Homeless

As a 44 year resident of Baltimore City, I cannot think of a better use of my taxes than paying to temporarily house the homeless individuals who are about to be evicted by the city from their meager camp in motels while they wait for permanent housing ("Homeless eviction plan criticized," March 5). Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's comments that doing so is "not a responsible use of taxpayer money," and Councilwoman Rikki Spector's reference to the camp as "toxic," made this proud resident of Baltimore feel shame that publicly elected officials would so openly demonstrate their contempt and lack of compassion for our most vulnerable citizens.

Howard County took an important step in the fight against homelessness last week by purchasing an 8-acre lot that will be the future home to a 30-unit housing facility. Using $3.25 million in land acquisition dollars, the county bought the land at the corner of routes 1 and 32 to serve as a replacement for an existing shelter run by Grassroots Crisis Intervention in Jessup. A center will be built on the new site by the Volunteers of America Chesapeake. For County Executive Ken Ulman and his administration, the move demonstrates a commitment to defeating a problem that might seem hard to believe even exists in a county as financially blessed as Howard.

You can see why a state might require minors to have a parent's OK before they receive medical care. But Maryland law has made life especially difficult for homeless teenagers who have no adults watching out for them. It's the sort of problem that drives Lisa Stambolis crazy. As director of pediatric and adolescent health at Health Care for the Homeless in Baltimore, she organized people — including homeless teens — to press for change. It worked. A new law offering more leeway for minors' medical treatment goes into effect Oct. 1. In July, Stambolis was honored for her efforts and named a White House "Champion of Change," one of 13 selected for their efforts on behalf of homeless youth.

In a quiet block in Southwest Baltimore, a warm wind blows plastic bags along a sidewalk. Boarded-up rowhomes line the streets. A pile of mattresses rests on a trash heap in someone's former backyard. A lonely placard reads, "Stop shooting - start living. " The images reflect the lost optimism of a neighborhood that lost more than 40,000 residents between 1980 and 2010. But a few yards down a side alley, there's a place with a different feel. Scores of locals sit chatting in a tree-shaded garden, their conversation mingling with the tinkle of wind chimes.

Jeff Singer, the longtime president and chief executive officer of Health Care for the Homeless, announced his retirement Thursday, and the organization said it was immediately launching a search committee to identify a successor. Singer's 40-year career advocating for homeless people and families included 13 years at the helm of Health Care for the Homeless, which he joined in 1987. During his tenure, the group tripled the size of a Baltimore-based clinic and state headquarters and launched new dental and pediatric programs, and he oversaw a budget that quadrupled from $3.2 million in 1998 to $13.5 million this year.

The days and nights are colder, and makeshift tents have already sprung up in some areas of the city. It's that time of year when the homeless are more visible - and more vulnerable. In addition to providing more warm places for those without homes to spend the night this winter, the city is putting together a 10-year plan to end persistent homelessness. It's a worthy endeavor, but only if it leads to tangible results. The fact that incoming Mayor Sheila Dixon has identified helping the homeless as one of her top priorities is a promising start.

Sign of the times: A former Equitable Trust branch at 111 Park Avenue, originally built as the terminal of the old Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad, is being converted into a clearinghouse for services for the homeless.When the $1.3 million transformation is completed this spring, the homeless will be able to obtain an array of emergency services ranging from legal aid to psychological counseling at the centrally located site. Meanwhile, the Salvation Army is in the process of renovating its Booth House, at 1114 North Calvert Street, into a 30-day emergency residence for women and children forced out of their homes by fire or other circumstances.

A homeless man has been charged with numerous commercial burglaries throughout Anne Arundel County this summer. David Evi Cooper, 45, of no fixed address, was arrested last week and remains in custody. Police have been investigating a series of burglaries that began in early July. All involved a single suspect who made forced entries. During an investigation July 19 into a break-in at the Anne Arundel Fairgrounds in Crownsville, officers found a cell phone and were able to ascertain the owner's name.

