ASWAN Main page

Bound To Happen
In Richmond Virginia

ASWAN E-Mail City Council
2001 Homeless Petition
Founding Advisers
Founding Members
ASWAN leadership
ASWAN Advisers
ASWAN by-laws
ASWAN links

ASWAN would like to congratulate all of the members who were recently elected to the board of directors of the Daily Planet: Daisy Mayes, Rodney Thomas, Mark Logan, Fritz Mulhouser, John Felts, and George Booth. The membership today truly believes that you will represent our interests with the board. ASWAN would like to propose a resolution to the Daily Planet, about members who have been put out for a variety of reasons. We would like to call for an general case by case amnesty, the setting up of a co-membership/staff committee to evaluate cases requested for review. And there after review all cases submitted for appeal. Yes, have an appeal process involving members in the decision process.

ASWAN would like to recognize the wonderful evening dinner program you have. Karen of Freedom House has done a wonderful job in the planning and preparation of the evening meal. We also would like to recognize her staff as well. We also would like to commend Joel Ford and his staff at the Freedom House shelter. It has been the rare opportunity of many here at ASWAN to have experienced staying at the Hull Street facility. It is well staffed with professionals offering a person a support guided way out of being homeless. We would also like to mention that they do offer an "Aftercare" program. THUMBS UP FREEDOM HOUSE

ASWAN MEETING every Tuesday,
7 PM 24 East Cary Street in the Capitol Area Agency for Aging Building.
ALL ARE WELCOME

COMMUNITY MEETING:
Daily Planet every Monday 1 PM, ALL MEMBERS WHO CAN, NEED TO ATTEND!

GREATER COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS MEETING: Friday October 11, 1996 7:30 AM United Way 300 East Broad Street. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL HOMELESS BECOME MEMBERS

DAILY PLANET BOARD MEETING: October 17, 1997 at the Daily Planet, 2nd Floor, 6 PM. Be there!

ASWAN NEEDS HOMELESS PEOPLE TO GO ON CHANNEL 38 FOR T.V. CALL IN PROGRAM VOICE YOUR OPINION!

CONTACT ANY ASWAN MEMBER LISTED:

JOHN FELTS - SRO HULL STREET
GEORGE BOOTH - SRO HULL STREET
FRITZ MULHOUSER - SRO NEW CLAY HOUSE ED BUYNUM - SRO NEW CLAY HOUSE

A Society Without A Name, For People Without A Home

Vol. 1 No: 7 ASWAN Newscut October 10, 1997

ASWAN

SOME IN RICHMOND BUSINESS COMMUNITY, NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE BEEN MISGUIDED

CARITAS OPENS OCTOBER 26, 1996
APPOINTMENTS FOR INTAKE BEGIN
FRIDAY OCTOBER 11, 1996
AT THE DAILY PLANET AND CARITAS
INTAKE WILL BEGIN AT 2:00 P.M. TO 5:00 P.M.

The Homeless will not be cast aside.
Richmond we beg you help us end homelessness

Homelessness will not end until representatives of all of Richmond get involved. there is a misconception that our city officials will overcome the problem for us. This is not so. ASWAN is appealing to businesses and neighborhoods to help us END homelessness in Richmond. We believe that people in all communities must be actively involved in the process to end homelessness for it to have the best chance to succeed. We do understand, "IT" -- people's reaction to other people who are not exactly the same dress, class and financial stature that many of our good neighbors are. But, yes but, we are a part of the community that all of us live in. We have a right to exist anywhere in the city the best way we can in accordance with the law, and homeless services have a right to be where they are properly zoned, including in the B-4 downtown area. And yes we do have extremely visible problems and these problem will not be solved just be someone yelling "Get a job." The problems are abundant and multi-faceted.
Focus groups were supposed to be formed by the Daily Planet. ASWAN opposed focus groups between the Daily Planet and the business community to help decide on a location when the downtown B-4 zoning district is already available for provision of most services to the homeless, and the Daily Planet could act in reliance on the existing zoning law. ASWAN supports forums involving all parts of the community to discuss homeless issues that would end homelessness and hopefully help overcome prejudices. The homeless must be involved in any forums. To date, the homeless community has heard not one word as to when these focus meetings (or forums) are to take place. The homeless community has not been invited to participate in any planning of any of these forums (or focus groups).If ASWAN isn't made aware of involvement of the homeless in forums (or focus meetings if that is what will be planned) ASWAN will put together its own program, a forum, to discuss and implement a plan to end homelessness, and also help overcome prejudice in the community against disenfranchised [homeless] people. With all the people getting paid to help people struggle above homelessness. There should be a set dialogue today to address the issues of ending homelessness and dissolving all of the prejudices and myths concerning homelessness and homeless people.

The Greater Richmond Coalition for the Homeless will hold its regular October meeting this Friday, October 11, 1996 at the United Way at 300 East Clay Street, open to the homeless and the formerly homeless and to the public. This will be an important meeting at which the issue will be voted on whether to support the creation of an "Entity" that would tend to control what homeless providers would receive what federal funding in the Richmond area, and to what extent, or whether to be against such a proposed new "Entity" having influence on distribution of federal funding towards homelessness issues in the Richmond area, and to what providers. Last week, ASWAN members attended a Town Meeting at St. Paul's Episcopal church sponsored by ACCESS. At the meeting, a group for project Unity of New Orleans spoke about how they were able to secure large amounts of Federal dollars (21 million in two years) by having developed a single Entity to apply for all the federal funding. Then this Entity would shift the funds to the providers of New Orleans. ASWAN had questions for our guests -- one was what was the reduction in homelessness as a direct result of implementing that "Entity" (called "Unity" in New Orleans). The reply was that homelessness was not currently on the decrease and they expected it to increase over the years. The group from New Orleans was informed that ASWAN had been on the phone to New Orleans earlier that day. For three hours and during those calls, ASWAN ask five business owners to go directly to their door and look out and see if there has been any tangible reduction in the homeless situation. The five said they could see no tangible difference.
ASWAN's opposition is not opposition to the benefits of systems integration.

This ASWAN Newscut prepared by Matthew J. Hilgeford

For tons of free resources & just plain good reading, visit John Felts personal page that includes his latest web site, pages, published articles, and essays.
http://www16.brinkster.com/6499