Tag Archives: homelessness

When housing homeless people isn’t enough

Monica Yant Kinney, in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer, shares the story of ‘Mary’ a Pathways to Housing client, and the difficulties she and her neighbors are facing. Many of the chronically homeless have mental illnesses that, like many disabilities, require them … Continue reading

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It’s cold out – what you can do to help homeless in Philadelphia

Write 1.215.232.1984 on a piece of paper and put it in your wallet or purse. If you see a homeless person living on the streets in the cold please call that number. Its Project H.O.M.E.’s Outreach Hotline. If you happen … Continue reading

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Using the Internet and Media to Make a Difference

Being the Difference names Mark Horvath “Person of the Year”. Read the link – be inspired – then find a way to act. No matter how small. A tweet here, a blog post there, actually can push the ball forward. … Continue reading

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Is it more difficult to achieve self-sufficiency and defeat personal homelessness in 2010 than 2000?

In Philadelphia we are doing better at helping the homeless move into permanent housing, but there are signs the past 10 years have decreased opportunity for economic mobility. Economic mobility, according to Wikipedia, is “the ability of an individual or … Continue reading

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Thoughts On Becoming Self-Sufficient and Defeating Personal Homelessness

A friend had recently asked me what it took for me to become self-sufficient and no longer be homeless. Lets define the word ‘homeless’ first. There were times in my life, in the early 90s, when I found myself sleeping … Continue reading

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Economic Crisis related links for October 31st, 2009

LA Independent: A one-man street team: Once one of Hollywood’s homeless, Mark Horvath turns his knack for storytelling into a personalized video chronicle of a national tragedy.: Through his experiences, he has come to realize that the only way to … Continue reading

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NPR: Poverty Rates Highest Since 1997 (and maybe higher than in the last 50 years?)

NPR: Poverty Rates Highest Since 1997: David Johnson, a senior statistician with the Census Bureau, says the increase is clearly linked to jobs. “Children in nonworking families, children in female-headed households, children in families that receive food stamps, their poverty … Continue reading

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Labor Day links

Salon.com: Who are the wealth creators?: Material production is only one of many activities that enrich a society. Public goods like safety and utilities and infrastructure and parks are part of the wealth that we share in common. So are … Continue reading

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“People don’t realize that homeless does not mean bum, addict. Homeless means without a home.”

That’s Aislyn Oliver, who , along with her husband, John Washington, recently talked with Daniel Rubin, and shared their inspirational story with and the Inquirer.

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Tent cities grow and motels rake in cash, while those who already have, get a whole lot more

During one of my bouts not having a place to sleep, I ended up taking residence in a motel. It was a bad financial decision, borne in the circumstances I was in. When your credit gets shaky, its hard to … Continue reading

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