In times gone past Roman emperors would ride a chariot drawn by four wight horses, behind him followed ox-drawn carts laden with treasure hard won battles. The booty would be tossed over to the cheering crowd. A slave would stand behind Cesar holding a golden laurel leaf crown whispering over and over again “Scias, scias, omnia terrena volatile, conscious”, ( be aware, be aware, all earthly things are fleeting, be aware).
The midterms of 2022 brought a level of vindication to the argument that the 13 amendment exceptions clause is slowly bringing the last chapter of the American Civil War to an end. Five states placed on the ballots to remove the felony exception that outlaws slavery except if one is convicted of a felony.
Of the two million plus inmates, 80 % are African American. They sadly have become only one side of the poverty footprint pyramid. Let us not forget it’s a revolving door of 10 to 15 million individuals. Of the five states, only one rejected the ballot question, that was the state of Louisiana. It is a Jim Crow state with plantations after all.
Keeping the slavery amendment in mind, one should add two other items that contribute to the judicial contribution to the homeless people. The police association warned Washington State that there will be unintended consequences for restoring individuals’ birth rights and dignity. Here in Virginia the republican governor chose to keep judicial slaves and rebuffed attempts to finally end the civil war 150 after the last shot was fired.
BBC News – US midterm elections: Why five states have slavery on the ballot in 2022
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-63338784
The second reason for homelessness may be, the Supreme Court ruling. In Frazier v. Cupp (1969), the Supreme Court made it lawful for the police to present false evidence. Despite enormous amounts of research and thousands of wrongful convictions since that time. An estimated 29.7% or 500,000 individuals are jailed because the officer just plain lied here in the USA. For myself, it played a role in my decision to leave the Arthur Ash area for less profitable areas. The mayor and his administration are under pressure from Virginia Commonwealth University, Developers, and various associations to clean up the areas from the homeless and their itches. A new police officer started the write tickets for panhandling and also made a point to make those under the I-95 bridge leave the area. I call him Officer Kevin the tool. In principle, I agree with the need to clear up the area but, not the methods used. One day six months ago I left my sleeping bags hidden with with my tent only to return to find them shredded apart.
Even though it is my word against his, everything in me told me he was responsible for the destruction of personal property. As seen above. How would you respond if he came to your home with the same knife?
Moreover, given the aforementioned Supreme Court ruling he would have lied. As written in The Great Gatsby, the rich have a different set of rules and justice to answer to. My past experiences with the Richmond police department only reinforced my suspicions. To this day the man who assaulted me on the GRTC bus, in front of 7 witnesses, and the cameras still walks around carefree. I am homeless, and the police chief is not about to sacrifice valuable dollars on this case. I know in my heart that if I had my previous address in Windsor Farms the response definitely would have been different.
No matter how many miles you walk in someone else’s shoes, you may never understand the full impact of their history, their experiences, and their dreams. And the same thing works in reverse. If someone is trying to empathize with you through an experience that has been challenging because they want to help. You may be frustrated, though, because they just don’t get it. But at least they are trying. At least they care. Give them some slack and try to express your point of view. Empathize with the empathize. These are the encounters of the people I meet on the streets right now in Richmond.
Rum from the blog entry called Enigma is back on the streets. One has to admit that there was no surprise in that. He sold his soul last year to stay with another alcoholic called Herman. Yesterday September 26 all three of them rolled into the parking lot where I tried to sleep. The third is Red. They sat down next to me and started to pass around a handle of old Mr. Boston rum. The first to drink was Red. She grabbed the neck of the bottle, swung it up in the air, and drank. An elderly gentleman with a walking stick who was standing next to me watched in total shock and amazement as she gulped down the rum. 4 large gulps as if one were watching a soda pop commercial in real-time. The man looked at me and said “I got drunk just watching her!!”. Looking at each other with amazement, we shook our heads and minded our own business as the bottle was handled around that enabling circle. It was then that I asked Red if she knew of a person called “Strawberry”. She said yes. There is no soft way to say or announce the death of someone. I told her, that Strawberry had overdosed over by Arthur Ash Boulevard. “Did she make it”, no was my response. She broke out in tears. That made it the second body that had been found over that way in less than a week. Susan told me that the word on the street over there is that there is a turf dispute happening over there. Moreover, to secure their positions with those addicts each side is probably providing the addicts stronger dosages or phen phen tainted products. She explained to me that the possibility and the likelihood were rather high that for one dealer to get the upper hand in this battle they with malleus of overdosing the other clients. Wouldn’t be that hard to give an addict the itch they crave so that they overdose and die. A perfect murder that nobody really would pay attention to and those who deal I public safety would ignore it. The law that governs genocide requires “intent” and malus of forethought. Sadly, however, this happened to the dehumanized, the invisible that are fed upon by oh so many for a nonprofits so that they make a profit.
An hour or so passed until two vehicles rolled up us. The human hand of the invisible formed the line. The line is now longer, much much longer for the basics of food, water, and clothing for each of the charities that I frequent.
