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History.comThe Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the

area that is now Ireland, the United King-dom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associ-ated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the bound-ary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was be-lieved that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and dam-aging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predic-tions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these

By Rafael A. Olmeda and Brittany Wall-man South Florida Sun SentinelBroward prosecutors have dis-

missed a claim that Fort Lauder-dale police officers unfairly targeted homeless people to win days off or gift cards to a movie theater.The complaints were brought last

year by veteran officer Michael Hen-nessy, who said senior officers devel-oped incentives that resulted in the unfair treatment of homeless people in Fort Lauderdale.The police department never dis-

puted the existence of the incentives over a brief period in 2008, but has consistently denied that they were unfair in concept or in practice. The police department’s Internal Affairs department ruled in a June report that various incentives did not result in any illegal activity, though they have since been ended.The investigation was then turned

over to the Broward State Attorney’s Office for an independent review. The office’s closeout memo, dated Sept. 10, was obtained Friday by the Sun Sentinel. Its investigation like-

Ready for Flu SeasonProsecutors clear Fort Lauderdale police of anti-homeless allegations

HalloweenBy Sean CononieOver the years we have had our share of

overdoses mostly because of what I call “Pill Partying Physicians” and “Drug Deal-ing Doctors.” OK, Sean, what are these two new terms you coined? These are the so called “Pain Clinics.” Don’t get me wrong I am not saying they all are bad providers be-cause some of them do a great job of keep-ing those in pain, pain free but then again there are those who just prescribe way too much and when this happens the frantic call over our PA Sys-tem sounds “We have A Code Blue, Code Three in room number ……” It repeats and the voice of the person making the announcement suddenly changes, the tone and words are more (come quick) words by saying, “Sean go to room …… bring your med bag code three, he’s not breathing.” I have heard these words way too many times over the years.Some say Sean why do you take people who

are on heavy medication such as pain kill-ers? My reply is sarcastic but well deserved,

How Technology is helping with Overdoses and the Homeless

(Continued on pg 4)(Continued on pg 5)

(Continued on pg 5)

Sean Cononie’s not taking any chances of getting

the Swine flu

“what do I do? Should I leave some-one who has a chance to be a can-cer survivor that became homeless because they can’t work possibly on the streets in pain?” Most likely if they over medicate at home they will also over medicate on the streets where no one around may be able to help them so it is far better for them

to live somewhere where someone can offer help with drug addiction and over-dose prevention. A very high percent-

age of people who accidently over-dose, want to live.When we see people a little over

medicated we usually try to get the person to the hospital. In some cases they won’t want to so we call 911 and in other cases they do go and the ER doc sends them right back to us then later on they have to go right back. I have had plenty of arguments with ER docs, on this topic, I have told

“Ready for Flu Season” on page 4

A very high percentage of people who

accidently overdose, want to live.

serving our community since 1997

Part of the North American Street Newspaper Association Volume XI, Issue 8

www.HomelessVoice.orgHelping the Homeless Help Themselves

Page 2 The Voice of the Homeless

Adam StalerAdriana FernandezAdriana N. Quila†Adrienne and Mike Al & Barbara LiebmannAl and AnnieAlbert J. Hamilton Ph DAlbert J. Taragowski Allen YancyAmanda ReynoldsAmber RowanAmerican Express Charitable FundAmparo L. KoreyAmy CuricAndre JohnsonAndrea BrownAndrew N. DalyAnn M. HamiltonAnn-Marie WhiteAnna Marye LevierAnthony RalphAnthony Rhodes Antione CollinsArmando ReyesArnold ReemerAtkinson and BartleyBarbara DesantoBarbara RobinsonBarbara Strong Baumann FamilyBeatriz C PerezBeth Farans Bill and Priscilla La GasseBob HallBobby NealBonita L AkinjiBrad and Krystal KellyBrian Herrmann & Aura HerrmannBruce WethersoonC.R. Gallagher Calvary Chapel of DoralCarl L MillerCarlo HarrisonCarol LocketteCarol MurrayCarolyn and FamilyCasandra ThomasCathy and KidsCharles J. YoungmanCharles K. WilsonChris SanchezChristine M WilsonChristine McAuliffe Clark RogersClaudia K. Tapolow†††Collectron of AtlantaComet Couriev† †Connie & Ginger MurphyConstance LessoffConstance M FastCorinne JamesCovenant of Goddess, Elibet HansonCrime WatchDallan Michele KingDan Gilcert Danbareli Holdings Inc.Daniel HarrisonDanny and GeorgeDarla KingDarren Nolf David Thawley David V TorloneDawn Monfries

