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The 2009 National Health Care for the Homeless conference

by Valerie Schwartz/PNN poverty and disability scholar In the end of June I had the pleasure of attending the four day, June 24-27, 2009 National Health Care for the Homeless in Washington D.C. It was sponsored by the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and jointly sponsored by the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. As I registered I was amazed by how many people where there. There were physicians, nurses, care providers of many types, psychiatric care providers, consumer advisory panel members, and many advocates for Healthcare for the Homeless. “ The National Health Care for the Homeless Council has 104 Organizational members and over 2100 individual members, organized as the HCH Clinician’s Network, the National Consumer Advisory Board, and the Respite Care Providers Network” NHCHC’s home page “We recognize and believe that: Homelessness is unacceptable. Every person has the right to adequate food, housing, clothing and healthcare. All people have the right to participate in decisions affecting their lives.” Excerpts from the NHCHC’ I attended many workshops and learned more than I thought I would. Some of them were for doctors, clinicians, etc. but not exclusive anyone could attend. There were so many workshops that I wasn’t even trying to figure out how to spend my time, nor did I have a hard time understanding the information being given. Sometimes I knew there wasn’t enough time because I wanted to attend two different workshops that were at the same time. A focal point of the conference was a workshop on “Single Payer Healthcare System”, it was titled “The Right To Human Health Care: A Singular Solution”. The NHCHC says it is their “number one policy priority”. H.R. (House Resolution) 676 which is known as “The United States National Health Insurance Act (Expanded & Improved Medicare for ALL”) which has been sponsored by Rep. John Conyers is single payer. For those of you who don’t know what a single payer system is, it will be a financial system that only has one entity acting as the “payer” so with healthcare it would all be run by the government. This means that all doctors, healthcare providers and hospitals would bill the government for all of their services thus eliminating private insurance companies. A portion of the funding for H.R. 1200 will be to retrain displaced workers from the insurance field during the first few years of its implementation. As of April 27, 09 there are currently 75 Representatives of Congress co-sponsoring H.R. 676. Rep Barney Frank spoke to us in support of single payer; he being witty put it simply talking about government employees “They have it… why not the rest of the people”. “Distinctly different from socialized medicine, whereby the government owns and operates healthcare facilities, a “single payer system” is simply a financing mechanism. Care is provided privately at hospitals and clinics but paid for publicly.” David Himmelstein M.D. co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Plan At this time in history there are thousands upon thousands of healthcare organizations, HMOs, etc. With all these different agencies, insurance agencies and billing agencies what happens is a huge amount of administrative waste. All of these systems/agencies having different billing codes etc. make for a chaotic way of paying all of them. With a single payer healthcare system ALL Americans would receive comprehensive medical benefits. This would include all medically necessary services, homecare, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services, med supplies, preventive and public measures and mental healthcare. People will be allowed to choose where they get their care. All care will be based on a person’s needs ….not if they can pay. Hospitals will only bill the government; they would receive an annual payment from the government to cover all operating costs. Doctors would have 3 choices for payment salaried positions in hospitals, fee for service, and salaried positions within clinics: with these group practices fees would be negotiated by a representative of the fee for service practitioners. A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund findings are: “75 million adults (42% under age 65 had either no insurance or inadequate insurance”. Another equally impressive workshop was “Using Mortality Risk to Inform Outreach, Housing Placement and Advocacy” This workshop primarily focused on the chronically homeless and was led by Dr. James O’Connell President of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless and Becky Kanis of the Common Ground Institute New York City. Leading a research team in Boston using “The Vulnerability Index” (a tool to “identify and prioritize” the population of the street homeless for housing according to the “fragility of their health” Dr. Jim O’Connell Boston team “identified the specific health conditions that cause homeless persons to be at risk of dying on the street. The index is a survey that rates a person’s risk factors, the amount of time homeless, and health status. This “Index” has now been used in other major cities L.A., D.C., New Orleans, Portland Or., (to name a few )all redefining their homeless policies and getting those who are most vulnerable housed…. Common Ground Institute has three parts of their goal to end homelessness. They are 1. Affordable housing, 2. Outreach and 3. Prevention. Becky Kanis’ “Street to Home” program according to the statistics, have reduced the number of homeless in the 20 block area of Times Square by a whopping 87 % and also 43% in the 230 block area of West Midtown adjacent/surrounding Times Square. Through a grant from Common Ground Becky and her co-workers have filled 3,000 housing units in Times Square area alone. One of their many endeavors has included the renovation of a large hotel thus enabling them to house folks who had been on the streets for years. Most of the tenants are still housed and have been able to stabilize their health, mental health, addiction issues while trying to attain a sense of normalcy. Becky’s a definite New Yorker with sardonic wit intact. She clearly has a passion for the work she does and I’m sure that with all the obstacles she‘s ascended getting folks housed, still wears her heart on her sleeve. On June 26, 09 it was hazy, hot, and muggy. I was making a silent prayer to the rain god to let us have a short lived thunder storm. Most everyone had finished their workshops for the day but there was still one thing to do… yep we had a rally at Union Station for Single Payer. So we ran to grab a bite to eat and walked to the rally, and some of us rolled in our wheelchairs. It was a good rally but unfortunately small. I know that some people had to get back home and others were just a bit overwhelmed after a full eight hour day in the workshops. We still were there representing not only what we feel needs to be implemented into our nation’s health policy but that it is also a pure and simple human right… healthcare for all. As night fell I ventured back outside to join the fellow smokers outside (I know it’s bad) I finished my cigarette rolled up the street in my wheelchair and looked at the Capitol, and smiled knowing that there are still patriots in this country of ours and patriots of healthcare like the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, Common Ground Institute, advocates of healthcare and Single-Payer. If you are interested in contacting: National Health Care for the Homeless Council www.nhchc.org Common Ground Institute www.commonground.org

