HomelessOKC: This is what I published last year..(Feb.)06

Here is A Pic of John and Donna(FRIENDS ,AND AT TIMES COWORKERS)DONE WITH NEON EFFECT(NEAT)

No Dogs, no smoking ,and no backpacks!?by Ted Leon

Has anybody noticed how the homeless are highly discriminated against in the downtown area of Oklahoma city? And we aren’t talking about the average derelict that hasn’t showered in who knows how many moons and smells profusely like mouthwash heaven with a little tinge of piss and vomit. And don’t we all wish just a little sometimes that “those” people would just move down the block downwind and from hearing distance. There are some reasons that the “civilians are justified in their discomfort.
The new homeless are the families with kids, the out of work man or woman. Those who lived from paycheck to paycheck and got hit by some misfortune and are now at the mission or staying with families, just trying to get a hand up on the situation. Most people don't see this discrimination because it is done on the sly so that the average “citizen” won’t take notice. Some homeless just think that is the way things are run. These policies are done under the guise of safety ,comfort and convenience." Security” they cry. Under the guise of “Homeland Security” or some other smoke screen. One example of discrimination is the policy of “Mc Donald's’” at Western. On there bulletin board on the wall next to the cash registers is an 8x10
Paper that states that for the safety and comfort of their guests all backpacks and large bags must be left in the foyer. These precautions are for security reasons. All guests who choose to leave these items are reassured that a security guard will watch them.
First of all ,the foyer is not more than a few feet from the door .If there is a bomb that goes off in the glass foyer it will be a mess.
Secondly, the comfort of the guests will not be effected by a backpack. Homeless people are not the only ones who use them. Believe it or not, other “classes “ of folks use them. They are quite the rage in the States ! The management must believe that any one with a pack must be homeless and not some poor fool going to work on foot who stopped by for a bite. What a great inconvenience it is for the working poor or anybody for that matter ,having to worry if somebody will steal their pack in the foyer….see ,the security guard is not there in the foyer “watching” your stuff. Now, nobody is aware of this policy except the man with the pack ,
because he will be the only one asked by the security to put the pack in the foyer or leave. People in cars don’t have to bring their packs in ,unless they have something in it they want to work on, and they won’t be asked to conform to policy.
By the way ,the notice on the bulletin board is inconspicuous.
People get the feeling they are not welcome.

Drugs /source unknown

Despite numerous declarations of a "war on drugs" over the past three decades, Americans continue to produce, use and sell illegal narcotics. Illegal drugs are both a symptom and a cause of some of American society's most intractable problems, including high crime rates, homelessness and the breakup of traditional two-parent families. To explore America's drug policies and drug culture is to examine the criminal-justice system, the health-care system, wealth and poverty in America, and even racism.
Beginning in the mid-1980s, the federal government and many states enacted mandatory prison sentences for people convicted of even minor drug offenses, and major sentences were set for drug dealers and traffickers. Thousands of drug lords and drug users alike have been prosecuted -- contributing to an explosive growth of the U.S. prison population. But because demand for drugs and the financial reward for selling them has remained strong, there have always been new traffickers ready to step in when others wind up behind bars!

Fatal fall from parking garage is second incident last month(The Oklahoman) Contributing: Staff Writers Chad Previch and Joe Wertz 1/26/06 Oklahoma City police are investigating the death of a man who apparently jumped from a downtown parking garage — the second person to do so this month. About 9 a.m., the victim, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, plunged from the seventh level of the nine-story garage at 1 N Walker, police Capt. Jeffrey Becker said. “There were quite a few witnesses,” Becker said. “This happened right in front of the (Greyhound) bus station.” The victim is described as a white man in his 60s who may have been a transient in the area, Becker said. There was no immediate indication of foul play, Becker said, and the death is considered an “apparent suicide.” Jan. 11, an Oklahoma attorney jumped from the same garage, a police report states. Witnesses told police they saw the man fall to his death. He was identified as Mark Lowery, 52. Prior to that, the last suicide committed at the garage was on Dec. 10, 2003, police records show Fatal fall from parking garage is second incident this month Contributing: Staff Writers Chad Previch and Joe Wertz Oklahoma City police are investigating the eath of a man who apparently jumped from a downtown parking garage — the second person to do so this month. About 9 a.m., the victim, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, plunged from the seventh level of the nine-story garage at 1 N Walker, police Capt. Jeffrey Becker said. “There were quite a few witnesses,” Becker said. “This happened right in front of the (Greyhound) bus station.” The victim is described as a white man in his 60s who may have been a transient in the area, Becker said. There was no immediate indication of foul play, Becker said, and the death is considered an “apparent suicide.” Jan. 11, an Oklahoma attorney jumped from the same garage, a police report states. Witnesses told police they saw the man fall to his death. He was identified as Mark Lowery, 52. Prior to that, the last suicide committed at the garage was on Dec. 10, 2003, police records show Fatal fall from parking garage is second incident this month Contributing: Staff Writers Chad Previch and Joe Wertz Oklahoma City police are investigating the death of a man who apparently jumped from a downtown parking garage — the second person to do so this month. About 9 a.m., the victim, whose name has not been released pending notification of relatives, plunged from the seventh level of the nine-story garage at 1 N Walker, police Capt. Jeffrey Becker said. “There were quite a few witnesses,” Becker said. “This happened right in front of the (Greyhound) bus station.” The victim is described as a white man in his 60s who may have been a transient in the area, Becker said. There was no immediate indication of foul play, Becker said, and the death is considered an “apparent suicide.” Jan. 11, an Oklahoma attorney jumped from the same garage, a police report states. Witnesses told police they saw the man fall to his death. He was identified as Mark Lowery, 52. Prior to that, the last suicide committed at the garage was on Dec. 10, 2003, police records show.

