Those crazies drove me to the mission..my ministry and why!

this picture is an aerial view of the downtown area.
all accessible by foot.Library,IRS,Jail,Travelers Aid,CRM...etc








Some what of a description of myself, (Click here to view)

I used to live at 815 NW 22 #4 from the year 2002-2005. It was a nice little apartment and the rent was not bad(320.00/all bills paid), but the neighbors , below me, were crazies. I and every other person that lived there put up w/ the insanity (the guy was a full blown alcoholic who could, literally, chug a 1/5 of wiskey in 10 min.His wife was no saner.In fact ,I think that she was the one ,who was sicker, between both of them.)The apt complex, down the street on the corner ,lived only(all) crack heads(it was a distribution point) and they would be screaming and hollering at all hours of the early morning and all night, with a few gunshots thrown in for good measure, once in a awhile.This got old ,really fast ,and people had asked me why I had not moved?I'm hard headed and I have never believed in giving in to bullies and that is what this guy Kevin Hanshue was ,amongst other things. Well, I did move after 3 years and I would like to say, that I had left all my troubles behind...but noooo....I moved to a place on 12th street and Indiana, that was worse. And let me tell you ..it was bad !..And then the old neighbor at 815 died w/in a month, after I left ,due to his drinking (or the finger of fate),but it was to late for me to go back,and I was getting very depressed...my best friend was turning into a full blown crackhead in front of my eyes(and an idiot and asshole,to boot),who was supposed to have moved in with me,reneged( because of his progressing crack addiction) and leaving me high and dry..(I paid the rent for three months but the crack activity and whores was rampant and I resigned myself to not pay rent to live in slum dwellings(The landlord ran the distribution from the place he lived at down the street) and to come up w/ a solution for my friends if I wasn't going to get away from the crazies. I know ...find another roommate!Where?All the friends by this time were all smoking this shit.I hate what crack does to people!You see this crack thing has become such an epidemic among the people that are poor(and rich).You see, they get into it innocently, trying to relieve some of the something(pain ,misery,depression) out of their lives...they want to relax ..feel good ,get away from it for awhile(recuperate).But ,oh how they become addicted so fast... and how as equally fast they become like zombies.It makes them Poor!It makes them quite inhuman I worked with the guy ,I mentioned above , and he was such a pain to be around( I could tell by the taughtness of his face and the coldness of his eyes and just looking at his clenched jaws I wondered when I would hear his teeth break) that I knew all he could concentrate on was the the crack, after work...the man ,the friend that I had known had almost completely dissappeared And I had known this man for more than 4 years . It made me cry to see him die and not be aware of his disease and the impact it had on me and the others who cared . So, I knew were I was going a month before I got there(CRM) and I knew what my goal was and what I was going to do for these people who needed to be my friends but decided they rather suck and be enslaved on a glass dick....no my friend ,not one or two or three people...I can't count how many have fallen to the this soul crusher/killer, that I personally know of since 1998, when I was introduced this different life of sorrow( I was ignorant and naive before this time and it took me awhile to know the extent of these problems).I ASKED GOD WHAT HE WANTED ME TO DO. He told me leave everything again and to go down to the mission and find out what was causing this epidemic.Embed myself there.

Like I said earlier,I am a healer of unconventional means and though many may judge me due to what they think are my living arrangements and why I am were I am,(I do not go around airing what I do in arrogance) I do have a purpose and there is reason to what looks like madness and pipe dreams for some .To heal certain areas of a diseased entity, the healer must immerse himself in the lives of those afflicted to understand their suffering and try to show a better easier, cleaner route for those who want change and need some sort of guidance or strength to meet these desires, to trust my humanity and the sacrifice that goes w/ it and for Who's PURPOSE it serves and honors. I serve God! He sent me to see. I obeyed.I obey.











(My pictures I took with my video camera)

This what some people do, just sit all day at the library!They have no place to go .

here is Jerry's and Angela's(homeless couple) dog that they

take care of,they want a photo!

I've been on vacation... and SEMASYS,my prior job.

