answer to…If I had an addiction, would I be given priority status with federal and state assistance programs?

I learned that the way many programs are structured hasn’t changed much. For one thing, they assume that I must have addiction problems or mental health issues. I know I am an “anomaly” for many because I don’t even fit their criteria for consideration! If you saw my last video on youTube on the blog prior to this one, you heard state programs and a city program tell me over the phone that I don’t even qualify to apply for childcare assistance. Here’s another thing to consider…..This job I am trying to get pays minimum wage. Subtract from this job daycare and gas….I’ll be paying more out of pocket than this job grosses so why do you think people want to give up or not work at all when they see no way of getting out of homelessness even if they work two minimum wage jobs?

I was given a “homeless verification” form to have filled out by an agency that can vouch for me that I’m homeless.The only agency that knows my situation here is DSHS. I went to the office I normally would go to in Ballard only to discover a sign on the window that said they moved to another location. Right next door to the former DSHS office is Porchlight which happens to be a Seattle Housing Authority program. I went in and talked to a staff member at the front desk to basically confirm what I already knew to be true. I was told that not too long ago, 25,000 people showed up to vie for 2,500 applications to be put on a waiting list that is 3 years long and the lottery system used to “award” housing vouchers is very much alive and well. I also learned that the general fund or lifeline disability fund, went from $339.00 down to $197.00……

Do stay tuned for the next video I make about this adventure…..

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Child care blues

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (5 Comments)

Today I called around to see what kind of help is available for subsidized childcare. Getting a job is always preferrable to the meager cash TANF (welfare) would grant. Oh and for those of you who don’t know this, if you get TANF, there’s a five year limit that you can be on it. In this video I used the Boys & Girls Club fee schedule for the daycare they have at B.F. Day Elementary School where my youngest attended. So far, the Boys & Girls Club rates are the most reasonable. One more thing to remember…..not all daycare providers accept childcare subsidies….

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Calling for help

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (19 Comments)

Ta daaaa! Here I am showing folks what it sounds like when calling for help. If you’ve never called around to get into a shelter, here’s your chance to see what it’s like. I am still amused whenever I see comments out there from people that still think getting out of homelessness must be as simple as just going to a shelter. The reality is, there aren’t enough of them and the shelter system needs to do more than be a revolving door. Thanks to budget cuts, loss of jobs and a overwhelming bureaucracy, it should be no surprise to anyone when individuals begin to give up hope.

On a recent visit to the Nickelsville tent city I visited a few days ago, a young mother told me she called 75 shelters and couldn’t get in because they had no room. She has only been homeless for about two weeks now. Imagine doing this year after year. Makes living out of a van while working to save money look a whole lot better, doesn’t it?

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Tales from the driver’s side

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness - (1 Comments)

I wanted to make a nice smooth video about the realities of homelessness here in Seattle but….Windows Movie Maker on this laptop is having too many problems accepting the videos I take on my video recorders so I have opted for uploading snippets on to youTube. Add to the fact that I have limited amounts of time to be on any computer and you will understand why the videos look the way they do. Maybe someday I’ll be able to make a decent mini movie but for now, this will have to do.

Enjoy!

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Get ready….

Posted by Carey Fuller in Homelessness | Uncategorized - (3 Comments)

One of the cool things about social media is being able to talk and “meet” people from around the world and from all kinds of walks of life. Not everyone I talk to is homeless. I am grateful for being able to talk with people from homeless services since they know firsthand that what I’m bringing to the public eye is true. Unfortunately, they are just as frustrated as the people who come to them for help. So if you really think there’s more to my story than what you’ve been reading or hearing, season your attitude well, you might just have to eat it!

It is because of the almost unbelievable disbelief in other people that I chose to document on video what it’s like to be a homeless family. Yes, for some of you who are oblivious to the growing number of homeless families in this country, seeing the reality every week will be uncomfortable for you. Good! It’s time we all opened our eyes to who the homeless really are and why “fixing” homelessness seems to be a problem for our society. Think there’s “more to the story” than what you’re being shown? Watch and see….

I will actually read to you the emails I get sent and if you have a question you feel haven’t been addressed, shoot me an email at indy.inn@hotmail.com. I do ask one thing however. Before asking me redundant questions, please take the time to read my blog at careyfuller.com as I have already addressed obvious questions as to why it takes so long to get out of homelessness here and why child support is a joke. I will address those questions on video while calling agencies that are supposed to be helping but for those of you who know what I’m talking about, know that you aren’t the only one having these experiences!

For the newly homeless and those about to become homeless because there is a lack of shelter and programs that prevent homelessness, please don’t give up. You did not fail your families or yourself. A broken system did. It is possible to fix but that will take a concerted effort by everyone. Stop by We Are Visible to learn how to get connected to social media. You never know what doors it will open for you. Yes, it won’t be easy but this is a community meant to support you on your journey to a better life. As for me, I will continue to show the world that homelessness doesn’t mean you are less of a human being. Don’t let negativity tell you what you can’t be. Just don’t give up!

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