FRESH START

THE TOP 1O MEANEST CITIES FOR THE HOMELESS

I was surprised that Sarasota Florida was not at least in the top five in this list.  In my opinion, Bradenton is more homeless friendly than Sarasota, and, a couple of years ago, Sarasota was listed as the number one meanest city in the U.S. for the homelesss; I guess that's changed but "I CAN'T TELL!"

The top 10 meanest Cities for the Homeless in the U.S. are:

1. Los Angeles, CA

2. St. Petersburg, FL

3. Orlando, FL

4. Atlanta, GA

5. Gainesville, FL

6. Kalamazoo, MI

7. San Francisco, CA

8. Honolulu, HI

9. BRADENTON, FLORIDA

10. Berkley, CA

What surprises me is that out of the 10, 4 of those cities are in Florida, so, we can say that Florida is a non-friendly state for the homeless!

STRAIGHT FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK!

It amazes me how much Peer Agencies have all virtually distanced themselves from each other in these hard economic times.  In times like these when donations are scarce, finances are almost non-existent, and all Social Agencies are "treading water" so to speak, we all should be uniting and/or banding together towards a common cause and goal of helping those in need; instead, it appears that agencies are isolating themselves from each other and competing to see who can acquire the most funds on their own and it even appears that the larger Agencies are trying to snuff out the smaller agencies!

In these hard times, and they may get harder, we all need to check ourselves and ensure that we are performing our jobs as social service advocates the way that God would want us to.  If we are doing otherwise, then we need to close shop and do something else.  All of our goals within the social service spectrum should be the same; helping the homeless, needy, underprivileged, and disadvantaged; NOT HELPING OURSELVES!!!

Garry B. Coston - Executive Director, FRESH START 

GARRY B. COSTON, Chairman, Executive Director, FRESH START Social Service Agency, Inc.