Barnstable Town Hall, 367 Main Street Hyannis, February, 2009 In November of 2008, a Symposium for the Homeless convened at the Federated Church of Hyannis to discuss ongoing issues with problematic clientele, now homeless in Hyannis. The moderator was the late Patrick Butler, Esq., a civil attorney, well known to the "power elite" and political figures of Barnstable. The Main Street downtown community of Hyannis realized an opportunity to voice "frustration" with obstreperous and intoxicated clientele affecting business in the area. Homeless clientele also voiced their anger and "frustration" with substandard and negligent human services. The "mood" of the meeting was, at times, contentious.
The Barnstable Human Service Needs Committee continues with "Operation in from the Streets" and "Operation in from the Cold". Clinicians meet regularly to discuss problem clients and resolution of services to unrecovered felons unrehabilitated and homeless in Hyannis and Greater Barnstable. The task force on the homeless and subcommittees have yet to address accountablity and responsibility of executives, authorities and political leaders.
Political figures and law enforcement ignore complaints from the homeless and the surrounding community that political corruption is a factor in victimization. Executives are responsible for planning extravagant expansion projects for themselves at taxpayer expense. Rick Presbrey, Livia Davis and Tom Brigham embarked on an effort to build an $11.5 milion dollar social experiment for criminal offenders in the Town of Sandwich. The organization made a number of substantial contributions to political figures and sought the assistance of Ted Kennedy to advertise the project.
Convicted felons, sex offenders, and narcotics addicts received substandard and housing and medical treatment. The complaints include excessive narcotics prescription and negligent medical services. A number of rapes and homicides occurred within the homeless community over fifteen years in drug infested properties and hotels. Clients were clustered in narcotics infested housing despite the efforts of Housing and Urban Development to resolve criminality in public housing.
The Cape Cod Times and The Barnstable Patriot have published a number of articles supporting homeless causes, including support for lavish expansion projects that fundamentally caused the problem. Felons and offenders that were not "appropriate" for the experimental project were to be warehoused in an expanded facility across adjacent to the Barnstable Municipal Airport. To add insult to injury, homeless clients were assaulted on the town green bandshell after publicity was given to the homeless plight. The homeless parties offended identified two youth that appear in this slideshow. These boys claimed they were building a snowman. As you can see, they focused strictly on the formation of his genitalia.
Mary Clements
75 Pearl Street #2
Hyannis, MA 02601
December 1, 2008
Paul Provonost, Editor
The Cape Cod Times
319 Main Street
Hyannis, MA 02601
Dear Mr. Provonost,
Please consider correspondence from a number of homeless people that have recently asked me for assistance in the formulation and preparation of their letters to you. As you are aware, I have complained about the quality of human services for seven years. I maintain that the substandard and negligent quality of services has created a substantial problem for not only clients, but also the surrounding community that supports these efforts. I have previously forwarded materials that indicate that the percentage of public funds for such organizations is higher than you reported two weeks back. As you know, Mr. Rick Presbrey of Housing Assistance Corporation stated that a mere 50% of HAC’s funds are from public sources.
Materials confirming complaints that were made regarding continued impropriety with services have also been forwarded to you via homeless clients banned to the woods. Although the majority of these obstreperous, unrehabilitated clients remain unrecovered and living in the woods, I have yet to forward you the materials indicating that executives developing the $11.5 Dana’s Field Project had two architectural schematic plans of lavish homes being built on site. Photographs and criminal records indicate that the portion of clients excluded from this project is more than projected by the human service providers and Barnstable Chief Paul MacDonald. These clients were provided with negligent services as the organization remained organized to expand to neighboring towns. Livia Davis and Rick Presbrey insisted that clients that failed at rehabilitation would be driven back to Barnstable during the ZBA proceedings in Sandwich. With my propensity for sarcasm, I must really have no credibility. Town officials are now conceding homelessness has become a “Cape-Wide” problem.
Maybe you could print another editorial on the importance of “Fast Tracking the Dana’s Field Project?
Sincerely,
Mary Clements
