Tips: Keep your memories safe

Back when this blog first started, I was fortunate enough to be aware of the situation arising of our becoming homeless. Being a geek, I was able to put together some 'field equipment' bags to keep my geer necessary for blogging close at hand. Laptop for editting entries, camera that used sd flash memory for easier transfers and storage, and a handful of USB sticks to back up data in case my laptop became damaged.

Even with everything, there were still times I failed to backup my files on the laptop before it failed. Elements such as humidity, jarring, and electricity loss all played havoc at critical times that could have cost me a total loss of everything I'd accumulated over time.

Any homeless family having digital cameras or choosing them in the future should make sure to buy two SD flash cards, along with a USB 'reader adaptor' that can let it double up as a 'thumb drive'.

Doing so allows a person to go to any public library and transfer critical files to any online server space, whether free or paid.

Being homeless doesn't mean you've got to lose everything. Don't. Learn to back up your files. Even though it may seem the worst of times, having digital images for later viewing can prove more heartwarming when you realize what you survived through together.

HUD's Fiscal Year Notice of Funding Availabilty

The Federal Register of today, Monday, December 29, 2008, includes the Notice of HUD's Fiscal Year 2009 Notice of Funding Availabililty (NOFA); Policy Requirements and General Section to HUD's FY2009 NOFAs for Discretionary Programs. Please note that everything is subject to Congressional appropriations. Included in the announcement are the following:

NOFAs will be published in 2009 as they are approved for publication and NOT in a combined SuperNOFA (list of competitive programs is included at the end of the FR announcement).

After January 11, 2009, or when Grants.gov is ready in January to assume the functions itself, Grants.gov will be terminating service with the current Grants.gov credential provider ORC. Therefore, everyone must either open a new account with Grants.gov or update their existing account.

The Continuum of Care will once again NOT be using Grants.gov.

Adobe Reader 8.1.3 or updating Reader on Adobe Professional to 8.1.3 is required for Grants.gov compatibility. Versions 8.1.2 and 9.0 will NOT provide the necessary compatibility. Once Version 9.1 is released, it will have addressed the problems inherent in 8.1.2 and 9.0.

Standardized points will be given for Logic Models, which will receive increased importance in funding decisions. Additional training will be given and the scoring is outlined at the end of the announcement. Heavy emphasis will be placed on comparisons between projected and actual numbers for outputs and outcomes. Self-evaluation of each program's management and performance will be required.
Funding will be determined on how well quality applications meet the following components of the HUD strategic framework:

• a. Increase Homeownership Opportunities
• b. Promote Decent Affordable Housing
• c. Strengthen Communities
• d. Ensure Equal Opportunity in Housing
• e. Embrace High Standards of Ethics, Management, and Accountability
• f. Promote Participation of Faith-Based and Other Community Organizations
  

Addressing one or more of the following HUD policy priorities will garner points:

• a. Improving the Knowledge of Homeowners, Homebuyers, and Renters to be Aware of Discriminatory Practices...Rights...Financial Literacy
• b. Encouraging Accessible Design Features
• c. Providing Full and Equal Access to Grassroots Faith-Based and Other Community Orgs. in HUD Program Implementation
• d. Participation of Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in HUD Programs
• e. Ending Chronic Homelessness
• f. Promoting Energy Star and Green Development
• g. Promoting Assistance to Veterans

They don't however offer an insurance quote to the homeless. For that, click on the link or network with your peers to find available options for your clients.

Cold days still ahead for many on the streets

During the next month, Jacksonville will again 'count' the homeless. Since I've provided my resignation to the Lead Agency, I won't be involved with it this go around, maybe another time.

What I do know are the problems the prior counts had, as well as similiar problems in other cities. Counting the people in day centers, shelters, and other locations as well as those 'moving' during the night count doesn't provide an accurate picture.

Likewise the 'math' used that's acceptable, 'according to studies'. It just sounds so BS to me.

There's the people in the bushes you can't count. The campers. The car sleepers. The ones behind an empty building, or let alone in it. Hospitals, whether in need of a shoulder pain pump or dyalasys treatment...they can't all be counted.

Try adding on an additional 2,500 minimum, and you might get close...because we're talking a metropolitan county with a million residents at last count.

Faith Based Versus Secular Service Providing

There used to be this joke we'd tell each other: A Muslim goes to stay at a Baptist homeless shelter...

The sad thing is it's a real predicament of anyone having a different faith to enter another sect or religious shelter and expect the ability to thrive in programs that are based on conversion.

They say it's not the case, but read the print on the websites. While Christian videos are a great asset themselves for communicating a really appropriate message, they're only truly experienced and can be cherished by someone having a choice.

Requiring someone to accept another's belief system and values, especially of the religious kind as a requirement for providing services, isn't right.

Have you ever heard of a Wiccan becoming stable from homelessness through a Baptist shelter program? Or a Muslim? Or a Jew?

Doubtful.

Again, the fat of being homeless

Over the last few days I've been picking up on blogs run by service providers arguing about people giving money to the homeless. In one instance in California, a tradition started by an attorney years ago of handing out literally 1,400 or so $10.00 bills was ranted about.

That's petty, and it's pretty much the same mantra of people getting a paycheck and potential job loss fear when their main objective is to help any homeless family break the cycle. What's next, arguing it's inappropriate for people to donate toys for a homeless shelter's children?

I mean, COME ON!

It's being greedy. Gift giving being questioned? "It could be used for this, it could be used for that".

It's called guilt trips. It's also called 'opening your yap and getting caught when you forgot who was reading'.

While I've advocated for homeless families and unaccompanied youth, there's plenty of residents in my community experiencing homelessness. Under no circumstances do I have the right to question anyone providing gifts to any of them, single male or female especially.

The sad thing is there's plenty of back patters for this kind of rhetoric, and without advocates to be open to stand up at times for those not underneath their 'interests', we risk our own interests of being compromised by this type of mentality.

Homelessness will continue to exist, for some time over the next century, contrary to what hype is given by any agency or lobbyist. It's not going away. But what we can do today is work for tomorrow being less harrowing and more promising for years to come...until we do in fact beat this problem worldwide.

Even when it comes to the diet of people experiencing homelessness, all potential solutions need to be looked at. Orovo, low carb diets, increases of federal funding to USDA Food Distributions...all of these even though not seeming viable need to be investigated and reported on by local advocates of every community to their lead agencies, those showing promise pursued, and success stories blogged about for the rest of the world to realize WHAT IS WORKING!

Through sharing, we can all improve the lives of all of our residents, both sheltered and unsheltered worldwide.

Happy Christmas

Wishing you all a wonderful and joyful Christmas time!This picture sums up a summer Christmas for me. A miniscule smidgen of cake consumed alongside copious slices of watermelon for a late tea, followed by a gentle stroll around the farm just after the sun had gone down. It was cool enough to have a hot Christmas lunch with roast potatoes, bread sauce and the whole caboodle, so we indulged

The pinch that won't save you an inch, or your life

Getting fat while standing in a meal line when you're homeless is a fact of life. Starches are the biggest problem, sometimes an entire plate being composed of them. It's survival and it can be deadly as well with the threat of diabetes being more real than ever within the homeless communities.

I've had the chance of talking to a number of service providers about how to address this issue, all of them only being able to look to the day when a person is out of the homeless cycle and able to prepare meals for themselves. At that point it's possible to prescribe or use over the counter diet pills, while attempting to adjust a person's learned behavior in regards to eating disorders.

Which is what most homeless transitioning out are experiencing that nobody talks about. Eating disorders are both for the heavy and skinny. When you're homeless you're more apt to overeat when foods available, knowing that it may not be there the next day.

See a nice muffin or piece of fruit with seconds available, and you're liable to see people trying to trade food for goods...not to stash it in bags, but to in most cases immediately ingest it. It's conditioning. It's sad. And it's a fact of life.

And in the end, it'll catch up on ya. No pun intended.

Christmas Trees

At last I am starting to feel a bit Christmas-y. It's the scent of pine that does it. First of all we cut some branches of a wonderful, almost lemoney smelling, pine for the children's nativity scene, which has taken over the fireplace. It's way too hot to gather around a log fire here, so the fire place has been turned into a stage for Mary and Joseph, who are tortuously making their way day by

Funny things I've seen in during my time while homeless

I sometimes go through some of the 'quick logs' I took at different times with my first handheld PDA, and get a chuckle at some of the stuff I noted in my surroundings. Things I'd forget totally if I hadn't jotted them down.

