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Playinghardball

(11,665 posts) Wed Mar 7, 2012, 01:45 PM Mar 2012

Former NJ gov. poses as mentally ill man at homeless shelter

Earlier this week, a former governor of New Jersey went undercover to expose the struggle homeless people go through if they are mentally ill.

Democratic state Sen. Richard Codey, who briefly took over as governor after Jim McGreevey (D) resigned in 2004, began calling homeless shelters last November only to find out that they were hesitant to take “crazy people,” required ID or that the person be on welfare.

“To find some place to take you if you were homeless was impossible, essentially, unless you were on some government entitlement program,” he explained to NBC New York.

After spending an hour with a makeup artist to make him unrecognizable, Codey took on the fictional identity of Jimmy Peters, a mentally ill man who had been recently released from a local hospital’s psychiatric ward.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/07/former-nj-gov-poses-as-mentally-ill-man-at-homeless-shelter/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

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Former NJ gov. poses as mentally ill man at homeless shelter (Original Post) Playinghardball Mar 2012 OP

Good for him for bringing attention to this. (Although he could have done without brining up the GreenPartyVoter Mar 2012 #1

nothing like walking in anothers shoes Bluerthanblue Mar 2012 #2

Gov. Bob Graham of Florida used to do that. RebelOne Mar 2012 #3

I love him! renate Mar 2012 #4

We need to close these gray areas. K&R. ck4829 Mar 2012 #5

GreenPartyVoter

(72,382 posts)

1. Good for him for bringing attention to this. (Although he could have done without brining up the

Reply to Playinghardball (Original post)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 01:47 PM

Mar 2012

word entitlement. It's been ruined by the RW.)

Bluerthanblue

(13,669 posts)

2. nothing like walking in anothers shoes

Reply to Playinghardball (Original post)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 01:51 PM

Mar 2012

Kudos to Sen. Codey. I wish more public servants would make the effort to experience life in the 'real world'.

RebelOne

(30,947 posts)

3. Gov. Bob Graham of Florida used to do that.

Reply to Bluerthanblue (Reply #2)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 02:41 PM

Mar 2012

He would work on jobs doing everything from waiter to laborer.

I was at a Big Brothers/Big Sisters banquet in Miami in the 1980s. A waiter poured water into my glass. I happened to glance up an lo and behold, it was Gov. Graham.

renate

(13,776 posts)

4. I love him!

Reply to RebelOne (Reply #3)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 03:19 PM

Mar 2012

Now that is a public servant.

Wouldn't the world be an amazing place if every politician realized that his/her sole job, when it comes right down to it, is to improve the lives of their constituents? Especially the ones who don't have a voice (i.e., money).

ck4829

(35,094 posts)

5. We need to close these gray areas. K&R.

Reply to Playinghardball (Original post)

Wed Mar 7, 2012, 09:10 PM

Mar 2012

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