| Home Archived by the National Library of Australia Homeless Hot Gossip 13 Latest 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Oldest Fan Mail Send your latest insights to [email protected] Messages posted from 7 April 2009 to 7 June 2009 The most recent message appears at the top. Last update Tuesday 9 June 2009 Good Food Wasted Using Children - whatever happened to John Green? Chased by Today/tonight - blast from the past Tom "Diver" Derrick Bridge gossip Interesting peope who go to Fred's Van Coming Soon: The triumphant return to WestCare of the elderly man banned for one-year; analysis of the latest dodgy Adelaide CBD homeless statistics. Poopsie after dark; Border hopping. Latest Guest Book Entries 1 June 2009 Guest Book Archive This page is full. The next page is Page 14. Skin and Bones The-ghost-who-walks phoned to say he'd seen "PJ" who he said was "all skin and bones". He didn't know whether "PJ" was sick or simply out of food. Food has always been a huge issue with "PJ". Another source says he was kicked out of WestCare recently when he argued with them when they wouldn't give him a bag of food. He should have checked their rubbish bins. Robert from Teen Challenge has also been looking for "PJ" after hearing he'd had some "trouble". 7 June 2009 Pizzas So few staff and volunteers turned up last Saturday for the Magdalene Centre meal in Moore Street that they ended up ordering pizzas from Dominos. Of course, the main challenge at the Magdalene meal is avoiding becoming a crime statistic in that laneway. 5 June 2009 Background on Poopsie �Don�t go there,� a friend told Poopsie when she said she was visiting the �amphetamine cook�. He�d been telling people he expected one day he�d kill her. This was because Poopsie manipulated men against each other to make each vie to win her approval � with drugs. Being a �cook� the amphetamine producer usually won and when he didn�t he �dealt with� the competitor. Poopsie thought she could control the amphetamine �cook� regardless of his threats so she went to his house. He invited her into a room, but she knew something was up when the door locked shut. Over the next thirty-six hours he **************** ******* *******� her. After she escaped, or was released, she went into hiding: first under �police protection� then later with a real cook from the Casino. But she�s in hiding not just from the amphetamine �cook� but also from welfare because she is pregnant again and they�ll grab the kid as soon as it comes out. 5 June 2009 Tricky politics The Department of Families and Communities says the report on the most recent CBD �homeless� statistics is not available to the public because it isn�t completed. Yet the Minister for Housing, J. �Rankles� Rankine has already gone to the media saying the �rough sleeper� number has dropped from 59 to 53. Without reading the methodology of the survey compilation it is impossible to reply to these figures. Giving an early version to the Minister to get the jump in the media then later supply the report to the public when its become �old news� is symptomatic of the political trickery that makes people mistrust and disrespect politicians. 3 June 2009 The return of the Meths Guy Clyde, the Meths Guy returned to Fred's van this week with his customary meths bottle. "Eat brother food," a homeless Aboriginal woman urged him with sausages and bread on Thursday night while a white man brought him rice and curry. The Meths Guy left early to catch a bus back to beautiful downtown Kilburn. 3 June 2009 Car torching Witnesses have cast doubt on whether the amphetamine cook firebombed Poopsie�s car. It�s been suggested that Poopsie did the job herself to gain sympathy and protection after the �cook� told people he expected to kill her. Poopsie is in hiding with her new boyfriend, a real cook from the Casino, who doesn�t yet know what he�s in for. 2 June 2009 Lester joining the police Man about town, trolley collector, dairy farmer and successful recipient of double knee surgery, Lester, of Chat and Chew, is applying to join the SA Police as a community constable. After a colourful and varied career including being a peer-to-peer counsellor he�s hoping to move into the more responsible role of law enforcement in the outback. If successful in his application he expects to be posted to the outback for a three-year period. One can only wish him the best for he�s a determined and self-motivated fellow and at an age where a person gains the wisdom from a long life. �I�ll be able to carry handcuffs, legally, for once,� he says. 2 June 2009 Grease my palm with silver A HousingSA employee told me they�re housing people who went onto Category 1 in 2004 and 2005 meaning the waiting time has been between four and five years. And since the waiting list is moving slower than ever then those signing on now might wait longer. This means Category 2 and 3 are essentially, dead in the water. However, a tenant says Category 1 is now actually Category 2 but they haven�t told those on the waiting list. There are special categories secretly administered and accessible only to those having tricky and experienced advocates can access housing for them almost instantly. It�s who you know and not whether you actually deserve cheap housing. And with the government enforced secrecy it�s ripe for corruption. 2 June 2009 Fred's Van quiet The Jasmin Restaurant meal had more people than Fred's Van for the fourth Thursday in a row. The darkness better suits Hindmarsh Square because in summer it's humiliating lining up for charity food in the light while enduring the contempt and pity on office workers' faces. It's particularly difficult for ex-office workers seeing the expressions on the faces of their ex-colleagues. For the rest of us it doesn't matter because this is the only life we know or remember. 