Stonesoupstation

After Kate's wonderful tribute to Velvet ran this morning in the Tennessean, Woodlawn Memorial Funeral Home donated everything for a burial, including the casket, cemetery plot and chapel services.

Velvet's funeral will be on Saturday, 11/28/09, at 1130AM.  There will be a visitation from 10am until 1130am.  I've been able to get Pastor Clifton Harris to speak and am hoping Father Charlie Strobel will also be willing to stop by, say a few words and bless Velvet in the Catholic tradition.

If you can join us, please come and pay your last respects to Mr. Thunder.

I've also spoken  with the Spaghetti Factory folks today and together we're going to try and set up a plaque or memorial of some sort out front of that establishment that memorializes Velvet in the spot he claimed on 2nd Avenue.  More details as they become available.

Finally, if you see this on Monday, check out Fox news channel 17 tonight; they did a story on Velvet today and I'll post it here when it hits the net.....


 Update: check out John Dunn's piece on Velvet that ran last night on Fox 17 - there's a nice video of the story at the Fox site:



Street Musician was Nashville Icon-John Dunn
FOX 17 News

People downtown are mourning the loss of a music icon who never had a recording contract, but was famous in his own right.

The sidewalks of 2nd Avenue were his stage. It is a place where the rough street matched with a velvet sound.

His name was Elringo De'Angelino, but most just knew him as Velvet Thunder.

"I can not imagine really coming up 2nd Avenue and not hearing that man," says Velvets friend Steve Samra.

For more than 30 years Velvet sang the blues downtown.

Confined to a wheelchair, the 75 year old could often be found in front of The Old Spaghetti Factory.

"Pretty much almost everyday he'd just sit here and just entertain people all day," says Spaghetti Factory manager Jay Misch.

Anybody who has spent any time on 2nd Avenue probably heard him p

A song for the times from my dear friend Tonya Watts....

Anyone who has spent time in downtown Nashville has almost certainly heard The High Priest of 2nd Avenue singing the blues in front of the Spagetti Factory.  Velvet is currently in "guarded" condition at Summit Hospital here in Nashville, suffering from a host of illnesses and infections.  I visited him yesterday and he was sedated, on a ventilator and looked like he'd lost at least 100 pounds as a result of his illnesses.

Velvet's health was deteriorating back when he was living in his van and playing late nights on 2nd ave - "because that's when the folks with money spend it on me!" Unfortunately, as his money bucket filled, he became a favorite target of strong-arm thieves who prowled the area.

That's how Lt. Andrea Swisher from the Nashville police department got involved and I worked closely with her to get Velvet into housing last year.  At that point, my contact with the man dwindled to seeing him occasionally downtown, but I still considered him a friend and wonderful musician to boot.

I know he has no family in the area and I'm hoping he recovers and takes some help for a change.  If he ends up succumbing to the illnesses currently ravaging his body, I'm hoping to send him off by scattering his ashes along 2nd avenue; it's the least I can do for a man who's brought so many a real taste of street music as they wandered around Lower Broad.





(This one has a great song by Velvet - takes a sec to get to it tho)

Finally, a politician with some bal....errrr, ovaries!

Huge thanks to Metis Rebel, my dear friend over at Homeless Tales, for this piece.

Reminds me of Cheri Honkala's stategy, with a little more authority thrown in!

To those of you facing foreclosure on your home, I'd stay put until they came to toss me, then as soon as they left, I'd go back in and set up shop again.  It's about time we had someone standing up for those of us who are forced to eat the rotten crumbs of the rich....

And that is why blogs like this one, Homeless Tales, Slohomeless, Adventures of Homeless Girl and a host of others are so popular; they provide the voice to those who aren't heard otherwise....

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Rachel Fleischer Posted: October 3, 2009 04:16 PM Without A Home: To Live and Die on The Streets of Los Angeles
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-fleischer/without-a-home-to-live-an_b_301023.html
I met "Skateboard Bruce" in the same spot in the valley I'd met Joby a few days earlier. His real name was Bruce Cram but he went by the nickname Skateboard Bruce, which I have to say, seemed really fitting, even though I never heard him mention owning a skateboard.

There was something special about this man. I couldn't immediately put my finger on it but I sensed he was different and that he had a real gift. He spoke in such a way that led me to believe he may have suffered from an injury or had some kind of mental illness, perhaps schizophrenia. Not being an expert on mental illness, I was left only to wonder.

He had large hands that seemed disproportionate to his otherwise small frame. His eyes darted back and forth with passionate energy as he spoke dutifully of his obligation to care for all forms of life around him: insects, animals, birds, trees, plants, and people, particularly his homeless brothers and sisters.

I had only done a handful of interviews with homeless people at this point and I had never heard anyone speak this way. Truthfully, I had never really heard any

Just a reminder that you're a lot closer to being homeless than you may think.....


Former manager panhandles for work in Downtown Nashville
By Wendy Lee • THE TENNESSEAN • September 30, 2009


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Brandon Witt, a former location manager at car rental company Hertz Local Edition, took job-hunting to a new extreme on Wednesday.




