PUSH revised its presentation from last year's County Commission to include footage of camps located and surveyed during the November Homeless census conducted by PUSH and its affiliates, with support of the United Way of St Johns County. PUSH members plan to use this video as a starting point for discussion on homelessness with any civic or faith based group that is interested in a presentation.
ADD MOVIE FROM YOUTUBE
We have a lot to be proud of as we enter 2010. When you read what we’ve accomplished so far in 2009, we think you will agree that PUSH: People United to Stop Homelessness, formed in January 2007, has been successful in its three main goals of our mission statement: Advocacy, Education and Outreach. Read on and feel good about all your hard work.
January
PUSH Presents National Church Programs for Homeless to Memorial Lutheran Church
Two members of PUSH, Sumner Gray and Mary Lawrence, presented a brief history of PUSH, highlighting events of 2008 and two well known faith based programs for churches to address the problem of homelessness, in their communities, and at levels that are comfortable for the individual congregation.
PUSH Members Attend ESHC Homeless Count Training and Participate in the Count
Four members of PUSH were present at a meeting at United Methodist Church on King Street to learn survey and counting techniques in order to volunteer in the 09 Point in Time Homeless Survey for St Johns County. They assisted in numerous areas through out the day of the count on Jan 27th.
February
Mayor’s Commission to End Homelessness, 02/10/09
Prior to the meeting, the mayor immediately indicated to PUSH members that they needed to re seat themselves in a separate area from the commission table. He made clear this was not a “stakeholder’s” meeting but an informational and business collaboration meeting. Mary indicated PUSH was aware of the composition and purpose of the commission and wanted to take notes. Boles asked what PUSH did exactly and Mary gave him a brief outline of our mission statement.
PUSH Meets with Pastor Laws from Mt Zion Church in Hastings
On February 25th, Al Deinhart and Mary Lawrence met with Lorenzo Laws to initiate a connection between PUSH’s efforts which have largely been concentrated in St Augustine and the distinctly different problems facing the Hastings community. Although still in seminary with limited time, Pastor Laws agreed such a connection would be beneficial and to devote some time to this effort.
PUSH Participates in Nationwide Homelessness Call-In
PUSH members articipated in the first two hours of the National Homelessness Marathon on February 23, 2009 from 7 PM to 9 PM at the First United Methodist Church
March
No events except ongoing gleaning efforts which take a huge amount of time and energy.
April
PUSH hosts Commissioner Ken Bryan for an Open Conversation on Homelessness in St Johns County
About 15 people turned out at the Galimore Center to have an open and frank conversation with County Commissioner Ken Bryan on the issue of homelessness and affordable housing in St Johns County. The meeting opened with musician Eli Grimes playing two of his songs: “The Homeless Dance” and “Nobody knows her Name” and had CDs for anyone to take. It set the tone for the meeting which was relaxed and instructive. Commissioner Bryan suggested PUSH present information to the entire Board of County Commissioners.
May
PUSH Presents “WhoWe Are And What We Do” on MAYDAY
PUSH member Mary Lawrence gave a speech on May Day in La Plaza de la Constitucion outlining PUSH’s mission statement, goals and achievements and current status of homelessness planning in the county.
Central Florida Veterans For Peace Supports PUSH and St. Augustine Food Not Bombs
Central Florida Veterans For Peace Chapter 136 begins acceptiing doantions on behalf of PUSH and Food Not Bombs as part of its Impoverished Veterans and Other Victims of War Project. Veterans For Peace is a 501(c)(3) non profit educational and humanitarian organization.
June
PUSH Presents “Outdoor Living In St.Johns County” to the Board of County Commissioners
Eight members of PUSH turned out at the June meeting of the County Commission to present a program on homelessness. Alongside a three minute video presentation documenting camps and migrant housing conditions, as well as grassroots efforts at alleviating some of the problems of homelessness, members stood individually and told riveting stories of their personal interactions with homeless people. Mary Lawrence summarized the presentation with a plea for the county to take the lead on a solution.
July
PUSH Follows-Up with County Administration on the June Presentation
PUSH members spent over an hour with Assistant County Administrator Jerry Cameron, following up on the prior month’s presentation. PUSH volunteers to do an accurate homeless count and history is about to be made
August
PUSH Contacts Other Local Officials
PUSH sends out copies of the presentation to officials at St Augustine Beach City Commission, the Department of Health and Human Services, the St Johns County United Way, the Hastings Town Manager and the Community Resources Center in Hastings in an attempt to reach out and collaborate with them on the up-coming count.
