CRAZYTOWN

I live in Crazytown, USA, where they can find $100,000.00 to spy on people, but they can't seem to put that same amount of money, time or energy towards finding homes for homeless families.  Don't believe me?  Read this:

http://www.infoworld.com/d/networking/white-house-led-team-demo-internet-of-things-systems-243130?page=0,0

As a homeless veteran, this disgusts and embarrasses me.  That I could be part of a community who so clearly have their priorities all screwed up.  That they'd be able to sleep comfortably in their multi-million dollar McMansions, blissfully unaware and unconcerned about what's happening in the 'real world'.  That they don't care.  County Executive Ike Leggett said some platitude about 'no one in his county should go without a roof over their heads.' Uhmmnn... Not to sound ungrateful or anything - but I assumed he meant a permanent roof, not the multitude of temporary hotel/motel roofs we've been subjected to over these last six months.
It's untenable.  They're building a fancy, new hotel in the heart of Town Center, for rich people to wine and dine in.  Ok,...then they tear down low-income, affordable housing to make way for fancy new townhouses - once again - for rich people.  To their credit, they've recently built two new retirement homes - once again - for rich OLD people (notice the distinction there?)  They're unabashedly pricing out the very people who made this an "ALL AMERICA TOWN" (yeah.... that's their slogan).  Gone is the skating rink for the kids, the putt-putt golf, the gaming arcade, the pool hall.  This is becoming yuppytown aka crazytown.  It's not even the same place I enjoyed raising my kids in just ten years ago.  It's a shadow of it's former self.  The prejudice and bigotry not even bothered to be hidden anymore.  If you make less than $50,000.00 - it's goodbye, so long, see ya later, sayonara..... Don't let the doorknob hit ya... Well, you get my point. Welcome to CRAZYTOWN.

THREE CARD MONTE

A woman I know, let's call her 'J' was at the Holiday Inn.  She was homeless, with two children.

A man I know, let's call him 'E' was also at the Holiday Inn.  He was homeless, also with two children.

Another woman I know, let's call her 'P' - coincidentally also temporarily housed at the Holiday Inn, with two children.

Now, add myself - with one child in tow.

J goes to the American Inn.

E goes to the American Inn

P goes to a shelter

I go to the American Inn

Then, J goes to the Comfort Inn, E goes to the Comfort Inn, P is still at the shelter, and I go back to the Holiday Inn.  All this in the span of a month.

Pick the family whose still homeless.  Nope, not J, nooooo... not E.  No - not P.  Me?  Well - lol... I kind of tricked you - we're ALL still homeless.  

This is because we made the unfortunate choice to live in Montgomery County, Maryland - where they don't have a 5-year plan to end homelessness.  In fact, they don't even have a plan. For some reason, they think it makes much more sense  it's much more fun to shuffle families around.  It amuses them.  They shake their heads, and make 'tsk, tsk' sounds when they describe us to their friends and families, they joke about us over their cocktails at happy hour....  It's all just one, big game to them.  Like three card monte - they're the 'shills', and we're the 'marks'.  They conspire with their co-workers to put us through extreme emotional distress, just to see how fast they can 'break' us.  Then, when they finally do - we're referred to Anger Management (because, obviously - WE have a problem !).  When that doesn't work, they threaten to call Child Protective Services and have our children taken away from us.  All because we can't afford the exorbitant rents for the luxury town-homes they can't stop building. They're addicted to the power saying 'no' gives them.  Folding their arms and sitting back with their smug expressions - as if to say:  "You're wasting my time, I've got better things to do...", because they have homes, they have cars, they have meaningful, productive lives - but of course - we don't.  Our health and welfare couldn't mean less to them.  For the amount of money they wasted shuffling us from hotel to motel across the County, they could've helped us get stabilized in an apartment of our own;  But, no - that's not nearly as much fun....