| Friday, Dec. 23, 2005 9:51 a.m. EST
A liberal lawyer in Los Angeles is threatening to throw nearly three
dozen homeless center residents back on the streets because of something
he finds indefensible: The center's founder is a Republican and voted
for President Bush.
Roughly 30 men, women and children may be forced to leave Dome
Village – a 20-year non-profit center for support and housing of the
homeless – and will have to try to survive on the streets because of a
punitive rent hike imposed by the landlord right before Christmas.
Milton Sidley, a retired attorney and landlord, said he discovered
earlier this month that Ted Hayes, founder of Justiceville/Homeless,
USA, was a Republican.
News of Hayes’ political affiliation came after a visit to a
Republican women’s group, reported by the L.A. Times, which referenced
Hayes’ solid support for President Bush.
Two days later, Sidley decided to raise the rent at Justiceville’s
"Dome Village” from $2,500 per month to $18,333 per month because, he
states, "This Democrat is tired of supporting Ted and his Dome Village.”
So much for the notion that Democrats want to help the country's
poor.
The more than 600 percent rent hike cannot be absorbed, Hayes said,
meaning Dome Village cannot survive unless Sidley retracts this demand.
According to a Dec. 4 article in the L.A. Times, Hayes "forsook a
middle-class lifestyle years ago to live on the streets because he
believed it would allow him to better serve the homeless." He has been a
registered Republican since 2003.
Hayes, who is black, told the Bel-Air Republican Women’s Federation
that his politics are similar to their own and his compassion for those
in need are reflective of his political believes and moral strength.
"I support President Bush, and I support the Republican Party,"
reports the Times. … "I don't believe in the welfare state … If you're
poor, you're still expected to be a responsible citizen in this society.
I believe in strengthening the hands of the poor where they can learn to
stand on their own two feet."
The directors of Dome Village are making an urgent appeal for public
assistance to find a new location to aid the homeless and build a new
facility.
The Justiceville/Homeless, USA group plans a press conference in L.A.
Friday to bring national attention to this issue. |
