DJ Becker/NewsMadera.com
Homeless advocate Vernon Lee Price sits by the once covered stairwell he said he called home for about a year and a half. Price said he was recently evicted from the stairwell, and has moved on to another spot to sleep, rather than cause problems. He hopes to keep the conditions and the issues of homelessness in Madera in the public eye.
By DJ Becker/NewsMadera.com March 31st, 2012
Vernon Lee Price, a self appointed and outspoken advocate for the local homeless population has made a name for himself in Madera, California and it hasn’t always been a welcome one.
“I am sorry if I am (considered) a nuisance. But that’s OK, because it’s worse to be homeless and be ignored. And I am not going anywhere else. Somebody has to speak up for the homeless in Madera,” said Price.
Price, 41 and homeless himself, said he recently lost a feud with the county and Zach’s Security over his preferred living spot at the bottom of a covered, exterior stairwell of the old library building along Yosemite Avenue.
“It wasn’t much (of a spot to sleep) … but I had lived there about a year and a half without not bothering anyone. Then they decided they wanted me gone. I don’t know who exactly or why they cared.They even cut the old metal roof cover off the stairwell, and removed the (attached) old tables and metal benches from out in back of the building, near the alley. Probably all … just to get rid of me,” Price said.
Several shiny, new no loitering signs have been bolted to the wall of the brick building about eight feet off the ground, near the stairwell .
Price said he always tries to be clean and inconspicuous where he sleeps, and he rises and pack ups his belongings at dawn to not be a problem. But rather than risk breaking the now posted law and get into trouble he found a new covered spot nearby to sleep in at night.
Dressed in a light plaid wool jacket, worn button down shirt and slacks, all of Price’s meager and worldly possessions were neatly folded and stacked in a nearby shopping cart.
Homeless for the last 10 or so years, Price said the parks and under bridges weren’t safe at night because of all the drug activity, and winter weather always increased competition for dry, safe sleeping spaces.
“The rain and cold are a problem this time a year, you just can’t imagine,” he said.
Price said the several hundred homeless all over Madera tread a delicate line between using and trespassing in the city and county park jurisdictions. The homeless are often harassed by police, sheriff’s deputies and security guards because of no loitering, or no camping ordinances, or because they attempt to wash up in park bathrooms, he said.
He acknowledged a fair percentage of the local homeless are involved in pretty crime and mired in drug use. “You just try and stay as far away from them as you can,” Price said.
Originally from a small town called Southern Pines, (population 12,000) in North Carolina, Price said he had no living relatives, and no one else to rely on but himself.
“It was drugs – meth, that started it all, over ten years ago. Once that happens … it’s over. Nobody wants to hire you. When you are homeless you have nothing – no phone, no address and employers notice that, and they don’t want to take a chance on you, especially with so many other people out of work,” Price said.
The Madera Rescue Mission was a help, according to Price, but wasn’t a long term option or a solution to chronic homelessness. The religious and regimented aspect of the Mission program doesn’t work too well for everyone, he said.
Price said he has been drug free for about three years, but acknowledged he’s struggled off and on with some basic mental health issues like depression and had many minor skirmishes with law enforcement.
Jail records indicate 15 or 16 previous local arrests for Price, most for minor misdemeanors, and no recent arrests – since 2009. Most of those previous arrests were so minor they were not prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office, according to Price.
“You try being homeless, and see if you don’t get frustrated. They can charge you with whatever they want. Being homeless shouldn’t be (considered) a crime. What hurts the most is not being heard – or when people see you but they just look away. People stand up for animals way better than they do the homeless in this town,” he said.
Price said he would love to have a dog or other pet again someday when he can properly care for one.
“I miss that contact, … that unconditional love … , that and being accepted,” he said looking away, with his voice cracking.
Experts admit there is little middle ground for the homeless.
Having nowhere to sleep has been criminalized – since the homeless can’t sleep legally in a municipal park, and sleeping or camping out on privately owned properly is considered trespassing, according to Price.
It was also hard, Price said, depending on the occasional kindness of strangers for a helping hand, and then seeing the looks in people’s eyes.
He rejected the idea that homelessness was a choice made by people who didn’t want to work, or conform to society’s rules.
“There is nothing easy or fun about this. Not knowing where you are going to sleep at night or if your stuff will still be there … when you come back. It’s not a choice – nobody would choose this (life), if they had another choice,” Price said.
Madera has no real options for helping the homeless transition back into society yet, according to Price.
More motivated, articulate and well informed than most homeless people, Price typically spends hours networking, or reading, researching and e-mailing at the library. He was recently invited to attend a national conference in LA on ending homelessness.
Price said no one locally was too interested in his information or the reports he brought back from the conference. He has also participated in the Citizen’s Academy program, among other civic programs in Madera.
He acknowledged with the current poor economy, prospects for any help for the local homeless were slim.
“And nobody really cared much during the good (economic) times, either,” Price said.
Like a lot of homeless, Price supports himself by recycling plastic, bottles and cans from wherever he can find it, and relies on the the kindness of friends with apartments for the occasional home cooked meal, and or a hot shower and shave.
“I don’t beg or steal. Recycling … it’s all that’s out there right now. And then you get hassled by police – for recycling from the trash. Or unlawfully detained or searched by security guards. No one expects the homeless to speak up about their rights. We have the same rights … and we are people, too,” Price said.
Price routinely speaks out on homeless issues at the Madera City Council and Board of Supervisors meetings. He said had been initially denied entry at County Council meetings by over zealous security guards and was recently ejected from the Madera County Board of Supervisors office after repeatedly trying to see a supervisor about homeless issues.
Officials say Price appears before them too frequently – pushing his concept of a homeless agenda, flies off the handle when frustrated and scares people with his outbursts. And then there is his lack of hygiene, they say uncomfortably.
Price said his idea is to keep the local homeless population and their issues in the public eye, and he hoped eventually some progress can be made on the sad situation for Madera’s homeless.
“People … shouldn’t have to live like this… And it’s everybody’s constitutional right to speak with their elected representatives .. and be heard … isn’t it? Even if you are homeless?” Price wondered out loud.
“It’s always day by day. You can’t plan anything when you are homeless. People don’t want to see us. Don’t judge a man by his appearance, or the unshaven face, or the missing teeth. That’s not too much to ask. Judge a man by his character … most of us are trying and just doing the best we can. Just please don’t ignore us,” Price said.
Vernon Price can be reached via e-mail at : vernnprice@yahoo.com
