But before all of that here is this:
I was posting in another thread when I heard
what sounded like knocking on my house. My neighbor sometimes will do
that but not usually at eleven at night. Usually because she has
something nice to eat she wants to share. At this time of night I
thought maybe she was in trouble so I went out and slipped on my sandals
to go see. Down the street in front of a neighbors house a woman was
beating on the back window of a car in front of a neighbors house. Her
son lives across the way and I could see he was out walking his dog so I
clapped to get his attention. He waved because often at this time of
night I will just make a noise like a squirrel to get his attention and
say hello. I motioned him to the front and he came out and saw what was
going on and took a triple take so I motioned him down that way
thinking perhaps a child had locked Mom out of the car. It turned out
it was a woman who thought that was her husbands car and who knows what
else was in her mind. He told her to leave that that was not her
husbands car but she went at it again and he repeated then started to to
call as if the police but actually the cars owner. Last we saw she
headed off to the next block, barefooted. It is currently 50 degrees. I
put the other text in a blog post about our housing and homeless New
Hope thing.
I am not a fan of the SRO idea at all. There needs to be a place for people who are single and will make the right decision to move into a monthly low rent situation. Those situations change though to couples in a one bedroom then possibly a family in a two bedroom and then to home ownership possibly with Avenue CDC but also any of these various stages can be permanent. I know, I am being idealistic. There is nothing at any of these stages to stop a person that needs mental health treatment or is just plain bad from being in any of those situations.
Some will remember that the Salvation Army ended up in our midst because the situations we now face were not wanted in the block north of Market Square. Star of Hope was also convinced to move out of downtown as it developed. The YMCA downtown had nightly and weekly rentals. The DeGeorge did as well as did the building just west of the old post office at the base of Washington. There were also two what were then called transient hotels politely. It was illegal not to have a few dollars and a drivers license and before any major event there was a police sweep to arrest those who did not have those two things. After the event they were processed back out. I managed to have all of those as I lived in my car working day labor until I made enough to afford the DeGeorge then the one by the post office then the Y but I injured my back muscles. I was a vet so I was treated at the VA and not being a drunk as only drunks were taken by the SOH and the Sally. I was at the Y and decide on Sunday to walk to First Methodist even though I could not bend to put on my shoes. I somehow missed FMC and went to First Baptist Church where a young man recognized me as having been at Mainstream, a Christian night club over Club Bojangles. He said I should come to Mainstream so I met Merle Shade who ran it and I lived there sleeping on the floor and returning to work as driver for Peakload then returning to TAMU the next semester.
We are faced with a monumental task and even though the Sally has blown it big time and this facility is not right for us and may not be right at all I hope we can find ways to be kind and loving of all ages and all economic situations and to treat those who need physical ot mental help. As individuals, faith based orgs, other ords, businesses and governments this is the task before us. Poorly stated but I hope I got a little bit of it across and that also these three pieces of history will be considered and that we will get to know folks around us so less of this type of thing happens.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candy_Mossler
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Grisly-Ice-Box-Murders-7251178.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Corll