Sorry you have not heard from me in a couple of days..you see I've been on vacation.What!You ask,"How can a homeless man go on vacation?"First,I don't consider my self homeless.I make a conscious effort to live at the mission(read "The cleaning supplies...") .I do have money that I have saved from my jobs,I do have a bank account w/ a visa check card that I use exclusively for purchases in the keep the change program at Bank of America,my bank.I have a state of the art mp3 player that I use for my website as a work tool.I have a nice digital camera that I also use for the websites and my photography portraits and scenes that I sell to friends and people that I meet on my travels.Yes,I went on vacation from the mission and the people there who are so overwhelmed by their situation and the place they find themselves that they exude a foul odor that others are not
aware of(some are actual odors but I mainly speak metaphorically) and the distress and sickness that has overcome them is draining on a healers psyche and therefor must retire, (usually to another chaos )away for recovery.

These people pictured here are Ron and Carol

who work in the carpenters shop at SEMASYS,where I worked all of last year til this Jan. I was layed off or let go...see the union that controls the peons(labor ready ...temps)dictate that if a temp is not hired in 6 mths. the company must let the temp go for a month.I had worked there on/off since 2005.I made 6.oo/hr for the last3 mths.Before that ,we all made(temps)5.15/hr.we usually worked 60-70 hrs a week.To me ,this is not a livable wage and I was exhausted, but I was able to put most of the money I made into a hole in the ground.I rode my mountain bike and my BMX bike an average 15-20 miles a day.I had to be there at 5:00 am,so I left the mission at 3:30am.We got off @ 3:30pm. I am amongst the working poor.God Bless them.I figure I put 1800 miles on both bikes in about 6 mths.Went thru two sets of tires and three innner tubes.the bearings went out on the BMX.I rode hard,worked hard and played hard.I eventually sold these bikes thru Carol for Ten bucks a piece! That's what I was doing there...picking up the moola..look at the pic below...I lifted a lot of weight and my arms show it.The pic was actually taken in the carpenters shop.

A month or so before an event the city starts..cleanup

A duck waiting his turn at the bathing!

A month or so before an event(ex; city arts festival held in the MYRIAD GARDENS )the city starts cleaning up by implementing and enforcing new rules(the same old rules) such as no loitering around the mission in a two block radius. Sounds good, except that leaves most of those people nowhere to go except the library and the surrounding downtown area if you go east and north.People found talking to someone outside the mission area, will risk 30 days barment from the mission.They are trying to encourage the homeless to go to one of those missions further out from downtown so as to diminish the frequency of homeless sightings by those visiting our fair downtown area.
There is a man referred to by the homeless as the HOT DOG man who ,on Sundays,passes out free hot dogs to these people.Some one asked at the new mandatory 700pm meeting where these issues are discussed or dictated,"What about getting a hot dog from the man on Sunday, can we go and get a sack?"you should have heard the booing and raucous when old Jensen replied with that little look he gets when he is kicking someone out of the mission,"well...I am not going to tell you that you can't go and get one ,but you risk being barred for thirty days....wait......whooa...now we feed more than enough, per person, at 3 meals a day.....there is no one going hungry

here(this is the truth in the amounts they get)....your displeasure is not going to change this matter...".Some one in the audience,"are you talking about the mission...you don't even eat here..."

The mission is getting a little emptier since they've put the screws on.....but guess what,they've got to go somewhere.And what I saw the other day is an indication of where they go .

Sean was at the Myriad gardens , first filling up his water jugs from the fountain. And then he brushed his teeth in the fountain...then he started to bathe...He is one who is not mentally ill...just depressed( I know that depression is an illness)and 24 yrs old. He is one who can't see his child because his woman decided that she needed to be a lesbian at an inconvenient moment in his life...some thing to be depressed about ..no?Anyway..to avoid the added stress of the mission and the screws...he 's camping out.But he needs to do his business and he is doing his personal hygiene in a very public place ...thanks Ron Jensen and you wise people who think these wonderful answers up for the city..I get to watch a guy bathe in a drinking fountain!It 's undignified for all.Hell, it is all one big project in the experimental stages. As humans ,they are all new to this and still learning. It is not perfect .But some things are done out of malicous pride and vanity. And being the humans they perceive themselves to be , they can deduce no other viable answer , hidden , as a result of their hardened hearts and their blind eyes .These motives and actions are a result of years of social conditioning and consequences so that it is no wonder the answer it is not apparent and it seems common place to act and treat humans accordingly.

Must be in a hurry....

This is the copta parking garages at 5:30am










Oooh,I couldn't help but take a pic of this cool car!










