12 baskets magazine april 2011

THE MAGAZINE OF MOBILE LOAVES & FISHES

Ben comeshome

HOw TO ENd PANHANdLING

THE GENEROSITY OF CHILdRENREPORT FROM OUR MINISTRIES

APRIL 2011 ISSUE

www.12basketsmagazine.orgwww.12basketsmagazine.org

http://www.facebook.com/givingcityaustin?ref=ts#!/HatCreekBurger


16 How to End Panhandling what do an advocate for the homeless and an advocate for downtown austin have in common? solutions.

32 Redeemedben Cordero was abandoned when he was four years old. now, 55 years later, he’s home. an mLF success story.

06 . . . . MLF Kids08 . . . . Everything I Own12 . . . . Michael O’Brien28 . . . . Sleep Study

43 . . . . MLF Report48 . . . . Letter from Alan Graham

Advocate MLF Now

Features

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Contents

http://www.twitter.com/mlfnow

http://www.facebook.com/mlfnow

In February, we received an email from stacia Hicks about the photo of Joseph Coleman, a homeless person we photographed in austin in front of downtown woolridge Park for our first issue: “Believe it or not,” she wrote, “that is my uncle.”

“I talked to my mom about it,” wrote Hicks. “I remember bits and pieces of things my mom has told me throughout the years.”

Joseph Coleman is from new Jersey, she said. Coleman had

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Still looking for Joeby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa m. wiLLiams

LETTER FROM THE EdITOR

Joseph Coleman appeared in the first issue of 12 Baskets. Photos above are of him in elementary school and with his sister in Texas.

www.12basketsmagazine.orgaPriL 2011

http://issuu.com/octobercustompublishing/docs/12baskets_magazine_april2010?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed

suffered from addiction much of his young life, but the death of his parents within a few years or each other seems to have sent Coleman deeper into his addiction.

Hicks remembers that her mother, Coleman’s sister, tried repeatedly to help him, offering him a place to stay, food, clothes. “As long as he stayed sober,” Hicks remembers. But despite her best efforts, Coleman would always leave and head back downtown.

“It’s really sad that he always ended up that way. my mom and i both agreed that it’s sad. but she also said she no longer feels any guilt, as she did try as hard as she could to help him,” says Hicks.

it has been 10 years since either Hicks or her mother has seen Coleman in person. but when we last spoke, via email, Hicks had vowed to seek him out at woolridge Park.

“He has a daughter,” says Hicks. “He didn’t mention her for the article, but his mind may not be all there.” Coleman’s daughter was raised by her grandmother. “She turned out to be a smart woman despite having parents that were never there,” says Hicks.

Coleman’s family may never give up on him, but it’s obvious there’s only so much they can do. Coleman’s situation can’t be painted in black and white; addiction, grief, family make for complicated scenarios. but as long as Hicks and her mother keep looking, there’s hope for saving Joe.

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Editor . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiams

Art Director . . . .torqUiL DewaroCtober CUstom

PUbLisHing, LLC

Contributors . . . greg CestaroViCky garza

owen LaraCUenteJoeL saLCiDo

Ad IndexHat Creek bUrger Co .. . . .02giVe reaLty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50HeLP attaCk . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42aUstin giVe 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Copyright Progress Publishing, austin, texas. 2011. all rights reserved. For more information about 12 baskets, contact [email protected] or visit www.12basketsmagazine.org

APRIL 2011

12 Baskets is the online magazine for Mobile

Loaves & Fishes, which offers food,

clothing and support for the homeless. The

magazine was designed to be shared by clicking

the envelope image above to access email, Facebook, Twitter and

other sharing tools. Thank you for sharing!


Last fall, nine-year-old Anna Faivre of Austin wanted to do something special for her birthday. instead of asking for something for herself, she asked her parents if she could donate her birthday money to help the homeless.

“I have been very sad, upset, and concerned about the number of homeless i see in the streets of austin and have wondered how I can help,” wrote Faivre in a letter to her family and friends informing them of her birthday wish.

after her birthday, Faivre and her

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family visited st. John neumann commissary to present her generous gift of $300 to mLF founder alan graham and volunteer coordinator ruth Dore.

