Relisha Rudd

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

Maybe the system around housing stipends needs to be a direct interaction between the city and the landlord. The money doesn't go to the recipient (Relisha's mother), but she would provide her address and landlord info to the city and the city directly sends the stipend to the landlord. That seemed to be an issue with the eviction that caused them to move to the shelter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

The real problem is there wouldn't have been a way to prevent what happened without significant government involvement and oversight in this family's life. Even if the city could dedicate enough resources to support families like this (which would be a large number of families requiring massive resources) I think there would be a revolt over the loss of independence and privacy. You already heard complaints on the podcast about how the city ran the shelter requiring people to be back at certain times and go through basic security. Could you imagine the complaints if the city got more into their business around housing, finances and child rearing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

The real problem is there wouldn't have been a way to prevent what happened without significant government involvement and oversight in this family's life. Even if the city could dedicate enough resources to support families like this (which would be a large number of families requiring massive resources) I think there would be a revolt over the loss of independence and privacy. You already heard complaints on the podcast about how the city ran the shelter requiring people to be back at certain times and go through basic security. Could you imagine the complaints if the city got more into their business around housing, finances and child rearing?

+1

This is a really good point. And would be a political nightmare when you see that the government is involved in 'policing' low income families while MC and UMC don't have those interferences in place.

[Anonymous]

Naive if you think that none of this is already happening. Once there has been a CFSA referral, they are all in your business, most lack adequate training to actually help families. They moreso are in the business of making threats and covering up the fact that they are under-resourced. DC General was roach, mold, and rat infested at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Naive if you think that none of this is already happening. Once there has been a CFSA referral, they are all in your business, most lack adequate training to actually help families. They moreso are in the business of making threats and covering up the fact that they are under-resourced. DC General was roach, mold, and rat infested at the time.

I’ve made sadly a fair share of referrals to CFSA. I haven’t seen any result in major changes in the lives of those kids or families. In fact nothing seemed to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Naive if you think that none of this is already happening. Once there has been a CFSA referral, they are all in your business, most lack adequate training to actually help families. They moreso are in the business of making threats and covering up the fact that they are under-resourced. DC General was roach, mold, and rat infested at the time.

I’ve made sadly a fair share of referrals to CFSA. I haven’t seen any result in major changes in the lives of those kids or families. In fact nothing seemed to change.

Why is that? Looking to learn here. Is it resistance from the families?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

Maybe the system around housing stipends needs to be a direct interaction between the city and the landlord. The money doesn't go to the recipient (Relisha's mother), but she would provide her address and landlord info to the city and the city directly sends the stipend to the landlord. That seemed to be an issue with the eviction that caused them to move to the shelter.

If the family had a Housing Choice Voucher or Rapid Rehousing, the payment goes directly to the landlord. Shamika probably didn't pay her portion of the rent or violated some other lease condition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

Maybe the system around housing stipends needs to be a direct interaction between the city and the landlord. The money doesn't go to the recipient (Relisha's mother), but she would provide her address and landlord info to the city and the city directly sends the stipend to the landlord. That seemed to be an issue with the eviction that caused them to move to the shelter.

If the family had a Housing Choice Voucher or Rapid Rehousing, the payment goes directly to the landlord. Shamika probably didn't pay her portion of the rent or violated some other lease condition.

PP and thanks for that info. That makes me feel even less sure there was some other intervention that could have prevented this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The podcast has made no mention of Irving Rudd, Relisha's father and the father of the oldest boy. He was sent to jail for beating to death an infant in his care so he is no prize. He's out now and was accused of further bad behavior but beat the charges (no pun intended) The entire situation is beyond awful.

Someone who beats an infant to death should never be allowed to walk free. The system is completely broken.

[Anonymous]

Today's episode was showing how Kahlil Tatum wasn't such a bad guy after all. Very friendly. I can't continue with the authors spin. She must be very young to be so naive.

[Anonymous]

I am new to this horrible story. The most maddening thing is that not a single adult is taking ANY personal responsibility for what happened. It’s all excuses mixed with “embellishments” such as Antonio supposedly confronting Tatum during a smoke break from questioning. Even though the author is trying to portray them as victims, I just can’t have sympathy for people who think they’ve done nothing wrong in this situation. Truly depressing and if anyone had to suffer why could it not have been the adults, and not the poor little girl...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s the answer though to prevent another story like this?

Maybe the system around housing stipends needs to be a direct interaction between the city and the landlord. The money doesn't go to the recipient (Relisha's mother), but she would provide her address and landlord info to the city and the city directly sends the stipend to the landlord. That seemed to be an issue with the eviction that caused them to move to the shelter.

If the family had a Housing Choice Voucher or Rapid Rehousing, the payment goes directly to the landlord. Shamika probably didn't pay her portion of the rent or violated some other lease condition.[/quote
And since the landlord is getting automatically paid 2/3rds (for instance) of the rent, the tenants can usually go quite a long time
Without paying their portion.

[Anonymous]

It was poor narrating to leave out information on relisha’s biological father. It’s a basic part of the story. We got her grandmothers childhood story!

[Anonymous]

Yes, the narrator is young and earnest and naive. She is taking people's stories at face value.

[Anonymous]

I am not certain what the narrator was trying to show in her presentation of Kahlil Tatum and Andrea Kelly Tatum. Kahlil or Kirk Tatum had a lengthy arrest record in DC and Virginia and he spent years in prison. Andrea Kelly Tatum had trouble with the law for breaking and entering which may have come from needing to finance her drug addiction but she was not a model citizen. All the talk of her going out was so she could use drugs.

Kirk/Kahlil was a habitual criminal offender and although his crimes were minimized in the podcast since I guess mainly burglary doesn't count in the narrators eyes, the courts did send him to jail for long periods of time. When Andrea's daughter spoke of the cars and jewelry he'd recently gotten for her mom plus his own car, I questioned being able to afford all that on the homeless shelter janitors salary.

There was some question following Relisha's disappearance about Kahlil's grand daughter that Relisha supposedly played with since he didn't have any children. Andrea Tatum's daughter Alexis did not really say too much to make me think the grand daughter was her daughter or the child of one of her siblings.

This episode made the situation feel even more hopeless since we are not supposed to judge the felon who murdered Andrea Tatum and most likely Relisha Rudd.