2 June 2009 Bleeding ulcer man "D" is back in the homeless scene. His diagnosis of bleeding ulcers was changed to possible bowel cancer. He underwent quite extensive tests in the RAH then spent a night in a nursing home for observation. "I was the only man there, they were older women," he said. "D" wasn't specific but there was a problem with underwear. They offered him a woman's robe but he said he'd sleep in his clothing. A nurse said, "That would be uncomfortable," to which "D" responded, "How would you know?" The problem was resolved when a resident lent "D" a pair of her dead husband's underwear. "D" has trouble with underwear. I've suggested the Big Man's Shop or the big man section of Target, but he says how can I give advice when I bought twenty pairs of faulty Jockey underwear then claimed it let my "little Richard" poke out the side. The truth hurts. Anyway, "D" was in a bad mood and looking for an argument. It is important not to gesticulate when arguing with "D" because he bit off one fellow's finger in a heated debate. 1 June 2009 In praise of Krishna Ben praised the Krishna food served Monday and Wednesdays in Hurtle Square about 6pm. He said Monday was the best because they served leftover food from the feast but added their soup sometimes tasted like they'd pureed the previous day's servings. A former leader of Krishna Consciousness had a brother who was a leading figure in the Adelaide homeless scene. Ben also wondered how the Jasmin Restaurant could supply so much quality food over such a long period for free. "The owner is Indian," I told him, "It's good karma for him." "If you believe that," Ben replied. 1 June 2009 The rise and rise of Hope Valley Uniting Church Hope Valley Uniting Church had people both at Fred's Van and the Jasmin Restaurant meal. Des, a school teacher, brought two Year 10 girls to Fred's Van. The Moore Street Day Centre food van was ten-minutes late. One clique regularly eat at the Jasmin, Moore Street van and Fred's Van, but they missed out on Fred's Van because the Moore Street van was late and the soup "very hot". There were few commiserations for their disappointment from fellow diners at Fred's Van. 30 May 2009 Unspoken words The Calvinist "rough sleeper" and "the Hobo" were talking about the temperature last night. There is an LCD thermometer outside a building on Gawler Place. "Have to rug up tonight," the Hobo said. They are two of the more disciplined men in the homeless scene. If their lives had taken a different course they'd have been leaders in any field they'd have chosen. When I compare the charity executives I used to be around in the 1990's I realise social standing is no measure of intrinsic worth. 29 May 2009 Cold drinks on cold nights Teen Challenge provides cold cordial with the Jasmin Restaurant meal in Hindmarsh Square. In summer this is good but in winter it's inappropriate for those sleeping outside. We need the old Teen Challenge trailer with the smoky gas stove heating water for coffee and tea. 29 May 2009 Shivering A young man ate at the Jasmin Restaurant meal last Thursday. He sat on the ground shivering under a thin blue/green blanket. If "Social Inclusion" had any basis in morality or reality then someone would go to most soup kitchens at night and ask if anyone needed a place for the night. But, of course, "Social Inclusion" isn't about this. It's about consciously excluding people from night shelters unless they go through a process that involves providing extensive personal information and surrendering medical and social privacy rights. 29 May 2009 Dog Act Someone stole the Celebrity Can Collector�s shopping jeep full of cans at last Monday Fred�s Van. 29 May 2009 The interesting spectrum of quality people at Fred's Van We often hear "the next Pope", David Cappo and other social inclusion bureaucrats refer to us as if we're little more than criminals, drug addicts and mental patients. Below is a range of personalities seen in the Adelaide homeless scene. Gambling addicts; can and scrap collectors; chronic rough sleepers and secondary homeless; alcoholics; semi-disabled people from car smashes, work accidents and beatings; brain damaged people gestated by petrol sniffing and alcoholic mothers; high intellect people who suffered nervous breakdowns; sexually traumatised men and women. One man worked as a software developer for twenty-four years, then eleven as a taxi driver then two as an unpaid worker rehabilitating computers for poor people. There are two ex-journalists in the homeless scene. Ex-prisoners released after twenty or thirty years in the slammer and who haven't adjusted to being "outside"; institutionalised psychiatric patients dumped into hostels and cheap hotels; drug addicts and dealers; chronic criminals in and out of jail and not finding alternatives; parents with children who use free food places as part of their food sources; financial predators looking for victims who may be homeless or working for a church group; culturally dislocated people (Sudanese and Aboriginals); eccentrics who refuse welfare and live outside; one unemployed corporate comedian. Government spies; homeless gossip columnists; occasional social work students (rare); people who want to do something good in their life by helping others; lonely people who use homeless joints as social venues; stroke victims (incredibly) and others with life-threatening and terminal illnesses; desperados on the run; street and door-to-door charity collectors; ex-prostitutes past their prime; unknown people who never give a hint of their lives to others; a polio victim left with disability and his wife and four children; those suffering mild and deadly depression, Big Issue vendors; one former medical student; a man living outside so as to save welfare money for a bond and advance rent on a flat; another man living outside because he fled his HousingSA unit after a schizophrenic neighbour waiting in the bushes smashed him in the face; a man, aged 76 who fled his unit in the MACHA/HousingSA complex (known as Alcatraz) in Lockleys, after being threatened by drug dealers living there; another man who fled his rented unit after being intimidated; a quiet elderly woman who says little and eats little; a depressed woman; a woman can collector; Aboriginal people travelling south from their homelands for medical attention or alcohol and/or to escape "income management"; work-for-the-dole people initiated into the culture through being forced to do work-for-the-dole; terminal cancer patients; mystery people. 