Panhandling Goes Digital

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: innovation, panhandling

Published October 26, 2009 @ 12:09PM PT

You know that we are living in a digital world when even panhandling goes online. Thanks to homeless web forums, blogs, and social media sites - combined with the increasing criminalization of panhandling - cardboard signs could soon be a thing of the past. Is this the age of Panhandling 2.0?

Today, the Boston Globe detailed the story of Kevin Boudrou, a laid off chef who has been using Craigslist postings to find free winter camping gear. He has been using public computers in medical facilities, libraries, and shelters to try and find tents, warm clothes, and other equipment. "I've always looked on Craigslist for odd jobs," he told the Globe, "So the idea to post a classified ad was just there."

Craigslist isn't the only online forum being used to solicit donations, according to the Globe. There's the International Homeless Forum, where homeless people and advocates exchange tips and advice. There are a host of sites like DonateMoney2Me.com, which allows users to design their own page and plea for help. And then there's social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook, where homeless people and service providers alike post pleas for donations.

It's no wonder that struggling individuals are having to resort to online tools to survive. Just as shelters are filling up and struggling to meet the needs of growing numbers of homeless individuals, it's getting tougher for homeless folks to ask for money on the streets. Increasing numbers of cities are outlawing panhandling in city centers. In some cities, panhandling can even land a person with a hefty fine or a prison stay. At the same time, computers are becoming more accessible to those without a home than ever before.

No matter what your take is on this new phenomenon, e-panhandling doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon. It's a creative utilization of available resources. It allows individuals to avoid the humiliation of begging on the streets and hide behind the anonymity of the web.

It's survival... in the digital age.

Image: lassi.kirkijavi

Why You Can't "Experience" Homelessness in One Night

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: Action, Advocacy, Education, People doing good things

Published October 25, 2009 @ 05:19AM PT

In the coming months, thousands of people across the country will participate in 'Sleep-Outs for the Homeless.' Participants should be congratulated for raising money and learning a bit about this critical issue. But check yourself: don't think for a second that after participating in this event you have "experienced" homeless. Far from it.

Some of my colleagues have argued that Sleep-Outs for the Homeless can be the worst fundraiser ever, that they are simply "glorified slumber parties." This may be true in some cases. But I like to believe that, done correctly, these type of events serve an important purpose. All it takes a little bit of careful messaging and a lot of reflection.

Rather than framing a Camp-Out for the Homeless event as a "homeless simulation" with movies, pizza, and a festive atmosphere, these events are best done as a somber showing of solidarity. Rather than playing dress-up in tattered clothes, focus on hearing the stories of formerly homeless people who actually survived life on the streets. Remember those whose lives ended on the streets. Forget the pizza and donuts.

Openly acknowledge that one night camping out in a monitored group environment is a completely different experience than losing everything and ending up on the streets. A one-night camping experience can never replicate the stress, fear, pain, loss of pride, and loss of hope that often coincides with being homeless.

Sleep-Outs for the Homeless can be a powerful tool for building awareness and stimulating activism. This fall, don't be afraid to pass on the pizza and turn your even into a meaningful opportunity to take a deeper look at homelessness issues.

Image: freakychic1978

Nicole Ritchie Opens Playground for Homeless Kids

by Shannon Moriarty

Published October 24, 2009 @ 05:07AM PT

On Thursday, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden broke ground on a playground for homeless children in downtown Los Angeles.

The playground will be situated near Broadway Village II, a 50-unit service-enriched affordable housing complex for very low-income families. The project is part of a larger neighborhood revitalization effort aiming to address the shortage of adequate housing and social services in the area. Richie and Madden have been raising money for the project for over a year, according to the blog Hollyscoop. "When I found out the kids play on a concrete slab or play inside all day, it hit me," said Richie. "Kids need to have an imagination, to be outside and to be free."

I love projects like this. So often, in the flurry to create housing and meet the financial, hunger, and housing needs of homeless families we forget something important: kids are kids. And they need safe places to play and be kids.

It's refreshing to see reality starts and musicians embark on a selfless endeavor. This is one trend that I hope catches on.

Real Stories: Meet Yubel

by Mark Horvath

categories: Interviews, Stories from the Streets, Tent City Tour

Published October 23, 2009 @ 03:16PM PT

I met Yubal in New York City. He is originally from Mexico and traveling up to Canada to try and find his way out of homelessness.