“We’re just proud and please that the message is reaching young people,” says Graham. “And we’re honored to have received this gift from Anna.”

Faivre is one of dozens of chldren across the country who have raised money, donated birthday gifts or volunteered for mLF. and mLF’s message contrinues to spread. During mLF Austin’s “I AM HERE” campaign, a family of children donated their piggy banks to Danny and maggie,

A Child

the Wayby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ViCky garza

AdVOCATE

Will Lead

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

Aesop


07

the homeless couple at the focus of the fundraising effort. they personally delivered to money to Danny at the billboard along iH-35 that he was living on to raise the visibility of the homeless around us.

During the holidays, middle school students with the edge youth program at st. Francis of assisi parish in san antonio filled shoeboxes with school supplies, small toys, and goodies that they donated. the kids wrapped the boxes and wrote messages on the outside before they were distributed to children in the refugee and parish communities

served by the mLF ministry.san antonio’s st. gregory’s

elementary school has been a partner with mLF san antonio for two years. as a service project for Advent, several first grade students and their parents served on teams to help prep meals. and still another group of high school students from san antonio’s Clark High school serve monthly through their service club, interact, at the mLF kitchen. they bag desserts, sort clothes, and even clean out the fridges in the kitchen.

“We invite everyone to join us in our mission,” says Graham. “And we’re happy to be a part of these kids’ journey into philanthropy.”

MORE INFORMATION • Children are welCome to donate Cash, soCks,

LEFTOVER CANdY ANd OTHER GIFTS. LEARN ABOUT OUR MISSION AT MLFNOw.ORG

• REAd MORE ABOUT ANNA’S GIFT


http://www.mlfnow.org

http://www.mlf.org/blog/a-child-will.html

Everything I Own


When you’re homeless, you have to carry everything you own with you all the time.

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Name Not giveN, Woolridge Park, austiN, texasThis man sells The ausTin advocaTe, a bi-monThly paper wriTTen primarily by The homeless. sellers purchase The paper for 25 cenTs and are allowed To sell The paper for up To $1.

learN more about the austiN advocate

Everything I Own

www.12baskeTsmagazine.orgapril 2011

by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . monica williamsphotography by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gregg cesTaro

advocate

http://www.austinadvocate.org/

www.12basketsmagazine.orgwww.12basketsmagazine.org 06


JOHNNY BRUMMETT, wOOLRIdGE PARK, AUSTIN, TExAS

O’Brien’s photography has appeared on the covers of Texas Monthly, Life, National Geographic, ESPN, The New York Times Magazine and practically every other magazine that cares about great photography. He’s an artist whose portraits can elevate an entire magazine.

typically, o’brien’s work speaks for itself, but a new collaboration with singer, songrwriter, performer and poet tom waits takes o’brien’s work to a new level.

“Hard Ground” is some of their most inspired work. it examines up-close and in intimate detail, the human side of homelessness.

o’brien spent a minute to talk to 12 Baskets about the project:

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“The book begins in 1975, when i worked at the miami news as a staff photographer. miami had a large homeless population and i befriended a 57-year-old homeless man, John madden. i documented John’s day-to-day life...meals at the Catholic charity, jail time, drinking and living underneath the expressway. Unexpectedly, John madden died during the story and the newspaper sent me and a writer to his funeral in his hometown of manchester, georgia. that story more than others left an indelible mark...it also left something unfinished. thirty-one years passed before I approached the subject of homelessness again.”

Two artists offer a glimpse of the homeless soul.

Documented

by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiams

AdVOCATE


“I’ve known Tom for a long time and showed him some of the Polaroid photographs i was working on. He knew how much i cared about the project, and he agreed to write something. He surprised me. the poetry he wrote completely transformed the project. It gave the book another dimension. His poetry humanizes the subject of being without a home and lets the reader pick many different roads to enter the book. His poetry is beautiful and makes your heart beat hard against your chest. He’s a good friend who did me a big favor.” “In the Introduction, the picture of John

madden as an 11-year-old reframes the viewer’s perception. everyone was 11 years old once and had big dreams. tom’s poetry does the same. it grabs the reader by the

heart and asks him to view the subject from a more compassionate angle.

