There is more than enough blame to go around in this case for letting a high-profile homeless person die hungry, alone of possible hypthermia on the front steps of a Church —and wasn't it generous of them that they allowed her to sleep OUTSIDE?
She was 48 years old. She did not drink alcohol. She did not use illegal drugs. She became homeless after REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO FIND WORK WERE DENIED TO HER, I think largely due to age and gender discrjm ination, a problem that has plagued women here since time immemorial. She also loced her country enough to serve as a US Marine but she never got disability benefits even though she claimed her lungs had been damagesd by exposure to some chemicals while in the service. Stuff like that happens and people that society considers suplus, disposable "useless eaters" tend to fall through the gaps in the social services' safety nets —and when they do, they usually DIE.
Unable to find work, she ran for public office and tried to make a difference for people who had no voice. She worked ceaselessly for fairness in employment, honesty and full disclosure in government. She reminded me of the Catholic nuns who fought for social justice and I wondered if she had ever had a family!
Her Platform for her campaign for Mayor of Austin &something she would never become because the elitist good old boy tradition of the South prevails. It makes sense, what she proposed:
1. Healthcare, Dental, full physical and eye exam every year by paying in monthly.
2. Representation through weekly meetings at Reagan, Crockett, Anderson and Travis High School.
3. Widespread Single-Stream Recycling and an Austin MRF.
4. Recognition of Lesbian and Gay Relationships.
5. Our pets want a "No Kill" policy, spay and neuter.
6. Children's education in law, physics, chemistry, calculus.
7. Expanded bus routes
8. Bike avenues, Bike Lane removals
9. Drug Rehabilitation
10. Work for the homeless and incarcerated.
11. Rebates for solar power and hybrid cars
12. Maintain aquifer and park areas.
13. Promote farming and animal husbandry
14. Voter Choice
15. Neighborhood Integrity
She died alone, hungry and COLD —it was COLD that night —on the front steps of the First English Lutheran Church at 3001 Whitis Ave in Austin, Texas within easy walking distance of the University of Texas Law Library. One church worker DID notice that she appeared to be having respiratory distress and she summoned 911 paramedics who are located very close by. Jennifer was DOA at the hospital on that BITTERLY COLD December 17 Wednesday night.
What sort of society declares that women are useless and not capable of employment when they are over 40 years of age and dumps them out on the street when you have to have a job to survive?
There are already armies of homeless here, more added daily, dumped into the streets while the idiots in city government continue to hike the property taxes and cavalierly permitting sweetheart deals with CONDO developers —lending them money and building permits on the condition that they make "affordable units for the poos" —then letting them renege on the original conditions of the loans. It went so smoothly, tacitly in the council meeting, the details apparently were worked out somewhere else in advance.
Jennifer could not have afford to have lived there and neither could I or anyone else I know but if the city council is knowingly let scumbag real estate developers have a bailout on their promises to provide affordable housing, then there are other things that could help the underprivileged, the families with homeless children and the older homeless people who are easy pickings for the predators who seek them to rob, rape and kill...
Crooked and deceptive lending practices resulting in foreclosure is forcing out more and more families —some with small children out into the street where there is a severe affordable housing shortage —unless you are RICH —but if you are not also young and beautiful, this city council does NOT want you within their city limits, it seems.
I think the City and all of this myriad of alleged social service organizations which seem to be more interested in serving themselves from their grant money with no accountability than actually getting these people jobs and whatever it takes to get them to be productive citizens who can afford the BASICS of food, clothing and shelter!
No older woman should be forced out onto the streets to die like this again!
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