There's a ton of images that come to mind, most of them will sound really sick to people not having been involved with the homeless community directly. But if you have, you know the feeling...sometimes.

Living in a family dorm that had single women living in one of the rooms brings to mind of some of them walking to the shared bathroom they had. Some were mothers, some were single girls just coming into adult. Bathrobes at times, oversized shirts as nightgowns, and the occasional cheap lingerie between the two. No matter what, sometimes a woman's gotta be a girl when given the chance.

There was also this one guy in particular who came to eat in a daily meal line at night, probably after work. Young guy in his early 20s, goth type, leather pants with buckles up each leg and tons of zippers for whatever reason being in style. Chains from here to there all around and in any direction.

Then there were the sad images as well. Of one person I was involved with in a peer support group who was living outside and 'sleeping hard'. He'd come and go and show up about twice a month for food or meetings. His disorder was so deep in it not being treated, that he hadn't removed his shoes in a month.

He was to the point of not being able to walk, at which point I told him to lay back on the bench of the picnic table he was sitting at. I removed his shoes, then worked at removing the socks that were encrusted with blood and dead skin. Being colorblind I don't know if they were green, but it was severe enough I told him to get in to see the doctor immediately.

I never saw him again, nor heard word of him from peers or people I still have contact with. Within two weeks my family and I would be placed in our home and break this cycle of homelessness.

Those images still sometimes make me chuckle...as well as pray for those still experiencing homelessness. Whether as a single or as a homeless family, they are always in my prayers at night.

Things in homes that homeless don't have

You may see homes with Moen faucets, but I've never seen one in a shelter.

You may see homes with wireless networks, but I've never seen a family room in a shelter with a cable connection.

You may see homes with garages and cars inside, but I've never seen a shelter with adequate parking to protect what little some families have.

You may see homes with lights flashing this month outside in patterns that move, but I've never seen a shelter to house a homeless family that was 'green' to save dollars for better uses.

I've seen it all, from kids in cardboard boxes under trestles to the man on the corner defecating. I've seen the violence, the pain, the anguish, and the woman in a hotel room with eleven children inside it.

Look to hope and look to each other to see what we can do together to look for tomorrow's answer.

Today...it hasn't been found.

They come and they go, and they come again

Chronic homelessness is one of the more common descriptions given the majority of residents in metropolitan communities experiencing homelessness. While new entrants to the scene are tackled as quickly as possibly feasable, it's the repetitive user of service providers that seems to tax both local services as well as increase negative stereotyping of the homeless in general.

The man on the corner seen for years. The single woman with multiple children in tow, the number increasing every other year. The young adult couch surfers having exhausted their network's contacts and standing in line after absent for three years in meal lines.

My own city has literally thousands of people who are at least considered 'Cyclic', and majority of those considered 'chronic'. Either exhausting time limits consecutively at one shelter to another or failure to thrive in placed transitional housing, these are the sections of the homeless community which are tracked the least yet cause the most duplication of services as well as strain to hearts hoping their efforts pay off 'this time'.

Housing is becoming less of an issue day by day in many communities throughout the United States. Granted, we've got a long way to go but we're in a better situation than we were a decade ago. The real issue is mental health screening as well as services necessary for people to thrive. But then, you can only lead a horse to water...you can't force them to drink.

The simplest way would be to ultimately criminalize homelessness, at a certain point and degree...using mental health services as the fix. Sounds extreme, but when you consider the problem of many chronically homeless you have to address the root.

Drugs and alcohol or even inappropriate behavior aren't the root causes, and in most cases it's not values. It's perspective of the person, desire, drive, and other matters inside the mind of someone actually homeless.

We talk of Baker Acting people for their own good. We talk of people placed in observation for 3 to 10 days for proper diagnosis and treatment started, when people aren't able to make the decision to help themselves. The same litmus tests should be used towards people experiencing multiple cycles of homelessness...services have failed where in many cases they have...what can be done to help improve the quality of life for someone unable to make the choice to do so initially?

Harsh, extreme, but practical at the same time...and not said lightly. I myself have experienced homelessness through different decades, as a single and head of a family. The one thing that helped me break the cycle of homelessness?

Acquiring mental health services. Without having begun learning how to address my own inappropriate behavior, I would have been back on the street or couch surfing at this time. Without them, people meander until falling again through the cracks. Singles, couples, and women with children.

Communities can sit back and watch any homeless family at a service provider such as a shelter. Chances are if they sat in that same spot, they'd see the majority of those family members return as a single unit again within two years. Rather than "3 strikes your out!", we should be looking at "3 strikes and you're IN!".

In for mandatory observation and treatment plans of mental health service providers.

You know I'm right. You're just afraid to admit it publicly.

If you read and enjoyed this entry and have care for the needs of others in your community experiencing homelessness, rather than a handout this season consider purchasing one single gift of choice...wrapping it...and simply hand it to someone you see in the streets or nearby shelters. MBT shoes are something to look at, since any single or a homeless family can definitely put them to good use.

Best, and happy holidays to you and yours.

Christmas Heat

Feeling Hot hot hot!It’s 38 degrees C out there and was hotter yesterday – summer has come blasting in, making it hard to think of Christmas. Baking and spicy scents of cinnamon pervading the house just don’t really work when you are melting in the shade. Candles, firelight and warming spiced food are so much part of the Christmas atmosphere to me that it is hard to get in the mood

Camping Rediscovered - Part 2

My husband is fond of quoting his father’s adage “Any fool can be uncomfortable”. This means that camping for him is not a matter of roughing it, but more about assembling the barest minimum of comforts and then adding some more. As we are at the beginning of our camping career we haven’t got anything like the amount of equipment that would create a home from home, and not enough space in the car

Camping Rediscovered - Part 1

This has been a week of discovering the joys and discomforts of camping. Having never spent a night under canvas since my teens, I suddenly had two consecutive bookings for a night out in nature.The first was my son’s class camp, that I was inveigled along to, as a parent helper: a night away with 24 kids and only just enough tents at a campsite on the beach, with 30 loaves of bread and a ton of

WTSIM Sunday Roast

The scent of roast chicken wafts through the house – the reassuring smell of Sundays, leisurely family days spent at home, everyone doing their own thing in different directions until lunch gathers them around the table. One nose buried deep in a book, another child intent on an elaborate game with toys and animals, another off at an aunt’s house until recalled for the meal. Sunday lunch is a

Backing Up Client Information

Non profit agencies are notorious for having inadequate resources to keep up with the crowd. One of the hardest hit areas is information technology and services.

With increases in Federal Laws protecting client information many haven't made the transition from a paper based system to fully electronic. Those that have are in most cases using well meaning employees whose original job descriptions have nothing to do with information management.

Systems can be exploited when their accessible to outside internet traffic. The majority of service providers I've had the chance of getting close to all have their computers networked and reachable to/from the internet. None of what I've seen shows any form of standardized imaging, controlled access, or protection from information being compromised...other than built in OS user IDs and passwords.

Here's a few tips to keep a non profit from facing a lawsuit:

1. Cut the cord. Unless a computer user has immediate need for internet access, disallow it both in and outbound.

2. Create an intranet for all electronic resources. Publications, client data, forms used regularly, and anything that's necessary for the job to get done.

3. Use existing tape drives for data backup rather than trusting server space that can be compromised by either attack or failure, preferably using a dual drive system...one for odd and the other even days. Doing so guarantees loss of only one day's worth of data in the event of failure of a unit.

A Trip into Town in an Orange Silk Scarf

Most of the time I am at home here, take sights that would astound someone fresh in from Europe for granted, like a lorry crammed with people in the open back, barreling along the main road. Sometimes, though, I feel like a tourist here, seeing things with fresh eyes, especially when I go into Cape Town on an almost joll, which doesn’t happen all that often.I don’t know whether it was my bright

Bob the Builder Eat Your Heart Out!

Bob the Builder, look to your laurels! This team can fix it and handle the business side too, all in fairy dresses. And they know how to use a spirit level!

