Submitted by the City of Sedona.
Sedona AZ (December 3, 2012) – This Eye on City of Sedona article was written by Sedona City Councilor Barbara Litrell and submitted by the City of Sedona staff. Councilor Litrell writes:
As City Council members, we also serve as liaisons to city appointed commissions and various community organizations. I’m pleased to serve as liaison to the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition chaired by Marilyn Williams of Catholic Charities and which meets quarterly in Cottonwood. The Coalition is made up of representatives of area social service agencies, independent groups and individuals who share the mission of providing assistance to the homeless as well as working toward long term solutions to homelessness in the Verde Valley.
The Arizona Department of Housing count in June, 2012, counted 186 homeless people in Yavapai County and 127 in Coconino. Of course, we know that many of the homeless don’t make themselves available for the count, but we do know there are at least that many people trying to eke out an existence right here in our own Sedona and the Verde Valley.
Sedona City Councilor Barbara Litrell
As we attempt to put faces on the homeless in our midst, we know that some are individuals of various ages, yet some are entire families. Sadly, too, some are veterans who have served our nation. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that on a single night in January 2011, 67,495 homeless veterans spent the night on the streets of America, and we know some of those nameless numbers included homeless veterans right here in Sedona and the Verde Valley.
As we approach 2013, we can’t really be immune to the homeless situation in Sedona. Just ask the folks at the Sedona Community Food Bank where Mitzvah Day volunteers recently delivered tote bags for the Food Bank to fill with personal items for the homeless during this season when the weather is turning colder. Ask the volunteers at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church who provide free home cooked meals – no questions asked – for anyone who arrives at the St. Andrew’s door on Mondays at 5 p.m. Talk to members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. John Vianney Church who provide food and other assistance to those in need. Ask the spiritual leaders of faith communities and they will tell you – and perhaps even admit to you – that they have acted on their own to take someone in for the night, and provide food and maybe even a place to shower and wash clothes. Yet Sedona, as of this time, has no comprehensive services. It’s a meal here, a meal there, some food, some clothing, but nothing of more continuous and comprehensive care.
Cottonwood has a few more services including The Loft at Catholic Charities, open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-5 p.m., where homeless folks can do laundry, cook, use a phone or computer, or simply take a shower and have an address to get mail. But The Loft is not a shelter, so sleeping elsewhere is required. There is also a dinner every Friday evening at Riverfront Park, provided by a rotating list of Cottonwood churches.
The idea for this column was stimulated by an email I received from a Mitzvah Day volunteer when she saw the call for volunteers to pack backpacks for homeless vets. Her message hit home, “We do for dogs and cats what we don’t do for our fellow human beings.” Another quote sprang to mind which I have since learned is from Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
Maybe the solution is regional. But it certainly seems that what we have now is not enough. As a city with the most creative and talented people in Arizona, I hope that together we can find better ways to address homelessness for those struggling right here in our midst.
Now is an especially good time to think about this, as we enter this season of caring and giving. If you have ideas or want to help, email me at blitrell@SedonaAZ.gov.
Councilor Litrell writes the following disclaimer: The above are my own observations; they do not necessarily reflect those of City Council or staff.
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One wonders how many “homeless” Council member Litrell has taken in.
Well, Warren, look at it this way. By the time our Sedona per capita indebtedness reaches the point of no return insofar as funding all the “Capital Improvements” currently on the table (not to mention future but as yet unannounced monstrosities) there’s likely to be many, many more folks in need. In other words, it’s quite possible, and predictable IMHO, that the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition “ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Hey, let’s open a homeless shelter in Sedona! Then we will have hundreds of new homeless people flocking here from Phoenix and other less desirable places to take advantage of the amenities. This should be great for tourism and the real estate industry here. I say we put this to a vote for the stakeholders groups.
I don’t think this is a job for our town to tackle. The majority of homeless are mentally ill, yes mental illness can be caused from being in the military. Let the military house these people then. If they are not mentally ill they are destitute due to some other reason, destitute means desperate and desperate people commit crimes to stay alive. The last thing we need are more comprehensive services to attract more homeless.
If the state or federal government wanted to deal with homelessness they would. The FED gives most of the homeless barely enough to survive on, i.e., whatever their SS check is. Our USFS works hard to keep these people out of our town by not letting them live in the woods. The police also arrest them for vagrancy.
It is true we treat dogs and cats better because people love animals and our fellow humans are not very nice most of the time, the dog and cat will not break into my house or car. I know a very nice woman who made her life’s work traveling around the world collecting art and antiques and selling them, she was a medicine woman. She owned the most amazing store filled with treasures in Auburn, CA. She helped the homeless and took them in and provided showers and food. One day a homeless guy she had helped for some years burned her home and store to the ground while she was out of town. Of course we can’t blame him as he was mentally ill. Whose fault is this kind of occurrence? Unfortunately it is her fault as she invited him into her life by being a good Samaritan. No amount of money can repair what he did to her, she lost everything and it can’t be replaced. She was in her early 60’s when this happened. She could have been in her house asleep when he burned her house down.
I went to Bisbee on a short trip and we took all our things out of the car one night because we saw our vehicle was being cased by a black man who we learned later was mentally ill and homeless. He watched us bring all our things into the hotel. We parked our car in front of the hotel with the cameras on it. During the night this homeless, mentally ill man took a flag pole off the front of the hotel and smashed my car up because he was mad we didn’t let him break into the car to steal!
Do us all a favor, keep the homeless out of our town so we are less likely to be targets for these people. I am not volunteering to help the homeless by enabling you to promote Sedona as a homeless destination. When I read liberal ideas like the one Councilwoman Litrell puts forth I can only assume she has never been the victim of any serious crime and lives in a Sedona bubble thinking the world is a safe place and people are good. If I wanted to live in an unsafe town I would live in Phoenix.
admire sentiment but despise white patronizing attitudes; who are you that you can fix what educated field professionals can’t; get over yourself; find another hobby
What Can I Do? What Can You Do?
The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking decisive action to end Veteran homelessness in five years. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a National Call Center for Homeless Veterans hotline to ensure Veterans who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness have free, 24/7 access to trained counselors.
The hotline is intended to assist homeless Veterans and their families, VA Medical Centers, federal, state and local partners, community agencies, and service providers in the community.
To be connected with a trained VA staff member call 1-877-4AID VET (877-424-3838).
What will happen when I call?
■You can call for yourself or someone else.
■You will be connected to a trained VA staff member, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
■Hotline Trained hotline staff will conduct a brief, free and confidential screening to assess needs.
■Homeless Veterans will be connected with the Homeless point of contact at the nearest VA facility.
■Family members and non-VA providers calling on behalf of a homeless Veteran will be provided with information on homeless programs and mental health services available in your area.
■Contact information will be requested so staff may follow up.
Suggestions on how you can help:
Print this story, circle the phone number above and the web address below and give it to the next homeless Veteran you see on the street.
And, yes, we realize someone on the street probably won’t have a phone or access to a computer. You could suggest they use a computer at a library or ask to use the phone at a VA Medical Center or Vet Center…or at one of the many faith-based and charitable organizations or Veteran Service Organizations in their community.
The help is there. You could be the connection to the help for a homeless Veteran. Here is a quick link to the many valuable programs VA has to help end homelessness: http://www.va.gov/homeless
Thank you.