Saturday, August 27, 2011
It's time
Love this and love my dear friend, Mary Hayes Ickert for sharing: “Your journey has molded you for the greater good. It was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is right on time.”
Monday, August 15, 2011
Week 16, writing, and an interesting request...
SCO
Things are going great up at our weekly homeless meal service, and we are entering our 16th week. One of our awesome SCO Board members put in a request at Dominos for dinner for the homeless, so we shall see what happens there. If that doesn't pan out, we will be serving hotdogs and chicken nuggets. The original co founder of SCO will be joining me, and I am looking forward to showing her what she helped create.
We really have assembled quite an awesome group of regular volunteers. I used to believe that this was an impossible feat. The organization has seen its fair share of volunteers come and go throughout the last two years, but our new volunteers are different. They've grown with the meal service, as have I - so too, have our homeless clients. Everyone there has become an integral part of the process. Quite plausibly, we may have created something that will last!
Branching out
I wrote my first article for the Charlotte Viewpoint, last week. The article is about housing the homeless. It will be published in three to four weeks.
Podcast Interview
I received an interesting request this morning. I wrote an article about the recent ruling of the Health Care Law that Obama is trying to pass. The bill, if passed in the Senate, would require nearly 30 million currently uninsured Americans to purchase health insurance, or face a penalty.
The Interview request is for a political discussion about the issue. If it was about poverty, homelessness, or anything in between, I would jump at the opportunity. In truth, when I applied to write for the Examiner I requested to write about social issues, but unfortunately, I was not hired to write about the issues that matter to me most. Instead, I was assigned to write a Public Policy, which actually terrified me because I felt as though I was largely under qualified.
Nonetheless, it was a challenge and I am glad that I went for it. I now have a better understanding about politics and public policy, and of course, I have found interesting ways to integrate poverty and homelessness into my articles.
I'm debating about whether or not to do the podcast. It is a great opportunity to branch out even further, but I'm a little apprehensive because I definitely lack confidence in conversing about politics.
Things are going great up at our weekly homeless meal service, and we are entering our 16th week. One of our awesome SCO Board members put in a request at Dominos for dinner for the homeless, so we shall see what happens there. If that doesn't pan out, we will be serving hotdogs and chicken nuggets. The original co founder of SCO will be joining me, and I am looking forward to showing her what she helped create.
We really have assembled quite an awesome group of regular volunteers. I used to believe that this was an impossible feat. The organization has seen its fair share of volunteers come and go throughout the last two years, but our new volunteers are different. They've grown with the meal service, as have I - so too, have our homeless clients. Everyone there has become an integral part of the process. Quite plausibly, we may have created something that will last!
Branching out
I wrote my first article for the Charlotte Viewpoint, last week. The article is about housing the homeless. It will be published in three to four weeks.
Podcast Interview
I received an interesting request this morning. I wrote an article about the recent ruling of the Health Care Law that Obama is trying to pass. The bill, if passed in the Senate, would require nearly 30 million currently uninsured Americans to purchase health insurance, or face a penalty.
The Interview request is for a political discussion about the issue. If it was about poverty, homelessness, or anything in between, I would jump at the opportunity. In truth, when I applied to write for the Examiner I requested to write about social issues, but unfortunately, I was not hired to write about the issues that matter to me most. Instead, I was assigned to write a Public Policy, which actually terrified me because I felt as though I was largely under qualified.
Nonetheless, it was a challenge and I am glad that I went for it. I now have a better understanding about politics and public policy, and of course, I have found interesting ways to integrate poverty and homelessness into my articles.
I'm debating about whether or not to do the podcast. It is a great opportunity to branch out even further, but I'm a little apprehensive because I definitely lack confidence in conversing about politics.
Monday, August 8, 2011
A radical approach
Time and time again, I've sat down with ten open books, eager to "solve" the poverty/homeless crisis plaguing our city. In truth, I haven't accomplished nearly enough, and I often wonder - how can we effectively provide hope to those who have fallen victim to a life on the street?
Clearly, what we are offering/providing isn't working or there wouldn't be a proliferation of homelessness. So what will work? While I don't have an answer, I can offer a radical approach - how about we ask them:
How would they end homelessness?
How would they treat a homeless person?
Would they curb drug/alcohol use if they had a roof over their head?
I think that the answers to these questions would be quite insightful. And if only they (the homeless) had a voice in society, then perhaps, together we could entertain solutions that could end homelessness. If only...that is.
Additionally (I am going to be very careful how I word this,) I think that it is great that there are church groups out there that assist the homeless. I am not a theologian but I think it is important not to give our homeless clients false hope that "Jesus will lift them out of homelessness." They may eventually be lifted out of homelessness, and quite plausibly Jesus will have a hand in this miracle. But I also believe that Jesus works through people, and I want our homeless clients to seek the help that they rightfully deserve and desperately need.
It appears as though we (society) continue to judge their way of life. We must look past the drugs and alcohol, and the social differences. After all, nothing exacerbates a person's issues faster then the lack of food, money, and shelter.
Clearly, what we are offering/providing isn't working or there wouldn't be a proliferation of homelessness. So what will work? While I don't have an answer, I can offer a radical approach - how about we ask them:
How would they end homelessness?
How would they treat a homeless person?
Would they curb drug/alcohol use if they had a roof over their head?
I think that the answers to these questions would be quite insightful. And if only they (the homeless) had a voice in society, then perhaps, together we could entertain solutions that could end homelessness. If only...that is.
Additionally (I am going to be very careful how I word this,) I think that it is great that there are church groups out there that assist the homeless. I am not a theologian but I think it is important not to give our homeless clients false hope that "Jesus will lift them out of homelessness." They may eventually be lifted out of homelessness, and quite plausibly Jesus will have a hand in this miracle. But I also believe that Jesus works through people, and I want our homeless clients to seek the help that they rightfully deserve and desperately need.
It appears as though we (society) continue to judge their way of life. We must look past the drugs and alcohol, and the social differences. After all, nothing exacerbates a person's issues faster then the lack of food, money, and shelter.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Just thinking...
I have two articles in the works over at the Examiner, but with unemployment, the economy, the debt crisis, or The Depression of 2011, who knows when I will actually get to write about the social issues plaguing our city.
On the back burner...housing. It is interesting that the right to housing is not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, but it is implied. However, what exactly should the role of the government be to house individuals? Even with the recent government budget cuts to the poor, the reality is that it would be far cheaper for the government to pay for housing on an individual basis, rather than to continue to fund homeless shelters.
On the other back burner...crime. Crime is a more complex issue, and undoubtedly, it will take me a while to figure out the actual statistics in our city. I came across some very discouraging information about the disparities between income among different races. I am still looking for the best approach with this topic.
On the back burner...housing. It is interesting that the right to housing is not explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution, but it is implied. However, what exactly should the role of the government be to house individuals? Even with the recent government budget cuts to the poor, the reality is that it would be far cheaper for the government to pay for housing on an individual basis, rather than to continue to fund homeless shelters.
On the other back burner...crime. Crime is a more complex issue, and undoubtedly, it will take me a while to figure out the actual statistics in our city. I came across some very discouraging information about the disparities between income among different races. I am still looking for the best approach with this topic.
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