Your Story in 6 Words: Send Your Own to Peoplesadvocacycouncil@gmail.com


Please remit your story 6 words

advanced warning stories may be habit-forming

a good thing to be liked

“It’s a good day to die”

perspective matters most in precarious times

every way we live with dignity

 

“white man, Black woman, Voluntary outsiders”

 

“Great cast, excellent locations, murky plot”

 

“Dead soldiers do sometimes come back”

 

“feeling lost is a temporary state”

 

 

wow you all have remarkable stories

 

keep them coming, everyone rise

“left the keys, see you tonight”

“actually it will be tomorrow then”

Peace of mind doesn’t come easily

“This story of mine has potential” 

“Small girl big is the best”

“Lovely morning light can you see?”

“Listen to the silence of Love”

“Poetry music Ireland love tragedy survival”

“Taking care, reaching out to all”

“Love you unconditionally and without expectations”

“H.I.P.P.I.E Happy (high) intelligent person pursuing infinite enlightenment”

“Passionate artist accepting the journey given”

Great music is always made together

aggregate housing is what we need

crossing over to the dark side

crossing over to the other side

We belong to one another forever

A rude awakening comes over me

eyes peering out from stinging nettles

Imagine that arrived early on time

touch points from here on out

emergency services can do so much

we’re not going the same way

not merely focused on health care

opened can of worms going fishing

here’s what we can offer you

somewhere over the rainbow we’re lost

compare here and there with must

 long way home the Jericho Road

lost in thoughts empty your mind

stillness is best medicine for troubles

too many words is your request
 
leave a key if you must
 
Freak shows by nature are brawny
 
 
must stop before I go bananas
 
 
love me tenderly without end always

Imagine a world of kaleidoscopic perspectives.

ex communicates feeling in smiling rhymes

Hard not to be a cliché

“I am apprehensive about my words”

lovely sentiments from a sweet tart

“where are you sleeping tonight?”

“you have said you are not..”

“it is difficult to be me”

” I know, impossible to imagine that”

Your words stir inside my heart

Smiling faces greet me every dawn

Hello, where are you staying now?

No one knows my aching bones

Troubles come blowing through trembling fingers

sometimes I’m always a motherless child

sometimes I feel I’d almost die

I’m a long way from home

If you hear the whistle blow

100,000 ways to measure your love

It ain’t easy, It ain’t easy

Never mind I’m going to wait

We’re gliding somewhere over the rainbow 

Going to jump down spin around

Endless view of spinning horizon plain 

Summer breezes arising in vapid waves

colors abound throughout rain streaked heavens

flourescent reefs aglow in still waters

breathing easily notice passing life

touch per aching heart breathes love

Butterfly flutters from flower to flower

Bees buzz through endless poppy’s blush

Crows caw claiming their rightful supremacy

Kindred spirits lie within your heart

Moon beams dance across the sun

Rhapsodies in August wash away tears

Come hither I’ll steal your heart

Invisible people never forget their place

Neighbors build bridges spanning the wilderness

Piercing light comes stealthfully stealing night

Touching strokes glancing robbing memory’s flight

What will I do what matters

didn’t sleep needed to hold her

Spill the beans reprieve from silence

Long slumbers entangled legs and arms

couples dancing illuminating piercing dawn’s gait

palpitating pulsating quivering memory of lust

Come hither taste these sweet lips

departures come go stirring impassioned serenades

Dawn’s light trembling in darting flight

Tremors of sadness rise and ebb

Knowing you always keeps me here

gestures of the heart gathers within

gestures of the heart holding hands

gestures of the heart stir memories

playful hands strong grips dissolving inhibitions

Syncopating rhythm resting nowhere within bounds

Shadows glisten beneath these hoary silhouettes

none remembers safe passages homeward bound

Burdens rise when you come home

tailors can’t sew this tattered cloth

Class warfare provocates a desperate flight

None  here can hear the drones

no place left to lie down

be still aching heart of mine

sublet the place from your master

radiant beauty rests within one’s view

lethargy rolls up hanging upside down 

pro-life reveals sacred trust for all

“Quiet mind full heart expansive spirit”

