Community Relations Coordinator gives <br>status report to City Council in November<br>

Status Report: 10/16/00 - 11/14/00

I had the opportunity to serve as a guest speaker during the Red Ribbon Week at the Winslow Residential Hall. I spoke to the whole student body at the dorm about the dangers and the consequences of abusing alcohol and drugs. Among Native Americans there is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken, unless we educate them now at the early age and they will have a chance to grow up to be productive citizens and not end up as street people.

There are approximately 65 street people who are living out on the streets, and I have been talking with them almost on a daily basis, on the street, in the alleys, and where they camp out. Some of the problems they shared with me are divorces, grieving over the loss of loved ones, loneliness, loss of jobs, lack of education, and so forth. I tell them that there are some people out here that still care for you.

I had spoke with Navajo Nation Vice-President Taylor Mckenzie and addressed important issues concerning his Native People that were drinking and living out on the streets of Winslow, Arizona.

His response was that he was aware of the problem and they have formed a group and they will be doing a comprehensive study to see what can be done to combat this problem. He believes that we all should have a partnership with all border towns and work together to find out what can be done. He has invited me to his next meeting and will contact me.

We attended the Navajo Nation Behavioral Health Summit in Gallup, New Mexico on November 16. The Navajo Nation President Kelsey Begaye and Vice-President Taylor Mckenzie were there. The meeting was on dealing with substance abuse among Native Americans. There I talked with President Begaye and Navajo Nation officials about ways of helping the street people combat their drinking problem. They were very interested in helping the Winslow street people. Vice President McKenzie is interested in sitting down with city officials.

I had a meeting with I.H. S. Clinical Director Dr. Frank Armao. There were 73 alcohol related deaths in one year that were reported to his office. The statistics they gathered are from meetings they have every three months.

I have been meeting with local pastors and sent a letter to the Ministerial Association of Winslow and all local churches open their arms of love and do ministerial counseling to street people at their churches. Some of them want prayers and some of them just need someone to listen to them. A shoulder to cry on.

I have been working closely with Police Chief Steven Garnett and the Police Department, and at 6 p.m. every evening I tell street people to get out of the alleys and get on the sidewalks where it is out in the open, so they won't be assaulted.

I had the opportunity to ride with the local police on two occasions to where I wanted to get a first hand look of how the policing was done. Especially, to see how the street people were being handled. It was an experience for me - the officers I rode with were professionals.

There were several intoxicated people who were passed out and the weather was extremely cold that night, the officer gently woke them up and told them to move around and get their circulation going. Every 15 minutes or so we would check up on them for their safety. This really moved me on what the officer did, to protect and serve even though he was a white Police Officer and the subject was a Native American.

I contacted the Whiteriver Rainbow Treatment and Detoxification Center and told them that we have some Apache people who are drinking out here and need help. They said that they can make arrangements and have them picked up and helped them enroll at the treatment center.

I met with the City Maintenance Department to look at old mattresses, couches, and other miscellaneous items that are set up by street people to sleep on at night. Some of them are on private properties and the city will contact owners and get their permission so to pick them up and haul them away. [Carr said later that all of them had now been hauled away.]

I have been attending meetings with other local resources here in town and in a couple of weeks, I will be involved with the team that will be doing a needs assessment in Winslow area concerning the street people and homelessness. Personnel from other public and private Winslow agencies are also participating in this assessment.

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