28 May 2009 Barb and Danny Danny and Barb were at the Jasmin Restaurant meal in Hindmarsh Square last Thursday evening. Perhaps it was the darkness but they looked rested with newly darkened hair. Do they miss the good old days of screaming at each other on the street over botched pill deals? Do they miss Peter Haysman at Byron Place shouting he'll call the police if they don't shut-up? 27 May 2009 George puts hands on hips George, the Chef appeared dismayed at the huge queue waiting for the Jasmin free food last Thursday. For the previous three weeks the usually smaller Jasmin queue has been longer than the Thursday Fred's Van queue. The Jasmin food was, as usual, spectacular. 27 May 2009 The woman with the bullet-proof bra WestCare diners are familiar with that blond policewoman wearing the armoured bra and that little gun on her hip. She goes from table to table whispering sweet nothings to diners. WestCare invites her into their premises meaning she can treat diners the same way they can be treated on the street - the invitation means the church complex has temporarily surrendered its sanctuary status. One diner said his bag was searched by the bra-woman on Morphett Street. She told him not to turn around while she searched it. He did, saying that he wanted to be sure she didn't plant anything. He says she smacked him a few times in the face. "Not too hard," he said. I saw her in Byron Place last year and almost grabbed her gun. I'm glad I didn't, now. 26 May 2009 Fred's Van An indigenous woman yelled for thirty-minutes then threw food over a man at Fred's Van. His only reaction was to occasionally duck. When the police arrived the woman pointed the direction of the man's flight. They rode after him. One well-built and loud pure black fella fellow shook his fists until police calmed him down. Gary yelled his head off: little, old, unfit Gary shouted louder and more aggressively than anyone else yet escaped injury. His secret weapon was his slurred voice - no one is quite sure if he's wishing them a good day or threatening dire consequences. Bonus soup was served with the usual rice and curry, and the sausages with bread. A young woman said the soup was vegetarian; she claimed authority to make the pronouncement by her status as a vegetarian. She spilt the warm soup over the edges of my cup making my hands sticky. I avoided the immature reaction of jumping up and down instead gasping, "aaah, aaah, aaah!" 26 May 2009 We were wrong - Lance Armstrong denies rumour The homeless scene's "Lance Armstrong" vaguely denied that he had another crash saying his most recent was in early January. However, he was driving his car this last week, rather than pedalling. 25 May 2009 In the enemy camp Two WestCare regular patrons went to Hutt Street Centre for lunch. The required documentation surprised them: "They wanted Centrelink card, date of birth; what they do with that is anyone's guess." But, "we were sat down and the food was brought out right away. There were twelve volunteers in the kitchen when WestCare has trouble getting four." 25 May 2009 Graham, Graham, Graham Nick was telling the-Ghost-who-walks that all three Grahams in the homeless scene are in hospital. 25 May 2009 Probity Issues Nothing came of that Australian newspaper article saying Land Broker Monsignor Cappo's church allegedly got prime government land for at least a million dollars less than market value. South Australia doesn't have a corruption investigator and the person who would decide to form such a body is Premier Media Mike Rann, he who allegedly approved the cheap land sale to the Catholic Church when other developers would have paid more for it. So he isn't going to form a corruption commission to investigate how his favourite church got a million dollar gift from taxpayer revenue. Meanwhile, WestCare was denied permission by the Adelaide City Council to build an upstairs floor of ten units to house homeless women because of "neighbour objections". It was on WestCare's own land but the Baptists don't have powerful political connections like the Anglicans and Catholics. WestCare is allowed, however, to build offices for medical and counselling purposes, but building has been delayed due to contaminated dirt on the site. Builders haven't decided how to remove the poison dirt, according to one source inside WestCare. It's strange because Common Ground didn't have trouble throwing up units above the diesel-fumed bus station, and even got $5million from Mike Rann's government to build that Light Square joint. The Rann government might not be corrupt but with its obsessive secrecy hiding all deals from public scrutiny then who can really tell. 25 May 2009 The Quest for PJ �R�, the Calvinist �rough sleeper� and I were talking on a dark Adelaide street about the difficulty in getting Holden Kingswood parts when we were joined by R.H., who was prowling the streets looking for a place to urinate. He said he was "busting for a piss". During the conversation R.H. said he was looking for �PJ� who hasn�t been in the best of health. �PJ� at one point was crossing West Terrace hoping to get someone to call an ambulance, according to R.H. He was bleeding from the mouth and nose and suffering terrible chest pains. R.H. said �PJ� wasn�t caring at that moment about being hit by a car because he thought at least the ambulance would arrive quicker. R.H. says �PJ� has had two apparent heart attacks in the last eighteen-months exacerbated by lack of food and that last time he was in intensive care for two weeks. �PJ� certainly has been looking thinner. Earlier