This flag taken @400iso @6:00am near the City Church(I sure am up early getting these pics)










This man was such in a hurry that he cut right in front of me to order!
Of course I said ,"in my country we usually ostracize a person for cutting the line,but of course it's alright because you must really be in a hurry."He denied knowing anything of what I was talking about but was so overwhelmed by my comments that when the cashier asked him what kind of toast he wanted,he said w/ a bewildered look,"Toast?"I said," yeah buddy ,that the stuff they do to bread by toasting it."He'll think twice about cutting again!Heheheheeee!

Feeling Secure w/ the Patriot Act?

This flower was taken while I was being run through a check by a very polite police officer.He said that someone had called in reporting suspicious activity . Of someone taking pictures. With the terrorist threat and ...he tried to explain ,with the air going out of his sails .....well he took down my name,phone and website url.
I had explained that I was taking pics for my Blog and this had interested him for some reason...he wanted to know, that if I was I homeless , how do I get on the internet? Well, I told him I use the library extensively as my office(sometimes working 6-8 hrs) ."very resourceful," I believe he said.
This is how resourceful I can be,...I invested in some rechargable batteries /charger for the camera , which should cut down on expenses.Where do I charge up my phone and batteries? The Myriad gardens! I recharge my Sansa mp3 on the library computer.
Well , I am glad that someone, somewhere , is looking out for us , but I didn't feel very good being seized , and questioned. Was it the backpack, the clothing , the camera?
Bricktown is in the heart of the OKC downtown entertainment district and it was recently revitalized.More people are frequenting the area.
I was stopped , questioned and detained by a "polite officer"......I still have mixed feelings ...











pic is of a guy taking a pic of me.



This next one was taken from the top of the parking garage in Bricktown.










Well judge for yourself....I guess I do look a little suspicious or something, what it is I don't know, but this photo was taken about 15 min after I was given the clear,in front of the Cox Convention Center

Roy,Cooper and the bunny man...

Hey ,the most important part of Roy's ,Cooper's and the bunny mans conditions I mentioned in 2007/03/this is where deinstitutionalized (click here) is that the conditions they have are not aggravated drug induced addictions.They don't drink or do drugs.They sit in limbo with no place to call their own. They sleep on a mat with a sheet, usually sometimes for years , as usually someone else is acting as their payee for their support check they receive from the state or federal government. and profiting off them by keeping them in the City Rescue Mission in poverty and collecting their disability check with little or no expense going to the intended recipient .
Now on the other hand, there are people like these innocent, who get a monthly state check for some thing or another mailed to them at the mission, who are preyed upon by crack dealers .And if they weren't addicts when they got to the mission, they soon become one. No one is there to protect them from the predators and their persistence. It's one big money day come the 1st and 15th and 30th of the month. I'll discuss this system in depth later...

Happy St.Pats

I don't know who left these shoes but they were in good practical condition.

They were at a bench at the Myriad Gardens

Here is a video of the bus driver getting back at the kids who heckled him.

SISTER BJ'S/4TH@SHARTEL

HERE IS DWAYNE EAGLE










THE FLOWERS WERE PUT OUT AS I WAS WALKING UP,THE VOLUNTEERS AND SISTERS HAVE REALLY TAKEN HEART TO THEIR MISSION AND HAVE MADE THIS A MOST WELCOME PLACE OF PEACE.

HERE IS SISTER BEATRICE JOSEPH,NAMESAKE OF THIS
BEAUTIFUL PLACE . " I FEEL VERY BLESSED TO SERVE THE HOMELESS IN OKC,"SISTER BJ.SHE IS JUST CELEBRATING THE PANTRIES 1st YEAR.THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR PART!













THESE ARE SOME REALLY FRIENDLY VOLUNTEERS!
ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS ONE CAN GET A SACK LUNCH,COFFEE,PASTRIES,TOILETRY ITEMS,AND OTHER ITEMS. ON FRIDAYS THE CLOTHING ROOM IS OPEN.HOURS ARE 7:00AM -10:00AM?SOMETIMES 6:00AM







HERE I AM W/ ED (clickONphotoTOenlarge)





update on the OKC bus terminal saga!(see "your going to break..")
now both TV's are off w/these signs hanging off of them!(TV IS BROKEN)message?:Go away!

CONGRATS TO THE OU WOMENS BIG12 TITLE

SOONERSPORTS.COM

only for those in the know...City church10th/robinson

These photos show the City Church on 10th and robinson.they have been providing a meal to those that are hungry every morning for the past 15 years.The best breakfast in downtown for the price ...FREE! Can't beat that!5:30-7:30 am/MON-FRI.Thursdays is pancakes and sausage.Tuesdays is scrambled eggs(and it is alot).Other days it is biscuits and gravy .The staples are rice or oatmeal,pastries and doughnuts, and all the coffee you can drink!

