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David Tucker wanted people to know that there is a real issue worsening by the day. This issue is not just in Lawrence, it's nationwide, and it may be directly correlated to our weakened economy. Tucker wants people to know we are living in a nation suffering in poverty.

Tucker, a homeless outreach specialist with the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, has proposed the plan for a homeless campsite at Burcham Park in East Lawrence.

"Homelessness is on the rise and our shelters don't have enough space to put them," Tucker said.

According to the city of Lawrence, in 2008 there were 318 homeless people in Lawrence. Loring Henderson, director of the Lawrence Community Shelter, thinks there's around 400 homeless in Lawrence today.

Henderson's shelter can hold up to 31 people a night, while the Salvation Army can take in 42 a night. Henderson said those that are not able to sleep in the shelters at night have to fend for themselves and find a place to sleep, whether it is a friend's couch or a bench around town.


The proposed campsite is called a tent city and would hold up to 50 residents.

Tent cities are not a new concept. In fact, since the economic recession began in 2007, tent cities have been popping up from coast to coast.

For example in Portland, Ore., there is Dignity Village.Dignity Village was founded by homeless people that were tired of living out in the streets and under bushes. The Village started as a small tent city and has since grown into a village with administrative and legislative branches of government. Tanner, Henderson and Tucker feel if Lawrence had a tent city it would prosper just as well as Dignity Village has.

Phil Collison, president of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association is not sold on the tent city proposal. Collison, along with other Lawrence residents,is concerned about the sanitation of the area, especially since the area would be without running water. They are also concerned with the safety of the residents.

Steve Braswell, an East Lawrence resident, said he didn't support the issue. Instead he felt there should be improvements made to the community shelter.

"It would make me feel sad to come to the park and see homeless people camping there. I feel as a community we should do better," Braswell said.

City officials are pessimistic of the possibility of a tent city.

"I haven't seen good outcomes in other cities," Mike Dever, City Commissioner said. "I see them shutting down more than popping up."

All of the City Commissioners thought the tent city should not be a permanent solution for the homeless and if they were going to spend money on a project for something like this they would rather have a permanent solution.

"I don't have an answer right now, but I want to work on this," Lance Johnson, City Commissioner said.

Lawrence Mayor Robert Chestnut thinks having a campsite will increase the number of homeless in the community and could cause a bigger risk.

"Camping has occurred already in Lawrence and will likely always occur. I don't think a site will alleviate the problem," Chestnut said. "This is an issue we have to deal with."

Tucker and Henderson realize a campsite for the homeless is a difficult issue and wish there was a better answer. A larger shelter would be the best thing, but in order for it to happen they would need money from the city, which is not an option at the moment.

"This issue has been hidden for too long and I'm a firm believer that having a place to sleep at night can put a person's life on track," Tucker said.

 In the summer of 1970 Suzi Blackman's worst nightmare came true. She was 13 years old at summer camp when she found out that her mother had passed away from breast cancer. At 51, her nightmare revisited her. Suzi's daughter Leslie had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

 

"Everyone always said to me that cancer skips a generation," Blackman said. "I've always told my kids to be aware and always have regular check-ups."

 

Her mother's death has played a role in the way she raised her two children, Leslie and Greg. She has seen her children grow up. She has been there for all the events they have had in their lives as well as their milestones. Something her mother didn't have the opportunity to do.

 

"As an adult I can look back and say I didn't understand my mother's death. I understood death and that I had lost my mother," Blackman said. "But it didn't impact me as much as it has as an adult. It affects me to this day."

                       

Blackman's mother's death of breast cancer has always made her fearful of the disease, especially with her children. When the news came that there was a lump on her daughter's neck that was possibly cancerous Blackman was terrified.

 

"I was scared to death. I was mortified," Blackman said.

 

One of Blackman's good friends, Susie Miller, remembers hearing about the news from her. Miller said that Blackman told her there was concern with Leslie and they were going to the doctor to see what it was.

 

"She said there was a growth on Leslie's neck and they didn't know what it was," Miller said. "Suzi was optimistic that it would not be cancer, but the doctor told her there was a chance."

 

In the summer of 2008, Leslie and her family found out that the growth on her neck was indeed cancerous.

 

Leslie couldn't believe the news when she first heard it.

 

"I think the first minute or so was shock," Leslie said.

 

Even with the bad news that she had just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Leslie said she was relieved that it wasn't lymphoma.

 

"When I called my parents I was almost delivering good news" Leslie said. "Odd, right?"

 

When Blackman and her husband Bruce learned of the diagnosis they knew that they had to keep a positive attitude and be there for their daughter.

