It's been a while since we've heard from Fred! |
Even though it's been almost ten years since I hosted a Peabody [and Sherman!] Award winning radio program titled The Homeless Report, and I ALWAYS tell folks upfront that I'm not a real doctor, people still ask me; "Fred, you seemingly know practically everything...how many Homeless people are there in Middletown?"
And while the short answer is
simply; "I don't know" I would begin any attempt to proffer a number by
considering the definition of homeless. For example, if you're sleeping
on a friends couch-are you homeless? How about if the couch is in their
basement? How about if they live in an apartment building with communal
storage in the basement and they don't know that you are sneaking in
through an unlocked window to sleep on their couch...are you homeless
than?
So to pick it up at that point, if everybody whose name is not on
the lease where sent packing, I'd guess there would be about an
additional five thousand folks showing up at the Joe Bibisi Warming
Center on a given night. Add to that all the formerly homeless who are a
budget cut away from losing their deal and that's another thousand or
more I would guess, though that is only an uninformed guess I must say.
So "what's the answer?"...well...what's the question!
I won't presume at
this time to say this, that , or the other thing is the "solution" to
this "problem", but I will assert with absolute certitude that THE CAUSE
of homelessness is, in one word "Housing!" As in; "When THE HELL, did a
goddamned HOUSE become a so called home?! A house is many things, but
it is not and never will be a home...anymore than a refrigerator box is,
per se, a home.You can "make a home" anywhere, out of anything, but
what we call a house is just stupid. End of story.
How many creatures
are rendered "homeless" by the cutting down of each of the countless
trees that go into making one of these stupid boxes we call homes? More
on this at a later date..
Fred Carroll, Middletown
City Hall will tell you the number of homeless to be estimated at around 250. While, like you say, Fred, its tough to define, and probably tougher to take an actual cencus, well, because the City is just not that interested in homeless. You are correct though in the answer to ending homelessness is housing. Low income housing. And while a 93 unit high rise on Broad & College Streets will do no one any good, the 19 unit Low income units being built on Stack Street is a weak effort that won't affect the problem as a whole. If you want to eliminate the problem, it would need a big, drastic effort put forth, that the city is just not ready to commit to yet.
ReplyDeleteI love the slices of life from Dr. Fred. Always eye openers. The economy in CT is horrible & there us no denying homeless is on the rise. Thanks Insider!
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