The Elm Street neighborhood leaders have made a terrible mistake in supporting the Housing
First program at 62 Elm St. First, you don’t put a flophouse for drunkards in the middle of an up-and-coming neighborhood that’s needed to expand the city’s tax base.
Second, you don’t give free food and shelter to drunkards who refuse to submit to mandatory treatment or do one day’s work.
Third, there’s nothing Christian about dumping all social misfits on Worcester and letting surrounding towns escape doing their fair share.
The task force’s plan to end homelessness is a stupid plan. Why? The answer is that the plan calls for the development of 600 units to be dumped in Worcester. None will be located in surrounding towns. Six hundred units is on par with the number of units at the Great Brook Valley housing project. Dumping 600 units, housing drunks, junkies, prostitutes and welfare families into our neighborhoods is absolutely insane.
Remember, SMOC, Healthlink, Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts and the Housing Alliance want to trash city neighborhoods. The City Council is wondering why Worcester is losing its city employees to the towns. Service providers and housing mongers are driving out our productive people.
For example, a writer talked with a firefighter who lives in Worcester. This firefighter informed me that he worked with seven other firefighters, all of whom live outside of Worcester. Worcester is also losing the people who finance the city. Councilors should wake up before Worcester ends up like Springfield.
RICHARD L. CHERNISKY Worcester
Same Time Next Year
-
It’s been nearly a year since I wrote about the problems that come from
having 11 bosses who are not on the same page about anything, as well as
suggestion...
4 months ago
21 comments:
by Dave Z's thinking-we are like Springfield:>) Just kidding Dave
Dick makes to much sense for our leaders or for that matter anyone else to be listening..free parking for working folks and city vibrant food vendor carts are our rage..Oy Vey
Right on Dick:>)
hosted a small event last night on the Charles River...raised $1000.00for the Sri Lanka Children's Hospital in Sri Lanka..check out the pic of the kids in the Sri Lanka dress that were in the Sri Lanka Drum Orchestra..all are American born and of Sri Lanka parents...they live in Douglas, Massachusets..who knew here was a Sri Lanka community in Douglas...
Anyway..we did not have to close down half of Cambridge for the safety of the community and everyone left peacefully after a night of exercise, food, drink and multi-cultural camraderie..Amazing that this is still possible in some parts of the Eastern Seaboard:>)
Will II has a nice blog going on the new low income housing project towards Wild Will I neck of the woods..
http://worcesterwonderland.blogspot.com/
Unbeknowst to all..mi middle name is William and all in my family a few ole gals call me Wee Will...
So perhaps there is something here with the name William??
W. Randal is on the "enough of the low income housing" bandwagon, W. Collyer has been banging at the issue for years..and now W.Wonderland is on the issue...a revolution could be happening here and it is all being started by William's...please do not mention that Mr. Breault is also a William cause Buckpaxton will start calling us all douche bags and I just cringe when I am called a douch bag:>)
Anyway..it is time for us William's to make up and break bread!! For the good of the city of course:>)
all due respect to this guy's views, he groups all of us together as bad guys in social services, accuses us of destroying neighborhoods, and does it all with personal attacks, no evidence.
I can't speak for everyone in social services, but I take great pride in the city, and have worked my butt off to improve my hood, personally picking up trash, holding meetings, helping out neighborhood kids, calling the DA about drug houses, and so on.
You will never see the program addresses for the programs I run in the courthouse section. Instead, my guys all work, clean up the hood, volunteer, repaint little league field houses, you name it, we'll help.
Three letters to the editor a year about drunks is different than picking up the rake.
Dave
Paulie:
Break all the bread you want, just don't break wind!
Harry T
Worcester, MA
Dave, my memory is that the writer faithfully pens 4 letters a year to T&G. I believe thats the T&G annual limit. I expect his last '08 letter will be about Thanksgiving time or so. If I could go back and check, I think his latter was probably in May.
Have to admit the guy does raise valid quality of life issues for District 4 area.
My problem is that building mor e dense land use low income housing only sinks the city further into a deeper financial abyss. Low income housing is to Worc what the Asian Long Horned beetle is to Hardwood trees. It will eventually destroy the host financially, socially, cluturally, etc.
