Homeless in San Diego

Homeless San Diego resident offers a unique solution to homelessness in the city

In an effort to help those in need, humanitarian Orlando Barahona has proposed an emergency housing plan he calls Las Casitas Tiny Homes Village. The housing plan calls for the creation of a small colony of houses that can be used as transitional homes for homeless men and women including their children. The Village will also serve as a place where medical help, casework, and possibly specialized job training can be obtained on-site for the homeless community.

In “A Homeless Voice,” a short film by Brooks Venters, Barahona talks about how his life as a freelance web designer and graphic artist changed when he became homeless after losing his biggest clients. He then suffered from substance abuse and was admitted into programs off and on. Considering himself to be a secular humanist, Barahona also found it difficult to find help in a religious-based program, saying in the film “Am I supposed to just, you know, pray my anxiety away? That’s not going to work for me, I need to talk to a professional.” After learning he was HIV positive, he sought medical treatment which proved difficult to get, thus leaving him unconvinced that the programs in place were meeting his needs. The 24-minute film also takes a look into the housing plan and how he got the idea. “A Homeless Voice” is the first film by Venters, a digital marketing associate from Oceanside.

In a business plan outline sent to The Mesa Press by Barahona, estimates for the village are set at $1,520 per home. The cost is based on a previously made small house village in Canada for which this plan draws inspiration from. An official prototype has not been designed yet, but the idea would be small inexpensive and portable “pods” that tenants can take with them once they have accumulated enough public service hours or paid for themselves after finding employment. Owning a portable house could be considered an incentive for people to volunteer and participate in the program.
Submitting his idea to a design contest for nonprofit developers and organizations was also suggested as a way to design the first prototype and get public funding, as made possible through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. The act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, provides federal funding to programs that support the homeless.

A representation of what Las Casitas would be like. Courtesy of Orlando Barahona.

After contacting a nonprofit developer, Barahona was told by the potential partner that the proper research would be conducted in order to have a proposal and application submitted by the deadline for the competition. The deadline passed in September with no help from the other party, leaving Barahona without a developer or contractor to help with the project.
The first priority of the housing plan would be to provide transportation to health programs or work sites for tenants. An area in Oceanside is being considered due to its close proximity to law enforcement and a local hospital. As an alternative, large trucks could be converted into mobile units that could then provide those services as well as casework or job training for residents. These mobile units could also be reused and sent to other locations that need them.

The village would have a park or rest area, security post, and a central tower where showers, a dining hall, and other basic living accommodations can be fulfilled for those living there.
Barahona is currently in a transitional housing program. More information on him and his cause can be found on his blog hisd.life, and “A Homeless Voice” is now available to stream for free on YouTube.

This Article was first published at The Mesa Press in San Diego.
Image one: Courtesy of Brooks Venters
Image Two: Courtesy of Orlando Barahona

This work by HISD.Life is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

Remarkable for its frankness and the often unheard-of point of view from professionals in the field. This is a re-post I had to share with you. Reproduced with permission.

From the Eye of the Social Worker

"Oh...well, thanks for what you do, the world needs more of you"

"Oh...there's not a lot of money in that, huh?"

"I could never do that!"

Many people consider social work as a job that "I can't do". Not "I" as in me, I as in you! (or, them, whatever). Truthfully, empathy is harder to grapple with than sympathy. Most people are conditioned to say the buzz words, but often times flip-flop based on their audience (i.e. white folks while trying to give their opinion on police violence towards minorities). For the record, I am a white male who is 30...and I use that example because I've routinely heard folks switch their arguments from "cops are just doing their job" or "do what the cop says then!" to...."there is a serious issue with police profiling" and "man, something needs to change in this racist world".

Since the mid-1980's, HIV newly-diagnosed rates have stagnated. 40K new infected individuals every single year, on a national level. So, is what I do important? Or am I sucking your tax dollars up and not providing you with a public health service? If you are raising a kid (or kids), or in my case a puppy, keeping things on an even keel takes considerable work.

