New Jersey Network News; 1988-12--excerpts, AIDS and the Homeless; AIDS And the Homeless

<v Speaker>The federal government today warned that AIDS may soon become the fifth leading killer of <v Speaker>Americans from birth to age 24. <v Speaker>In addition to that stark statistic, advocates for the homeless say this, that AIDS is <v Speaker>a growing problem among the homeless and some hospitals are caring for homeless AIDS <v Speaker>patients longer than medically necessary because there is no place else to send them. <v Speaker>This is a time of year when many of us delight in sharing our homes with family and <v Speaker>friends. Tonight, senior correspondent Larry Stuelpnagel begins a special report on some <v Speaker>who may not see another Christmas and who will not spend this one at home. <v Speaker>[TV theme song plays] <v Larry Stuelpnagel> This room at the Jersey City Medical Center is where 29 year old <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Leslie will spend Christmas. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Leslie, who asked us not to reveal her last name has AIDS. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>And although she has been well enough to be moved from a hospital setting, for the last <v Larry Stuelpnagel>seven months, she has been stuck here because she has no home and nowhere <v Larry Stuelpnagel>else to go. <v Leslie>I don't know, it just seemed like everything was happening to me. <v Leslie>I uh, now that they finally got something that's

<v Leslie>you know, sort of feeling a little better, but, you know, I'm still <v Leslie>depressed because y- I have nowhere to go. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>For a time, Leslie former I.V. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>drug abuser lived with her father. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>But last spring, a drug using friends stole four hundred dollars from the home and Leslie <v Larry Stuelpnagel>was put out on the street. Her situation is not unique, nor is <v Larry Stuelpnagel>her over half year stay in the hospital. <v William White, Jr.>I guess the record may be 15 months because of the fact that there <v William White, Jr.>is no family structure, there is no home for them to be able to go to, and there is no <v William White, Jr.>residence available in the Hudson County or northern Jersey area in which someone <v William White, Jr.>can be taken care of in a setting, in a situation where they've got proper nursing care, <v William White, Jr.>proper nutrition and proper follow up and being able to assist them once they've been <v William White, Jr.>diagnosed as having AIDS. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>The Department of Human Services estimates there are between 20 and 30 thousand homeless <v Larry Stuelpnagel>people in New Jersey, and homeless advocates say many of their new cases

<v Larry Stuelpnagel>are people with AIDS. <v Cathie Forman>I would say between like 10 to 15 percent <v Cathie Forman>of all our new intakes a month are now people coming in with either AIDS <v Cathie Forman>or AIDS related complex who are homeless. <v Cathie Forman>Spell worked out numbers. <v Cathie Forman>That's between like 20 to 30 people a month. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>New Jersey has designated this nursing home in Wanaque as a less intensive care facility <v Larry Stuelpnagel>for AIDS patients. But when the medical center tried to admit Leslie, she found the <v Larry Stuelpnagel>facility was not prepared to take her. <v Leslie>They'd send somebody up there and uh, the guy didn't have <v Leslie>the right papers and just. <v Leslie>I have to take a drug that is like intravenously given <v Leslie>to me like, you know, for treatment. <v Leslie>They don't do that up there so like they- I don't know, I couldn't go there. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>The director of the Health Department's division on AIDS acknowledges there were problems <v Larry Stuelpnagel>with staff training at Wanaque.

<v Robert Hummel>That staff is now, has been trained or is currently being trained in infusion <v Robert Hummel>therapies. And we fully expect that within a very short period of time, <v Robert Hummel>all of the staff will be qualified and that will certainly enable us to place additional <v Robert Hummel>patients in Wanaque. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>For now, the nursing home in Wanaque is the only state authorized stepdown facility for <v Larry Stuelpnagel>people with AIDS in New Jersey. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>It averages between 10 and 12 patients a month. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>That's not enough space for people like Leslie who are looking for a home. <v Leslie>I lay here. <v Leslie>I lay here and I, I think about... <v Leslie>What I'd be doing If I was home. <v Leslie>Or if I had a place of my own or... <v Leslie>I'm just tired of being, you know, <v Leslie>but I have nowhere to go.

