What if everyone in Greensboro read the same book… and then set out to build a stronger community?
One City, One Book
Book discussions, art exhibits, theater, concerts, films and more
Sept 19 – Nov 19, 2010
Sponsored by Friends of the Greensboro Public Library
2010 Selection: “The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music,” by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez
Read more on One City, One Book 2010: Greensboro reads The Soloist…
Homeless children living in motels is not a new phenomenon, but it was news to some High Point teachers:
“Groups of teachers from Oak Hill Elementary went door-to-door in their students’ neighborhoods to meet parents and remind them that Wednesday is the first day of class at their school.
Read more on Teachers surprised by homeless children…
The City of Greensboro began the Rental Unit Certificate of Occupancy (RUCO) program in 2003. Landlords are required to receive a certificate — verifying that there are no code violations — for every rental unit.
Read more on RUCO: Power vs. poverty?…
Bad news for North Carolina’s oldest and largest private, non-profit mental health advocacy organization:
“…[T]he financially troubled Mental Health Association of North Carolina is one of the state’s largest private providers of group homes and treatment programs.
Read more on Mental Health Association of North Carolina loses accreditation…
A social experiment with food…
image credit: Samantha Celera
“As the first crowd of customers filed into Panera’s nonprofit restaurant… only the honor system kept them from taking all the food they wanted for free.
Read more on Panera Cares: Eat what you want, pay what you can…
The headline caught me by surprise: “Substance abuse treatment center penalized after patient’s death.”
Bridgeway; photo credit: chosenfast.com
“The Guilford Center has been issued two administrative penalties for violating state statutes regarding medication requirements and clinical and nursing competence following the death of a patient in January, a county agency said today…”
First of all: Someone died at Bridgeway in January? Was that in the news? (Was it someone I knew?) How did I miss that? I just Googled. Maybe I didn’t miss it. I can’t find news reports from January.
Read more on Death at treatment center impacts recovery options for county’s homeless residents…
Homeless people in Greensboro get their health care in the emergency rooms of our local hospitals and at the two HealthServe clinics, whose burgeoning patient loads have forced them to limit access to care. HealthServe is obviously more cost-effective than an ER visit, but Guilford County Commissioners plan a $1.6 million cut to health care that will affect HealthServe and other programs that serve the poor and homeless, further burdening an already overwhelmed system and hurting our community’s most vulnerable residents.
Read more on County’s planned health care cut will compound the suffering of the homeless and poor…
Totals for the 2010 Guilford County homeless count (part of the annual, nationwide HUD count) were reported to the state and available on the web as of March 12th, as reported here at ChosenFast.com. Those numbers were officially released to the media today:
Read more on Local homeless count numbers officially released: “Homelessness on rise”…
Leonard Pitts, Jr.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness …” — Matthew 5:6
Ultimately, I suppose, what we’re talking about is a clash between the sweet by and by and the fierce urgency of now.
Read more on Leonard Pitts Jr.: The Gospel according to Glenn Beck…
A News & Record article about homeless camps in the path of the Downtown Greenway elicited the usual negative comments about homeless people. One of those who responded with truth (and grace) was a friend of mine, who’s been homeless in the past. The only experts on homelessness are people who’ve been homeless. His comment was worth blogging:
Read more on Expert: Homelessness not a choice; your response is…
image credit: News-Record.com/Nelson Kepley
In the city’s path
Saturday, March 6, 2010
By Lorraine AhearnGREENSBORO – Two paths converged in a not-so-distant wood this week: the $26 million Downtown Greenway, and a longtime homeless “tent city” in its way.
Read more on “In the city’s path” — Homeless move for Greenway…
Susanna Birdsong of the NC Coalition to End Homelessness, in the Catawba Valley Citizen:
“The amount of federal dollars allocated to homelessness every year is based in part on U.S. Census data, and people who experience homelessness have historically been grossly underrepresented in the Census. They don’t have mailing addresses. They are misinformed about eligibility. They don’t get counted, and so perpetuate the current underfunding of solutions. Census data informs over $400 Billion in spending on things like schools, job training and housing every year.
Read more on Accurate US Census count will help NC homeless…