Sometimes, if we can put a cap on behavior or keep things stagnant, longevity is more easily achieved. One would think that decreasing numbers are necessary to validate social work. In reality, what we are saying by using that rhetoric is: It shouldn't be difficult to change someone's sexual behavior. If you subscribe to that, ask yourself, have you disclosed everything to partners? Have they disclosed anything to you? If you've had over 15 partners, and no one has mentioned anything as minor as Chlamydia, then consider yourself a statistical outlier....or perhaps you've been lied to and been lucky...or perhaps you haven't figured out how to disclose, even to yourself.

When you're dealing with an amazingly intelligent virus such as HIV (I say that from the view of a scientist who just discovered how the virus has cloaked themselves as a CD4 cell), it's important to understand that it's not HIV that will kill you, rather, it's your immune system that is more susceptible to any other type of virus or infection. Without going deep into the realms of the negatives, I want to discuss the second stigma that often is missed, not just in my field but in general: Mental Health.

Diagram of the HIV virion

The world we live in is bat-shit crazy if you think about it. No matter what we do, a screen is in our face. We place value on our perception through words and pictures. Our face-to-face value, shoot, even our verbal communication is spiraling into non-existence. I think that's why people increasingly tell me that they couldn't do my job. Maybe it's like the stigma of being a teacher, you know, the 'ol "If you can't do, teach" or whatever that dumb ass phrase says.

It's no wonder teenagers have anxiety, and I have anxiety even thinking about the amount of anxiety. We trust so many things that we don't even understand. Do you even know how radio, television, internet, wi-fi, and cell phone waves get through our bodies to their destinations? I feel like that can't be good in the long run. The same applies to sucking all of the black gold (oil) from the center of the earth. Something tells me that the earth needs that, kind of like our car engine needs lubrication. I wonder if anyone ever thought about the core of the earth acting like an engine...and without its oil, it may grind to a halt. There's that anxiety again.

A lot of what I see is depression, and it makes sense after you're told you have a life-long task ahead of you (daily medicine, lifestyle changes, having to navigate your sex life with a scarlet letter). I have major empathy for that, and I understand that kind of depression. The other type of depression, in a non-clinical observation, has to do with our understanding of the world. We are cultural beings, and cultures are constantly being labeled, separating us as a whole. The YOUniverse, which is why I titled my blog as such, can be accessed, to our ability, with an internet connection. That means that YOU can actually form an opinion without any wisdom or real-world experience. That's dangerous...and depressing (in my opinion).

I ask my clients what the point of their life is. They often tell me "survival". That's an animalistic response, because most animals, including us, are surviving. If you don't agree, stop thinking about just the United States. The other natural answer you'd expect is to be happy...or loved...or to procreate. My clientele is mostly homosexual, so you see less of procreation being listed as the priority of a happy life. Interestingly, I have many clients who are barely surviving, and can't find a place to sleep, but also tell me "If my dog can't come with me, I won't go. He/She is everything to me". My gut tells me "Dude, your homeless. Forget about the dog, you're sleeping on the streets!". In reality, they've already thought about that, much like suicidal people have already thought about how their death would affect you....so mayyybe don't remind them that they are selfish....or that their lives matter. That's the last thing you can do... (we've entered a segue)...rather, ask them if they have a plan. Be blunt with them. Ask them when they are going to do it, and how. Do they have the gun or knife, do they know where they will leave the note, or where to cut themselves. Trust me on this, the more blunt you are, the better chance you have of saving someone. They've already heard the basic-ass shit you're bloviating when you baby talk them (OK, rant over).

So here's the deal: This blog will be random. But it will be thoughtful, and I will spend a lot of time on it. If it helps you, that's great. If it makes you question things, that's better. All blogs are somewhat self-serving, and this is no exception. I plan on using it to help me be more precise in my opinions and thoughts, and in response, I'm going to assume that everyone has their own story that might possibly intertwine with mine at different crosshairs.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Text: © Life of Dal - Reproduced with permission.

