{"id":5885,"date":"2010-11-14T14:08:58","date_gmt":"2010-11-14T14:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=5885"},"modified":"2010-11-14T14:08:58","modified_gmt":"2010-11-14T14:08:58","slug":"real-life-superheroes-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2010\/11\/14\/real-life-superheroes-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Real life superheroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dynamic-Duo\"<\/a>Originally posted: http:\/\/www.sundaypaper.com\/More\/Archives\/tabid\/98\/articleType\/ArticleView\/articleId\/5904\/Real-life-superheroes.aspx<\/a>
\nCostumed crusaders shine a light on Atlanta\u2019s homeless situation
\nOn a Friday afternoon in a Downtown Atlanta parking garage, a couple of superheroes step out of an SUV and prepare to embark on their latest mission. They look as if they\u2019ve stepped out of a comic book, ready to storm a supervillain\u2019s hideout. But today\u2019s objective doesn\u2019t involve death rays or alien invasions. Instead, they\u2019re about to walk through Woodruff Park and check on the many homeless Atlantans who congregate there.
\nJust another day on the job for the Crimson Fist and his sidekick, Metadata.
\nWhen The Sunday Paper tags along, summer temperatures are still causing dehydration on the Downtown streets, so the dynamic due brings four cases of bottled water.
\n\u201cAnd then I believe 80 packs of crackers, and something like 48 packs of fruit snacks to hand out,\u201d the Fist says, adding that as they distribute the water and food, they’ll\u00a0 \u201cjust walk around, talk to people, make sure everyone\u2019s doing OK.\u201d
\nThey hoist shopping bags filled with bottles and snack packages over their shoulders and set off for the park.\u00a0 When the bags are empty, they\u2019ll return to the parking garage to restock and make another circuit.
\nThe Crimson Fist\u2019s maroon-and-white uniform draws a few stares as they begin the two-block walk, as much for the striking logo\u2014a red fist inside a black star\u2014as for the incongruous pairing of red gloves and sneakers. Metadata collects a few look-overs of her own, clad in a form-fitting Lycra bodysuit and huge black lace-up boots.
\nThe Crimson Fist\u2014named for a comic book he created as a child\u2014doesn\u2019t mind. A little gawking comes with the territory.
\nSince he first began, \u201cpeople have kind of warmed up to the idea,\u201d he says. \u201cEspecially in areas like this, areas that I go to quite a bit, they get used to seeing me. I mean, it\u2019s Atlanta, so you get used to the weird stuff after awhile.\u201d
\nSECRET ORIGINS<\/strong>
\nThe pair are part of a loose-knit community of real-life superheroes that stretches across the country and as far as Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom, keeping in contact via sites like reallifesuperheroes.org and heroesnetwork.net.
\nThese heroes refer to themselves as crime-fighters, activists or, in the Crimson Fist\u2019s case. humanitarians. Some, like Atlanta fixture Danger Woman, advocate for a particular cause (she champions the rights of the disabled). Others simply act as a kind of colorful neighborhood watch, armed with first aid kits and video cameras\u2014and maybe some pepper spray for protection. Still others work to, say, drive drug dealers out of local parks. Almost all engage in some form of public service\u2014whether it’s visiting children’s hospitals, collecting items for toy drives or reaching out to the homeless.
\nThe Crimson Fist has tried the crime-fighter-on-patrol route, but \u201cI don\u2019t focus on it as much anymore, because I\u2019m a lot more focused on trying to be more on the humanitarian side of things,\u201d he says. \u201cI try to make sure I stay on my side of the fence as much as possible. I find that I just get more out of helping people than hurting people.\u201d
\nHe knows a thing or two about the latter. \u201cI did a lot of things in my life I wasn\u2019t necessarily proud of, did a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of people. So I kind of decided to try to give back, to try and help stop the problem that affected me when I was younger.\u201d
\nOnce that decision was made, his evolution a couple of years ago into the Crimson Fist \u201cjust kind of came naturally. As a kid I wanted to be a superhero, you know? And I just one day decided, I might as well bite the bullet and just go for it. And it worked out a lot better than I expected.\u201d
\nHis partner, a recent college graduate and freelance artist, is new to Atlanta; this is her first time going on a handout with the Crimson Fist. She started out in another city, volunteering for other real-life superheroes as an operator, or “Oracle,” named for the support role assumed by comic-book character Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) after she was shot by the Joker. Just as Oracle helps\u00a0 Batman behind the scenes, Metadata, in real life, helped heroes with directions or other remote assistance as they conducted handouts or patrols.