Dawn SinkaDeborah F. ImmorminoDeborah H GreenDelores B Mordon Demetrius D RodriguezDenis and Bertha ArensteinDiane FriedmanDolores R. CerraDonna Marie JesudowichDorothy Griffith FamilyDorothy Kay GarbuttDorríe TerryDoug Boucher Family †Douglas BoucherDr Mary Michaela FarrenDr. Burch B StewartEduardo HernandezElaine SnaithElizabeth HunsbergerElizabeth P. Sublett Elks Lodge # 2407Eric HarrisonErica FultonErica SanclairEscrow AccountEssential Oil HealthlineEva & George GorzkowskiEvan V JonesEverglades Moon, Florida Auto Insurance Inc.Ferguson FamilyFloyd and Luana CoatsFred T Verny†† JR††††Gabrielle Ello G.R. and J.D. FalbeyG.S. LybrandGeorge & Carmen GulisanoGiankarlo SquicemariGladstone BeckfordGladys GonzalezGod Bless Florence MenardGottlieb & Blair FamilyGrace MarthGraham R. MitchellGuillermo D GalindoHartford Property Connection, Inc.Heather A Salt & Terrence C SaltHolly J. AndrusHuarte and VidailletHugo DeCarpintiniHurricane Prevention Inc Ignacio HuarteIn Loving Memory of Florence & Nat PopkinIn Loving Memory of Frances KleinIn Loving Memory of Isabel GrimanyIn Loving Memory of Jose A. Estruch, Jr.In Loving Memory of Kris SoltanIn Loving Memory of Martin E. GreyIn Loving Memory of My Daughter Melissa LurzIn Loving Memory of Peter SullivanIn Loving Memory of Rex LichtenbergerIn Loving Memory of Thomas GasbarroIn Memory of Steven

MadermanIn Memory of Martha HughesIn Memory of Bill SledgeIn Memory of Billy CorwinIn Memory of Brian GroleauIn Memory of C.T.R.In Memory of Charles Horton In Memory of Chief George J. HodgesIn Memory of Dan HollandIn Memory of George EricsonIn Memory of Gertrude ChongIn Memory of Irene Grady JohnsonIn Memory of Martin GreyIn Memory of Maxima† In Memory of Melba DeSantoIn Memory of My Good Friend Pat Gibson In Memory of My Mother Pearl McCannIn Memory of Scott Paul Cooper In Memory of Stanley SmolenIn memory of Wesley H. Woodall† In Memory of William F. Judge Intercontinental Management Consulting Group, Inc.Isabelle J. HenryIvonne FernandezJ. CoffeeJackie JohnsonJacqueline M. McCartyJacqueline McCartyJames & K. Heather MolansJames BlackJames D. Potter JRJamie F. FloresJanet CampbellJason EmrikJason T Korose & Marie D PlettJavier PerezJeffrey and Veronica BujoldJennifer HickyJennifer S. NickelJenny CuricJessica PadillaJesus DiazJim JohnsonJim LentzJimmy DanielsJoan Futscher & KidsJohn & Ruth MautinoJohn C. BurtJohn CriasiaJohn DinielliJohn Evans & FamilyJohn GaetaJohnís Plumbing ServiceJonathan BurgerJoseph RaymundJoseph SoaresJoseph YagbesJosh SearlesJoyce JohnstoneJuan and Antonieta Bofill

Juan GalindoJudith KellyJudith TempleJudith VidalJudy B. Pascarella Juliet IlerJulio A. Izquierdo June JonesJustin RowanK.J. WilliamsKaren B PovlockKaveh VassalKeith YudeKellie JonesKenneth GeselKenny AngelaKevin BrittKevin ìKJî JonesKevin JonesKristian PerezLaura & Bill FashLaura Flash Lavances Wright-RolleLeah and RayLeonard R SnyderLinda EvansLisa CebratLisa JacksonLord of the Harvest MinistriesLorraine A Coll Love, TeresaLuis DelacruzM. SmithMadeline Butera Magan NarduzziMarcia A KesslerMargaret D. NeverdouskyMargaret MelendezMargie Jones & FriendsMaria and James MulliganMaria M. RiveiroMaria NietoMarie SuteraMarilyn R. SmithMarilyn VokishMario YuioMarjorie G. RhinesMark E. Johnson †Mark FaberMark TargettMarlene S WarnerMarshal BuginMartha RomanMarvin ShatzeMary GreenMary Sue EllisMaryann SpringerMaureen BarryMauro Boraby JrMcAvoy FamilyMel BlountMerav & Ezra AlexanderMichael & Michale RhettMichael R. Prokop, Jr.Mike CrossMohammed ZiauddinMona B Staub & Ruth C GreyMorris GraziMr. and Mrs. BocanegraMr. and Mrs. CarsonMrs. JenkinsMs. Evelyn SalernoMs. Marilyn Smith Mustafa Mehmet Gokoglu

