There was a time when after leaving the shelter at 1420 South Wilmington Street, the men would be allowed to congregate in front of the building, but now, it is being deemed unlawful and punishable by law, or so that is what we are being told by the shelter staff.

According to Frank Lawrence, shelter manager, we men are no longer allowed to gather on the sidewalk in front of the building, for fear that someone just may drive up on the sidewalk and kill one of us...could anything be more ridiculous...nor are we allowed to wait at the bus stop unless we are actually waiting for a bus. We, now, must do our congregating in the grass at the parking area of the shelter. If you don't know, it is an open field of beautiful green grass and we are expected to stand there, in the sun, with no shade, like a pack of cattle grazing.

Come on now.

I know people want us out of sight and out of mind, but this is going a bit too far.

Are we just expected to stand up all day in the sun with nowhere to sit and ... that’s it?

Is this supposed to be a tactic used to discourage us from waiting at the building, at all?

This morning, while waiting for my ride to come pick me up, the deputy on duty, came to me at stated she was given orders not to allow us to stand and wait for a ride in front of the building because we would be considered loitering.

Loitering...in front of the place where I now reside?

So, what do the powers to be propose to do with us, after we leave the shelter???

No one wants us downtown...there are no day centers for us to go to...with the exception of Cornerstone; which is miles away.

So let's see...the public doesn’t want us...employers don't want us...shelters don't want us...housing complexes don't want us...then tell me...

just where the hell do we belong?

How do we come out of homelessness by remaining out of sight of the public?

Should we email our way out of it?

Instant Message?

Text Message?

Michael Watkins