“Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in this country. The reason is simple: without shelter, everything else falls apart.”
Matthew Desmond, Evicted
ONE NIGHT I DREAMED I SAW A HOMELESS PERSON
When will the “Housing Collectives” properly use our tax-payer dollars to create a viable solution to end homelessness? The information and knowledge afforded to well-educated degree card carrying housing case managers, offers a housing support case manager “credible trust.”
“Credible trust” is not being overproduced by social science experts in our intellectual communities. The knowledge bankruptcy gap exists where there is “no genuine concern for human welfare” created by a nihilist value hierarchy.
Moral nihilism maintains that value judgments cannot be justified. “It doesn’t matter.” People don’t matter; human rights are not important; and not even human life.
Meta-ethical justification proceeds via any atypical form or scientific methodology during reflective equilibrium.
Every housing case manager enters into an unwritten agreement; a moral philosophical contract which states people that need transitional housing must be treated with respect and dignity.
Legacy clients of the Mental Health Association and other Housing Agency Collective organizations are permanently housed in scattered units and aren’t identical as proprietors of resident leases.
The homeless-to-permanent housing placement process must be transparent and individual tenants or groups of residents violating “contractual-operational standards” of the Housing Solutions Program protocol, must be immediately removed from leadership. Providing for the opposite of ending homelessness is not going to result in Housing Solutions success.
An article in the Tulsa World on November 22, 2021 reads, “CITY ADDS HOMELESS HOUSING STANDARDS: Tulsa Will Modify Future Homeless Housing Contracts” by Kevin Canfield.
“Future City funding contracts with Housing Solutions and other organizations running non congregate homeless shelters include standards by which these facilities are expected to operate.”
City Finance Director James Wagoner told city councilor’s last week (November 14-20, 2021) that “such requirements” are the standards by which these facilities are expected to operate and could be placed in City contracts after Councilor Connie Dodson “expressed concern” about how Housing Solutions Hotel-to-Housing Programs unfolded.
WHAT STANDARDS ARE INCLUDED IN HOUSING SOLUTIONS CONTRACTS CURRENTLY?
According to the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development 2000, “The explicit nature of the societal contract to meet the housing needs of all is spelled out in the Housing Act of 1949 (42 USC §§ 1441–1490r [1994]), which stipulates the “realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and suitable living environment for every American family.”
The Housing Act of 1949 was passed more than a half century ago by different politicians representing a different population. 7% of all households and 15% of all low-income renter households live in units with severe or moderate physical problems (defined as malfunctioning plumbing, heating, or electrical systems, dilapidated public areas, or inadequate maintenance). Moreover, some of these physical deficiencies have serious health consequences, most notably, lead paint poisoning and exposure to pathogens stemming from pests. Not too mention parking issues and privacy problems.
WHAT SPECIFIC CONCERNS DID COUNCILOR CONNIE DODSON “OBSERVE” WHEN THE HOTEL-TO-HOUSING PROGRAM UNFOLDED?
*The program failed to deliver on “the promises the non-profit made to the homeless.
*The program was operated beset with poor management.
The program goal was permanent housing for 80% of 342 people who entered the program,
Only 84 out of 342 people received permanent housing.
WHAT HAPPENED INVOLVING THE HOTEL-TO-HOUSING PROGRAM INITIATIVE ACCORDING TO HOUSING SOLUTIONS?
*People could not find affordable housing
*Hotel operations were chaotic.
*There was extreme drug use and abuse
*There were dog and other pet violations.
*There was domestic assault and other violent activities.
Housing Solutions staff commented after the facts were presented and pictured and notes were shared that, “It was Housing Solutions first time” managing a non-congregate shelter. Becky Gligo, executive director of Housing Solutions on Friday, November 20, 2021 said, “Housing Solutions would fully comply with and feels like they have already met those requirements.” Ms. Gligo, still believes the Housing Solutions Program did all they could do after the facts and evidence was presented to attest to the complete failure of the Hotel-to-Housing initiative. Drug use, prostitution, maintenance and other resident illegally entering other resident’s personal spaces, fighting and criminal activities was a result of people coming in off of the streets,” Ms. Gligo noted.
On November 20, 2021, Ms. Gligo with City of Tulsa Councilors Dodson and McKee continued to support the City of Tulsa guidance to include operational standards with organizations operating non congregate shelters. The underlying facts remain and almost 200 of the 342 clients were released back into the streets to die instead of receiving adequate and proper permanent housing.
WHO IS HOUSING SOLUTIONS?
Housing Solutions is a collective of local organizations dedicated to ending homelessness.
CITY OF TULSA COUNCIL DISCUSSION ABOUT PROVIDING HOUSING SOLUTIONS ANOTHER $392,000.00
Becky Gligo commented about the American Rescue Plan Act Funding to establish a future pet-friendly, low-barrier housing shelter this winter in Tulsa, Oklahoma, “I stand by fundamentally that housing is a basic human right and that we are going to continue to put people in housing and wrap services around them.”