Monday Mornings

When you bake bread every other day there are bound to be some disasters occasionally: usually forgetting about it, either while it is rising or once it is in the oven, as the computer inveigles you away to another time zone. Most of them are salvageable though – bread is very accommodating stuff and you can usually knock it down and re-form loaves that have risen too much, and still eat a rather

Braai by the Pool

Bright sunshine glints on the water of the swimming pool, which is still slightly murky after its winter rest despite a week’s machinations of chemical cocktails to clear it. Yellow leaves from the karee willow float here and there on the surface, bound to clog the filter, but the tree lives on to dapple us with its shade, fiercely defended by the romantic among us versus the practical ones, who

Reading South Africa

When I met and married my South African husband, I knew we were going to end up living here. It was part of the deal: he had been living in London for fifteen years and wanted to come home. We made a few visits over here to his family before we tied the knot and I started looking for some South African novelists to read, to help me understand a bit more about this country I would be moving

Sunshine in an Orange Skin

Living in a sunshine country we are totally spoilt with the abundance of fruit grown right here in the Cape. We revel in fruit that actually ripens to full flavour, that is sold by the roadside when in season, so that you can buy boxes of peaches that will all ripen at once sending you into an orgy of fruit salads, pavlovas and smoothies, just to use them up before they self-destruct. At a

Warm, fuzzy blog awards

I love getting blog awards, it gives me a warm buzz of belonging, so thanks to Jeanne of Cooksister for giving me one of these. Now, according to the rules, I get to share it with seven more blogs I love to read:Here are the rules: 1) Add the logo of the award to your blog.2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you (as shown above).3) Nominate at least seven other blogs.4) Add links to

Brown is the New Black

The post election global exhalation reached our house at breakfast this morning, with another illustration of this generation's different perceptions of colour to those of their hide-bound older generation parents.It's a normal school day filled with the usual rush to get breakfasted, sandwiched and out of the door by 7.30. This morning it is different though - an air of excitement and

Spring Blossoms

Spring is really here, the warmer weather, as always, ringing the final knell for any lingering spring flowers. A week of sunshine without rain and the flower fairies are hard put to it to keep their blossoms alive, as the sandy soil dries out in a flash of a lamb's tail and before we know it the garden is fading and thirsty.A last celebration of spring, as the girls made a fairy garden, while we

Growing up in South Africa

The intrepid and adventurous fourThis picture says it all for me about children growing up in South Africa today.Ryan, the son of our coloured gardened/farm worker drew it a few days ago and I grabbed it to photograph to share with you. He goes to school with our children, his fees paid by a sponsorship fund we’ve just set up, and he spends most weekday afternoons here playing with them, until

Of Chocolate and Presidents

It’s Sunday - a leisurely day that stretches empty ahead of us, now the rush of German students and their teacher have departed for a three day exploration of the Cape. Our girls have abandoned us to have lunch with their aunt, so it is just three of us sitting down at the table to eat up the leftovers from last night’s braai: Grabouw boerewors and spicy chicken wings, with the wine-enriched

Rubbing Shoulders with Poverty

It was Blog action day on Wednesday. I saw it on Charlotte’s Web, where she posted about AIDS in South Africa. The theme that they asked Bloggers around the world to write about was poverty, to get a world wide dialogue going, whether from a personal or general point of view. I didn’t post about poverty on that day, though I did write a long comment on Charlotte’s post. The truth is that I

Sleeping in the woods

I got an email that was forwarded through the grapevine about some campers south of Jacksonville. Pretty much the groups were being surveyed, but the same thing came through each time: distancing from family the longer they were homeless.

Over the last decade before my own family became homeless we worked with a local non profit agency that performed food gleaning and redistribution. Although people vary from camp to camp the constant theme of family is seen in each group.

Whether for survival or a need to be part of something much like young organized street gangs, people choosing the camp lifestyle find alternatives rather than continue using existing services. Many of the reasons include safety from other homeless people becoming violent, victimization by gangs, or choice to avoid services due to prior problems with staff abusing their roles.

When something is unacceptable people make changes, for whatever reasons. While many providers in Jacksonville do and are attempting to make improvements to service delivery, continued retention of individuals with trends and patterns of abusive behavior to clients aren't adequately addressed.

And that's not just my own personal opinion. Within the next few weeks I'm hoping to see others with similar interests and voices heard, and maybe find a place for everyone to sit back with some popcorn in a home theater seating environment!

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Do something about your bucks wasted

One of the things common between a homeless family and one with a home is constant wasted cell phone minutes due to unsolicited calls.

Families experiencing homelessness usually used prepaid minutes for the sake of their kids, whether it's an emergency at school or able to communicate with a spouse across town. It's a lifelink that's necessary.

If you're getting calls on your phone from strange numbers not on your list, check out Harassing Caller Report. You can check if other's have too, and in many cases get those gaps filled of just what's going on with who's calling you.

You can also add additional information that others may find useful.

Toy Memories

All it takes is a toy, to make the years slip away and take you back in time. There is a certain plastic fire engine with loads of buttons, that we gave away to Tina, who cleans for us, for her little boy. He is now 2 ½ but was born premature with water on the brain, so has had a hard start to life with much time spent in hospital and he was not expected to live for long. Her love and

Panhandling: Freedom or Crime?

My wife and I were out this afternoon doing monthly errands, checking the 'T's were crossed and all the 'I's dotted. We spotted the gentleman pictured in the mirror reflection and weren't able to get our cameras out in time due to traffic.

In the picture the man panhandling with a sign seems minimized when he's not. Getting in front of him for a facial shot wouldn't have been respectful.

On a given day I pass probably two people panhandling along highways. The one prior last night almost caused a few people to wreck.

Some view panhandling as a form of freedom of speech, while others look at it as enabling the homeless cycle. It's a topic I'd rather stay off with using words and simply post a picture as I see it.

If your life is dim, maybe you could use some lighting fixtures...or something.

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Testing Talent

The children have just gone back to school after their two week break, the house is momentarily quiet, with four high school students from Germany asleep upstairs after their long flight here, come to work on building a sports field for our school during their holidays.I need to get the writing mojo back. It’s foundering beneath all the number of practical things needing doing. It feels like the

Homeless students at bus stops face higher risks

Once again students are facing the typical changes of the weather while heading to school. Fall brings changes in time zones, nasal congestion, nose blackheads, and traffic patterns when getting on the bus.

Kids that get on buses at stops servicing shelters don't have the same support as 'sheltered' students. In most situations kids are from one parent homes meaning that mom usually has to watch younger siblings while Jane or John get off to the bus from the shelter breakfast line.

That means all the problems facing kids at bus stops...those problems at least double in risk for kids in shelters. Longer walks to bus stops. More likely to be monitored by pedophiles, drug dealers, or pimps.

If you know a kid who's sheltered in temporary housing, take the time to listen and let them know you care about their safety.

If you know of any children residing in shelters with problems riding Duval County Public School buses, please feel free to contact myself at www.homelessinjax.com. All information is kept confidential and is dealt directly with decision makers at higher levels.

For all of our kids sakes.

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Is homelessness being reduced in Jacksonville

Depending on who you talk to, yes on a number of levels.

Jacksonville still has massive numbers of people that remain invisible to the counts, on points from local to international levels. Rewording of regulations show one person being identified as homeless by Florida State terms while that same person is NOT considered homeless by Federal HUD housing regulations.

That same person, along with her 11 children, are also NOT considered homeless by some other Florida Government regulations...if that makes sense.

Maybe local government officials could use some uptraining in linear motion. It'd give them a reason to take another field trip or something.

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When good drivers go bad

While throwing in a ban of pork and beans might be a sign of giving for some, it shows the amount of effort put in.

Here's a few tips if you're in the mood for charitable giving when it comes to the stomach. Most often you can coordinate with a local soup kitchen or shelter to find out if items need to be prepared on site or not.

Rice dishes
Cheese platters
Fruit platters
Carry out pizza
Chicken breast strips
Whole pork loins

No their not cheap choices and can cost, but if you're involved with a local church your group can consolidate their efforts into annual events. By scheduling annually multiple church groups can have better impacts and bring better quality food to those they're ministering to.