Mynona J ThompsonMyriam GorisNancy KeilNancy SchulerNancy T CiaramitarNaomi RossNestor MartinNichole FaberNicole Lee NelsonNorman L Lieberman Norman ScottOakland Park†Omnia and Rene PerezOn Behalf of Matthew Lambert OTD Messenger, IncOtto GarciaPakita PricePaola C MollicaPatricia and Shurland GeorgePatricia Lee Russ† Paula KingPhilip S. Lafresnaye & Janet LafresnayePhyllis R. BebkoPioneer Middle School Youth PJ CarterPolly ZaldivarProietto FamilyRafa Advertising CorpRaine DyerRainer HansenRaul Cardenas MD PA Raymund JosephReal Breakthrough Solutions Regla J FerrerRenato & Malika VasconezRhenals-Mei FamilyRichard & Margaret MartinRichard FriedmanRichard GomezRichard M. and Bettie B BussRichard RiosRicky CambellRobert A Jenkins & Joanne T JenkinsRobert and Betty ShortRobert and Ruth BaalRobert ComfortRobert Jesus Llanes Robert SapiaRobert T. HenshawRoger and Veronica ValencillosRonald & Cathy Walker Ronald PresciaRonald ShaferRosemary & Mark ZenobiaRoxane KesselhonRoy T. Bruno, Jr.Russell J. FergusonRuth FaisonRuth C Grey Sabrina Thorton, Former Ms. Ft. LauderdaleSaks Jewelry DesignerSally ListerSamual ManerySamuel R Halpern PASandra K StevensSandra L. WilhelmSarah R CurrinSavoia Sweig

Sebastian ParksSergio CoboSheila HolderSheldon JonesSherline CyriaqueSouthern Financial Title Services Inc.Steinhardt FamilySteve DillanSteve GoolsbySurfiní Seniors IncSusan C HumestonSusan P BradySuzette M. RodriguezTailored Advertising, IncTamara SouthardTara HunterTemple Aron HakodeshTemple BeautifulThank you so much Sean & Lois for all your help. Thank You Winn DixieThe Baldwin FamilyThe Baptista FamilyThe ChilsonsThe Davis FamilyThe Geise FamilyThe Herrmann Family The Herrmann FamilyThe Kunicki FamilyThe LadueísThe Maione Family The Martinez FamilyThe Matsuura FamilyThe Monserrate Family†The Morabito FamilyThe NicaraguaísThe Ramos FamilyThe Rionís FamilyThe Savir FamilyThe Schneider FamilyThe Strikowski family The Swartout’s†† The Verny & Stewart FamiliesThe WatsonsThomas A KramerThomas RuaThye RencurrellísTimothy and Barbara WilsonTimothy L. WhitelawTimothy LukehardTodd PalgonTom Thumb Food Stores, Inc.Tressie W. OsborneUylna QuadrinoVance GunnVirginia H. BaileyWendy BryanWynona A ThompsonYorick and Bonita †Yvonne FischerZlata and Alfredo Jr Salazar

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Mail check to: COSAC FoundationP.O. Box 292-577 Davie, FL 33329