Bill cites a figure of 396,000 per unit to construst Worc's latest albatross on Armory/Southgate Streets. I can buy a beautiful home on Worc's west side for 396,000.
Attached housing such as this with common walls, etc s/b able to be built for much less money. WTH is all the money going? And I'll promise you if 396,000 is the projected figure, it will come higher for certain. Additionaly these folks dont know whow to measure costs.
South Worc Neighborhood Center failed absolutely miserably with their project on Cambridge St opposite St Johns cemetary......now the state and feds and city reward them with another larger project.
Dare I ask what their building & real estate experience is and what exactly is the mission of this organization and what if any are their ties to Holy Cross.
I am in complete disagreement with the idea of Pilot payments to the city by collegtes until the city at least cleans up its financial act..........and gets more of its employees working rather than collecting Injuted on Duty pay (rumored to 13% of the city workforce) or taking an average of 10 sickdays per year per employee or paying compensating broom pushers $30 or $35 per hour.
Kind of unusual how the city needs to pay contractors a prevailing wage (usually union rate) on jobs such as schools and the like yet it's rumored that building housing for low income people doesnt have to pay a prevailing wage.....wonder why???........kind of like wee need a police detail if a private contractor cuts down trees for the city..........but if it's the city tree crew doing it no detail req'd........
I think this is part of the citizen frustration Dave in Worcester...it is taking to damn long to turn this city around and folks are fed up..I've busted my hump for 17 years and in as much as I have seen the progress of the city..it is still oh so slow..and this frustration shows daily in many that have hung on.
I do not know Dick Chervinskey who writes often to the T&G Editor..but I share many of his stated opinions. It is scary to invest in the urban core of Worcester..very scary..at every turn we only hear about homes for troubled folks being created and our elected leaders rushing to the "first shovel in the ground "ceremony and then they rush back to their west side homes saying "whooooooo thank god that is over next to Bill Randall or Paul Collyer's property and not mine":>)..rarely do we hear about new development that will compliment our own investments in the urban core..oh yah! City Square ..one project that has defined "City on the Move" but turned in to more hype than reality while other communities actually have shovels in the ground held by contractors on major projects that are creating jobs,improving the cityscapes and attracting productive folks:>)
I've owned a few properties in this city over my tenure here and all of them have been surrounded by "unlicensed" PIP shelters and for years with soft assistance from the city up until a few years ago when I started getting a wee bit more involved in the community.
I commend your service..I graduated from nursing school 25 years ago and have worked with many for years in nursing homes and elsewhere..my mother and sisters are all nurses-mi madre at 65 working with mentally ill adults (try that job on for one day)..my company works with many non-profits and raises a good chunk of dough for them considering the small size of my company..this city has to start thinking real quick about how much it wants to save the World or itself..right now in my opinion Worcester needs to concentrate less on saving the World and start protecting itself before it becomes a dustbowl filled with folks needing help and there being no one left of means to help them:>)
forget to leave the link for the Sri Lanka pic
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/08/ma/Aug21_Ayubov_set1.shtml
I know Dick and have talked to him several times. He lives right on Kilby Street. I will probablu print some of this and mail it to him. Still not on the web.
The problem isn't so much with the low income housing projects or the social service programs, I think we can all accept them and realize that they meet a need. The problem is that is all we have in certain sections of Worcester. We have no PRIVATE INVESTMENTS!!
There is no balance.
Bill
"I know Dick and have talked to him several times. He lives right on Kilby Street. I will probablu print some of this and mail it to him. Still not on the web."
>>only the toughest street in the city at one time:>) I'd say that Dick has cemented in my mind he knows what he speaks/writes of...live on Kilby Street and one gets tough real quick or you die mentally first and then physically
"The problem isn't so much with the low income housing projects or the social service programs, I think we can all accept them and realize that they meet a need."
>>ah bullshit Bill..we have a high percentage of these folks in this city..you either move in the path of being a winner or a loser..Worcester has elected to save the World and at many GOOD folks expense..the City can not continue to support this load..you know why we have no development in the urban core..no one has any god damn money..why would a good retailer come to the inner core?? Please give me one reason...it's a dollar store environment.