Image of the diagram of the HIV virion by © Thomas Splettstoesser (www.scistyle.com) - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38751738

All other images courtesy of © Life of Dal

Can you and I save the homeless people of San Diego?

By Orlando Barahona

I’m Orlando Barahona, a Peer Support Specialist, homeless outreach volunteer and activist against homelessness living in San Diego, CA. After enduring a harrowing time as a destitute man in this city, I promised myself I would do all I could to spare others the despair and humiliation that befalls the homeless.

For the past three years, I’ve done some extensive research for a housing plan I developed and named it Las Casitas Tiny Homes Village. I am now sharing it via Dropbox, so download it and share it with others. It includes a self-funding device that would save taxpayers yet another heap of taxes.

Can you and I affect change by reaching out to decision-makers in San Diego? This is the account of my journey.

The Bureaucracy of San Diego

I’d like to taunt you with the concept of demanding accountability from those who govern this great city. Civic duty is an imperative to affect change in this city, in this century for a problem older than history. Please show up and vote on important issues when given the opportunity.

Have you noticed how bureaucratic meetings “open to the public” take place during regular business hours, from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., when everyone else is working? I have the unrelenting suspicion that these officious creatures have surreptitiously taken power from voters. Demand change or forever follow orders.

When a city cannot keep talented entrepreneurs in its portfolio of assets to bring on prosperity from industry, what is there left to do? Well, that’s what Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, and Ryan White funds are for! Why bother fostering new uncertain business ventures, when big non-profits can write and submit their grants in the sordid business of receiving federal subsidies out of others’ misery? Management of the homeless unquestionably creates jobs and the source is inexhaustible, for there will always be people suffering mental challenges and there must be someone to arrest and levy fines on.

You Can’t Handle the Proof

Here is a definition of the expression “to throw someone under the bus” and the prelude to exactly what I’ll do right after it:

“’To throw (someone) under the bus’ is an idiomatic phrase in American English meaning to sacrifice a friend or ally for selfish reasons. It is typically used to describe a self-defensive disavowal and severance of a previously-friendly relationship when the relation becomes controversial or unpopular.” From Wikipedia

I reached Tina Kessler, assistant real estate manager at the Real Estate Department of the San Diego Housing Commission and followed up with correspondence to Suket Dayal, who directed me to Melissa Peterman, vice president of the Homeless Housing Innovations Department at the San Diego Housing Commission.

Peterman did not have the professional courtesy of typing a “Hello” in her reply; she hastily copied and pasted the link to an annual report for the agency and it wasn’t until I filed a formal complaint in writing and in person at the SDHC headquarters that she answered the phone properly. My last contact with the SDHC was with Ralph Tharp, senior contract and procurement analyst for the organization.

The SDHC officials’ idea of required procedures to reach them for an audience involved a rather circuitous route involving expenditures funded by my inadequate money reserves to incorporate either a non-profit or a Section 3 business, then to hire a grant-writer, followed by a registration in a web portal where they would review the proposal. Hmm.

How do you assemble an estimate of a project that would involve logistics between several government agencies and non-profits, research from commercial real estate management companies, architects and engineers without the promise of any profits or payment for their time to produce an estimate, also without access to proprietary data from each one? You don’t. Nay, you can’t.

A better experience was had when I contacted the Oceanside Housing Authority. I was able to meet with Margery Pierce, director of Neighborhood Services Department. She gave it to me straight between the eyes: most of the money available in block grants from HUD is allocated first to ongoing projects, and non-profits are the sharks I would be up against in my quest for funding for my project.

Since I was getting not much from the SDHC, I proceeded to execute Plan B, contacting Caltrans. I shot an email over to Will Shuck at the Department of Transportation (D.O.T.), who in turn had Karen Brewster, special projects manager for Caltrans shoot back an email with information on how to spend my non-existent money on an encroachment permit, all so I could advocate settling the tiny homes around central buildings with restrooms and parking lots in the Aliso Creek and Alpine rest stops.

That was the end of the correspondence from Caltrans.