Old odd enduring man stretching out

my orange poppies blooming welcome you

pansies mother’s favorite surviving in winter

Lilies of the valley stand tall

choruses’ refrain building to a crescendo

contumely of innocence ricocheting through generations

Harbinger of spring  slender filials emerge

catapulting jolt crossing the event horizon

hysteria awaiting for the unexpectant passerby

nostalgia does not wait for tomorrow

“Today is my sister’s 50th birthday”
” hopeless – none of this really matters”
“if one is able to forgive” 
 ”seems an impossible place to be”
“something like an endless sleepless night”
 
“My baby girl is grown now”
 
“I am invisible, I am fiction”
 
 
“Could be a mistake, maybe not”
 
“I see myself in third person”
 
“Chinese Fortune sticks, a daily routine”
 
“She cut her hair at him”
 
 
“An endless sleepless night is hell”
 
“got to go – my day waits”
freak show awaiting loves unsung mystery
 some rain pants covering your ass
It’s good that we caught it
I feel we speak in code
we could hang out on Monday

Ends and beginnings transform our lives

You’re cordially invited to begin again

The Imagine Project Hits Amazon.com


The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love

http://www.amazon.com

The Imagine Project shares the inspiring stories of ordinary people who ve persevered through extraordinary experiences. The soulful photographs incite curiosity about each person, and through their captivating narratives, you ll experience the essence of

This product

The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love
The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love by Dianne Maroney (Hardcover – April 13, 2013)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and amazing in every way, May 19, 2013
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

I received this book as a gift recently and was blown away by the magnitude that it brings to anyone and everyone that has read it. It gives you a great outlook on life and the amazing people that surround us. It is filled with heartwarming stories that will bring hope and love to every person that reads it.

Highly recommended!

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and Beautiful., May 19, 2013
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

I received this book shortly after being interested in the idea from watching the Kickstarter. The book is about people that have been through difficult struggles throughout there life and have learned to overcome them. Each person has an inspirational story that leaves tears in your eyes. Not only do the stories leave you feeling inspired, but the stories are also compared with breathtaking portraits of each person. It is definitely something that has changed my view on life. It leaves you knowing that there is a positive side to everything that we go through in life. Honestly, throughout this last year I have been struggling with seeing the positives and after reading this book It helped me realize that these struggles are just mini hiccups. I recommend this book to everyone. Everyone is a hero, even if you feel like you are just an everyday, average person.

Beautiful writing, beautiful photography, beautiful people.

Must read.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, May 19, 2013
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

I wrote this as a blog post after reading this book. Phenomenal experience.

Ordinary people leading extraordinary lives. People you pass by every day. Inspiring is one word for it. Mind – blowing is another. As we pass so many people during our day and don’t know their stories. Sometimes we barely know our OWN stories – and it is a rare person that tries to understand another person’s story. Listening to (yes I read the book but it was a lot more like listening) – the stories of everyday people. People that have taken some time to understand their own story and then share it with others. Helps me. I have met a lot of people who haven’t taken the time to understand their own story. And they have no interest in mine or yours. They are pretty wrapped up and circling the ground with nowhere to lay. It is also amazing because your own story – you may find it hard to believe you are even in it. Or how could your own story really be true? Or who would believe you in our post-modern cynical world (guilty as charged)?

A wrenching book on so many levels and hopeful on other levels. Just the pain we survive – and we do survive, and some of us actually survive and manage to THRIVE. How bizarre is that. There is that gap – where there is no thriving and you wonder when it will come or how it will come. The secret – get outside of your own skin and give something back – somewhere. That is the healing thriving place. And I want to get back there. to that space where I can give back so I can thrive. But there is a reason for winter and rest. This book: The Imagine Project shows how sharing your story – leads to massive healing and when you heal – it heals some part of all of humanity. A mystery for sure.

I often tell people in my classes – where they come in a bit terrified – that surely they have battled bigger issues and faced scarier things than a brush on canvas. And I’m really not kidding.

Funded by the fabulous Kickstarter Crowd Funding.

