Sullivan’s Salvos 5/2/24
In this edition:
*Congratulations Sue!
*Foster Care and Adoption Month
*Johnson County Great Give Day
*Student Loan Forgiveness
*Low Barrier Shelter
*Did You Know?
*Congratulations Sue!
Congratulations to Sue Campney who is retiring from Johnson County Social Services after a 38-year stint! Sue has always been a true professional who brought grace, compassion, and wisdom to a very demanding job. All the best in your retirement!
*Foster Care and Adoption Month
May marks National Foster Care and Adoption Month. As many of you know, Melissa and I have 3 adopted adult children, and served as foster parents for another 50 + children. We surrendered our license a few years ago after 20+ years.
Unfortunately, the need did not go away. In fact, it may be greater than ever. Even if you do not feel you can serve as a foster parent, help us to recruit others. We need families!
You can learn more by visiting Four Oaks Family Connections at: https://iowafosterandadoption.org.
*Johnson County Great Give Day
Johnson County Great Give Day is an annual collective day of giving, where donors are encouraged to learn more about new-to-them nonprofit organizations, the work of the nonprofit sector in Johnson County, and make a gift (or a few!) to support philanthropy in Johnson County. On this single day – May 1, 2024 – ALL Johnson County nonprofit organizations share, with one voice, the incredible work they are doing, the ways in which they support our communities, and fundraise for their individual organizations.
Johnson County Great Give Day is powered by the Community Foundation of Johnson County, but is a celebration of the work of nonprofits and donors across the county.
How can you be involved in Johnson County Great Give Day? Make a gift to a local nonprofit organization whose mission aligns with your passion. Learn more about the ways philanthropy is addressing social issues in our community. Volunteer for a local nonprofit agency. Share the good news about the work of your favorite, or a new-to-you nonprofit organization. Your support today ensures a better tomorrow for all Johnson County residents - thank you.
*Student Loan Forgiveness
I am a big proponent of student loan forgiveness. One of the objections I hear is people saying, “I don’t want to pay off someone else’s loans.” You would not be doing this. I recently heard someone explain it very well. Here it goes:
Say I loan you $100, and charge you $1 per day interest. You do not pay me back. After a year, you owe me $465.
If I cut that to $150, I did not lose $315. I was never going to get that anyway! I am erasing money that never actually existed. And you, as a taxpayer, do not have to pay anything for me to take that action.
*Low Barrier Shelter
I have heard some people recently criticize Shelter House for disruptive behavior at the shelter. I believe this criticism is very misplaced. Here is why:
Several years ago, Shelter House required all guests to be sober. Potential guests had to submit to a breath test, and if they were not sober, they were turned away. Before the “new” shelter opened in 2010, Shelter House utilized a series of churches for “overflow.” You still had to be sober to access overflow housing. I used to volunteer as an overflow driver every Sunday evening.
Every Sunday night, I would watch as Shelter House staff tested potential guests. People would test sober and line up to get into my van. People who failed dejectedly headed back out into the elements.
About this same time, Johnson County suffered a rash of deaths of unhoused people. A couple drowned. One was killed by a fellow homeless person. One was killed by an off-duty cop breaking up a knife fight. A couple overdosed. And several died of exposure. I may not recall the exact number, but I think it was 13 unhoused people that died between Thanksgiving of one year and Easter of the next – almost one per month.
In addition, a number of people were expressing concerns about vagrancy in downtown Iowa City. I thought much of this was overplayed, but the fact remained that many visitors to downtown Iowa City did not feel safe. People in Johnson County were upset.
So the public demanded that elected officials do something. This point is the key. The public demanded that ELECTED OFFICIALS do something. It was not up to Shelter House. They could be (and were) a critical partner for local governments. But the public asked ELECTED OFFICIALS to do something.
What did we do? Shelter House quietly moved away from requiring sobriety from their guests. Now the shelter was considered “low barrier.” The winter shelter, added to help stem the many deaths I mentioned earlier, had always been “low barrier.” Shelter House decided it was time to do this with all shelter beds.
Fast forward a few years. Now people are upset with Shelter House clientele. Some are drunk. Some are drugged up. Many are very ill. Some cause commotion. Some cause damages. It is a small minority of the guests, but that small minority can be incredibly difficult to handle. And some people are mad about this.
“They need more rules,” I am told. You know where people who need more rules end up? Jail and prison. Which costs a HELL of a lot more than Shelter House, and generally gets worse outcomes.
“They are sick. They need treatment,” I am told. Do you think you are the first person to recognize this? OK, let’s take them to the ER at UIHC. Believe it or not, UIHC has ER patients who have been there over a YEAR. When someone is lucky and gets discharged in a few days, where do you think they go? Right back to Shelter House, that’s where. It is a vicious cycle.
When I started as a Supervisor, Johnson County averaged about 150 people in jail every day. 20 years later, because of a lot of hard work by a lot of people, Johnson County averages about 90. And that is in a county that has grown by 45,000 residents over that 20 years! I am very proud of the fact that we have done so well in this area. But don’t kid yourself – a big reason we have done so well is Shelter House.
A bigger shelter. More programming. Low barrier shelters. Winter shelter. Permanent Supported Housing. All these Shelter House changes/programs have been critical to Johnson County’s lower jail numbers.
The public wants less people in jail. The public wants less people in prison. The public wants less people in institutions. The public wants less people in the hospital. The public wants less people on the streets. The public wants less people under bridges. How do we address this? We turn to Shelter House. Then we complain when they cannot magically fix everything.
To add even more insult to injury, Johnson County expects Shelter House to do all this, and we provide them with $90,000 per year. Iowa City provides a similar amount. For some reason that I cannot fathom, they are barely allowed to tap into the available mental health funding. Yet we expect them to do more, and more, and more. Then we act as though they should be grateful for the funding they get! They have to sell used books just to stay open. It is shameful!
Shelter House does not deserve criticism. They are freaking heroes! It is time we treated them as such.
So. Want to complain about shelter guests? What alternatives do you have?
*DID YOU KNOW? Iowa City native Mary Harlan Lincoln led an amazing life. The daughter of US Senator James Harlan, she married Robert Lincoln, son of President Abraham Lincoln. Robert Lincoln pursued a successful career in law, business, and politics, serving as Secretary of War from 1881 to 1885 under Presidents Garfield and Arthur. The Lincolns lived in London as Robert served as Ambassador to the UK from 1889 to 1893 under President Benjamin Harrison. Afterwards, he returned to practicing law. Lincoln was made quite wealthy by his law practice, which included General Counsel to, and later President of, the Pullman Car Company. Mary passed away in Iowa in 1937 at the age of 90.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
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