Ready, Willing & Able | The Doe Fund

Sklar is the judge who recently ruled against the Giuliani administration, striking down the mayor's proposed requirement that homeless individuals of sound mind and body work in exchange for their room and board. His entire 24-page decision essentially comes down to this: A consent decree agreed to by former mayor Ed Koch guarantees everyone shelter including a vague category of people termed "socially dysfunctional" and requiring the "socially dysfunctional" to work places them at risk.

In defining "social dysfunction" Sklar writes that it is "a type of dysfunction, which is distinct from mental or physical impairment, and which renders a person `socially dysfunctional,' i.e., impaired, in his or her ability to act correctly, or in his or her best interests."

In Sklar's world, it is dangerous to require these individuals to work because, unlike physical or emotional health impairments, it is impossible to accurately identify the "socially dysfunctional." Thus, by requiring them to work we may be placing them in a situation where they may fail (of course we can't know whether this will happen due to the vague nature of their protected class), therefore putting them at risk for being deemed ineligible for shelter. Consequently, according to Sklar, the "socially dysfunctional" cannot possibly be guaranteed the right to shelter as spelled out in the consent decree if we require able-bodied and able-minded homeless individuals to work.

Yes, Kafka would be impressed.

The people who aren't impressed are the almost 300 homeless men living at our Harlem and Bedford-Stuyvesant residences where work is required, as is paying rent. Saving a percentage of each week's paycheck is also mandatory; we match their savings dollar-for-dollar.

Every one of these men would have met the definition of "socially dysfunctional" before coming to our program. By the time they come into contact with Ready, Willing & Able, they have, on average, been using drugs for 19 years. Sixty percent have felony convictions. Most have not seen a paycheck in more than a year and over half have been homeless for more than seven months. Some have been living on the streets for years.

But today, they will tell you that what changed their lives was working. It's not that cleaning the streets -- our crews clean the Upper East and Upper West Sides of Manhattan -- is the career to which they aspire. It is that finally, someone has treated them with enough respect to expect productive behavior from them. They learn once again how to stay sober and drug-free, get themselves up and ready for work every morning, and deal appropriately with supervisors and co-workers. They start to believe that they have a future beyond the streets as their bank account grows along with their aspirations.

Respect, an introduction to their future -- that's what these men who would have once been characterized as "socially dysfunctional" get out of work requirements. And it works. Nearly two years after graduating from our program, two-thirds of the men are still gainfully employed. Some are earning as much as $15 per hour. Two-thirds are living in their own apartment or house. Many are now good fathers to their children.

Still, Justice Sklar, aided and abetted by the Coalition for the Homeless, feels the need to protect men such as these from working. Tragically, all they're doing is protecting homeless individuals from self-sufficiency.

George McDonald is the founder and president of The Doe Fund, which operates Ready, Willing & Able, a work and residential program for homeless individuals in Harlem, Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Washington D.C.