Grace,

Kelly Doak

Owner

http://www.sippingnpaintinghampden.com

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5.0 out of 5 stars Genuine beauty, May 21, 2013
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

Upon receiving this book, I was astonished at the high quality of each image. Once I began reading each Imagine, I was overwhelmed with joy and love for each person, whom I have never met! The Imagine Project does an extraordinary job of opening up the lives of individuals in a thoughtful, reflective way. It reminds us how amazing people are and that each person has their own unique, inspiring story to tell. The compilations of Imagines are touching, beautiful, and bring a deep sense of hope and compassion for strangers.

A timeless coffee table book!

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5.0 out of 5 stars INSPIRING for everyone!!!!, May 20, 2013
By
K. Mitsumatsu “Kayoko” (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

I just got so inspired and moved by the stories of unknown heroes in this beautiful book!! You can not help but gaining the sense of proud to be an American when you read and see this book, as so many individuals are living amazing lives against all odds. Just look at the variety of faces, ages, sex, ethnicity,,,but they are all Americans. Where on earth do we find this kind of reality today? This is a book to be shared by children especially to encourage them to go for their dreams, when things do not look easy, stick to IMAGINATION, that is the key to reach to their dreams!! I am so touched by the creator Dianne Maroney’s vision and gorgeous photos by Mario. What a great project and gorgeously put together production. Perfect gift to anybody at Christmas, Birthdays or any occasion, to remind anybody to just get out and do something in this world!! You can all make a difference if you act. Reminds me of Gandhi’s words, “You must be the change you wish to see in this world” and this is really happening right here!!!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Amazing Book!, May 19, 2013
This review is from: The Imagine Project: Stories of Courage, Hope and Love (Hardcover)

After reading this incredible book I have never felt so inspired. It really puts our lives into perspective. We all know that each person has his or her own troubles but this book completely changes one’s view on how to treat each person that you come into contact with and how each person has so much to teach us. I have never felt so appreciative about how blessed my life is and how irrelevant my problems really are until I put this book down. The author and the photographer did an amazing job. I feel so grateful to have come across this book and my life has been changed forever.

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Disaster Relief: HOUSING AND HUMAN RIGHTS


Small step for our bill, giant leap for our human rights

by Street Roots Staff | 21 May 2013
Artwork courtesy of WRAP

By Eric Ares, Dilara Yarbrough and Paul Boden, Contributing Columnists

On April 23, the California State Assembly Judiciary Committee passed Assembly Bill 5, also known as the Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act, out of committee with a 7-2 vote. More than just a legislative procedure, the vote was the latest victory for a growing national movement of people and organizations committed to ending the criminalization of homelessness and poverty in cities and regions across the country.

Throughout the history of the United States, discriminatory laws have stripped the most marginalized populations in our society of their constitutional rights. And time and time again, it has taken the work of those dedicated to equality and justice to challenge and end these threats to our civil liberties. So while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended Jim Crow segregation, it is important for us to remember that it took the organizing and sacrifice of thousands of freedom fighters to force legislators to act on these landmark pieces of legislation.

This is why a Homeless Bill of Rights is needed now more than ever. Multiple economic recessions and the shredding of our social safety net programs have led municipalities to pass laws that punish, rather than help, the most vulnerable in our society. Today, homeless people all over the United States are cited, arrested and jailed just for being without housing. Sleeping, sitting, standing — these are life sustaining activities and fundamental human rights that are denied to the homeless.

However, last year Rhode Island passed the first Homeless Bill of Rights. And now there are campaigns to pass similar laws underway in Oregon, Vermont, Connecticut, Missouri and California. These bills reflect a growing dissatisfaction with the current strategy of criminalization that fails to address growing economic disparities and inevitably results in human rights abuses. California’s Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights and Fairness Act demands that the State of California differentiate between criminal acts that a person might commit (regardless of housing status) and life-sustaining acts we all perform but that become criminal offenses for those without housing.

But laws like this do not happen on their own. They take the dedication and coordinated efforts of a movement. A Homeless Bill of Rights is more than just a law protecting the rights of the economically disenfranchised. It underscores our desperate need in this country to once and for all create a society where all people are valued and treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. It speaks against our age-old pattern of laws that are used to coerce, to humiliate or dehumanize. A Homeless Bill of Rights reconfirms rights that we all know should exist, and at the same time it allows those who are experiencing homelessness to stand against the structural violence that they are experiencing.