I was introduced to Peter Seidler through a mutual acquaintance online. During our conversation, he declared he did not know enough about the homeless situation to proceed with any plans.

Stacie Spector’s email marked the moment when I decided to make a pause in my pursuit of an audience with government officials.

The Press

How does a bewildered homeless man go about raising awareness of an issue by arousing popular opinion? Let’s backtrack a little on the calendar to Jan. 29, 2016.

Morgan Hurley at the San Diego Downtown News published the first piece I wrote after the final draft was submitted. Fast-forward to Bill Adams, who became interested in my proposal for a synergy with UrbDeZineand I became a contributor.

Dan McSwain at the San Diego Union Tribune reminded me of the ruthless motto “money talks and bullsh*t walks”:

A couple of recent news items look promising: The tents, for example. By the way, Sunbreak Ranch would require $15 million dollars in set-up costs, and an annual operating budget of $50 million dollars per year to run, or such is the wish of George Mullen.

There’s also news about legislation that would favor “junior companion units“, which is far more aligned with my plight for tiny housing. Not shelters, people! Houses. Janet Ashforth of Habitats Tiny Homes in Escondido has also met with regulations that seem to impede progress for tiny housing.

I derive little hope from the prospect of the tents potentially being managed and serviced by Father Joe’s Villages. I would much prefer Community Research Foundation’s and the VA’s more comprehensive support systems to assist in healing so many broken people.

The biggest mistake made during this effort to effect change was to lone-wolf it. I won’t stop my activism, but I am entitled to a respite from so much psychic pain during my education in housing for the poor.

Get involved. Vote. Leave ratings on Google Maps for the world to see who you’re dealing with.

I’m Orlando Barahona and I’m still a seeker and a shipwrecked soul looking for a solution to homelessness in San Diego, CA.

Originally published at the San Diego Free Press website: https://sandiegofreepress.org/2017/08/san-diego-bureaucracy-vs-the-homeless-people/
Email correspondence screen captures: Orlando Barahona/V-69
Photo Credits:
Image 1: Theo Kase/Flickr
Image 2: Ralph Kranzlein/Flickr
Image 3: David Valenzuela/Flickr

As I approach my third year in California, and especially because today is a Sunday, I have decided to list the activating events, challenges, misfortunes, insights gained and triumphs that have propelled me down the rabbit hole and into an increasingly wondrous chaos of Recovery in San Diego.

Vista, CA. Orlando arrives in San Diego in August of 2014 and stays at his middle sister’s place for 2 months – Kicked out.

My middle sister’s Middle Sister Syndrome. My father’s features on my face to remind her of his betrayal subconsciously. Her full Type 2 Bipolar Disorder, un-medicated. Today I harbor no more resentments toward her, now that she moved to Las Vegas. This wouldn’t be the end of my love for her as a sister, but I wish to never see her again.

Anxiety is the drive that causes me to execute the directive to self-destruct from fear of further pain.

Oceanside, CA. First hospitalization for intoxication and suicidal ideations at Tri-City Hospital for 10 days in November 2014. Released to:

South Bay Area, CA. Isis Crisis Center, renamed Del Sur Crisis Center/CRF in 2017. 12 days in November 2014.

Depression lives in the past and Anxiety in the future.

Referred to:

Carlsbad, CA. La Posada de Guadalupe (men’s shelter) / Catholic Charities. 4 months, from 2014 to 2015.

This stop on my hellish experience in the downward spiral sparked the creation of a housing plan and its employment division when I noticed the disproportionate amount of drug addicts and ex-convicts versus men with a mental challenge who lived in a state of disappointment, so much to do with the dearth of employers who would hire any of us. I applied for a position at Interfaith Community Services. More about that later.

Vista, CA. Choices (residential rehab in Vista) – 4 months in 2015.

I must thank Delcy, the sales rep of a pharmacy in Northern California who both provided me with the stability of meds delivered at the shelter for my various physical and mental ailments and directed me to my first Case Manager, Rafaela. Rafaela used to dance for Prince on his tours! She called and made the referral to the program.

