Just after 4 p.m. this afternoon, a Beth Israel ambulance and a police car were idling in front of the building, and Molly Mattimore, Francesca Rossi, Kristi Kimmerle and Dan Danaher were seen hanging out nearby. They seemed to be waiting for something, or someone...
After about 15 minutes, several E.M.S. workers and two police officers went into the building accompanied by Ms. Rossi. Butch was seated in the lobby in his usual spot, and the police officers approached him and started talking. Apparently they were there, with the E.M.S. staff, to take him to the hospital to have a medical evaluation. He wasn't much interested in the idea, and claimed he sees a doctor here on Thursdays, and stated that he doesn't trust doctors. The officers asked him whether he had anything dangerous on his person, and he said he had a cellphone. They asked again and clarified, explaining that they were interested in weapons. Long story short, he wasn't technically being arrested, but the evaluation wasn't an optional "suggestion", either.
It wasn't pleasant watching a neighbor being hauled off to the hospital that way, but his behavior in public has been extremely unpleasant for a very long time. It's one thing to be drunk, loud, repetitive and hopelessly boring on a regular basis - but quite another thing to repeatedly rant and rave about how depressed he is, get up in peoples' faces, gesturing wildly, yelling at the top of his lungs, practically ordering other tenants to get out of his way and leave him alone just because they also have the misfortune of being near him while he's occupying the lobby (most of the time, they were already sitting there when he walked in) - and then threaten to stab people in the heart. Most of his ranting and raving is about how much he hates other people, and is quite racist and bigoted. He's also threatened to attack a certain tenant's son. For the past few months, he's been looking so out of control that a number of people have wondered how long it would be before he actually snapped and got physical with people. He flipped out after a community meeting several months ago after several tenants brought up the fact that it would be nice not to have the curfews applied to the community room and lobby any more, and one tenant pointed out that one of the problems with the curfew is that it's a response to folks like Butch getting into altercations and sleeping in both areas.
Our Security Director's response to violent activity in the building is usually to tell people to call 911. We have surveillance cameras all over the building monitoring what tenants are doing - and several have been added in the last year. The lobby and community room have had curfews applied in response to altercations between a few tenants; the curfew affects the entire building. Management has no problem banning tenants it doesn't like from using the computer room or going on movie trips because those are "privileges" rather than "rights". I'd love to understand the logic behind allowing violent, chemically dependent tenants to carry on in threatening, disturbing ways in common areas of the building for prolonged periods of time without banning them because they're creating a nuisance AND potentially unsafe conditions in common areas. The rest of us who pay rent (which covers use of both the lobby and community room) and DON'T create a disturbance when we use those areas are being punished twice - first when we have to put up with people like Butch, and then again when our rights are restricted by Security. Cameras don't prevent problems or crimes. Follow up by live humans who are willing to be accountable for the job they're being paid to do would make more sense. Ralph Garcia makes a lot of rules, but the rules are illogical and don't make the building any safer for the majority of the tenants.
If you want more details on what I think about security inside of Kenmore Hall, look at the material I posted on February 15th, which is salvaged from my first tenant blog. Take a look at the post from January 17 for more commentary on use of the lobby and community room.
By the way, H.S.I.'s version of "supportive housing" doesn't help people like Butch out at all; he's one of their most perfect candidates for "help" because he fits the profile that HUD and various supportive housing networks and advocates have been pushing over the past few years. He was homeless for over 20 years (if that isn't a definition of chronically homeless, I don't know what IS) and he's clearly alcoholic - he stinks like a brewery most days, and the drunker he gets, the meaner he is. Drinking affects his personality.
See the video clip in the sidebar to the right for a very brief example. Although H.S.I. claims that Kenmore Hall is a permanent supportive housing facility, they have a track record of completely ignoring some of their more extreme tenant-clients for long periods of time, letting them run amok while they interfere with their neighbors. These tenants are struggling with a cluster of problems and issues that need to be dealt with, and which H.S.I. is supposed to be receiving government funding to address - but they're totally dropping the ball. Part of what supportive housing is supposed to accomplish is assisting people like Butch become more self-sufficient and independent, able to function more normally and maintain their income and housing so they don't become homeless again. H.S.I. claims to be able to deliver this type of program more efficiently and cheaply than many other alternatives. Where's the proof?
I'd love to hear what others think about this. Feel free to comment.
Butch was back in the lobby by midnight, sitting in his usual chair. I guess the hospital didn't keep him for observation or treatment. Or maybe he just walked out on his own.
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