Homeless For The Holidays

Final Report
By: Kaitlyn Rich and Ursula Fox-Koor

The homeless in Tompkins county will be having presents delivered to their houses in the next few days, except they will not be delivered by a man with a sleigh and red suit. Instead it will be a Red Cross worker, driving a white Jeep Cherokee.

His name is Aloja Airwewle, and along with other Tompkins County Red Cross workers and volunteers he helps to make the holiday season a little brighter for many Ithaca residents.

While the fanfare of the usual gift giving process is absent, the Christmas message is still the same – to spread holiday cheer to all, even those without a chimney for him to slide down.

Airwewele is the head of case management at the Tompkins County America Red Cross. He oversees the induction of the people into the program as well as other tasks such as delivering gifts to those in need during the holiday season and making sure the homeless are not forgotten about during this time of year.

“It’s not the busiest time of the year, but it’s the hardest on our clients. They begin to remember why they are homeless and how they have no one else,” says Airwewele.

The U.S. Census Bureau Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates calculated 13.5 percent of Tompkins County lived below the poverty line in 2004, compared to 12.7 percent nationally and 14.5 percent in New York State.

Coupled with the fact that according to the Tompkins County Affordable Housing Needs Assessment for 2006, 500 households spend half their income on housing. Both of these factors have left many out in the cold this winter.

With the failing economy and hard times falling on many, this Christmas is especially hard. “With the economic downsizing right now it’s easy to make me homeless. Just take my two paychecks away, that’s all it takes,” said Tompkins County Red Cross Emergency Shelter worker Khin Hewe.

Homeless Services is the American Red Cross’s largest program and includes the emergency shelter, the Friendship Center, case management services, and the food pantry.

The hardships of others this year have placed many pressures on the Red Cross, especially on its food pantry. The pantry, according to the United Way of Tompkins County has recently seen the number of people seeking food double.

While the Red Cross does a lot to make the holidays easier for the homeless, Hewe also notes the importance of helping all year round, not just during Christmas time. “It’s one thing, you know, we remember the poor around Thanksgiving, Christmas time, but the rest of the year it’s not really our business, you know, we pay taxes and the welfare system’s gonna take care of it,” Hewe says. This is something, he believes, must change.

But just because these people do not have a home does not mean that they cannot celebrate the season. At shelters such as the Red Cross’s Emergency Shelter, Hewe and others still do everything they can to bring some holiday cheer.

“It’s more like a house, we joke around, it’s not like the city where you go to Chicago, NY, Denver and you see people sleeping on the corner or smelly and people run away; it’s right here. Just like you and me, there is something about the small community in Ithaca,” said Hewe.

The Forgotten Vote

Politics Story
-Ursula Fox-Koor


Larry Hardesty may not have a home, but he does have something valuable -- the right to vote. Hardesty, who resides at the American Red Cross of Tompkins County Friendship Center, will be casting his ballot on Election Day in Tompkins County which is something not many other homeless people can say.

The homeless vote has long been a forgotten vote when it comes to the Presidential Election. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, lower class and homeless individuals vote at a much lower rate than those with a higher income. The majority of the issues voted upon affect the lower class and homeless directly, yet the input from this group is non-existent due to the lack of voting.

Charles Buckley, also a resident of the Center, is not registered to vote. He holds little interest in the election and has no intention of becoming a registered voter. “I follow the election when I have time,” he said.

So why the lack of votes among the homeless? Problems that prevent many homeless people from voting include failure to have proper identification for registration as well as a lack of available resources in order to become knowledgeable about the candidates and their campaigns.

Homeless individuals such as Hardestey are difficult to find among the homeless population. Hardestey is quite knowledgeable about the election and holds strong opinions based on this knowledge. “Republicans have done a crap job for the past eight years,” he said. “I’d like to see a new person because it’s time- I mean, it can’t get any worse.”

Though Hardestey is informed about the election thanks to “the media and people”, many others are not, therefore leaving a large number of homeless individuals who are not registered.

Amanda House, also a resident of the Friendship Center, is not a registered voter and never has been. Her lack of resources regarding the election has led her to choose not to vote. “I never really know who to pick and I’m not good at judging people so I don’t vote,” she said.

Organizations such as the National Coalition for the Homeless have created volunteer-based campaigns across the country such as "You Don't Need a Home to Vote" in order to promote the importance of the homeless vote. The campaigns are an important stride toward obtaining the homeless vote, yet they are still far from achieving this.

In the mean time, it is up to individuals such as Hardestey, to get the word out. “Tell everyone to vote,” he said. “It’s the only way for change.”






View Larger Map

Below, a map of the Friendship Center in Ithaca, NY.

Building Fire on Aurora Street- UPDATE

-Samantha Allen



Assistant Chief Daniel Tier III, of the Ithaca City Fire Department, released today that the county dispatch received a 911 call from an occupant on Aurora St. in Ithaca at 4:03 p.m. on Friday. Tier said response arrived at 4:07 p.m. The fire was contained and out within a matter of minutes.

The investigation of the cause of the fire concluded on Saturday that there was an electrical problem.

"It's been ruled as accidental," Tier said.

Tier guessed that there was most likely with the wiring of that particular city grid, and that caused the power surge.

"This is a unique situation in that the electrical transformer that supplies that particulur grid had some sort of failure," he said. "It sent a power surge to that whole grid."

According to Tier, 13 houses are on this particular grid and 5 other houses reported some sort of electrical damage that same day after the surge.

"There may be some others but that’s all that we know about," he said.

The New York State Electrical Department or Ithaca City Public Works have returned my calls for comment. In a brief interview today, the local Red Cross chapter confirmed that this apartment housed 12 people, 10 of which are IC students. All have been displaced and put into on-campus housing by the RHA and Public Safety.

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO A PREVIOUS POST. CHECK IT OUT HERE.