“I probably photographed more than 150 people. I don’t believe more than five people declined to be photographed. it is ironic that the people who have the least can often be the most generous.”

“The poetry Tom Waits wrote for the book is beautiful and makes your heart beat hard against your chest.”Michael O’Brien

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SEE PHOTOS ANd POEMS FROM HARd GROUNdwATCH VIdEO FROM HARd GROUNd BOOK SIGNING


http://pentagram.com/en/new/2011/01/new-work-hard-ground.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/mlfnow

Professor Susan whiteside of st. edward’s University in austin presented her advertising class with a challenge: Create a print advertisement for a nonprofit project in a way that would invite community support and understanding.

she gave the students two weeks to create an agency, meet with the client and come up with a logo and a print ad that would be used in the westlake Hills Presbyterian Church bulletin.

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in this case, the client was MLF and the project was Community First!, which is on a mission to lift 200 people off the street into permanent supportive housing. “They only have about two weeks,” says Whiteside, “and that really helps them to see if they perform well in this part area under pressure.”

But this was more than just a project; it was a competition. In the end, only one ad would run. the winning ad featured mocked

Students take a shot at creating a new look for Community First!

The Ad Project

by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiams

AdVOCATE

CommunityFirst!

CommunityFirst!

COMM

UNITY

FIRST!

COMM

UNITY

FIRST!

This Christmas give the gift of hope. By donating to Community First! you can not only help provide a home, but a family for those who have none. Spread a little holiday cheer and bring

faith back into someone’s life.

To change a life this Christmas visit mlfnow.org

Home for the Holidays CF!

CF!


The Ad Projectcardboard signs with positive phrases. “I thought it captured the spirit of what we were trying to do,” says Whiteside.

“As a teacher I want them to understand the process of working with an organization such as mLF. From an academic standpoint, that’s important.”

sarah mayer is a senior at st. edward’s University and part of the team that created

the winning ad. she says she was already familiar with the mLF mission.

“I did my first truck run when I was 13 years old. it was a great experience. we just researched more about Community First! and tried to get across the specific things that would help people understand what it is.”

mayer says working with the Community First! concept was more compelling than coming up with ideas for soap or a widget. “I think because just the fact that it was

directly helping someone made it more interesting,” she says.

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Give them the change they need. Over 4,000 men, women, and children are living on the streets of Austin. Community First! is a Mobile Loaves and Fishes program that aims to lift up our brothers and sisters in need. With the proper funding the chronically homeless can transition to employment, education, health, and justice. Community First! is housing the right way.

Learn more and get involved at mlfnow.org

AÊProgramÊofÊMobileÊLoavesÊandÊFishes

AÊProgramÊofÊMobileÊLoavesÊandÊFishes

IterationÊ1

IterationÊ2

Community First! Housing the right way

Community

FirstA Program of Mobile Loaves and Fishes

Samples of students’ work. The entry on the far-right was used in the bulletin.

LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRST!


http://www.mlf.org/our-work/community-first/

16 www.12basketsmagazine.orgaPriL 2011

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by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiamsphotography by . . . . . . . . . JoeL saLCiDo

FEATURE

Two men on a mission to end panhandling in Austin find common ground.



12B: why do people panhandle?

Graham First of all, i’ve never met a non-homeless panhandler. and i think one of the failures in our society is the failure of understanding what home really is. Calling someone “housed” when they live in a weekly rate motel an extraordinary stretch.

there’s no doubt that some people panhandle for drugs and alcohol. but i also don’t know anyone who is gainfully employed who goes out panhandling on a part-time basis.

Betts Panhandling in our judgment is an unacceptable behavior. but not all homeless people panhandle. alan has probably visited with more panhandlers in a more direct way. i simply experience panhandling on a daily basis because i work downtown.

“I think one of the failures in our society is the failure of understanding what home really is. Calling someone ‘housed’ when they live in a weekly-rate motel is an extraordinary stretch.” Alan Graham

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Alan Graham and Charlie Betts sat down in complete agreement on one thing: Nobody likes panhandling. graham says it is “a cancer on the skin of our community” and Betts calls it “unacceptable behavior.” As president of mobile Loaves & Fishes, graham has spent the past 13 years reaching out to homeless people with food and fellowship. betts has also been on the job for 13 years leading the Downtown austin alliance, working with a consortium of businesses, social service agencies and local governments to create a safer downtown Clearly each is motivated to reduce panhandling, and they even agree on how. but each believes they sit on different sides of the table. we sat them down on the same side of the table to talk.

