“Have you heard our story?” That was the title on the program for tonight’s Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Gala, where I volunteered at a very busy (but fun!) registration table.
Read more on “Have you heard…”: Tales from the Boys & Girls Club Gala…
From Jordan, via email:
“Who will tell us the truth? The fate of journalism in an age of moral confusion and indifference.”Please join panelists Ogi Overman, Roch Smith Jr. and Joya Wesley, along with moderator Jordan Green at St. Mary’s House on April 5 for a discussion about the future of the press in an era of continuing credibility scandals, declining circulation and waning democratic practices.
Read more on “Who Will Tell Us The Truth?”: Panel Discussion, April 5th…
When an employee chose to set up a scam to steal money from Greensboro Housing Authority, she also stole money from the poor — the intended recipients of the Section 8 voucher money she diverted to herself and her friends. Some of the folks who use those rental vouchers used to be homeless. Others might be homeless right now without the vouchers. Why would anyone steal money from them? I don’t get it.
Read more on Stealing from the Poor… (and from the taxpayers, too!)…
WFMY did a story on homeless folks staying at the Greensboro Urban Ministry Weaver House shelter who are hoping to strike it rich playing the new North Carolina Lottery. Shelter clients interviewed for the segment plan to spend as much as $40 per week on lottery tickets. One homeless lottery hopeful figures that he can afford that much because “I ain’t poor.”
Read more on Homeless Lottery Player: “I Ain’t Poor”…
The HPCGC Chair just emailed me a link to “Million Dollar Murray: Why problems like homelessness may be easier to solve than to manage,” by Malcolm Gladwell (published in the March 2006 issue of the New Yorker.) Our local Ten Year Plan Task Force is reading it.
Read more on Gladwell: “Million Dollar Murray” & The Power-Law Theory of Homelessness…
This afternoon I drove my younger brother around downtown. He’s visiting from the big city (Seattle) and I wanted to show him all the changes we have going on. We talked about homelessness (of course), and I found out that our experiences and perspectives differ.
Read more on A “Big City” View on the Homeless…
Two dozen Guilford College students participated in a homelessness simulation yesterday. Cedric Essah was one of them.
“Essah ended up going four different places, all of them several times.”
“He got tired of running around, filling out sheet after sheet of paperwork and waiting in line. “
Read more on Students Discover Challenges of Local Homeless Assistance Process…
Colby Smith, a “fierce advocate” for the homeless in Greensboro, died last week. Smith was homeless for five years during the 90’s, and during that time he became a vocal advocate for the homeless, arguing for more efforts aimed at preventing homelessness. The News & Record did an article on him today, here. His obituary, which describes his “rich and varied life” is here.
Read more on Greensboro Homeless Advocate Dies…
An elderly woman in a hospital gown and slippers was found wandering Skid Row in L.A. after apparently being “dumped” by a hospital. Authorities investigating her case have discovered a pattern. Several hospitals have admitted discharging patients to the area and investigators are checking to see whether law enforcement agencies have done so, too. Horrifying? Yes. Think it couldn’t happen here? Think again.
Read more on Hospital “Dumps” Elderly Homeless Woman…
Zuckerman:
“My friend Sean Coon is working on a fascinating new project that gives good food for thought on the subject of representation. Called thepeopleyes… the project is intended to help people in the Greensboro, NC area who live at or below the poverty line have a voice online. Because US digital divide efforts have put computers into community centers and libraries, it’s not unrealistic to think that people living in poverty in Greensboro will be able to have access to the Internet. And because Greensboro is a famously “bloggy” community, it’s reasonable to think that an online space is a place where people could talk about community issues from different perspectives. Sean’s challenge is convincing the community he’s working with that there’s a group of people willing to listen once they start writing and he start pointing.”
Read more on Representing: Advocacy by Blog…
Saturday, March 18th. Sean and his laptop. Me and my half-caf. (Lots of it.) Four hours of talking, listening, brainstorming, challenging. Thepeopleyes. Phase one begins. 
Thepeopleyes is “[an online] spot for anyone living at or below the poverty line in Greesboro, NC to share their voice and perspective.”
I spoke about homelessness to UNCG’s SGA tonight on Day 2 of their Homelessness & Hunger Awareness Week. Well actually, I was speedtalking. The SGA’s agenda was full, so my speaking time was just 15 minutes and I usually talk for at least half an hour. Also, I’d been asked to do a “comprehensive overview” of homelessness in Greensboro, which is really an even longer talk. So I talked really, really fast and tried to fit in as much as possible before my 15 minutes ended. I hope it made at least a little bit of sense. (I’m worried that it was information overload… My fault.)
Read more on HHAW UNCG 2006: Day 2: Speedtalking…