[statecom-discuss] Candidates hear about the homelessLt. gov. hopefuls at forum

[Mike Heichman]

Scott Pherson wrote:

> Yay!  Wendy performed extremely well at the debate.  She was the only 
> woman
> up there in front of an audience of almost exclusively women.  She was 
> very
> well received and we believe that the audience could relate with her and
> Wendy with the audience.  Grace was also recognized at the event by the
> organizers. :-)
>
> -Scott
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Scott Pherson <scott.pherson at gmail.com>
> Date: Jul 13, 2006 8:34 PM
> Subject: Candidates hear about the homelessLt. gov. hopefuls at forum
> To: scott.pherson at gmail.com
>
>
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> Comments from Scott Pherson:
> Please post and distribute ASAP. Thank you!
> ------------------------------
>
> ** July 13. 2006 12:00AM
>
> *Candidates hear about the homeless
>
> Lt. gov. hopefuls at forum
>
> **  By Taryn Plumb TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
> tplumb at telegram.com
> **
> WORCESTER— *When her daughter was just four days old, 26-year-old 
> Gabrielle
> Johnson was on the streets in the middle of a snowstorm, cold, 
> homeless and
> hungry.
>
> The situation resulted from a relationship that didn't work — broken
> promises and dreams unfulfilled, she explained.
>
> Finally, though, after six months in a homeless shelter, she was able 
> to get
> her own apartment through assistance from the Central Massachusetts 
> Housing
> Alliance and Donations Clearinghouse.
>
> "It feels good to come home every day," she said. "I'm tired, but it's
> mine."
>
> Ms. Johnson testified on behalf of homeless agencies yesterday in a forum
> before lieutenant governor hopefuls at Clark University. Homes for 
> Families,
> a statewide homeless advocacy organization, sponsored the event; several
> other homeless organizations and shelters from around the state were also
> present.
>
> Independent candidate John J. Sullivan and Green Party candidate Wendy 
> Van
> Horne attended, as did representatives for Democratic hopefuls Andrea C.
> Silbert and Mayor Timothy P. Murray. All the candidates, including
> Republican Reed V. Hillman and Democrat Deborah Goldberg, were invited.
>
> The event included morning breakout sessions, in which attendees 
> discussed
> solutions related to issues with housing, child care, job training,
> education and shelter stays. In the afternoon, four women — all 
> mothers who
> had been previously homeless — shared their stories with the candidates.
>
> Cheryl Middleton of Medford recalled her stay in an emergency assistance
> shelter. Her family's room, which was in a hotel, had two double beds 
> and a
> portable crib.
>
> "We lived on top of each other," Ms. Middleton said of herself and her 
> four
> children. One of her daughters slept in a 2-foot-square space on the 
> floor
> between the bed and the wall.
>
> "That's what she called her room," Ms. Middleton explained.
>
> After several months, she received Section 8 assistance. If such programs
> are under-funded, she said "this (homelessness) epidemic will turn even
> worse."
>
> Mr. Sullivan said that roughly 10,000 adults and 26,000 children in the
> state live in similar situations. More funding needs to be given to
> shelters, he said, and closer attention has to be paid to voucher 
> programs.
>
> Income verification screenings and homeless recidivism rates should 
> also be
> addressed, he said.
>
> "I don't think there's anything worse than being homeless then not being
> homeless and then falling into homelessness again," he said.
>
> Kevin Bowe, policy director for Ms. Silbert, agreed, saying that the 
> problem
> is the result of a leadership failure. Nearly 600,000 people are on the
> verge of homelessness, he said.
>
> "The first key to end homelessness is leadership," he said.
>
> School Committee member Joseph C. O'Brien, standing in for Mr. Murray,
> blamed the issue on a lack of access to good-paying jobs, healthcare,
> after-school programs and affordable day care.
>
> Ms. Van Horne, meanwhile, said the minimum wage at $6.75 is not a
> sustainable income. She also said that budgets have to be developed with
> consideration for people's lives.
>
> "You cannot run a state like a business," she said.
>
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