Tag Archives: homeless

When “shooing away” doesn’t work… Or why we were right to stop the Ann Arbor “ambassador” program

Remember how, a few months ago, a bunch of us got up in arms over plans hatched by the Ann Arbor DDA to hire a small army of Segway-riding “ambassadors” to cheerfully open doors for well-healed visitors, remove unsightly band flyers from telephone poles, and shoo away “street people” who might otherwise interfere with commerce […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Valentine’s Day on the Saturday Six Pack… the “Classy Vagina” episode

As last week’s drunken mess of a show was a little too male-centric, I made a concerted effort to bring more women into the studio this past Saturday. Naively, I expected that doing so would result in less bawdy, more family-friendly show. I was wrong. The show was pretty filthy. But it was also super […]

Posted in Special Projects, The Saturday Six Pack, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 38 Comments

How do we deal with the homeless in Ann Arbor? Easy, hire greeters on Segways to shoo them away… Introducing Ann Arbor’s new “Ambassador” program

A few days ago, in a post about the increasing number of economic refugees making their way from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, I noted a new program being considered by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) that would put a small army of paid “ambassadors” on the streets of tree town, opening doors for […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 57 Comments

Increasing options for our neighbors without either heat or shelter

On Saturday I posted something here about the plight of the homeless during this week’s polar vortex, which, as I understand it, has brought temperatures near levels not experienced in the region since the 1880s. My intention had been to share a comprehensive list of resources available to those in our community who were without […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Health, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Does Washtenaw County have sufficient infrastructure to keep people warm this weekend?

With yet another huge winter storm system headed our way, and temperatures expected to reach well below 0 °F by the end of this weekend, I reached out to several people who work with Washtenaw County’s homeless population, asking a relatively simple question…. “Do we have warming center capacity in the Ypsi-Arbor area sufficient to […]

Posted in Ann Arbor, Civil Liberties, Health, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

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