Open Letter To: SF City Officials & Non-Profit Providers

Greetings and Salutations to our Honorable City Officials and Non-Profit Providers: A little history, current events and a 'behind the scenes' look at how our City, our community, our contracted non-profits and the ones we have a duty to serve, the elderly, disabled, ill, poor and homeless residents, are all faring, in the process of implementing 'Minimum Standards of Care' for our City's tax funded shelters. This is our way, as a responsible, caring community to improve the quality of the life of the people that live and work in our City's shelter system. These comments are derived from meetings, official reports, tips, leads and information provided by people that are directly involved with and have personal knowledge of these issues and conditions. --- We're asking these questions publicly, because we are being lied to -- by people we trusted in government and in non-profits; whom all make their living serving us - drawing salaries (anbd other scandalous profits and gains) from of our tax and donation dollars. They've been lying to us, keeping us 'captive' in the shelters, and lying to you, saying, 'look at those chronic homeless... we need more money '. Throwing more good money at unqualified, abusive and dishonest individuals in any system is a bad idea. We need regime change in our City's Agencies and Non-Profits, across the board. Just as they decided to wipe out 'safe places' like Busters' Place and 'harm preventing' resources, like mental health care for the 'slightly mentally ill', we need to decide, as a community, that we want these people that are harming us, to leave the system. They can go elsewhere to get a job, or they can become homeless and we will treat them, not as they treated us, but with respect, as we would have liked ourselves to be treated. We have a lot of questions because we do not want any liars, cheats or criminals to become part of any new standard or homeless shelter, system or programs. And, these questions are on the the minds of a whole lot of our City's Residents that are confused by the conflicting information you are giving us, about some basic shelter related issues that affect the quality of our lives, not yours. We ask these questions, keeping in mind, that all of these programs and services and agencies, are funded by our tax dollars and by our community's generous contributions in the form of donations or money and resident volunteers, to help non-profits defray their costs. Had we all known the extent of the conditions under which you have been keeping our people, enslaved and beaten down, we would have stopped funding you, donating to you and volunteering for you, years ago. Now that we can see this all in a brilliantly transparent way, we now are demanding solid answers. We are entitled to accountability and we have the right to prosecute the individuals and groups that have been intentionally or neglectfully harming thousands of us, for he past 15 years. We will never trust any of you again, unless you give us honest answers now, and in the future. This Question Goes to The Shelter Provider Directors, first: As a matter of your Shelter's Policy, are your shelter residents allowed to plug in their cell phones, as needed, somewhere close to their bed, so they can watch it to prevent theft ? If so, how long have you been allowing residents to do that ? This Question Goes to HSA and any other applicable agency with oversight or that derives any benefit or control over the $43 Monthly Electricity Allowance paid for by GA Benefits: How long have you been aware that shelter residents are routinely denied access to plug in their cell phones and why have you let the Shelters get away with acting in bad faith, contrary to your own Policies without compensation for the $43 loss to each resident on GA ? Aren't these failures to perform or failures to provide part of a legally binding contract ? Isn't wrong to submit a report to the people and to our Board of Supervisors that misleads us all, about the realities of how our money is being spent, contrary to the will of the social, legal and ethical contracts that we, as a community, decided were supposed to be honored by us all ? Why did you issue a false report about HSA Policy on this to our Board of Supervisors, while you knew or should have known that the 'cell phone plug in' policy, (and several others) are in fact, not in force ? Not in compliance ? Not in the best interests of the community we are supposed to serve properly ? How would you like to be 'trapped' in a shelter without being able to plug in your cell phone ? What if your mother was ill ? Wouldn't you expect any decent human being or service providers let their clients plug in ? Do you think