Ted Williams: A bit of tarnish on his golden rise from homelessness.

The celebrated rise of Ted Williams, the
man with the golden voice, hits a stumbling
block, and he may be heading to rehab. His
story illustrates the many hazards that can
lead to homelessness.
Los Angeles
Homelessness is back in the news. But in contrast
with this past week ’s feel-good story about the
formerly homeless Ted Williams being lifted from
a life on the streets into a home, job, and instant
fame, this week ’s narratives pull back that media
curtain on a darker side.
Mr. Williams was taken to a Los Angeles police
station for questioning after a Hollywood hotel
altercation with his daughter that reportedly was
so loud that an employee phoned the police.
There were also allegations of substance abuse.
On the other coast, the Washington-based
Alliance to End Homelessness released a report
showing a three-percent rise in homelessness
nationwide. Says Alliance president Nan Roman,
both events are sobering reminders of the deeper
problems driving people to live on the streets.
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“When someone is lifted from a life on the streets
like Mr. Williams, we all cheer and are happy for
him, ” says Ms. Roman. But, she adds, “all that
attention and celebrity is almost always focused
on the anecdote, not the real solutions to the
problem of people being homeless. ”
According to a press release issued Wednesday
by the “Dr. Phil Show,” Williams has agreed to
enter a rehab facility “for his alcohol and drug
dependency.” A one-on-one interview with Dr.
Phil will air Thursday. The press release says the
decision was taken “with his family’s support.”
His ex-wife and five family members will also
appear on the show to discuss what they say are
his ongoing substance abuse problems.
The media rise and fall of Ted Williams is an all-
too-familiar story to Andrew Bales, CEO of Union
Rescue Mission in Los Angeles. While he
appreciates the fact that Williams puts a face on
homelessness, he says that having gifts is not the
man’s problem.
“My first reaction was that we have at least 4 men
with that very amazing radio voice, others with
tremendous singing talent, a brilliant comedian,
and others with incredible gifts, but as Ted said, a
drinking problem has been his downfall, ” he
says. That is why the mission focuses instead on
what Mr. Bales calls “Life Transformation,
including a 12-step program. When lives are
transformed, gifts will shine. ”
Instead of the celebrity frenzy that enveloped
Williams after his YouTube video – captured on a
Columbus, Ohio street corner – went viral, Bales
says the recovering alcoholic would be much
better served with a low-profile transition that
included a team to help him handle both the
money and new opportunities and “maybe even
a chaplain on his side.”
That’s because, as he points out, the issues that
brought him to the street in the first place are not
going to magically disappear when the national
media spotlight turns on. In fact, he suggests,
that glare has most certainly not helped Williams
adjust to his new circumstances. People caught
in the celebrity crush have little understanding of
how fleeting that embrace can be, he says.
Bales says the “Today Show” was quick to rush
Williams on the air when the story first broke, but
Bales feels the host, Matt Lauer, was equally quick
to distance himself when the new allegations
broke, calling Williams “that formerly homeless
man with the golden voice.”
Instant fame can be every bit as addictive as a
drug, points out sociologist BJ Gallagher, author
of “It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might
Have Been.”
Even folks without a history of substance abuse
can wilt under the pressure of such attention, she
says. Look no further than that other viral video
sensation, Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who
ended up in the hospital for mental exhaustion
after her rush to fame.
Like many who held their breath as the Ted
Williams saga unfolded last week, Ms. Gallagher
says, “I didn’t think it would last, at least not so
perfectly, but I didn’t think it would come down
so quickly.”
Genuine solutions to homelessness must include
tackling the issues that drove a person out of a
stable home, says Ms. Gallagher. But those are so
much harder to wrap into a neat narrative, she
points out, because real life is so much messier
than the fairy tale. “We are a very optimistic
people and we like our happy endings,” she says.


Source: Http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2011/0112/Ted-Williams-A-bit-of-tarnish-on-his-golden-rise-from-homelessness