Homeless man blended in at school

[Mirror Lake 444]

Former student charged with trespassing after three weeks
Wednesday, January 19, 2005 Posted: 8:13 PM EST (0113 GMT)


MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) -- A homeless man with nowhere else to go says he went back to his old high school and posed as a student for three weeks, sitting in on classes, showering in the locker room and sleeping in the theater.

"Anywhere I could hide," Francisco Serrano said from jail Wednesday after he was arrested twice at Apple Valley High.

Serrano had attended the school as a 19-year-old sophomore during the 2002-03 school year and was a very good student, Principal Stephen Degenaar said. He is 21 but looks 16 or 17 and would have easily blended in with the student body of 2,300, the principal said.

"It's a sad story," Degenaar said. "I hope the young man gets his life in order."

The principal said there were no adults who could verify that Serrano was in the building during classroom hours. But he said it would have been easy for Serrano to slip in during events over the Christmas break such as sports practices or games, when lots of people were coming and going and there was just a skeleton staff.

A physical education teacher saw Serrano taking a shower at one point but did not realize he did not belong there, Degenaar said.

Serrano denied eating in the cafeteria, as some students claimed. He said he would slip out for meals to a nearby buffet restaurant where he knew the manager.

He said he and his family moved to Connecticut after his sophomore year here. He said he returned to Minnesota on Christmas Eve with only $200 in his pocket.

According to police, a janitor found Serrano sleeping in a classroom January 7 but let him go after Serrano provided his old student ID card and said he was a student.

During the day, though, school officials determined that Serrano was not a student. Serrano was found back at the school that night, and he was thrown in jail on trespassing charges, then released three days later. He was arrested again Friday night, this time claiming that he had returned to get his things.

The principal said Serrano was not a danger to students or staff. But he also said: "Obviously this raises the issue of security in the school. We're reviewing all of our systems to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Alyssa Luftman, 18, a senior, said she saw Serrano several times in study hall.

"We came back from Christmas break and there was this new kid sitting at our table," she said. "We just assumed he was a new student. ... He never said anything to anyone."

Serrano faces a court appearance Friday. If he is allowed to go free, he said, he can stay with a friend in the apartment building where he used to live, in the suburb of Eagan, and find a job.

Is it a crime to try and find a place to keep warm and clean in this country? O.K. I'll give you it's kind of scary that someone off the street can infiltrate a highschool with out anyone knowing if for 3 weeks, but are we a country talks the Christian talk but doesn't walk it? When it really comes down to it do we really care about homeless people and those less fortunate than us?

[jamesrage]

Is it a crime to try and find a place to keep warm and clean in this country?
No,just as long as it is done in a legal manner.Tresspassing is still illegal.
Where is the source for your story/artilcle?

[::Major_Baker::]

It's all over the news here--I work in Eagan.
Pretty clever if you ask me!

[jamesrage]

Hear are a few links you might find interesting.

http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/AboutTheCoalition/CoalitionMembers/Index.html
http://www.gtii.com/members/lannin/shelters/minn.htm

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/economic_support/documents/pub/dhs_id_002552.hcsp

[::Major_Baker::]

Hear are a few links you might find interesting.

http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/AboutTheCoalition/CoalitionMembers/Index.html
http://www.gtii.com/members/lannin/shelters/minn.htm

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/groups/economic_support/documents/pub/dhs_id_002552.hcsp

??
Maybe he didn't like 'being labeled'
:lol:

[spork]

Mirror Lake 444:but are we a country talks the Christian talk but doesn't walk it? When it really comes down to it do we really care about homeless people and those less fortunate than us?

Yes, we are a country that talks the Christian talk but avoids the walk like the plague. When it all comes down to it, the answer is a resounding NO, we do not care about the homeless and those less fortunate. We cry big crocodile tears at Christmas, and the rest of the year those losers are on their own.

We've got countries to conquer, pork projects to fund, and weapons that will never work to fund. Your priorities are screwed up, dude. We are only our brother's keeper when the balance in his checkbook is comparable to our own.

[Rivet]

There is most likely a Christian mission in the city/town that the homeless man was that would take him in.

No parent will want their kid in a school where they allow homeless people to roam about (for obvious reasons).

[patrickt]

The rest of the year the homeless are on their own. Well, on their own with their SSI check, food stamps, Medicaid card, bed at the local shelter, clothes from the clothes bank, and so forth.

I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would show up in Minneapolis in January.

[spork]

The rest of the year the homeless are on their own. Well, on their own with their SSI check, food stamps, Medicaid card, bed at the local shelter, clothes from the clothes bank, and so forth.

I'm still trying to figure out why anyone would show up in Minneapolis in January.

Many homeless never access any of those services. You see, one needs an address to get mail to get an SSI check, etc. Many shun the shelter system.

And far too many of them are veterans. May I politely suggest that instead of just reciting right wing talking points on homelessness, that you actually do some reading on the subject?

