Original Body
pstrongPt 5 in a Series/strong/p
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pby Judith Hansel/p
pI was deported for the fourth time from Canada on November 25, 1998. My journey began in 1988 when I purchased property that had been in the Title 7 USCS CFR 1955.116 homeownership program. The fraudulent implementation of this program allowed unrepaired houses to be sold to citizens whose attorneys also participated in the fraud. I attempted to force the US government into admitting the fraud. I finally obtained three mortgages from Union State Bank in Wautoma, Wi., that totaled $23,000. I paid $24,500 in cash when I purchased the property. After a Black Hills Vision Quest, I stopped making mortgage payments in order to get the fraud before a jury. This scheme backfired when the Courts proved as corrupt as the private attorneys, the realtors, the banks and the appointed officials of the USDA. Also in collusion with the fraud were the US Congress, the State of Wisconsin Courts, the US Federal District Court in Milwaukee, and the US Supreme Court. /p
pAfter three arrests and no trials, the Circuit Court ordered me to undergo a Mental Competency Evaluation to be done by the Director of the Winnebago Mental Institution in Oshkosh./p
pAt this point I fled to Canada and sought political asylum. Part 4 of this series explained what happened to me in Canada. In 1998 I was threatened with a criminal charge if I returned to Canada again./p
pI arrived in San Francisco on December 3, 1998. On January 3, 1999 I became part of the homeless population when I secured a bed at the Episcopal Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is a warehouse that was re-modeled into 6 X 8 cubicles that contain a bunk bed, two hooks for clothes, a wall light, and a chair. Small lockers are available for valuables./p
pEvery time I walk into the Sanctuary I recall one of the first scenes in “Amadeus,”; specifically the scene where the priest enter the asylum to visit Salieri./p
pI complained to the UN about the money-saving policy since clients have to purchase Money Orders and give them to their Case Managers as proof of money saved. These Money Orders are kept in the Case Managers’ offices. My complaint was based on the facts that the Sanctuary is not licensed as a bank, does not pay interest, deprives people of their money without due process, and demands that clients participate in this program or lose their beds./p
pOn January 21, 1999, I moved to the Marian Residence for Women, an agency of St. Anthony Foundation. The Foundation has no connection to the Catholic Church; it is a private foundation./p
pStaff at Marian Residence for Women (MRW), as at the Sanctuary, scream and shout at clients. The overall climate is punitive at both places although the MRW excels at belittling women and throwing them back out on the street for small infractions of the rules. Clients at the MRW shelter are under 24-hour surveillance from monitors in an office that overlooks the dormitory. Men work in the office and when I lived there, men patrolled the dorm at night while women slept./p
pMy alimony ended in 1999. In late May, I applied for welfare and Food Stamps at the Department of Human Services. DHS employees encourage clients to apply for Social Security disability payments so The City won't have to pay welfare to them. Four social workers at four different agencies suggested that I apply for Social Security disability payments during the first month I was in San Francisco. I refused simply because I am not disabled./p
pI grew tired of the harassment by DHS employees and in February, 2000, applied for my Social Security retirement. I receive $90 a month less than I would receive if I had waited to apply at age 65. This seems like a large penalty to pay and I wonder about the legal justice of the policy./p
pWho are the homeless? There is a stereotype that portrays the homeless as dirty, lazy, addicted, and obnoxious---Willie Brown's view. The homeless are people in wheelchairs. The homeless are the poorly educated and those who do not have the capability to absorb an education. The homeless are veterans who are abandoned by the US government. (Take note zealous patriots). The homeless are those down-sized out the door. The homeless are seniors---the elders of our village./p
pNo one in the rich USA asks why so many US citizens are homeless. The San Francisco newspapers and broadcast media attack the homeless on almost a daily basis deliberately creating fear and disgust in the general population./p
pAs a homeless person who can pass as an 'ordinary' citizen, people make comments to me about the homeless. These comments are hate-filled./p
pAllowing homelessness to continue in a hate crime perpetrated by all levels of government against the homeless. Agencies that pretend to fight for the homeless are merely large bureaucracies dedicated to the status quo. How many social workers, shelter administrators and monitors, case managers, cooks, and maintenance people would lose their jobs if homelessness disappeared?/p
pIf agencies like Glide, St. Anthony's, Episcopal Community Services and the Coalition on Homelessness, along with smaller social service agencies did not exist, how long would the homeless allow themselves to die on the street? These organizations collude with the local, state, and federal governments to give the appearance of helping the homeless when what they are actually doing is aiding the governments in keeping the homeless oppressed./p
pI am homeless because the US government is corrupt. Since the World Trade Center event, I have learned that the US government is also incompetent./p
pBoth the Episcopal Sanctuary and the Marian Residence for Women allow smoking in their shelters when the San Francisco City and County Health Code prohibit smoking in non-profit institutions. The Health Department and City Attorney refuse to prosecute these violations of law./p
pAt MRW, cloths that are used as washcloths are machine- washed, not sterilized as required by the Health Code, and then are used as kitchen and bathroom cleaning cloths. Monitors inspect clients’ drawers at the MRW. Based on the right to privacy, I filed a complaint against drawer inspection with the Human Rights Commission. The Commission refused to act./p
pMy individual problems created by homelessness include attempts to detain me by the SFPD whenever Clinton or Gore was in town. In one incident, St. Patrick's priests called the police as I sat in church. An undercover agent approached me and ascertained that I lived at MRW and was on no psychiatric drug. I immediately left the church and caught a #14 Muni. I saw from the bus, a SFPD car patrolling Mission Street from eighth Street to Seventh Street, making a U-turn, and patrolling the other side of Mission. On another occasion, I fled from a Muni bus to a BART train. One stop after I got on, a SFPD officer commandeered the train and ordered the train to remain in the station, while he searched the train. This guy was so enraged that he walked right past me hiding behind a newspaper. /p
pThe MRW finally decided that I was making no effort to end my homelessness. St. Anthony’s ‘Dear Judy’ letter told me I had to leave the shelter on November 1. The 'Dear Judy' letter stated that the MRW program failed me. Hey, if St. Anthony's assumes responsibility for failing me, who am I to argue?/p
pI am back at the Sanctuary and I am one of the few clients allowed to use a financial institution savings account. I am mid-way through my third 90-day stay. The rules at the Sanctuary are circumvented on a daily basis. Clients who arrive under the a influence of drugs or alcohol are allowed to sleep the effects off when the policy demands that these persons be denied beds for the night. Monitors “look the other way” when favorite clients abuse the rules. Bathrooms remain in filthy and unhealthy conditions because cleaning bathrooms are not part of the staffs’ job descriptions./p
pThe way to stay sane at any shelter is to arrive late (right before curfew), wear ear plugs, stay in the cubicle, and avoid other clients. Sometimes that is difficult to do especially when your “Bunkie” is 6 feet two inches tall, has two breasts and a penis. At the MRW the dormitory is an open room with 30 beds arranged in groups of four. There is absolutely no privacy at the Marian Residence./p
pHomelessness is a violation of Article 25 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights: “All people have the right to food, shelter, and medical care.” No wonder that the United Nations voted the US off the Human Rights Commission! /p
pThe solution to homelessness? Housing./p
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