Hero to Zero.

James Lofton went from being a hero and recognized by the city for his efforts to help save a woman’s life by helping prevent her from jumping off the Monona Terrace, to (less than a month later) being kicked off the Monona Terrace rooftop area and another area because he is homeless veteran and has “too much” stuff with him. You can’t make this up.

I really couldn’t believe it when I heard it. I’m used to homeless people telling me stories about the latest place they were kicked out of. The tickets they get. The harassment from here, there and everywhere, because they have no legal place to go. But this one really hurts my brain. And my heart.

Wednesday night I was talking with James and Russ and they were telling me about being kicked out of the Monona Terrace because they had their bags and their “carts” with them. I talked to them for a while and they had lots of questions about why this happened, and about another incident. So, I sent this email on their behalf:

to GMcManners, Mayor, Allalders, sadie

 

FROM ME:
You all remember a few weeks ago when you honored James for his heroic efforts and passed a resolution honoring him and Sadie Villegas?  Well, you’re not going to believe this . . . when I stopped to talk with him last night after a meeting (gave him a 10-ride bus pass and my subway sandwich I was going to eat for dinner) I learned that he and his friend Russ who he hangs out with all the time were kicked off the Monona Terrace roof because they had bags and their wagons with them.  Can anyone tell me under what authority they were asked to leave?  What rules were they violating?  How long are they kicked out?  Additionally, apparently the person who made them leave had a list of names and they were asked if they were any of the people on that list.  What is that list?  Who is on it?  Why?

Is this how we treat our homeless veteran “heroes”?  How quickly we forget.  James is a really great guy, all he wants is a bus pass.  Hopefully he will get one, and a voucher for housing (then he’ll have to FIND housing which is near impossible) once his determination about his disability goes through.  Until then, why can’t he sit in a public space and be left alone?  And maybe get a bus pass!

FROM RUSS AND JAMES:

Russ and James also wanted me to ask you a question.  They were threatened that their things would be thrown out if they left them in front of the MMB and so they scaled everything down so it fits into their wagons and so they can take it with them.  Meanwhile, another person most of you know has a HUGE pile of things behind one of the benches and nothing has been done about it.  They want to know why some people can leave their things and others cannot.  (I happen to know that Engineering staff has been trying to get me to find a place for her things, but as you know, there just isn’t any place to put them and my attic is full of items from 5 other homeless people.  I don’t have any magic answers.)  Why were they treated differently?  Why do they have to follow the rules if others don’t?

Thanks in advance for your attention to these matters and the answers to our questions.

(I didn’t include he photos with the email, but I probably should have)

This was the response from the Monona Terrace Director:

Thanks Brenda for your note.

On Tuesday and Wednesday evening, Power Line Systems Advanced Training Users Group leased the Rooftop Center for their evening reception. James and Russ, as well as any other patron who were not associated with the event, were asked to relocate as the space they were occupying was being leased for use by a client. Space exclusivity is standard protocol for events inside and outside of the building as it is an article in our event contract.

Our customer service standard is not to order people out of an event space that has been rented by a group. We ask for their cooperation in moving to a different location to accommodate the event that will happen in that space. We used that approach with James and Russ and they were gracious enough to accommodate our request.

I recognize that our primary focus is on business side of Monona Terrace but we also focus on supporting our community. For example, over the past three years our caterer Monona Catering has donated 21,500 pounds of food to local food pantries. This is about 3.5 tons of food each year. In addition, last year during an unbearable stretch of weather Monona Terrace was used as a cooling center 24 hours a day for a 5 day period.

I have attached a copy of the event schedule for your review.

Please feel free to ask if you should have any other questions.

Gregg McManners, CFE
Executive Director
Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center
A public place by Frank Lloyd Wright
Where Business and Inspiration Meet
One John Nolen Drive
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-261-4020
Cell: 608-516-1903
Fax: 608-261-4049
gmcmanners@mononaterrace.com
www.mononaterrace.com

Here’s the attachment: Monona Terrace Schedule

I thought that sounded weird, so I stopped by to talk to Russ and James tonight and learned several things.

So, I sent this email back on their behalf:

Mr. McManners, thank you for your response, but it appears that you may be confused about what happened. They were asked to leave on two occasions, one of them was before 8 am in the morning and I believe it was on Monday. They were asked to leave both the rooftop and the side of the walkway to the Monona Terrace where the table(s) are. They were told to leave because “we talked it over” and they “had too much stuff” and they couldn’t have their wagons there. They said they know when there are events there because they are usually setting up chairs or other things for the events and they willingly leave then – this was different and it included more than just the rooftop.

Additionally, you didn’t answer the questions in the previous email about the list of names that was read to them.

They also wanted you to know that while they appreciate the donations to the food pantries, many/most of the food pantries only let you get food from them if you have an address, so that is of little or no use to them. And of course, there is no cooling center in this very hot weather – apparently its not hot enough even tho there are heat advisories.

If it would be easier, we could arrange to meet with you and your staff to discuss this further.

Classic, eh? Two homeless guys vs the bureaucracy, who do you think is going to win?

My opinion, right or wrong, James is kinda a classic tough guy, but he seems pretty bewildered by these events. Not entirely surprised, and he’s taking it all in stride, but I do think it kinda hurt his feelings that a city that honors him on the one hand and calls him a hero, later treats him as a zero when he is just another faceless person who lives on the street – not that he will show it. It’s just another unfair thing that happened in a really long list of unfair things – but I really think he wants someone to answer his questions and be responsible for making this decision. And admit the truth. And maybe tell him they are sorry. And tell him where is he supposed to put his things? Where is he supposed to go during the day? And dammit! When can he get a bus pass!!! (He teases me all the time about when going to all the meetings I go to is going to pay off and homeless persons will be able to ride the bus for free. So, I have to put that plug in there for him! I have to keep telling him not to hold his breath – but I did bring him a Brenda’s-pissed-off-there’s-no-cooling-center popsicle tonight.)