August 24, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Can you spare some kindness?

by Jocelyn Dong

Clad in a baggy zipped sweatshirt, jeans and a knit Raiders cap, 56-year-old Sue perched on upside-down milk crates in front of the University Avenue Walgreens last week, a cardboard sign and white paper cup at her feet.

"Good morning," she called out to passersby in hopes of a little sympathy.

A white-haired couple walked past, eyes fixed ahead, and ignored her greeting.

To local business owners and downtown shoppers, Sue -- and people like her -- represent a conundrum.

Perennial loiterers who approach people for money, nap on city benches and sit on the sidewalks are nuisances who detract from the upscale ambience of University Avenue, some merchants said. Other people, however, contend the downtown regulars are in need of a helping hand -- not a hardened attitude.

The homeless in downtown embody an ongoing frustration for merchants and property owners, a problem that several groups are now hoping to ease. But the situation is complex, involving a host of psychological, societal and legal factors that defy easy or quick solutions.

Loitering and aggressive panhandling were ranked as one of downtown's top three issues of concern, according to a survey by the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association last fall. Business people cited cleanliness and parking limits as other high-priority concerns, but loitering and panhandling received the most votes as an "urgent" concern.

The disgust of local shoppers is readily apparent. When a Weekly reporter asked people along University Avenue which issues should be addressed in the City Council election, resident Greg Rabb cited the homeless and loiterers.

"We should run them out of town. You've got people doing drugs in the parks and public places. It's unreal. They hang out all over downtown and get wasted," he said.

Property owner Chop Keenan got so sick of dealing with people sleeping in his buildings at night he hired a security guard. It hasn't helped during the daytime, however.

"They walk down the street and pee in front of my window all the time. That's not someone who is down on their luck; they have a mental-health disease," he said. "No one wants to see anti-social behavior. That turns off shoppers and it turns off downtown workers. ... It affects people's willingness to come downtown."

Keenan acknowledges that the problem is complex.

"I'm not so presumptuous as to say I've got the answer on homelessness. Society is having a hard time coming to grips with it," he said.

Still, at a recent meeting of the city's retail-attraction committee, Keenan called for a greater police presence in downtown, and enforcement of the "sit/lie" ordinance.

The city regulation states, "No person shall sit or lie down upon the public sidewalk, or upon a blanket, chair, stool, or any other object placed upon the public sidewalk adjacent to either side of University Avenue ... during the hours between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m."

Asked if Keenan's ever seen a police officer patrolling downtown, he admitted he hadn't -- despite the headquarters being located two blocks off University. But homeless people and police say officers do cover the area. Sue listed off which were "nice" and which ones weren't.

In a way, it's ironic that people worry the homeless -- or the "unhoused" as some prefer to say (see sidebar) -- will harm business, when the University Avenue district is having its best sales in two years, according to tax figures from earlier this year.

But perhaps that economic boom is part of what's exacerbating tensions. When more shoppers come downtown, there are that many more individuals rubbing shoulders with loiterers, the reasoning goes. This summer, downtown promotional events, such as Dine Downtown and Friday Art Walks, have been drawing crowds.

According to Police Chief Lynne Johnson, the good weather not only brings out more shoppers, it attracts more homeless.

"Usually during the summer months we get more complaints from business folks downtown that they're having more issues with the unhoused, be it sleeping in the doorways, defecating or urinating. Sometimes they'll come in the morning and find a person sleeping in the doorway," she said.

"Recently we've gotten complaints about panhandling. There have been violations of the sit/lie ordinance," Johnson said, adding that panhandling is within a person's free-speech rights.

Beefing up the police presence downtown is planned, but the department's short-staffed by six officers right now. A full patrol force would include 44 staff.

"We'll have a couple more in a month," Johnson said, and both pedestrian and bike patrol officers will be assigned to downtown.

As challenging as the situation may be to merchants, the frustration isn't one-sided. The reluctance of business people to help out -- or their willingness to complain -- contributes to the problem, say advocates for the homeless.