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Going through my shelves in my apartment I came

across a Homeless Voice news-paper I had saved. The front cover story was about Norris Gaynor and the horrible death at the hands of these heart-less youths. I have wanted to speak my mind about this story, but I never came around to doing it. It has been on my mind ever since I read the arti-cle, like a weight on my back.Looking back, I remember

the news stations reporting this and the shock that went through everyone’s veins when hearing about what this man endured before his end. Part of that shock was the kids that com-mitted this awful act. We won-dered what went through their minds, and pondered upon how they could do anything like this. Reading that article from The Homeless Voice said it all explaining the negativity we as a society attach to the homeless people in our country.When a class of people are

looked down upon, disre-spected, called names, not cared for, those injustices are resonated to the rest of society. Youths are impressionable, and when they are exposed to this type of attitude they absorb it. Added with this our modern day culture of violence and selfishness, we have an atmosphere of disaster. Some people seem to be less human in the eyes of others.We need to check ourselves

as a society, collectively and individually. Get the word out to everyone and especially our children that all forms of life are valuable! Many out there think they live good, moral lives while treating certain classes of people as they were not even human at all. There is a mean, sadistic streak in this culture of ours and it needs to be addressed. It cannot be ignored. All of us are people with feelings. We get hurt, and we can give hurt. Sometimes we don’t know

how the ones on the receiv-ing end of the pain feel un-til one day it happens to us. I believe our legislation should pass the hate crime law that protects homeless people from the savagery that is going on today. That will be one step to-ward acknowledgment that we are all human beings. - Frank Jr.

We at the Homeless Voice are es-tablishing a new subscriber list in the event of an financial emergency. Most of you all know we take the most chronic homeless individuals.Funded shelters have very strict rules on

who they can take, we don't. Most of you also know the reason why we can take the hardest of the hardest cases is because we and you fund our shelter system. This is great, we can buy what we need now not five months later trying to get approval. We can do outreach in the street and find a way to help them right then and there. We can do all of these great things because of you all who donate money to us allowing us to continue to treat the most difficult cases in the community. However there are some down sides as well.We have always saved money for emer-

gencies like hurricanes. Now we are trying to prepare for a pandemic. This swine flu I was watching the kill ratio and the amount of people in Florida who were infected so I could start our own procedure of pulling the vendors off the street so they don’t get sick coming in contact with all those people. Most of you know that I have been trying

to educate as many people as I could with our own paper telling each and every one of you to be prepared. With a pandemic comes social disruption where food is not always at Publix and jobs are not always available and that also means charities and churches are at risk of going out of business. In fact with so much turmoil charities and churches do not even want to ask for money at the time of a major crisis where thousands will lose their lives. Sure we do it for disasters but doing it for a pandemic is going to be difficult for most of us who depend on your support. What I wanted to do was to secure our

supporters emails in case there was a

Volume XI, Issue 8 Page 3

Our Homeless Voice readers:

Need flyers passed out or other temp labor?

Call our CoNtraCtor refferal liNe. Call us aNd we will get you the persoN to do the job for muCh less!

Call 954-924-3571why Call a day labor CompaNy

aNd speNd large amouNts of

moNey?

Publisher (middle) Sean Cononie meeting with Rain Wilson and his wife discussing poverty in America and the continued world hunger problems

and the efforts the Homeless Voice is making in Haiti.

Letter To the Editor:

Members of the Florida based band Creed with Homeless Voice Staff Mark and Sara Targett

major issue such as a pandemic where we could reach out and send an email to each supporter for them to please send in their $2.00 donation each and every month we are not on the streets. The government has already instructed businesses to keep money saved for a pandemic so they can continue to serve people and to pay their staff. We have a very detailed plan on how to cut costs and cut our own expenses where we could cut our budget down from the 100,000 a month to about 65,000 a month where we could survive even lon-ger but that is the lowest possible budget we can live on. You can send in a one time donation to-

day for $16.00- this would allow us to run for the worst type disaster for a period of

THANK YOU AGAIN LORD FOR SUCH A WEAK FLU!

up to eight months. If you want to send in your donation today please see the below instructions.Before I go, please even if you

do not wish to help us reach these goals or you just can't help us now please remember the need for you and your family to be fully pre-pared in case there is a pandemic is essential. Please each and every month stock up on supplies and if you are prepared you will not have to panic. Please go to our Pandemic web site at: www.PandemicBirdFlu.wsCOSAC EMERGENCY FUNDP.O. Box 292-577

Davie, Florida 33329

wise found no evidence of criminal ac-tivity.Officers were promised time off in re-

turn for three arrests during a shift, or four during two consecutive shifts, and a point system was devised for enforce-ment actions. A day off would be earned for 70 points. And a scavenger hunt was developed, giving officers a list of tasks to complete and promising a $50 gift card to Regal Cinema.Reached by phone Friday, Hennessy

said one item on the scavenger hunt was a homeless person violating the open con-tainer law with an alcoholic drink other than Natural Ice beer. “If you were home-less and you happened to be drinking a beer other than Natural Ice, you were a target,” he said. “How is that fair?”One officer did get the Regal Cinemas

gift card, but he did not complete the tasks on the scavenger hunt, the report states.The Internal Affairs investigation found

