Hobo's List

Announcing: the Single Step Project to End Homelessness.

2014-11-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

In my previous blog article, I sketched the outline for the Single Step Project, now I would like to share with you how this will work.

On January 1, 2015 I will begin walking daily to raise funds and awareness for homelessness. The first walks will primarily take place in my hometown, but they will be carefully mapped, documented and blogged. Over the course of 2015, I will complete a minimum of 1,000 miles, partially at home, but partially at various events to bring awareness to the cause.

100% of what is pledged through the online fundraising will be sent to various organizations that serve the homeless. The only monies I will receive will be appearance and speaking fees, and I will only accept what is needed to cover travel expenses.

It will work similar to the old "walkathons" I remember from my youth. Supporters will pledge an amount per mile and this will be the primary funding source. Because it is a 1,000 mile trip, remember a pledge of 1 cent per mile is a $10 pledge.

Although I will be walking beyond 1,000 miles, the 1,000 mile barrier is symbolic, and I am only asking for pledge support for the first 1,000 miles, although I welcome additional support.
All pledges will be recognized on the Facebook page and, ultimately, the website. In addition, I am providing an extra incentive for those who are able to contribute more. I am acquiring a shopping cart that I will be pushing at various events, and I will hang signs with the names of all sponsors who can contribute 25 cents per mile ($250) or more.

I will publicize my walks at various events and encourage you to join me in this adventure. This will be a challenging, yet exciting journey and I look forward to sharing it with you.

A Single Step to Eliminate Homelessness in 2015

2014-10-28T20:00:00.001-07:00

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...

For the last few weeks, I have been walking to get back in shape. Looking at my walking schedule, it occurred to me that, with consistency and determination, I can walk 1000 miles in a year.

And so I am deciding to make it count.

As of January 1, I will begin walking to a goal of 1,000 miles for 2015, and I'm asking my readers to help make it count to help end homelessness. I will launch a crowdsourced campaign where you can pledge to the campaign by the mile (a penny per mile is a $10 commitment). If I come short of the goal, I will refund the money, but this is something I can do.

All monies raised through the crowdsourced campaign will be donated directly to charities that serve the homeless population. In addition, I will be available for speaking engagements and appearances (such as 5k run/walk events), and will donate anything in excess of travel and lodging expense to the charities. I am looking for corporate sponsors as well as individual sponsors, so if you have any connections with corporations that might be interested in the project, feel free to send me the info.

The plans I have for the event are rather elaborate, but I would prefer to unveil them closer to the launch. Stay tuned; in the coming weeks I will launch a Facebook page, and will start unveiling the project over the next few weeks.

What you can do:

1. Share this and other links to promote the project.

2. Consider inviting me to speak in your community on the issue of homelessness for love offerings.

3. Walk with me during parts of my journey. I will keep a detailed journal of events so that supporters can walk alongside.

4. Speak with your representatives about the urgent need to change our approach to the homeless and abolish laws meant to criminalize homelessness (such as bans on sleeping in public and prohibiting charitable organizations from feeding the homeless).

Thank you in advance for your support. With your help, we will make a difference.

So Many Great Organizations, So Little Time

2014-08-02T10:36:00.001-07:00

As we are beginning the push to fund Hobo's List, let me say without reservation that I know you have a lot of great and worthy organizations competing for contributions. I understand that, and it's a big part of the reason that I want to get Hobo's List up to full speed.

Once we are fully funded, it will enable us to feature various charities, to help you to understand what they are doing, as well as to steer needy individuals to their resources. The website redesign will include features on some of the various charities.

Through the time I have researched for Hobo's List, I have been overwhelmed by just how widespread the support network truly is. But a lot of these resources go unused because people do not know about them. Recently, for instance, I drove a hitchhiker to a medium sized community, where we drove around and looked to find a shelter for him for the night. There was none listed on the Internet, or in the resources we were able to find, but in the morning, he found that there was indeed a shelter. It would have served both him and the community better if we had that information at our fingertips the night before.

Once the startup funding has been obtained, it will be my final crowdfunding campaign for Hobo's List. We have a plan going forward to keep the ball rolling through merchandise sales and contributions, a little bit at a time. But first, we need to get to the point where full time attention can be devoted to that cause.

I really don't like fundraising a great deal, but this is a very important project to me, and I'm coming to grips with the reality that the only way it can survive is if I can get the word out to more people. There is, I believe, a great deal of organic support for what is being done; what I need to do is go out and find it.

And so I ask you to share this to everyone you know. Ask me questions. Make suggestions. At this point, I am very open to new ideas about how to help people understand what it is that I am doing and while it is so important. In the meantime, look at the website we have in place. The forums link is broken, but that is something we hope to fix. Download the pdf's on the site and look at the resources we have available. Our goal is to complete the resource gathering, and have resources available in all 50 states. But we do need help to continue.

Our fundraising site can be found at: http://www.gofundme.com/Hobos-List. The goal of $25,000 may seem ambitious, but the startup cost includes hiring out marketing and web development so that I can personally concentrate on resource gathering and research to create a more complete catalog. I ask you to share as you are able, and could use some suggestions for incentives that might drive donations more reliably.

If someone can crowdsource money to make potato salad, I'm sure I can crowdsource this!

Hobo's List Launch and Awareness Campaign

2014-07-31T15:37:00.002-07:00

We've been dormant for awhile, and wish to express our apologies. But the good news is, that is about to change in a big way!

As we celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Hobo's List, we've realized the need to make a few changes. Traditionally, we've been a one person shop, attempting to do the web development and marketing campaign in a part time capacity, while trying to juggle all of that with a career. As much as we hate the appeal for funding, we have realized it a necessary evil to exist in our society.

To that end, we are retooling our GoFundMe campaign to be the launch and awareness campaign. The five year goal includes:

Development of a searchable database that can be integrated with the website
App development to search for resources in your community from your mobile device
Multilingual support
Vehicles and resources to assist in travel and research.