The real problem is that the city is so dependent on Sexy 8 Housing now that if it dried up we would see a real RE depression in this city..so dependent on folks with SSI and every other dependen check that many business would falter...and we all know the city has no real earning power--City Square is like waiting for the guy to call again after the girl slept with him..the call nevah comes:>)
Cold Turkey would kill the city at this late date...we have reached our affordable/cheap housing limit...now let the rest of Central Mass do their wee bit..they could give a shite about us what are we worried about them for..I am tired of being Big brother
I just found out the new (been there 6 months) tenants next door (no one works)..kid of about 18 stays up all night long playing computer games and his ass hangs out the window all day sleeping..yes hanging out the window..all Puerto Ricans from New York..why did they come even further north instead of to a nice warm climate like Georgia-most young bright minds are moving there also (yah think John Silber was on to something when he ran for Governor?)..the SSI checks always come to my house, Mass Health paperwork, Mass Welfare-it all boggles me with the largess we provide and I have to deliver back..Boston, Greater Boston, Providence, Haverhill, Manchester & Nashua, NH get more and more bright minds and we get more and more with no minds or desire to have one.... OY Vey
I can only speak really for my organization, I only marginally know some of the folks involved in building housing which is separate from what we do.
For the record, my organization employs 15 people, most of whom live in the inner city, and my employees are split between Clark and holy Cross graduates and former prisoners. They pay rent, supporting the private rental market, shop in local stores. A few own homes. We hire from a census demographic with the highest unemployment in Worcester County.
30% of our operations are outside Worcester, which will turn to 50% with our next project, a residential farm. Out of over 100 residents in 2.5 years at our West Boylston project, 13 have returned to jail (from MA Parole stats). With our costs averaging $12,000 per former prisoner to house and provide services vs. $50,000 to incarcerate, we actually generate tax savings. Additionally, every resident is required to work, thus contributing further to the local tax base.
We are local, local , local. Local board and staff, local accountability to the community.
What really gets my goat is when people like Chernisky sweep everyone together, apples and oranges, in personal attacks. I cant speak for others, but we have a decent track record of moving former prisoners to successful lives. Just do the math, and you'll see a taxpayer investment is worth it in our case, especially since we match public dollars with privately raised fundraising, keep down costs dramatically lower than average social service, and keep it all regional, not focusing everything in one area of the city.
would you all rather have 100+ more former prisoners per year roaming the streets of Worcester without supervision or accountability? That's the Chernisky way.
Dave McMahon
David, what is the exact census demographic that you hire from? If your employees are split between Clark & HC grads and ex-prisoners ... then are 2/3's of your employees Clark & HC grads...if so are they part of this hiring demographic (yes I guess) and if so isnt it a little misleading to call Clark & HC college grads a demographic with the high(est) unemployment rates as many college grads come out of school w/o jobs, yet are very employable given a little time and some leg work.
You state your clientele costs 12k per capita to house and provide services...vs... 50K per capita to incarcerate. I assume this is annually? How was the 50K figure determined? I always thought most jails have huge fixed costs regardless of how many they house...and that therefore a per capita cost is somewhat misleading?....e.g. if The Hotel Glodis has a 25% drop in guests, I can almost assure you there would not be a commensurate drop in the number of Corrections officers?....i.e. prison payroll is almost a fixed cost regardless of the number of guests....my point being we're stuck with a certain fixed costs at the jail w/o re: to the numbers of guests....so in reality how much is being saved wether one of your clients returns to jail or not....the jail is for the most part a fixed cost operation.......yes some costs do vary but by & large most costs are fixed w/o re: to if there are 500 prisoners up there or 1000...b/c the number of employees up there is fixed and the heat & lights costs the same with 500 guests or 1000 and Guy gets to lug his huge, fixed take home pay to Corporation Beach in Dennis every year which pay is fixed w/o re: to number of guests.
I will say 13 out of the 100 prisoners in 2.5 years in your program being sent back to jail would seem to be a low recidivism rate from what little I know of such rates. Do you get to pick & chose your clientele?
There is no local income tax in Worc so every one of your residents who works is not necessarily contributing to the local tax coffers ("base"). If some of their rent was used to pay property taxes...then yes they would be contributing to the local tax base...but I assume being a non profit that your organization pays no real estate tax and no personal property tax. Maybe these clientele spend locally but none of them pay Taxes to Worcester directly and little if any indirectly.