My DAY @ OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY,NORMAN

SO WHAT DOES MY TRIP TO OU HAVE TO DO W/HOMELESSNESS?WELL.LET ME
TELL YOU.IN1997-1998,WHILE A LINGUISTICS MAJOR @OU i UNFORTUNATELY LOST MY STUDENT HOUSING APARTMENT AND THOUGH I WENT TO STUDENT SERVICES FOR ASSISTANCE,I WAS TOLD AT THE OFFICE OF THE DEAN,D.BOREN,THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO HELP ME.I SAW BOREN BEHIND ME THROUGH THE REFLECTION ON THE glass OF THE PAINTING(poster?) IN FRONT OF ME.(HE WAS NOT AWARE).HE WAS GESTURING TO HIS STUDENT ASSISTANT THAT I WAS NOT TO BE HELPED(HAND GESTURE OF HAND TO NECK SLICE).WELL THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF A RUDE AWAKENING TO A SEGMENT OF SOCIETY I HAD NEVER ENCOUNTERED(EXCEPT FROM A DISTANCE)AND THAT I then HAD PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF this segment, AND WHY THEY WERE LIKE THEY WERE.NONETHELESS, I SPENT NOV/97-FEB/98 SLEEPING IN THE LIBRARY OR THE STUDENT CENTERS,TAKING A SHOWER AT THE HUFFMAN CENTER,EATING @ COUCH CAFETERIA,BIDING MY TIME AT NIGHT AT THE COMPUTER CENTERS WAITING FOR CLASS TO START.DUE TO OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES(LEGAL PROBLEMS) i WAS NOT ABLE TO KEEP UPTHE SCHEDULE AND JUST QUIT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SPRING SEMESTER .IT WAS REALLY HARD.MY DEPRESSION,DUE TO THE WIFE AND ME SEPARATING,BECAME UNBEARABLE,AND I LEFT TO SEE WHAT I SEE NOW.IT HAS NOT BEEN FOR NAUGHT,AS I CAME TO "SELF-REALIZATION" AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE GIFT I WAS BURDENED WITH,THE GIFT OF A HEALER,THE FINGER (INSTRUMENT)OF FATE,THE RENDERER OF JUSTICE,A TEACHER ,A GUIDE TO SELF PEACE. A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY,BUT LIKE I SAID A GREAT BURDEN,AS IT IS VERY CONSUMING AND AS A RESULT VERY EXHAUSTING AT TIMES.I WENT BACK TO SEE AND REMEMBER, AFTER ALMOST 10 YEARS ,AND TO EXTINGUISH THE TRAUMA THAT WAS INFLICTED
ON MY PSYCHE THROUGH THIS EXPERIENCE, FOR LIKE I SAID EARLIER,HOMELESSNESS IS A MULTIPLE VARIABLE THAT STIGMATIZES ALL LEVELS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION AND MUST BE DEALT W/ ACCORDINGLY.HOMELESSNESS IS A CONDITION AND INDICATOR OF OUR DYSFUNCTIONAL SOCIETY.(OH,BY THE WAY,IF WONDERING,I WAS NOT TROUBLED BY DRINK PROBLEMS OR DRUGS AT THE TIME OF THIS CRISIS,BUT LATER WHEN THE PAIN OF SEPARATION BECAME TO INTENSE I STARTED SELF MEDICATING IN THE FORM OF BEER.YES, I STARTED DRINKING ALOT,AND THAT LASTED FOR A LITTLE WHILE(TOO LONG).BUT IN MY CASE,DRINKING DID NOT LEAD TO MY HOMELESS SITUATION,BUT IT SURE DID MAKE IT WORSE.I DON'T DRINK BY NATURE,AND DON'T DRINK ALCOHOL @ THIS TIME.

leisure,knowledge,consumerism,beauty!


















all pics courtesy of Ted leon

LOOK AT THESES STUDENTS TRYING TO GET ON THE SHUTTLE TO LLOYD NOBLE .... AND THE BUS IS CRAMMED ALREADY W/PEOPLE STANDING CHEEK TO CHEEK!