September
PUSH Presents to the St. Augustine Beach Civic Association
About a dozen community members attended a presentation by PUSH regarding the planned Homeless Count held at the St. Augustine Beach City Hall after the regular Civic Association meeting. Eight PUSH members also attended to be available for any questions by the association. PUSH received support from the Civic Association on the project.
PUSH Meeting - 09/24/09
About twenty people turned out for the PUSH monthly meeting at the Galimore Center on 09-24-09.
SUMMER ACTIVITIES UPDATE:
Terry noted all the meetings that took place over the summer:
- Presentation at the County Commission meeting
- Meeting with Jerry Cameron, Asst. County Administrator
- Meeting with Town Manager in Hastings
- Meeting with Mission House in Jacksonville Beach (Mary)
- Meeting with St. Augustine City Commissioner Leanne Freeman
- Meeting with St. Augustine Beach City Commissioner Andrea Samuels
- Presentation to St Augustine Beach Civic Association
Terry also noted the success of Family Promise in Jacksonville mentioned in the Folio a few weeks earlier. Only one year in existence, the collaboration of churches has helped 25 homeless families. Mary noted PUSH had presented this to 5 area churches with no results but had handouts for members to take back to their churches/organizations as suggestions.
PUSH Announces the County-Wide Homeless Count
Approximately 30 representatives from various agencies attended the IST meeting at the SJC Health Department on Friday September 25.Where PUSH announced that the count would be conducted 11/4-11/14 by PUSH volunteers and affiliates, that a simplified survey form would be pilot tested for annual point in time survey to be conducted officially in January 2010. Goal was to provide a map of known camp locations with numbers of residents. Agencies were encouraged to take our business cards with email address for reporting tips on locations of homeless people (camp or otherwise) and to take CDs of the “Outdoor Living in St Johns County” presentation that was given to county commissioners in June. All of the CDs and business cards were snapped up.
October
PUSH Rides with the HOPE Van in Jacksonville Beach
Mary spent the first half of Monday October 5, 2009, riding with Doug and Kathleen from the outreach office’s HOPE van to learn about their outreach techniques and camp locations in the Ponte Vedra area. In three hours, we hit numerous locations and Doug and Kathleen were approachable, respectful and competent in dealing with a myriad of issues for their clients.
Planning for the Homeless Census Begins
With assistance from St Johns County United Way, the Center for Community Initiatives at UNF, members of Food not Bombs and affiliated homeless outreach groups, PUSH acquires mapping data and sets up two training sessions for volunteers to conduct the pilot homeless survey scheduled for November 4-14, 2009. Trainings occurred on Oct 20 and Oct 24 with location assignments and map/forms packets to be picked up November 2nd.
November
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December
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YEAR LONG, ONGOING ACTIVITIES OPEN TO ALL MEMBERS OF PUSH
Gleaning opportunities listed on website: Last year members of PUSH and Food Not Bombs worked with other local groups in bringing back over 90 tons of fresh fruit and vegetables to NE Florida. The new gleaning schedule will be posted on the website. It’s a great way to get some exercise and meet some wonderful people.
US Census liaison: PUSH has been invited to be on the county’s Complete Count committee as homeless liaison. There are opportunities to be paid to go out and survey homeless people this spring. Visit the US Census bureau website and take the test. If you have no record, have ID and pass the test, you can work in this capacity.
Education, outreach and advocacy: Last year members wrote and had published numerous articles and letters to the editors concerning all aspects of homelessness. We got great press on the Homelessness Issue in 2009 as a result of all your hard work. Several reporters have now committed to following the story of St. Johns County’s approach to ending homelessness. We’ve expanded our mission to encompass the impoverished and working poor. There’s a lot of work to be done in 2010 and we need everyone’s help. All of these are important:
collecting/making items to supply poor people with clothes, shoes, hygiene kits or blankets
helping out at Food Not Bombs with serving or food donations
writing articles, letters to officials or newspapers, or blog about current and ongoing homeless issues
attending monthly PUSH meetings and bringing like minded friends
checking in on the website and signing up for our mailing list for activities your groups can work on and spread the word about PUSH
attending every open meeting on homelessness you find and submit report to here
attending every Emergency Services Homeless Coalition monthly meeting. These are usually over the lunch hour at First United Methodist on King and Riberia on the third Thursday. All the agencies involved in funding are supposed to attend. You can learn a lot.
finally, and most importantly, TALK TO SOME HOMELESS PEOPLE.
After 3 years on the ground, doing the hard work, PUSH has achieved credibility both in the homeless community and among many organizations. We have momentum going into 2010. Let’s do what we can to take it up a notch.
