The Observation Deck

I have seen the successful results of a similar program which uses a former convent, rather than an apartment building. They have clients who were homeless and most of the men in the program had addiction and/or mental illness issues. They have been through a variety of programs before they get the to former convent and they have to prove that they are following the guidelines (clean, sober, on meds as needed, paying their stipend rent, working).

I think it is quite useful to ask a lot of questions - there is nothing wrong with that - but sometimes programs like these are not harmful to the neighborhood.

I'd want to know if there is a "graduation rate" and whether these folks are working their way back into life or whether they are being warehoused.

I'd also suggest that "transitional housing" is a buzz word that conjures up all sorts of reactions from all sorts of groups and is used in such a wide variety of ways, that I would not use that term when asking questions unless everyone first agrees on its meaning.

Justine Cooper wrote:On a mental health note, the documentary "Uninterrupted Boy" which was taken by parents of a 15 yo boy with bi-polar who committed suicide, is a remarkable and heartbreaking honest look into mental illness and the pain and tragedy that comes with it. I would recommend it to anyone wanting to understand mental illness from a family's perspective.

It is actually called Boy Interrupted. It is currently showing on HBO, I believe. http://www.hbo.com/docs/docuseries/boyinterrupted/

dl meckes wrote:I think it is quite useful to ask a lot of questions - there is nothing wrong with that - but sometimes programs like these are not harmful to the neighborhood.

Answers would be nice.

Sometimes a public agency sees it's clients as a customer base to be preserved and not as people to be helped.

You would think that Mental Health Services would love to take this opportunity to illustrate its good work and success in treating the homeless and mentally ill. Is bussing the homeless to Lakewood part of a broader plan to help those homeless with "severe mental illness"? Or is that bussing program simply a way to keep the competition from poaching on their customer base?

You might be surprised to learn that bussing the homeless to Lakewood is not the thing that concerns me the most about this program.

This building was so neglected and mismanaged that it was facing foreclosure for the failure to pay back taxes. The owners of that building were about to pay the price for looting their investment. The City was about to have an opportunity to secure a land for a new Edward's Park, or to have a rehabilited apartment building or a site for new condos....

Instead, the negligent owners get a $1 million dollar payday and the opportunity to resume the looting. Courtesy of you, the local taxpayer.

According to police records Kingsway Manor had about 75 police incidents each year. At what point does a building become a public nuisance? We also know that not all incidents are reported.

http://www.onelakewood.com/pdf/Nuisance ... inance.pdf

The ordinance needs some work. If the police must go to an apartment building once a week the building is a public nuisance. Some cities require a special occupancy permit for buildings that have been declared a public nuisance. The special permit costs $10,000 and is good for six months. If the owners fail to control the nuisance behaviour then the occupancy permit is not renewed.

If you read the newspapers you know that this county is being systemically looted by its political class. Are local homeless agencies partners in crime?

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf ... ate_s.html

The relevent passage:

"Sinagra also is accused of taking $190,000 in fees from Alternatives Agency, a halfway house on East 55th Street, without doing much work. That deal was arranged by an unnamed lawyer on the halfway house board, prosecutors said."

I'm still curious about the financial aspects of this deal. A $1 million dollar payday for the owners of a building facing foreclosure?

The attorney for MHS is reviewing the questions.

I assume that means that answers will follow.

The attorney for MHS is reviewing the questions.

What that means is that you will NOT get the answers to your questions, and that's a real shame.

Grace O'Malley wrote:

The attorney for MHS is reviewing the questions.

What that means is that you will NOT get the answers to your questions, and that's a real shame.

Why wouldn't Mental Health services be eager to provide the answers?

Mr. Morse wrote that he would answer the questions and I am sure he is a man of his word.

Mr. Morse will be meeting with the attorney today to discuss the questions.

I suspect the questions not answered will tell us more than the questions answered. We shall see.

I should have the answers on Friday. There will be some surprises.

What now?

Bill Call wrote:I should have the answers on Friday. There will be some surprises.

What now?

I should have asked which Friday.

The owners of the building on Bonnieview have a payment agreement with the County to pay back taxes and interest and penalties.

I have asked MHS for a copy of the lease. I would like to see how many units MHS has leased and at what rate.

If it's 40 at $500 per month that's $240,000 a year on a building that was facing foreclosure. It would be nice if the owners would invest some of that money in much needed improvements. Instead I suspect that the money will be used for that condo in Florida. Your tax dollars at work.

There is more here than meets the eye.

I've been assured that answers will be coming soon.

That attorney must be putting some serious hours into reviewing those questions/answers. I would hate to see that invoice

The apartment in Tremont has been converted to upscale housing.

Around this same 2009 period there was an effort to move Beck Center to Westlake and to move the Social Security Office to Westlake. And... the plan to decant Lakewood Hospital was finalized.

Someone had a vision for Lakewood.

Plans within plans. The only people NOT in on the plans are the people of Lakewood.

Interesting. I notice on several Facebook groups there are active discussions about the number of panhandlers in Lakewood.

I see the one on the I-90 marginal and there is usually one in front of Value World at 119 and Detroit, but apparently there are many around town. Some of the comments are concerning - people say they have neighbors that are druggies, etc.

I guess there's more going on in Lakewood than I am aware of, and if it's true, I'm not happy to hear it.

Is it becoming "Upper Arthur?"