its okay for shelter staff to plug in their laptops, dvd players, sound eliminating headphones and cell phones when they want to ? Isn't that a theft of City resources since those activities are personal gains to the staff, not critical to their job ? Just as cell phone useage to a client might be critical to his medical, health, job or family needs, yet almost every single shelter has barred residents from that most basic need. All of this, as a direct result of negligence, in your duty to enforce your own policies that has fosterd an environment in our shelters, that has been holding residents inside our shelters, basically 'incommunicado' ? Most shelters do not allow regular access to free local calls. Even if all the shelter providers (Directors and Managers) and all the City's staff have lied about this, the people at the top of these chains of lies, needs to step forward and explain exactly who has been lying to whom and why ? How would you like to be 'intentionally barred' from constant contact with your family, friends, job leads, employers, program providers and emergency services because some contracted non-profit has decided to not follow common sense and City Policy and City Employees fail to protect your right to have that cell phone plugged in, as needed, so you can 'get things done' and have safe, reliable means of communicating, at all times ? It's a job issues, a safety issue, a family issue, a freedom to speak issue and being independent issue. It's a not losing family, relationships, work, money or communikty obligations because my cell phone is dead issue. You already know first hand, that shelters do not and have not been following these City Policies for a long, long time, Let's be very clear about that up front. So, it begs the underlying question... 'Why don't the shelters WANT YOU to be enabled by having a cell phone ?' Why has HSA/DPH made the decision to NOT ENFORCE many or most of the policies shown below ? It costs pennies a year to keep a cell phone charged in a wall plug, 30 hours a week... so, the shelter can only invent financial arguments based on fantasy. And why, to this day, would anyone in this town try to mislead the public or our Board of Supervisors (vis a Budget Analyst;s Office) about these horrificly oppressive and 'human slavery' looking circumstances under which they are responsible for preventing. Prevention and thoughtful planning (by end users) always reduces cost. Corruption and lax enforcement of policies and law make costs (and taxes) skyrocket and invariably cause preventable conflict, personal failures, violence, illness, injury, losses and death to human beings that are virtually forced to live in these shelters. Do you all follow what is being shown here to you ? HSA's verbally stated and written policy as is copied here, in their official report to the Budget Analysts' Office (reporting to the Board of Supervisors) did not substantially reflect the long known facts, as we all now know them. This means we question the motives and agendas behind the presentation of fraudulent reports by HSA and others. And we question the reasoning or 'methodology' behind the Shelter's decision to keep doing the 'opposite' of community, contractural and policy requirements, with gross impunity and complete disregard for the safety and welfare of our community. Does anyone else 'get all of this' ? Since most of the shelters have apparently 'not been following policy' and have not done their job to keep the residents well cared for - cared for as they personally, would like to be cared for when their roles are reversed -- then how can we trust them or the agencies that lie to us, to be involved in the future design, planning, funding or management and policy enforcement of any future shelters, subsidized housing or any other City Project that requires TRUST ?? If you were to have put some sheep dogs in charge of your flock. And every month, for 15 years, hundreds of your sheep turned up lost, maimed and dead while your trusted sheep dogs watch, what would you do ? Well, you get some bigger dogs to watch over those sheep dogs, right ? Then, what happens when you can't sell your sheep at market, because they are too thin from lack of nutrition and look all tired, weak and beat up to get them off of the farm ? The bigger dogs were supposed to prevent the abuse and loss of sheep. So, would you burn down the farm and start over ? Would you keep paying for the salaries and programs set up and managed by these untrustworthy, violent and negligent sheep dogs ? What about the big dogs that were supposed to keep the sheep dogs from harming the sheep ? Every time you asked the well paid big dogs with degrees, how are those sheep dogs doing ? Are they misbehavin ? How about those