In addition, when these laws are passed — when police and criminalization are no longer used as de facto solutions to the “problem” of homelessness — maybe then we can start to focus on the real solution to homelessness: housing. We need the Department of Housing and Urban Development budgets returned to their pre-Reagan levels. We need to stop the systematic dismantling of public housing. We need a commitment to the human right to housing. However, these goals cannot be attained if we keep allowing police to force homeless people into hiding– under our bridges, into the shadows of our alleys– or remove homeless people from visibility through arrest.

AB 5 is now continuing through the legislative process. It sits in the Appropriations Committee and will hopefully make its way to the full California State Assembly next month. The movement has thousands behind it, led by the Western Regional Advocacy Project, its member organizations and their partners.  We will be there every step of the way until we see the Homeless Bill of Rights become a reality.

Eric Ares, Dilara Yarbrough and Paul Boden are with the Western Regional Advocacy Project, or WRAP, which champions the civil and human rights of individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. Street Roots is a proud member of WRAP.

 

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LifeSign “Guiding the Homeless New Hope” Irvine, California


SEARCH
Homeless Registry
 

Attacking the giant.

Homelessness is the oldest and greatest giant in our world that we as a generation can greet with vigor, attack with kindness, and terminate with a heart of compassion.

Put simply, our mission at Lifesign is to build a “bridge” for the public to crossover to meet a homeless person on the internet and give hope. The Lifesign team is an non-profit organization dedicated to making one-to-one connections with every homeless person we come into contact, providing public internet access to their biography and life story, and delivering the relief and recovery for a brighter future off he streets.

Lifesign was born in Irvine, California, January 2012 and was built and put into action by it’s founder, Erik Rolf Peterson. One by one, Erik made personal connections with the homeless community, and, as a Bible Believing Christian, remained steadfast in prayer for divine direction, confirmation, and revelation for building the Lifesign project. With a little creativity, Erik wanted to make it easier for the homeless person to be seen – get noticed! – with a bigger and brighter homeless sign calling for help, and make it easier and safer for the public to respond to the homeless person through the internet. Combining the sign and the internet created a new bridge, joining together these invisible people and unknown homeless faces with the general public.

“Unlike historical methods of traditional food distribution, temporary overnight lodging, and holiday events, which are essential for their survival and an amazing blessing, Lifesign attacks the homeless epidemic 365 days a year with a creative three-part solution: (1) uncover the homeless mask, (2) harness public compassion, and (3) deliver sustainable recovery.”

With this new bridge connection the public can easily crossover on the internet, the Lifesign team manages and directs the recovery efforts for each homeless individual as gift donations are received for a specific homeless person with the goal to permanetly remove them off the streets. Based on the specific needs and circumstances of the homeless person, donations may be used in a variety of ways, such as providing medical aid, bedding, survival tools, food, shelter, counseling, clothing, hygiene, schooling, job training, job placement, housing, debt relief, legal assistance, and much more. These recovery services and resources are delivered by the Lifesign team and through the Lifesign Relief Network, which is an open group of volunteered companies, groups, schools, tradesmen, professionals, and individuals that offer their services and resources, and share the same passion for helping the homeless people recover off the streets.

Lifesign is changing homeless lives, giving each homeless youth, man, and woman an essential tool to directly communicate to the public for help. For the first time the passerby and onlooker now has a safer, easier, more convenient method of giving hope to a homeless individual. At the same time, Lifesign is building amazing one-to-one relationships with the homeless population, serving and working hard to remove the personal pain, loss and suffering with the hope of recovery.

Lifesign does not provide overnight lodging, direct food service, holiday food drive events, nor direct medical/physician services.