I realize there are many worthy projects that solicit your time and attention, but ask that you consider us in your giving. It's also important to note that many of our resources are nonprofit organizations, and may have resources available for immigrants and refugees, in addition to the homeless and poor population.

To contribute to the launch and awareness campaigns, please go to our GoFundMe campaign page

We Don't Really LOVE the Homeless!

2014-06-27T11:29:00.002-07:00

Don't believe me?

OK, I get that. That's a very strong statement, a bold one, and, I am sure, offensive to many Christians who sincerely strive to be everything that God wants them to be. And so I get why some would be angry. But hear me out.

Try this sometime: go to a megachurch and watch the various people who come in the door. Not just any megachurch; go to one with a strong outreach to the impoverished.

You will first notice school cafeteria rules apply: the clicques form almost instantly. If someone is new to the church, curiousity usually encourages regulars to get to know them, but once the "new" wears off, they each settle into their own cliques. You simply don't find the families of factory workers sitting side by side with the families of bankers.

But when someone who is homeless, or appears so, walks in, the difference becomes outright disturbing. The regular begins to talk above the homeless person, and immediately goes into "fix it" mode. This is well intentioned, but the message is clear: while we love you "as you are", we don't mean "as you are"; we mean "on the road to where we intend you to be". Not just the homeless get this, but sometimes people on the working class side of things get it as well.

The result is catastrophic for a lot of struggling families: buying into the lie that where they are is simply not acceptable, they indenture themselves, they go into deep debt, they do everything they can to be like "those" people; the ones in the front row, the ones with the pastor's favor and encouragement. And the homeless who are satisfied with where they are slink off, wondering what happened to the love and compassion of Christianity they've heard so much about.

I've seen it happen a lot of times. In conservative circles, "suggestions" are often made to families who are living hand to mouth. I put it in quotes because I have seen firsthand what happens when these "suggestions" are not followed. For two years, I was a news carrier as my primary occupation. The reason was simple: I generally netted $15-20 an hour for halftime work; a very good wage in a town where they were few and far between. And yet, I was constantly harassed by police officers, by well meaning people in the community who would constantly ask how I could live off of what I did, as if that was frankly any of their business.

I'm not saying there not exceptions among the people in the congregations. There are; I have seen them. But I will say the exceptions are generally atypical, and in some cases, discouraged by their home fellowships.

True love is not guided by a sense of "fixing" someone. In my case, I have long hair. That is an obstacle for some., But it's not something I am going to change just because it makes YOU uncomfortable. If it ever makes ME uncomfortable, off it goes. But as for you, well, I've found that not being dressed to the nines and wearing my hair long is a real good way to find pout who is friend and who is fake.

True love, Christian love, is guided by a sense of fellowship. A sense of genuine caring. In the case of the poor and homeless, your priorities are not their priorities. You may worry why their kids don't have socks, while they are worried about replacing the bald tires on their only form of transportation. You may question why they are unkempt, while they are simply trying to find a safe place to sleep for the night.

So if we want to change the situation for the homeless, we must first change it for ourselves. They're not an audience for the rock band that we call a "worship team"; they're not an outlet for our outdated cans of hominy and beets, and they're not a tool to make us feel good when we go to church the next Sunday. Unless they are first and foremost our friends and neighbors, then, brothers and sisters, we are doing it wrong.

"But They'll Only Spend it on Drugs!"

2014-06-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I'm going to step on a few toes here. But I'm getting surprisingly good at that and may need to add that to the existing skillsets on my resume!

I read with interest an article on a Chinese tycoon that took out a newspaper ad offering a free meal and $300 for New York's homeless. He came through on the meal, but the promised money never went to the homeless directly. Instead, it went straight to the New York Rescue Mission.

Now, to be completely fair to the tycoon, he did actually make good on his promise; the money that he contributed to the rescue mission exceeded the amount he would have paid out per head directly. And yes, it still was a remarkably cool gesture on his part.

But he fell victim to a well travelled and common lie, one that gets under my skin with every telling. The lie is that the poor are irresponsible; that the money you give them will only go to drugs and alcohol. More often, it goes to diapers, gas, or the heating bill, but the lie that the poor will abuse our good faith is one that started, I believe, to keep people comfortable in their greed.

Nobody argues to slash the salary of a rich man, justifying it by saying "oh, he'll only spend it on caviar". Nobody looks down on the middle class, saying "they'll only spend it on Call of Duty". It is only the poor who can expect to have every purchase scrutinized, every financial decision judged by those who deem themselves their societal "betters".

And while I don't appreciate folks who claim to speak for Jesus, and would not presume to do so, I can say with reasonable certainty that He would probably not be too keen on those who judge the poor unworthy of their assistance because of stereotypes.

What someone who has never been poor fails to understand is there are some times when cash is the only answer. When you have to drive 60 miles to get to a job site, surprisingly, tracts aren't going to get there (and will probably clog your fuel line!). That 40 year old can of beets from the back of your pantry produces a surprisingly small amount of heat energy to stave off the cold of a winter's night. And the 1970's Nehru jacket that you donated to Goodwill cannot be exchanged at the local pharmacy for the badly needed prescription.

I'm not saying to throw all caution to the wind, and certainly good judgement is not out of place. But, please, examine your hearts, and ask whether your failure to give is driven by compassion for that poor man down the streets or rather by the impending cancellation of your Netflix subscription.

The sobering reality in giving is that we ALL can do more. I'm not putting myself above ANYONE in this discussion. But the only way we WILL do more is to be honest with ourselves and stop peddling the lies that keep us from doing so.

Lessons from the Road

2014-06-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons Hobo's List has been dormant is that ever present reality in our society: lack of money. I simply haven't been making it in any real sense.

And so I have hit the road to find work, a modern day Okie, feeling much like a migrant worker, except the work I do is in Information Technology. You can follow my blog, "High Tech Migrant" to keep up with my progress in this regard.