Take the example of pork loins. For a shelter serving 500 meals and four ounces a meat serving, that's a cost of only $250.00 when the loin is bought on sale.

Sometimes it's not a matter of the same group cycling in monthly, but rather letting groups that can plan efficiently. With a population of over one million, Jacksonville has more than 52 church groups per major service provider downtown.

There really isn't any reason for people in pressed suits putting three starches on a plate to hand to a child, now is there?

If you'd like to find alternative choices for appetizers, click the link.

The Milk Tart Calcium Solution

Crustless Milk Tart - now an official calcium food sourceBaking often seems to inspire a blog post. Perhaps that’s why I’ve hardly posted recently – I just haven’t been baking apart from the daily bread, which has become so automatic that it no longer gets the blog juices flowing. Today, after I’d spent an hour in the spring sunshine (yes we have sun! at last!) pulling a pretty flowering weed out

Local Non Profit wants to do the Web2.0 hustle!

A few weeks ago someone who introduced me to peer support groups while my family was homeless asked me to attend an upcoming meeting of theirs. It's not out of the ordinary for people to seek me out to support different things they're advocating, but there was something interesting that was asked in conjunction.

For me to bring my laptop.

Wondering if I was going to be asked to join a Board for the sake of handling recording of minutes, I was blunt. Turns out my friend wants to introduce his peers in his company to Facebook.com.

While individuals who are home PC savvy are familiar with social websites and portals, most companies don't have a Web 2.0 pressence in Jacksonville. They usually have a gratuitous website, but generally it's pretty lacking in connecting to people and losing out on a lot of potential.

It'll be interesting to see firsthand reactions of people without Facebook experience being asked to participate on a local non profit level. On one hand they'll be able to network with peers nationally. On the other...they can always make connections when the bottom falls out on their agency not being able to afford them in these financially harsh times on service providers.

Homeless with time at the library? Check out some franchise opportunities!

The Homeless Guy and other urban legends of homelessness

You've probably heard enough of 'dumpster diving' and other trends or stigmas about homelessness. References to crack whores, pimps, and an individual 'dumping' at a local swill generator have all come out throughout America. But it's rare people hear about the advances in technology being used by people experiencing homelessness.

Kevin Barbieux is both one of those that are more known as well as lesser known. If you've ever done a search about homelessness, you've probably found both his blog and mine. More often than not due to bounces from the internet, both sites usually get a single page visited by the person searching...not getting the full picture or potential of either site.

Kevin's very different from me in that his related experiences come from being a single male on the streets, up, and out...while mine are as a father. But the common thread of the two is the positive attitude and attempt to use existing available technology freely as much as possible to enrich our lives.

While now we can both get our own Linksys router for use at home, we both used existing local network Wifi infrastructure for our publications, personal enjoyment, and networking with others with similiar interests.

Both Kevin and I aren't the exceptions to the rules, we simply connected many 'useless talents' we developed over years that finally culminated into something useable. Rather than looking at overcoming the problem of homelessness individually, I look at both blogs as examples of what's possible for anyone facing diverse problems...not just homelessness.

Part of the problem of Urban Legends is their usually minimized. Each 'legend' has it's own unique story, history, and background. Rather than look at the surface, I encourage you to visit Kevin's blog for a deeper look at what someone faces possibly in your own neighborhood.

Networking: A Service Provider's Best Asset Generator

During the last few months homeless service providers to Jacksonville residents went through harsh facts to face when funding was cut from what was received in prior years. It's caused tension, fat trimmed in some cases, and loss of valuable people in other situations when service providers have hard decisions to make based on fewer dollars to work with.

One thing I'm starting to see more frequently are employees in the service provider field beginning to network online using services such as Linkedin.com and Facebook.com. For some this is a fresh step into unknown territory, for others it's an obvious 'coming out' of internet experience they hadn't a need or felt comfortable with displaying themselves so publicly.

The way I see it, within the next ten years, employees of non profit service providers will be reduced to 90% over time with those employees either out of the 'homeless cycle' field or transitioning in to mental health services. Twenty years from now will show a change of increased mental health services that will have quadrupled in caseloads successfully handled.

Of course there's plenty of people that would 'spin' their own version of the future, just like the ones that spun running people out of Skid Row in Los Angeles made the city safer...thousands of homeless people don't just disappear in to thin air...they just blend in to adjacent neighborhoods better to avoid detection.

Some people just need an exit sign to know when to get off the bus sometimes.

The Song of Spin Doctors revisited

While Hurricane Fay gave spin doctors a new opportunity for new tunes to be dealt to the masses, there were some realities again that didn't make the airwaves to the people.

Nobody wants to hear that the right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing when it comes to the little people the hands were meant to be helping.

The simple fact that an unsheltered family couldn't be told immediately where to go was the concern raised, and once again 80% of locations including Jacksonville Sheriff's Office non emergency number (904) 630-3100 didn't know the downtown Red Cross emergency shelter was operating.

Since that storm nobody wants to hear about it either. But they still check the blog here, so in that spirit here's a tip: subordinates need to be given printed instructions of what's open when the boss goes home at night.

After having done so, it's THEN that Jacksonville's spin doctors can feel more secure and relaxed their dealings with futures trading won't be at risk of bad spin or job loss.

Does Orovo Work?

does orovo work?

This was asked of me in a recent communication, so I figured 'what the hey, lemme see'!

And after having gone there to see all I can say is 'I have NO IDEA, personally'.

I can say that the site looks nice. I can say that the model in the 'Live Chat' makes me want to go launch a browser window and try to get personal with her. But I've not actually drank the stuff. I would if she sat with me and chatted over a bottle. Wouldn't you?

I digress. Happens, sometimes. Health supplements ARE something that homeless people do in fact need! With local food bank's feeling the pinch, soup kitchen and other meal lines for the needy are being impacted greatly.

The fare we had when the family was homeless, it surely hasn't gotten better for those still in 'the cycle. But 'does Orovo work'?

Gimme a bottle and I'll see. If the people making it send me a case, I give you my word I'll do a video entry of me drinking it for the first time with no retakes whatsoever.

Hurricane Fay's aftermath in Jacksonville, Florida

Rain, gusts, tornado watches afterwards...Fay was a doozy. Lives taken at this time can't be confirmed, but local media identified a common factor in the earlier ones reported: tourists on holiday.

Heading to Jacksonville's beaches to see surf crash, large waves foam salt billows on the sand...these were the things that always have lured newcomers to the ocean during previous storms. Unfortunately people don't take heed, threatening not only their own lives but the lives of those feeling compelled to save them.

A local retirement home on Moncrief was evacuated by the Marine Unit of the Jacksonville Fire Department a few days ago. The water had entered the building enough that 'John' boats were floated in and out of the building's entrance to get residents out and safely boarded on local buses for transport to safer locations.

Friday, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tactical trucks were seen rushing 'Logistics' labeled trailers quickly from North Arlington heading South on University Blvd. No known destination.

Thursday evening Jacksonville Electric Authority crews were spotted having to return to the same location after just hours after restoring lines and power to the same exact spot/line, due to wind damage. One street light on Arlington Road (between University Blvd North and Cesery Blvd) was torn from it's pole, but still powered and hanging over the street. A JSO vehicle blocked traffic until barricade barrels were put up, blocking the one lane of two Westbound.

So far Mayor Peyton has made no recommendation for potential problems of acne developing amongst the teen population. If you can't get acne cream locally, you can click the link.

IMHO: Personalized Stories dot Com

This one's a no brainer. If you've got kids, you know the amount of smiles and giggles gifts bring to little ones' faces. It's increased when they get to personalize and see it's 'all about them'.

While Personalizedstories.com is a cool place for SUV moms and aunts to pick up something for the little ones, it's also a great place for both charitable givers and others in contact with children experiencing homelessness. Think about it.

That kid that has to go through the daily schedules, meal lines, sharing cramped quarters...that kid might forget he or she's homeless when they opens one of many children's books you...could have chosen for him or her.

Giving is great. Don't get me wrong. I've seen TONS of wonderful things done for hundreds of kids, my own included. But during the holidays it's hard to get something that's personal and something that will touch a child's heart, in this case the payoff your looking for.

You want age specific, you want warm gushy feelings, and you want to bring a tear to your own eye...you go to Personalizedstories.com...and you do just that.