<v Larry Stuelpnagel>Larry Stuelpnagel, New Jersey Network News. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Jersey City. <v Kent Manahan>We'll be back with more news in a minute. <v Speaker>Rich, here in New Jersey, there are no shelters set up to take in homeless adults with <v Speaker>AIDS. Sometimes a person with AIDS can obtain a voucher to live in a welfare hotel, <v Speaker>but that means only a roof and a bed, not the care and nutrition needed to stay healthy. <v Speaker>Tonight, senior correspondent Larry Stuelpnagel continues his special report on AIDS and <v Speaker>the homeless with a visit to a man suffering from both AIDS and cancer. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>It is a welfare hotel like this one in Jersey City that is home to a man named John. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>John is not his real name, and he has asked us to mask his identity for fear <v Larry Stuelpnagel>his case of AIDS will cause his eviction. <v John>Four years, up until there, up until four years ago... <v John>Only time I've been in hospitals was to visit. <v John>But... here, like now I can't stay out of 'em. <v John>And each time I go, it gets worse.

<v Larry Stuelpnagel>John, who was back in the hospital, not only has AIDS, he also suffers <v Larry Stuelpnagel>with cancer. <v John>At times, the pain is <v John>excruciating. <v John>And at times it's there and it's constant, <v John>at least the pain now. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>John calls his room a tiny box. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>It has no toilet or cooking facilities. <v John>I think what could prolong my survivability would be <v John>if I was able to get three meals a day, just three. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Everyone knows the importance of proper nutrition when you're sick. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>John would walk 12 blocks to this soup kitchen to get his one square meal a day. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>The square meal soup kitchen in Jersey City serves lunch five days a week. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>It does 4000 meals a month.

<v Anne Christensen>We've seen so many people whose health is deteriorating. <v Anne Christensen>We have to believe that these are folks who are HIV positive. <v Anne Christensen>We certainly know many people who are seriously ill, who <v Anne Christensen>are not sick enough to be in the hospital, and yet there's no housing for them after <v Anne Christensen>they're released. And these people certainly are in a terrible situation. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>So what is wrong with putting the people, mostly men, in a shelter? <v Anne Christensen>And it's not the shelter residents are a danger because somebody is HIV positive, its <v Anne Christensen>because somebody's immune systems are so far down that a common cold for you and <v Anne Christensen>I could be life threatening for that person. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>The state Health Department agrees but help is months away. <v Robert Hummel>One of the major initiatives for the department this year is an attempt to <v Robert Hummel>establish some boarding home residences for people <v Robert Hummel>with AIDS, just as the person you described. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>And the homeless in Jersey City could lose their one solid meal a day as the soup <v Larry Stuelpnagel>kitchen is threatened with eviction.

<v Anne Christensen>I'm hoping that there can be some time bought so we can stay here a bit longer <v Anne Christensen>while we look for another place and a larger place because we really do want to expand <v Anne Christensen>what we can do for folks in a secure environment. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>And winter is not a secure time for men like John. <v Anne Christensen>They become ill again. Their immune systems are down, and without the nutrition and the <v Anne Christensen>housing, they go right back to the hospital. <v Anne Christensen>And taxpayers are paying the money at the back end. <v John>One thing to me is, like a... <v John>its enough to make me afraid, because I know how weak my immune system <v John>is. And um, its not strong enough <v John>for me to be out in the street. <v John>Seven, eight, nine hours a day. Uh, I couldn't survive. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Larry Stuelpnagel, New Jersey Network news, Jersey City. <v Phil Bremen>The tragedy of AIDS is often compounded by homelessness.

<v Phil Bremen>It's common for relatives or friends to throw out an AIDS sufferer, leaving him to fend <v Phil Bremen>for himself because they fear the disease and resent the victim. <v Phil Bremen>Tonight, senior correspondent Larry Stuelpnagel concludes his special report on AIDS and <v Phil Bremen>the homeless with a look at what can be done about the problem. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>29 year old Leslie does not get many visitors, but this AIDS patient can count <v Larry Stuelpnagel>on her social worker, Valerie Rothman. <v Valerie Rothman>Hey Les, how you doing? <v Valerie Rothman>How was your weekend? [Leslie: Okay I guess] Who came to <v Valerie Rothman>visit? <v Leslie>Nobody, as usual <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Rothman visits at least two times a week. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>And she wishes Leslie's family would come more often. <v Valerie Rothman>Like, I called them before Thanksgiving. Are you coming in? <v Valerie Rothman>And I've ca- And I've said to the father, this is going to be her last Christmas. <v Valerie Rothman>Let's make it a happy one. What have you planned? <v Valerie Rothman>He really hasn't planned anything. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>AIDS can be a lonely disease.