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12B: So what do we do about it?

Betts one of the basic goals of Daa is for people to be safe and secure downtown. Panhandling is a public order issue that is important to us.

We often find ourselves to be the primary advocate for permanent supportive housing for the guys in the toughest situations. we have advocated strongly for permanent supportive housing for people who don’t meet the definition of “housing ready” because they may have been incarcerated, addicted, or the like. we feel that housing needs to be provided for this population, first, because it’s the humanitarian thing to do. every year about 100 to 125 people die on the streets. and secondly because these guys are a public order problem for the downtown community.

12B: But how do we get people into this housing? do we ticket them and put them in jail for panhandling?

Betts Let me just make this clear: Panhandling is not illegal all over austin; it is illegal between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. in downtown austin, but to panhandle aggressively is illegal in downtown austin at any time of day. How do we define that? That’s the problem. There’s not a real clear definition, and that’s what makes the ordinance difficult to enforce.


Graham i would agree with Charlie that is a public order issue, but changing the law is not going to change the root cause. Panhandling is that melanoma on the skin of the community. we can pass laws to ban it downtown, but that just pushes it out to the suburbs.

Betts well, not necessarily....

Graham well, that’s what i’ve witnessed. when you pass the no-sit, no-lie ordinance, a tremendous amount of homeless people began to show up in the suburbs in the community.

12B: And nobody wants panhandlers out there either. So what happens when someone is issued a citation for panhandling?

Betts that person appears before community court. the citation indicates that you will pay a fine unless you avail yourself of other options. the other options include accepting a treatment program, again trying to address the basic core problem.

Graham incidentally, that’s an enormous cost and essentially there’s no funding for treatment programs.

right now, the City of austin funds two beds for the chronically homeless at austin recovery. and then if you take that and look at the mental health needs of this city... the services are razor thin, really nonexistent.



How many chronically homeless in Austin?graham believes there are about 1,000 chronically homeless in austin, which he predicts to be between 10 to 20 percent of the entire homeless population. “But even if we bump that up to 1,500, this is still a number we can mitigate,” he says. betts adds that in downtown austin, he believes the number to be about 250.

“I believe that if we took an aggressive stance as a community, we could mitigate that problem by 50 percent right away. betts agreed: “Even a 50 percent reduction in what we’re seeing on the street corners would be a huge benefit.”

wATCH VIdEOS ABOUT wHY PEOPLE PANHANdLE

http://youtu.be/B7Oq6cZb3M8

http://youtu.be/awEyoUa4yTg


Betts i’m going to take a minute to compliment the Downtown austin alliance.

we’re working with Caritas, a downtown-based nonprofit that helps the homeless and refugees. they have embarked a program to offer permanent supportive housing for the population i’m referring to, most notably in an apartment complex called marshall apartments. these people do not necessarily engage in panhandling, but it’s this population that is involved in many public order offenses, these are habitual Class C offenders. the program would house 24 of those folks, and we have committed $50,000 per year for two years to fund a case manager.

12B: Alan, MLF has had some success trying to address some of those root causes...

Graham in austin, we have lifted 70 people up off the street in the past five years. these people have permanent supportive housing.

but clearly there are political issues for trying to get more of our work done. even with the Caritas project you mention, Charlie, there was plenty of community disgust at trying to create that permanent supportive housing for those 24 people.

Look, this is going to be a long road for our community to try to get housing placed in any real number that’s going to have an impact. i’m totally supportive of the 24, don’t get me wrong, but we’re going to 24 ourselves to death and never get there if we don’t come out swinging the bat pretty hard.

“These people don’t necessarily engage in panhandling, but it’s this population that is involved in many public order offenses, these are habitual Class C offenders.” Charlie Betts

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homeless.


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The Downtown Austin Alliance has created a number of programs to address what it feels are the root causes of panhandling.