A shortage of affordable housing, the opioid crisis, and the lingering effects of the pandemic have contributed to a rise in visible homelessness. Amongst, them was a tall young man who was dancing Mephistopheles’s dance interpretation of the Nutcracker suite as the heroin in his blood took effect. What used to be 30 or 40 individuals is now 120 to 130 in a line. The lines are not hard to miss, but the Mayor and his administration do their best to sweep under a carpet and hide from it. Ironically, one line is only a few hundred yards from the state capital and governor’s house.
As the bottle was passed around I played a
possum pulled the sleeping bag over my head and then fell asleep.
The homeless despite their itches have a sense of a higher self that is noble; it doesn’t judge or wish harm on anyone, for they are hourly and daily judged by the silent majority and those who serve in government. They are a very noble person at their core, but it can be hard, really for anyone – to remain in constant touch with one’s higher self. It might be especially hard because one has good reasons to be angry, resentful, and perhaps even feel vengeful on some level. But when one consciously chooses to be the best you that you can be, one can do it. They try to rise above their situation where they haven’t been treated right, and in return, be noble. The higher ground has a much better view once one gets there. These people like Susan with her dog seek refuge in the places of their past. I still count her as a friend. Her past always called her back. Another one is Red from the entry I wrote came back to the Panera in tears. She was returning on the pulse bus to downtown. On the ride back a man taunted her saying “Crack ho, or get it over with and die”. The passengers and the GRTC bus driver did not come to her aid. Those of us who know her came to her aid. Comforting her. For the public and governments to easily forget that the homeless have feelings, minds, and emotions. Those public employees like the prison system dehumanize you and give you a social security number, and a case file number so that they can have an omnipresent detachment such as doctors and lawmakers that they may be “above all things”, and holds all things together “(Colossians 1:17).
Too many languish and fall because they have a reasonable way to get their blessings to get ID, housing or their eyes have been closed to knowledge of what is possible & positive.
That debt that the homeless graduate with sticks around,” whether of narcotics, financial, health, or disabled sadly, “It ends up with you postponing the choices that you can make, whether or not you can buy that house, whether or not you can buy a car, whether or not you can start a family, or find a haven just to sleep.
One of the things I like to do is scan newspapers every day. Given my newfound hypersensitivity to homeless stories, I stop and read and wonder. The past few weeks and months a comparative spreadsheet of what is being done where and not here. For example; the city of Victoria, the capital of British Columbia Canada, has voted to dedicate the income stream of short-term rentals (air b&b), to a fund dedicated to a public-private partnership to build affordable housing. Then the province of British Columbia ordered cities in the province to build 60,000 affordable housing units.
This is being achieved by raising the license fee for short-term rentals to $1000.00 and dedicating those funds to said housing solutions. In Edmonton Alberta, empty office buildings are being converted into affordable apartments.
The city council of Richmond, Virginia, and the mayor Levar Stony or the state of Virginia have no such plan. The province of Ontario Canada under the guidance of Primer Ford ( equivalent to governor), has looked to their tax code. Amending, it to favor affordable housing construction, Thereby giving developers millions of reasons to build affordable housing.
For example, the federal government in Canada signed a contract with the city of Vaughan Ontario for $ 79 million. CDN to build over 1700 homes over 3 years and 40,000 homes over ten years. Here in Virginia, the only thing one gets from all levels of government is the following.
The Republican governor of Virginia has no such plan even on the drawing boards. From Victoria to Halifax and all over renters are banding together and revolting by refusing to pay their rent increases. Here, one is simply shown the door to the streets or a become a ward of the state.
Given that Forbs magazine came out with its annual Best Cities in the World to live in, this mayor has nothing to be proud of. My parent’s home town the city-state of Vienna Austria was ranked number one in the world. None of the cities in the United States even came close to the top 10. The mayor and the city council here simply have no concept of what those cities are like. The small amount that they are spending is just as one could say to this small provincial City
You got no game, Mr mayor.
Below is the interview the mayor gave a local news channel.
How can one human stand in front of a camera and say that he is proud of giving the order to clear the homeless from Camp Cathy or those who found refuge at the now fenced-in venues such as the World War One memorial or Colosseum? How can a person create a unit of the police called the “love”, police and claim that they are to be used as lesions to the homeless persons and use said officers to practice the distinction of property and possibly other acts? The expression ” do as I say not as I do”, is befitting here.
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/stoney-proud-of-administration-oct-3-2023
Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”
Yesterday, upon the stairs, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there a gain today,
I wish, I wish he’d go away… This is most likely the mantra and policy of the city administration Lavar Stony wishes we’d go away and we him.
Given that the Poverty rate is 9.3%, and if one were to take the regional population of Richmond which is 1.3 million that would make about 100-150,000 persons who are living at or below the poverty level regionally. A guess is that 16-20% of them experience homelessness. So, that would theoretically put the number of persons in the metro Richmond area at around 30,000 persons. There is no way in hell that the “city”, can handle it by itself. So, a regional response is desperately needed.