<v Larry Stuelpnagel>The stigma and fear of contagion often lead to the person being shunned. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Cathy Forman at the Elizabeth Coalition to House the homeless spends more of her time <v Larry Stuelpnagel>on the phone trying to find shelter for people who have no one. <v Cathie Forman>What happens is a family member contracts <v Cathie Forman>AIDS or ARC. And when the family finds out, the fear makes <v Cathie Forman>them push the person with AIDS or ARC out. <v Cathie Forman>And so I- I can tell you that really eight out of 10 people that come in here <v Cathie Forman>that are homeless, that have AIDS or ARC, are coming in, they become homeless because <v Cathie Forman>they've been asked to leave where they're at, they can no longer stay. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Rothman is frustrated at the lack of alternative housing for Leslie and the lack <v Larry Stuelpnagel>of support from Leslie's family. <v Valerie Rothman>The pain for her is that the family won't even <v Valerie Rothman>make any effort at all to find her room <v Valerie Rothman>for, you know, see if- if I- they can put her in a boarding home or something like that. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>And what would Leslie like?

<v Leslie>I'd like to just see rent out room or just place of my own. <v Leslie>I think that wouldn't be so bad. I wouldn't mind that. <v Leslie>Can't afford anywhere though. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Leslie is not alone. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>There are people on the streets with AIDS and those in welfare hotels who also need <v Larry Stuelpnagel>so-called independent living situations, a place where they can get the nutrition they <v Larry Stuelpnagel>need and care when it is needed. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>The state is planning up to six such facilities, but they will not be ready this winter. <v Robert Hummel>If an individual is sick, then they ought to be in a hospital or <v Robert Hummel>another type of care facility. <v Robert Hummel>And if an individual is, presents themselves at those facilities, they <v Robert Hummel>must be taken care of. <v Robert Hummel>In terms of the actual time, I would say it probably will <v Robert Hummel>not be till spring, till we have these facilities up and running. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>But that will likely be too late for Leslie, who has spent seven months in the hospital <v Larry Stuelpnagel>dreaming of having a home.

<v Leslie>And even though I was like a drug user. <v Leslie>I always had a home. <v Leslie>And not to have it no more and be sick. <v Leslie>And not to even have one to go to after your sick, after you're better from being sick. <v Leslie>It stinks. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Larry Stuelpnagel, a New Jersey network news. <v Larry Stuelpnagel>Jersey City. <v Speaker>[silence] <v Speaker>Right product given a choice, Governor.

<v Speaker>For the past six years, you and I have been working together and along with the support <v Speaker>of many others. I've afforded an opportunity to gain knowledge of the governmental and <v Speaker>private sector systems. <v Speaker>In 1983, you gave me an opportunity. And I want to thank you for that opportunity. <v Speaker>1983, you invested thirteen thousand dollars of state money and gave me a job. <v Speaker>Since that time, we have met many times in this room in front of high <v Speaker>school students at Seton Hall Prep and even with President <v Speaker>Reagan. The thirteen thousand dollar investment has paid for itself many <v Speaker>times over, not only in, not only in money that the state and federal governments <v Speaker>saved by not having to place me under Social Security roles <v Speaker>but also it helped me personally, to achieve a happy, productive and independent <v Speaker>lifestyle. I want to touch on a happy part for a second. <v Speaker>And I want to take this opportunity to announce that I plan to be married on June 17th. <v Speaker>[applause]