THIS IS CAMPUS CORNER

what happens when you don't pay the rent..

the sign on the gate is located at campus housing @ Oklahoma City University (nice housing)

the drunk was located at the vacant,old laundry down the street from the Neighborhood Lounge

You're going to break my camera...?

The guy that was working on this site said ,"somebodies taking pics...I'm going to break your camera!""I'm 'Not' an Inspector, Really!"












Heres beautiful Rikki Gartner,John M's daughter!
She is not homeless..just a beautiful part of my life!









(NCAA Big 12 3-10)you don't see many undesirables in this video because the city cleans up a week before an event by rounding up those that the public might be uncomfortable with...out of sight ..out of mind.That is why alot of people are not aware of the extent of the homeless crisis.

But I have to Go!!This is the OKC Bus terminal on Sat.3/10 at 7:18 am and the doors are locked.People are standing outside and the air is a little nippy.On saturdays people w/no where to go would hang out at the terminal and watch Tv.The TV'S are now off on the Sat.Funny though...as soon as I started shooting it took the security all of 1 1/2 mins to find the keys and start opening the doors.


Heres another story....when I asked the gentleman, who basically runs the mission ,what happened to my mail( that was missing but was up on the roster)he replied,"What do you expect..these are homeless people and homeless people steal.I have to high of a turnover in homeless volunteers to put one person on the mail."When I asked him if he had a problem w/ me pursuing the matter through other channels such as the postal inspector he said, "Do what you want."It took them 20 mins to find my mail that had been missing for a day.By the way...in my little short life I have noticed that the stealing done in our society usually comes from people w/homes and those who don't (according to statistics)are a very small segment of society.But if you take into account the ratio of homeless who are mentally ill to those that aren't it starts to look significant(Drug addicts,boozers,physically disabled,mentally challenged)as most homeless have severe limitations to function in this society due to these severe problems.The words of Ron Jensen goes to show that bias and prejudice views are also held by the people that are supposed to help eleviate this problem through some viable answer.There is not one answer because this problem of homelessness is a multiple variable.I do have some ideas......!
But like I said,these are the undesirables,the embarassments,the throwaways of our society...take a look at the guy who still plays innocently with his bunny..he is but a child!the cold hard institutions of the past were not the answer(isolation)to people w/ different "needs".But ironically the communal ,social enviroment of the mission with its many different types of peoples and their capacities is sort of life sustaining for some of these people,as it is the closest thing to a family enviroment they have in their life or have ever had.But come on,can't they get a place,a space of their own were they can have the little dignity most of take for granted,privacy.At this mission,there is no one actively seeking out these individuals and trying to alleviate this homeless problem by tending to needs that are evidently there and responding with the programs such as section 8 and public housing to accomadate people like Roy,Cooper and the others who don't have the capacity,patience,ability,skills.... to perform the required actions to take advantage of these resources and alleviate there own burdens.These processes are even a bit much for me to handle and I find it trying.Now like I said...I have some ideas...!You?

This is where the deinstitutionalized go...

This guy has the mind of a 6-7 yearold...he still plays w/

his stuffed bunny.Never speaks.Very docile.

Of course, Mr. Cooper does speak but it is usually jibberish in the tone of a haitian or french.DAbooDA boo (bow) .Well, when he likes, he actually speaks perfect english!

This here is Roy.He never speaks to anybody we can see, unless spoken to.But he does freely chat w/those we don't see.

this video shows Roy sitting on a bench,( it usually is the same bench ) for the last year and 4 mths , that I know of personally.All he does is sit there. H edoesn't go anywhere outside the mission.talking to people we can not see.cutting up clothes.designing new stuff.all by himself. ALONE.within himself.sewing his new creations.on that bench.or one like it.

Is he alright? Does he want more than than that bench and the floor he sleeps on at night next to that bench. I am too embarrassed to ask him , in fear that he will say 'Yes he does want more 'and I don't have the resources or the ability or the answer he needs to get him where he needs to be. Is he happy? Maybe I'll ask him some day....

doing my part?

This is the sitting room that leads to the shower stalls and tooooilets.Believe me ,you don't want to go there
girl!(no ,not the double doors behind me silly...that leads to hell.to my left is another door)I really don't sweep up usually ,but my phone was charging and ......*










Here is where all the meals are served(4x larger than actual picture)

This my friend John Mathis,hard at work!

(notice the guys behind him...who's supervising them?)

by ted leon2007