external monologue: downtown chatt-town

January 21, 2004

downtown chatt-town

i don't have much time to write this morning - a handful of meetings today - but i do want to say that i appreciate everyone's sentiments regarding panhandlers and the like. its still a troublesome issue to me, but it is good to know that (most) everyone else feels a similar tension.

this is a skyline shot of the read house in downtown chattanooga (another panhander favorite, by the way). i'm always struck driving downtown at how beautiful a skyline we have here. small, but very classy. i think at some point i'd like to do a series of pictures on the various rooflines that make up the downtown panorama, though i'm sure its been done before.

Posted by andy at January 21, 2004 09:17 AM

Comments

One of my favorite views is from BellSouth Park on the box deck. Nice shot toward downtown with the mountains in the back. We do have a nice skyline here, kinda refreshing to look at when returning from a trip.

Posted by: Mike at January 21, 2004 10:28 AM

Hey! I call Salvation Army today. They said that the fee is $8 a night....unless its a Freeze Night. Which means that if it is 32 below, they are allowed to stay for free anytime they please. If its NOT a Freeze Night, they can only stay once every 3 months, thats their policy...I asked why that is but the lady didn't really know why. Also, side note: they do not accept checks or cards...So, I was corrected once again, but for those who wants the facts, here it is! Oh! and Salvation Army will allow us to walk up with our fellow friend to pay for thier stay....

Posted by: Kiko at January 21, 2004 12:44 PM

awesome kiko! thanks so much for that information. that will definitely help in the future.

Posted by: andy at January 21, 2004 01:12 PM

Joan B. Kroc's (heir of much of McDonald's fortune) 1.5 billion dollar donation to the Salvation Army should help them provide a good night's stay for those in need...it seems like it's one of the more trustworthy organizations around.

Posted by: Ken at January 21, 2004 03:54 PM

I teach 150 students here in NW Atlanta in which many of them move monthly from apt. to apt. while they continually loose phone, electricity, and heat services because of their failure to make payments (our transfer rate at our school is 30%). Fortunately most of our students do have homes/ apartments and stability within their family lives, but many do lack these basic job or health securities. I think it is difficult for me to understand their struggles from my vantage point. My parents were “only school teachers,” making a measly 40 max after 30 years of service…but in America, they are truly middle class and blessed. However, many are not that fortunate and have come from less fortunate social and racial histories in which they have much more to overcome to become “middle class” than others. Many are driven by this challenge and others become overwhelmed and cannot succeed in raising themselves out of their present circumstance. Mental and physical disabilities are prevalent in our homeless communities accounting for many if not most of the population. With my special educator-mother (for the public school system,) I am well aware that there are services for these individuals and should be taken advantage of by those of us who desire to give money rightly. Their life usually oscillates between impoverishment and security depending on their mental well-being, which shows the great need of these agencies that are discerning. All this to say, we pay taxes to our federal government, for agencies such as the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Bureau of Primary Health Care (www.bphc.hrsa.gov/programs/HomelessProgramInfo.htm) which specialize in how to provide services and necessities to people in need. These programs are in place to help in to help the homeless and discern the true homeless and the panhandlers for us. I am not saying we should be silent and leave all to “well we’ve paid our taxes” mentality, but should understand that these agencies are dedicated professionals and are much better at discerning than I. I would be much more willing and happy to give money (over and above my taxes) to such agencies and organizations. I strongly agree with the social services and health care in place by the federal government for needy individuals (call me a democrat,) yet the argument is that it fails to discern the needy from the lyres. Again, I look around my room of students that I teach and remember the little girl who was given to another family in exchange for food stamps and I too remember that the system is abused and faulty. For now, I will continue to give food, coffee, and clothing to those individuals who approach me in the streets and money to agencies who can discern better than I, all the while remembering that 33 degree weather is very cold to sleep on the streets in and 8 dollars is a lot for people who don't have anything.

Posted by: ari at January 21, 2004 04:10 PM

I seem to remember a little book called the Bible saying something like "let the poor drink so that they may forget their troubles" in Proverbs somewhere. Maybe we shouldn't care where the money is going. Maybe someone should buy me a beer.

Posted by: John Totten at January 21, 2004 04:33 PM

Love the roofline series idea - you should do it.

Posted by: Gypsy at January 21, 2004 06:56 PM

concerning rooflines... i have just recently (it's a shame, i know) really noticed the beauty of that aspect of our city. in addition, with all the change of the one-way streets to two-ways, the buildings have developed new faces. it's like a whole new perspective driving down the street. (the flatiron building, in particular, is so much more cool now that i can drive UP georgia avenue.)

andy, you could do a new york-style redocumentary of buildings. you know, use old pictures to dictate the composition and retake the exact same picture. (just as another brainstorming idea)

Posted by: bethany at January 22, 2004 12:41 PM

Omg thats right! Please come see me and my friends! ;)

Posted by: watch moi at March 17, 2005 03:01 PM

Posted by: roulette at March 21, 2005 09:58 AM

Posted by: roulette at March 21, 2005 10:10 AM