There is an interesting debate unfolding in the pages of The Washington Post. In a July 11th article, Dennis Culhane presented five myths about homelessness:
1) Homelessness is a long-term condition.
2) Most of the homeless population suffer from severe mental illness.
3) Homeless people do not work.
4) Shelters are the most humane solution to homelessness.
5) Poverty is an irreparable problem.
Using original research and statistics from HUD, Culhane confronted these myths, attempted to dispel them, and suggested possible solutions. Of particular interest to our work at the IFC, Culhane suggests that residential programs and low-income housing are more efficient remedies for homelessness than emergency shelters. The article makes no explicit mention of transitional programs (like the one proposed for the new Community House), but it does offer harsh criticisms of emergency shelters, calling them "notoriously overcrowded and often unruly places where people experience the ritualized indignities of destitution: long lines for bedding or a squeeze of toothpaste; public showers; thieves; conflict."
Culhane's article can be viewed on The Washington Post's website at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902357.html.
In response to Culhane, Robert Hauptman (a volunteer at the Shepherd's Table home in Silver Spring, MD) wrote a letter published in the July 18th Post countering Culhane's assessment of emergency shelters and noting that the majority of clients served at Shepherd's Table are homeless on a long-term basis. Hauptman's letter can be viewed at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/17/AR2010071702218.html?referrer=emailarticle. Culhane has not yet responded to Hauptman's letter.
The debate is an interesting one to observe, particularly with the discussions in our own community over the effectiveness of emergency shelters, transitional residential programs, and low-income housing.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
PORCH
Just read an interesting article on PORCH (People Offering Relief for Chapel Hill Carrboro Homes), a local food collection/distribution program that has really taken off this past year. The article also highlights the increase in families needing assistance (a reminder of our difficult economic times) and points to the ever-present need for programs like PORCH and services like those offered by the IFC.
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/07/04/58015/from-porch-to-table.html
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/2010/07/04/58015/from-porch-to-table.html
Friday, June 18, 2010
Sharon Coulter-James voices continued support of IFC efforts
Wednesday's Carrboro Citizen features an op-ed piece by Sharon Coulter-James --chair of the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness-- in support of the IFC Community House relocation. The Partnership's endorsement of the Community House relocation is much appreciated and serves as a wonderful reminder that the work of the IFC truly makes a difference in this community. See the article here.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
United Church passes resolution in favor of Community House
The United Church of Chapel Hill has passed a resolution welcoming Community House as a neighbor. The resolution was passed unanimously at the Congregational Meeting on Sunday, June 6th. See it here.
Ten Year Plan supports IFC
The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness has sent a letter to the Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt and the Town Council expressing its organization's support of the IFC's proposed men's transitional facility on Martin Luther King Blvd. See the full letter here.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Living Creatively on Food Stamps
This article just made its way to my inbox, and Mr. Murrieta’s musings on food stamps and eating on a budget are well worth the read.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2011906512_pacificpfoodhunt30.html
As I read this article, I couldn’t help but think about how hard times can fall on anyone (even those in jobs we would normally think of as luxurious or white collar). With this economy, no job is completely secure, so we need to have that many more safeguards in place for people who experience unexpected job loss and pay reductions.
I was impressed with Mr. Murrieta’s willingness to make the best of his situation and find inventive ways to use the food he was given. One excerpt in particular caused me to snort loudly in the middle of the office when I read it: “Even that mysterious can from the food bank generically stamped ‘Pork with Juices’ promised culinary communion.” I must have bagged half a dozen of those same mysteriously promising cans just yesterday! The “Pork with Juices” (along with several other products) is something which we at the IFC are able to give out to many of our clients through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides a portion of our inventory in the food pantry. TEFAP is a useful resource, but donations from churches and other organizations still provide the bulk of the food distributed by the IFC.
It’s wonderful to read a story about someone who has found ways to survive on food stamps alone (especially someone who now volunteers at a food bank to give back as Mr. Murrieta does!), but there are many more people out there in difficult circumstances who need the assistance of programs like ours. Keep that food coming. Your community needs every can.