sheep ? Are they all in their barns tonight, safe from the coyotes and the wolves around the farm ? If these big dogs kept lying to you, telling you that all the sheep are safe in bed (when really we have 200 beds with no sheep) and they tell you that they are doing a fine job keeping the sheep dogs in line (when really, the sheep dogs are trimming a lil wool off the sheep's back in exchange for a safe bed and aren't feeding them the new high protein grain you just brought in because the sheep dogs are selling most of it to some cattle farms) --- Are you going to trust these big dogs or the sheep dogs to sit down with you to design a whole new set of farms and grazing lands ? HELL NO -- YOU WOULD NOT TRUST ANY OF THESE DOGS AS FAR AS YOU COULD THROW THEM. You would likely fire the sheep dogs (the bad shelter people that ignored City Policy and trampled the rights and lives of the homeless sheep) and you would fire or demote the big dogs because they directly worked under your specific orders to watch the sheep dogs and they all lied to you. Then, you would sit down at the table with the sheep that were screwed, maimed and killed off by the sheep dogs and by the big dogs and plan your own future ways and means to keep them all safe. The problem is, the sheep do not trust you, their shepard, because YOU, should have protected them from the sheep dogs and the big dogs and the wolves because you are the Lord or Sheriff of the entire village. So, metaphorically, this is where this whole shelter mess now stands. As a community, we are letting heads of agencies that have not protected us and being asked to sit down with the sheep dogs that ignored (for personal gains or hidden motives and agendas) the rights of our people and City Policy which is an extension of our own will, in order to plan out new shelter and housing systems. We have a much better idea. We will sit down, as a community that does not profit directly (financially) by helkping to protect our fellow San Franciscans, pass laws to insure that Our Will is Law enforced to protect ourselves. Then and only then, can we all move forward and gain closure to our pain, suffering and losses, by all of this collective negligence by prosecuting every person responsible for their individual and group acts of negligence and abuse, against our community over the past 10 to 15 years. At at least let's go back five years... Then, after that, when all of the 'causes' of our pain and all of the liars, cheaters and thieves are either in jail, homeless or been run out of town -- We, as a community, minus the corrupted, can keep going about the serious work of designing new ways to keep all of our San Francisco residents safe with Our greater control and oversight, over our own money, lives and community residents. Because they cannot be trusted to do so, for us. Those days of trust are long gone. HERE'S THE MOST RECENT HSA REPORT TO THE BUDGET ANALYST - [ For the Board of Supervisors' Budget & Finance, Public Hearing/Rally - Noon @ City Hall on this coming Wednesday, February 20, 2008, Be there. ] This just a sliver of the report that HSA delivered (twice) to the Budget Analyst's Office that has influence (when its an honest, factual report) on the Budget Analysis that is written to enable Our Board of Supervisors to make good decisions, in line with reality and the will of the people being served well. [ written before the last two most recent, fact based, Bay Guardian Articles exposed them as being lies or indicates a gross lack of awareness on the part of our City Agency that was supposed to monitoring the policies, instead of letting contractors act with gross negligence and dereliction of duty by their complete failure to follow policy which has resulted in 15 years of great harm and suffering to our people. ] Free Local Calls - Not happening at most shelters. I want HSA to Show Us - the list of shelters that will give easy access (not a hassle or 'favor') to shelters residents to make free local calls, as need. SHOW US THAT LIST WITH THE SHELTER DIRECTOR'S SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZATION ON IT. Next Door leaves Pay Phone off the hook. Most shelters WILL NOT let you easily make local calls. It's either NO WAY or HURRY UP - WE (staff) need to use it. They do not have phones dedicated or easily accessible for local calls, for any of the thousand or so residents, at most shelters. However, some staff at most shelters will accept cash, drugs or other favors in exchange for lots of different privileges. All City Shelters Provide Clients with access to Electricity - Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. I want HSA to Show Us - the list of shelters that will allow resident, easy access (not a hassle or 'favor') to shelters residents to plug in their own cell phones, as needed. As in, an outlet near their bed or common areas, where they can watch their own phone to prevent theft. SHOW US THAT LIST WITH THE SHELTER DIRECTOR'S SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZATION ON IT. As others have experienced and journalists and monitoring committee has documented on numerous occasions for many years. Why does HSA persist in lying about this ? Where did the $43 Electicity Allowance go ? How many GA workers were entitled by federal law to that crucial benefit, but were prohibited at 90% of the shelters from charging phones ??? Lost beds due to space requirements... 