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After Public Outcry, Homeless Providers Clarify Use of Controversial Micro-Shelters

THE BIRMINGHAM TIMES — “There is no way that these tiny micro-shelters can provide dignity for people. They need permanent supportive housing, but the money has not been there for the type of safe, decent and affordable housing that we need. This is a stopgap. This is not meant to be the be-all and end-all to homelessness. This is simply an option,” said Michelle Farley, executive director of One Roof, the official continuum of care organization for Jefferson County.
The post After Public Outcry, Homeless Providers Clarify Use of Controversial Micro-Shelters first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Ryan Michaels | The Birmingham Times

No one will be sleeping in any of the prototype structures that were built as part of a city-funded, community-led effort to provide temporary housing and services for homeless residents of Birmingham during The World Games (TWG) 2022, according to Bruce Lanier, an architect who has worked on the project.

The World Games will be held in Birmingham and area venues from July 7-17.

Following public outcry about the structures, representatives of five organizations involved in the “Compassion Project” met on Thursday at Faith Chapel Care Center in the Smithfield neighborhood to provide clarity about the project.

Representatives who spoke on behalf of the Compassion Project on Thursday were Debra Blaylock, executive liaison, ministerial/community at Faith Chapel; Michelle Farley, executive director of One Roof, the official continuum of care organization for Jefferson County; Kelly Greene, executive director of Food for Our Journey, which provides food for homeless residents of Birmingham; Bruce Lanier, an architect representing the Alabama Center for Architecture, and Kay Simmons, founder of God’s Loving Hands Ministries, which provides entertainment and services for homeless people in Birmingham.

The meeting was attended by about 30 residents and community activists.

Lanier, part of the Alabama Center for Architecture, said the shelters would only be for use at night and will have air conditioning, locking keypad doors, a light, cots with sleeping mats and electrical outlets. To assemble the shelters before the Games was an “extremely ambitious goal,” Lanier said.

“I’m here to tell you that we did not meet that goal. While occupancy is something that we had hoped to achieve by the World Games, this is not a World Games project, nor is it a project that was intended to follow the World Games timeline,” he said.

The shelters are still planned to be used after TWG2022 following further revision and feedback, Lanier said. When the architects involved with the project decide on a design suitable for use by people, the structures will be built and housed on an as-yet-unknown site partnered with the Compassion Project, Lanier said.

He also stressed that the Compassion Project is not a project of the city of Birmingham, TWG2022 or law enforcement agencies.

Farley said the “micro-shelter” approach to housing homeless people is not a permanent solution.

“There is no way that these tiny micro-shelters can provide dignity for people. They need permanent supportive housing, but the money has not been there for the type of safe, decent and affordable housing that we need. This is a stopgap. This is not meant to be the be-all and end-all to homelessness. This is simply an option,” Farley said.

While permanent housing is not available for homeless residents of the city, micro-shelters can provide temporary sanctuary, Farley said.

“Our folks are much more likely to be victims of crime than they are to perpetuate crime. If we don’t have permanent housing for them. We need some barrier between them and those who would harm. This is not a perfect answer,” Farley said.

Kay Simmons, founder of God’s Loving Hand Ministries, one of the partnered organizations in the Compassion Project, said the project was never “solely about sleeping” but intended to provide for and include homeless residents of Birmingham during the Games.

Simmons and other representatives of the project also said that whether homeless residents took part in the services was a choice for each of those residents to make.

“This was never about force…That was never a conversation from anyone in the Compassion Project. People actually took time to go and speak in the park with our [homeless] friends, to some of the shelters, did surveys to really see exactly what they wanted,” Simmons said.

During a question-and-answer session, Cara McClure, a single mom who was homeless between 2008 and 2011 and a founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham, said seeing the prototype structures was “triggering” for her.

“I could not imagine me and my son in that structure. It looks scary, and I would not like being in the structure and not knowing what’s happening around me. I wouldn’t want to be in a fenced in space. It gives me the idea of jail,” McClure said.

With further community engagement, the project would improve, McClure said.

“I just feel your heart and your passion, and I’m so glad that you brought this together, and I’ll gladly open up the conversation,” McClure said.

Blaylock emphasized that the amount of time that architects had to work on the shelters was limited and that the team consulted with the homeless population in Birmingham but conceded they may not have gotten enough feedback.

The shelters are an experiment that requires feedback, Lanier said.

“The reason that you try things is to get a response, and if the response is that people who’ve experienced homelessness personally don’t think this is something they would use, then that’s something I want to understand more. I think it matters,” Lanier said.

“Learning is not failure. Learning is progress,” he added.