For one thing, lumping all homeless people in one category isn't right. According to a survey conducted by the Community Working Group last fall, there were about 190 people who were either without housing or who were "at risk" for becoming homeless in the city.

Nearly half of the homeless are depressed, but only 16 percent said they have a serious mental illness. Fifteen percent said they used illicit drugs and about 18 percent admitted to drinking regularly.

Advocates for the homeless acknowledge that some people's behavior is downright obnoxious. Sue, the homeless woman, agreed that some men and women do yell -- but it's at themselves, not others.

Norm Carroll, a formerly unhoused man who now supervises the new Downtown Streets Team, estimated the problematic people number fewer than 12.

He quibbled, however, with the idea that they are necessarily homeless.

"Some of the more aggressive panhandlers are residents of Casa Olga. There's a guy who owes me $12 and a half-carton of cigarettes," said Carroll, who has no hope of being repaid.

"Their mere presence is annoying to people on the street. It annoys the merchants and makes it tough on those (homeless) who are trying to not be annoying," Carroll said. "It adds to the problem for those who are trying to survive without being an impediment to anyone else's sensibility. That's an albatross around their own neck."

Carroll, who is also a City Council candidate this fall, moved into the Palo Alto Hotel last December through a program called "Off the Streets."

"There are people who are here at the Palo Alto Hotel who are really pissed that they were unhoused and they got stamped with that kind of image that belongs to other people. It's annoying. It's like saying everybody who works for a high-tech company is a geek with a pocket protector," Carroll said.

Those who favor giving the homeless a hand say businesspeople and shoppers have to be willing to see them as people, not problems.

Faith Bell, owner of Bell's Books, has been involved with helping the homeless for years. It all started when she found out people with life-threatening illnesses were living in tents, and tried to get them housing at local hotels. She went on to advocate for the city to install the green self-cleaning restrooms downtown. She's also aided a number of people, even giving a few guys odd jobs.

It's clear from speaking with Bell that not only does she know several of the downtown regulars, she cares for them. When customers have expressed discomfort over seeing some people hanging around on the street, Bell has taken the shoppers outside to make introductions.

"That little step is crossing the great divide. People who are shopping don't have an ongoing relationship with them. They're not on your street every day," Bell said. "It all starts with a personal interaction."

Other merchants do what they can, from the business owner who reportedly allows a couple to sleep in the building at night to a restaurateur who gives away leftover food after closing.

Amos, store manager of the Subway Restaurant, has established a friendship with one homeless man, Victor.

Every Friday, Subway employees give Victor a free sandwich and drink, in exchange for his help with lifting heavy bags of garbage into the rear Dumpster. Victor also arranges the outdoor chairs and tables in the mornings, clearing away any garbage.

"He's a very special homeless (man)," Amos said. "We really feel for him."

Although Amos does try to ease life for other homeless people during the warm summer months, giving them cups and ice water, he said they don't expect sandwiches for free.

Overall, he finds the homeless population harmless, recalling only one or two incidents in two years in which someone caused a problem.

"It hasn't bothered us. They have a good level of self-control," he said, while adding that he hopes it will stay that way.

If there's a glimmer of hope that an intractable situation will change, it may be the Downtown Streets Team, launched in May by the Palo Alto Downtown group and Springboard Forward, a nonprofit career-development center.

Under the program, eight men supervised by Carroll carry out such tasks as sweeping and washing the downtown sidewalks and planting flora in tree wells. In addition, workers are supposed to make the downtown district safer by reporting disruptive or illegal activities to the police.

The ultimate goal of the program is to give workers the job skills, social services and experience needed to move on to other employment.

So far, the team has been working in morning and afternoon shifts, Wednesday through Sunday. In return, they receive vouchers.

Marc Dickow, owner of Jungle Digital Imaging, is the chair of the Downtown Streets Committee.

"The people on the team have been really great. They've gone through resume writing. One has gotten a job. ... Some aren't interested in that, but they want to be a part of something. It gives them a sense of self-worth," Dickow said.

The hope, said Eileen Richardson, program director for Palo Alto Downtown, is to expand the effort, adding an evening and even a late-night shift while also covering additional downtown streets.