<v Speaker>Nadine and I are looking forward to a happy life together. <v Speaker>I know it is everyone here all pulling together that help to make our happiness <v Speaker>possible. Since 1983, I have been working to prevent others from becoming disabled <v Speaker>by speaking before countless thousands of high school students. <v Speaker>But yet part of my work has been discouraging because with the continuing drug <v Speaker>and alcohol abuse and the continuing of death on our highways, I have no guarantees that <v Speaker>no one has heard me. But I'm not looking for guarantees because I know there are none <v Speaker>in life. <v Speaker>I must operate on beliefs, and my belief is that the work we <v Speaker>have done has saved at least one life and prevented at least one disability. <v Speaker>And knowing this makes it all worthwhile. <v Speaker>See, this day is a tremendous honor for me, after all, look at me. <v Speaker>5 foot 5 inches. <v Speaker>125 former gymnast. I've been sitting in a wheelchair for the past six years and now

<v Speaker>becoming an official New Jersey Giant. <v Speaker>Check it out. Phil. <v Speaker>But seriously, in addition to my June 17th marriage plans, <v Speaker>I also want to let everyone know this, in the future, I work not only to prevent others <v Speaker>from being physically disabled I am, but also to encourage others <v Speaker>who are disabled to becoming independent. <v Speaker>And governor I'd like to give you this letter regarding my proposal for peer guidance. <v Speaker>One person in which you're helping another to overcome or to prevent a disability. <v Speaker>I want my role in the future to be an example of the positive and the negative, to show <v Speaker>both the positive and the negative in a non-threatening way. <v Speaker>And then I know I must let go and lead the choice up to the individual, <v Speaker>because after being educated about the consequences, ultimately each of us <v Speaker>must make the personal decision as to what kind of life we want to live. <v Speaker>There are no guarantees in life.

<v Speaker>But I believe with you, Governor Kean, with you. <v Speaker>Ralph Dougan, with you George Martin, with you Bill Kennedy, and people <v Speaker>like ?Ranga Tano?. <v Speaker>With the saw working together, we can make a difference. <v Speaker>Let's have some hope. Thank you. <v Speaker>[applause] <v Speaker> Governor, it took many New Jersey giants to complete this program. <v Speaker>If you would join George Martin in making Hector an official New Jersey giant <v Speaker>with a retired jersey from George and a Tom Kane all star with your <v Speaker>first inaugural cap. <v Speaker>All right. <v Speaker>All right. I guess this means box season tickets, I hope. <v Speaker>Thanks a lot. <v Speaker> <v Speaker>[cameras clicking] <v Speaker>Come on, cheese.

<v Speaker>Everything has to be so beautiful. <v Speaker>Very nice. And finally, governor, PIA of New Jersey <v Speaker>wants-. <v Speaker>Demar is content playing in what may be her last season on the court, although she <v Speaker>hasn't. <v Speaker>3 2. <v Speaker>Demar is content playing in what may be her last season on the court, although she hasn't <v Speaker>given up the idea. <v Speaker>3 2. <v Speaker>Demar is content playing in what may be her last season on the court. <v Speaker>Although she hasn't given up the idea of playing over in Europe professionally, Jeff <v Speaker>isn't even thinking about life after squash. <v Speaker>He's all set to embark on what he hopes will be a long pro career. <v Speaker>3 2. <v Speaker>Demar is content playing in what may be her last season on the court. <v Speaker>Although she hasn't given up the idea of playing over in Europe. <v Speaker> Jeff not even thinking of life after squash. <v Speaker>He's all set to embark on what he hopes will be a long pro career.

<v Speaker>2 1 2. <v Speaker>Here we go, three, two and one. <v Speaker>Women's coach- 3 2- Princeton women's coach Betty Constable hates <v Speaker>to see DeMars talents going to waste after graduation. <v Speaker>Three, two, Princeton women's coach Betty Constable thinks it's <v Speaker>a shame that DeMars talents will go to waste after graduation. <v Speaker>Two and one Princeton women's coach Betty Constable <v Speaker>feels it's a waste that DeMars talents. <v Speaker>Here we go, three, two, Princeton women's coach Betty <v Speaker>Constable has been there, 17, 3 2 Princeton women's coach <v Speaker>Betty Constable hates to see DeMars Talent going to waste after.

<v Speaker>Here we go. 3 2. <v Speaker>Princeton women's coach Betty Constable thinks it's a shame. <v Speaker>3 2. Princeton women's coach Betty Constable feels it's a shame <v Speaker>that DeMars talents will go to waste after graduation. <v Speaker>My play. <v Speaker>next year, if not, she'll get started.