As always, anything and everything you do is so appreciated by us. Here’s to another year of making a difference.
Richard Walter Wolf, 56, St. Augustine, died peacefully at his home on Dec. 1, 2009. He was born in Newton, N.J., and had resided here for 20 years, moving here from California. He was a proprietor of a lawn care business before retiring.
Private services are planned.
He is survived by his father, Walter Wolf, and a sister, Marty Wolf, both of Wilmette, Ill.
St. Johns Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Richard was one of our homeless citizens who did indeed die in his "home." A public memorial will be held Tuesday 12/08/09 at the Mental Health Drop-in Center at 11:00AM
If it wasn't for the damn burglar alarm, Dustin would probably had stayed inside the cool darkness of Pizzally's Chianti room. He would rather have broken into the St. George Tavern, but it looked as if it would have been too hard to get inside. As it was, due to the nerve-racking cacophony, he merely took a bottle of single-malt scotch, a whisky tumbler, and a cold bottle of Michelob Ultra.
The palm tree-lined St. George Street, paved with smooth white coquina, was still uncluttered by tourists, whihch was unusual for St. Augustine Florida, even at this early hour.
More importantly, there were still no police responding to the burglar alarm. Even as he cringed at the shrill ringing noise, Dustin tossed back a tumbler of Glenfiddich, and tucked the glass and bottles into the wire baskets of his trusty Mongoose bicycle. All the quaint, picturesque shops were still closed and vacant. Only the increasing sunlight had changed.
He rode to the west-end of St. George Street, away from the odious alarm, to the Catholic Basilica, and crossed Cathedral Place to the deserted Constitution Plaza. All the coquina benches were devoid of tourists; the gazebo and slave market were also unpeopled. Dustin parked his bike, retrieved the scotch and beer, and sat leisurely in the shade of the oak trees, on one of the benches, now out of audio rage of the obnoxious burglar alarm. Except for the quarter-hour and hourly chimes of the Catholic and Episcopal Churches, and the chirping of birds, the entire park was blissfully silent. Squirrels frolicking in the oak trees were gleefully unaware that there were no other humans present than himself.
Sipping alternately of whiskey and beer, Dustin luxuriated in the peace, almost wishing that some of his fellow street people were present to share in his good fortune...but not much. Some of his so-called colleagues were embarrassing nuisances, who preyed on the gullibility of the tourists. One human eye-sore thrived by exhibiting his contrived persona of pathetic helplessness by sitting curled up and woeful on street corners, holding signs advertising himself to be "disabled, homeless--please help", seeking handouts, even while receiving government checks which he would then convert into cheap beer. The he would slouch and stagger around drunkenly, boring anyone who would listen with his self-proclaimed success and popularity.
Other abominations were the "human hair-balls" who would revel in their disheveled squalor and unkemptness, proudly show to the world that they live and eat out of garbage dumpsters. The hair-balls believed that displaying their disgusting hideousness rendered them worthy of any handouts that may be bestowed by the more soft-hearted of the multitude of tourists.
Worse even than the "look-at-me, see-how-pathetic-I-am 'sign-flyers'" and the "look-at-me-I-live-in-a-garbage-dumpster" street people were the aggressive, predator pan-handlers. They would attack their hapless victims like starving curs, preying not only on tourists, but other homeless people, as well. Their greed and arrogance knew no limits, nor their sensitivity to rebuffs, often concocting elaborate and complicated scams in order to bewilder their targets into befuddled generosity.
Dustin's attitude was "don't ask, don't refuse", while barely surviving as a street musician, and he couldn't help but think that those who wallowed pridelessly in their homelessness and squalor were a blight and detriment to a dire and increasing social problem, rendering a solution that much each to ignore by "normal people" by virtue of the pathetic "sign-flyers" and "dumpster-dwellers" intentional unsightliness. How much easier is it to overlook people who exist by virtue of their deliberate attempt to be unpleasant to look upon?
Toward mid-day, having moved from bench to bench only to seek the shade of the oak and palm trees, Dustin grew hungry. He chose the nearby Athena Restaurant to break into, and after causing another alarm to erupt, helped himself to a loaf of Italian bread, and several blocks of various cheeses. By now, the narrow streets would have been choked by traffic: pedestrians, automobiles and tour trains and trolleys repetitively broadcasting over the P.A. systems to purported knightory of the numerous sites on their routes.
