On homelessness, evictions, hypocrisy & now JFLAG's own displacement ...............

So a war of words has occurred between some advocates post the eviction notice of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, Jamaica Forum for Lesbian Allsexuals and Gays JFLAG and the other tenants of the property which they had held for over ten years plus by the previous owner as the property has been sold but we can easily deduce that the problematic homeless MSM issue is a major contributing factor for the sale, I had mentioned the eviction notice in my February 23, 2013 podcast on homelessness issues, the war of words has come over a simple use of a word "Eviction" as placed in a Facebook post by controversial lawyer Mr Maurice Tomlinson where he expressed the following but embedded in all of this are far more underlying points:

"HOW IRONIC...

That J-FLAG has been evicted and is now homeless, just like the homeless gays in New Kingston. That gays were abused for daring to express themselves like everyone else during Carnival, and the Jamaican TV stations refused to air two “uptown” tolerance themed ads calling for respect for gay Jamaicans?

If nothing else, these events should confirm that the difference between the "Rich Queens" and the "Scary Queens" is just a myth. To Jamaicans, we are ALL the same thing: undesirable. We can only change their minds and achieve our liberation if we act TOGETHER!"

It is ironic in a sense as JFLAG have now found themselves displaced, the very thing that the homeless men in New Kingston have been made to suffer twice through their own episodes of family rejection from their homes and communities and then by the dubious closure of the Safe House Pilot project in 2009 where the rowdy behaviour of the men was used as a justified reason to end the only coordinated response to homelessness that took years in the making. Ironic too that Mr Tomlinson never really took such interest in matters of homeless welfare and fiduciary responsibility. Let us also bear in mind that new members join the group over the years hence the large numbers of them.

Payback is a bitch eh? 

.............. remembering that the very office space the J is now being asked to vacate was the very Safe House space that housed some 7 persons, they had no qualms taking up residence less than two months after it became vacant, any self respecting entity devoid of conflict of interest and seeing a section of its representative population about to be made homeless by process would have stepped in and agitated on their behalf instead they turned their heads away and watched the men leave to their fates, let us not forget the deaths and umpteen skirmishes that made mainstream news to present day with the carnival fiasco the latest in a long line of them.

If the project was tweaked instead of shut down all together maybe we would not be here today and to think the men are still hanging around on the property as they were led to believe they could stay and use the water supply and gain shelter outside the J's office, now confirmed reports have brought to bear that the previous owner has told the men personally that they have to leave and they were also paid a visit by a very abrasive police team who it is alleged have threatened the men with beatings if they do not vacate the premises. I am in no way condoning the antisocial behaviour of the fellas but improper or inadequate responses to this long-standing population in particular for the past four plus years has led us to this moment. The security detail also that is contracted to offer protection services to JFLAG also had to be called in as there was an alleged break in said to be organized by some of the men who are living vicariously on the property.

Some of us at varying levels from the GLABCOM steering cmt to the peer educator group had great hopes that the project would have at least put a dent in the growing numbers of displaced and homeless men especially since 2007 but instead we saw an indifferent JFLAG, JASL et al especially at the board level in trying to pass the buck suggesting government should provide shelter for the men whilst echoing the poor excuse of not being able to find a space to rent for the now termed phantom shelter they had announced on television in April of last year on TVJ's All Angles and again at a town hall meeting (first held in years) in November 2012.

Now to see the J meeting the fate of the men in a sense is troubling yet it conjures up a serve them right feeling as well, the argument between Mr Tomlinson and the former Programs' Manager of the J, Gareth Henry is interesting as the former accuses the latter of being more interested in protecting JFLAG's image more so than finding a solution while the latter points to lack of fiduciary responsibility on the former's part (referring to when he was a board member of JASL etc), here is Mr Henry's first response:

".....my thoughts on the matter is your choice of word “evicted”. J-FLAG was NOT EVICTED, Please Please... let us stick with the facts, any variation from what is factual we all know is a LIE. The owner of the premises have been contemplating selling the property for some time now.. for years I must say. When JASL first rented from Ms. ********* we were informed that she will be selling the property sometime soon, even though 10 years past. When JFLAG rented sometime in 2010 they signed a lease knowing that the property was going to go up for sale.

There is so much that can be inferred by your post and I want to haste to state that Ms. *********** and her Husband are strong supporter and advocate for our cause. They rented JFLAG knowing all about our work and the risks involved in having JFLAG as a tenant both from the community itself and the wider society."

