"BUT THE BEAUTIFUL THING IS AMERICA'S BUILT ON PEOPLE WHO NEEDED A SECOND CHANCE"

[dajoki]

A California program aids the 'forgotten' homeless
Safe Haven, a residence in Santa Monica, takes in those who have been on the streets more than a year and have a disability and helps put them in permanent housing.
By Frank Kosa | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the February 26, 2008 edition
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0226/p20s01-ussc.html

<<snip>>

Mr. Caldwell's brown eyes tend to avoid direct gazes, a shyness that seems born of involuntary impulse. Nevertheless, he is unceasingly kind, even as he ruthlessly dispatches me in just four more moves.

With a residence just a couple miles from the beach in one of the nation's most desirable locales, Caldwell would seem to have it all. There is just one thing that sets him apart from his neighbors: He has spent most of the past decade homeless.

<<snip>>

Officially, this means anyone who has lived on the streets for at least a year and has a disability. In practice, it often means people who have slept under bridges or on park benches for as long as 20 years, have several disabilities, and are the most difficult for social agencies to reach, usually because they suffer from mental illness.

<<snip>>

Caldwell had reservations. He wasn't aware of having any mental disability, which was a qualification. And he didn't want to sleep inside, since ceilings and walls made him feel closed-in. Safe Haven struck an accord with Caldwell: He agreed to a mental-health evaluation and was allowed to sleep outdoors in the parking lot. Caldwell slept there for two years. It was only when the new building opened that he began spending nights inside.

<<snip>>

The residence is run by OPCC, a nonprofit that has long worked with people on the street. Under the program, the group takes in the chronically homeless with no preconditions – they don't have to be stable. Plus, they are allowed to stay at Safe Haven as long as they need.

<<snip>>

On occasion, he still takes his chessboard to Venice beach. But these days, he doesn't use any money he makes from the spontaneous encounters to buy food. He gives it to other homeless people.

http://www.opcc.net/

"BUT THE BEAUTIFUL THING IS AMERICA'S BUILT ON PEOPLE
WHO NEEDED A SECOND CHANCE."
Claus Nielsen
40 Lives From Homelessness to Hope

[Bicoastal]

1. Hooray for the People's Republic of Santa Monica!

My hometown! :patriot:

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. K&R