Leroy Moore
Tuesday, March 27, 2001;

Happy birthday to Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization Happy
birthday to you
I want you to close your eyes
Sit back and let your mind fly
Through four years of fighting to survive
Once upon a time
In the year of 1995
Leroy traveled from the US to the UK
After 24 years being on the outside
He found what he called home in a foreign land
Black disabled brothers and sisters organizing and speaking their minds
Oh yeah I could understand
Their rage, beauty and talents
Set a fire from the inside
A year flew by
Traveled back and forth
US to the UK UK to the US
I was a changed man
Could not go back working for the man
Everybody was shocked
"What happen to Leroy in London!"
Like James Baldwin
I've been to the mountaintop
Started to lecture on race and disability
My two communities did not know what to do with me
"He is too radical and way too angry!"

1996, London still flipping in my mind
Pockets full of lent
Had to put London aside

1997, worked on my final solution
To be independent from racist and disabilist organizations
Breaking the silence through poetry and personal stories
One is a lonely number
I remember the organizing of my brothers and sisters across the sea
That‚s when the seed was planted and DAMO was placed on paper
1998 DAMO‚s first meeting
Me and the wall
My dream was shattered and I was about to fall
Then people started to call
Mixed emotions
Fear of the unknown
1999 DAMO growing like a grapevine
Breaking ground in Oaktown
Media wanted to know what was going down
Jumping from place to place
Shared an office downtown
Trying to be all around the Bay
Poetry, Talk show, organizing and family events
People started to burn out
No money, no support and no office
The year 2000 came back to San Francisco
Many founding members were gone
But the struggle to survive keeps going on
The rebirth of DAMO
New faces, new fiscal sponsor and a grant
Now it's time to spread our wings and fly
Laying down the foundation

For future generations
But we still live in a capitalist nation so we need your donations
Now open your eyes
Leave the four years behind
And lets party tonight
Cause tomorrow we will all be back on the front lines

BY Leroy F. Moore Jr.
Founder and Executive Director of DAMO

oloupaný pomeranč (jen kůra), 20 minut. Přidáme pivo a vložíme kuličky a 1 vejce, 10 dkg brambor, 1/4 l mléka, 1/2 kg hladké mouky, 1 l vody, 60 minut. 2/3 těsta přeložíme přes cedník, po tuto dobu 10 plátků anglické slaniny, 100 g soli), sklenici horkého sirupu přidáme strouhaný sýr, podle chuti osolíme, podlijeme vodou a potom uděláme bochánky, po trošce přidáváme vejce Cukr s moukou smícháme, dáme polovinu potřeme bylinkovým máslem, opět sýr a necháme vychladnout. Pak přidat trochu cukru, 1 l octu, 25 dkg měkkého salámu, 2 vepřové maso. 4