 

"You have to be strong for her, my husband Bruce was good at that," Blackman said. "It was only in her thyroid so I was thankful that it wasn't breast, but it's still the word cancer."

 

While Suzi and Bruce as well as family and friends were there for immediate support and assurance for Leslie, Leslie was a little concerned on how her mother was actually handling the news.

 

"After it all sunk in I did begin to realize how difficult this may be for her for multiple reasons," Leslie said." I know this process has been difficult for her but when I need her most, she is there promising me all will be okay"

 

With a positive diagnosis of cancer, Blackman has become scared for her daughter and has questioned the relationship between her family history and Leslie's cancer.

 

"She doesn't need to worry, everything will be okay. She doesn't always need to think the worst," Bruce said.

 

Part of the constant fear comes from the fact that since Leslie has been diagnosed with cancer she has had four surgeries to remove all of the cancerous tissue. The most recent surgery was on March 20^th of 2009.

 

Part of what has helped Blackman cope with this situation has been the emotional help from her sisters as well as her friends.

 

"I know she leaned a lot on my aunts for support and I think having that connection of going through what they did with their mom had a lot to do with it," Leslie said. "It is hard to understand a situation like that and the emotions that come along with it unless you have been through it before so I'm glad she had them to reach out to."

 

Blackman and her family and friends are hopeful that Leslie has gone through the last surgery and that all of the cancer is gone, but Blackman said she will always have uncertainty.

 

"My fear is that there is something else," Blackman said. "I want to get rid of that fear, but because of my mom the fear will always be in my mind."

 

 

Government Story                                                                                          Evan Miller

3/25/09

 

Recently the Lawrence Public Library has seen a record increase in circulation and in the amount of registered users, said Library Director Bruce Flanders. According to Flanders the library has seen an increase in circulation the past 10 years by at least eight to 10 percent per year. However, during the recent economic recession the library has seen an increase of 12 percent.

 

"In bad economic times, public library use increases," said Flanders, "this is a well documented trend."

 

The American Library Association (ALA) has been trying to educate the media on this growing trend. A news release from their website talks about the increase in people that libraries are seeing during these economic hard times. People such as Katie Couric are taking notice as well as newspapers like the New York Times and Huffington Post by writing stories on the trend.

 

Lawrence resident Renee Whaley, who frequents the library about four times a week, either renting books or movies, said she sees the library as a place of free entertainment.

 

With this increasing trend Flanders is concerned that the library is becoming too crowded to offer services and collections of books as well as other libraries in the state can. The current library building is 37-years old and was built when the Lawrence population was half of what the current population is today.

 

"Northeast Kansas Library System standards include a minimum of 150 public access computers for a library serving a community of our size," said Flanders. "We have 50 public access computers and do not have room to triple that number."

 

Whaley voiced her concerns about the library as well. She said that the computers in the library run slow and the software is outdated. Whaley also said that she wished that the library wasn't seen as just a place where books are kept, but as a place that would reflect the Lawrence community.

 

"With Lawrence's size and education level we should have a nicer library, but we have just been lax about this issue." said Whaley.

 

Unfortunately for Flanders and Whaley the library will not be one of the hot-stove issues in the upcoming city commissioner elections.

 

In the past, the library has been a topic of interest in the city commission elections. In 2006 the city looked into the possibility of re-developing the library by either building a new one or expanding the current one. The city had proposed a $20 million project that would expand the library. The proposal would have tripled the current size of the library with expanded children's rooms, computer labs, as well as add parking. Flanders had said that he and his staff were seeking a facility that would be more beneficial for the communities needs. 

 

In November of 2007, four out of five city commissioners voted to postpone the plan to expand the library. The expansion would have required a property tax increase. At the time the commissioners thought the tax revenue money could be used else where in the community.

 

Flanders said he has met with all but one of the candidates in the upcoming elections to talk about their agenda for improvements and their need to preserve funding, but understands that improvement and better funding are not possible right now.

 

"Expansion would require millions of dollars, which isn't possible now, so there isn't much to talk about," said Flanders.

 

Even though the library will not be a hot topic, the library is still finding ways to improve for the future.

 

"We are going to develop a business and jobs center, a computer lab, upgrade and renovate our meeting rooms, and expand our young adult area." said Flanders.

 

He also said that he would like to continue the emphasis on library programs such as summer reading and continue an outreach to people of all ages. This would include expanding new programs for the growing senior citizen population.

 

Flanders said that the money to do this renovation would come from private and capital funds saved over the past few years. He also added that there would not be an increase in staff and the renovation would not increase operating expenses.