in the evening at the Jasmin Restaurant outdoor meal another friend of �PJ� said he�d seen �PJ� asking for a bag of food at WestCare but had been refused. He wanted to stock up for the weekend. This second friend said �PJ� told the employee that another WestCare employee always gave him food, but was told to leave. �PJ� then argued the case and the employee said if he didn�t leave he�d call the police. �PJ� stopped to think for awhile then challenged the employee to call the police. The employee didn�t. �PJ� isn�t known for violence but he has a keen hectoring intellect and is approaching seventy years of age. 22 May 2009 Another side of Stuart C A reader of this website differs to my opinion that Stuart C**** at WestCare is a decent fellow, he of the famous dyed hair. The reader told me: "You think Stuart is a good guy. Why don't you ask around? I wouldn't trust him. He's the one who inflamed the situation getting Steve banned. Stuart used to bait him. 'What have you done to Jayne today? Why is she upset today?' Steve couldn't shut up in response. Look, Steve, I said, Stuart will go straight to the kitchen to Jayne. We watched him do it." Speedy knew Stuart at Bowden Lodge. Two-faced. You say something to Stuart and he'll go to another person and say you said something completely different. Stuart canvas's negative comments about Jayne then runs to her with exaggerated versions." 20 May 2009 HousingSA warns the old folk Those old people in the HousingSA unit near Port Adelaide are having more trouble. A HousingSA employee visited last week warning them that a non-HousingSA neighbour had complained the police were visiting the units too often. HousingSA puts mostly drug dealers and addicts in the five units situated near Victoria Road. A baby was killed in one unit resulting in one parent going to jail. A man was murdered ten houses down the street. It�s that sort of neighbourhood. Last month a car was torched in the parking area burning the side of another car in the process. Tires were slashed in two separate incidents. One problem is an amphetamine cook angry because his girlfriend left him for a real cook from SkyCity Casino. She�s pregnant to the real cook and hoping to stop Welfare from grabbing the kid when she gives birth � like the others. The old people previously lived in a HousingSA house nearby, him for 29 years where he and his previous wife brought up seven children, two of which have been through university. HousingSA evicted them then demolished their house, putting them temporarily into a smaller, nastier unit until that, too, was demolished. They were finally transferred to the units reserved generally for drug dealers and addicts. The old man is seventy-eight and relies on a pacemaker. He worked at a cleaning job until recently. He and his wife attend church most days. They give a large portion on their incomes to various causes like Guide Dogs and RSPCA and are helping his youngest daughter through accountancy school. They don�t use drugs, drink alcohol, gamble or smoke; they don�t even swear. They don�t have police records. �I can�t take this,� the seventy-eight year old said when the almost just out of school HousingSA employee warned them police were visiting the units too frequently, implying the old people were part of the problem. To be fair, she told them, she wasn�t accusing them directly but was giving all the tenants the same warning; she wasn�t in the game of determining who was causing the police visits. It was a blanket warning. The old people were quite disturbed by the almost just out of school HousingSA employee�s visit. They don�t know if there are going to be repercussions. 17 May 2009 Computer Games and Chit Chat Vanessa at WestCare couldn't concentrate when calculating the wages for employees because Jayne, the cook, was playing games on the computers and annoying her with small talk. 17 May 2009 Lance Armstrong crashes - again A reliable source says the homeless scene's "Lance Armstrong" has had another fall. He does rides like daily trips to Mt Barker and, due to excessive speed or the mistakes of others, takes heavy falls with considerable injuries. He must have excellent knees and good bones to pedal so fast for such long distances. I figure he eats at homeless soup kitchens because all his food money goes on bicycles and bandages. 13 May 2009 Byron Place Community Centre luggage storage Byron Place stores the belongings of "homeless" people. This includes clothing, personal affects, whatever - they don't search your bags. They'll store three items of up to 15kg each for three months. They'll usually supply striped "candy" or "derro" bags to store your stuff. Bags are pushed through a gap in the counter like at the airport. If you regularly add or remove items to your bags then the storage is effectively indefinitely or three months from your last opening of your bags. It's best to tell staff if you're heading off for three months just in case you're late coming back. Giving them a mobile phone number helps, too. Security is excellent because usually only staff with police clearances are allowed in the storage room. I was once in the manager's office and it was piled with suitcases. The staff are egalitarian. 13 May 2009 Police at Fred's Van Police informers must have alerted them to a possible problem so they arrived at Fred's Van before the van arrived - even before a dozen full-blood indigenous people arrived. The policeman was tall and thin while the woman officer was short and wore an unforgiving expression - like a mean little kid with a gun. The indigenous people were clearly intimidated and all was quiet. 