Operations

The Lifesign team is comprised of ten operations managed and supported by volunteers and hired personnel: Foot Outreach, Bio Management, Recovery Plan, Creative Development, Volunteer Network, Caregiver Support, Account Management, Relief Network, Prayer Team, and IT/Web Development. Providing real-time, unlimited access in a social network environment on the internet, Lifesign strategizes and establshes the one-on-one connection with registration, validation, bio profiling, real-time progression, public bridging, communications, and donation management. Lifesign does not provide any type of direct overnight lodging, direct food service, holiday food drives, nor direct medical/physician services.


Volunteers

Getting involved at Lifesign is easy, fun, and fulfilling. Our success in reducing the homeless population is dependent on our volunteers and thier dedication to helping us attack this giant. The Lifesign volunteer network covers a wide variety of positions that may simply involve mailing letters, to donating goods, to meeting and greeting homeless faces on the streets, or just sharing Lifesign with family, relatives, and friends. Volunteering can be as easy as contacting us with a homeless sighting when driving in your car. We beleive everyone has a gift and a heart that can help a homeless person in a unique way. There are so many ways to get involved, and we hope you will contact us to learn more and sign up as a Lifesign volunteer.


Lifesign General Fund

As a non-profit organization, Lifesign uses 100% of the public donation received for a specific homeless person toward their recovery. There are no percentages taken out from each donation, nor any additional charges applied to the donation. The Lifesign operation, itself, relies solely on gift donations to survive and operate. Thus, we have created a General Fund to receive gift donations that will be used toward operating costs, administrative expenses, payroll, homeless recovery services and goods, emergencies, the “unexpected,” and more. Your financial donations to the Lifesign General Fund keeps the Lifesign organization operational and functioning effectively to help the homeless population. Without your gift donations to the General Fund, Lifesign would not be operational.


For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, “You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.”
Deuteronomy 15:11

Vulnerability Index Registry JUNE 3 to 14 VOLUNTEER


Please consider sharing the volunteer registration for the Vulnerability Index with your contacts. We are also lining up “touchpoints” (agencies/locations where we conduct surveys).  If you are interested, please fill out the attached form to sign up and request volunteers.  Or, for more information, contact Rebecca Mayer atrebecca.mayer@unitedwaydenver.org or 303-561-2194

 

 

Volunteers Needed for Denver Metro Vulnerability Index

Volunteer Registration is Now Open: Metro Denver Vulnerability Index Volunteer Registration

This information is also posted at mdhi.org.

Background: The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) and the Governor’s Office have partnered to identify and house homeless families, individuals, and unaccompanied youth in the seven county Denver Metro region. We will be using the Vulnerability Index, a research tool developed through the efforts of Community Solutions and the 100,000 Homes Campaign to obtain information on medical vulnerability and other risk factors and to prioritize these individuals and families for housing and services. By prioritizing housing and services to those most in need, this survey saves lives.

Starting June 3, 2013 and continuing through June 14, 2013, The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, in coordination with homeless providers in the seven county Denver Metro region, will be conducting a Vulnerability Index Survey with single individuals, families and unaccompanied youth who are experiencing homelessness.

Volunteer Opportunities: Volunteers are needed to administer surveys. Volunteers will attend a two hour training before going to identified “touch points” to survey the homeless.

Volunteers are also needed to help with data entry.

Please go to the registration page to view available dates and times–Metro Denver Vulnerability Index Volunteer Registration

When: June 3, 2013 through June 14, 2013

Where: Various locations in Denver Metro region

Volunteer Registration: Metro Denver Vulnerability Index Volunteer Registration

This information is also posted at mdhi.org.

 
 
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Our Spirits Soar


IMAGINE

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These are thoughts to live by images of peace cooperation loving finding a way to live together as friends182335_10151443345960967_923364422_n

To love is one thing, to be loved is another, but to love and love another as one that is everything.

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The practices of Nelson Mandela and of Mahatma Gandhi leads us firmly in the direction of compassion and understanding of others we wish to part as friends and never as bitter adversaries.

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Even when we have complete and total doubt we can always still burn brilliantly faith that sustains us in the dark shadows of dwelling.

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Mother Teresa

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in the end there is a beginning that we cannot see  hesitate a moment and let go there in that flickering moment is the path that we seek.