Prosecutors clear Fort Lauderdale police of anti-homeless allegations

Ready for Flu Season

them you have no way of knowing if they took something time released such as OxyContin and if they are a little over medicated now who’s to say they won’t be worse off when they go home. Plus if they come home and are high and they go to sleep what happens next. One Doctor told me; well don’t let them go to sleep. Good answer from a person who is sup-posed to care. If we have to keep them awake then they need a hospital, period.We already know our breathing and

heart rate decreases when we go to sleep so if they have taken too much medica-tion for pain and are super relaxed will they eventually get so relaxed that their heart rate and breathing finally gets so low they die? Sometimes people are in that mode where some may just say, “let them sleep it off.” That my friends is the worst thing to do when people are over medicated but sometimes they do just fall asleep. Sometimes they are fine and at other times the person who tries to wake them up are suddenly shocked because they just found out their loved one died.Then of course we have our people who

are COPD who are very close to death. Sometimes their oxygen gets so low that well, they stop breathing and those dread-ful words over the public address system once again sound and our heart races.We have a first responder team made

up of formally homeless individuals who have taken advance classes where we can work a code for a person who has stopped breathing or their heart stopped, with AED’s, Oxygen, airway tools, and other medical equipment. In fact we have much more training than Assisted Living Facilities (ALF’s). We have re-vived many and only lost a few but few is too many.Sleep Apnea and the chance to die from

it exist. What is Sleep Apnea? Well in simple terms, it is heavy snoring that stops your breathing for a few seconds to a few minutes. Basically your tongue blocks your airway or your throat gets so relaxed that the tissue blocks your airway. If you are heavy and a snorer, you most likely have Sleep Apnea. The short term effects can be death especially if you get just a little too relaxed from drinking al-cohol or maybe just taking your normal medication. Thank God death is very rare and it is really hard to die from. There are some doctors who say that sometimes people die from Sleep Apnea and it is missed as the cause for death.There are sleep studies a person can take

which are very expensive so for home-less people chances are rare that they will get a sleep study done. There are ways to fix Sleep Apnea with surgery as well as getting a machine to wear with a mask that forces room air or room air with oxy-gen down your air way. I have one that I wear and every night I must place the

How Technology is helping with Overdoses and the Homeless prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.To commemorate the event, Druids built

huge sacred bonfires, where the people gath-ered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.During the celebra-

tion, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had ex-tinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the

majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the American Cancer Society’s premier event to raise awareness and dollars to fight breast cancer. More than just the name of a walk, it describes the amazing progress we’re making together to defeat this disease. This is your opportunity to join your community to celebrate breast cancer survivors, educate women about early detection and prevention, and raise money to fund lifesaving research and to support programs to help us reach a day when no one will have to hear the words “You have breast cancer”. Please walk with us. Use the link below to find all the events in Florida.

www.HomelessVoice.org/story/make-strides

CPAP mask on my face. However, keep-ing it on is a chore in itself.With all these airway and heart issues

and the overdoses that happen at times we tried to figure out what we could do to prevent them from happening in the first place or to at least be able to monitor them on and off for our high risk people to well just keep an eye on them from a distance. We thought about getting re-mote vital monitors that we can place on a client. This way we could actually see their heart rate and oxygen saturation levels and if it started to drop or we see the heart rate going below 62 beats per minute or oxygen saturation below their normal limits we would be able to react faster and prevent a life or death medical emergency.After months of searching and getting

quotes as much as $100,000 dollars we were able to develop our own system by using some great technology that was al-ready out there. Our system was made for only a few thousand dollars, we just needed a master mind to put it all togeth-er and this is where Mark Targett came into the picture. Mark is the one who has brought the Homeless Voice to your cars for the last ten years. He is now in charge of all technology that allows me to be at a few places at once. He has set up remote video phones from our disas-ter vehicles as well as a way for us to be in touch with doctors via video when we do medical outreach. We will be in our final testing phase as we hit the streets giving out the Swine Flu Vaccine to the ones still in the streets.Some of the equipment that we needed