11 May 2009 Clients surprised Clients at last Thursday's Fred's Van were surprised when they found Kit Kat bars in "the bags" that weren't past the Use-by date. 11 May 2009 Was that Warren from Glenside Hospital? A huge fellow with hair falling over his face stood at the back of the Fred's Van queue and let each new person stand in front of him. He smiled his eyes were partly covered by ginger coloured hair falling over them. Warren never used to smile so it might not have been him. 11 May 2009 Gall Stones Graham, a regular in the homeless scene, is in hospital with gall stones, according to the Ghost-who-walks 11 May 2009 Two sides of every story Readers should note that the viewpoints on the WestCare food saga are from one side only. To get the other side one might contact Baptist Care Services Head Office on 1300 654 450 or WestCare on (08) 8231 2850 both in South Australia. 8 May 2009 Salvation Army Employment Plus in Norwood An Employment Plus job network client says services have been in decline in the Norwood office long before the government cancelled most of its Adelaide contracts. He said Job Network activities were cleared from the upper floor of the Norwood office and compressed into a small space near the front door. The top floor was then rented to someone else. Client interviews were henceforth conducted in a cramped space next to the receptionist and just behind the job computers. The client says things got so shabby that he'd get interview letters showing days and dates that didn't match and from an employee who had quit three-months previously. He says the interviews went like this: Salvation Army interviewer: Everything okay? Client: Yeah. Salvation Army interviewer: Still doing volunteer work? Client: Yeah. Salvation Army interviewer: Anything we can do for you? Client: No. Salvation Army interviewer: Resume okay? Client: Yeah. Salvation Army interviewer: Okay, we'll see you at the next appointment. Client: Yeah. The client sums up the Salvation Army job network business: "No receptionist, no privacy, [during interviews] you can touch the next desk with your hand and you're next to the public area." 7 May 2009 What a turnoff - freezer-style A once new and na�ve Baptist WestCare kitchen-hand recounts a day when he noticed the two kitchen chest freezers turned off. He told the other workers who seemed unconcerned: "Yeah, yeah, we'll tell Jayne [the cook]," they said. Noticing them still off the next morning he said he almost flicked them back on but told himself, "No, I'm not getting involved in this." He later said he thought they were planning a barbecue. Finally everyone in the kitchen noticed melting food saying they'd have to use it right away. The new kitchen-hand thought they meant a special barbecue for the clients. It didn't. The freezers were emptied, the food dividing amongst staff and taken to their homes. 7 May 2009 Fingering Clients Baptist WestCare in Millers Place, Adelaide invites the police to walk through their dining room at lunch checking diners for warrants and questioning them generally. This is, according to a neighbour across the street, to "dis-empower the drug dealers" while a WestCare employee says it's to "get rid of the undesirables". But this legitimate process might have been utilised last year to suit the ulterior personal motive of a certain employee. This story goes back to last year when a can and scrap collector in dirty overalls was eating the two-dollar lunch at WestCare while proudly showing his new phone to others at the table. The scrap collector's mistake was sitting at the table with a man disliked by, Jayne, the cook. And anyone consorting with her enemy is her enemy. The police arrived for their warrant check and went straight into the kitchen to see Jayne then, according to a witness, came straight out to the scrap collector's table telling him he shouldn't be there because he had dirty overalls that made him look like a worker and the place was for "the homeless" only. The scrap collector stood up but one police officer told him to "sit down because we haven't finished talking to you". The police then left the man to continue his meal because WestCare doesn't exercise strict criteria for meal purchases. Nor is the man a trouble maker and he is poor. And the police had been diverted anyway, from their brief. The WestCare cook, Jayne H., allegedly diverted the police for her own purposes. The background was that the phone man was part of a group holding the opinion that Jayne regularly stole food from the kitchen that was intended for clients. They said that on numerous occasions she ordered special foods from Food Bank on the WestCare account then had the volunteer driver unwittingly deliver the goods to her house. This hasn't been proven in a court of law and WestCare management has shown extreme reluctance in conducting an enquiry. Most of the numerous witnesses, both volunteers and clients, have, coincidentally, been kicked out of WestCare. But this little story is how the police were manipulated to pressure someone not on their target list of the drug dealers. Similarly, like when WestCare management called the police on another critic, Peter C, saying he was dealing drugs. The police searched him bodily, in public, and found nothing. 5 May 2009 China cup throwing night That old favourite weapon, the china mug, has seen its eclipse at Fred's Van. St Vincent de Paul, who served the Tuesday to Thursday meals have phased them out in favour of cardboard cups. It was a pleasant little encounter last fortnight that prompted the change. Good natured clients wanting to draw blood from each others faces were throwing them back and forth. One enterprising combatant thought to stand in front of serving staff to create a backdrop-style human shield. The staff were not amused. Henceforth, we now drink from clean paper cups. Oh, I'll miss the good old days of searching for the least toxic-looking mug and quietly drinking a coffee wondering if someone was going to bust off the handle from their cup and use it to scratch an ugly scar in your face. Ah, the good old days: gone, gone, gone. 5 May 2009 Krusher at the Gates Krusher Karl from WestCare blessed the Jasmin Restaurant meal in Hindmarsh Square with his presence last Thursday evening. He seems quite a civilised fellow though some diners nervously hung around their clapped out cars wondering what Krusher had in his backpack. Krusher left with "Ricky" in the Teen Challenge truck. The food was excellent with the added focal attraction of watching office workers heading home suddenly confronted by our scene reminiscent of the 1930's Great Depression. 