• Through community partnerships with the City of Austin Youth Development Program and other agencies, DAA mploys people with barriers to employment to implement its street maintenance programs.

• Helped form “Know Before You Give” campaign, which is an effort to educate the public about donating to social services rather than giving money to panhandlers.

• Helped create the Community Court to provide creative and individualized sentencing for Class C misdemeanor offenders to reduce recidivism and modify offending behavior.

• Committed $100,000 to Caritas to fund a full-time case manager to handle residents of its project to offer 24 units of permanent supportive housing for the most vulnerable of the chronically

homeless.

LEARN MORE ABOUT dOwNTOwN AUSTIN ALLIANCE


http://www.downtownaustin.com/

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I will say this, having lifted up the most chronically homeless people in the gutter, deep alcoholics, crack addicts, people with very long criminal records... the unbelievable simplicity of housing itself is a miracle. And an overwhelming majority of the cases of people that we have lifted off the streets say they don’t want support. They want a house.

We have to understand that we have no choice in the United States about who gets to live next door to us. We need to get that argument off the table.

12B: So how do we get past that?

Graham My belief is that of the 24 you’re probably only going to see about five to six of those units go to that population.

12B: So if permanent supportive housing is a way

to reduce the amount of panhandling, what’s the barrier to creating more of that?

Graham I would say it’s two things: political will and the “not in my backyard” attitude.

At MLF I am ready right now and have on the ground a model—not the model, but a model—that has proven extraordinarily effective.

And we’re ready to spend the $3 to $4 million to help those 250 on the streets.

WWW.12bASkeTSMAgAzIne.orgAPrIL 2011

Betts and incidentally, the Daa has been supportive of that.

Graham we might be able to ban panhandling, but in my opinion it would move it somewhere else. or it would be moved into a different form of behavior that we don’t like, like breaking into our cars and stealing our stereos.

We’re just going to have to get housing on the ground. because i would love a downtown austin that’s free of the parasite of panhandling.

Betts and we agree on that. we certainly do.

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The Success of danny & Maggie

After last year’s “I Am Here” campaign, Danny Silver and his wife maggie were moved into an rV, providing them their first real housing in decades.

Danny and maggie were chronic alcoholics. with maggie wheelchair-bound and unable to work of care for herself, Danny was her sole source of care. while he was able to work, he was not able to leave maggie on her own on the street. since they’ve been off the streets, they’ve cut back on drinking and panhandling by 70 to 90 percent, reports graham.

“This is a great victory for them, and for us,” says Graham. “There are no cures for this problem of panhandling, but this is progress.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT dANNY ANd MAGGIE IN ISSUE #2 OF 12 BASKETS


http://www.iamheremlf.org/

The vast majority of people who sleep in shelters don’t get enough sleep.

that’s according to a 200-person survey conducted by House the Homeless in austin. the survey was conducted during the 10th annual House the Homeless thermal Underwear Drive in January 2011, with only those who had experienced shelter stays allowed to respond.

but the amount of sleep is only one measure of how rested someone might feel the next day. sleep quality is also an issue.

Scientists believe chronic sleep loss can “hasten the onset” and “increase the severity or age-related ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss,” according to the study. Not to mention the fact that people who don’t get enough quality sleep are more likely to experience depression.

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by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiams

AdVOCATE

Sick & Tired


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ABout How mAny Hours OF GOOD, solid sleep do you get eACH nigHt on AverAge?

5.1 hours

need more sleep93.1%the average for all 204 respondents.

responded they

if you Are AwAKened, How long does it tAKe you to get BACK to sleep on AverAge?over 30% responded that it takes them

1 or more hoursapproximately 2.5% responded that

they do not return to sleep at all.

do the homeless ever really sleep?Sick & Tired


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wHAt wAKes you up?

