Rally Against Homelessness 2pm November 7 2020 at 75 Main Street, Hartford, CT

MEDIA ALERT

ACTIVIST EVICTED FROM HOMELESS SHELTER WHILE UNDERGOING MEDICAL TESTS, CALLS FOR COMMUNITY TO RALLY AGAINST HOMELESSNESS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:   PETER C. FRANK
                        (914) 417-9579
                        PCFRANK73@GMAIL.COM

South Park Inn
75 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06106

HARTFORD, CT—Earlier today, I was evicted from South Park Inn (SPI), which is the homeless shelter I've been staying in, for doing nothing other than receiving healthcare that I was forced to postpone from last month due to not having the funds for medical transportation. I am now, literally, on the streets.

Specifically, during my annual wellness examination the day before my birthday last month, my doctor ordered a series of diagnostic tests to be performed. Among them was a sleep study, which takes 2-3 days to perform. Or more accurately stated, it takes 2-3 nights. My PCP (primary care physician) wished to have these tests performed as soon as possible but when I got to the checkout to schedule them, I embarrassedly had to inform my doctor's office that I could not afford to return to the office due to insufficient funds to transportation. I then scheduled all of the testings for the beginning of November 2020.

I even had to borrow money from a few different friends to pay for my Lyft (an Uber competitor) ride back to the shelter, that's how broke I was.

When I returned to the shelter I made a huge fuss about the entire situation and the fact that SPI was not providing medical transportation for me. The reason they've given is that I have a "significant income."

The only income I receive is Social Security Disability Income. I have extremely poor credit due to significant personal debts that I owe. In fact, my credit and debt are so bad that I was turned down on a housing application due to "significant personal debt." Yet somehow, SPI has this image of me that I earn thousands of dollars per month when nothing could be further from the truth.

Me, with the halter monitor that was
installed at today's appointment.
I have to wear it for the next 30 days.

To make matters worse, my case manager SPI claims that I never told them about my medical appointments, even though the scene I made upon my return was witnessed by many of the other residents at the shelter, and I continued to raise the issue with staff, in front of other residents, for the remainder of the week. This is the excuse they are using to kick me out of the shelter. They claim that I never told them about the appointments, which simply isn't true.

SPI further claims that I should have called to let them know that I would be staying out overnight. But why should I do that if I already told them about my appointments? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that a sleep study would be conducted at night (the sleep study was to determine whether or not I have sleep apnea).

I have attempted to reach my doctor to get a "doctor's sick note" but my doc is an extremely busy, and successful woman—the sort of doctor who has a nine-month waiting list for annual wellness examinations and a three-month waiting list for follow-up exams. I'm hoping that she'll return my phone call on Monday and will then be able to send such a letter to me but in the interim, I'm literally on the streets.

This isn't the first time I've had issues with SPI, though. I've been very vocal about the inhumane living conditions we've been forced to live under, and I feel that this action is retribution for me speaking up and advocating not only for myself but for all of the residents living at SPI. For example, the 50 some-odd med living at the shelter are forced to share one toilet and one shower. The women are roused from their beds before 7am and cannot return to them, at times, until 8pm--and many of the women have health conditions that make it extremely difficult for them to be on their feet for such an extended period of time.

There have been numerous other issues with SPI I have encountered in the eight or so months I've been staying with them, and that doesn't even get into the systemic issues of homelessness.

SPI touts itself as a caring, safe space organization. However, in my experience and the experience of many of my friends and fellow homeless here, it has been anything but that. I invite other members of the media to come and listen to our stories as human beings. We demand to be treated with respect and not mollycoddled or demeaned in other ways.

I am thus calling upon the entire homeless community in the Greater Hartford Regions to rally with me in front of SPI tomorrow, Saturday, November 7, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. to raise awareness about the issues we face as we struggle to find housing and survive from day to day in the homelessness system, which is controlled by corrupt individuals.

I have started a GoFundMe to help with all of my expenses, including paying down my significant personal debts. With all of the personal health issues I have, my bills only continue to grow and right now, I really need to get glasses. I'll need three pairs of glasses and with the examinations and testing, that will come to about $2,000 alone.

To contribute to my GoFundMe, visit https://gofundme.com/f/pcfstartlife20.

If you'd like to help out and don't wish to use GoFundMe, here are some other ways you can provide assistance:

• I could use gift cards, especially to Amazon, BJ's Wholesale Club, Starbucks, Lyft, and CVS Pharmacy (use my email address)
• Support me on Patreon to help me continue my journalistic work and personal writing experiences on my blog
• I need help getting to my medical appointments so if you can help provide transportation I would be very, very grateful for that.
• You can send money to me via Zelle (bank-to-bank transfer using my email address), CashApp ($petercfrank), Venmo, or PayPal, BitCoin (ask me for my Bitcoin wallet address or use my email address, which you can also use for PayPal)
• I have an Amazon Wish List that you can order items I need and send directly to me but bear in mind that I currently stay in a shelter and have no space to keep or store items beyond bare essentials.
• I love being able to give gifts. So even though I may not be able to do so now, please share your Amazon Wish Lists with me, or just leave a comment and let me know what sort of things make you happy and brighten your day!
• If you're in or passing through the greater Hartford, CT area, I'd love to meet up with you for a cuppa (especially a Chai latte at SBUX) or some other tea house. Perhaps a short stroll through Elizabeth Park or Westfarms Mall. Something to just get out, stretch my legs, mind, and be with positive people. If you can provide transportation, I can provide some great company and conversation. Contact me to arrange an adult play date. It would mean the world to me (and yes, of course, I'll wear a mask!).