The Mad Man with The Blue Box arrived once again at the regular neighborhood CAPS meeting for beats 1923, 1925, 1934 on Wednesday, November 6, 2013 @ 850 W Addison.
My first observation what that is was nearly a full house of local residents. I'm pegging the number around 50 - which is pretty darn good for a November meeting. Some faces I recognized, others I did not.
Another observation: so many officers at the front table. Many more than normal; almost makes you wonder if it wasn't just for show. Also, the SELVN (South East Lake View Neighbors Association) president was present (never saw her here before, so THAT was interesting in it self). Also the representative from the Department of Family Services was present.
The last two mentioned about is particularly interesting because of the current status of the Broadway Youth Center (the center had recently moved to 615 W Wellington, without any notice to local residents on Wellington AND working without the proper permit…but that's another story).
Some highlights from the meeting were:
+ Beat 1934 is going to be a separate meeting and removed from the current grouping and the trouble with Beats 1923 & 1925 always take more time, also they will add beat 1924 to this grouping of meetings - it only makes sense since the Beats are next to each other - but that won't take place until next year - hopefully in January, 2014.
+ The resurrection of going through the stats again - we thought that was a dead issue, especially with last month's meeting when the Police Commander was present.
+ No update from the rape that took place on Sunday morning, November 3rd/ It's currently being investigating.
+ There were reps from 911 present to tell us about the whole 911 thing actually works. One major take-away from the dissuasion: be specific to your location. Give them intersections; not street addresses if you can. Anything you see that might be suspicious, call 911. If you encounter a rude operator, call back and ask to speak with a supervisor.
+ The representative from the Department of Family Services seemed to be only concerned with his programs and the "clients" his department was responsible for servicing; although members from the audience brought up concerns about safety in conjunction with programs they support, his answers seemed lop-sided to only "his" cause and his clients. It also did not help when he whined about getting respect. He did not seem to understand the severity of the situation over the years.
+ A "youth" is defined by the DFS as up to the age of 25 (in reality, that really is not a youth, that's a young adult atlas, but what do I know, I'm just a Mad Man with A Blue Box).
+ A latest DFS program, that is being instituted shortly, will be the transport of unlucky lottery winners from 'the Crib" who could not get one of the 20 beds available, and be taken to another Shelter in the city. This will be coordinated by Catholic Charities (which is interesting since most of the "youth" are LGBTQ).
+ Some choice phrases of "little violence caused by youth centers" and "Protecting vulnerable people" were used by the rep. There is information available online with news reports that say otherwise that little violence caused by 'youth' who visit youth centers.
+ There is some disconnect between what the DFS says they do and what an organization, such as the Broadway Youth Center, does when the DFS says they "collect names" when 'youth" uses facilities; we've been told the BYS runs anonymously when they talk to people who come to use the facility. Who's wrong here?
… and there you have it - an observer's take on what happened.
Until next time …