Faith Chapel Care Center, 921 2nd Ave N, Birmingham AL 35203, can be reached at 205-785-9673

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

The post After Public Outcry, Homeless Providers Clarify Use of Controversial Micro-Shelters first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Conversation with Al McFarlane and Coach Leah

May 29, 2023 – Welcome back to another episode of The Conversation with Al McFarlane! We bring you inspiring discussions …
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May 29, 2023 – Welcome back to another episode of The Conversation with Al McFarlane! We bring you inspiring discussions

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No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “We have always emphasized that there should be common sense bipartisan solutions to our nation’s problems that are supported overwhelmingly by the majority of the American people,” No Labels National Co-Chairs Joe Lieberman, Larry Hogan, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said in a joint statement issued on Sunday, May 28.
The post No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

No Labels, a growing national movement of what the organization calls “common sense Americans pushing leaders together to solve the country’s biggest problems,” announced its support of the bipartisan deal that President Joe Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have agreed upon in principle to avoid the United States defaulting on its national debt before the June 5 deadline.

“We have always emphasized that there should be common sense bipartisan solutions to our nation’s problems that are supported overwhelmingly by the majority of the American people,” No Labels National Co-Chairs Joe Lieberman, Larry Hogan, and Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., said in a joint statement issued on Sunday, May 28.

Chavis also serves as president and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the trade association of the more than 230 African American owned newspapers and media companies in the United States.

After months of uncertainty and verbal sparring, an “agreement in principle” has been reached to spare the United States from its first-ever debt default.

But now comes the hard part: convincing both Democrats and Republicans in Congress to agree to pass the measure.

After President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced that they’d reached an accord to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default, Congress has just a few days to approve the deal.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a deal needs ratification by June 5, or the United States would breach its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

If approved by Congress, the deal would raise the debt ceiling for two years, punting it to the next administration.

The GOP originally proposed a one-year deal but conceded to Democrats’ demand for two.

In the agreement, spending – except for the military – would remain at 2023 levels for next year, with funds being earmarked for other federal programs.

Biden also agreed to a $10 billion cut to the $80 billion he had earmarked for the IRS to crack down on individuals cheating on their taxes.

Instead, the funds will go to other programs that Republicans sought to cut.

Additionally, with billions remaining from pandemic relief funds unspent, both parties agreed to claw back those funds to the federal government.

“Avoiding America’s default in paying our national debt is vital to the future of our nation. We thank President Biden and Speaker McCarthy for their leadership to achieve the debt ceiling deal,” the No Labels leaders continued.

“We encourage Republican, Democratic and Independent members of both chambers of the US Congress to pass this agreement expeditiously because it is so important for every American.”

The post No Labels Endorses Bipartisan Deal to Resolve US Debt Ceiling Debate first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus

SAN DIEGO VOICE & VIEWPOINT — As of January 2023, there were about 60 SROs remaining in D.C. schools, down from its peak of more than 100, according to the Washington Post. However, the progress made toward reducing law enforcement presence in D.C. schools appears to be in jeopardy. In what seems like a backtrack from the progressive momentum generated during “America’s racial reckoning,” four D.C. council members now support a proposal to retain officers in schools, citing an uptick in violence and crime in school vicinities.
The post Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By Maya Pottiger, Word in Black 

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, calls to defund the police rang across the nation during the summer of 2020. While few cities took swift action, many school districts — integral community hubs where young minds are nurtured, and where kids spend the bulk of their time — began to reevaluate the presence of armed personnel patrolling the hallways.

In September 2019, eight months before Floyd’s murder, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported nearly 25,000 school resource officers were assigned to primarily K-12 schools.

Those numbers slowly started to change in districts around the country as a response to calls to defund the police.

In Washington, D.C., for example, the D.C. Council unanimously voted in 2021 to reduce the number of SROs in both public and charter schools beginning July 2022, with the plan to end the Metropolitan Police Department’s School Safety Division in 2025.

In September 2019, eight months before Floyd’s murder, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reported nearly 25,000 school resource officers were assigned to primarily K-12 schools.

As of January 2023, there were about 60 SROs remaining in D.C. schools, down from its peak of more than 100, according to the Washington Post. However, the progress made toward reducing law enforcement presence in D.C. schools appears to be in jeopardy. In what seems like a backtrack from the progressive momentum generated during “America’s racial reckoning,” four D.C. council members now support a proposal to retain officers in schools, citing an uptick in violence and crime in school vicinities.

On the other side of the country, the Denver Public School District Board of Education unanimously voted to bring SROs back to schools through June 2023. Similar to D.C., the decision followed closely on the heels of a shooting at Denver’s East High School. And 18 SROs were brought back to 17 schools in the district.