Thanks, Peace, and Blessings,
Tom Lewis
IFC Summer Liaison Coordinator
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2011906512_pacificpfoodhunt30.html
As I read this article, I couldn’t help but think about how hard times can fall on anyone (even those in jobs we would normally think of as luxurious or white collar). With this economy, no job is completely secure, so we need to have that many more safeguards in place for people who experience unexpected job loss and pay reductions.
I was impressed with Mr. Murrieta’s willingness to make the best of his situation and find inventive ways to use the food he was given. One excerpt in particular caused me to snort loudly in the middle of the office when I read it: “Even that mysterious can from the food bank generically stamped ‘Pork with Juices’ promised culinary communion.” I must have bagged half a dozen of those same mysteriously promising cans just yesterday! The “Pork with Juices” (along with several other products) is something which we at the IFC are able to give out to many of our clients through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which provides a portion of our inventory in the food pantry. TEFAP is a useful resource, but donations from churches and other organizations still provide the bulk of the food distributed by the IFC.
It’s wonderful to read a story about someone who has found ways to survive on food stamps alone (especially someone who now volunteers at a food bank to give back as Mr. Murrieta does!), but there are many more people out there in difficult circumstances who need the assistance of programs like ours. Keep that food coming. Your community needs every can.
Thanks, Peace, and Blessings,
Tom Lewis
IFC Summer Liaison Coordinator
Friday, May 7, 2010
Lifestyles of the Homeless and Soon to be Famous
It could happen to anyone...
Once-Homeless Famous People:
Actors Michael J. Fox, Danny Bonaduce, Drew Carey, Traci Lords, Jean-Claude Van Damme, comedienne Joan Rivers, folk singer-song writer Woody Guthrie, radio-show host Don Imus, Steven Pressfield, Suze Orman, George Eads, Kelsey Grammer,
Cary Grant, magician Harry Houdini, David Letterman, Sally Jesse Raphael, Debbie Reynolds, Mr. Kentucky Fried Chicken-Harland ‘Colonel’ Sanders, Hillary Swank
Read more here and at http://beckyblanton.com/funny/famous-homeless-people
Steven Pressfield
“It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior’s life.” - Pressfield
Pressfield, a Marine, author and once homeless – living in his Chevy van with his cat, struggled to the top of his field, but is firmly ensconced there after writing “The Gates of War, The War of Art, and The Legend of Bagger Vance, among others. His website, his philosophy and his books are well worth the read, as any military man will tell you. The Gates of War is considered the bible of war for any one entering the military.
Suze Orman.
Suze has been called “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse” by USA Today.
USA Today called Suze Orman “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse.” She’s also a two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times mega bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today. With her own shows on television, radio and the internet, plus regular appearances on Oprah, Orman is undeniably America’s most recognized expert on personal finance.
However, she dropped out of college shortly before graduating. According to her most recent book, “Women & Money,” she borrowed $1,500 from her brother, bought a used Ford Econoline Van, and with the help of a friend converted it for sleeping. Then she and two friends took off to “see America.” Shortly after that they got jobs clearing trees from a field. Suze said she lived in the van for two months before getting her next job – as a waitress at the Buttercup Cafe. Although Orman never uses the word “homeless” to describe her stint in the van, the US Census Department would.
George Eads
Actor; star of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation lived out of his car, in Los Angeles while a struggling actor.
Kelsey Grammer
Emmy Award-winning actor; star of the television series Frasier camped out the back of a theater behind his motorcycle (source: Entertainment Tonight, December 12, 2001, celebrity ‘Rags to Riches’ story segment.)
Cary Grant
Oscar-winning actor slept rough on the streets of Southampton, England during a summer in his youth at the time of World War I. (source: book, Cary Grant: A Biography, by Marc Eliot, 2004, page 31: “Archie then volunteered for summer work as a messenger and gofer on the military docks, often sleeping in alleys at night if he didn’t make enough money to rent a cot in a flophouse.”).
Harry Houdini
Magician, escapologist and actor; Hungarian-born American author slept rough and in temporary shelters; left home at age 12 in search of work and traveled for two years on his own, making his way from Wisconsin to Missouri and settling finally in New York City.
