Wednesday, April 16
Just re-reading- Steve Lopez posts
I have been re-reading a lot of the posts I had made when Steve Lopez was writing his articles in the LA Times about Nathaniel Ayers. I was always wondering if it was some person who was only there to exploit a mentally ill person for a story, was he going to follow through , was Nathaniel going to be renumerated , was the LA TIMES just exploiting this story for more people to subscribe? Was this journalist going to come to skid row , take someone's story and leave that person in the same situation he found him in? At the same time all of these stories were being printed, Steve Lopez's articles on skid row were also being printed. The first story was rather frightening because it dealt with forced institutionalization and I slammed Steve on this blog about that. Scary stuff , for those of us in the disability rights movement. But as Steve was creating his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers his views began to change about that and he talked about the LAMP and their less harm approach to helping those with Mental Illness , then he became a big advocate of permanent supportive housing , thus I began to see that his "learning curve" wasn't as big anymore. One of the things that frightened me was that skid row and it's providers , case manager's , etc had a very bad reputation with violating clients confidentiality , was this happening with Nathaniel Ayers?
I didn't know. But what I could gather, in one article, Nathaniel's psychiatrist was talking to the reporter and it crossed my mind that he might be violating Nathaniel's confidentiality. Many people I know agreed with me , but that soon faded into the background because the LAMP even told me that they got onto Steve Lopez to make sure that he made sure the clients confidentiality issues were not violated. It was scary because as Steve Lopez continues to write his stories many others wanted to come on board and do the same and the neighborhood was just inundated with documentarians's , journalists , and all types who wanted to milk the story of skid row while the story was hot.
This particular post is about how I felt Steve Lopez was exploiting Nathaniel and the community and some of his suppositions about medication which made no sense whatsoever ,
but for those who kept following his columns , I believe that they also had the same misconceptions and as Steve Lopez learned about the challenges those with mental illness have, his readers also learned.
This was before I found out Steve Lopez had written a book and had a book deal with Putnam.
Even my disdain for Brady Westwater was alleviated as I broke a roll with him at an event and made peace. I was on a learning curve also, and my concerns were appropriate at that time. My learning curve was that not all journalists are out to steal our images and stories and not give back to the community. I still believe that it is easy to make a donation to a not-for profit in skid row, but to set those events in motion that gave directly to the monetary needs and the spirits of the people here by allowing us to be background artists in the Joe Wright film, The Soloist, Starring Jamie Foxx and tell our own stories , ourselves, about the situation in skid row, by portraying the situation in 2005. The set was basically those of us living here facing the demons that made this neighborhood what it was. It was like a neighborhood catharsis. I will leave it at that because I don't want to give away the scenes.
But because this journalist set into motion things that have turned skid row upside down and inside out to the point of homeless people becoming movie stars , well, he was an angel disguised as a devil. We have hope and we got paid , we were paid for our stories and not had it stolen from us, he taught us that those ignorant of mental illness can learn , that not all people who write for the Los Angeles Times are just a bunch of selfless exploiters of the weak in society and his stories gave us the credibility we needed to help us speak about things that people could not believe were actually happening in the heart of Los Angeles.
I have been re-reading a lot of the posts I had made when Steve Lopez was writing his articles in the LA Times about Nathaniel Ayers. I was always wondering if it was some person who was only there to exploit a mentally ill person for a story, was he going to follow through , was Nathaniel going to be renumerated , was the LA TIMES just exploiting this story for more people to subscribe? Was this journalist going to come to skid row , take someone's story and leave that person in the same situation he found him in? At the same time all of these stories were being printed, Steve Lopez's articles on skid row were also being printed. The first story was rather frightening because it dealt with forced institutionalization and I slammed Steve on this blog about that. Scary stuff , for those of us in the disability rights movement. But as Steve was creating his relationship with Nathaniel Ayers his views began to change about that and he talked about the LAMP and their less harm approach to helping those with Mental Illness , then he became a big advocate of permanent supportive housing , thus I began to see that his "learning curve" wasn't as big anymore. One of the things that frightened me was that skid row and it's providers , case manager's , etc had a very bad reputation with violating clients confidentiality , was this happening with Nathaniel Ayers?
"He insists very strongly that he doesn't want what he calls mental health involvement, because he insists there's nothing wrong with him," says Vera Prchal, a Lamp psychiatrist. "These are probably side effects from being forced into treatment before, and it's not unusual. Most of us wouldn't want to be told we're crazy -- that our brains don't work."
I didn't know. But what I could gather, in one article, Nathaniel's psychiatrist was talking to the reporter and it crossed my mind that he might be violating Nathaniel's confidentiality. Many people I know agreed with me , but that soon faded into the background because the LAMP even told me that they got onto Steve Lopez to make sure that he made sure the clients confidentiality issues were not violated. It was scary because as Steve Lopez continues to write his stories many others wanted to come on board and do the same and the neighborhood was just inundated with documentarians's , journalists , and all types who wanted to milk the story of skid row while the story was hot.
This particular post is about how I felt Steve Lopez was exploiting Nathaniel and the community and some of his suppositions about medication which made no sense whatsoever ,
Steve Lopez goes on in his ignorance to say:
I'd like so much to see Nathaniel off the streets and staying in a safe place, I sometimes have to remind myself how far he's come toward a better life this year. After years of just drifting musically, playing a wrecked violin on city streets, he now has a cello and a couple of much better violins. With treatment, who knows what he could be capable of?
So filling this guy with drugs would make him more creative? Steve Lopez is in for a surprise if he thinks medicating someone with psychotropic medications is going to increase thier creativity.Prove it to me that treatment will make him a better musician. I can't say myself it will have a detrimental effect on is creative genius either, if he is treated. What makes Steve Lopez presume it will enhance it for NAthaniel ?
I personally would see it as a very good christmas gift for NAthaniel Anthony AYers to be properly remunerated for his story by the times. But I don't see it happening anytime soon.
but for those who kept following his columns , I believe that they also had the same misconceptions and as Steve Lopez learned about the challenges those with mental illness have, his readers also learned.
This was before I found out Steve Lopez had written a book and had a book deal with Putnam.
I kept saying he was exploiting the homeless and mentally ill, of course i couldn't of had any knowledge of what was happening. This year I saw differently as the whole neighborhood of skid row were invited to three casting calls for the new film loosely based on Steve Lopez's book.
Casting Call at the James Woods Community Center
Even my disdain for Brady Westwater was alleviated as I broke a roll with him at an event and made peace. I was on a learning curve also, and my concerns were appropriate at that time. My learning curve was that not all journalists are out to steal our images and stories and not give back to the community. I still believe that it is easy to make a donation to a not-for profit in skid row, but to set those events in motion that gave directly to the monetary needs and the spirits of the people here by allowing us to be background artists in the Joe Wright film, The Soloist, Starring Jamie Foxx and tell our own stories , ourselves, about the situation in skid row, by portraying the situation in 2005. The set was basically those of us living here facing the demons that made this neighborhood what it was. It was like a neighborhood catharsis. I will leave it at that because I don't want to give away the scenes.
But because this journalist set into motion things that have turned skid row upside down and inside out to the point of homeless people becoming movie stars , well, he was an angel disguised as a devil. We have hope and we got paid , we were paid for our stories and not had it stolen from us, he taught us that those ignorant of mental illness can learn , that not all people who write for the Los Angeles Times are just a bunch of selfless exploiters of the weak in society and his stories gave us the credibility we needed to help us speak about things that people could not believe were actually happening in the heart of Los Angeles.