Much of my street slang and attitudes were exponentially enriched when I was exposed to the mixed demographics that made up the population of this program: AB 109 ex-convicts, self-paid clients, Ryan White-funded clients and clients with varying degrees of sexual identities.

Oh, the personalities! Most of the counselors were addicts in Recovery, most extremely unpleasant and rough. The unjust promotions of the worst possible offenders to positions of Management in the four Houses owned by the company and the favoritism for self-funded clients left me baffled and irate.

However, this experience came with some hilarious moments, all sprinkled from various people and at random times of the day. One ex-meth chemist was on parole and served as a counselor for us wayward souls in a bargain with the State of California. During the peak of the better times, his quotations included the best advice I’ve ever laughed at. He said: “If you cannot get someone to pay for your hotel room for a night or two, your hustle is weak!”

The fun ended bitterly after four months of receiving dictums from high school dropouts-turned-philosophers against my will. They took on the task of “showing me how to live” in a sobriety I grew to hate. Vodka had never tasted better than the day I walked out of my “house” of idiots.

OH, don’t let me forget to tell you that their Program Director at the time went on to lose his license and faced jail time for propositioning a male prostitute who bargained with him to enter the program for the fifth time for another round of “Recovery”.

Vista, CA. Stays again at middle sister’s place to work things out for 2 weeks in 2015. Kicked out again.

You would think I learned from my first encounter with the woman’s rage, but I stumbled again. I begged Rafaela again for help desperately. The kindness of strangers… Rafaela received an approval to release emergency funds via Townspeople to cover one month’s stay in the sober living “colony” of four interconnected homes.

Vista, CA for 1 month of required Recovery meetings and lots of preaching in 2015.

I was not expelled because of a relapse; loneliness brought on the need for human contact and I was caught receiving fellatio from an acquaintance by another tenant in the room I shared with two other guys. Oops.

“To understand Recovery, you must know what you are recovering from.”

— Steve K.

Hillcrest, CA. Second hospitalization for suicidal ideations. 7 days in 2015.

I define Chronic Depression as a daily call from Earth to make me its own, to return to dust. Every day, I choose to live.

Released to:

San Diego, CA. 5 days in 2015.

Great news arrived suddenly at the wrong time! Interfaith had conducted a background check and after a second interview, they hired me! Unfortunately, this wonderful event interfered with my treatment at the crisis center. I exited the facility against professional advice and I went on to yet another new beginning.

Employment at Interfaith Community Services

Carlsbad, CA. 1 month in late 2015.

My trial employment period ended when I exited the program and the money I was paid (12.50/hr. part-time, no benefits) simply could not fit for the expenses of a monthly bus pass, a shared room and food. Desperation made its appearance in my timeline again.

The outrage and my resentment over enduring the rotten conditions at the men’s shelter compelled me to reach out to a few people in different government agencies, asking for information on how to affect radical changes in housing for the poor.

During my sessions of computer use at the Carlsbad Library (excellent job on the building!) I began to connect the dots, to trace the money for housing development. I sent an email to the San Diego Housing Commission later that year after a little more torture.

Behind my disappointments now lies pessimism, but not all was bleak in those days because I had begun a transformation, a change of careers into Mental Healthcare.

It is during waiting periods that I pick up literature of various kinds from kiosks or coffee tables and the turning point that launched my new career in Mental Healthcare came when I took a brochure announcing courses in mental wellness at my first haven of mental recovery, the Mariposa Clubhouse before my intake. In it was information about the W.R.A.P. (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) class taught by instructors from Recovery Innovations International. That course was the key to Peer Employment Training. More about that later.

Escondido, CA. Third hospitalization for a panic attack and suicidal ideations. 7 days in 2016.

Do you ever start to believe that life doesn’t want you?

After Adrian, my Case Worker at Owen Clinic advocated for my entry into a long-term program, I was released into:

La Mesa, CA. HIV+ transitional housing program – 3 months, from 2015-2016. Historical note: the house in which I stayed served as a hospice for AIDS patients in the 80’s.