David Letterman
Emmy Award-winning television writer, comedian, author and talk-show host of the television talk-show Late Show with David Letterman spent time living out of his Chevy pickup truck while struggling to establish his career.
George Orwell
His real name was Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), but he’s better known by his pen name George Orwell. Blair/Orwell was an English author. His work is marked by a profound consciousness of social injustice, an intense, revolutionary opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language and a belief in democratic socialism.
Considered “perhaps the 20th century’s best chronicler of English culture,” he wrote works in many different genres including novels, essays, polemic journalism, semi-sociological literary criticism, and poetry. His most famous works are Homage to Catalonia (1938); his personal account of his experiences and observations in the Spanish Civil War, the satirical novel Animal Farm (1945), the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), and his numerous essays. Orwell’s influence on popular and political culture remains apparent, with numerous of his literary concepts, and the term “Orwellian” entering the popular vernacular. The origin of his pseudonymic surname “Orwell” can possibly be derived from the river Orwell which, due to being a massive port and having the largest town near his fathers home in Southwold, was a favoured place of his. He stayed in homeless shelters either to research material for his work or more likely, out of necessity.
Sally Jesse Raphael
It is written in her biography, ‘An Unconventional Success’ that she lived in her car for a time. For a while, her financial situation was so dire that she was on food stamps.
Debbie Reynolds
Wrote about having to literally live in her Cadillac for a while after divorcing Harry Karl.
Harland ‘Colonel’ Sanders
Businessman; founder-spokesperson of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food restaurant chain. Became homeless at age 10 when his mother remarried and he left home due to altercations with his stepfather. As an adult he slept on the back seat of his car because he could not afford lodging as he traveled around the United States and Canada, sometimes with his wife Claudia, trying to sign up restaurants to use his special fried chicken recipe for a franchise licensing fee.
Martin Sheen
Emmy Award-winning actor,director and producer; slept in New York City subway while a young struggling actor. Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez, (born August 3, 1940) better known by his stage name Martin Sheen,[1] is an actor best known for his performances as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and President Josiah Bartlet on the television series The West Wing. As well as the critical acclaim he has received as an actor, he has become known as an activist. Born and raised in Ohio, United States, with Irish and Spanish parents, Sheen is also an Irish citizen.
He is the father of actors Carlos Irwin Estévez (Charlie Sheen), Emilio Estévez, Ramón Estévez and Renée Estévez, and is brother of the actor Joe Estevez.
Hillary Swank
In 1989, when she was 15, Swank and her mom packed up their Oldsmobile Delta 88 and, with just $75, headed to Los Angeles. They lived in the car until a friend [evetually] gave them a place to stay. Swank’s mom used a pay phone to book her daughter for auditions. (Readers Digest)
Once-Homeless Famous People:
Actors Michael J. Fox, Danny Bonaduce, Drew Carey, Traci Lords, Jean-Claude Van Damme, comedienne Joan Rivers, folk singer-song writer Woody Guthrie, radio-show host Don Imus, Steven Pressfield, Suze Orman, George Eads, Kelsey Grammer,
Cary Grant, magician Harry Houdini, David Letterman, Sally Jesse Raphael, Debbie Reynolds, Mr. Kentucky Fried Chicken-Harland ‘Colonel’ Sanders, Hillary Swank
Read more here and at http://beckyblanton.com/funny/famous-homeless-people
Steven Pressfield
“It is one thing to study war, and another to live the warrior’s life.” - Pressfield
Pressfield, a Marine, author and once homeless – living in his Chevy van with his cat, struggled to the top of his field, but is firmly ensconced there after writing “The Gates of War, The War of Art, and The Legend of Bagger Vance, among others. His website, his philosophy and his books are well worth the read, as any military man will tell you. The Gates of War is considered the bible of war for any one entering the military.
Suze Orman.
Suze has been called “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse” by USA Today.
USA Today called Suze Orman “a force in the world of personal finance” and a “one-woman financial advice powerhouse.” She’s also a two-time Emmy Award-winning television host, New York Times mega bestselling author, magazine and online columnist, writer/producer, and one of the top motivational speakers in the world today. With her own shows on television, radio and the internet, plus regular appearances on Oprah, Orman is undeniably America’s most recognized expert on personal finance.