Please, let stick with the FACTS and I am encouraging you to retract your statement and the use of the word EVICTED; the same person you are alleging that EVICTED JFLAG is currently actively helping JFLAG and JASL to find a new home... did you know that? Dane Christian, Ian McKnight , Jae Nelson, Ivan shanky Cruickshank... please correct me if I am wrong here please....... you guys will have the FACTS."

(********* name withheld)
Mr Tomlinson responded:

"Hmmm...Gareth Henry, I have been accused of many things, but I think I know a thing or two about the term "evicted" (having been a real estate lawyer for awhile). Being asked to surrender title to property, legally or otherwise, is an eviction. I hasten to point out that my post was about the irony involved in thinking ANY of us is safe. As I understand it, finding a new space was not as easy for J-FLAG as for any other commercial tenant (security issues were raised, no doubt). 

What I find challenging is the desire (at least to me) to preserve J-FLAG's reputation and that of the landlord, instead on focusing on what this experience should teach us about the realities facing our fellow LGBT citizens who we are not different from at all. I urge you to re-read the post."

Interesting that Mr Tomlinson should raise the matter of ethics indirectly when some of his own actions and comments elsewhere in particular in as far as being a spokesperson for the LGBT community has left some baffled and question his own motives as being one on a narcissistic quest at the expense of the least amongst us and a gullible LGBT community. He has been accused of resorting to half truths deliberately to push his arguments. He later raised a point though whether it is a genuine position it is left up to the reader to interpret, he said:

"I reject that J-FLAG's situation is dissimilar to that of other evicted gays (I have stated why above, including the lack of ease in finding new accommodation . However, this exchange by privileged voices has made it clear to me that it is easier to expend energy debating my use of a (correct) word, rather than actually seeking viable solutions for the class divide within the LGBT community. My post was a call to see our SIMILARITIES. Instead, much ink is spilt emphasizing our perceived dissimilar treatment."

Frankly this business of MSM homelessness long pre-dates any public agitation for LGBT rights and freedoms from as early as 1974 when Gay Freedom Movement came to be then JFLAG in 1998 after developed from JASL(1991) yet we have seen so many of that group of persons fall through the cracks from dying of AIDS related illnesses to living in abject poverty to lifelong struggles yet with no serious thrust for a rehabilitation response for such persons that is until the Safe House Pilot, forgive me if I seem to ramble on about it but we cannot as a community (if we really are one) continue to just pretend this section are a mere nuisance or embarrassment for us whilst demanding tolerance and acceptance from the mainstream, as far as I am concerned we have to show it then ask of it in return and we are aeons away from ever displaying at best any unity and overall acceptance of those who are the least amongst us when descriptions such as "Rowdy" or "Maladjusted miscreants" are used by persons who ought to know better to put down the men while not addressing the antecedences to their anti-social behaviours.

Some questions come to mind as well:

Where were all these persons when the Safe House project was originally closed?

Was there really an expectation that after the closure of the project the men would have simply disappeared so out of sight out of mind?

Can we realise the two Jamaicas classism showing up here over this vexed issue of MSM homelessness?

Is JFLAG trying to save face by this latest round of embarrassments?

What is to be done with men after they leave the premises as the new owners take over?

Where will the J operate from in the meantime pending a suitable office is found and during that period will they be offering full services?

Mr Tomlinson was a board member of JASL when the ultimatum was given for the Safe House closure, why didn't he express his concerns then instead of supporting such a final action to a well needed project?

Why was the project allowed to start in the first place if there were doubts about it?

What was the real reason for discontinuing that pilot?

What a shame that this is where all this has had to come and even as the men and their safety should be pondered persons are worried about the use of a word here? frankly they were given an eviction notice now what next? All of this from 2009 to present could have been avoided but with the trail of events in full thrust I am not hopeful anytime soon. Rumblings from within the J's walls suggest there is unease with the management style as well of the ED and the overall lack of a grasp of the issues at the Management committee level as well. Others including the former Safe House Project initiator have become so jaded by all the squabbling and disingenuous public relations on the issue over the years.

I have been asking and still am asking where are the programs specifically to do with the homeless impasse?

Maybe we may get an answer but in the meantime I leave you with a parting shot by Mr Tomlinson that has some element of truth in it, whether he is genuine I leave up to you to decide:

"I have enjoyed this exchange, as it has revealed something quite interesting: we appear more interested in how J-FLAG was perceived to be treated, than how the homeless (evicted) youth have been. Curious."

Peace and tolerance

H