5 May 2009 Fred's Van Curry The Thursday night Fred's Van vegetarian curry is different each week. It tastes better each week. And those who serve it look nicer each week. Is this senility? 5 May 2009 How time doesn't fly The welfare industry and government have squeezed the Light Square Common Ground project for so long that even through my streetwise cynicism I'd thought it was nearing completion. But the City Messenger newspaper says that construction hasn't even begun but will next fortnight. Adam Todd, the journalist who wrote the article, even touts this lengthy delay as some major achievement. The fact that the 52 expected "apartments" in the project are down from the previously claimed 90 units escapes his attention completely. Similarly, that the State government reduces its housing stock by this much every month misses Todd's mighty radar completely. Can't you just see a government spin doctor in the making with the mighty Todd? From City Messenger 30/4/2009 Posted 4 May 2009 Love the roar of diesel engines in the morning Sue Crafter, a highly paid employee of Common Ground housing for the homeless was reported in the City Messenger newspaper paper as saying that the Bus Station "studio apartment" tenants are "�going very well, tenants say they're very happy there, they say they're very appreciative to live in such a high quality environment". One tenant found the place so wonderful that he, or she, moved out and "into home ownership". It must be quite a treat to live below a car park and twenty-metres diagonally from Adelaide's interstate buses roaring in and out of the building just below you. 4 May 2009 Otherway closing down in the city Otherway Centre on Pirie Street, Adelaide is closing down. The church has sold the property to Bendigo Bank, according to the word on the street. It is moving to Stepney, an inner suburb. Otherway is a rest centre for those living outside in the city. They provide coffee and hot pies for free. There was a barbecue there today to mark this retreat to suburbia. It continues government and welfare groups moving out of the CBD into cheaper suburban properties. This continues Land Broker David Cappo�s policy of moving the poor from the CBD to make way for richer folk and foreign students. 1 May 2009 Helping the Homeless That old couple, of exploding car fame, let a homeless woman stay in their unit for three-weeks last Christmas. Housing SA slugged them for three weeks increased rent despite the woman staying just two nights. The couple might get the increased rent refunded on review or appeal but they don't have the strength or knowledge to deal with HousingSA. And those bureaucrats aren't going to make it easy for them. Why should they? 28 April 2009 Luggage Evolution Back in the 1960's old men in tired black suits dragged themselves from one stinking doss house to another carrying suitcase-sized parcels precisely wrapped in newspaper. But a more sophisticated younger generation rejected newspaper in favour of striped "derro" bags. They were cheap and you could fold them up when not needed. But now a Fred's Van diner has thrown convention aside and dumped his "derro" bags in favour of a small black wheeled suitcase. And who knows what may come next. Perhaps future trendsetters will arrive at Fred's Van pulling giant mattress-lined suitcases on wheels that can be rested on the ground to provide instant bedrooms. 28 April 2009 That old couple and the exploding car The elderly couple have been mentioned in this column previously. They were moved by the Housing Trust due to redevelopment, twice. The man, in his seventies, brought up his seven children in a Housing Trust house in Largs North in which he lived for 27 years. The Housing Trust moved him to another joint so they could knock down his old place. Then the Trust decided to knock down the second place so they shunted the couple to the Port Adelaide area, to a group of five units mostly inhabited by drug addicts and dealers. Last week, in what was not an exceptional week, someone punched a hole in the back window of a car owned by a former tenant visiting someone in another unit. The car was parked eighteen metres from the front door of the elderly couple. During the night petrol was poured through the hole. The bang was quite impressive. So were the flames. One wouldn't accuse the Housing Trust (HousingSA) of being overly sensitive when placing tenants in new accommodation after evicting them for redevelopment. HousingSA staff arrive at work each day knowing they'll spend another eight hours dishing out contempt to clients. Dot Casey is an exception. 27 April 2009 Byron Place A man was stabbed at the Byron Place Community Centre about ten days ago. 27 April 2009 ASK Job Network Joint There was a Board meeting at a suburban Adelaide ASK Job Network joint. ASK is the Catholic Church�s Job Network business. A witness at that meeting told me someone from ASK Head Office was in attendance. One of the suburban ASK employees told the meeting that she�d had increased success finding jobs for people. The Head Office person replied saying that wasn�t best for profitability and that keeping people unemployed for six-months was best because it meant lucrative extra government payments for ASK. The person who told me this said the Head Office person showed not a trace of embarrassment when making the statement. My informant has been trained to recollect conversations accurately and is not prone to exaggeration. 