You'll be glad you did...and isn't that what giving's really all about?

Keeping clean while your on the streets

It ain't easy. You've got to be at certain places at certain times for certain things. Meals here, floor space there, and any and all places in between from sunup to sundown. Scheduling regular personal hygiene is a major pain when your on the streets.

Imagine if you were a kid on your own.

Pervs wanting to use you. Gangs wanting to beat you. You're looked on as one of 'them', even though you haven't been on your own long enough to turn ferral. You get your things stolen when you fall asleep on the floor in shelters.

And then there's the 'teen' things, like acne, hormones, and the rest of the things all kids go through...all being experienced with no place to readily wash your hands, your face, your armpits, or your groin.

You don't have a way to wash your clothes, so you start getting pussy pimples under your arms. Your groin starts getting a rash, turning raw and the smell being unbearable. It makes you think you've got an STD, even though you're still a virgin.

That's what being on the streets is for a kid alone. It's not what anyone wants to admit though. Why not?

Experienced dumpster divers usually aren't underweight

Dumpster diving: it's an artform that's being lost.

Time was you could scope out the back dumpster of any fast food chain and simply wait for employees to throw out discarded food such as hamburgers.

There's a misconception that Dumpster Divers will eat anything. Not true. There's a method to the madness for them, and when you're desperate you can rationalize even...even selling your body.

When items are 'old', they're taken off of holding areas that are under heat lamps. First in, first out...so this means that when the items are taken outside to the dumpster, the items on top are the 'freshest'. When they go in the dumpster, they'll be on the bottom of the discarded food items. Hopefully they'll end up on top of cardboard boxes flattened out and not be contaminated by other garbage.

With the amount of 'older' items on top of them, they'll maintain a better heat and be less likely to be spoiled. That however, was in 'the old days'.

'These days', Divers face precontamination by some companies...chemicals or cleaner solutions poured on the food items prior to leaving the store, in an attempt to 'teach' Divers not to continue to scrounge for food. Heartless, yes. Illegal, not if it's not admitted openly...it's not illegal to discard of most chemicals unless there's an EPA issue.

Sad, yes. True, yes. Disgusting, only if you're not hungry or desperate enough to consider taking 'the dive'. If not, maybe you're in need of diet pills or something.

If you are homeless...

My name is John, and I first started this blog when my family first became homeless in 2004.

I've been seeing a number of hits from searches on Yahoo and Google that appear to be people in search of help, just like my family needed.

If you are homeless in Jacksonville, Florida, if you are on the streets, if you are feeling unsafe where you are then there is something you can do that you might be afraid of.

If a police officer sees you and your children and approaches you, DO NOT BE AFRAID! They are NOT going to take your children from you! They are NOT going to call Child Protective Services to have this done!

Be honest that you are homeless and ask where you can get help!

There are laws that protect your child and KEEP them in public school. There are people who's jobs are to make sure every resource is made available to you and your family, IF they are aware of you. These people are called "Homeless Liasons" and work at the Duval County School Board in Jacksonville.

Keeping hidden may seem the right thing to do to keep safe and keep your family together, away from thugs, pimps, and 'The State'. You have rights, no less than any other resident in the area you live in. It's not a crime to be poor or need help, but it CAN be a crime if you as a parent do not address things and ask for help.

On the side of this blog are the leading points to start getting help. It's not possible for myself to do anything more. I'm an advocate, not a case worker or employed by any agency. I'm a parent just like you.

Those are the places I got help, and got out. They're the same places I would tell anyone face to face where to go to get help.

Good luck, and blessings to you and your family.

---

Bantering...

This morning I attended the monthly meeting of the Board of Directors for the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville, Inc. I ended up having to be the minute taker, and wouldn't you know it forgot my power cord...the laptop died while recording after a bit over an hour on my 'Performance' setting.

Kind of made me feel like I was getting a piercing for body jewelry in front of the people.

The biggest problem facing homeless advocates and service providers locally in Jacksonville are the recent events of criminal activity that are being sometimes spun by local media, creating a negative image when there's much more. We discussed in particular some of the reactionary letters to a local weekly magazine, one writer in particular known to contact ESHC directly regularly pointing the finger why we haven't cured homelessness here.

I've got to admit that many of the Board Members are more than polite on this problem. The ESHC is a lead agency trying to connect the agencies together for funding, brainstorming, and reporting to local, state, and the federal levels of what's happening and accounting for what's done with funding. If you look at the fact their still operating after about a decade, then there's your answer if they're doing their job.

ESHC can't solve the homelessness of Jacksonville and it's surrounding counties. That's going to take all the businesses, all the residents, and all the government working together. With cuts hitting all of the agencies, small and large alike, many are having to put forward looking plans and actions on hold while juggling simply how to keep their own agency operational.

Does it serve it's purpose? I can say solidly that it does. Things are and have happened since my placement on the board that prove that to me. The biggest problem is getting local government to buy in and get other businesses developing that can do their part in providing services to the homeless.

I don't think homelessness will ever be cured in my lifetime, or for that matter at all. What I do believe is that over time we as a society will come to dealing with the problem more humanely and resourcefully.

The other option is to simply watch them climb over the back wall of our homes and urinate on our dahlias. That being said I feel the need to take a break.

Upgrading the sites

When the blog first started at the onset of the family being homeless, I'd managed to drag along a tower PC and an old laptop by keeping them in storage until we were in a family shelter. From that point on I managed to operate my own website for advocating for other families as well.

Years later I've collected a handful of older equipment that individually can't create independant work stations, but it's good to have different pieces of hardware for each one. The problem is having to plug and unplug. I'd heard of hardswitches, but never wanted to go that route.

I just got some info about what Keyboard, Video or Visual Display Unit, Mouse (KVM) switches that allow you to control multiple computers from one keyboard. Way cool!

Hopefully I'll be able to set up a super system like what I've seen on tv!

Ramping up parents on new technology when coming out of homelessness

Some things don't change, others do. While we were homeless there were two seasons worth of changes to some of the 'hottest' shows everyone takes for granted. I ended up being able to sit through Battlestar Galactica's first two seasons on DVD without commercials.

That's a good thing!

On the other hand there's been changes and advancements involving cellphones, like micro sd memory that you can hook up to a personal computer for quicker file transfers.

When you're homeless, you're less worried with what's 'new' and more worried about the immediate needs. The nice thing is when coming out of the cycle, there's a whole new world you get to see fresh pretty quick. On the other hand bringing more media in contact with the homeless population can make transitioning easier...and more attractive.

County's former Public Health head spins a hard tale

“In Jacksonville, 50 percent of children live in single-parent families and 50 percent live in poverty.

Forty percent qualify for the free or reduced lunch programs in the public schools.

More than 30 percent of public school students start the school year in one school but finish in another and many aren’t prepared to read when they enter school.

In addition if you combine the number of Jacksonville’s children who are homeless, near homeless, in foster care or incarcerated, it’s the majority of the community’s children...”

Dr. Jeff Goldhagen, former Director of Public Health for Duval County, currently Associate Professor of Pediatrics at University of Florida College of Medicine; in Jacksonville, and Chief of the Division of Community Pediatrics at a recent speech to a Jacksonville Florida Rotary Club

It's not just about houses and a plate full of pasta or rice, boys and girls. There's a number of people I know of who regularly check diet pill reviews for help in losing those extra pounds gained in their former sedentary lifestyles and starch laden days.

Confronting Childhood Obesity in America

The HCH Clinicians' Network is one of the Partnering Organizations involved in planning the National Summit of Clinicians for Healthcare Justice Conference in October.

If you're able to and involved in medical services to the homeless, please try to attend.

Note that the Surgeons General Panel Discussion will be "Confronting Childhood Obesity in America: Implications for Health Policy and Health Justice"...but ipods won't be handed out as door prizes from what I've heard.

Health Care is a Human Right. Learn more about their work for human rights, or contribute to their work, at www.nhchc.org.

Find items you are buying online quicker and without a paid referal influencing you

If you're within the shelter system and have young kids, you know the choices are limited for baby needs. Gifts of charity are always greatly appreciated, but you're already dreaming of being able to choose your own stroller. It's not being unthankful, it's being a good parent aspiring to fill their child's needs.