Isnt it a bit presumptuous to assume that w/o your program 100+ prisoners per year would be roaming the streets of Worcester w/o supervision or accountablity? I am usre some of them might find their way to the south side of Framingham or out to State St in Springfield...and dont the parole and probation folks serve as an accountablity checks on former prisoners?
David, I assume you live in Worcester?
I believe if you're a non profit that it's a matter of public record, but would you care to disclose ALL your annual wages & benefits paid to you from Dismas House as well as other sources (state, fed'l, etc) related to to your social work?
Sorry but I see too many non profits as basically employment agencies that use my tax dime to thrive and advance their agenda and in too many cases drag Worcester down.
Thanx.
all valid questions Jahn. If you're so willing to have coffee with a silly Blogger like bill, maybe you'd care to grab a coffee over at Dismas? I could give you the grand tour.
I actually had the tour and dinner and/or coffee with the clientele there many years ago off of Main St near McD's as I recall. All the guys were just coming in from their days work/job search and reporting on their day over dinner. Actually I walked away with a positive impression, but at what cost I was unsure.
I have had the nickel tour of other non profit organizations in Worc and I never get all my questions answered....frankly I often walk away with more unanswered questions...but at Silly Billy's I get:
a. questions answered
b. coffee & pastry
c. a political debate over Glodis with one of Bills 70 year old galpals.......
d. hobnob with the locals (always unique)
e. and last Saturday even a Bud Light Lime (I think it was??) which is still sitting my fridge.
we hear you eat alot when it is on the other guys dime to:>)
Jahn:
How was the Bud Light Lime?
Bill
Jahn -
Let me try starting with a.
what is the exact census demographic that you hire from?
Main south.
If your employees are split between Clark & HC grads and ex-prisoners ... then are 2/3's of your employees Clark & HC grads...if so are they part of this hiring demographic
NO way!
(yes I guess) and if so isnt it a little misleading to call Clark & HC college grads a demographic with the high(est) unemployment rates as many college grads come out of school w/o jobs, yet are very employable given a little time and some leg work.
Let me clarify. The ex-prisoners we hire are from Main south generally. The students are from all over the place. I always read about the brain drain of college students on this blog, we keep a few hear working on Dismas projects, including fixing city parks, organizing neighborhood cleanups, coordinating little league field repairs, running neighborhood groups, etc. sorry if I was unclear ex-prisoners=main south, colleges = everywhere.
You state your clientele costs 12k per capita to house and provide services...vs... 50K per capita to incarcerate. I assume this is annually? How was the 50K figure determined?
Yes, annual. I read pretty extensively about prison and prison reform. Annual cost is about $40-$50,000 based on county of state, level of sentencing from numerous Mass Inc. reports.
I always thought most jails have huge fixed costs regardless of how many they house...and that therefore a per capita cost is somewhat misleading?....
Maybe you're right. Although I look at it like a business model. Of my 100 units, 13 were defective. Research shows the jail model has about 75 out of 100 defective units which are returned every year. Also, I don;t have control over the $100K plus salaries prison guards can draw with OT. My most expensive employee is $42,500. If incarceration rates drop, DOC will reshuffle resources, they closed pre-releases and MCI Lancaster facing a decline in incarceration. There was a guy called million dollar Mike in Denver who cost the state $1 million in assorted direct costs because he was not treated for mental illness. I house some million dollar mikes.
I will say 13 out of the 100 prisoners in 2.5 years in your program being sent back to jail would seem to be a low recidivism rate from what little I know of such rates. Do you get to pick & chose your clientele?
You better believe we pick and chose. I'm not some softy, I personally make the call to send malcontents back to jail if necessary. And yes our recidivism is low, which is why we were cited as one of the best top seven prisoner reentry groups nationally by the Eisenhower foundat5ion.
There is no local income tax in Worc so every one of your residents who works is not necessarily contributing to the local tax coffers ("base"). If some of their rent was used to pay property taxes...then yes they would be contributing to the local tax base...but I assume being a non profit that your organization pays no real estate tax and no personal property tax. Maybe these clientele spend locally but none of them pay Taxes to Worcester directly and little if any indirectly.