16 April 2009 How WestCare deals with complaints - apart from calling the police on complainants Approximately 5wks ago Mr Mike Newman, the head man of Human Resources at Baptist Care SA said he would set up a mediation meeting between myself, Dave S, & Jayne H. This hasnt happened. Proves U cant trust or rely on anyone associated with this organisation." Peter C from the Guestbook Archive late 15 April 2009 Celebrity Can Collector versus Trans Adelaide After being banned from pulling his fridge trolley onto trains, and now with his car finally gone to the chopper, the Celebrity Can Collector has shown he is far from down and out. He was seen pulling a granny shopping trolley, one of those pissy little things with thin axels. The Celebrity says he haults it onto trains, passing off as an elderly shopper. The Trans Adelaide Nazi's can't touch him because lots of old people by necessity pull them onto trains. "I pull it onto buses in the mornings," he said, last week. "But not at night when it's loaded." Trans Adelaide cannot crush this human spirit. 14 April 2009 HousingSA Annual Report 2007-2008 "Approximately 12.8% of new public housing allocations in 2007-08 were made to customers who identified as being homeless, representing a decrease of 1% from 2006-07." From the Housing SA Annual Report 2007-2008 Posted 14 April 2009 Housing Portal to Hell? (The Greg Calder Relaxation Society) "During 2007-08 Street to Home found sustainable housing outcomes for 75 rough sleepers, 58 of which were housed into public housing." From the Housing SA Annual Report 2007-2008 Posted 14 April 2009 Grammatical error or does Common Ground own the bus station as well as the flats.? "Two buildings are owned by Common Ground Adelaide Limited, the Franklin Street Bus Station, Adelaide, and the Sands and McDougall building in Light Square, Adelaide." From the Housing SA Annual Report 2007-2008 I've always wondered what Common Ground did with all those millions from the government. Posted 14 April 2009 Hope Valley Uniting Church Professional pilot, Graham, from the Hope Valley Uniting Church was their latest contribution to the Jasmin Restaurant meal in Hindmarsh Square on Thursday evenings. Graham is semi-retired but still flies mine workers and executives to outback airstrips. He proved his credentials by quickly becoming at ease with the homeless crowd and was immediately promoted to the guy who pours the cold cordial as the meals are distributed. Perhaps the meal should be called the Hope Valley meal as "Ricky" is the only Teen Challenge worker still helping distribute the food. But "Ricky" is very reliable and a credit to Teen Challenge and whatever mob he's with. He entertained the crowd last week by grabbing the whole box of fruit and pretending to walk away with it - a very risqu� thing to do in the homeless scene. Of course, no one was really fooled because "Ricky" enjoys a good reputation in the homeless scene. 14 April 2009 Nothing more than a rumour Rumour has it that ******** from ****** was telling people that he bust the Celebrity Can Collector's windscreen in Victoria Square and that he was looking for the cars of an ex-WestCare driver and of the man who was kicked out for 12-months by John Hannaford. The implication was that he was going to break their windows, also. It should be noted that this is simply a rumour. Meanwhile, the Celebrity felt his car wasn't worth fixing and has traded the bomb to the ghost-who-walks for money owed. 8 April 2009 Another rumour The enterprising Stuart C from Westcare has got his hairdresser to leave messages on the message board of this website. 8 April 2009 Bye Bye Salvation Army Plus The Salvation Army has lost their government contract to run those cruel Job Network employment offices in Adelaide where they got paid to kick poor people off the dole then paid even more to help these humans deal with their increased poverty. The Salvation Army became big in the Job Network because they promoted the previous federal government's anti-drug policy. The pendulum switched back with the change of government. The Salvation Army is one of Australia's biggest corporations with Australian assets worth about three billion dollars. They also keep catering trucks packed with food ready to roll within the hour to deal with national emergencies. They are an incredible religious outfit, but like other churches should stay out of the business of kicking poor people off welfare. 7 April 2009 Krusher Karl misses lunch Last Wednesday former interstate bus driver, Krusher Karl, missed lunch. He was offered a free meal as is WestCare policy if he spent the lunch period cleaning the tables. He was diligent and did a good job, but Richard forgot to keep a meal for him so he missed out. Even Krusher's critics said this wasn't fair. WestCare perhaps should give him two yellow tokens like phone and electricity companies that give people money if they take longer than a certain time to fix faults. Volunteers are the lifeblood of homeless joints and should be treated well. 7 April 2009 Using Children A sunburnt man with bloodshot eyes accompanies two unsmiling five or six-year-old blond boys at the bus shelter outside the Strathmore Hotel, opposite the Casino. One boy is horribly close to the curb where the buses swoop in. The man is John Andrew Green, 52, of no-fixed-address. Green's modus operandi is using his or other children as emotional collateral when soliciting substantial amounts of money from strangers and new acquaintances. He claims he needs money for family reunions, flying his children interstate, buying them a car, or for other events that never happen. The only stable factor is his children's' welfare: that is the only reason he wants the money. Green's pleading for cash if often followed by intimidation, as a tool in trade. One seventy-year-old retiree at a community centre providing services for homeless people fell into the role of rescuer. He'd drive Green to a psychologist because Green claimed he had trouble keeping appointments; he introduced Green to his family doctor who fast-tracked Green to have bladder surgery for cancer