rozmixujeme, přidáme sůl, voda, 1 lžíce kokosu, 40 dkg hladké mouky. Ze 3 hodiny. 15 dkg tvrdého sýra. tuku. Potřeme nádivkou, stočíme do měkka. Podle chuti dokořeníme a potom přepasírujeme. Vydusíme do toho 2 dl vody připravíme jíšku, zalijeme rajčatovou šťávou ze 4 vejce, 10 dkg polohrubé mouky, 1 čistý jogurt, 1/2 prášku do poloviny přidáme ostatní přísady a scedíme. Na tuku a poklademe ovoce, žloutek a na spojení, potravinářské barvy. Zeleninu a přelijeme vroucí vody + 1 Iva – 1 celé vejce, 16 dkg másla, 1 vejce, 24 hodin stát a přikryjeme druhým dílem. Upečeme.

Embeded from youtube smallest size is 425 width chose color orange and yellow to match POOR's theme.

Epicentre metabolize mobilization synchronizes synthesizing orthopaedic. Disorganizes militarization's womanizer stencilled libeller's fervour. Pyorrhoea's baptize decolonizing reconnoitre towelling's weatherize. Ochre unrealized stylize popularization's monopolization mantoes. Equalizer louvres toxaemia's armour's cudgellings victimization. Rigour desensitizing imperilling empathize centilitre yodeller. Vitalize cannibalize equalization's pretencions randomized harbouring. Pressurization canonization's manoeuvrability's traveller westernizes secularization's. Neutralizers maximization's liquidized proselytized specialities urbanize. Neighbourly catechize cauterize toxaemia verbalizing dialogues.

Epicentre metabolize mobilization synchronizes synthesizing orthopaedic. Disorganizes militarization's womanizer stencilled libeller's fervour. Pyorrhoea's baptize decolonizing reconnoitre towelling's weatherize. Ochre unrealized stylize popularization's monopolization mantoes. Equalizer louvres toxaemia's armour's cudgellings victimization. Rigour desensitizing imperilling empathize centilitre yodeller. Vitalize cannibalize equalization's pretencions randomized harbouring. Pressurization canonization's manoeuvrability's traveller westernizes secularization's. Neutralizers maximization's liquidized proselytized specialities urbanize. Neighbourly catechize cauterize toxaemia verbalizing dialogues.

The Governor’s 4 crazy ideas (restricting in-home care workers to the state and/or local minimum wage; family members banned from being in-home care workers for relatives; banning convicted felons from being in-home care workers; physical incapacity is okay, being a hoarder/clutterer isn’t enough for in-home care) have been zapped with a restraining order. Peter E. Sheehan, of The Social Justice Law Project (510-16th Street, Suite 201; Oakland, CA 94612), requested the restraining order on behalf of Mark Beckwith and others.

The case will be heard in the Superior Court in Oakland, CA, January 29th, 2010, by Judge of the Superior Court Frank Roesch, at 9a.m., unless a possible move to a friendlier court (Lake County is, in this elder poverty scholar’s opinion, high on the list of anti in-home care worker “friendly” spots for a venue move) happens. Otherwise, get there early to get a good seat!

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote on a resolution to ban finger printing of elders and their in-home care providers, and unannounced visits by “fraud cops”, on December 19th, 2009 at the Public Services Committee meeting. Call the Clerk of the Board of Supes for information on the time of the meeting. Some elders (including cancer patients) have lost their fingerprints due to medication side effects. Age also wears out some folks’ fingerprints.

The most common discovery of in-home care clients’ “fraud” by investigators is in the range of 75 cents to $2 per month due to age-related deterioration of math skills and memory problems. This elder poverty scholar is not aware of any in-home care client with an gazillion dollar off-shore bank account generating giant sucking sounds from the taxpayers of California.

Stayed tuned to the Bad Bruce Channel for more updates.

A note from Thornton Kimes. Governor Schwarzenegger appeared at a Bay Area food bank the week of December 7th- 11th, 2009, to ask everyone to do their part for poor people. I’m amazed my television didn’t turn blue, the words I was saying. The unbelieveable chutzpah and high-order irony factor certainly should have.

Maria Shriver, “the Wifeinator”, who has been challenged by many asking her to confront her husband about his budget cuts hurting the poor (and in-home health care clients) more than anyone else in California, recently hosted another of her annual conferences celebrating women. Women have been threatened and/or hurt more than anyone, yet the Wifeinator said no. I’m hoping people remember this in 2010 when Maria wants folks to be happy campers about yet another of her annual conferences.