was the use of lap tops so we could place the computers in the room of the client or near the room and use some high tech wireless systems to remotely monitor the vitals. This was going to be a pretty hefty price tag for some new lap tops but then we got Blessed by one of our supporters who donates a lot of computers to us on a normal basis.When we were able to test the system

on me I had to make it my business to make sure that Mr. Michael Prokop, Jr of Surfin’ Seniors, Inc. out of Delray Beach Florida, knew just how thankful I was for his latest donation. He was so pleased that his donation of lap tops would be used to help people stay alive while they were in a crisis.The system is simple, we put a wrist

watch Oxygen saturation and heart monitor on the person. The unit beams it to a lap top and then that lap top can be monitored anywhere in the world in real time. It can come directly on to all our staff’s PC or even on an IPHONE over ATT wireless service. These fea-tures will enable us to glance over every few minutes or to watch the monitor as much as humanly possible. If vitals start to go low we can once again call EMS and start emergency help until EMS ar-

Volume XI, Issue 8 Page 5Page 4 The Voice of the Homeless

(Continued from pg 1)

Halloween

Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine

the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks

with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors

(Continued from pg 1)

(Top) Sean adjusts his equipment, before taking Docs vitals (below)

(Continued on pg 6)

(Continued from pg 1)(Continued from pg 1)

(Continued on pg 6)

(Continued on pg 6)

Every year 36,000 people die from influenza (flu)

the client back to the shelter once diag-nosed positive for the swine flu. At this current phase in our current pandemic there is no need to do this type of prac-tice, however, if this was a “Bird Flu” type pandemic I would not be writing this story because I would be in a room where I had no contact with anyone unless hos-

pitals were filled to the maximum and we had to treat all our sick ourselves. This is what happens at the time of a severe pandemic, hospitals will be filled and the death rate is extreme-ly high. What is extremely

high? Well, let’s just say it can be just as worse as the Spanish Flu of 1918 where 50 to 100 million people died. Why is there such a wide gap between 50 to 100 million people? Third world countries had a hard time accurately reporting the deaths as well as local jurisdictions, well, “had a hard time disposing of the bodies in a fast manner.” Do not misunderstand

Sean CononieDealing with the Flu in a shelter can be quite over-whelming and dealing with the Swine Flu can be even more complex than anything we have ever dealt with. Sure we get our TB scares and once in a while we may get a call telling us that an Emergency Room went to “lock down” or Quarantine because of a potential risk such as small pox exposure and that same ER sent us a homeless patient from their ER to our shelter. When this happens we go to a “self vol-

untary lock down Quarantine” until the Hospital sorts it out. Once they say it is clear we then go back to normal busi-ness. If they are on “lock down” we will stay on “lock down” for several hours or until we call the Heath Dept for guidance. We feel we have a moral responsibility to protect the public just like the ER does if there is a potential risk to the public. If the person they sent to us had been exposed to lets’ say small-pox and then they were here and we let them go in and out of the building going to the store etc then there may be a chance we spread whatever the hospital was trying to prevent the spread of in the first place. “Swine Flu” at shelters become dirty

words- most shelters become scared and they start to make a policy that limits the taking of new people or the refusal to take

at the time of a severe pandemic, hospitals will be filled and the death rate is

extremely high

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no evidence that anyone was wrongly tar-geted, ticketed or arrested. “There was no evidence that revealed any citizens were treated unfairly, and the preponderance of testimony established the officers’ actions and decisions were not influenced by the potential of any future reward.”Hennessy, who has a whistleblower

lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale alleg-ing retaliation for complaining about the practices, said the department’s decision to stop the incentives after he complained in July 2008 proves he was right.And Internal Affairs Capt. Rick Magli-

one wrote in his report on the investiga-tion that police brass must be careful in devising incentives to avoid the appear-ance that they’re condoning police mis-conduct, “whether actual or perceived.”Police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa de-

clined to comment on the investigation, saying the documents speak for them-selves.

origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.The first was Feralia, a day in late Octo-

ber when the Romans traditionally com-memorated the pass-ing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the

incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.By the 800s, the influence of Christian-

ity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV desig-nated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempt-ing to replace the Celtic festival of the

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Page 6 The Voice of the Homeless

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rives. It also allows us to print out the chart so the ER doctor can once again consider the patient to be ad-mitted until the crisis is over.For ones we think may have Sleep