HAve you Been diAgnosed witH:

SNORING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64%LOUd TALKING. . . . . . . . . . .64%dOORS SLAMMING . . . . . . .39%TELEPHONES . . . . . . . . . . 27.5%ALARM CLOCKS. . . . . . . . . .25%TRAFFIC NOISE. . . . . . . . . 24.5%LEG PAIN/TwITCHING. . . 21.6%TRASH REMOVAL. . . . . . . 18.1%GASPING FOR BREATH . 11.3%COMPUTER ACTIVITY. . . . . .8%OTHER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3%

HIGH BLOOd PRESSURE . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 MEMORY PROBLEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 ANGER ISSUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 dIABETES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19RESTLESS LEG SYNdROME . . . . . . . . . .14 SCHIZOPHRENIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 SLEEP APNEA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 AdHd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNdROME . . . . . . . .8 CHRONIC SNORER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 SEIZURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 THE SHAKES (FEELINGS OF INSTABILITY) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 BI-POLAR dISORdER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 SCHIZOAFFECTIVE dISORdER . . . . . . . . .2dEPRESSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

miLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 moDerate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 seVere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

wHAt Keeps you from sleeping?over 51% responded that their

responded that they

10% responded that theyhear voices in their heads.

mind keeps racing.

fearhurt

over 27%

being


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wHAt wAKes you up?

HAve you Been diAgnosed witH:

SNORING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64%LOUd TALKING. . . . . . . . . . .64%dOORS SLAMMING . . . . . . .39%TELEPHONES . . . . . . . . . . 27.5%ALARM CLOCKS. . . . . . . . . .25%TRAFFIC NOISE. . . . . . . . . 24.5%LEG PAIN/TwITCHING. . . 21.6%TRASH REMOVAL. . . . . . . 18.1%GASPING FOR BREATH . 11.3%COMPUTER ACTIVITY. . . . . .8%OTHER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.3%

HIGH BLOOd PRESSURE . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 MEMORY PROBLEMS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 ANGER ISSUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 dIABETES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19RESTLESS LEG SYNdROME . . . . . . . . . .14 SCHIZOPHRENIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 SLEEP APNEA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 AdHd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNdROME . . . . . . . .8 CHRONIC SNORER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 SEIZURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 THE SHAKES (FEELINGS OF INSTABILITY) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 BI-POLAR dISORdER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 SCHIZOAFFECTIVE dISORdER . . . . . . . . .2dEPRESSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123

miLD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 moDerate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 seVere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

wHAt Keeps you from sleeping?over 51% responded that their

responded that they

10% responded that theyhear voices in their heads.

mind keeps racing.

fearhurt

over 27%

being

do you dreAm?Of the over 77% who responded yes,

over 39% haveviolentdreams72%have dreams that wake them up.

wHen you wAKe in tHe morning, DO YOU feel rested?over 68% respondednoOver 71% say they are so tired, they cannot function normally during the day.Over 50% say this feeling of fatigue lasts 3 or more days.

SEE

CO

MPL

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LTSO

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SURV

EY A

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HO

USE

TH

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HO

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ESS


http://www.housethehomeless.org/2011-health-sleep-study/

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by . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . moniCa wiLLiamsphotography by . . . . owen LaraCUente

COVER STORY

Ben Cordero, once homeless, finds his place in the world, beside a horse.

Redeemed



Two years ago, Ben Cordero, 59, was homeless and sleeping on the streets. today he lives in an rV on a parcel of land in east austin with a horse, a chicken and a few cats. He survives on a pension from the navy and the generosity of neighbors and mLF. He says, “I feel blessed.”

Cordero’s parents left him on the steps of a church in new york City when he was four years old. when he wasn’t in an orphanage, he was in and out of foster homes, never adopted.

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Can a man be saved by a horse?

www.12basketsmagazine.orgaPriL 2011 36

by the time he had aged out, ben decided to join the U.s. navy, serving long enough to merit a pension. as a civilian, he found it difficult to keep a job, despite his work ethic and construction skills. Cordero also struggled to manage his anger. He started to move around, sleeping wherever he could on his way west.

Cordero had a dream that kept him going: He wanted to be a cowboy.

When he was eight years old in the orphanage, he remembered being taken to the stables of one of the employees, he and some of the other children tasked with helping to care for the horses. “I loved being around the animals,” Ben remembers. Even as an adult, he still yearned for the purposefulness that comes from caring for animals and working outdoors. So he began a journey westward, to find work on a ranch. He wanted to be a cowboy.