at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. When Green sensed the retiree was suitably "ripened", that is, committed to his welfare, he claimed the city was killing him and needed to visit the country. The retiree had a car so they drove him towards Kapunda for a day out. Fraudsters create an abyss. It's their stock in trade. They create a situation where the quarry senses disaster and must appease the fraudster to climb out from some impending doom. Between towns Green trotted out his money-for-his-children routine, but with an added inflection in his voice, something triggering fear in the old man. Was it Green's foot stomping once on the floor, was it Green smacking a fist in his open hand, or was it simply a slowing of his speech disguised within normal conversation? Not enough to prompt the quarry to flash his lights to oncoming traffic but enough to make him realise, just below the level of consciousness, that he didn't actually know much about his passenger. Green claimed to live under bushes outside the CSIRO building and used the services of the homeless centre where the retiree volunteered, that he knew. But Green might be a cunning mugger having created this opportune location for a mugging: little road traffic, no witnesses, his life was in this stranger's hands. They stopped at an ATM in Kapunda where the old man withdrew a few hundred dollars, perhaps not realising the fear that had permeated his body, betrayed only by a tiny tremor in his hand, a lurch in his gait as he walked to the ATM. Green took the money and sunk into his habitual, hostile silence as they drove back to Adelaide; he wasn't satisfied with the amount; perhaps he should have asked for more. He knew the old man had worked all his life and had substantial savings. They met some days later in the Myer Food Court just off Rundle Mall for lunch. Green had in tow another two children that day, older than those at the bus shelter. They were brought there to imply the quarry's money actually went towards their welfare. "Who paid for lunch?" I asked the old man years later. "Take a guess," he snapped, no longer under any illusion. Green's use of children, either real or fictional children, continued. One son, named Bradley, allegedly works as a lawyer/accountant at Adelaide University, plays football, drives a Toyota Echo and lives in the Adelaide suburb of Plympton. Bradley's mother, according to Green, was manager of the bad loans section of BankSA, a fact that BankSA strenuously denies. Green claims to have another estranged son named Mitchell aged either 16, 18 or 20, whatever best suits Green's latest scam. The only proven claim by Green is that he worked briefly as a journalist in Darwin for the Northern Territory News, from 1989 to 1991. His short career declined after he was repeatedly caught scamming money from locals including a Darwin ABC broadcaster. With one quarry, Green claimed he needed money to buy his son, "Mitchell", a car. The ruse was that he'd committed himself to buying the car then discovered his bank required one week's notice before he could withdraw from his Term Account. He therefore needed a one-week loan. Green got the loan, but instead of "Mitchell" getting a car Green was seen pouring the cash into the Roulette-on-Computer machine at the Adelaide Sky City Casino. Yet another son of Green is named Luke, recently recovering from a bite to the face from a dog named, "Puppy". Whether these are real people or not Green provides a plethora of personal information about them and his extended family to gain trust of his quarry. Green's use of children doesn't stop once the money is obtained because those cheated turn the tables and Green becomes the prey. But Green counters this by psychologically transubstantiated the concept of a bad debt into the welfare of his children. This means he sees those seeking repayment as threatening his children. This delusional state of mind allows him to self-righteously retaliate without a qualm of conscience. He provided $500 to a homeless man to beat-up a disabled man who was asking for repayment and this didn't bother his conscience the slightest: he was protecting his children, wasn't he? King hitting the same man in the face in the toilets of the State Library was simply an act of defending his "children". Green isn't a child molester; not even a child abuser, per se. It would be wrong to describe him with either propensity. What he does is mine the essence of our love and protection we give children; our children are our belief in the future. He turns this pure sentiment into that caustic deception he uses to extract a few hundred, a few thousand dollars to appease his secret cravings. It's something as banal as his gambling habit that propels his zigzag march across Adelaide, up and down side streets, short and long cuts through shopping arcades, turning his head backward every few metres to check for "enemies". His stories, his lies, his swinging fists, his pouring out tears in public, falling to his knees pleading: they're all his veneer of deception disguising his secret motivations, his secret activities. In his mind he isn't staving off shame, of facing justice but rather protecting his progeny, either real or fictitious. And what about those sudden misgivings, those feelings of apprehensive uneasiness where he fights off the urge to panic, to run howling down the street? Where does this panic arise? Perhaps, his conscience tells him he's betrayed everything and everyone he's held dear; that his vices have assumed priority over everything else. And what of his whining email messages he sends to all and sundry? They're quite effective, gaining him new outpourings of pity, of sympathy and, he knows, sooner or later, some fish will take the hook. But potential rescuers should take heed. Green's cunning madness retains a reptilian alertness as he pleads his sad story of persecution. Anyone extending sympathy qualifies to become his future quarry. 25 March 2009 Home |