Thats like 8 questions. Would you rather have an addict running around stealing, and abosrbing police costs, or working and contributing to tax rolls statewide, spending their legit-earned cash locally. Between employees and residents, we contribute to the local economy, many of our guys are blue collar guys in the construction trade.
As to our tax status, no we don't pay taxes, but we have negotiated a plan with the city to compensate for the loss of tax revenue from our most recent real estate purchase.
Isnt it a bit presumptuous to assume that w/o your program 100+ prisoners per year would be roaming the streets of Worcester w/o supervision or accountablity?
OK, give me 50-75.
and dont the parole and probation folks serve as an accountablity checks on former prisoners?
you bet, and they love us b/c we call them pronto with any probs whatsoever.
David, I assume you live in Worcester?
I am not sure I trust you with my home address yet, I need to check up on you with bill or over a heineken.
I believe if you're a non profit that it's a matter of public record, but would you care to disclose ALL your annual wages & benefits paid to you from Dismas House as well as other sources (state, fed'l, etc) related to to your social work?
No prob, but not over Bill's blog, I don't have time.
Sorry but I see too many non profits as basically employment agencies that use my tax dime to thrive and advance their agenda and in too many cases drag Worcester down.
You might be right, but it ain't me babe. I have worked my butt off to make sure my life's work is not pie-in-the-sky fanstasy. I stand by my record and involvement in the city with numerous projects that include more than helping ex-cons.
Bill the Bud Light LIme is still on ice along with what remains of my 30 pack of Bud that I bought maybe 2 months ago.
Paulie, please feel free to leave a double sawbuck at Suneys. I'd love to test out their fish & chips on your dime, anytime. That should cover the F&C, one brew, & a20% tip?? Yes I do eat more on others dime. Just think of me as a non profit dinner guest [g].
Shall I wear my plaid or striped pajama's?
Dave;
1. Would it not be best if ex prisoners were housed no where near Main South? Afterall, too many of the temptations that landed these folks in jail to begin are in ample abundance in the Main South Area. I do like the idea of a residential farm in West Boylston, although even further out of the city would be better. (An aside, a similar argument can be made for teh PIP shelter, too).
2. What is Dismas policy for those who take up residence with Dismas and are unable to find work necessary to sustain themselves ( food, shelter, etc.) at Dismas? Do they end up on Dismas payroll?
3. Your most expensive employee is 42,500? Arent you an employee of Dismas?
4. You get to pick and chose who enters the Dismas program. Do you pick only the cream of the crop or do you pick some Million Dollar Mike's (MDM's) as well? Do MDM's yield more in funding because they are in need of more services? Would you recommend a MDM live in your neighborhood? Small wonder Mr. Chernisky writes quarterly to the T&G.
5. If we didnt have "addicts running around stealing and absorbing police costs" then wouldnt you be out of business to begin with or losing clientele?
6. What and where in Worcester is your most recent real estate purchase? What is the plan you have negotiated with the city to compensate for loss of property tax revenue as the result of your non profit taking another piece of property off the tax rolls and who in the city was it negotiated with? Does the plan include any payments to the city or is just "PILOT bartered services?"
7. If parole & probation does in fact serve as a "check" on former prisoners, then why do we Need Dismas?
8. I didnt ask for your address, just if you lived in Worcester. I am reasonably certain you dont live in Worcester because my perception is that you fit the profile of the typical social service provider who provides non profit services in Worc, but lives elsewhere. No need to ask Bill if I am a Million Dollar Jahn (MDJ)because there now is no need to answer the question. Your non response answered it for me.
9. You dont have the time to answer what your annual wage, stipends, other compensation, etc is from Dismas as well as possibly from the state, feds, or other sources that are tangential to Dismas for the services you provide. How long does it take to type " I earn $XXX,XXX from Dismas and another $XX,XXX from the state? Cant be more than 1 minute to type out that sentence. Again, another non response.
10. I dont doubt that you work diligently at your given calling. I just wish you'd set up Dismas on your own dime and ran as a business housing, feeding, and providing other needed services to ex-prisoners and also wish that it wasn't solely Worcester based for all these years. Given the recent expansion(s) you have alluded to, I have to assume this is a thriving, growing enterprise.
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