Although I am still decidedly a greenhorn, living on the road has been an educational experience, and I have to say that I am discovering a side of society we don't often discuss. Thankfully, the research I have done on this site has armed me with a large cache of resources, and I haven't had to become a mendicant, depending solely on the kindness of strangers. As well, I have the fortunate resource of our family 15 passenger van, which is being made into a part time RV.

As I look on the modern day Hoovervilles that spring up in WalMart parking lots, I am decidedly grateful for what I have. I am hoping that once I am established, I can help others on the road to network more efficiently, share resources, and possibly even build a rudimentary transit network to both help others on the road and help bring in a little gas money.

When I started on the road, I had the illusion of simply pulling in and doing a cleanup and quick change in the WalMart bathroom. That's easier said than done; unless you go in at 2AM, you have to handle the constant ingress and egress of WalMart patrons, and you usually should cleanup first and change when you're back in your vehicle, as carrying items in and out of WalMart triggers security, and since you're camped in the parking lot, you definitely want that. In fact, my cardinal rules for WalMart camping at the moment are:

Spend money there. Like a lot of you, I tend to have very mixed feelings on WalMart. I am grateful that so many open their parking lots to people who need a place to overnight. You don't have to spend much, but please, be a good guest. It's best for everyone.
Be inconspicuous: Like most aspects of homelessness (even temporary homelessness, such as migrant work), it's best to be invisible. Bringing an armful of clothes into the store will not endear you to the staff.
Go into the store as little as possible: part of the above rule, you want to be seen in the store, but not TOO much. Too much time inside will trigger security. On a recent road trip, I dealt with the reality of being underprepared for freezing temperatures, and needed regular trips inside to warm up. I was able to breakaway to a friend's house for a night to take the heat off, but you could see that management was getting VERY irritated as the night wore on, although they didn't directly confront me. Which brings me to my next point:
Be aware of the conditions. Know the weather forecast. Use the library if you have to, just know the weather and prepare for it. In my case, my saving grace was two fleeces that had not gotten pulled out of the van the past winter when I purchased a supply for the homeless. I definitely stupidly put myself in a dangerous position, something I don't intend to repeat.

Good general rules for being a rubber tramp are to carry water both for drinking and hygiene (again, I have mixed feelings about plastic, but am saving gallon jugs for hygiene and water bottles for drinking. An efficient sponge bath can be had with fewer than five gallons).

I'm still learning how to find places to inconspicuously bathe, but am thinking of trying both a freshwater and greywater bucket on the road so that I can do so in the privacy of my own van.

Big News Preparing for Relaunch

2014-06-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

For those who have followed this blog and the website, I apologize for things being a mess for awhile. I am working by myself to provide resources, and it has been an uphill battle, especially as I have been employed full time during a good chunk of time I have run Hobo's List.

But exciting things are afoot! My job is taking me on the road with greater regularity, and over the next few weeks I will have the opportunity to do valuable field research to make the site more informative. Meanwhile, I will work on a dedicated email link so that you can submit information as you gather it. Hobo's List has the potential to be a great resource for a number of folks!

If you have ideas on how we can fund the website to speed up the process, please submit them to handofjustice42@hotmail.com. I get a lot of spam, so something on the order of "Hobo's List" in the subject line will make it more likely that I see your email. Meanwhile, the plan is to have the forum up before summer's out. I'm going to have some excellent new information to share! Stay tuned!

The Food Stamp Challenge: Social Awareness, or Feel Good Vanity Project?

2013-09-26T08:20:00.002-07:00

Recently, a family in South Africa moved into the slums where their housekeeper lives, to get a better sense of understanding of how the poorer members of their community survived. It met with a variety of responses from advocates for the poor ranging from appreciation for their actions to criticism and a feeling they were exploiting the very group they were trying to help. The ongoing SNAP challenge, which has seen celebrities and high profile politicians attempt to live on a $4.50 a day food budget, has faced a similar response.

I traditionally have mixed feelings on this as well. But then, recently, the game changer came in when Panera CEO Ron Schaich took the challenge. His experiences are documented here.

Schaich asks the hard questions, as one of the members of society who has "made it". While he seemingly has long held these values, the stark reality of just how meager $4.50 a day is appears to have made him more determined to work to fight hunger. As he states in the article:

Throughout my SNAP Challenge, I kept returning to the same questions: What kind of society do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country that turns a cold shoulder to the problem of hunger, or one in which we work together to face it head on?

It's easy to criticize; far harder to find solutions. While I have no doubt there are some self serving celebrities taking the challenge, I also have a fervent belief they will reap what they so. The goal of most progressives is not to impoverish the wealthy, not to redistribute the wealth, but to make the wealthy more aware of their social responsibility and the power their wealth gives them to be game changers against social inequities like illiteracy, hunger, and housing.

In other words, our struggle is not against your desire to live in opulence; our struggle is against the reality of the poor living hopelessly and in desolation. And if the SNAP challenge encourages more of those wealthy to become socially aware and work to be game changers, I'm all for it!

Hobo's List Update

2013-01-19T13:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't realize just how long it had been since I posted here until I was looking at this blog in the interest of submitting it for a project. It's been, put simply, too long.

I'm hoping to work on revamping things moving forward, and making changes so that I can begin working towards the next level. But to do that, I will need help.

From the beginning, it's been just me. And since I began this project, we have moved, changed jobs, set up a new house (and lived two months out of a hotel in the transition process)...all to create a better life for the family. And it's been beneficial, and it's been worth it. But it has also led to neglecting a lot of important things.

If you're interested in this project, in growing it and moving forward, please email me at: handofjustice42@hotmail.com , and I would be happy to have the help. I have some great ideas moving forward, but could use help in bringing it all together.

God bless, and have a terrific year!

Opportunities to Serve | Amarillo Globe-News

2011-12-30T17:35:00.000-08:00

Opportunities to Serve | Amarillo Globe-News

Occu-Pie for Peace Part 2

2011-12-26T07:23:00.001-08:00

After a successful Saturday, we returned Sunday morning. A few Facebook friends had alerted me to the presence of snow (there was only a dusting where I live), and the drive out saw me routed around a rather nasty accident involving a semi and an SUV, but there was less than an inch by the time I got to Amarillo.