When you get a chance while checking things out on the internet, you should check out Shopwiki.com. They don't sell things and using their system doesn't make them any money. Consumers are able to search for what they're looking for like a search engine, because what they see are what a spider's crawled the web for…not a paid advertisement. I was able to find Diner Dash in Portuguese for a blogger friend within a short time.

And they're not just for a few items. Over 200 million different products have been added due to their spider crawls on the internet. Just on a lark I did a search there on dead roses. I knew there was a vendor out there for them, but Shopwiki provided others I wasn't aware of. Finding this direct linking on conventional search engines for what you're buying…isn't going to happen. On Shopwiki, it does.

When you've got little resources, you need all the tips you can get!

Gift ideas for homeless teenagers

Ask a kid today what they'd like and your apt to get a ton of responses. Same thing goes for any kid experiencing homelessness. To them the food sucks, the clothes suck, and there's almost no way to escape what they're going through that's legal.

Except music.

If you're in a position of charitable giving, there's one thing that almost any teenager that's homeless would REALLY enjoy. They can keep it on them at all times. The upkeep's low and they'll remember you for it for years...MP3 players!

Music is the one thing every adult can relate to and admit it's something every kid should have. Give a kid one and he'll smile just at the thought of you.

We were frugal but not stupid when we were homeless

I remember a number of times when different families would get 'windfall' money in, and how quick many others were to judge them for not 'investing' their money wisely. This is a matter of inappropriate behavior when compared to other peoples' financial choices. Sometimes getting the best buy isn't easy when you don't have the knowledge of what else is out there.

What would benefit many parents of families experiencing homelessness more would be volunteers coming forward to offer what helped THEM make more appropriate choices. While the internet is a boom of wealth, many people in this segment of society don't have the experience of using it as much of a tool as others more...'well off'.

Before you judge maybe you should take a closer look, listen, and see what your own mouth has to offer to help out.

Uses of GPS for the homeless

A few years ago there was a big 'rigamaroll' involving the possible fingerprinting of homeless in Jacksonville, much of it involving the regular homeless bashers downtown. There is however a definate use for gps tracking amongst homeless families for safety reasons.

With having impressionable teens there's always the constant threat that one of the nice single males or females that tries to bond with families is really a perv, sexual predator, or some other form of malcontent. You can't keep the kids under lock and key...although it might be ideal sometimes.

Knowing where they've 'been' isn't as useful as where they are at the moment. GPS tracking through cell phones is more available through even pay per use services than ever before. Another option is purchasing watches with harness locks; that can't be removed; that give realtime locations and provide 'breadcrumb' tracking...being able to see where they've been after the fact.

Happy Independence Day!

To each of you pursuing your own stable path, one step at a time, may your dreams come reality.

Don't give up. If we could do it, so can YOU!!!

Happy 4th of July!

Reward yourself, but get rid of your old office furniture first

You don't need that stuff in the waiting room any longer. You have no idea what to do with it if you were to get some new office furniture either.

Here's a hint:

Get a hold of Diane Gilbert at the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville, Inc. They're the lead agency that shucks out the bucks to non profits from the Federal Government.

If there's a non profit agency that REALLY needs some furniture, she's the woman who's got her finger on the pulse of Jacksonville to point the way.

She also answers to me. You can tell her I said that. (904) 353-2108

"I can't get a bed because I'm always looking for work"

An hour ago I received contact from someone looking for help on my other site. Doesn't sound new to homelessness, and sometimes stays in his storage room where he has some of his belongings.

The biggest setback is his wanting to return to 'normal', trying to put one priority above another when it simply hasn't worked in the past. It sucks, but the thing that homeless people have to face first in breaking out of the cycle comes down to the same thing:

Where can I sleep regularly and safely, every night?

They don't get it. The same story of why they're not able to get a bed revolves around following potential leads to jobs, putting them at the bottom of the list for having missed a bed opening that afternoon. Or maybe the staff sees them constantly in just at night and thinks they're gaming the system.

If you're on the streets here's a hint: the way off quickest is to get in a line for a permanent bed, and STAY THERE!

Without the bed, there's no shower regularly for that potential job you might get. It's the same as Akoya pearls taking time as opposed to aux faux.

Getting a passport when your homeless?

It's not as easy as you think. While residing in Georgia I came across the inability to get a state identification card without literally giving blood.

The end result was living in a state for two years, providing them state income tax, and unrealistic expectations in anticipation of Patriot III even being thought of.

Try getting a passport there, and you'd probably need to leave a child or something. The ironic thing is that just prior to leaving Georgia years ago, word went out that illegal immigrants would be able to take out bank loans as well as get driver licensing...when a person from another state was refused without providing a letter of clearance from said prior state!

I wanna be a Chicano, but not from Chicago MAN!!!

Keeping your face healthy while on the streets

Sleep deprivation, lack of potable water, lack of nutritional supplements, and other things lacking all impact the mind and physical body of thousands of people experiencing homelessness in Jacksonville, Florida.

Millions throughout the United States.

And billions worldwide.

When a child reaches puberty on the streets or in a homeless shelter, he's more aware of his face than some homed peers he has at schools. If you think he won't wonder about acne treatments, you're wrong.

International Candlelight Vigil for Homeless Kids

Throughout North America an annual Candlelight Vigil for homeless street youth will be held on Thursday, November 20th, 2008. It provides awareness and puts a face on the less talked about homeless population that in most cases is criminalized the most.

While the Federal Government makes it MANDATORY for local school boards to ensure homeless kids are able to attend school, Local Governments usually make it a crime for unaccompanied youth to receive medical care.

This year find out what's going on and light a few candles for the little ones.

Looking for work when you're homeless

You're not able to get enough sleep. You're at the mercy of schedules imposed by others. You need to schedule things within the confines of a few hours, going from one side of a county to the other by local bus. You've also got two kids in tow and can't get a voucher for daycare while looking for work.

The nearest contact to someone that could watch your kids is themselves in the homeless shelter. If you leave them in their care, you're placing them in the same situation that caused that person to become homeless...their values and life choices.

What do you do? You've got two weeks left before you've got to leave the shelter. You know that even if you land a job today, it'll be at least three weeks before seeing your first paycheck.

Things they don't admit about what you'll go through when you're in the homeless system. Anything you can do or add to your arsenal of information, shove it in your head.

Los Angeles jobs is just another one of those things to add.

Free Dental Clinic To Help the Hurting, July 7th – 10th 2008

Florida Baptist Convention
July 7th – 10th 2008 8am - 4pm

The homeless on the street, a single mom living in an overcrowded multi family housing community, even a mom and dad who go to work every day to take care of their children, all have one thing in common.

Dental Needs

A few years ago, we hosted the Florida Baptist Convention Dental Mobile Home in Jacksonville. This state of the art, multimillion dollar medical clinic came in for three days and we ministered to over one hundred and sixty people by filling hundred of cavities, pulling over five hundred teeth, and meeting some of their other needs. This July, we will have the unit again, except this time we will have it from 8am – 4pm for five days. Last time, we turned many people away and we hope we will be able to help more this time.

Last time, we learned that this outreach needs YOU in order to be successful. We made so many mistakes and we need help.

1) This ministry opportunity needs some medical and dental professionals.

Please tell your dentist about this event and ask them to help. If you are a dentist, please consider volunteering for one short four hour shift from 8am to 12pm or from 12pm to 4pm on one of the ministry days.

2) There will also be a big need for medical supplies to send home with the patients.

Last year, they would go home and stick newspaper in their mouths because they didn't have any gauze. We want to send them home with gauze, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and some water. Please start collecting these items and donating them for the ministry week.

3) We need your help to offer more than just dental help that week.

We need people who have training in all sorts of medical service to help taste people for blood pressure, cholesterol levels, circle cell anemia, AIDS, etc. . . I have no idea what can be done in a clinic setting or what supplies are needed, but I need people who do know to step up and help us.

4) Help us minister to the whole person, not just their medical needs.

Please start collecting food to give to the people we help. Also be sure to collect foods that they can eat after their dental needs have been met. Apples sauces, jellies, and soups are just some ideas.

5) I need volunteers to help us run this event.