Apnea we can do our own version sleep study and print out the report for a night’s sleep so we can later advocate for the patient to then get a real sleep study. Many doctors do not take Sleep Apnea serious and this gives us a way to let them know that their oxygen levels go down quite

Halloweendead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle Eng-lish Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, even-tually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, pa-rades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebra-tions, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.As European immigrants came to America,

they brought their varied Halloween customs with them. Because of the rigid Protestant belief systems that characterized early New England, celebration of Hal-loween in colonial times was extremely limited there. It was much more common

in Maryland and the south-ern colonies. As the beliefs and customs of different European ethnic groups, as well as the American Indians, meshed, a distinctly American version of Halloween began to emerge. The first celebrations included “play parties,” public events held to celebrate the harvest, where neighbors would share stories of the dead, tell each other’s fortunes, dance, and sing. Colonial Halloween festivities also featured the telling of ghost stories and mis-chief-making of all kinds. By the middle of the nineteenth century, annual autumn festivi-ties were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.In the second half of the nineteenth century,

America was flooded with new immigrants. These new immigrants, especially the mil-lions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846, helped to popularize the celebration of Halloween nationally. Taking from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house ask-ing for food or money, a practice that eventu-ally became today’s “trick-or-treat” tradition. Young women believed that, on Halloween, they could divine the name or appearance of their future husband by doing tricks with yarn, apple parings, or mirrors.In the late 1800s, there was a move in

How Technology is helping with Overdoses and the Homeless

a bit while sleeping.We are not

as good as an ICU unit but we should be able to save some lives be-cause of some smart people and some nice people who give us what we need to run our shelters. This is one game plan that will allow us to win some of the time.

(Continued from pg 5)

Ready for Flu Season(Continued from pg 4)

this article, the current Swine Flu is not a major concern at this time with the death rate, it is just a little higher than our normal seasonal flu deaths that happen each and every year, “SO DO NOT PANIC!” The major issues at shelters should

be to help stop the spread of Swine Flu a little bit more than we normally do at the time of seasonal regular flu. Why? Because we know that there are certain high risk patients that live in homeless shelters who have Hep C, HIV and breathing issues. It be-comes very important to do our best making sure they do not get exposed to any Swine Flu. Also there is close living quarters at shelters and since there are many people who suffer from severe cases of mental health issues it is not always easy to help stop the spread of germs. Teaching a person who is mentally con-fused how to “cover their cough” or wash their hands all day long becomes a chore with horrible results. With all these issues we have to go in to a mode titled “Building Disinfection.” With this, we have to

bleach and clean any area that is touched by hands such as door knobs, toilets, table tops, telephone and any other type of surface all day long. Then we clean the floor with bleach as much as we can in common areas.Our job becomes a little more difficult and

as one could imagine it can cost a lot more to run a shelter at the time of a pandemic. Just for the month of September we used more money for face masks than the actual cost to feed 200 people three meals a day. At this time, we all can take

the time to thank our creator. For me it is Je-sus. That this Swine Flu Pandemic of 2009 is not a bad one. In fact it allows us to test our readiness and preparation plans.

Flu recovery area on the grounds of the shelter.

The major issues at shelters should be to help stop the

spread of Swine Flu

$6.9 billion are spent annually on Halloween

America to mold Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers, than about ghosts, pranks, and witchcraft.At the turn of the century, Hal-

loween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the sea-son, and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of their efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious over-tones by the beginning of the twen-tieth century.

By the 1920s and 1930s, Halloween had become a secu-lar, but community-centered holiday,

with parades and town-wide parties as the featured entertainment. De-spite the best efforts of many schools and communities, vandalism began to plague Halloween celebrations in many communities during this time. By the 1950s, town leaders had suc-cessfully limited vandalism and Hal-loween had evolved into a holiday directed mainly at the young. Due to the high numbers of young children during the fifties baby boom, parties moved from town civic centers into the classroom or home, where they could be more easily accommodated. Between 1920 and 1950, the centu-ries-old practice of trick-or-treating was also revived. Trick-or-treating was a relatively inexpensive way for an entire community to share the Halloween celebration. In theory, families could also prevent tricks be-ing played on them by providing the neighborhood children with small treats. A new American tradition was born, and it has continued to grow. Today, Americans spend an estimat-ed $6.9 billion annually on Hallow-een, making it the country’s second largest commercial holiday.

Volume XI, Issue 8 Page 7

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