& -The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 1997
ANN ARBOR
Local shelters troubled by lack of staff, supplies
Vintage clothes a
fashion hit in A2
HOMELESS
Continued from Page 1E
shelter resident. "On a nightly basis, we
have 80 to 90 guys that need a place to
go. There is absolutely no privacy, no
place to be by yourself. There simply is
no place to put everybody."
The shelter is constantly plagued by
a lack of supplies. Basic items, like toi-
let paper, soap and shaving cream are
donated daily by local businesses and
individuals. But, as Brian emphasized,
the products are often hard to come by
at the shelter because many residents
are vying for them at once.
The single bathroom area is reminis-
cent of a roadside stop on the highway.
Luxuries like shower curtains or work-
ing stall doors are rare.
"The first rule of the shelter is that
everyone has to shower nightly' Brian
said. "But this rule is virtually unen-
forceable because there are only four
shower stalls. It would take all night to
give all 80 or so guys 10 minutes in the
showers. It's a situation that just doesn't
work."
Resident Eddie McCullough said the
lack of shower and bathroom space
concerns many residents.
I "I wake up every morning at 5 a.m.
just; to be able to get to the shower,"
McCullough said. "And the showers
are all nasty - dirty tiles, moldy
floors. You don't even want to touch the
walls."
Dealing with the hygiene habits of
other residents is also frustrating,
McCullough said.
"I mean, who wants to come into a
shower, like after work or in the morn-
ing, that smells like dirty feet, body
odor, bad breath? That's no way to take
care of yourself," McCullough said.
"It's-hard to really confront someone
about stuff like that, too, since it's a
personal thing"
Brian said many of the residents at
the Night Shelter have been homeless
'for so long that they don't seem to care
about matters like personal hygiene or
appearance anymore.
"I have two jobs and a girlfriend - I
need to have a decent appearance,'
Brian said. "But some guys in here,
their self esteem is so low that it's got-
ten to the point that they don't take care
ofthemselves anymore. It's like they've
almost given up."
,!-,Staff is also in short supply at the
Night Shelter. On average, at least three
staffers are supposed to be at the shel-
ter each night. However, the ratio of
staff to residents is one ';taff member
per 30 residents, Lidums said.
Charlotte, a shelter employee since
September, 1996, said not having
enough help makes it hard to take care
of all necessary tasks.
"We only have two or three staff peo-
ple here every night and when you con-
stantly are having to make shelter
rounds and bed checks and generally
just keeping an eye on things, it's hard
to get things like laundry and cleaning
done" she said.
:The shelter has two working washers
and dryers. The dirty laundry frequent-
lk-overflows out of the washroom and
piles up in the narrow hallway.
"If we had more, showers and more
towels, the shower rule might be more
realistic," Charlotte said. "We haven't
JENIFER BR1ADLEY-SWIFT /Daily
Above: Shelter
resident Melvin Saultz
watches TV from his
bunk in the Men's
Night Shelter on Huron
Street. Saultz is origi-
nally from Ypsilanti,
but has frequented the,
shelter for the last
three years.
Right: A homeless
woman puts on her
coat under the cover
of a bridge on Fuller
Road near the
University Medical
Center last March.
been getting many volunteers to help
out with stuff like laundry and clean-
ing. Residents simply have to do with-
out."
Many residents have suggestions
about improving quality of life at the
shelter and getting on the road to self-
sufficiency, including on-site coun-
selors at the Night Shelter and more
affordable public housing in
Washtenaw County.
"I think something beneficial that
the (city administration) should look
into is to construct a new building that
is big enough to house all of the pro-
grams in the Shelter Association,"
Brian said. "It would make much more
sense to have the day-center programs,
both men's and women's night shelters,
a support staff and administrative
offices, like transient housing, all in
one place so people don't have to spend
hours and hours wandering around the
city to get everything done."
Since December, the men's and
women's night shelters have been
housed in separate facilities. Both shel-
ter programs were initially wedged into
the West Huron Street location.
By Karl Jones
Daily Arts Writer
Okay, quick quiz: $20 can buy a) one
shoe, b) a T-shirt or c) two pairs of
pants, three shirts, a coat, some bell-
bottoms, a hat and five necklaces. If
you chose 'c,' chances are pretty good
that you're a sucker for used clothing.
Not to worry, vintage shopper, you
aren't alone.
"I shop a lot," said Ann Arbor resi-
dent and Eastern Michigan University
sophomore Amanda Scheffer, who was
popping in and out of several stores on
Liberty Street last January. "(Used
clothing) is more interesting, and it's
cheaper. I think it has more character
because it's neat to think of who wore it
before you did."
There are several stores in the area
that cater to penniless fashion freaks
who like their clothing broken in.
These stores basically fall into three
categories: Those that take donations
from the public, those that pay their
customers for used clothing and those
that send out their,
own buyers to find.>«
things the store can
use.
On the donation
end of the spectrum4
are the Salvation
Army and the Kiwanis
Rummage Sale.
Salvation Army man-
ager Ron Mathers said
the store is always
looking for clothing.
"People can bring
donations here any
time we're open, or we do have home
appointments for pick up' Mathers said.
"Money made from the sale of clothing
goes mainly toward the operation of the
Salvation Army's drug and alcohol reha-
bilitation center in Romulus."
Kiwanis volunteers sell used cloth-
ing and furniture to the public.
Donations can be dropped off from 9-
11 a.m., and all the money made from
the rummage sale goes back into the
community.