We need people to help register, counsel, pray, watch the children, transport patients, serve the volunteer medical staff, and hand out food and clothes. We are looking for volunteers who are willing to work from 7am-12pm or from 12-pm to 5pm on one of the ministry days.

We will have a clothes and item give away we will have a kids zone

Last time we had a blast as tons of volunteers helped all over the city and we need your help again. Please join with us, let your church know about this event, and sign up to help. Together, we can address one large need and share God's love.

You will hear more to come but if you would like to help please contact our dental ministry director Bob Kolb.

His phone # is home: (904)381-6229 Bill Kolb cell: (904)502-6007 fax: (904)384-3479 and his email is wkolb@comcast.net and you can make tax deductable checks to the Florida Baptist Convention Hendricks Av Jax fl or North Main Street Baptist Church 7137 North main street jax fl 32208 or Wordstoworks Ministries.

If you participate you can feel glad you did something good when planning your next Caribbean villa rentals getaway!

.: Vacuum problems for fresh homed families

In the past I've mentioned different problems that families experiencing homelessness face in terms of their environmental changes, both home-to-streets and vice-versa. One of the most common one I've seen are respiratory issues affecting both young and old.

I got word about Miele vacuums after actually having just bought a vacuum locally that was bagless with a nice filter. I was willing to spend more money, but it's difficult to find an outlet you can get your 'hands on' experience and see what you're actually getting.

If you've got a family with breathing issues, check out the link.

When at the doctor's, ladies

Remember the following:

1. Wear clean underwear.
2. Check your pantyline.
3. Mind those times you're leaning over in front of an audience.
4. Beware four guys appearing to surf on smartphones...too high a ratio.
5. Check out what you can wear after the doctor gives you an 'all clear' note at Shirley of Hollywood

You never know when you'll get the chance to wear something when you could have been wearing nothing at all!

To market to market...

Farmer's market through a screened window of a local bus. A watermelon truck waits to offload in front.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Cause he chose to! Becuase the chicken needed to be one with his destiny. Because the chicken is the embodied essence of men needing to joke about something than be concerned with their own welfare.

The chicken simply...is.

But then there's always the dancing chicken, which doesn't cross roads. This chicken chooses the softer footfalls upon a wooden deck with it's counterpart, attired in black tux and fashionable Dansko where others aspire to tread.

Don't...cross this chicken.

Overlook off Matthew's Bridge by bus

Street lights dot the neighborhood West of Talleyrand Avenue from a view atop the bridge. A day laborer waits in the reflection on his way to work.

Later in the day I took some time to think about this picture. The visage of the man, the background of the landscape going by. For some unknown reason I thought about the upcoming upgrades to HD television signals next year, then I realized how many people on the street using small sets will be affected.

While the rest of us scamper for new decoders or HDMI cables, others will still be scampering for better food. It's all about planning. Us for ourselves for tomorrow, as well as us for those not able to plan for themselves then.

Site Review Continuation: Wamu

Months and months ago I was asked to review Wamu.com from Washington Mutual Bank. Again like with most services or products I'm asked to review, I opened both a checking and savings account with them.

Both were found so reliable I closed down my other accounts that were either lame or costing me $9.95 a month. I've had to contact customer service four times at different points of the day and night, all able to help from loss of my PIN to clarifying normal customer service needs over the phone.

Money in, money out, not a charge or problem. I can see copies of all my checks on my PDA even! All this, and NO CHARGE in over four months! So it was cool they asked me to blurb about their Savings Accounts.

Just about anything you would do at any other bank, THEY can do. CDs out the Wazoo...or is that Wamuuuu?

Seriously, online, liquid, any type of CD...they've got a good selection. I can personally say they've really been a big help in saving money just in transitioning over to them from my other online banks. And if they're good enough for me to use personally over someone else, they're good enough for you.

Site Review: 23Blogs

I was asked the other day to check out and give my two cents about 23Blogs.com - FREE Blog Roll TEXT Link Exchange.(1:10). Being on the outside in and giving a decent critique on something isn't possible, so I took the time of actually registering and installing the code on the site here...it's just above my MyBlogLog widget displayed on the right.

One of the biggest problems I hate about web services is having to 'reply' to an email to authenticate, something I didn't have to do with 23Blogs.com. Their authentication uses a standard 'CAPTCHA' process, and I was in like Flint. Registration took less than three minutes, and the code was installed after choosing within sixty seconds.

The idea behind 23Blogs.com is if your viewers click on a link in the widget, you get 10 points for your blog to be placed on the same amount of page views of other blogs having the widget. In essence your viewers interested in other blogs in the widget get you seen in other blogs. The links created go through 23Blogs.com, and you can see your referring them and to who by doing a mouseover. Everything's done through Java, so this is about traffic, NOT PAGE RANK! Page Rank will NOT be received through using this from what I'm seeing.

In the next few days I'll see how much comes through while monitoring my inbound link stats. Overall due to the ease of registration, installation, and not being page heavy on loads...I'd have to at first look give 23Blogs.com a high score compared to it's competition.

Let's see how they do in the long run.

The sun's so bright, they gotta wear shades

Temperatures touching the 90's, no place for a cold drink of water, dozens of people throughout Jacksonville will get relief from the sun, even if it's not their counterpart's choice of vintage sunglasses.

Recent tightening of admittance of homeless people in Jacksonville by staff of public places of interest was ramped up as expected, following increased temperature and lack of underwear for local unsheltered residents.

Trust me...when the temperature rises and you can't shower, you need all the changes of underwear you can get.

Cold coffee

Most was cold at dinner tonight, even the final item. Strange.

Nowhere to sleep

She carried a backpack filled to the seams bursting. Looked only fourteen, with a tattoo of Pooh on her left shoulder. Someone's daughter turned meat market fantasy entree for a night's cost in a hotel.

...names hidden to protect the identities...

Image taken of bruising after altercation with assailant. Had my torso completely naked, but I'm just demure, unlike DaddyP and Fracas with their promoted porn.

Tender, more psychologically damaged than anything. Doubt I'll forget this encounter...actually had my scrotum grabbed forcibly a number of times...actually fought to keep from laughing...you'd have to have been ther...then again, best you weren't and leave close encounters to the pros.

WAPping you with my set of balls

This is a test. This is only a test. If this were real, it wouldn't be a test.

Site Review: Thoughts.com

Yesterday I was asked to check out a blogging community offering Free Blogs at Thoughts.com, a place I hadn't come across in the past before since most of the people in my circles have their own hosted sites or are still transitioning from the other big two.

Sometimes being in the same 'blogsphere' can close your mind to other options. That's why I was glad to take a closer look at Thoughts.com and see what was under the hood. Inside they've also got a community forum and forms of popularity for both promoting a person's work as well as letting other reader's know what's hot in the community.

Free bandwidth and the usual stuff that takes the worry from newbies getting their first taste of blogging, as well as a nice interface for experienced bloggers interested in just 'letting go' and getting involved with blogging for 'The Zen'.

Overall, not a bad place. The only downside however is in their terms of service agreement in regards to what we refer to as monetizing.

It's a no no. But hey, it's free, and that's not much to ask for to keep it from looking like a splogwork. The peeps behind Thoughts.com are simply trying to keep the place litter free, considering the amount of trash that could accumulate on their servers, let alone for their readers looking for quality without a sales pitch.

Myself, I'm looking at possibly creating an account there after blogging off and on for ten years. Monetizing pays the bills, but the real reason I got into blogging was about self expression, community, interaction, and learning about myself while learning about others.

It was about thoughts. Mine. Others. With going pro, it's what we can all consider in putting back into the blogosphere.

.:When you get a place you can have better shoe upkeep

When you're homeless, you have a problem with shoes wearing out. If you had a pair of Merrell shoes, you'd have more problems keeping them up.

When you're homeless you can't find a clean cloth to wipe them off. Stuff like mud, muck, water from tires splashing you...it's all icky.

But when you get a home of your own, you can keep them clean. You'll have a place to sit regularly and polish your shoes with a soft brush. You'll have a place to keep that brush in fact.

You'll be happy to be able to keep a pair of shoes nice and tidy.

.:He had a Bluetooth on in the soup line

Something humorous to some is seeing someone in a soup kitchen line wearing a Bluetooth headset. It shouldn't be.