However, she dropped out of college shortly before graduating. According to her most recent book, “Women & Money,” she borrowed $1,500 from her brother, bought a used Ford Econoline Van, and with the help of a friend converted it for sleeping. Then she and two friends took off to “see America.” Shortly after that they got jobs clearing trees from a field. Suze said she lived in the van for two months before getting her next job – as a waitress at the Buttercup Cafe. Although Orman never uses the word “homeless” to describe her stint in the van, the US Census Department would.
George Eads
Actor; star of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation lived out of his car, in Los Angeles while a struggling actor.
Kelsey Grammer
Emmy Award-winning actor; star of the television series Frasier camped out the back of a theater behind his motorcycle (source: Entertainment Tonight, December 12, 2001, celebrity ‘Rags to Riches’ story segment.)
Cary Grant
Oscar-winning actor slept rough on the streets of Southampton, England during a summer in his youth at the time of World War I. (source: book, Cary Grant: A Biography, by Marc Eliot, 2004, page 31: “Archie then volunteered for summer work as a messenger and gofer on the military docks, often sleeping in alleys at night if he didn’t make enough money to rent a cot in a flophouse.”).
Harry Houdini
Magician, escapologist and actor; Hungarian-born American author slept rough and in temporary shelters; left home at age 12 in search of work and traveled for two years on his own, making his way from Wisconsin to Missouri and settling finally in New York City.
David Letterman
Emmy Award-winning television writer, comedian, author and talk-show host of the television talk-show Late Show with David Letterman spent time living out of his Chevy pickup truck while struggling to establish his career.
George Orwell
His real name was Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), but he’s better known by his pen name George Orwell. Blair/Orwell was an English author. His work is marked by a profound consciousness of social injustice, an intense, revolutionary opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language and a belief in democratic socialism.
Considered “perhaps the 20th century’s best chronicler of English culture,” he wrote works in many different genres including novels, essays, polemic journalism, semi-sociological literary criticism, and poetry. His most famous works are Homage to Catalonia (1938); his personal account of his experiences and observations in the Spanish Civil War, the satirical novel Animal Farm (1945), the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), and his numerous essays. Orwell’s influence on popular and political culture remains apparent, with numerous of his literary concepts, and the term “Orwellian” entering the popular vernacular. The origin of his pseudonymic surname “Orwell” can possibly be derived from the river Orwell which, due to being a massive port and having the largest town near his fathers home in Southwold, was a favoured place of his. He stayed in homeless shelters either to research material for his work or more likely, out of necessity.
Sally Jesse Raphael
It is written in her biography, ‘An Unconventional Success’ that she lived in her car for a time. For a while, her financial situation was so dire that she was on food stamps.
Debbie Reynolds
Wrote about having to literally live in her Cadillac for a while after divorcing Harry Karl.
Harland ‘Colonel’ Sanders
Businessman; founder-spokesperson of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast-food restaurant chain. Became homeless at age 10 when his mother remarried and he left home due to altercations with his stepfather. As an adult he slept on the back seat of his car because he could not afford lodging as he traveled around the United States and Canada, sometimes with his wife Claudia, trying to sign up restaurants to use his special fried chicken recipe for a franchise licensing fee.
Martin Sheen
Emmy Award-winning actor,director and producer; slept in New York City subway while a young struggling actor. Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez, (born August 3, 1940) better known by his stage name Martin Sheen,[1] is an actor best known for his performances as Captain Willard in the film Apocalypse Now and President Josiah Bartlet on the television series The West Wing. As well as the critical acclaim he has received as an actor, he has become known as an activist. Born and raised in Ohio, United States, with Irish and Spanish parents, Sheen is also an Irish citizen.
He is the father of actors Carlos Irwin Estévez (Charlie Sheen), Emilio Estévez, Ramón Estévez and Renée Estévez, and is brother of the actor Joe Estevez.
Hillary Swank
In 1989, when she was 15, Swank and her mom packed up their Oldsmobile Delta 88 and, with just $75, headed to Los Angeles. They lived in the car until a friend [evetually] gave them a place to stay. Swank’s mom used a pay phone to book her daughter for auditions. (Readers Digest)
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