‘Peace House Community Journal’ Archives
Mayor Frey’s La-la Land
By MARTI MALTBY On July 30, Mayor Jacob Frey sent out a weekly update that claimed, among other things, that “Under Mayor Jacob Frey’s leadership, Minneapolis is seeing meaningful progress in addressing unsheltered homelessness.“ The update went on to tout the lower costs to the City in encampment closures and a reduction in 911 and 311 calls (85% and 87% respectively) involving encampments. Overall, the Update painted a rosy picture of homelessness in Minneapolis under Mayor Frey’s leadership. Marti Maltby I doubt many alley readers agree with Mayor Frey’s message. Yes, the City has cracked down on encampments, reducing many problems associated with encampments. But the problems associated with homelessness . . . well, those are still with us. The crackdown has simply scattered encampment dwellers to other parts of the neighborhoods. And the problems have moved with them. I don’t need to belabor the point. Anyone who lives or works [...]
Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
By MARTI MALTBY In the 1960s, Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus wrote “Don’t let me Be Misunderstood,” a song with lyrics that are intimate, timeless, and universal all at once. Marti Maltby Sung from the point of view of a flawed human, the song expressed the singer’s desire to be good while also asking: Baby, you understand me now?If sometimes you see that I'm madDon'tcha know that no one alive can always be an angel?When everything goes wrong, you see some bad I’ve always liked the song since I heard Elvis Costello’s version from the mid 1980s, although many other versions exist. I can relate to it so easily, knowing that I want to do what’s right, but that I often hurt the people I care about, or even total strangers, because of my weaknesses and limitations. In some ways, the song offers a gut check to the listener. While we can probably all relate to the singer, we should also try relating to the listener. When someone [...]
Smiling Helps
by MARTI MALTBY Smiling helps. Marti Maltby That’s it. I have nothing more profound than that. I have been reminded lately how important it is to give and receive smiles, so I thought I would remind everyone else. We have one community member at Peace House Community who I mentally associate with smiling. He and I rarely speak to each other, but any day that he comes in, he gives me a smile and a nod. Several times, when I have been dealing with a stressful situation or a combative individual, I will see him looking at me. When he knows he’s caught my eye, he will give me a smile of understanding. He still doesn’t say anything, but the smile lets me know that someone else sees what I’m dealing with and appreciates what I’m going through. That sort of interaction has affected how I do my job. When Peace House Community opens in the morning, I try to greet our community members with a smile to make them feel welcome and at home. Many of our members have told [...]