Schools around the country are running into roadblocks trying to remove SROs.

The Roadblocks

The roadblocks don’t look the same in every situation.

In D.C., for example, ACLU DC policy associate Ahoefa Ananouko cites Mayor Muriel Bowser as the biggest barrier. Bowser has been vocal about keeping SROs in schools, going as far as to say that removing SROs is “the nuttiest thing.”

And, like in D.C. and Denver, politicians, policymakers, and some educators nationwide cite violence in the area as a reason for keeping SROs, but there is little evidence to support that SROs actually do make schools safer. In fact, in a 2020 report, the Justice Policy Institute said, “rates of youth violence were plummeting independent of law enforcement interventions, and the impact of SROs on school shootings has been dubious at best.”

Plus, it’s been proven that SROs exacerbate the school-to-prison pipeline, especially for Black students.

The Center for Public Integrity analyzed U.S. Department of Education data from all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico in 2021. The investigation found that school policing disproportionately affects students with disabilities and Black students. Nationwide, these two groups were referred to law enforcement at “nearly twice their share of the overall student population.”

What we often have seen is that the teachers or classified staff who feel that it’s not within their ability to handle certain situations automatically defer to the SROs.

ADONAI MACK, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION AT CHILDREN NOW

But it doesn’t stop many adults on the school campus from differing discipline to SROs, says Adonai Mack, the senior director of education at Children Now. This happens when there is either a fear around addressing disciplinary problems or concerns, or feeling they aren’t able to handle it.

“What we often have seen is that the teachers or classified staff who feel that it’s not within their ability to handle certain situations automatically defer to the SROs,” Mack says.

This is where the call for additional non-police safety officials comes in, like nurses, counselors, or psychologists, who “certainly do more help than harm,” Mack says.

But, like teachers and other educators, there’s a shortage of these professionals. But Ananouko says this shouldn’t be a barrier if policymakers decided it was more important to have mental health professionals or restorative justice interventionalists — people who are trained to handle trauma, behavior, and underlying issues.

“I believe they could and should shift those resources to incentivize those professionals being hired instead of investing more in police,” Ananouko says, “which have been shown to be harmful to students in a school environment, generally.”

A Detriment to Mental Wellness

Though it’s too early to have concrete data on students’ mental health without SROs, there are, anecdotally, reasons to believe it’s a positive change.

Aside from students leading police-free school groups, there are other historic factors that lend insight. For one, whenever there are fears around deportation, not only Black students, but Latino and AAPI students experience negative mental health impacts, Mack says.

The feelings, like with the Defund the Police movement, are split across racial lines. Black, Latino, and AAPI students don’t always feel safe with police around.

“With kids of color, what you often have is this alienation,” Mack says. “There are decreased feelings of safety. Now, I would say that’s different for white kids and white families. They often will feel that having police on campus makes the campus safer.”

Black and Brown students are more likely to attend a school patrolled by an SRO.

And, Black and Brown students are more likely to attend a school patrolled by an SRO. A 2023 Urban Institute study found that schools where the student population is at least 80% Black and Brown, students are more likely to have an SRO compared to schools with a high population of white students, regardless of income levels. And, 34%-37% of schools with high populations of Black and Brown students have an SRO, compared to 5%-11% of predominantly white schools.

But it’s clear that there’s “a detriment to kids of color” with police on campus, Mack says.

“From that perspective, with any decrease, what we see is that it automatically improves the mental wellness of students from those communities,” Mack says.

‘A Critical Point’

While the roadblocks might be tougher or the headlines have fizzled out, Ananouko says the police-free schools movement “isn’t slowing down at all.”

And now, D.C. is at a critical point. It’s budget oversight season, meaning it’s the time when funding for SROs could be restored. But, every year since the initial 2021 vote, students, school administrators, teachers, and advocates have continued to push for the phase-out, Ananouko says.

“Our messaging has not changed,” Ananouko says. “We’ve stayed consistent in saying that police don’t keep students safe. And none of that has changed in these past three years.”

The bottom line is that all kids deserve to feel safe and nurtured, Ananouko says.

“They should be able to feel like they can go to school with that fear,” she says, whether this fear comes from other students or armed officers in the building who can use their gun “at any point at the discretion of the law is on their side.”

“A lot of the issues that students are dealing with are not going to be addressed by somebody with a gun.”

This article originally appeared in San Diego Voice and Viewpoint.

The post Three Years After #DefundThePolice, Schools Are Bringing Cops Back to Campus first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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