As we set up, though, the snow started falling. And falling. It would fall for seven straight hours, approaching whiteout conditions. But we had said we would be there, and we were.

Sunday's turnout was lighter than Saturday's (we served about six people in all), in all likelihood because of the weather. But we were encouraged by the fact that the people who came mentioned the news story. We had a visit from a Colombian sculptor who spoke halting English, and fortunately had the assistance of Daniel Ramos for translation.

As the day grew on, I was thankful to God for the weather. Shelter is one thing many of us take for granted, and spending 8 straight hours in the open wind and snow was a greater Christmas gift than I could have imagined. The zipper on my coat busted early on, so I was unable to close it against the cold, but we had FEMA blankets that had been donated to OA to help keep us warm. I was very grateful for those blankets.

We didn't see a police officer. At one point, we did see two cars parked by the Civic Center and one across the street at the Globe News Center, so I suspect there was some video footage shot. Cars drove by and occasionally honked there support, but for the most part, our interaction was limited to each other and the people who came by.

It did get amusing to watch the reaction of some of the drivers, though. Some switched lanes as they passed us, apparently afraid we carried some kind of "commie cooties" or something.

As the day dragged on, it got colder. My feet were wet, and at one point I was a bit concerned about the numbness, but between the van's heater and rubbing my feet, I was able to restore feeling. I sat in the van for a bit as a precaution, but again it bears noting that many of the people we are trying to help don't even have that as an option. Small wonder that many who are left with no home find a short term hail stay to be a preferable alternative.

One gentleman who came at the end of both days said he had been arrested for public intoxication 57 times.

As the day drew near to a close, I noticed that our last customer had no gloves. I gave him mine. I'll get new ones.

All in all, it was a beautiful weekend and a very good learning experience. I am blessed to have a family that understands that holidays can be celebrated on different days if need be (we celebrated on the 23rd), but that need has no days off.

Occu-Pie for Peace Update -- Part 1

2011-12-26T05:01:00.000-08:00

Well, this holiday weekend was a blessed one. Hobo's List participated in "Occu-Pie for Peace", an action designed to challenge the Amarillo city ordinance that forbids public feeding of groups without a permit.

We believe the law to be unjust and unConstitutional, as it infringes on our free exercise of religion. We are asking that the Amarillo ordinance be no less restrictive than the Texas state ordinance, which allows exemption for nonprofit organizations.

We were not sure what to expect when we set up in front of City Hall Saturday. It was a reasonably pleasant day, and se set up with shepherd's pie, beans, and cornbread. We also had water.

Joseph Hayes, Rusty Tomlinson and I set up on Saturday. Joseph's wife did the cooking, and a couple of the holdovers from the Occupy Amarillo encampment did the laborious job of peeling a mountain of potatoes. We had asked local grocers to contribute to the cause, and were pleased that United Food Stores offered a $100 gift card to help out.

Saturday was pretty uneventful. We did get local news coverage from channels 7 and 10. Joseph spoke to channel 10 and I spoke with channel 7.

The channel 7 news story can be found here: Occupy Amarillo speaks, acts out against Public Health Article I: Despite the lack of a permit, Occupy Amarillo served prepared food to the homeless on Christmas Eve.

The Channel 10 video is below:

I left about 3 PM Saturday for other engagements, but we served abut 12 people.

In Part 2, I will cover Sunday's feeding.

#Occupieforpeace

2011-12-24T16:42:00.001-08:00

We had good media response today, didn't feed a lot but we are hopeful to have more tomorrow:

How Twitter Taught This Cynic a Thing or Two

2011-12-23T20:12:00.001-08:00

This past summer, I sat around a table visiting with friends from high school. I made the offhand comment that I was becoming a cynic, and they chuckled. The general consensus was that I had pretty much always been a cynic, I was just no longer in denial.

I can't say that has changed completely, but I have to say I have a different perspective. The Occupy mvement has had a lot to do with it; as the movement has gone forward, a lot of activists have gotten together to work on addressing a lot of their social concerns directly. Many of the laws broken in the various Occupy camps were laws specifically written to punish the homeless. And with Christmas coming on, a lot of the resources donated to the movement are being used to help the homeless in the communities.

But more to the point, I have connected with the Twitter feeds of various groups to help the homeless, and I am overwhelmed by what I am seeing. Twitter is causing a greater connectedness between groups, and giving supporters a firsthand look at what is going on. Not only that, but news articles are tweeted, giving even more information and opportunity to get involved.

I imagine I will always be a cynic. But Twitter has done a good job helping to connect me with a larger community, of people who DO care, who are actively trying to make a difference in the world around them.

And while that's not the best gift anyone could give, it certainly ranks up there.

No Place Like Home(less) for the Holidays

2011-12-16T15:01:00.000-08:00

"...there's a world outside your window and it's a world of dreaded fear"

Do They Know It's Christmas, Band-Aid

The economy has wreaked a heavy toll on Americans this year, a toll we should soberly consider as we set about our holiday preparations. A survey of 29 cities shows that in 86% of the surveyed cities (25), requests for emergency food had increased; only two cities reported a decrease.

51% of those requesting help were families. 11% were homeless.

In 23 of the cities, pantries had to decrease the amount of food available to families. 19 cities had to reduce the number of times recipients could use their services.

Homelessness increased 6% among surveyed cities. Among families, homelessness increased 16%.

This Christmas, be thankful for what you have. And if you can, consider donating to your local food bank or shelter.

You can read the entire survey here:

Occu-Pie for Peace

2011-12-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

Tim Justice 806-662-5366
Rusty Tomlinson 765-722-1113
HfTomlinson@riseup.net

For Immediate Release: 12/13/2011

Who: Occupy Amarillo

What: “Occu-Pie for Peace” We will be serving vegetarian Sheppard's Pie to the needy and homeless.