Despite the tourists' financial contribution, Dustin celebrated the lack of the curdle-faced corpse-things that would sneer at him for his current state of homelessness, and blatantly and obnoxiously clog up the streets and alleys as they milled around like lost, mindless cattle, usually "lowing" and "bleating" into their ubiquitous cell-phones.
He also rejoiced in the dearth of the mobile "noise machines", particularly the motorcycles that would rumble up and down the streets, their riders loudly drawing attention to themselves by their only contribution, which was the production of noxious and unnecessary noise and exhaust.
Earlier, Dustin had been afraid that he had over-slept, as it was already past dawn when he awoke. Even in his hidden bastion of trees and bushes, he felt himself to be especially vulnerable in the daylight. Nevertheless, even as he scrambled to roll up his sleeping bag, he was suddenly aware of the fact that there were no traffic noises. There were no sounds of the native St. Augustinians hurtling off to their various, important jobs all over the place. Except for the sundry chirping of birds and the rustling of a breeze through the tree branches, there was nothing but blissful silence!
Walking his bicycle out of his lair, he was amazed by the sight of dozens of cars, trucks, and SUVs, abandoned along the boulevard leading into downtown. As he wended his way past the immobilized four-wheeled "death machines", he saw that every one of them was devoid of human occupants. He was immediately struck by the possibility that is this trend continued, he would no longer have to guess at intersections whether or not a motorist was going to turn or go straight, due to the fact that so few of them, busily talking on their cell phones, bothered to use their turn signals. Also, the motorists would no longer be blocking the intersections by stopping in the cross-walk, or parking on the sidewalks.
Since the traffic lights still functioned, although without traffic, Dustin knew that there was still electricity. At the Visitor's Information Center, he learned that there was still running water at the water fountains adjacent to the parking garage. The only thing missing was other people.
He had begun his "reign of terror" at Ann O'Malley's Pub on Orange Street, by helping himself to a glass of Shock Top lager. The lack of interest by the police to the alarm was his initial confirmation that something in St Augustine was pleasantly amiss.
After dining on the excellent Italian bread and cheddar, Gouda, and Swiss cheeses, Dustin felt sleepy. Packing the remaining bread, cheese, beer and scotch into the wire baskets on the Mongoose, he rode north on King Street, past the vacant Government House and the other attractive shops and boutiques. As he rode, weaving through the stranded cars and SUVs, he wondered if his miraculous good fortune was, perhaps, due to the "rapture" which the annoying Christians so frequently brayed about, and that he, Dustin, as a devout Pagan, had been mercifully spared.
Continuing to bask in the blissful peace and solitude, Dustin steered toward the venerable castle-like, turreted structure of the Casa Monica Hotel. He rode up the gentle ramp to the terrace, and, dismounting his bicycle, entered the lavish, deserted lobby. He parked the Mongoose on the lush carpet in front of the desk, and marveled at the ornate splendor that surrounded him. He went behind the desk and chose a key-card for a room on the top-most floor, and then crossed the lobby to the adjacent lounge and selected another bottle of single-malt scotch and a six-pack of Heineken beer. He then pushed his bicycle to the elevator and rode to the top floor.
Finding the room in the elaborate and unfamiliar building was almost fun, like playing an amusing game. When he and his bicycle were safely inside the chosen room, he locked the door and off-loaded the whiskey, beer, and food, and turned on the wide-screen television, tuned it to TV Land on cable, and then, carrying a tumbler of scotch with him, took a long shower.
Leaving the television on TV Land, Dustin watched "Bonanza" (the episode where Adam is encouraged to not devolve into being a Western barbarian), while nude. With his only companionship being a glass of single-malt scotch and a bottle of Heineken, he sprawled in the comfort of the huge, plush bed, until he finally drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.
"How long do you think he's been lying here?" the St. Augustine police officer asked one of the two paramedics. Both the police car and the ambulance were parked on the nearby road, their blue and red lights flashing.
"Dead, you mean? Several hours, I figure. But whatever it was that he died of, it must have been pretty pleasant."
"What do you mean?" the officer asked.
"Well, look at his face. I've never seen a corpse this happy, this side of a funeral home."
"If it wasn't for a guy chasing his dog, we may never have found him." The officer turned away. "Well, happy trails."
The paramedics lifted Dustin onto a gurney, and they wheeled him through the thick underbrush to the awaiting ambulance.
When Dustin awoke, the "I Love Lucy" show was on the television. Lucy, Ricky and the Mertz's were in Hollywood, and the Marx Brothers made a cameo appearance. He stretched luxuriously, and groped for a half full bottle of Heineken. Feeling refreshed and serene, he rose to face a new and beautiful day.
-- Mason Runic
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