The Homelessness-to-Housing Shelter this winter is scheduled to be at the old Avalon building, 302 W. Archer St. The City of Tulsa has provided Housing Solutions $140,000.00 for the Avalon Hotel-to-Housing Project. During the City Council discussion about the Avalon project some concerns were brought to Becky Gligos attention and then she exclaimed, “That maybe another agency that knows more about operating a homeless shelter should run the Avalon Project.” Ms. Gligo also mentioned that, “Housing Solutions has no intention of operating another Hotel Housing facility and would only subcontract operations to another agency. One City Councilor responded that Housing Solutions employees Tyler Parette received a “Key-To-The City of Tulsa” for his work already accomplished when he removed all of those homeless people from outside during the several days of severe winter conditions with the Hotel-To-Housing low- barrier program.
The City of Tulsa Housing Plan that is overseen by Housing Solutions used the Housing First Model. Housing Solutions staff was supposed to be trained professionals and accredited by credentials to support expertise based on that training. Moreover, the Housing Solutions staff is geared toward implementation of successful housing placement programs; and geared towards complete supporting authority, to operate with a broad and substantial finance budget.
The City of Tulsa residents and Community Leaders should not be now wondering what happened at the end of the Housing Solutions Program(s) budget. The Citizens of Tulsa expected and was guaranteed essentially that Housing Solutions was the proper choice conduit to assure expansive measures to eliminate barriers to housing for the homeless in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Barriers such as alcoholism, drug abuse, felony incidents, and other credit problems.
The Housing Solutions program is not designed to further commit to unchecked and allowed criminal activities and illicit drug culture events in the City of Tulsa. As a matter of record, the Housing First Model has been successfully utilized in other Mental Health Association of Oklahoma properties.
The Housing First Model is used statewide in Oklahoma and achieves success with the right properties, trained professionals and varied housing opportunities available. The Housing Solutions Hotel-to-Housing Initiative has so far been a complete failure and no one in leadership can explain why. The only reasonable explanations that Housing Solutions could come up with were: “There were not enough vacant properties or housing spaces in the entire City of Tulsa, Oklahoma.”
By admission the collective Housing Solutions staff was not properly certified to implement the non-congregate housing program.
After all of the photographs, videos and other violation reports were presented as fact based evidence it is very difficult to believe that Housing Solutions is still now qualified to operate housing programs for the City of Tulsa. Everyday people in Tulsa, Oklahoma take notice of the graphic and widening expansive impact of homelessness in our community. Each person that drives, bikes, jogs, or walks by another homeless person in-plight notices the despair of another human-life in trouble. Simply put, “Even after all things known about the causes of homeless have been seen, read and heard; studied and researched, the credited experts in supporting positions of authority still feel like they are only puppets to the system of monetary rewards.
#homelessness, #housingfirst, #housingsolutions, #human-dignity, #humanrights
https://link.medium.com/27uo9hzvcnb
Homeless Shelters:
- John 3:16 Mission https://www.john316mission.org/
- Youth Services of Tulsa https://www.yst.org/
- Lindsey House http://www.lindseyhouse.org/
- Pearl’s Hope Transitional Living (through United Methodist CoC) https://circleofcare.org/ministries/pearlshope/
- Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma https://cceok.org/
- City Lights of Oklahoma https://citylightsok.org/
- Tulsa Day Center (mixed reviews) https://tulsadaycenter.org/
- Salvation Army / Center of Hope (mixed reviews) http://www.salarmytulsa.org/
- Tulsa City of Hope Outreach https://www.facebook.com/CityofHopeTulsa/
Food Banks / Soup Kitchens:
- Tulsa Food Not Bombs https://www.facebook.com/fnb918/
- Iron Gate https://www.irongatetulsa.org/
- Mount Zion / Lavern Davis HELP Project http://www.mtzionbc.org/ministries/laverne-davis-project-help-food-pantry/
- Tulsa / Eastern OK Food Bank https://okfoodbank.org/
- Meals on Wheels https://www.mealsonwheelstulsa.org/
- Tulsa Dream Center https://www.tulsadreamcenter.org/
- South Tulsa Community House https://southtulsacommunityhouse.org/
- Neighbor for Neighbor https://www.neighborforneighbor.org/
- Restore Hope Tulsa https://www.restorehope.org/
- Neighbors Along the Line https://www.neighborsalongtheline.org/
- Mana House https://www.neokdistrict.org/ministries/local-missions/manna-house/
- Loaves and Fishes https://loavesandfishes.net/
- Helping Hand Ministry (I believe it’s through the First Presbyterian Church in Tulsa, but I can’t find a specific website for the Tulsa Based “Helping Hand” ministry) https://firstchurchtulsa.org/
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