Rag-o-rama takes a different
approach to the sale of used clothing
by offering to buy back items people
bring into the store.
"We pay cash over the counter," said
assistant manager Dave LaFave. "The
person gets 40 percent of what the new
retail price would be." .
LaFave said that Rag-o-rama does
not specialize in any particular type
of clothing, although when the weath-
er turns cold in a couple months, the
store's focus is on "sweaters and
boots" and other warm items. Most of
the customers are "between 15 and
25," and they are looking for whatev-
er vintage clothing is hot at the
moment.
"We buy pretty much everything,"
LaFave said, "but we do pay close
attention to quality. It can be in garbage
bags, boxes - we don't care, as long
as you can get it in here."
The Tree is a kind of clothing club,
which takes items on consignment
from the public. It costs $8 to join and
members earn money as their items
sell.
The Style Revival also buys clothing
from the public, although, according to
owner Mary Ellen Walewski, buying
done by appointment only.
"People call and make an appoint-
ment, and I discuss what they have,"
Walewski said. "I also take things on
consignment where people are paid
once the item sells. I mostly do my own
buying, though. I have a few (buyers)
that I work exclusively with."
Walewski said that about half her
customers are students, but she also
has an "older, professional clientele"
For this reason, the Style Revival ca*
ries funky '60s and '70s clothing, as
well as a selection of '40s and '50s
classical items.
"I think that (vintage clothing) is
become more mainstream than it's ever
been," Walewski said. "Used clothing
has taken a while for basic America to
get used to, but I think Ann Arbor is a
pretty open-minded community."
LSA senior Henry Kovacs,
employee at Scavenger Hunt, agre
with Walewski's
view that vintage
is definitely en
vogue at the
moment.
"I think it's
been around
awhile, but it has
just become
more tren'dy,"
Kovacs said.
lot of the styles
come back in,
ERIN RAGER/Daily and peopleeal-
ize you can get
what you like second-hand and it's
cheaper."
Scavenger Hunt sends out buyers for
their clothing, but according to manag-
er Jeffri Olson, that means the cus-
tomer has access to all the vinta
styles they are looking for without ha
ing to bother finding them.
"If I have to (search) for what I want,
I'm not going," Olson said. "I figure
mostly everyone is that way. I try to
itemize things so people don't have to
dig and pull."
Olson said her clientele consists
mostly of young people, and her
hottest-selling item is probably cor-
duroys.
"People come into the store, a
they're like, 'Wow, look at all the cor-
duroys,"' Olson said. She said many cus-
tomers are also searching for '70s items.
"People come in to do '70s parties.
They trash the store, but they have so
much fun. I grew up in the '70s, so it's
fun for me to watch them. I got a air
of pants from Scavenger Hunt that I
swear used to be mine (in the '70s)
because they fit so good."
Some other stores in the area th@
sell used clothing are Cat's Meow and
Re-bop. Cat's Meow has been selling
vintage clothing to Ann Arbor resi-
dents for the past 14 years.
According to owner Nancy Hay, the
store sends out buyers to find '60s and
'70s clothing, work shirts, jackets,
bowling shirts, disco clothing and
other assorted specialty items.
"Our most popular item is probably
bellbottoms," Hay said.
By separating the facilities, 30 extra
spaces were created in the men's shel-
ter. The women's facility can house up
to 30 residents per night and has a sep-
arate office space for on-site adminis-
trative purposes.
"The women's shelter was designed
to be a kind of model for the communi-
ty," Lidums said. "We hope that its new
approach will be implemented eventu-
ally to a men's shelter."
A~JA DELE~LVA. COHEN/Daily
According to early reports, the new
program appears to be successful in
accelerating the rate at which women
are able to become self-sufficient.
"I think an important key to the ini-
tial success of this new program is the
better staff-to-resident ratio," Koupal
said. "This basically means that there is
more opportunity to provide women
with more one-on-one attention and
counseling."
.1
.*Voted Best Poster Shop- Michigan Daily 1997 Readers Poll- Best Poster Shop- Current Monthly 1997 Readers Poll
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Animal House, Scarface,
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Heat, Star Wars, Casino,
The Shining, Bruce Lee,
Clockwork Orange, Bond,
Hitchcock, Reservoir Dogs,
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Usual Suspects Clerks,
Wizard of Oz, Blade Runner,
Taxi Driver, and many more
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Local party
stores show
off distinct
ambience
By Jane dm
Daily Staff Reporter
With major grocery stores a car ride
away, many first-year students turn to
convenience stores as a nearby alterna-
tive to purchase much-needed supplies.
Fortunately, the campus is littered with
places to pick up kegs, condoms, Fritos
and Pantene. Choosing a store is just a
matter of deciding which one is best suit-
ed to the goods and atmosphere desired.
Located a few yards off the north end
of the Diag on State Street is Diag Party
Shoppe. The newly remodeled Diag car-
ries the usual convenience-store fare,
along with $1 pizza slices and a wide
selection of sandwiches.
Diag employee Rob Schultz said the
store tries to meet every customer's
needs, including delivering to elderly
people and fraternity houses
"We work with the frat houses,"
Schultz said. "We try to help them out
because we know they're trying to get
through school.'
Diag's biggest attraction is its central
location.
ROB GILMORE/Daily
An extensive collection of confiscated fake IDs are prominently displayed at the
Blue Front party store on 701 Packard St.
thing."
Another popular stop is Strickland's.
Located on Observatory Steet,
Village Corner. Located on the corner of
South University Avenue and South
Forest Avenue, Village Corner offers