Alas, this stop would be brief as well. I shared a room with a man whose sole focus was in helping his severely schizophrenic friend by allowing him to sleep beside his bed, after staff completed bed checks. This I would find out when I woke to the panting and alarming body spasms my roommate’s friend had one midnight. The result was a panic attack from my roommate’s threats to accuse me of sexual advances if I did not keep the facts of that night to myself and my subsequent exit from the program for consuming a handful of Klonopin pills to calm down the irrational fear gripping me and its consequences.

One curious insight came to me after I filed to appeal the decision of the Program Director at the time and had a meeting at the St. Vincent de Paul (as it was known until last year) offices located in the Villa Harvey Mandel building on Imperial Avenue in Downtown San Diego: even during what you’d call a “blackout” I was functional! The cameras in the house caught me as I became an increasingly “touchy-feely” guy and this was great news for me! Why? Because I don’t become Jeffrey Dahmer when my subconscious takes over. I was thrilled, but homeless yet again.

Oceanside, CA. Fourth hospitalization for a panic attack and suicidal ideations for 10 days in early 2016. Released to:

Oceanside, CA. 10 days in early 2016

I have continued to put myself in harm's way because of a deep-rooted shame. The origin of my anger can be traced back to my frustration over being helpless as a child during the first domestic violence episode with my parents.

2016 saw two more hospitalizations. Couch-surfing. Employment. A documentary. Three crisis centers. "Camping out in nature" between programs...

Golden Hill, CA. July 2017 - October 2017

You would think I knew by now not to trust her. She offered a room in her garage she was building for the purpose of healing and moving on with our lives, but instead, her Bipolar disorder turned her again into the monster I've grown to hate and she kicked me out in the cold again.

-------------------------------------------------------

1. Morning meditation: Envision the entire day as desired, then create a contingency plan.

2. Kegel exercises and stretching.

3. Shower & chores.

4. Anger prevention checklist:

Acceptance.
Good manners.
Ask myself if I am all right.
The intention to be thoughtful of others.
Be in the moment.
Close my eyes and express quiet gratitude to The Energy surrounding me.

5. Achieve one or two of the short-term goals listed in the client plan per day.

6. Learn one new word per day.

7. Clean shoes at the end of the day and sprinkle talcum powder in them when available.

8. Practice breathing exercises.

9. Rest.

10. Repeat.

What’s playing in my Obama phone's flash card at the moment? A selection of mp3s from almost every decade since the Twenties from these artists (in no particular order):

Air ▪ Soul II Soul ▪ Billie Holiday ▪ Ella Fitzgerald ▪ Cocteau Twins ▪ Lisa Stansfield ▪ Grace Jones ▪ Black Box ▪ The Police ▪ Prince ▪ Alpha ▪ Belanova ▪ Goldfrapp ▪ Soulsearcher ▪ Thievery Corporation ▪ Eurythmics ▪ Samantha Fox ▪ Duran Duran ▪ Astrud Gilberto ▪ Mecano ▪ Chet Baker ▪ Bananarama ▪ Scissor Sisters ▪ Peaches ▪ Ludacris ▪ Tiësto ▪ Les Nubians ▪ Philip Glass ▪ The Bloodhound Gang ▪ Veldt ▪ Curve ▪ Lana Del Rey ▪ p.j. harvey and about five more.

Epilogue

At the time of the publication of this post I will have been back from the brink of oblivion for a solid fifty-two days. Having the companionship and the searching spirit of my peers has been less of a challenge to enjoy than during other residential recovery periods. I’m attending Recovery meetings at The Alano Club in Golden Hill and Dharma Bum Temple in University Heights.

I’m Orlando and I’m still a seeker and a shipwrecked soul looking for a solution to homelessness in San Diego, CA. I'm still curious to know how my story ends.

Image: V-69 Digital Marketing

Homeless San Diego resident offers a unique solution to homelessness in the city

This work by HISD.Life is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

From the Eye of the Social Worker