A cloud burst came and opened filling the sky with total darkness soaking us from toe to scalp  we emerged from the rain with the sense that the earth was opened renewed and forever sanctified 

Daily wind and rain nourished the soils and from these torrents came a jungle that was full of teeming life.

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We have emerged from a deep slumber like a cocoon emerging from a long birth we begin

 

 

Let us look for the best in each of us no matter where and how we have arrived at this place.

 

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We are a bird in a gilded cage we must emerge relish our freedom nourish ground on which we step with reverence with passion that every step is a blessing devoutly we embrace 

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Listen hush  hear the venerable sage within revere the whispers

the succulent ferns the ancient wisdom of our presence 

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You cannot lie down without being aware

“How I failed” – “50 Rules for Dads With Daughters In Their Lifetime Together”


Women Need Their Fathers’ Love, Support, and Presence

“50 Rules for Dads of Daughters” {by Michael Mitchell}

by CHRISTINE – FROM DATES TO DIAPERS on AUGUST 30, 2011

  ”Mothers – bookmark this list of rules and encourage your daughter’s daddy to read them, memorize them, and put them in to action. And, to all you Dads out there – be sure you pay close attention and heed these wise words.”

“About Michael Michael Mitchell is an (almost) thirty-something dad who blogs daily tips and life lessons for dads of daughters at lifetoheryears.com. He spends his days practicing the arts of fatherhood and husbandry, while attempting to be a man of God and a professional raiser of philanthropic funds. On the rare occasion he’s not tied up with the aforementioned and other pursuits of awesomeness, he enjoys fighting street gangs for local charities and drinking from a cup that’s half full. Bookmark Life To Her Years, follow Michael on Twitter, and “like” him on Facebook for more “rules”.


1.” Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.”


2. “Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.”


3. “Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.”


4. “Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.”


5. “Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.”


6. “Buy her a glove and teach her to throw a baseball. Make her proud to throw like a girl… a girl with a wicked slider.”


7. “She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.”


8. “Go ahead. Buy her those pearls.”


9.” Of course you look silly playing peek-a-boo. You should play anyway.”


10. “Enjoy the wonder of bath time.”


11. “There will come a day when she asks for a puppy. Don’t over think it. At least one time in her life, just say, “Yes.”


12.” It’s never too early to start teaching her about money. She will still probably suck you dry as a teenager… and on her wedding day.”


13. “Make pancakes in the shape of her age for breakfast on her birthday. In a pinch, donuts with pink sprinkles and a candle will suffice.”


14. “Buy her a pair of Chucks as soon as she starts walking. She won’t always want to wear matching shoes with her old man.”


Photo Credit :: Danielle Rocke Toews

15. “Dance with her. Start when she’s a little girl or even when she’s a baby. Don’t wait ‘til her wedding day.”


16. “Take her fishing. She will probably squirm more than the worm on your hook. That’s OK.”


17.” Learn to say no. She may pitch a fit today, but someday you’ll both be glad you stuck to your guns.”


18. “Tell her she’s beautiful. Say it over and over again. Someday an animated movie or “beauty” magazine will try to convince her otherwise.”


19. “Teach her to change a flat. A tire without air need not be a major panic inducing event in her life. She’ll still call you crying the first time it happens.”


20. “Take her camping. Immerse her in the great outdoors. Watch her eyes fill with wonder the first time she sees the beauty of wide open spaces. Leave the iPod at home.”


21.” Let her hold the wheel. She will always remember when daddy let her drive.”


22. “She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.”


23.” When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.”


24. “Knowing how to eat sunflower seeds correctly will not help her get into a good college. Teach her anyway.”


25. “Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.”


26.” It is in her nature to make music. It’s up to you to introduce her to the joy of socks on a wooden floor.”


27.” If there’s a splash park near your home, take her there often. She will be drawn to the water like a duck to a puddle.”


28. “She will eagerly await your return home from work in the evenings. Don’t be late.”


29.”If her mom enrolls her in swim lessons, make sure you get in the pool too. Don’t be intimidated if there are no other dads there. It’s their loss.”


30. “Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.”


31. “Teach her to roller skate. Watch her confidence soar.”


32. “Let her roll around in the grass. It’s good for her soul. It’s not bad for yours either.”


