Posts tagged streets
Jann Scotts Journal: A night at BOHO in Boulder
Dec 12th
Posted by Jann Scott in Jann Scotts Journal
Some names have been changed in this column out of respect to the homeless men discussed here.
At 6:30 pm I picked up Chad outside of the Boulder One Foundation where he had attended an AA meeting.. Cleo had called me at 5:00 and asked if I could give Chad a ride to St Andrews Church on Baseline which hosts tonight’s BOHO, Boulder Outreach Homeless Overflow. She didn’t feel comfortable giving a homeless street alcoholic a ride anywhere.
I have known Chad for 30 years. He grew up in Boulder and has been on and off the streets due to his chronic addiction to alcohol. Tonight he was sober as a Boulder County judge. He’s been sober for the past few months. But he’s penniless.
When we arrived at St. Andrews there was a line of 130 people outside the door. White Horse who runs BOHO came out to greet me. Inside was his wife Julie and two other staff members. Next a personal media tour took place where I saw an elaborate housing operation under way. Room after room was filled with mats, bedding, plastic floor coverings, dog kennels, snacks. Card tables up with computers were set in the lobby for staff. At seven the doors opened for Boulder’s poor , hungry unwashed and forgotten.
One of the problems is that this population are not sober enough for the Boulder Homeless Shelter.Over 80%of them are intoxicated. They are all alcoholics of the hopeless street variety. White Horse and his team provide dignity, shelter, clothes and food for these chronically ill people. These are not out of work construction workers or scientists. These are chronic street alcoholics.
During the night the police will stop by routinely with more drunk homeless men and women who need shelter.
Unlike the Boulder Homeless Shelter, BOHO is a wet shelter. As long as people behave they can come in. That’s good otherwise we would have more dead frozen guys.
This goes on night after night in Boulder in a different church every night. The churches are all Christian and one Jewish Temple. Christian Judea teachings really call upon its members to help the poor. And thank God it does. It does not seem to be the case in Boulder’s other 200 religions in my experience.
According to the staff no city or county officials, no commissioners, no council member, no judges or city or district attorneys have ever visited BOHO when it is in full swing on a cold winter night. They need to be there and get a tour. This is the low down side of homelessness.
As for Chad, he thanked me for the ride and will try to stay close to the few sober people in BOHO for the night. In the morning when he has to leave at 8:00, he will brave the weather and head back over to Boulder One Foundation for more AA meetings, free coffee and warmth of the building and recovering alcoholics.
BOHO estimates there are over 2, 000 homeless people sleeping outside tonight. 260 more of them are in BOHO or Boulder Homeless Shelter. 30 additional are at the Addiction Recovery Center. 200 more are in the Boulder County Jail. Another 40 will go to Boulder Community Hospital ER homeless entrance. The police, fire and ambulance will go on 10 callsl to pick up more street addicts. We will spend $5,000 tonight providing them emergency services. These are men and women who have lost their ability to metabolize alcohol and drugs and they are dying on our streets. Until they do BOHO offers shelter from the storm.
God Bless them this Christmas
Jann Scott
Boulder, Colorado
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your light will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10).
Boulder hacking, Iran, Steve Jobs, Banning cars on campus. by Jann Scott
Oct 15th
Posted by Jann Scott in Jann Scotts Journal
Steve Jobs passing brought an unusual strong reaction from some techies here in Boulder. We found fighting and sniping about Jobs going on inside of Boulder Start-up tech community. This community is notoriously humorless, thoughtless, judgmental and rude. They will be the subject of some TV shows by me on cyber bullying. They are the worst. Just last week i was threatened again by one of these jack asses. keep it up.
Hacking and Christopher Cheney Boulder is also a subject of FBI and local law enforcement investigations when it comes to hacking. Christopher Cheney is the latest geek arrested for hacking into celeb email and bank accounts. I have been hacked here and have an on going FBI investigation into the Boulder techies who did it. Beyond me the Boulder kid t
ech community supports this criminal activity as does the city of Boulder in its backing of Start-Up Boulder. Other companies involved in sponsored hacking include Trada and Tech Stars who have held advertised hacking events. FBI and Boulder DA tell me they are all under investigation for sponsoring illegal hacking events. They FBI arrested hundreds of people nationwide last spring including some Boulderites for financial hacking. Boulder DA’s office tell me that they have sophisticated equipment and an FBI agent in the DA’s office to target Boulder hackers. The Denver FBI office has the most sophisticated anti hacking office in the country. Good. I am sick of these people.
Banning cars on the CU Boulder campus? It’s about time. I have been advocating banning cars from Boulder all together since 1995. We are all dead from air pollution any way, but it couldn’t hurt to get the cars they hell out of town. Ride a bike. Take an electric cab. Dive an electric golf cart. walk . Take an electric bus. Stay the hell home. ( joke)
From the ” oh my God isn’t boulder great” capitol of the world
Jann Scott
Boulder, Colorado
Jann Scott Live – Homeless Freezing in Boulder
Feb 22nd
Posted by Jann Scott in Jann Scott Live
It’s freezing in Boulder and Jann Scott hits the street to interview the people outside and finds that the homeless people are yet again freezing in the city of Boulder.