[patrickt]

Spork, my comments were from my experiences with homeless folks. Discounting the bogus definitions of homelessness, I have met few legitimately homeless folks who did not take advantage of some or all of the services available. Some received their SSI check at the home of a relative and some had direct deposit. I met some who not only shunned shelters but shunned renting an apartment even though they could have afforded one. That's their choice. I also met folks who made a little on the side walking others folks through the process to get the available benefits.

My initial comments were intended to deal with the statement that we only help others at Christmas. I realize that for some, no matter what we do it won't be enough.

Your post said, "We are only our brother's keeper when the balance in his checkbook is comparable to our own." So, SSI doesn't exist to help handicapped folks? So, ADC doesn't exist to help single mothers? So, Medicaid doesn't exist? Food stamps don't exist? Homeless shelters don't exist? Food banks and clothing banks don't exist? Churches and other organizations do nothing for poor people? Individuals do nothing for poor people?

Since the answer to all those is that they do exist and do help your political comment is just that.

[jamesrage]

The comments I usually make about homeless people is from my experiance of running into to them almost every day at my job.

[spork]

Your post said, "We are only our brother's keeper when the balance in his checkbook is comparable to our own." So, SSI doesn't exist to help handicapped folks? So, ADC doesn't exist to help single mothers? So, Medicaid doesn't exist? Food stamps don't exist? Homeless shelters don't exist? Food banks and clothing banks don't exist? Churches and other organizations do nothing for poor people? Individuals do nothing for poor people?

Since the answer to all those is that they do exist and do help your political comment is just that.

What you so disingenously fail to point out is that every single one of the programs you mention is under fire, every single day, by the right wing. Since the infamous welfare reform, ADC does NOT exist. What exists is TANF, a temporary aid, which may keep a roof over a head, but doesn't allow for much else, and the paucity of aid makes it difficult to move on.

Surely you've read of the pre-emptive attack on Social Security. Think that won't affect the disabled? Think again. The right is attempting to dismantle Medicaid at this very moment.

Homeless shelters are full, Patrick. The fastest growing shelter population is the working poor - people who work sometimes 2 jobs, but can't afford housing. In my state the next fastest homeless populations are teens and the elderly. The HUD budget is going to be slashed by 1/4 this year. A homeless shelter is a band aid, not a solution.

There are people who will never come inside, one of them died in the woods here, not long ago. But there are people working at the local WalMart who are living in their cars, or sleeping in tents in the woods. It's about +2 F here right now at 2:30 pm. It's going to be below zero tonight. There is no shelter in the county I live in.

Sure there are people who make helping those less fortunate their life's work. But please, don't try to tell me that the average person gives it a second thought on a daily basis. Most people bring turkeys or canned goods to food drives at Christmas, with big old crocodile tears in their eyes, and the rest of the year, spout a lot of venom about losers who are sucking the system dry.

[patrickt]

Spork, you can't get away from beating your political drum whether it's relevant or not. I do not agree that every single on of the programs is under fire every single day. Such absolute rhetoric is rarely ever accurate or appropriate. Whether we're doing enough or not is arguable and whether we should be doing more or less is arguable but repeating ridiculous rhetoric doesn't move the discussion anywhere.

[spork]

Spork, you can't get away from beating your political drum whether it's relevant or not. I do not agree that every single on of the programs is under fire every single day. Such absolute rhetoric is rarely ever accurate or appropriate. Whether we're doing enough or not is arguable and whether we should be doing more or less is arguable but repeating ridiculous rhetoric doesn't move the discussion anywhere.

Pointing the rhetoric finger does nothing to reinforce your position, all it does is prove that you're too clever to be accused of ad hominem. It has the special added bonus of taking the focus off your statements, and putting it on me. Then you don't have to show any factual proof, because suddenly, it's all about me.

You don't agree that the aforementioned programs are under fire? Well, kindly put some substance behind your statement.

[patrickt]

The initial question was, "When it really comes down to it do we really care about homeless people and those less fortunate than us?" I thought the answer was evident and didn't respond. Then you said, "When it all comes down to it, the answer is a resounding NO, we do not care about the homeless and those less fortunate." Nothing factual but a very strong opinion to which you're certainly entitled. I countered by pointing out some programs and organizations that help people. Your response was "What you so disingenously fail to point out is that every single one of the programs you mention is under fire, every single day, by the right wing." Any evidence offered? Don't be silly.

I don't think the existence of the programs and agencies is in question. The assertion that all of these programs and agencies are under fire every day is the one at issue. If you'd care to offer even a bit of factual support I can then either accept your position or rebutt it.

However, the existence of these programs and organizations, and others, is sufficient to rebutt your initial statement that, "When it all comes down to it, the answer is a resounding NO, we do not care about the homeless and those less fortunate." We obviously, as a country, do care and to me it is equally obvious that we as individuals care.

[spork]

Patrick - I pointed out programs under attack, and you have chosen to deny them, offering no factual proof, just a bunch of florid prose that adds up to nothing more than a personal attack. Thanks - I'm done with you.