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Exodus, movement of the people (Bob Marley)... while processing this photo the song "Exodus" came on and i thought how fitting. it's been a long time since i been able to get out and shoot, (over 2 years i've been pretty confined from an accident) OVR was the first place i wanted to go, to glimpse some of my past. i couldn't believe the changes, the rehabbing, sterile in a way,, and the people that have been displaced,,, changes... it still seems as if something is missing, the grittiness?? i spent a lot of time in OVR, learned a lot about life there, cutting hair of it's people, the homeless,, to see the changes, good and bad... i remember the "original Vine Street Betty" she was a lawyer, smiling, she would hit the barber students with a broom in the butt as we went by, always sweeping. then there was the "other" vine street betty, a he/she, wore women's clothing and a hat with rubber lizards, snakes hanging from it! from the street people i learned compassion,,, the wino's time was up,, transformed to crack... back then, a lot of vets were homeless on the streets (then it seemed to be a majority,) to now, unemployed and homeless youth and adults, families struggling,, children the real innocent victims of irresponsible adults... i just was wondering where/how/when the line was drawn, where are the homeless, low income, where have they moved on to now scattered, hidden, (also, the low income, subsidize housing paid a very long time for rent in these building, paid the mortgages off for the slum landlords,,, should they not reap the reward of an rehabbed community?). also, awhile back, homeless were pretty transient (even though you would see some come back many other years, or they also lived around,) seems now/today that more are local, a community,,, yet the majority gone, so it seemed in the central part of OVR between vine and main, liberty to central pkwy., an exodus.. where are our homeless, poor going to live? the trend seems to push the problem away, to build a new facade... yet, we do need to face this challenge,, a different type of rehabbing, the building of spirit, a human life..... Aug 24th/08 reading todays headlines "Broken Trust" really hurts, sickens me... you see, we all know there is enough local wealth,,, corporation and individual,,, to have institutions, mental health, and orphanages, to take care of, and educate (the big factor) our homeless population. after Vietnam, i saw, experienced the influx of vets, many homeless, addicted, and others, and just plain families needing a lifting hand, (the economy then) and whatever it may have been from... now you might think i am crazy, yet things have a trend of revolving, and we need to plan/ act now.. there is already a dramatic rise in mental illness, social/sensory disabilities, also, with the new wave of war vets, (it is traumatic what "our" soldiers go through) the economy, no jobs, and the displacement of poor from inner-city... i see a rise of homeless individuals wandering up the avenues, roads, from the inner- city, meeting, the poor already living in "the suburbs" losing their homes/ bankruptcy most with no better living conditions... what are we going to do in our own backyards?
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Dead Betty says:
thanks louie :)
Woodstock says:
louie the panda rocks!
Mac says:
great catch in the window. Downtown has really changed over the years and there is poverty in our own back yards. Each of us either knows tragedy first hand or been close enough to understand it. Everyone can do small things that will make a difference. Congrats to all the people who do!
Woodstock says:
i ran out of breathe writing this!
Slakejustice says:
As a delivery driver I've seen a great deal of change myself over the whole area. From Williamstown, Ky to Monroe, Oh. The disappearing farmland, the shredding of many community's small forests, the revitalization of OTR, and the homeless. I make deliveries downtown a lot. It's not uncommon to see a person sitting outside the Carew Tower asking for money. Last winter I walked out of the Carew Tower and there was a homeless man sitting against the sign directly in front of me. Snow had begun to fall. He had a dusting upon his coat and crossed legs and he was sleeping. It was truly sad. Today I saw a man laying on the sidewalk in front of the URL building sleeping. All the city has done for the homeless is nothing. They only make it harder for the homeless to survive. You have to pay for a license to panhandle. They sealed off the underpasses where they would seek shelter and my favorite, they closed down the camp at the Mitchel Ave. Exit. Sadly, they don't realize that ignoring the problem isn't going to accomplish anything...
Woodstock says:
thank you will...we need the CityLink, the proposed social services project at 800 Bank Street in the West End and IT should receive Council support
Photohawk68 says:
Wow. Very eloquent caption, Tim. Years back, I went from living an upscale lifestyle to living in a friend's barn loft (complete with hay bales, mice, and the constant aroma of horse manure), so I can certainly appreciate the thin line between being one who has, and one who has nothing.
Woodstock says:
thank you william and robert for sharing.... i guess in the whole of the paragraph,, i guess i am just trying to say there needs to be balance,, a give and take in society, this earth... so much is taken....