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Activist from Gala Banquet |
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Compiled by GayToday
Evans had entered the gala without a ticket, and was quietly circulating a leaflet about a drug death, he told GayToday, “involving the Rev. Mitulski and his congregation.” The Rev. Penny Nixon, associate pastor of MCC, accosted Evans, he explained, and called hotel security, while her female assistant attempted to seize his leaflets. The hotel detective grabbed the 58-year-old Evans by the shoulder, pushing him outside the hotel, where he continued to leaflet. MCC declined to press charges. The issue involved a hard-drug user who last July stayed at a "Queer Youth Shelter" in Mitulski's MCC in the city's Castro District. The guest, 25-year-old Curtis Oliver, Jr., took sick in the middle of the night. An MCC staff person is said to have waited until early morning to call 911, and then to have asked the ambulance to turn its lights off when it arrived. Oliver died a few days later at Davies Hospital, according to Evans, without regaining consciousness. At MCC's request, reportedly, no autopsy was performed and the body was cremated. The MCC minister denies this request, however, telling GayToday: “Mr. Howard's mother, who was present at his death, and who had sole authority to do so, released his body for cremation. The coroner performed the requisite toxicology reports, which is a matter of public record.” Evans points to the tardy timing of this toxicology report, however.
The Rev. Mitulski now seems to agree that Oliver died “in Davies Hospital four days after suffering what the medical authorities told us at the time was a heart attack exacerbated by drug use.” He insists that “This cause of death was freely discussed at his memorial service almost two weeks later.” Evans points out that the problem, as he sees it, is exacerbated by MCC's poor relations with its neighbors over its proposed youth shelters. The Rev. Mitulski refers to Evans, however, as “one who is opposed to any work done for the homeless in the gay community.” “Wrong!” replies Evans, “ I want a homeless policy that is realistic. Our homeless policy should frankly acknowledge the role of drug addiction among the homeless, and the people who tend to the homeless should be trained to deal with addicts. MCC's shelter failed on both scores. It was based on denial and incompetence. The result was the death of Curtis Oliver. Time to face up to that failure.” The MCC minister says he is “baffled” by Evans' statements. “His charges,” he told GayToday, “simply don't make any sense. We have never denied--nor would anyone--that some homeless people use drugs. That is precisely why we feel they need access to services, including shelter.” Evans sees a different side to presence of the controversial shelter: "This was the third 'Temporary Shelter for Homeless Queer Youth' that MCC sponsored," says Evans. "In each case, Mitulski scoffed at local residents who were concerned over possible drug addiction and drug selling by the residents. Mitulski denounced the concerned neighbors as 'NIMBYs.'" "There's an important issue at stake here," argues Evans. "Do we continue to pretend that drug addiction and drug dealing are not a big part of homelessness in San Francisco? Or do we face up to that fact, and deal with it?"
"Well-meaning hugs aren't enough. That road just leads to codependency. Recovery requires that addicts be held accountable for their behavior. Like it or not, that's a basic fact of life. We need to learn the lesson, and act on it, so there will be no more sad cases like Curtis Oliver." MCC said that proceeds from the Mitulski gala would be used to fight AIDS. Evans says that MCC's "duplicity" over the drug death has made him skeptical about any claims the church makes on how it handles its income. He urged the church to open its books to the public. “I'm really not sure why Mr. Evans draws attention to himself about this, except that it furthers his anti-homeless crusade,” lamented the Rev. Mitulski, adding, “He has engaged in self-serving frivolous lawsuits against the homeless that have been laughed out of court. “My hope would be that his obsession would somehow transform into compassion, and that he would find a constructive way to do something about the terrible housing shortage in our city, and the urgent plight of the homeless.” “I have never had a lawsuit against any homeless person,” counters Arthur Evans. “Where on earth did Mitulski get that from?” Arthur Evans' Leaflet about the Queer Youth Shelter (which he tried to distribute at MCC and its Gala Banquet) Curtis Oliver, Jr., an adult user of hard drugs, stayed last July at a "Queer Youth Shelter" in the Castro's Metropolitan Community Church (MCC). Oliver got very sick in the middle of the night. MCC staff waited until early morning to call 911, and then asked the ambulance to turn its lights off when it arrived. Oliver died a few days later at Davies Hospital, without regaining consciousness. Months later, despite foot-dragging by MCC, the cause of death was finally revealed: heroin overdose. Here are some questions that the Rev. Jim Mitulski, pastor of MCC, has never answered: The MCC Board Of Directors publicly stated that the staff person who had attended Curtis Oliver "stayed up all night caring for this young man" (Bay Area Reporter, 8/24/2000). Was the attendant trained to detect early signs of drug overdose? If so, why didn't she call 911 immediately, to save Oliver's life? Why did she wait until early morning, and then ask the ambulance driver to turn the lights off? And if the attendant was not trained, why did MCC allow her to tend to people who are known for their drug problems?
When the attendant eventually did call 911, and the operator asked what the problem was with Oliver, she answered "I don't know, maybe OD" (B.A.R., 8/17). Since the attendant herself suspected a drug overdose, why did MCC criticize the press for speculating that Oliver had died from a drug overdose? When the 911 Operator asked the attendant how long Oliver had been sick, she said "Just started" (B.A.R., 8/17). But the MCC Board later acknowledged that she had been attending Oliver all night (B.A.R., 8/24). Why did the attendant say that? Why was an adult drug-user staying at a shelter for youth? Neighbors concerned about possible drug dealing and addiction among the shelter's residents were repeatedly denounced as "NIMBYs" by the Rev. Jim Mitulski. Shouldn't he have shared their concerns about drugs? Many of the city's street dwellers are addicts or dealers, or both. Does it help when clergy and politicians pretend otherwise, and become codependents? Isn't that what killed Curtis Oliver, Jr.? Once again Evans leafleted peacefully in front of the MCC at Sunday morning's church service. “They called the cops,” he told GayToday about his experience,“ and three squad cars came immediately. But I had the right to leaflet quietly in front of the church, and continued to do so. “They were quicker to call the cops on me than they were to call the ambulance for Curtis Oliver…They overreacted both Friday and Sunday.” |
Arthur Evans 
Rev. Mitulski 
Rev. Penny Nixon 