St. Vincent DePaul's

This Catholic charity feeds lunch to people in their dinning hall every day and are generally friendly to the homeless and other low income people who dine there, though the food is usually not very palatable, it has staved off my hunger in desperate times. They also run a thrift store where you can get decent clothing and other necessities of life for a low price. All of the employees in both establishments have been very helpfull and seem genuinly compassionate.

The Mission

This "Christian" charity has beds for a number of homeless people who may sleep indoors there for two weeks. They also serve a rather good evening meal. You must pay for both of these services by enduring a sermon and other often demeaning religious indoctrination, well worth it, if you are strong mentally.

The Food Bank

You can get a large box of food or more once a month and they have bread and other items as they are donated on a daily basis. To receive a box of food you must call in the morning to pick it up at an appointed time the same afternoon. The system seems to work well and the people are friendly. It is possible to volunteer there also.

Veteran's Service Office

Nice enough people but overworked. They say that some veterans have received compensation for service connected maladies through their office. They were succsessfull in obtaining my service record and Navy medical records and Gave me forms to fill out to file a claim for service connected disability, though the VA trivialized my claim and refused to look at the evidence I submitted including my service record, Navy medical records which substantiate the medical basis of my discharge, combat record of the seventh fleet, all the psychiatrists and social workers I have seen over 33 years and redefined Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as "long term fear from being shot at in combat". Maybe I had filled out the forms for the medal of honor by mistake. None of the various rules they sited resembled anything in the V.A.'s handouts and website. They could not fathom how killing other people, even civilians in great numbers, could effect anyone. Even though I was diagnosed with prostate cancer shortly after filing this claim, and told them so, it took almost 2 years for them to "just say no". Whether or not I am qualified or not is a mystery to me but the belligerance and stone wall nature of this system is apparent. The friendly people at the Veteran's service office were able to get both DD214s for me also. (discharge papers) I had tried on two or three previous attempts to obtain them but had gotten only the first one.

The "Vet" Center

Somewhat friendly though very formal and detached from street level America and no help in getting benefits, I attempted to get copies of my discharge papers through them but only succeeded in getting one of them, from the first of my two hitches in the Navy. The Vet center seems to be mainly employment for social workers one of whom I have seen there a number of times. His main help was letting me talk, a great help, and I rather liked him though was not helped in gaining housing when I was homeless and did not gain any real psychological help beyond verbal release.

(Congressman) Mike Thompson's office

Mike Thompson is a wine lobbiest and wounded, self proclaimed, war hero. I never got past the secretary who is nice enough but apparently just guarding against constituients gaining access to this "representative". This office seems to have some connection with the extremely convoluted claims process and he ran ads the day before the election (only) claiming that they have helped veteran's get "benefits". Mike Thompson is, by his own admission a "conservative Democrat" who takes money from other unsavory corporations including Phillip Morris, and elected Republican legislators*. He has been active in "welfare reform". They do not seem bothered by the out of hand manner in which I was denied my claim and are very unlikely to be an asset to any veteran who needs help in any real way. The fact that they are accustomed to being involved in this screwy, arbitrary process is strong evidence for the out of control belligerance of this most archaic of bureauracies. Long time Democrats of my aquaintence are very disappointed in this Republican in Democrats clothing and he is expected to be voted out of office in the next election though I suspect that the folks down in wine production country may carry him anyway.

Redwoods Community Action Agency (RCAA)

Possibly the most corrupt "charity" in Humboldt County. My ex-wife rents from them at market value and has nothing but trouble and has been without heat for many months in spite of frequent complaints. The last I heard on this was that they would help her apply to get a new heater on some government plan, like it was not their responsibility and they were just being generous enough to help get financial assistance for her to buy a heater herself. I have witnessed the people who run this non-profit belittle her and trivialize her for slights and imaginary reasons. When I applied to rent a studio apartment from them so that I could be close to her for the sake of our son I was denied with the "explanation" that I did not have enough references from landlords. I had lived in the last place for about 8 years which seems to be a great reference to me. They then rented the apartment to junkies. The woman who told me I didn't have "enough" references was caught embezelling shortly after that and punished with dismissal. If you want free legal assistance, to say get your landlord to fix your heat, that is part of Redwoods Community Action Agency also.....

The Veteran's Health Clinic

Mostly very friendly people who tested my blood and discovered a high PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level which led to a diagnosis of prostate cancer when I then went to a doctor (Dr. Albertini of the Eureka Urology group) This doctor was, however, quite condescending, insensitive and uninformative. My PSA level has declined since that time from the low to mid thirties in April of 2000 to 11 in December of 2001 and I am concerned that the diagnosis (obtained by biopsy) may have been mistaken or even purposely faked in order to perform unnecessary, and profitable, surgery for this young doctor. I have been getting further blood work done through the Veteran's Clinic to track my PSA.

The Burre Memorial Medical center

I went to this clinic after expieriencing symptoms I felt were evidence of a bacterial infection. The clinic did not seem very clean and the doctor seemed annoyed that I was there and upset that I had listed prostate cancer as one illness I had on the intake form. When I mentioned that I was exhausted from walking the several miles from Chin's motel, where I was staying, to the clinic he sent me to have tests for hepatitis, (or was it aids?). When I returned for the 10 AM follow up appointment a couple of weeks later he was not there and had not shown up by noon when I left. I do not know the reason for this and suspect, in light of other developments since then, that he may have been aware of an attempt to perform unnecessary surgery on me and avoided contact for that reason, though i think it more likely that he may simply have been called to some life or death emergency.

Humboldt County Correctional Facility

Humboldt County is certainly doing it's part in the war on the poor and maintaining the U.S.'s status as the most imprisoned people on earth...by far**. This for profit dungeon is the main repository for people with mental illness, minor drug problems and the homeless. My mentally impaired ex neighbor, Patrick O'Brian, after being harrassed in his home and then on the streets after eviction, died there aledgedly strangling himself. (I had documented his persecution and demise on the original "Humboldt Hate Crime Page" prior to this.) Two weeks later another man died after being denied essential medicine. People I have interviewed who were incarcerated with him say he died begging for his medicine. I talked to the coronor about both of these deaths and he confirmed the cause of death and then said "he, Michael Choate, was just a junkie"...true I think but summary execution is still illegal in The United States of America as far as I know, at least technically. Please keep in mind, for contrast, also that a serial killer of women was turned away from one local police department when he tried to turn himself in before he killed again. Not until he returned with the severed breast of one of his victims did they lock him up. A young man of my aquaintance alleges that a policeman representing this same police department had told him "if we see you here again we WILL find something on you". His crime; simply looking poor and unkempt in the Arcata square. He is a Christian and doesn't do drugs, alcahol or even smoke pot.

*Blue Dog PAC (Rep Collin Peterson, R-MN, Bewster, Laughlin, and Tauzin) date of this $5,000.00 donation was 02/27/02

**The U.S.A. leads the world in prison population both in sheer raw numbers and on a per capita and has almost double the prison population of China, our nearest competitor. One fourth of the earth's prison population is imprisoned by the U.S.A.