Although some merchants -- and homeless -- were skeptical of the program initially, Richardson said people are starting to come around. The cleanliness of the streets has impressed business owners, while the sense of ownership the team members have over their blocks have been inspirational to other homeless men and women.

"Now they're banging on the door" to participate, Richardson said.

Eventually, Richardson would like to see a job bank created, through which downtown merchants could hire team members for temporary work.

Keenan also lauds the new program.

"I think it's awesome. ... By and large it's an improvement. The most important thing to come out of the (Palo Alto Downtown association) is downtown cleanliness. Picking up litter and cigarette butts is good," Keenan said.

Richardson warns that dramatic change is not going to happen overnight, but that there are plenty of reasons for merchants to support the program by giving discounts and vouchers.

"A safer, cleaner downtown is good for business. It's about the bottom line. It's like a no-brainer," she said.

In addition to the Downtown Streets Team, other new programs are planned or are already operating that are expected to improve the homeless situation. The city's Off the Streets program has given housing to 17 chronically homeless people in the Barker and Palo Alto hotels, thanks to federal funds.

Using a "housing first" model, the program does not insist the new residents are clean or sober before giving them shelter, and yet some have reportedly become so after moving in. Recently, the city received a second grant for an additional 10 units, which will be shared between Mountain View and Palo Alto. Local nonprofits Catholic Charities, InnVision and EHC LifeBuilders are partnering in the program.

The Palo Alto Downtown association hopes to replace some of the benches on University Avenue, installing others that aren't so comfortable for people to nap or even sit on for long periods of time, Richardson said.

And the police are working with downtown merchants and social service providers to better coordinate services.

Johnson, however, pleaded for the community's help. When it comes to citing or arresting people, officers in certain cases have to witness the action -- or the witness has to be willing to stay at the scene until an officer arrives, Johnson said. When it comes to people relieving themselves in public, for example, it does officers no good to have someone go home and then call the police.

Some issues involving the homeless population may never be solved. The conditions that make it desirable to come to Palo Alto aren't likely to change, Carroll said. Those factors include proximity to the Veterans Administration hospital, the liberal mindset of Palo Alto residents, and the fact that many of the unhoused have called Palo Alto home for years.

Though they may have differing ideas on how to deal with the homeless, Carroll and Keenan do agree that mentally ill members of the community will continue to be a challenge. Involuntary commitment in a mental hospital may be the best thing for a person, but it's nearly impossible.

"Some people acknowledge they need help but will not seek it. Until it can be foisted upon them, they will not do it. There's the possibility that being institutionalized against their will could be an ugly thing," Carroll said.

Keenan wonders if psychiatrists will have to come to the streets, since the mentally ill aren't going to hospitals.

Will downtown become "our modern day mental hospital, where we caretake them in the streets? It's a problem," Keenan said.

Next year, the Opportunity Center will open, a facility with 89 apartments and two drop-in centers for the homeless. It's being constructed next to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. No one interviewed was willing to bet, however, that it will significantly change things downtown.

Carroll supports the Opportunity Center but acknowledged there will always be a reluctance on some people's part to use services, due to bad experiences with "the system" in the past.

By 10 a.m. last week, Sue had been staking out the corner for two hours. She had spent the previous night on the street, and was trying to get about $30 in donations so she could afford a night's stay at the Palo Alto Hotel, she said. The task would probably take all day.

She stretched out her hand, revealing her take so far: eight quarters.

"That's a dollar an hour," she said, letting out a hacking cough. Released from the hospital the week before, she talked about her lingering pneumonia. She can't afford the antibiotics, she said.

A guy walked up and plopped a coin in her cup. He sympathized as she told him most people think she's going to use it for alcohol or drugs, but that she doesn't do either.

By mid-afternoon, Sue had disappeared, though her crates still sat on the sidewalk. A teddy bear kept watch on one of them, next to a backpack and several plastic shopping bags.

Her cardboard sign declared her situation in life, though: "Homeless, not hopeless."

Senior Staff Writer Jocelyn Dong can be reached at jdong@paweekly.com.

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