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The 33-year-old held a cardboard sign telling people he is looking for work and ready to hand out his resumes at the corner of Fifth and Church streets in Downtown Nashville.


“The homeless seem to get a lot of attention and I’m stealing a trick from them,” said Witt, sporting interview attire--a black suit, bright blue collared shirt and a tie.


Witt says he has been unemployed for a year and a half, as a result of corporate downsizing at his workplace. To keep up with his bills, Witt works as a server at Logan’s Roadhouse near 100 Oaks Mall, earning about $10 an hour. Witt used to earn $45,000 a year.


Witt says he has sent hundreds of resumes, visited businesses in person and gone on interviews, but nothing has landed him a job yet. Witt said he came up with the idea after reading about others who have held up signs at busy places to get a job in other cities, including recent college graduates.
Witt said he plans to hold up the

This video actually aired back in February 2009, but it's just so egregious that it deserves to be kept alive and prominent because it provides such compelling evidence of police brutality.

It's a sad truth, but those on the street know this kind of "justice" is routinely meted out by some officers, especially when no one is around to keep tabs on them.

Don't mean to throw all police under the bus here; just providing proof that some of them should be screened better and terminated on the spot when their conduct is unbecoming an officer of the law.

When they've been found perpetrating acts like this one, criminal charges ought to follow the pink slip....

Another one of those parodies of the homeless that leave me ambivalent. I'll save my take on this and let you come to your own conclusions....


Report: Growing Ranks Of Nouveau Poor Facing Discrimination From Old Poor

American Healthcare for the Poor
Uploaded by brizzzyredhead. - Watch the latest news videos.




Bri, my friend, blogging colleague over at Homeless Tales, author of a Girls Guide to Homelessness, and the young woman who made it from homeless to Elle and is the inspiration for thousands of homeless individuals, has been able to get American Heathcare for the Poor reposted! 

Whew - apologies - that was a long sentence!  

Stop in, check her blogs out on Elle, and say thanks to her for her efforts in everything she's doing; she's amazing, full of energy and providing hope to many who need all the hope they can get....

Can't thank you enough, Bri! 


WATCH IT HERE (must be registered and logged in with Daily Motion to view)

I've posted this over at Homeless Tales but after a number of folks asked me about it, I decided to place it here. Be forewarned, this is NSFW and may be inappropriate for the faint of heart.


As my friend Matt said over at HT however, "It is far from easy to watch but this is an important and valuable piece of work."

So I'm checkin out the web this morning after sending the wife off to Cincinnati for our granddaughter's first birthday party and I came across this vid of an awesome "adventure park" ride in New Zealand.





My first thought was "why don't we have cities filled with transportation like this? Then I remembered: insurance companies....

Happens all the time, all around the country, and folks in the camps have little, if any, recourse.  Nice to see the ACLU at least tried to get something done.....Colo. Springs police: No wrongdoing in homeless camp clean up; ACLU declines commentBy Associated Press 7:49 PM MDT, June 28, 2009COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Colorado Springs police say an internal probe found no wrongdoing by officers overseeing the city's clean up efforts at homeless camp sites.

Homeless advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado claim people at the sites were threatened with arrest and ordered to leave without their belongings during the monthly clean ups. Homeless advocates say sleeping bags, prescription medications, family pictures and military medals were illegally confiscated as cleaning crews escorted by police swooped in without warning.

Police Lt. Kirk Wilson could not find anyone with complaints, despite efforts. The probe, started in February, concluded earlier this month.

The ACLU declined comment.

___

Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com

I've been watching a new outreach worker in Nashville with some interest.  He's been working as a volunteer, attached to no agency in particular, demanding of all of them to put their money and their resources where their mouths are, and bringing in one person at a time for help in getting off the streets.

I've begun calling him "Outreach Man" and he's becoming a formidable force on the streets of Nashville simply because of his kindness and generosity in assisting those who want desperately to leave the street but have no idea how, nor the resources to get them to those who can lend a hand.

While the picture has him clowning around with a client he brought to me the other day, make no mistake, he's becoming a one-man army (to coin a phrase sung by one of my favorite street musicians, Kirk Parish, who by the way, has returned to Nashville and can be found on a street corner near you crooning and jamming).


Those of us who know what obstacles you've faced and overcome salute you, Denis - keep keepin on!

Even the most depraved criminal is given shelter; it is unconscionable to me that anyone - anyone at all - must live homeless in the richest country in the world....
A shameful testament to the lack of ability by those who profess to lead us....The New Face Of HomelessnessOne In 50 School-Aged Children Living Outside Of A Permanent HomeComments 8 May 23, 2009 | by Kelly Cobiella E-Mail StoryPrint Story
Across the nation, public schools have identified and enrolled almost 800,000 homeless children during last year's school year, and the number could be rising. Kelly Cobiella reports. | Share/Embed









» More Videos Recession's Impact On Kids
Know any children -- perhaps even your own -- suffering from the effects of the economic downturn? Let us know, and we might tell their story as part of the special CBS News initiative, "Children of the Recession."