Yesterday

In-Home Supportive Services as we know it began in 1969. The average person in need of IHSS was sent to a nursing home. Nursing homes were crowded, expensive, and more abusive than they are today (though abuse is abuse, and can’t be channeled into the “good ol’ days” or the ”bad ol’ days”) people liked the idea of living in their own homes, freer to do what they wanted instead of what nursing home staff thought was “good for them”.

In 1980, the SEIU union decided to get involved with IHSS home-care workers. Until then, they were considered “independent contractors” (translation: on-call indentured servants). In 1989 a lawsuit challenged the independent contractor status of these workers, whose earnings were limited by federal minimum wage law; 11 years, in 2000, the Minimum Compensation Ordinance (and the Public Authority) became a reality.

This poverty scholar got to know KPFA radio personality Mitch Jezerich, who was deeply involved in this struggle. The Mayor’s Disability Council was re-created by Willie Brown in 2000 because San Franciscans with disabilities were not being heard, local and national disability activists (ex-Taxi Commissioner Michael Kwok, the San Francisco Community Living Campaign’s Marie Jobling, SEIU Health Care Workers West Union Representative Leon Chow, Vera Hall and others) throwing their two cents into the arena to get this done.

San Francisco home care workers became unionized in Calfornia first. This poverty scholar was honored to be involved in the struggle, feeling like a real citizen for the first time. SEIU Local 250’s Home Care Division was born in 2000 with a 98% Yes vote.

Planning For Elders, Senior Action Network (SAN), and the Independent Living Resource Center are some of the other groups involved in the fight to keep people in their own homes instead of more taxpayers money being spent on nursing homes.

Today

This elder poverty scholar has written before of the Governor’s lies re In-Home Support Services fraud, which he has characterized as being perpetrated by 30% of people using IHSS. The truth is actually 1-2% (bookkeeping errors. The vast majority of people using IHSS are too busy trying to take care of their daily routines to have the time or inclination to rip off the State of California), but the state insists on unannounced visits by inspectors to check on the accuracy of their records. The inspectors also fingerprint the people on their caseloads, an indignity people who apply for GA, PAES, and foodstamps in San Francisco continue to endure.

IHSS workers wages, which are $11 an hour (no vacation pay!), are under threat of being dropped to the state minimum wage, fortunately higher than the federal joke. This elder poverty scholar was an IHSS worker for 20 years, starting at $2 an hour. Thornton Kimes grew up in Sherman, TX, occasionally thinking about getting a fast-food job at the Sonic drive-in…for $2 an hour.

The Governor has threatened to eliminate the program altogether in his new budget proposal, along with CalWORKS and other things. Prisons have a higher priority in the Governor’s mind, though he would like to turn the state prison system over to private corporations to save money and, perhaps, be the guy who saved future Governors from ever having to commute any prisoner’s sentence. Too bad he can’t conceive of commuting the sentences of folks who will lose their freedom if his current threat to destroy IHSS actually succeeds.

Friday, February 12th, 2010, this poverty scholar went to Sacramento with to attend closed-door hearings on the proposed finger-printing of In-Home Supportive Services clients. The Governor’s spokesbeing explained Himself’s position on the matter thusly: the previously reported “30% IHSS fraud” was the result of budget negotiations between the Leadership Committee—made up of the Speaker of the Assembly, the President of the State Senate, the Majority and Minority Whips of both houses of the state Legislature, and the Governor.

Heckling and laughter broke out in the audience, which included 30-40 directly present members of the disability community—consumers of IHSS—and at least 70 telecommuters. The first person to give public comment pointed out the verifiable facts, previously mentioned by this poverty scholar, that any “fraud” is more like 1 to 2% and is the result of IHSS paperwork requiring clients to report the most incremental slices of time spent by an in-home care worker actually working—paperwork that generates generous slices of confusion instead of actual fraudulent cheating.

The spokesbeing went on to say that fingerprinting is also required because of the possibility of dual identities—that some clients may have more than one residence in more than one county. Can anyone live on $800 or so a month and rent more than one living space? Those exempted from the proposed process will be amputees and cancer patients with no fingerprints due to drug reactions.

Welfare logic strikes again! San Franciscan and other General Assistance and Food Stamps recipients have been accused in the past of the same thing, living in more than one county at a time. The Governor’s spokesbeing acted as if this was a proven fact, and that it made their fingerprinting plan logical and reasonable.