Where: City Hall Plaza 7th & Buchannan

When: Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 11AM-7PM

Why: To feed the poor in the spirit of Christmas and to challenge city ordinance Public Health Article I. Sec. 8-5-1

Any questions?

2011-11-23T09:43:00.001-08:00

Engaging in Civil Disobedience

2011-11-23T09:42:00.001-08:00

If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.

~Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobediance, 1849

In an earlier post, We at Hobo's List expressed our support for the Occupy movement. Our commitment to the movement remains strong. As we have discussed actions moving forward, one of the telling results of the Occupy movement is that it has brought to light the criminalization of homelessness in our society. Indeed, it would be fair to ask why a pepper spraying police officer is considered a patriot while a homeless individual sleeping on the park bench is considered a criminal.

It is our contention that these laws are unjust, and we will be engaging in a series of actions of civil disobedience in coordination with the 2012 "unCampaign". We are working with Occupy Amarillo and Food not bombs in our first action, which will be to feed the homeless without obtaining the required permits, as we believe permits should not be necesary to feed the poor. We will keep you updated as events progress.

The Story the Homeless Studies Don't Tell

2011-11-22T13:16:00.001-08:00

Over the years, I've frequently heard the term "there but for the grace of God go I" tossed about. It's become a rather pithy saying.

But in my case, it's true.

One of the reasons I have a passion and a desire to work with the homeless is because I honestly understand some of the problems facing them. Not al of them, mind you (nobody can truly know everyone's story), but enough to know the stories the homeless studies aren't telling.

It's easy to comprehend mental illness when we see someone talking to themselves or shouting at some imaginary enemy. It becomes a bit more problematic when te disabilities you can't see crop up. For instance, when days of interacting with people overloads you so much that your chest tightens and simply walking out of the house produces a sense of anxiety. When the bills pile up and a manageable situation suddenly becomes unmanageable because you shut off all communication with the outside world for weeks at a time. In those moments, it's easy to place blame, easier still to judge, if you are standing outside.

And it is in those moments that those who suffer these moments of anxiety are forced into a fight-or-flight state that often leaves them homeless and jobless, with references that will not help them in finding future employment.

Finding competent help in those situations is not easy. Many insurance plans do not cover mental health treatment, and many individuals are a good distance from treatment. And in my 23 years as a Christian, I have found only a handful of pastors who were even willing to invest the time and effort in understanding and helping their congregants through these difficult times. They're far more concerned with the latest church building project, or, worse, with feeding the homeless, while sadly neglecting their souls.

How do I know this? Because I've lived it. When I graduated high school, I ran as far and as fast as I could from my hometown. I have a lousy credit rating from bills that remain unmanaged not because I can't manage them, but because panic takes over. I've walked a long and rather crooked trail because I simply couldn't bring myself to manage in the face of adversity.

And worst of all, when you seek any kind of assistance, you are quickly surrounded by naysayers who feel it is their right to condemn you to a second class status. When they see a food stamp card come out of your wallet, they're quick to scrutinize your purchase. Lest you think this is just paranoia, think of every "welfare cadillac" story you have ever heard. The fact that they can give you such a detailed list of what tese food stamp recipients are buying is ample evidence that they are closely scrutinizing the purchases. And when you pull out a medical assistance card, you are similarly scrutinized.

The problem is, the Bible does not give us latitude to judge. We're called to minister to the poor and the needy, not to question how they got there. And to call assisting the homeless "enabling" them is to treat them in a way that is not at all Christlike.

So the next time you see a homeless person on the street, don't just THINK "there but for the grace of God go I". Realize that only a small set of circumstances beyond your control makes the difference between where you are and walking in their shoes.

The Meanest Cities to the Homeless in the US

2011-11-21T17:48:00.001-08:00

This is some information I want you to have. But I do not want to steal the magnificent thunder of the National Coalition for the Homeless. The following is a list of the top 5 "meanest cities in the US" for the homeless. The NCH article has the top twenty, so for more information, you can read the whole article here:

Narratives of the Meanest Cities

#1 Sarasota, FL

In February 2005, the City Commission unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting “lodging out of doors.” The previous “no-camping” rule was ruled unconstitutional by a state court last year because it was too vague and punished innocent conduct. The new rule prohibited using any public or private property for “lodging” outdoors without permission from the property owner. While not completely mitigating the negative impact of the law, the city took a more positive approach to the issue in this law by including a requirement that police officers, once a year, offer people who violate the law a ride to the shelter, instead of jail. The commissioners said that the ordinance would protect public safety and property while helping homeless people find shelter. Although the city was confident that this ordinance would stand up in court, critics said that it was still too vague. It was not clear how many “lodging” activities, such as making a fire, laying down blankets or a sleeping bag, and putting up a tent, would have to be happening in order for a person to be arrested. Moreover, the police were not required to give a person a ride to the shelter if the person was intoxicated, using drugs, or did not have proper identification.

Like its predecessor, this ordinance was short-lived. In June 2005, a state court found the “no lodging law” unconstitutional. County Judge David L. Denkin said the ordinance gave police officers too much discretion in deciding who is a threat to public health and safety, and who is just taking a nap on the beach. The judge, however, recognized the “good intention” of the city commissioners. The city claims it is important to the city’s residents. City commissioners have long insisted that the ordinances are about protecting people, but the ordinance has been used to arrest homeless persons. Assistant Public Defender Chris Cosden believes the city should give up: “The city has tried twice, and failed twice [with its ordinances]. The city has to step back and realize there are some things you just can’t do.” On a positive note, Fredd Atkins, a Sarasota City Commissioner, agreed that the city has “spent enough money trying to do the wrong thing right,” suggesting the money be committed to solving the root causes of homelessness.

Nonetheless, in August 2005, the city commissioners passed yet another ordinance, strangely similar to the previous two that were ruled unconstitutional. The new ordinance makes it a crime to sleep without permission on city or private property, either in a tent or makeshift shelter, or while “atop or covered by materials.” The city commissioners invented a list of criteria to determine if a person violates the new law. One or more of the following five features must be observed in order to make an arrest: “numerous items of personal belongings are present; the person is engaged in cooking activities, the person has built or is maintaining a fire, the person has engaged in digging or earth-breaking activities, or the person is asleep and when awakened states that he or she has no other place to live.”