Special ReportChildren Of The Recession
CBS News looks at the impact of the recession on the nation's young.


StoriesYoung Filmmakers Tell Stories Of Recession
Growing Up Homeless

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(CBS)  When Michael Rotundo finishes school every day, he comes home to a double bed at the Budget Inn - no yard, no neighborhood kids,

"I don't have a lot of thinking room," Michael said. "I can't think straight with math, reading."

"You're having a tough time in school?" asked CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella.

"Yes," Michael said. "I almost failed."

Michael is 12, but talks, acts and worries like an adult.

"We can't get a home because we don't have a lot of money left over to rent a house or buy a house," Michael said. "It's just so hard for me and my family to live here."

Michael, his mom and dad have been living in this

And these folks are in no condition to suddenly have to start fending for themselves under bridges around our fair city, let me tell you.  I just assisted a 76 year old man who'd had four toes on his right foot amputated.  He is in a wheelchair and homeless, thanks to the costs of his former residence increasing to such a point that he was unable to afford the cost any longer. 

While this man didn't come from a retirement community, the difficulties he presents with are easily extrapolated to those who may be coming out of failing retirement housing.  Health issues, fixed incomes, lack of family and additional resources can all conspire to put these people suddenly and damned near permanently into harm's way.....

Bankruptcies Hit Retirement Communities Elderly residents who thought they'd secured their futures are finding their homes and savings at risk.
  PHOTOS Kicked Out As the foreclosure crisis escalates, more homeowners and renters are finding themselves facing eviction. A look at how the country's real estate crisis is turning into a national tragedy.
Photos: The Bare Market Home Health-Care Aides: Strangers in Our Parents' Homes   By Linda Stern | Newsweek Web Exclusive Nov 24, 2009  The recession is hitting elderly people where they live, literally. Financial problems have been mounting at a number of assisted-living and continuing-care communities, forcing some facilities into bankruptcies and inflicting new worries on residents and their families who thought their life plans were comfort

The face of homelessness has changed dramatically in the past year, thanks to the policies of the last ten years. Btw, I take offense at the term "slums." It has an ugly connotation and in many "tent cities" I've been in, slums don't come to mind at all, especially when compared with some of the places I've seen in impoverished countries.....









Tent Slums Spring Up in America
Concentrations of homeless people are nothing new in America, but recent BBC and Los Angeles Times reports depict a rising trend of shanty slums, such as a "city" of newly homeless people living in tents near the Ontario airport in Los Angeles.

If you recall your Steinbeck, the residents of the 20c Hoovervilles were largely tenant farmers thrown off their farms by the owners, who in turn tried mechanized farming to bring down costs and break even. These displaced farmers migrated West where they became agricultural day laborers and settled into shanty camps.
The California tent slum depicted in the BBC report is quite different, because they are not migrant workers, so much as locals who have lost their homes. It is hard to tell if the newly dispossessed are all the victims of the subprime market. More likely, the tent slum population is a mix of new and old homelessness -- perhaps with a few migrant workers in the mix.


I do not know if there is a technical point at which a tent city becomes a slum -- a boundary of some sort that gets crossed in terms of population density or length of time in existence or total acreage. But the Los Angeles Times reports that the police are handing out wrist bands to make sure that only locals take up residence in the tent camp by the airport. Non locals have to get out. Passing out armbands to make sure only locals get into the camp has to be crossing a boundary of some kind. And it is not a good one to cross.

Whatever the actual demographics, the images and the stories are heartbreaking. If ever there was a reason to let go

Have you wondered where the hell these people are going once they lose their homes? I can tell you where at least several have gone; they've gone to stay with family and friends, and the ones who've contacted me are at the end of their "free ride" (although its been anything but "free.") with their loved ones. "Sherry" is a prime example. She lost her home through foreclosure back in October and had moved in with her sick sister. On the day Sherry called me, her sister was going to a nursing home and because Sherry's name wasn't on the lease, she had to vacate the apartment. She couldn't take over the lease because, you guessed it, her credit was bad due to the foreclosure. You can almost hear the apartment owner's thought process: "Hell, if she can't make her house payment, what makes the me think she's going to be able to make her rent payment?" Sigh. I did all I could for Sherry but she was transitioning from a fairly good middle class existence to one of poverty. She'd lost her job due to a layoff and her husband had lost his several months prior for the same reason. He "wigged out from the pressure," according to Sherry, and ran off one day; she hasn't seen him since. We were discussing potential rental locations and initially she refused to even consider some of the areas I was suggesting that would provide cost levels she could afford, as they were in "bad" sections of town, according to her.I kept telling her that she was at some point probably going to have to lower her standards a bit, since her income was going to force her to make a choice between spending her time in the local W omen's mission, on the street, or in one of these "affordable" housing units. It was a hard and very bitter pill for her to swallow and frankly, I'm not sure she's yet fully taken the medicine. The last time I spoke with her she was speeding down I40 somewhere in Nashville, threatening suicide because she couldn't take the stress any...