He journeyed westward, to find work on a ranch. He wanted to be a cowboy.


Cordero got as far as texas. He had the help and support from Veterans affairs, but when he met mobile Loaves & Fishes, his life started to change. He took medication for his anger. He began literacy training through the mLF LiFt program. He started to volunteer with Hearts & Hooves to teach children about horses. and then he heard from a woman who had a 40-foot trailer he could fix on a patch of overgrown land past the airport east of austin. it was his to rent if he wanted it.

“it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” Cordero remembers. not long after the accepted the offer, the woman also offered her horse. she said the horse had grown too stubborn and jealous of a younger horse

and had become too difficult to ride. “Dammit, the horse was desperate for friends,” Cordero says. it was a perfect opportunity.

Cordero told the woman he’d have the five-foot grass cut in a month, a fence built, the whole plot of land transformed. Lots of previous tenants had told her that before; only ben did it. He cleared the whole space and began to work on the horse he renamed Panda. He disassembled another neighbor’s back deck for free on the grounds that they let him keep the materials. He re-used every board and every nail to create a stable for Panda. then he found out that the neighbors behind him knew quite a bit about horses, having a few of their own. so in exchange for letting them use his corral, which Cordero had also built from the ground up, he asked them to

“Dammit, the horse was desperate for friends,” Cordero says.

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teach him everything they knew about horses.

“when i got here in December, this place was grown over. a mess,” says Cordero. by February, during the coldest months of the year, he’d built his own little ranch. “the landlady gave me a chance to prove myself.”

mLF gave him an rV that was in better condition than the trailer, but Cordero still prefers to sleep outside by Panda. He’s also off his anger medication. “i know not everyone’s like this,” he says. “i’m different from everyone else. i was just born 5,000 years too late.”

He just happened upon the chicken and the cats, but there’s no way he’d kick them out. the animals give him a purpose. they require authority and calm, and ben gives that to them. “this is not me being a master to the animals,” says ben. “it’s about me being their friend.”

they’re his calling, he says. the animals were abandoned, just like him. Panda dealt with anger and overwhelming emotional issues that kept her from being who she truly was... just like him.

but Cordero’s loved her, earned her trust, given her the attention and respect she deserves. and she’s done the same for him.

LEARN MORE AbOut hOw yOu cAN hELp suppORt MLF

http://www.mlf.org/donate/


http://www.youtube.com/user/mlfnow

http://www.austinearthday.com/givefive.html

NEWS FROM OuR MiNiStRiESMLF REPORT:

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hOMELEss REsOuRcE FaiRSt. Edward’s university students organized a “Reach Out” Homeless Resource Fair on April 2, to link homeless individuals and families with community resources. the event, held at St. ignatius Martyr Catholic Church, offered hot meals, bus passes, massages, backpacks and more.

ON ThE sTREETs iN ausTiN Past homeless resource fairs have served hundreds of Austin-area homeless with hair-cuts, showers and warn meals.


by ViCKY GARZA

WWW.12bASKEtSMAGAZiNE.ORGAPRiL 2011

SAN ANTONIOserVing reFUgees

For the past year, the main focus for mLF san antonio has been serving the needy refugee communities resettled by Catholic Charities, archdiocese of san antonio. mLF has been delivering meals to the apartment complexes that house refugees from all over the middle east, north africa, and asia. mLF teams have also been serving at Haven for Hope - Prospects Courtyard, a joint venture between the City of San Antonio and several charitable organizations to address the needs of the homeless community in san antonio.

mLF san antonio is in need of volunteers to step up to fill core positions, such as bakery coordinator, clothing coordinator, and treasurer. the organization is also in need of volunteers to help with food preparation and delivery.TO HELP, CONTACT TANA KOUdELKA

news From oUr ministriesMLF REPORT:

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mailto:[email protected]

NEw ORLEANSmarking its growtH

To celebrate its fifth anniversary, Trinity episcopal Church honored past and present mLF new orleans volunteers during a sunday morning service, followed by a reception with mLF fare. Commemorating the five years MLF trucks have been serving the people of

the community was a write-up in the local paper, the times-Picayune.

in addition to adding new volunteers, the community has also added a sixth delivery day

to the schedule at the start of its sixth year. the truck is now out monday through saturday distributing meals and, occasionally, clothing, toiletries, and other items to the homeless and volunteer groups still helping people affected by Hurricane katrina.

this community continues to look for new sites to send the truck and also new organizations with which to partner. TO HELP, CONTACT CLAIRE dEBOw

LEARN MORE AT www.MLFNOw.ORG Get more news from the affiliates, find out about new programs and volunteer opportunities, and donate.