(There was alot of depression, when I 1st arrived at the mission ,amongst the peoples that I met in the beginning, probably brought on by repressed anger that was usually justified and brought on by these persons own actions.Most knew how they got there and why. How do I know ? I asked them! One guy named Dave( a master carpenter)gambled his way to poverty and destitution.This guy didn't drink or do drugs ,but he made up for it w/ his gambling.I asked him what the emotion was that drove him to keep doing the insanity of gambling what he no longer had...ego,false pride ,arrogance..the feeling that the big score was next...the addiction to the way he felt,even though he was losing ...just like a drug reaction(allergic).

Others are serious boozers,pill heads,crack heads,meth heads,paint heads...etc...compounded by their stupidty or what other handicaps they claim.

My best friends turned into these peoples and as easy as it would be for me to turn away and go elsewhere ..I can't!Repeat!All my friends...whereever I go...this is happening.Can't turn away.Iknow what I can do! Not turn away!Not further stigmatize them by playing the me and you game.This is why I came to the CRM,to be amongst the" sick".That is how I embedded my self into these peoples lives ,to entrust myself to them, by example.And I don't sugar coat!There are alot of people caught in the grip of their diseases who really don't care for me (I don't preach)as they are aware of my stance and are threatened by it though they are not under any threat or duress,except to become human again,and that what scares them the most!)4-24 ted leon

The 1st article I wrote last year and it showed that my attitude was a little more angry and unfocused towards both groups( homeless and homemore ) and I published a rag called the CRM TRASH that I distributed to the mission people who,most, got a kick out of it and also a little angry too...but that's what most of them did, got angry and did nothing...I guess I'm still a little mad! There were a lot of other articles thatI wrote that did not get saved because of some reason or another...but they were great, take my word!These I just happened to send to my email as an attachment...I wish the original format could be displayed here but the link I had set up w/ 4shared.com did not display or read as intended. 4-24 ted leon

Homelessness/unknown source

Increasing numbers of people living on the streets in small as well as large cities across the U.S. prompted growing concern in the 1980s and 1990s. Surveys by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) reported annual increases in demand for emergency shelter from the mid-1980s on. In 2001, the USCM reported, emergency shelter requests rose an average of 13% in the cities surveyed.
Precise estimates of the number of homeless people in the U.S. were difficult to obtain. As part of the 1990 census, the U.S. Census Bureau attempted to count the number of homeless individuals living in the U.S. Counters for the bureau found 178,828 people in shelters and 49,793 living on the streets. Advocates for the homeless claimed that the true figure was much higher, however, possibly as high as three million. In 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless estimated that on any given night, about 700,000 people are homeless, either sleeping on the streets or in shelters.

One reason often cited for the rise in America's homeless population was the growing trend toward deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill. As a consequence, many former mental patients found themselves released from mental hospitals or institutions without any viable alternative but to live on the streets or in homeless shelters. It is estimated that one-quarter to one-third of homeless people are severely mentally ill.

(in my opinion,1/3-1/4 is a very liberal number, as I would say that the mentally ill ratio is a lot higher,as close as 1/2 - 3/4,as a result of drug induced mental illnesses ,in addition to the "regular" mentally ill.)
Again, this where I say how bad this crack,meth,and pharmaceutical drug epidemic is effecting/affecting our already disfunctional world and the people that live in it and the ones we interact with and care for and hate for and hate and love...ted leon 4-24