But on the flip side, a growing number of VCU facility members has a different perspective towards policies and procedures in dealing with the homeless, including its own underground network to help the homeless (not naming names), which has contribute to successes of the ASWAN group and the empowerment of the homeless community.

People complained about homeless people urinating in the park, but they failed to check and see if the bathrooms are "chain-locked,"or to check if the person was a student, or from a group home, or maybe he's a politician. It is true, for the first time in years, the compassionate park bathrooms are open 24 hours a day. Several months back, it took an outcry from homeless advocates to open the bathrooms during the day. During this year until May, Food Not Bombs, and churches would feed the homeless at the park while the bathrooms where unnecessary chained-locked 24 hours each day.

To date, 34 cities have been included in ASWAN's study, none of the cities lacked adequate emergency shelter bed spaces in proportion to the estimated homeless population, as in Richmond. Nashville, Tenn. is 8% percent larger in metropolitan size, but had 991 (year-round) emergency bed spaces compared to Richmond's current 169. Knoxville, Tenn. slightly smaller than Richmond had over 600. Mobile, Al. much smaller (about 50% percent) had 331.

Birmingham, Al. did not list exact amount of (year-round) emergency bed spaces in their Consolidated Plan. In that city between 1987 and 1993, the homeless population increased 62% percent, but shelter bed spaces increased by 80% percent, giving a false perception of a decrease in the homeless population, due to the fact that fewer individuals were forced into the streets. In Richmond, (year-round) emergency bed spaces have been on a decline, in 1975, there were well over 200 (year-round) emergency bed spaces.

Like a alcoholic denial for decades, some City Council members claims that there is no need for a increase in emergency shelter. BOLONEY! Maybe we need to call a few council members back to earth! And then cruise around to certain locations within the city that they know so much about.

The City Government response is that of the City Police making police sweeps locking up people who are repeatedly refused shelter and without option but to find public spaces. They must hide to evade arrest because it's illegal to sleep in public. If you're homeless in Richmond, it's a crime. This in itself, is civil disobedience and forces defiance of city ordinances.

Complexity of those unsheltered in the 90's provides no solution to end homelessness. We can, however, alleviate the problem, but obstacles in alleviation are much more profound than in 1975, due to the NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard), restrictive polices, racism, greed, selfishness, and attitudes where its "us" verses "them" and them are undeserving unwanted outsiders.

There is this veteran homeless that many Richmonders have seen sitting beside his "ca boo" box right by Hardee's near Boulevard and Broad Streets. I've talked to him on many occasions, giving him a dollar whenever I had it. He claims that he doesn't drink or do any drugs. I believed him. An old man in his 50s' or 60s', usually humorous, and soft spoken (till you asked why won't he try to go to a shelter?) his response; "I'd ain't going to them damn shelters" as the volume in his voice goes up quite a bit. He had bad experiences of continuously being refused shelter, and he claims that he's never going to a shelter again, while feeling self-unworthiness, betrayal by the country that he laid down in his life for, and victimized by society. In a way, he's right. He fought for his country and this is how he is rewarded?

On July 28, 1997, Richmond City Council passed one of the most prejudiced laws in Richmond recent history, one part of the three part zoning ordinances had since been repealed (church feeding restrictions). But City Council has not repealed taking away the last by-right zone for homeless shelters and services, all parts of any zoning ordinances that prejudicially targets Richmond citizens (no matter the color, creed, or how much money they have in their pocket) must be repealed. On December 26, 1996 Another ASWAN Co-Convener Matthew Hilgeford wrote to Bill Veno (Senior Planner- Department of Community Development concerning Richmond's Downtown Master Plan, the closing paragraph stings real reality like that of a bee sting. His closing statement included the following:

In closing the understanding we have of the past as well as the present, know it is the policy of a minority of influential people who are standing in the background, using their influence on people in the area. They have gone to great lengths in offering to donate their private wealth to charities to control public money to do the same. It is these people and their unfounded fear and prejudices that have exacerbated the homeless issue and the poverty-stricken citizens of the City of Richmond. Your "Homeless Issue Draft for Downtown Plan" is segregation in the purest form, superficially appealing but beneath, clusters good citizens of the City of Richmond into a caste. And casted out, the homeless and the poverty-stricken will have to sustain as they always have in the past the heavy burden of prejudice.

Thousands of Richmonders are virtually on the brink of becoming homeless. Will future Richmonders who become unsheltered have to expedience the same awakening nightmare of my buddy down at Hardee's or other currently homeless individuals that is repeatedly denied assistance and shelter? The average homeless person is no longer the neighborhood drunk. It could be your cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, brother, sister, father, or even your mother. And is often prompted by a entanglement of a variety of factors in today's society including job loss, addiction, mental illness, affordable or available low-income housing, employment opportunity, break-up of a relationship, domestic violence, or natural disaster.