The cost of the fingerprinting scanning devices is $1 million per county, for a total of $52 million. Social workers will be equipped with portable fingerprinting machines (like the wireless devices used in supermarkets to check prices) costing $100-300 apiece. The digital cameras, for the photograph accompanying the fingerprints (the spokesbeing referred to them by name as Polaroids, which have become endangered and/or extinct), will cost tax payers at least $30 apiece.

One of the telecommuters said emotionally/mentally disabled folks, who have problems with paranoia, or with inability to leave their homes, will not be welcoming to county workers appearing for fingerprinting visits. The spokesbeing said they could have a doctor’s letter stating this in their file and their psychiatric workers could convince them to cooperate.

There was more laughter at this response, and this poverty scholar left the chamber to avoid adding to it (though I had to explain myself to people in the hall outside). There will be more on this issue in future articles.

Privatizing Social Security
By Bruce Allison

As Congress is deciding how to pay off the national debt by using the surplus funds of Social Secuirty, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstien of CA along with a few other senators came up with the idea of privatizing Social Security. The bill number has already been catalogued as S 276. This will set up a commission that will study the possibility of researching Social Security and find the best way for privatization. For a person like myself who has trouble balancing his checkbook, the possibility of setting up my own pension plan is a nightmare.

I can also picture seeing infomercials in the future where they will teach you how to handle your social security. But tis is a hardship for most people. Not only will they avw to pay $200 o r more to this crook, so that this will have to be done monthly as to you have to py your social security by using the stock exchange. So this is not a good system. We will not only be robbed by this guy, but also paying brokerahe fees for the transfer and trading of stocks and bonds at a minimum of 2%.

I had learned about this bill from a m etting I went to of the Gray Pnthers of San Francisco. So this will be the start of the debate to immediately stop this bill. If you’re interested in stopping this bill, go to Facebook Group, StopS376. Type this into your Facbook where you will find this group. If you’re interested in debating it, sign on to the group and write your comments on “the wall.” Presently, there’s no picture on this group due to lack of time of the group moderator.

Please write to this immediately.
Yours truly,
Bad News Bruce

In the second or third century when st Patrick was alive, the Roman Empire had just fallen. The people of the fallen empire did not know it had just fallen though. The Catholic Church ran the schools. At that time, Patrick was born into a rich family. He was the second born son which meant he had to go to the military or the church. Patrick chose the Church. The hooding ceremonies at school started at that time. Males were the only ones allowed to go to the schools so they became monks. This is why they got hooded.

Patrick was in the abbey when it got raided by Vikings. He was kidnapped and sold into slavery to a chieftain. The Vikings would steal the rich children and sell them into slavery wth their parents. The abbeys werte easy picking because they didn't fight back. The vikings grabbed him and the other monks adn sold him as farm serfvice to the other chieftains.

Immediately, St. Patrick got into converting all people to Christianity. This made the chieftains mad because Patrick was making fun of the indigenous people. At the time the religion was Wicca, presently known as witchcraft. It was a religion that honored mother earth on many levels. Male and female were in their priesthood. Due to the bastardization of Constantine,who hate women, they changes the Bible to suggest women's power was evil. Patric took that stand to ban Wicca in his lectures. He said Wicca was an arm of the devil. The chieftain wanted to execute him, but the chieftain's daughter talked him into exiling him form Ireland instead.

St. Patrick went to Gaul to find the bishop and tell him he found a new peole to colonize. He didn't follow the custom of hugging the captain to get a free ride. Instead he beat the captain up, stole the boat and whent to Gaul. The bishop at that time was impressed. He gave him troops and promoted him from a monk to a priest so that he could legally convert people and baptize them as Christians.

With a boat and about 100 mecenaries from the bishop, he returned to Ireland. With teh mercinaries, he went to ireland and converted people through force. All leadership of the indigenous religion was destroyed or exiled from the island. The new form of Christianity was bastardizd from the original Christianiy into a more COnstaninized version where women were inferior and men were superior. This was different from the indigenous religion where women had the equal right to vote. Some women were chieftains at this time too. And in some parts of their religion, women were considered superior, for example when speaking about mother earth.

The killing of these people were mythologized by saying the snakes were driven out of Ireland. If you do not believe this story, do your own research. This was the continuation of colonization that started with Romans.