\n\u201cI had heard about real life superheroes in a psychology class,\u201d she says. \u201cI did a little research on it and really liked what I was hearing from people, and I really wanted to help.\u201d
\n\u201cIT\u2019S OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS\u201d<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s taken a bit of negotiation to allow a reporter and photographer to come along. The Crimson Fist knows his outfit attracts attention\u2014that\u2019s why he wears it, after all\u2014but he\u2019s been disappointed by media reports on his work in the past. His hope is that the sight of a man in a colorful costume will inspire onlookers to explore what they can do for others.
\n\u201cI fully understand that there\u2019s a bit of silliness to the superhero thing,\u201d he says. \u201cBut there\u2019s much more important things to focus on than how silly I look in the costume.\u201d
\nAtlanta\u2019s homeless population is what he\u2019s chosen to focus on. It\u2019s certainly a community in need of help. According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs 2009 Report on Homelessness, on one night in January of that year, about 21,000 people were homeless in Georgia\u2014and more than half didn’t even have a place to stay in a shelter, or were in peril of not having shelter space. The Metro Atlanta Tri-Jurisdictional Collaborative on Homelessness, which surveyed the city of Atlanta, DeKalb County and Fulton County, found 7,019 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people, accounting for at least a third of the state’s homeless population. of those, 87 percent\u20146,131 people\u2014were located in Atlanta. About 2,000 were on the streets.
\nThe Collaborative\u2019s survey shows\u00a0 a 6.5 percent increase in homelessness over the last six years, even as DeKalb and Fulton Counties’ populations grew by about 17 percent over the same period, with more respondents without a full-time job in 2009 than in previous years.
\n\u201cA lack of affordable housing in our area contributes to the issue,\u201d says Vince Smith, executive director of the Gateway Center, a homeless services center that provides housing and programs to help get people out of homelessness. \u201cWith job losses and foreclosures, many people we\u2019re seeing now are homeless that have never experienced homelessness before. With this Great Recession we\u2019ve been in, there\u2019s also more stresses on familes and individuals, and that\u2019s certainly true of my colleagues at other agencies that deal with homelessness, as well; the stress level is extremely high.\u201d
\nOn the bright side, Smith says, hard times have encouraged others in the community to get involved.
\n\u201cAnecdotally, I have seen an increase in the community\u2019s response to the needs of others,” he says. “I can tell you that my phone rings more frequently now than it did three years ago with people wanting to do something to help others.\u201d And local agencies, he says, \u201care working together more collaboratively with the community at large today than in recent history.
\n\u201cHomelessness isn\u2019t some ethereal concept,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s our brothers and sisters, our nieces and nephews, our children and parents. It is us. The community response has been overwhelmingly encouraging.\u201d
\n\u201cJUST HELP PEOPLE OUT\u201d<\/strong>
\nBack in Woodruff Park, the homeless response to the curious-looking do-gooders in their midst is a mixture of gratitude and wariness. Cries of \u201cHey, superhero!\u201d precede requests for water. Several onlookers take pictures with their phones. One shabby-looking individual asks for an autograph. \u201cI\u2019m not tripping, right?\u201d he asks.
\nMetadata approaches clusters of wary men with a water bottle and an engaging smile. More than a few times, a small crowd gathers around her. But she\u2019s not fazed.