Advocates are shocked that the ordinance actually includes being homeless, or having “no other place to live” as itself a criterion for arrest. Advocates argue that this ordinance, like its predecessors, targets homeless people.

The new law has been challenged in state court by defendants who were charged under the law. The court upheld the law, finding it constitutional.

#2 Lawrence, KS

Downtown street merchants complained to city officials in December 2004 that homeless people were intimidating customers with “aggressive panhandling,” and that groups of people regularly spent the night camping on the rooftops of their businesses. Downtown Lawrence, Inc. members gave city officials copies of many ordinances used in other communities against homeless people to encourage similar measures in Lawrence. Some of the proposed ordinances make sitting on the sidewalk from 7 A.M. to 9 P.M., and closely following someone to solicit money illegal. In addition to these suggested ordinances, a few businesses proposed cutting social services, arguing “We didn’t have this problem until we had a handout on every corner.” Shelters were viewed as hurting downtown Lawrence’s image rather than providing invaluable and scarce services to homeless people. Loring Henderson, Open Shelter’s director, disagrees, stating that “it doesn’t seem logical to me that when you have a place where there are 21 people who have a place to stay for the night, rather than being on the streets, that you’re contributing to the problem.”

According to Phil Hemphill, a downtown business owner who addressed a meeting of the City Task Force on Homeless Services, efforts to help homeless people are useless without sanctions imposed on the ill-behaved individuals among them. He described how he regularly saw homeless men and women urinate, defecate, and fornicate in public. Hemphill said it was wrong to expect the public and private sectors to finance services for homeless people when such behavior is tolerated. Hemphill later complained that the Task Force balked at imposing sanctions on trespassing, panhandling, and public drunkenness. Several Task Force members replied that Hemphill was misinterpreting their deliberations.

At a January 2005 meeting of the Task Force on Homeless Services, downtown business owners proposed that homeless service providers require people who want to use shelters, soup kitchens, and other services to obtain an official identification badge. The badges would require people to go through an application process and a police background check. This would give police and service providers a way to punish people by denying certain services over a specific period of time. Moreover, business owners argued, the badges would help ensure that homeless services are not enabling people to remain homeless.

In July 2005, city commissioners approved three “civility” ordinances, responding to concerns from downtown patrons about aggressive panhandlers. However, in a more positive step, they rejected an anti-camping law in spite of neighbors’ concerns about homeless camps along the Kansas River. Commissioners approved ordinances that would prohibit panhandlers from asking for money in an aggressive way, make it illegal for people to trespass on rooftops, and limit how people could sleep or sit on city sidewalks. Yet, Kalila Dalton, a member of Kansas Mutual Aid, views panhandling as a logical response to a basic need: “If it is cold outside and if you have no warm place, it seems reasonable to build a fire. If you have no money, it seems reasonable to ask someone who appears well off for money.”

The anti-panhandling ordinance will ban aggressive panhandling by prohibiting repeated attempts to solicit money from the same individual, blocking someone’s path or touching them, or soliciting within 20 feet of an automatic teller machine or a bus stop or from anyone in a vehicle. Another of the newly-passed ordinances makes it illegal to lay or sit on a sidewalk in a way that blocks the path of a pedestrian or requires pedestrians to reroute their course, with the exception of protests or other activities protected under the First Amendment. This ordinance was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Mike Rundle and Councilman Highberger opposing. Highberger said he thought the ordinance simply addressed “things that people didn’t want to look at,” rather than genuine public safety concerns. Lastly, the council approved an ordinance that prohibits going onto the rooftop of a building without the permission of the building owner. The passage of this ordinance was motivated by complaints from several downtown merchants that homeless persons camp on their rooftops.

Fortunately, the Commissioners unanimously rejected the bulk of the proposed anti-camping ordinances because they said the city’s current criminal trespass ordinance allowed them to address the issues when problems arose. The main difference between the trespass ordinance and the proposed anti-camping ordinance was that under the trespass ordinance, campers have to first be given a warning to leave before they could be ticketed. However, the Commissioners did agree to approve a portion of the ordinance that would make it illegal for people to camp on private property without the express permission of the property owner.

#3 Little Rock, AR

In March 2005, Saint Francis House, a daytime homeless center, was forced to reduce its hours for the second time in one month due to decreased funding. The cutback in hours came as police began cracking down on “professional” panhandling in the downtown area. An undercover task force arrested 41 people.

The city’s agenda with regard to homeless people has become more aggressive and blatant in the following incidents. The only day shelter, and only place where homeless people could wash their clothes, Saint Francis House, closed in 2005 after a long history of police harassment of homeless people using that facility, as well as a withdrawal of funds for its operation. When asked to comment upon the closing of Saint Francis House, Sharon Priest, a spokesperson for the Downtown Partnership, said that she was "glad" it was gone, but was still not satisfied, because of “that soup kitchen [Stewpot] which is right there.”

Other reports compiled by Hunger-Free Arkansas indicate the criminalization of homeless men and women throughout the city. In a case of illegal search and seizure, a state trooper illegally searched and detained a homeless man, by claiming he suspected the homeless man was dealing drugs. The state trooper arrested the individual, who spent the night in jail and missed work the next day. The homeless man had no record of any drug-related offenses. Upon release from prison, only his driver’s license was returned. He did not receive his wallet or other property before he was told to leave. Due to the arrest, the homeless man was suspended from work for 30 days and taunted by employees for having to spend the night in jail.

In another incident, two homeless men reported officers of the Little Rock Police Department, in separate incidents, had kicked them out of the Little Rock Bus Station. Both men were holding valid tickets and transfers. Despite showing the police their tickets, both men were told that although the buses they were awaiting would arrive within 30 minutes, they could not wait on the premises because they were loitering. The police subsequently evicted the men. In some instances, others have been told that they could not wait at the bus station "because you are homeless."

