A Peak at Street Sheets

brainsections

In this post, I’d like to spend some time talking about street newspapers and how they help the homeless stay connected and have a voice.

I wiki-ed the term street newspapers and came up with this. In addition to the small, independent presses, there are street newspapers in large cities that are trying to find solutions to problems faced by the homeless (notice I didn’t say solutions to the ‘homeless problem’– that’s the outsider’s view).  There are three papers that you might want to check out:  Real Change, The Contributor, and a paper for Chicago’s homeless. There are also homeless newspapers in other countries, this one is from Australia, but it has a directory from around the world. One little blog has an unusual name: Girls guide to homelessness. Sounds like a lighthearted romp. Hey, I’m all for a little fresh breeze after a…

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Tight Times: A hot plate and a slow cooker is all you need…

Stuck in a low rent dump and can’t afford a microwave? Hey, all you need is a hot plate (aka one burner) and a double boiler (2 pots that fit into each other). If you fill each with about 1″ of water and slip one of those plastic microwaveable food storage containers in there… dinner is served. Great when you want to heat a container right from the fridge and want to save on the clean up mess. And if you want home baked potatoes and chicken or a great stew, put a slow cooker into service. I have even made pulled pork and desert in mine (not at the same time). Find loads of slow cooker recipes at your local library… and enjoy a home cooked meal, even without a microwave or oven.

New survey to assess needs of Hawaii’s women vets

Homelessness: Behind every statistic is an individual

Media Diversified

One of the most marginalised and often unheard groups in the United Kingdom today are the homeless. Not only do these individuals and families face challenging life situations, they also carry the burden of stigma and stereotypes meaning that they are silenced.

In a bid to challenge this silence and educate people about the reality of homeless people Farah Mohammoud, Co-founder of organisation You Press, brought together two often neglected groups in society today; the homeless and young people. The result was the conception and delivery of ‘One Story, Our Voice’, a powerful project through which individuals from both these groups were able to exercise their creative freedom, express themselves and tell the world what it really means to be homeless and serve as a reminder that behind every statistic is an individual.

Media Diversified spoke to Farah to find out more about how the project came to be…

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More Cities Are Basically Making It Illegal To Be Homeless

Helping requires seeing

and understanding requires the humility to know that we are all human.

rethinking homelessness

Great post.

through the eyes of an angel

once again, i’ve been mia. i’m just coming off of an intense couple of months where i think my car and my clients saw me a great deal more than my husband did. it ended after a week where i was covering as the administrative assistant in the office while she was on her honeymoon and then going to see my clients, then the following week i’d see my clients and then run off to church to do the administrative duties for vbs (vacation bible school). those two weeks i’d leave the apartment around 8-9 am and sometimes not get home til around 11pm. it’s taken the better part of the last two weeks to recover and i can’t say that i’m at the top of my game yet. sleep is a precious commodity for me right now…i want lots of it.

anyhow, this last week, my eyes have been…

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Why We Shouldn’t Avoid The Homeless

As with every form of prejudice, knowing the people we are fearful of will often reduce the fear. But we have to be willing to take that step.

Is this why I'm still single?

I’m the type of guy who goes out of his way to avoid homeless people. If I see one within 30 feet of me my first instinct is to cross over to the other side of the street or walk on the outside of my friends so I’m less accessible. And when one asks me for change, I generally mutter something about not having money (even though I do) before walking away quickly. In some rare cases, I do give the person a dollar or two, but that is only if the person is friendly and seems less likely to try and gnaw my face off.

I’m aware of the fact that I needn’t feel guilty about doing any of this. Pretending homeless people don’t exist has become the social norm. No one thinks any less of me whenever I refuse to acknowledge a homeless person’s plea or give them…

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The Chicken or the Egg

Inside The Poet's Mind

“What came first, the chicken or the egg,”
The mental illness or the homelessness?

Tell me, how many sane people
Have wound up on the streets,
Through no fault of their own,
Only to be driven mad by
Loss of dignity and looks of derision,
Sleep deprivation and hunger,
By nights below freezing,
By the drip, drip, drip of rain on the forehead,

You want to talk waterboarding?
Spare me your false outrage
When you speak about torture,
When Gitmo and Abu Ghraib
Look like the Park Plaza
To the guy shivering and starving on the corner

There’s a War going on alright
And Humanity is losing the fight

You know I’m beginning to think
It would be more humane to
Euthanize those that fall on misfortune
Than subject them to the cruel and unusual punishment
They are forced to endure at the hands of our apathy

Just remember my…

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Give

Altered Healing

Practice giving. Minimise judging.

I often worry that the spare change I give to panhandlers will be used for drugs or alcohol. Although that is my own judgement I prefer to know that what I am giving will help the individual. More often then not I’ll give food and the person is always grateful.

If you are like myself but are feeling more generous, why not make packs to be given out to the homeless in your area? Depending on your location and the time of year you can change the contents. Here in Ireland I would throw in a rain ponchos maybe in a colder climate a pair of gloves or mittens would be appreciated.

That warm and fuzzy feeling will give your mood a boost, even if you are feeling low. The world needs more random acts of kindness, here in Ireland there’s a festival on the weekend…

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