Yubal from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

Court-Ordered Compassion

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: Action, criminalization, Local Policy

Published October 23, 2009 @ 09:42AM PT

Have our nation's embedded fears and misconceptions of poor and homeless people gotten out of hand? A shelter provider recently went to court for clearance to continue serving homeless people in a central Pennsylvania rural community. This unsettling case left me asking one question: have we evolved to a place where compassion must be court-ordered?

The First Apostle's Doctrine Church in Brookville, PA has been housing homeless people from the town of less than 5,000 in its Just for Jesus shelter. Town officials tried to shut down the shelter last November, citing zoning code violations that prohibit group homes. In order to keep its doors open to the area's homeless, the church sued the town for civil-liberties violation. Yesterday, the court ruled in the church's favor, allowing the shelter to keep its doors open.

Things sure can get ugly when judgments, stigmas, and stereotypes trump compassion.

Sure, there may be more going on beneath the surface in this story (like a sour relationship between church and local government officials). But sadly, this type of situation is not uncommon. Some government officials wrongly believe that providing services - like a shelter or soup kitchen - will have a bees-to-honey effect, attracting homeless people from other communities. This belief is misguided, short-sighted, and outright mean.

Clearly, if the shelter beds were being used, the town of Brookville has a need for shelter. Rather than attacking the safety net, why not look at local government-initiated strategies for combating the root causes of homelessness? Create affordable housing, develop the local economy, work in conjunction with the church to see that no basic human needs are being unmet.

Some of the most effective and innovative solutions for homelessness have been created locally.

Image: Diane M. Byrne

Faith-Based Organizations Must Reinforce Our Safety Net

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: Action, elements, recession

Published October 22, 2009 @ 07:38PM PT

As the negative effects of our economic woes continue to trickle down in the form of lay-offs and evictions, our nation's homeless prevention and shelter system will continue to shoulder the ever-increasing burdens of meeting rising demand with declining resources. Faith based organizations - with their philanthropic interests, human and financial capital, and ability to mobilize quickly - are needed now more than ever to reinforce our social service safety net.

Virginia Beach, like many other cities across the country, does not have enough shelter beds to meet the needs of the city's homeless. Pilot Online detailed how 30 or so people sleep in the seaside porticos of a church each night because the shelters are filled. Even more people sleep in cars around town. As the weather cools and winter approaches, local advocates worry that demand will increase even more.

Indeed, this concern is being echoed in communities across the country. In the event of a full-fledged crisis this winter, it is unlikely that government money will be able to meet the need. Case in point: it has taken months for the Recovery Act funds to trickle down from the federal government to communities and from communities to the people who need assistance. So what's the answer?

One possibility is faith-based organizations. Why? Many churches have little/no bureaucratic red tape, structures in which to provide shelter, financial and human capital, and a propensity to serve. The combination of these assets might just be the safety net reinforcement needed to save lives during potential homelessness crisis that many predict is awaiting us this winter.

Image: mudpig

The Business of Putting Yourself Out of Business

by Shannon Moriarty

categories: case management, nonprofit

Published October 22, 2009 @ 09:12AM PT

Those who work in the field of homelessness seem to lack any good business sense. They are working in not-very-profitable, burnout-inducing careers that exist solely with the goal of putting themselves out of business. It's an odd question; we know that unemployment often leads to homelessness, so why set out a career with the goal of ending it?

This is a question that I - and perhaps many others - have long struggled to answer. There's something cruel and ironic about working with the poorest of the poor while earning a salary. To take advantage of health and dental benefits while others cannot access life-saving medication. To go out to dinner and choose from a menu of items while others must take what they're given from a soup kitchen.

How do we reconcile these issues in our minds? How do we truly work as good advocates when there is financial security to be had from serving others?

Certainly, there is not an expectation that all who serve the poor and homeless live like Mother Teresa (although, I would not mind living in that world). But revisiting these tough questions should compel us to re-evaluate our priorities, our lifestyle, and our motivation for doing this work. Perhaps we will never find answers to these tough questions, but I don't think it ever hurts to take a good hard look at your motivation for entering this field.

Being an effective homeless activist or service provider will not happen if we continually expound self-congratulatory verbiage or holier-than-thou attitudes about doing the work that we do. Rather, we must humbly acknowledge that this issue is much larger than any one person. Our daily interaction with issues of poverty and housing and mental health should open our eyes to a host of other issues that are all inter-connected. Most important, we must recognize that our ability to make an impact on these issues in our lifetime is directly correlated to our ability to work in tandem with others to bridge the socio-economic gap that has perpetuated homelessness in our society.

That said, if given the opportunity to eradicate poverty and homelessness tomorrow, would you take it?

Image: reinvented