Over the summer in 2005, a free public event was held at Riverfront Park in Little Rock, at which various businesses and manufacturers of goods (including the Tyson Chicken Company) set up booths and tents to give away free samples of their merchandise to the public. Vendors encouraged homeless persons at the event to take free samples, which many homeless people gratefully did. However, officers of the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department told the homeless individuals, including a handicapped man at a picnic table, that they had to leave the event immediately or be subject to arrest for loitering in a park. Another homeless man was denied entrance by tour operators to the free and public tour of the Old Statehouse Museum.

#4 Atlanta, GA

Amid waves of public protest and testimony opposing the Atlanta City Council’s proposed comprehensive ban on panhandling, the city and mayor passed a bill in August 2005. The ban made panhandling illegal within the “tourist triangle” and anywhere after dark. The ordinance also prohibits panhandling within 15 feet of an ATM, bus stop, taxi stand, pay phone, public toilet, or train station anywhere in the city. Many opponents believe the ban outlaws panhandling virtually everywhere, rendering it unconstitutional. The new ordinance also states that anyone who asks for help, both monetary and non-monetary, can be detained until an outreach worker either evaluates the detainee or refers him/her to social services. State Senator Vincent Fort, said the 12-3 vote “was an unabashed rush for campaign support.”

Two days after the signing, the Atlanta Police Department announced in The Atlanta Journal Constitution that homeless people would be rounded up and identified for entry into the City's new facility called The Gateway, which provides 250 shelter beds and supportive housing. The Gateway, the recipient of $10 million in private and public funds, was developed to provide a constructive solution to coincide with the panhandling ban. Unfortunately, although The Gateway houses homeless people, there is an overall net loss of places to sleep in Atlanta; 125 emergency beds for women and children were closed by the Mayor at the end of May 2005. Up to eighty of those women and children now sit up all night, waiting for shelter at the Task Force for the Homeless.

The business community and the city administration claim that many homeless people are “service-resistant” and should be forced to receive the services they need. However, more than half the current requests for shelter and services in Atlanta go unmet because of insufficient resources. Most shelters and support service agencies report turning away dozens of desperate people daily. In addition, the Mayor's Commission is persuading service agencies to relocate into the Gateway, making formerly independent, voluntary services available only there.

“This ordinance affects a huge population of the poor and homeless who just ask for help to eat everyday. We do not need a blanket law for one person asking another person for help,” said Murphy Davis of the Open Door Community. According to Anita Beaty of the Task Force for the Homeless, “Atlanta planners seem to believe that if you remove people’s housing, eliminate emergency shelter that they will then need, and then make asking for help illegal, their necessary support services available only through an incarceration program, the poor people will go someplace else.”

Jason Gibbes, a resident of the Peachtree-Pine facility, testified before City Council, stating, “I work every day. In two weeks, I will have enough to rent my own apartment, and I have it all picked out. I'm sure not proud of it, but when I first got my job, I begged for MARTA fare to get to work -- a couple of times. If I hadn't been able to ask for help, I wouldn't be working today.” He also reported that the police stopped him and forced him to produce identification while merely walking down the street.

In the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Atlanta has stood firm in its resolve to criminalize panhandlers. James Scott was sleeping in his car with his brother, his sister, and her two young children after seeking refuge in Atlanta. After living in their car for several days, the family panhandled at a mall in the affluent Buckhead neighborhood.

Police arrested Scott for solicitation about a half hour later, even after he showed them his Louisiana driver’s license, car tag, and registration as proof that he was a Katrina evacuee. “It’s the most expensive mall in Atlanta, I thought I could get some help,” Scott said. According to Atlanta Police Department spokesman John Quigley, while soliciting on a public sidewalk is allowed, soliciting in traffic is prohibited. According to Kevin, a homeless man interviewed by the Task Force for the Homeless, “nobody has the right to expect people to help. It’s their money to decide what they want to do with it. I just think I have a right to tell somebody what I need, and let them decide.”

A homeless woman with children was arrested in Atlanta for “impersonating” a Katrina survivor in order to get help for her children. There was an outpouring of emergency assistance from churches that only offered help to hurricne evacuees, thereby creating a desperate competition for much needed shelter.

In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union plans to file a lawsuit against Atlanta once it finds a suitable plaintiff because of the ban’s potential violations of the First Amendment. Gerald Weber, the legal director of the ACLU’s Georgia branch, calls Atlanta’s ordinance “too broad,” likening it to a similar ban in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was ruled unconstitutional in 1999. City Councilman C.T. Martin believes the threat of a potential lawsuit has caused the city to withhold aggressive enforcement of the panhandling ban.

#5 Las Vegas, NV

Although homeless advocates in Las Vegas stated that shelters are overcrowded, city officials have done little to increase resources for individuals experiencing homelessness. Due to a lack of funding, the city’s Crisis Intervention Center was recently closed. Similarly, charitable organizations scrambled – albeit unsuccessfully – to replace the services the Crisis Intervention Center provided.

The police conduct habitual sweeps of encampments, which lead to extended jail time for repeat misdemeanor offenders. Homeless inhabitants of a campsite on Owens Avenue were forced to vacate the area just before Christmas 2004. Las Vegas’s Department of Neighborhood Services gave the order to clear the lot, because the property owner was “in violation of Las Vegas Municipal Code…dealing with nuisances.” Many social service providers were caught off guard by the notice, wishing the city had informed them before the sweep to ensure they could find places for homeless men and women to stay. Former residents of the campsite worried about finding a bed in one of the shelters because most of them are reserved for older men and women.

Despite reports that city, county, and state agencies were working together to provide homeless persons displaced by a January 2005 sweep of a downtown bridge, only 45 people out of 150 residents of the camp were placed in temporary housing. The site was declared a health hazard in August 2005 because people were urinating and defecating in the area around the camp. Bob McKenzie, spokesman for the Department of Transportation, commented, “we need to do whatever we can to help the homeless, but we need to take care of public safety first.” Transportation crews threw away inhabitants’ possessions, including tents, blankets, and family photos.

