Bad times

So, I've been visiting the I-10 folks over the past few days... things are NOT looking up. It's cold, people are losing their morale, as they have lost their spotlight now that they are removed from Duncan Park, and it seems that more people are walking around with fight and car accident-related injuries.

I found my friend, Dale again. Apparently he was one of the few lucky ones to get a hotel room through Unity for the Homeless when Duncan Park was shut down... but he, and some others, were soon kicked out of the hotel. I could not get a full story as to what happened ... Dale and his friends were heavily intoxicated ... but I would definitely like to know why people who were provided housing by Unity are now back on the streets.

And... another note about Unity's program... I am not criticizing them, as I have not worked with them... but I can only tell about what I am seeing on the street. Many folks who HAVE housing with Unity are ending up back under the bridge. They are complaining that they do not have jobs. ANOTHER chief complaint is that people who are coming in from outside of Louisiana are getting homes from Unity, while homeless New Orleanians are still stuck under I-10.

During my visit today, I encountered a couple of 18 year olds as well as a mother and child living under the bridge. The mother stated that her husband gets enough money during the day in order to get them a cheap motel room for the night, while they use whatever is left to buy food... but during the day, she has to stay under the bridge with her child (who I estimate to be about 2 years old).

In other news, the St. Joseph Rebuild Center (located on Tulane avenue), which provides showers, laundry, and legal services for the homeless, was broken into, last Thursday and Saturday. They had to close the center in order to "re-do" the locks, but are scheduled to re-open this Friday. The bridge inhabitants were definitely in an uproar about this and were very angry to hear that someone robbed the center.

I apologize for the poor quality of my writing... but it's hard to be creative with my English when I have so much studying to do. It's more important that I at least get this information out, when I can. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned... :)