Thousands of people in every community use some form of public meal source to survive. Some due to bad choices, some out of pure necessity. Wearing the earpiece they may be waiting for an emergency call from a doctor to get their spouse in for a translant. Another might be waiting for a home to be opened for the family to move in. Another may be waiting for a job to start the life on a new path.

It's not the appearance...it's why it's there that should matter...when someone homeless is trying...no matter where they are at the time.

.:Ideas for homeless mothers to be

When you're homeless, baby gifts are something you don't see much of after a newborn baby's been brought back to the shelter. I mean...they're there, just not what you'd see at any shower.

It makes one realize how much precious life is, and the dearness we put on trappings rather than the life that slips from us day by day.

If you have a shelter in your area, consider clicking the link above and checking out what would make an unwed mother or unfortunate expecting couple happy to open...even if just for a few moments in a very unhappy time they're experiencing.

.:Lose Weight with the Evil One or Phentermine

Phentermine has been a subject of discussion for years. I personally don't know anyone who's homeless who needs to be on a diet to reduce weight...although I know many who need a diet that gets nutrients necessary to live in such.

Consumerpricewatch.net has got some info over at their site on getting your hands on this item, if your interested. Myself, I've lost 30 pounds over the last few months, but then again it was due to the 'Evil One'.

If you'd like some help from the 'Evil One' in losing weight, I'll be happy to put her in a box and send her to you. If not, check out the info in the link above.

Cheers.

.:Come on and ride my clean sparkly ride, women

Cadillac grills can be a sign of affluence, just like the difference between a well made blog theme and something you find as a default choice on a blog.

Appearance is everything. Driving down the road for everyone to see, just like traffic to a blog.

Nobody wants to be seen with a ding here or a pitmark there. They want to show off their ride, just like their blog. Makes me wonder, which is more important to a person...a blog or their ride?

Me, my blog...since my ride has 10 wheels and seats over 40.

.:Memories of the homeless

A few moments ago I spoke with someone who's been in and out of the homeless cycle and system four times in the last five years alone. Prior to that it's really hard to say what their experience was, since much of anything that far back is a jumble...sometimes painful for the person be spoken to to remember.

Traumatic memories are the hardest to retrieve. Sometimes they come out when a person's ready to deal with them, sometimes when least expected. Sometimes they can pop up into a person's view just when they're about to cross the street against oncoming traffic.

Sometimes they never know what hit 'em, literally. Sometimes laptop memory isn't easy to deal with...but it always finds it's way to come out in the end.

.:The Memory Of The Van Accident

A few years ago while in the homeless shelter, my daughter and I were involved in a vehicle accident just behind the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Just yesterday we received word from the attorney that there was a settlement.

Medical bills paid in full.
Attorney's fee's taken out of the check.
Left over amount: <$1000.00 USD.

Could we have milked the cash cow? Yes, most definately. Many do. We didn't. We had nothing but our family members during those days. We chose to build from scratch. We're proud of that fact.

So this Tuesday when the check is cut, my wife and I are going to Sam's Club and doing something we haven't done in five years: stocking the freezer and kitchen completely. I'm used to keeping dry goods on hand for anything, whether a hungry kid with a wet appetite or someone dropping in that needs something hot...but something wholesome and with love.

The ironic thing about the accident was that the driver/owner of the vehicle we were in didn't have car insurance. His family was homeless too. When you're surviving, it's not a priority.

It's why now I budget finances for medical insurance and other benefits at work. Lesson learned.

.:Yeah, I'm Back Kids

A while ago I decided to back off this blog. Close it out. Whatever. Life changes, people change, and there's a whole new thing out there. We could all just lean back in our leather office chairs while sipping Mocha Lattes and think it's fine.

But it's not.

Getting out of homelessness is just one step down the path. Keeping out of the cycle is another. The greatest problem I've seen over the last four years is the high percentage of people returning to the streets, the shelters, the soup kitchens, and the traps their minds continually to become ensnared in.

And it sucks. Granted at times I write with a big ego...it was one of the reasons I chose to close the blog entries since I thought it would hamper my attempts to improve 'the system' for the recipients.

But I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Homelessness isn't the issue. Alcohol isn't the issue, or drugs.

It's about the mind and the need for mental health at the root, and it's something I've not seen anyone having the balls to name the demon publicly. This used to infuriate me. At times I saw it as a double standard, professionals telling me one thing behind closed doors acknowledging the problem while keeping their mouths shut in front of the camera.

That's when it hit me. It's not their job to be heard. They can't do their job if they out the system, since they can always be removed.

But me...I'm not in the system. I'm outside it. I am it. I see it every day when I speak to those still within it. I smell it when I realize someone hasn't had a bath in a week I'm speaking to. I hear it when their stomachs churn and body exudes odors of malnutrition.

When I became a Director for the Emergency Services & Homeless Coalition of Jacksonville, Inc., I thought my hands would be tied...of not being able to speak my mind...or heart. Again, I was wrong.

People are still sleeping outside. People are still using drugs to escape demons inside. People are still using peers for their own purposes of feeding those demons even. But do I have an answer to this nightmare others wouldn't talk about?

No, unfortunately. For millenia people have experienced homelessness. The problem isn't about homes...it's about people...it's about survival...it's about what's inside.

A home isn't. A soul and heart is. Get to the heart of the soul, and you might find the cure to one person's homeless cycle.

One new home at a time.

Something for you to eat on

I got a link to check on a process known as a liver cleanse. There's an assessment question and answer section that gets to the down and dirty, no pun intended.

It asked if I'd ever had my colon cleansed. While my diet while homeless wasn't 'all that', I can honestly say that nothing went in the wrong direction than things should normally flow.

They don't go there either. Not once did I see anything involving the back doorway. Everything's nice and going the way things should.

.: This ain't your daddy's 8-track player

Years ago people living on the streets didn't have as many options for entertainment that were as mobile as them. CD players damaged easily by salt air breezes over time, cassette players even more susceptible, and 8 track players that were bulky with a huge push bar for changing tracks.

Today we've got MP3 players that are smaller than a person's thumb and can store in many cases four hours of audio. The choices are unlimited, compared to technology years ago...we make what we want rather than rely on manufacturers.

Ten years from now maybe we'll have a plan that can keep up with technology that keeps people in homes.

.: The Accident That Could Have Been Avoided

Back in 2006 during the 'living in a van down by the river' months, my daughter and I were involved in an accident in that same vehicle driven by the owner. Pictures of it can be seen here.

The owner was a good person, but lied about holding auto insurance. During later months when my wife dealt with an attorney, we found out that the owner was suing the driver of the vehicle that hit his van. We also found that the same attorney was handling his case as was ours, and the attorney was not willing to go after the van owner further.

Before you get in a vehicle don't be put off by demanding to see someone's insurance policy. Don't let someone else's lie of convenience cost you possibly later.

.: Teaching others to think big when they themselves can't

When you talk to someone who's homeless, sometimes the conversation turns to their hopes and aspirations. Often the process leads to tales of happiness with just the basic of needs, sometimes to the thinker as mere fantasy than possible reality.

Some people plan getaways through fractional ownership, but the difference between the two mindset's is the size of a virtual Grand Canyon. If you're going to think, think big! When you talk to someone that's homeless, encourage them to think positive...and bigger.

.: Haves and Have nots

After someone gets a home of their own, they'll go through the steps of solidifying things. Pretty soon a year later and they'll be looking to start getting into creature comforts, television, cable, music, or a speaker mount for different applications.

In the face of this will be many critics. Let them in their jealousy rant over things they can't control. People thriving brings out negative from the most childish of our residents at times. In the end it's not a matter of the 'haves' and 'have nots'...it's a matter of the 'have nots' being the ones without it in their heart.

.:. Making reality from mere thought

Wilmington real estate...home, by the sea. Tranquility comes to mind from songs over a decade old of a lifestyle reminiscent of care free living, with the sound of waves lapping at the sand and dolphins to talk to in a briny lagoon.

Fantasy is sometimes a mixture of things the mind has experienced with the blanks filled in without the minded person's knowledge it's subconscious is doing so at the time. But with such a place available, one can turn mere fantasy into reality...if one's mind focuses enough.