The combination of the “regional”, income level and Airbnb, making housing low rent income available for said 30k persons sooner or later the current dysfunctional system will collapse sooner than later. The question should be posed if a trust that is funded by a corporate, and renters tax should be organized. The trust/tax should have a board that all charities can use to pool resources to stabilize this situation. The flaw with this concept is that one is dealing with an individual ego. It requires first and foremost that all parties admit to that one: the “war on drugs” has failed and a shift to a healthcare emphasis. Two, taking the Virginia lotteries funds away from the ” general fund”, so that underserved neighborhoods get parity with the wealthiest school districts. Moreover, the education there will be a higher long-term financial gain for the region.
Another challenge is how rents are calculated, it seems that landlords are using the regional “AMI”, ( average medium income), of $ 69,000.00 to calculate rents. This puts some locations such as the city proper at a district disadvantage over the countries surrounding it.
If one
A hot, sticky summer afternoon in mid-August brought forth the next chain of events which put the mayor and his admission. On the defensive. On that Sunday, those of us who had cell phones saw yet another thunderstorm rolling into this quaint little southern city. We told others to take cover.
Buckets of water came down, flashes of lightning would bring forth the slow rumbling of thunder, and we the invisible took cover where we could. It was a Sunday afternoon the city was abandoned by the normal sounds. As the storm passed, the steam slowly rose from the hot asphalt, a breeze blew the scent of the magnolia blooms. A man who had taken shelter at the entrance of the Richmond hotel turned up the volume on his Bluetooth speakers. A sorrowful song from the artist’s jelly roll filled the air. We all passed and reflected on our shortcomings and lives.
This single storm was the beginning of a chain of event started. A chain of events that needs a small detour before I unfold the rest of the events.
NOAA, ( National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration ), Environment Canada & the European counterparts published two reports the first report advised us that it is an El Nino year and the southeastern part of this nation will most likely be colder and wetter than normal. the second report felt with the wildfires that burnt all summer long. Environment Canada noted that these wildfires released 98 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere. One megaton equals one million sticks of dynamite. This discharge was 298% over and above “normal” human activity. The smoke will linger through winter and most likely make this winter one for the record books. The only event that was larger in recent times was the dropping of the “tsar “, hydrogen bomb by the soviet union Tested on 30 October 1961.
Now on September 8th, I gave a television interview about the second storm I survived. In a nutshell I said, ” the homeless take better care of the homeless than the mayors boastful claims of pride.
Then on or about the 23rd of September Ophelia hit. Below is what happened & the Richmond Times Dispatch quoted Miss Rhonda Sneed.
“I can’t believe the lies that continue even with video evidence…. Mayor Stoney sent word that Nobody was turned away…while WTVR showed a woman with a child who was turned away. We spoke with this woman, as she stood in the rain with a small child and told us they don’t have accommodations for children. Rick Harris a social worker stood in front of us and said we are at capacity…we have the videos, the pictures, the individuals to testify they were turned away.
” is what blessings Warriors leader Rhonda Sneed told the media as tropical storm Ophidia rolled on to the North Eastern United States in the Americas”.
I was there, one of the lucky ones to get a square foot of a cold floor to sleep on and bags of green baloney from the city jail to feed us.
No floor mats to soften the floor some brought their cardboard others pulled chairs together to make a makeshift bed. At least, which is what we got, there was no rain on our heads. The homeless are the disenfranchised, the nameless, the invisible for profit by the nonprofits.
January 22, 1987, Washington was hit by a massive snowstorm that, in some ways, might have been the beginning of then-Mayor Marion Barry’s ignominious downfall. 148 people died in that storm. The only question left in one’s mind should be how many will die this winter.
Even the city council criticized the mayor for his lackluster record of shelters and help for the homeless during his time.
A shortage of affordable housing, the opioid crisis, and the lingering effects of the pandemic have contributed to a rise in visible homelessness, which the mayor and his administration, including the police, deny the existence of. They do their best to suppress the existence of the disenfranchised.
A 1963 exhibit at the Bronx Zoo in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. It featured a mirror and text describing the dangers humans pose to life on Earth. Also, fifty years ago a man took a Chicago stage and sang a lament balled. A few years passed and he died of an overdose. His name was Elvis Presley. The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. When you listen to the song ” In the ghetto”, look in the mirror and ask yourself what have,
Councilman Addison, Councilwoman, Jordan, Councilwoman, Ann-Frances Lambert, Councilwoman, Nye, Councilwoman, Lynch, Councilwoman, Robertson, Councilwoman, Newbille,
Councilwoman, Trammell,
Council President, Jones. Mayor Lavar Stoney (democrat)
Governor Youngkin ( Republican)
Done with the thousands, millions, billions, and nationwide trillions of dollars for the war on poverty, homelessness, and illiteracy in this nation. They are after all employees of yours, you voted for them.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Please share with your friends.
Be kind to each other
Take care of each other
God bless you. Thank you for your time and contribution
Homeless in Richmond VA 