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ON THE STREETS IN NEw ORLEANS Volunteers keep the ministry growing. new orleans has recently expanded its program, now delivering six days a week.



PROVIdENCE, RIPartnering For a sPeCiaL Day

Volunteers geared up for a busy inaugural rhode island mitzvah Day on march 13. the Jewish alliance of greater rhode island partnered with many other local agencies for this day of social responsibility and kindness. ‘mitzvah’ is derived from the Jewish word for ‘commandment.’

the ministry is made up of five churches working together to feed the homeless people of rhode island. they are out on wednesdays, saturdays, and sundays delivering food and hope. TO HELP, CONTACT MICHAEL NAdEAU

news From aCross tHe CoUntryMLF REPORT:

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ON THE STREETS IN RHOdE ISLANdVolunteers pitch in on the inaugural mitzvah Day, making hundreds of sandwiches and taking them out across Providence.



ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLISeVent raises $20,000+ For ministry

after delivering over 20,000 meals and 150 truck runs, mLF st. Paul has learned a lot in its first year of service. Due to challenging weather conditions this winter, some trucks had to cancel their runs, leaving their locations very disappointed. but, thanks to the ingenuity of several volunteers, they streamlined the distribution process so that the food did not freeze and the people they served were not out in the cold long. the hot sandwiches and beverages have been well received and, as always, socks, toiletries, and warm clothing have been flying off the truck.

mLF st. Paul is excited to announce that a recent invitation-only benefit that included speakers, music, and a great italian meal raised over $20,000. However, the organization continues to look for new ways to raise funds to increase its nights of service.TO HELP, CONTACT KAREN wALdRON

SEE MLF IN ACTION ON YOUTUBE watch, comment, share and subscribe to get the newest videos of our mission at work. www.MLFNOw.ORG

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I’m not a civil rights attorney, but as far as I can tell it is illegal to allow only certain people in your neighborhood.

we are not allowed to discriminate against people because they are black, white, mentally retarded, poor, overweight, balding, or any other human characteristic. so why is it okay that, in 2011, we still allow people to refuse a certain population from living in their neighborhood?

i’m here to tell you, it’s not okay. as far as i’m concerned, we need to take that entire argument off the table. i’m not proposing that we don’t give neighborhood associations a voice; rather, i’m saying that the neighborhood associations cannot prohibit a certain population from living there.

and yet, when we talk to people about Community First!, our proposal to offer 200

by . . . . . aLan graHam, PresiDent,

mobiLe LoaVes & FisHes

Zoning HumanBeings


units of permanent supportive housing to the chronically homeless in Austin, the first thing we hear is, “Not in my backyard.”

the fact is each of us is an unwelcome visitor in somebody else’s neighborhood. so here’s where compassion comes into play.

now, i realize we can’t zone for compassion either. we are not allowed by law to force people to think of themselves less and the community as a whole more. but somewhere between our natural human instinct, the law and what’s best for your neighborhood is a place for our brothers and sisters who are suffering and dying—at

a rate of more than 100 a year in austin—on the streets of our city.

research has shown that, in neighborhoods that have offered permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless, neither the crime rate nor home values have been affected. so what it comes down to here is an opportunity. your opportunity.

you and your neighbors have the opportunity to show someone your compassion, intelligence and trust—the same that any good neighbor would offer you.

Permanent supportive housing can and does save lives. i hope if it comes to you that you’ll take the opportunity to speak up for permanent supportive housing in your neighborhood.

Beings“You and your neighbors have the opportunity to show someone your compassion, intelligence and trust—the same that any good neighbor would offer you.”

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LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY FIRST!



http://www.mlf.org/our-work/community-first/

http://www.giverealtyaustin.com/

12 baskets magazine april 2011

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