\n\u201cThey just want a little help,\u201d she says. \u201cI don\u2019t see anyone attacking me for bottled water or a fruit snack. When you get down to it, they\u2019re just people.\u201d
\nThe Crimson Fist acknowledges that approaching destitute strangers can be a foolhardy endeavor, especially dressing the way he does. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s always a risk,\u201d he says. \u201cThat\u2019s why I carry some protection, just in case something should happen. But I care enough about the people out here to take that risk.\u201d
\nNot everyone in the park this afternoon is homeless or even destitute, but the heroes don\u2019t discriminate. \u201cYou never can tell who needs help,\u201d Crimson Fist says. Still, he makes a point of asking each person if they\u2019re OK or if they need anything. \u201cIt\u2019s a sensitive situation for some people. Sometimes they can get offended if they don\u2019t need help. But generally speaking, most people are just happy to have something.\u201d
\n\u201cCan I join your organization?\u201d someone calls as they pass.
\n\u201cJust help people out,\u201d the Crimson Fist replies. \u201cThat\u2019s all you gotta do.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to hold you up,\u201d one grateful man says. \u201cI know there\u2019s a lot more people that have to be saved.\u201d
\nMISSION ACCOMPLISHED<\/strong>
\nBy 2:30 p.m.\u2014two hours after they\u2019ve started\u2014140 bottles of water have been handed out, and the snacks are all but gone.
\n\u201cIt went really well,\u201d Metadata says of her first Atlanta outing. \u201cI\u2019m glad we got as much as we did. I wish we had enough to give to everyone.\u201d
\nThe Crimson Fist says he attempts to conduct handouts about once a month, setting aside money when he can to devote to supplies\u2014something that became harder due to a recent stretch of unemployment.
\n\u201cI think we spent about $40 today,\u201d he says. \u201cIf I\u2019m out here by myself, I\u2019ll usually spend $25 or $30.\u201d During the summer, that money largely goes to bottled water. But in the colder months, he expands his focus to clothing, blankets and other ways to keep warm, rummaging through thrift stores and even going through his own clothes to see what he can afford to give away. \u201cI just save as much as I can, try to find the best deals I can,\u201d he says.
\nNo matter how much he saves, \u201cI always think I\u2019ve brought enough stuff, and there\u2019s never enough. It\u2019s overwhelming sometimes to see just how big a problem there is, but it\u2019s always nice to help at least a small portion of that.\u201d
\nBoth agree that while they enjoy the one-on-one interaction, their ambitions go beyond handouts.
\n\u201cI like being able to directly hand something to somebody when they need it,\u201d the Crimson Fist says. \u201cBut you always want to do more.\u201d
\nMetadata adds that they’re aspiring to more than distributing food and water.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also trying to get a community outreach going, get other people involved, get businesses involved,” she says. “We want to make sure that years from now, when maybe we\u2019re starting to get to a point where we can\u2019t do it anymore, like on a physical level even, that the community can take care of itself.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of connecting with people and saying, \u2018This is what we\u2019re about,\u2019\u201d she continues. \u201c\u2018It\u2019s not about going out and dressing up, it\u2019s really about helping people, and here\u2019s how you can do it and here\u2019s how you can reach us.\u2019\u201d
\nThe Fist sums up: \u201cIt\u2019s not so much that we want to draw attention to us doing [this], as we want to draw attention to the problem and to show people that anybody can do this. It doesn\u2019t take an actual superman to help solve the problem.\u201d SP<\/strong>
\n
\nParties interested in helping the Crimson Fist with his mission can contact him via e-mail at heroatl@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em>
\n\u201cI mean, it\u2019s Atlanta, so you get used to the weird stuff after awhile.\u201d\u2014The Crimson Fist
\n\u201cThe community response has been overwhelmingly encouraging.\u201d\u2014Vince Smith, executive director of the Gateway Center
\nHOW TO HELP
\nCall 2-1-1 anywhere in Georgia to find or give help for homelessness and other problems, or visit www.211.org.
\nGateway Center
\n275 Pryor St. SW
\n404-215-6600
\nwww.gatewayctr.org
\nHands on Atlanta
\n600 Means St., Suite 100
\n404-979-2800
\nwww.handsonatlanta.org
\nHosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless
\n1035 Donnelly Ave. SW
\n404-755-3353
\nwww.hoseafeedthehungry.com
\nMetro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless
\n477 Peachtree St.
\n404-230-5000
\nwww.homelesstaskforce.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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