City officials’ attempt to break up another homeless camp in February 2005 was met with criticism by local homeless advocates, who argued that breaking up the camp would only create another camp elsewhere. They also noted that homeless people need treatment, supportive services, and permanent housing, all of which are not available. Several homeless people were unable to receive help from local agencies, because they were already receiving money from the federal government.

An analysis of Las Vegas police records revealed that arrests for charges such as trespassing, jaywalking, and pedestrians failing to obey traffic signals increased after a recent cleanup of a homeless camp. When homeless people are ejected from the camps, they move to other public places where they interact more with members of the community. The ACLU of Nevada suggested that Las Vegas police went out of their way to cite and arrest homeless people as a part of the sweep. According to Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, “It will take political will to dedicate the resources needed to move this situation in a positive direction. I haven’t seen anything from any jurisdiction to indicate that exists.”

In April 2005, plans to clean up a homeless encampment that had previously been swept at Owens Avenue were postponed due to lack of organization. Officials attempted to avoid criticism by posting signs at the site in both English and Spanish, warning people that the authorities were going to clean the area. The Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition was not informed of the sweep. Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight from the Streets, believes the sweep was “like penalizing the homeless for the shortcomings of the city, county, and state.”

Frank Wright Plaza, a small park across from City Hall, was a favorite daytime spot for homeless people seeking a place to nap. Regular visitors to the park said that it is a safe and comfortable place to recover from a tough night on the streets. However, city officials saw the park as a public nuisance, and have assigned marshals to patrol the area several times daily. In order to keep homeless individuals out of future parks, the city considered privatizing the parks, enabling owners to kick out unwanted people. Mayor Oscar Goodman fervently supported the idea, saying, “I don’t want them there. They’re not going to be there. I’m not going to let it happen. They think I’m mean now; wait until the homeless try to go over there.”

In a more positive step, Metro Police are expected to begin seeking a liaison for homeless people, raising its level of commitment after being criticized for its handling of the homeless situation. The Metro Police have been at the center of the homelessness controversy on many occasions in recent years. In addition to their role in homeless camp sweeps, the Metro Police have faced allegations that officers were targeting homeless people for misdemeanor crimes, such as urinating in public. The new liaison would work with both public and private agencies to help homeless people, and will hopefully prevent future arrests and sweeps.

As part of the 2012 "unCampaign, Hobo's List will be working to decriminalize homelessness. If you live in any of the communities listed here or in the full article, please contact us at handofjustice42@hotmail.com and ask how you can help.

But the problem is not limited to these communities; if you want to know how your community is doing, please contact us and we will give you suggestions on how to get involved.

Hobo's List Endorses Plans to End Homelessness

2011-11-20T19:10:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, Rusty Tomlinson, a fellow activist, made me aware of Dallas' five year plan to end homelessness. I felt that was a good idea and one that Hobo's List will be taking forward to candidates in the unCampaign. We are asking all candidates to decriminalize homelessness, support a comprehensive plan to end homelessness, and support the creation of "free use" zones for activists to create jungle camps for homeless individuals who cannot or will not be served by the shelters.

Here is the list of communities with ten year plans to end homelessness. See if yours is on the list. Lobby candidates to support the plans if they are there; lobby them to create them if not. Homelessness is an issue that can no longer be ignored.

The 2012 Hobo's List "unCampaign"

2011-11-12T08:58:00.001-08:00

Today was the original opening day of the filing window for state candidates for the 2012 ballot. While that date has been changed (to the 28th), we are still using this day to make a major announcement.

In conjunction with the 2012 campaign season, we are announcing the Hobo's List 2012 "unCampaign" to bring attention to the plight of the homeless and the working poor in our communities. As the campaigns progress, we will be contacting and pressing candidates on their issues towards the homeless and working class.

Our slogan for this campaign is "we're not running for anything, we're standing for something". We will be working in conjunction with the Occupy movement, and will not endorse any political candidate, we will simply bring attention and awareness to the issues.

I you would like to contribute to the unCampaign, we have a Paypal link on our main page at www.hoboslist.org. We are hoping to attend the Democrat and Republican conventions and let the candidates know that we are here and we are paying attention to their responsiveness to the issues.

I will be giving further information on how you can help as the unCampaign progresses.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT NOVEMBER 13

2011-11-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Things have been slow lately here and on the site.

But they're about to get busy, and we want to share our plans for the future.

On November 13, we will release an important announcement here and on the site that will detail our plans going forward. If you have "liked" us on Facebook, these plans will be released on the Facebook page as well.

We appreciate your support up to this point, and think you will find our future plans to be quite exciting. So watch this space; it's about to get busier!

The Occupy Movement and the Homeless Community

2011-10-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

As the Occupy movement is growing across America, there has been an interesting link between it and the homeless community. Many Occupiers are sympathetic to the plight of the homeless, and the allure of free food, free clothing, and a sympathetic ear just for marching would have to have appeal for most of this community, a community hard hit by unemployment and the housing and job crisis.

Many Occupy groups have been specifically attempting to reach out to the homeless community, not in hopes of swelling their ranks, but in hopes of continuing to give a voice to the voiceless. The biggest concern, of course, has been the fact that a large percentage of the homeless population suffers from mental illness. Different Occupy groups have had problems with violence from some of the homeless who come for free meals and clothing, and have instituted night watches to help mitigate their problems.

Still, these are problems that any community has, not just a temporary one. As the Occupy movement grows, they are discovering themselves subject to some of the same flaws of society in general. And, in my opinion, understanding the logistics of how to successfully run their own society is helping them to find some of the answers as they formulate plans on how to affect change. To put it simply, the Occupy movement consists largely of experimental communities who are succeeding despite the pressures around them, not because of them.

While there will always be a certain uneasiness between some within the Occupy movement and the homeless community, the homeless community also helps to remind them why they are there. After all, how can they claim to speak for the disenfranchised if they won't even invite them into their camp?