33. “Take her swimsuit shopping. Don’t be afraid to veto some of her choices, but resist the urge to buy her full-body beach pajamas.”


34. “Somewhere between the time she turns three and her sixth birthday, the odds are good that she will ask you to marry her. Let her down gently.”


35. “She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.”


36. “Few things in life are more comforting to a crying little girl than her father’s hand. Never forget this.”


37.”Introduce her to the swings at your local park. She’ll squeal for you to push her higher and faster. Her definition of “higher and faster” is probably not the same as yours. Keep that in mind.”


38. “When she’s a bit older, your definition of higher and faster will be a lot closer to hers. When that day comes, go ahead… give it all you’ve got.”


39. “Holding her upside down by the legs while she giggles and screams uncontrollably is great for your biceps. WARNING: She has no concept of muscle fatigue.”


40. “She might ask you to buy her a pony on her birthday. Unless you live on a farm, do not buy her a pony on her birthday. It’s OK to rent one though.”


41. “Take it easy on the presents for her birthday and Christmas. Instead, give her the gift of experiences you can share together.”


42. “Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.”


43. “Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.”


44. “Write her a handwritten letter every year on her birthday. Give them to her when she goes off to college, becomes a mother herself, or when you think she needs them most.”


45. “Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.”


46. “When in doubt, trust your heart. She already does.”


47. “When your teenage daughter is upset, learning when to engage and when to back off will add years to YOUR life. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.”


48. “Ice cream covers over a multitude of sins. Know her favorite flavor.”


49. “This day is coming soon. There’s nothing you can do to be ready for it. The sooner you accept this fact, the easier it will be.”


50. “Today she’s walking down the driveway to get on the school bus. Tomorrow she’s going off to college. Don’t blink.”

 

 

Most of all #1 I messed up.  But there were many experiences along the way that duplicated this fundamental omission in my life not with one but two lovely girls who grew up to be formidable ladies. I miss them enough to cry in my sleep through entangled dreams of their presence in my life. Most of my failures began when they were born with not being able to adapt my mood disorder to their interests and nature.  I simply was too absorbed in my problems to remember how much these two were the most important persons alive.  

I always felt like I never had time for any of them.  Our life as a family was an afterthought and my relationship with my children’s mother was acrid and deteriorated long before I left. We moved back to Philadelphia for the purpose of taking my wife back to her family. Our relationship already had disintegrated solely because I did not follow #1 in this list.  It was never my wife’s problem and I deluded myself into believing that by separating I could be a better parent.  Rationalization is a powerful tool when you are insecure and cruel.  

(My son always comes in at this point – I abandoned him even more so)  But in this story we’re talking about daughters.  

 

In most of the cases throughout the list of what a dad should remember to do I did not follow at all.  Both of the women in my life are mothers with children and mothers who follow principles that are well founded in loving relationships with their families thankfully.

 

 

I always languish over the loss of them, around precious days like celebrations, holidays, memorial points in time, anniversaries that slipped away as much as my anguish and suffering about losing them.  I never recovered from the trauma of their disappearance from my life.  I was a worthless camp director, father, spouse, teacher, lover, friend, companion, neighbor, steward and that is how I know the finite difference between neglect and being present to those who you are given as precious gifts to love. Even now there is nothing left.  My family is gone.

 

If I had bothered to realize what I was doing and had read this, studied it, memorized it, as was suggested, followed these precepts like a calendar I do not think I would have left with another woman, nor wandered the earth looking for a home. I would not have been a shameful son to my parents and I would have achieved what I have always longed to do which is being a good citizen, a mensch.  As it is I have struggled everywhere I have ever been and not been present to my children nor my colleagues.  It is one thing to have been granted the good fortune to have a family and to love them as long as you are here and it is another to have nowhere that you belong and having failed in everything that was decent and worthy of a person being here.  Often I wished I was dead because I felt that I did not have a purpose, I had tossed this aside and ripped asunder anything that matters most.