Sitting alone at the edge of the parking lot outside Baltimore's 24-hour homeless shelter, Robin Bolden watched the dozens gathered nearby Saturday to remember her husband, Dana, who was stabbed to death at the facility earlier this month. Tears stained her face while she listened to Tony Simmons call on the homeless individuals and activists assembled to demand city leaders step up plans to find permanent homes for the more than 4,000 men, women and children who sleep outside and in shelters every night.

HTC K

Sitting alone at the edge of the parking lot outside Baltimore's 24-hour homeless shelter, Robin Bolden watched the dozens gathered nearby Saturday to remember her husband, Dana, who was stabbed to death at the facility earlier this month. Tears stained her face while she listened to Tony Simmons call on the homeless individuals and activists assembled to demand city leaders step up plans to find permanent homes for the more than 4,000 men, women and children who sleep outside and in shelters every night.

As officers lingered outside his Northwest Baltimore home for three hours, Anthony Todd was busy inside trying to cover up evidence of a marijuana-growing operation, police say. His pants had fresh dirt on them from squeezing through a crawl space to hide what police say was a pound of loose marijuana, and he told officers he had spent the time before they entered the home tearing apart the marijuana plants and flushing them down the toilet....

Richard Bell hardly had time to look up during the first hour of ladling rich cream of crab soup into bowl after bowl at a fundraiser to benefit Baltimore residents struggling with homelessness, hunger and poverty. In that time, the general manager of Squire's Restaurant spooned out about half the 30 gallons of soup his restaurant donated to St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore's biggest fundraiser of the year. The nonprofit's event, "Empty Bowls," drew 2,000 guests for lunch and dinner seatings Saturday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

There are rare times when the voices of citizens are heard by our politicians. It is nice to report (Laurel Leader, March 21) that County Executive Ken Ulman has indeed not only heard the voices of the people, but has positively taken action to reconsider the proposed homeless facility in the Beechcrest Mobile Home Park in North Laurel located on Route 1 near Whiskey Bottom Road by looking elsewhere. Mr. Ulman should be congratulated for having the foresight to realize the problems such a facility would create in the neighborhood and the fact it was never a part of the "Revitalization Route 1 Plan.

Has it been mentioned anywhere that the couple who ran the Dogwood Restaurant in Hampden tried to change the lives of desperate people while serving good food and drink? There aren't a lot of businesses willing to hire ex-offenders and recovering drug addicts. It's a bother. It comes with risks, and there are plenty of attorneys to warn clients about "negligence in hiring," and the liability that brings. But the Dogwood believed in giving second chances, so attention must be paid, however late the notice.

As a resident of downtown Baltimore, I'm struck by the amenities offered to the homeless ("Aid for street people failing," March 18). There are long lines in front of Health Care for the Homeless on the Fallsway, and it appears My Sister's Place across the street from the Pratt Library's main branch is doing a thriving business. The list goes on and on, so my question is: With so many venues offering assistance, why is homelessness still "epidemic" in Baltimore? Your article failed to investigate the origins of Baltimore's homeless problem.

A homeless woman who was killed in a fire outside a Westminster thrift store early Tuesday morning has been identified as 59-year-old Paula Mae Carlisle, state fire officials said Wednesday. A state medical examiner has ruled Carlisle's death was caused by "smoke inhalation and thermal burn injuries," the state fire marshal's office announced. Carlisle's remains were found burning behind The Spare Room at 28 West Main St. in Westminster by firefighters about 1:49 a.m. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Halfway through Baltimore's long-term plan to end homelessness, advocates complain that the strategy is in disarray and worry that the number of men, women and children without permanent homes has grown - despite millions of dollars being pumped into local services. The 10-year Journey Home strategy, the advocates say, has fallen short of its objective, floundering without a direct line of leadership or accountability and frustrating the social services community that is pushing for solutions to a primary cause of homelessness: the lack of affordable housing.

Despite the ruthless and cavalier manner with which the mayor's office steam-rolled the rights of homeless people camped under the JFX, there is a certain sense in which clearing the site was actually a good thing ("Homeless camp's clearing brings hope, questions," March 9). Transition of any kind after a period of stability - if one could call it that, given how the campers were living - comes with a natural degree of resistance. What many of the campers talk about is the sense of community and camaraderie that grew up among them over the months they were there.