HOUSING IN AMERICA: DOING IT RIGHT

Whenever I use the blue line light rail in Minneapolis, I see tents near the Franklin station. These are homeless individuals who have been unfortunate and have not received the help they need to obtain housing. We can do better to help eliminate homelessness in America.

In 1987 to 1989 I worked at Tender Mercies in Cincinnati, Ohio as an office manager. Tender Mercies is a non-profit which provides housing to mentally ill adults who were formerly homeless. It was started by two Catholic priests, Father Chris Hall and Father Edward Slater. It is independent of the Catholic Church and has a diverse board of directors from many different faith traditions and backgrounds.

They had five buildings, one of which had been owned by a police officer who could not handle the mentally ill adults who lived there. The priests developed this SRO (Single Room Occupancy) Housing with the help of the board and contributors. Two Catholic sisters, Kathleen and Anne, helped with various programs, meals and taking people to doctor's appointments and to the hospitals for treatment. Sister Anne was involved with the recreation program and also helped me in the office with various tasks. We had volunteers from various spiritual communities to help us with our fund raisers and our meals for the residents. People from Mennonite Voluntary Service and the Jesuit Volunteer Corps held various positions. We received stipends towards our households. We also had some paid

professional staff, a psychiatrist who came in about twice a month and a social worker with Healthcare for the Homeless.

Father Chris always paid the best carpenters and plumbers when he needed them. He saved money by employing the best people to fix and rehab the buildings. They fixed it right the first time and this is how he saved money in the long run. Father Ed was great with staff and the volunteers.

We had a couple incidents when we had to deescalate residents who had guns in their possession. The two priests and staff members calmed them down, so that by the time the police arrived we were able to convince them to receive treatment. Police contacted judges, so that this could happen in a safe manner.

We gave the residents quality time whenever they needed help or conversation, no matter what our position was in the organization. The two priests went around to do presentations at spiritual communities and non-profits to fund raise and tell people about our programs and residents.

The key to our success I think was that everyone who worked or volunteered there had a philosophy of love and kindness. They wanted to improve the lives of these individuals in any way they could. From a bank VP in a mink stole to the person walking off the street who was homeless, we treated them as an honored presence. The mayor's wife, Marcia Luken, a social worker named Dee and a conservative Jew by the name of Frank, who has one of their buildings named after him, were some of our board members. We had volunteers from all income brackets and races. Our staff was diverse.

We had challenges because we had rehabbed old buildings. In our administrative building we had to get an exterminator because a number of mice were found in our basement. We sometimes had to tell people to wait half a minute for the saw to quit when we spoke over the phone when we had to upgrade our space in the administrative area.

I learned about the residents and what they liked and did not like to do in life. Some did interesting actions when they needed treatment. One woman always started to throw clothes out of her windows when she needed to go to the hospital for treatment. The drugs helped people, but they did have side effects for some individuals. Now some psychiatrists are using other methods in conjunction with medications, such as diet, exercise and herbs. The university programs are the most progressive and promote a more holistic approach to treatment. This was in the 1980's, so people were not as informed about this approach to treatment as they are today. They provided a stable, caring environment for the residents. That was a great accomplishment at that time and this is the goal of any successful program in housing the homeless.

Sadly Father Chris died of a genetic illness a number of years ago. Father Ed works elsewhere in Catholic ministry in Cincinnati. Others are in charge today, but their goal and model is a great goal for any non-profit housing organization: love and kindness.

In Hinduism we view divinity as having aspects of the human family. The Divine is our mother, father and friend. I think you could say that Tender Mercies has that philosophy, too. There is a caring attitude there. Humanity is one great family. To solve the housing crisis, we have to view our neighbor as part of the human family. We fund the military often without questioning if a certain program is necessary or desirable. We need to redirect some of those funds to public housing, which has been greatly underfunded for years. I live in FHA rehabbed housing. More coops could be developed in which residents run their own housing. More cooperation between spiritual communities, non-profits and governments is needed to solve the crisis. More equitable wages are needed, so people can afford their own housing. We need to vote for representatives in our governmental systems who will fund housing in a more equitable manner. If we all loved our neighbor, there would certainly would be way less homeless people in the world. We all need to help in this situation. In cooperation there is always progress towards a great goal.

JAI SHRI MA! JAI SHRI HOUSING! JAI SHRI LOVE!

Radhpriestess