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Show Wednesday, May 9, 1990 THE SIGNPOST 9 By Necia Palmer Signature editor of The Signpost ichael has three children, she doesn't have a i, rhome, clothes or a dependable food supply for in.,She keeps them in her one-room apartment-or their lives if they leave it. There are pimps and sheiis ready and waiting to add the.Ti to their list of mts. m there's Barbara, comfortable with her job, and children. But one day Barbara is diagnosed icer. At the same time, her husband loses his job and so depressed that he leaves. Medical bills mount, hehouse with them. Barbara and the kids are forced street. k'Bfor respite, Barbara goes to the welfare office he is sent to a government subsidized hotel. The feels her saying there is no room. They are sent to a t hotel, this one without water. Barbara and the i spend 47 days total waiting in the welfare office r shelter. ; Kachael and Barbara are from Washington D.C. e'ri, nome of the WSC Wildcats. The tragedy always i tc someone else, not to us. :ea few minutes, drive four miles west and ten oris of Weber State College, and what do you find? 3a - shelter for the homeless. Going a little further is tne Salvation Army and the Ogden Rescue - Tljey are havens to those with empty stomachs slace to lay their heads. Jiinown Washington Boulevard, Lincoln Avenue or s mall. People with "work for food" signs beckon the r. Then there are the "hobo jungles," what Mayor falls the campfire-and-cardboard-shelter dotted iiver bottoms. The homeless are here, at home in unress they move on. S js the difference between the homeless of jton D.C. and Ogden. Most of the homeless here are air-transients said James Sonner, an employee of 'ation Army. Sonner himself arrived in Ogden six ofoVith no money and no place to go. He went to 'ation Army and found work along with his warm ver, most aren't so "responsible," according to the 'Ward Langston, executive director of the Ogden vEssion. "I'd say that 90 - 95 percent of them are out use they want to be." After seeing those who hold will work for food" signs, many people assume the ihave no money. "Wrong. They do. They just spend ' wrong thing," said Langston. wen the various welfare programs and rescue fri Ogden, people can get three square meals a day doing anything, said Langston. The Rescue Mission to 75 food boxes a week. Many times the food is ip by people driving cars so new the labels aren't noved. Then there are the liquor store owners who at transients have money. en asked why he wasn't working, a man from New Mexico said drinking gets in the way. It came between he and his wife, too. They have been separated for 18 months. Alcohol, drugs and mental problems are the catalysts for many of these people to leave home and hit the streets. Diane Wilson of the Weber County Mental Health Department roughly estimates that of the 250 to 500 homeless people in the Ogden area, 50-60 percent of them are mentally ill. These statistics are taken from those the department has been able to contact through centers such as St. Anne's. Weber County and the Salvation Army have outreach programs designed to go to the homeless and help them get well or get back on their feet. But, said Sonner, a lot don't want to come up either because of pride or shame. One man said,, "Now, you tell me why should I go to work for $3 to $4 per hour when I was working for $10 per hour out in the oil fields. I ain't going to work for that." Then there are those like Jerry, a clean-cut veteran from the Vietnam War. The Veterans Administration diagnosed him as a victim of post traumatic stress syndrome (PTS). He suffers from "bouts," as he calls them, which are severe emotional seizures of depression. His wife couldn't live with it and left. Due to his condition he works only enough to make $40 per week. Jerry said that the VA won't help him because they don't recognize PTS as a disabling disorder. Jerry wanted it clear that he wasn't "like the rest of these guys." Mayor Sneddon said Ogden's problems with the homeless come from those transients who won't stay at the facilities provided. He attributes that to a dislike of crowds, being very protective of their belongings and fear. A man was recently stabbed at St. Anne's. Some fear the law and don't want to be identified. (As Quinn Jacobson attempted to photograph this story, he was told quite graphically to "bug off.") But you help, said Charles Rostkowski of St.Anne's, "because you don't want to live ina society that lets people die. It's slippery if you get to that point, because you think why not let other non-productives die, like the mentally ill or retarded people." The opportunities available to the homeless are no different than those of any other citizen. Upon checking the qualifications for welfare, there is a significant portion of WSC students that qualify as easily as any of the homeless: The difference lies in the approach to handling the problem. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Yet as Rotskowski said, " Everybody wants to be tough until they start stepping over the bodies." Sia nature Photo essay by Quinn Jacobson St. Anne's can house 55 people a night. Last week they accomodated over 60. "Found me a nice wheat patch," said an old Southerner when asked where he would go when good weather closes the shelter. Before lights out at 9 p.m., the men are required to shower and don pajamas provided by St. Benedict's Hospital and other donating organizations. i 4 - ' -'-. - ' "-r " s- sr -,- Jose and Marcos wait for the free meal before going on to Idaho. "We will get more food stamps In Idaho," they said. "I say, stop it (the handouts)," said Howard Langston, executive director of the Ogden Rescue Mission. "Its made people irresponsible. Cut the food stamps and government : checks. Make these people get out and work." |