142 beds lost if we give humane bed spacing to prevent 'close contact' to prevent germs, cut down conflicts by allowing more space to breath and sleep peacefully.. Double decker bunks at the two largest shelters would add 200 more beds with very little additional facility cost and added 'revenue' from GA/SSI/VA woiuld offset training and hiring standards for extra drug free staff. And, this City (meaning its Mayor, or the BOS or the non-profits or the community at large) could decide to be responsible to replace beds in a million different ways, above and beyond what HSA is willing or able to do that would have ZERO negative impact on the shelter residents. Increasing humane conditions is the will of Our Community. Lying about it hurts us all and erodes Public Trust in certain government agencies and in certain non-profit providers. Neither of those two groups deserves to sit down at the table to plan out any future shelters or housing developments. They MUST be held ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY HAVE AND HAVE NOT BEEN DOING TO KEEP US SAFE FOR THE PAST 15 YEARS. WE DO NOT NEED THEM (THE LIARS, CHEATS AND ABUSERS) ANY MORE. THEY HAD TEHIR CHANCE. THEY TOOK OUR MONEY. THEY HURT US. THEY LIED TO US AND WE WILL NOT BE FOOLED BY THEM -- EVER AGAIN. WHAT WE NEED ARE NEW, TRUSTWORTHY, DRUG FREE, CORRUPTION FREE, TALENTED, EXPERIENCED AND CERTIFIABLE -- LOCAL, NATIVE SAN FRANCISCANS -- NOW. TO STEP UP TO THE NEW PLATE AND HELP US TEAR DOWN THE OLD MESS AND BUILD SOMETHING PURE AND BEAUTIFIL (AND COST EFFECTIVE) IN ITS PLACE. THAT IS WHAT WE CAN MUST AND INTEND TO DO BECAUSE WE CANNOT REWARD OR BE 'CODEPENDENT' ON THE HATERS, LIARS AND THIEVES ANY MORE. WE ARE DONE WITH THAT 'CYCLE OF ABUSE', AS A COMMUNITY. IT'S TIME FOR A COMPLETE REGIME CHANGE AND WE CAN DO IT, WORKING AS ONE. PUT THE SCREENING, QUALITY, HIRING, MONITORING, PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY STANDARDS BUILT INTO THE NEW SYSTEM FROM THE BEGINNING, NOT AS A LATE AFTERTHOUGHT. How do you keep out the criminals from abusing clients and residents ? Stop hiring them fresh out of prison. The Put a Just Released Felon to Work Tax Credits mean nothing next to the cost of cleaning up the mess caused by the multiple abuses and damage caused by even one 'bad seed' in the mix. How do you minimize the chance of heavy drug dealers and users from having authority over vulnerable, recovering addicts and the mentally ill ? Stop hiring staff that cannot pass mandatory pre-hire and random drug tests. How do you stop staff from stealing donations and food ? Hire, third party, qualified security minded people with integrity to monitor and control dontations an food stores. Stop letting known thieves have keys and access to valuables. Stop hiring shelter staff relativcs as security officers that have multi-level relationships with other shelter staff and supervisors. How safe would you feel in a shelter knowing that the security guard is dating your floor monitor and she is the niece of a senior shelter staff members ? What if the boyfriend is dealing drugs to the disabled residents ? Who do you complain to ? The security guard will back up the monitor and the senior staff will likely try to 'cover' for his niece. This is the way that it has been for the past 15 years. That is why homeless people hate shelters. That is why they feel safer on the street rather than to be in a shelter with security guards that are corrupted by fat, non-competitive (or underbid by using unqualified, family and friends as the guards) security companies that are MAKING MILLIONS AT THE RISK AND DETRIMENT OF THE HEALTH, SAFETY, CARE, AND WELL BEING OF OUR MOST AT RISK LOCAL POPULATION. That's all for now. Take care and get back to us when you decide to 'come clean' and start being honest or when you have those 'lists' of authorization signed off by ALL of the Shelter Directors that are 'following policy'..... how gross and disgusting is this all ? We have only begun to touch on the Tip of This Iceberg. Like the song says, 'we're just gettin' started.... so, let's get this party started...'