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.