 

Now being 62 it is clear that I cannot start life over. I cannot change any of this and I cannot redeem myself with these three principle people who I love with all of my heart.  My life is measured most of all by how many people have been let down, felt that I did not care nor wish to share my life with them, and how unfriendly I am.  People will never remember me for much and after blowing my life with these three people what difference does anything make?

 

The best that I am able to offer is advise. Don’t live like me.  Love like him. Be as he is a dad who has his priorities in order.  Be consistent, brave and dance with reckless abandon with your babies.  Call them affectionate names that demonstrate that you never forget what and who matters most.  Cherish all women.  They deserve to be loved the way in which they feel counts.

 

 

From a father who sees everything through kaleidoscopic glasses.

5ab BILL OF RIGHTS for Those Without a Safe Place


Here’s a new poster by Elizabeth “Oscar” Maynard, House Keys Not Handcuffs

You can see this piece here
http://wraphome.org/art-for-organizing/movement-artwork/category/34-elizabeth-oscar-maynard

And you can see all the Homeless Bill of Rights artwork (and download it) here.
http://wraphome.org/art-for-organizing/wrap-artwork/category/27-homeless-bill-of-rights-art-work

Art Hazelwood, WRAP, Minister of Culture, 
ahazelwood@wraphome.org

 

 

800_so_here_we_are

 

 

We NEED HOUSING, WE NEED HOUSING TONIGHT and FOR AS LONG AS WE LIVE HERE

 

 

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WE NEED A PLACE TO STAY TONIGHT AND EVERY NIGHT

 

 

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HOMELESS PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE WHO NEED A PLACE TO GO TO SLEEP –  REST – USE A REST ROOM  - CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER

 

 

a bill of rights for the homeless Paula lomazzi  California 5ab

 

 

 

WE NEED PLACES TO GO AND WASH TO KEEP OUR THINGS  TO GROW UP  GROW OLD WITH DIGNITY  WE NEED A PLACE TO REST THIS MORNING WHEN WE ARE EXHAUSTED FROM STURGGLING TO SURVIVE ALL NIGHT or WORKING LONG HOURS

 

 

a bill of rights for those who have nowhere to rest

 

 

 

PEOPLE ARE DYING ON OUR STREETS AND SHELTERS ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE.  WE NEED TO PROVIDE HOPE AND DIGNITY TO ALL PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE NO MATTER WHAT THEIR STATUS. WE NEED A BILL OF RIGHTS NOT ORDINANCES AND REGULATIONS

 

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Venceremos  WE WILL OVER COME TODAY  TOGETHER  NOW

 

 

 

 

It gives me chills.......................................

 

 

 

A quarter of the homeless are veterans and their families are subjected to the same rigors losses pain suffering abuse.  We cannot afford to solve this intractable problem by attrition.  We must build places for all of us to dwell in peace.

Homeless Hub in Canada – “A National Portrait of Homeless People”


O Canada

The National Shelter Study 
2005-2009
Homelessness Partnering Strategy 

The National Shelter Study is the first national analysis using consistent shelter data collected over an extended period of time to establish a baseline count and description of the characteristics of the homeless population in Canada. This study uses information gathered from emergency homeless shelters using the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) and emergency homeless shelters in the City of Toronto
Continue reading
REPORTS
A Housing Strategy For Nova Scotia

We launched a conversation with Nova Scotians over our most pressing, fundamental housing challenges. And with insight and ideas from over 500 individuals and organizations, we’ve crafted our province’s first Housing Strategy, one that stresses affordability, choice, partnership and community-building.
Province of Nova Scotia

Where Do We Go from Here? Youth Aging out of Care
Contained in this report are some difficult issues that young people raised with us that they want to have addressed. Also in this report, young people described examples of what they viewed as effective and promising practice. 
Office of the Child and Youth Advocate (Alberta)

Promising Practices to Help Children and Youth who have been Exposed to Violence
Children and youth in challenging contexts, both in Canada and overseas, face common threats to their mental health that can be better addressed when researchers, service providers, practitioners, and communities pool their knowledge, resources, and lessons learned of what works best for improving young peoples’ mental health. 
CYCC Network

JOURNAL ARTICLES
Housing and harm reduction: What is the role of harm reduction in addressing homelessness?
Pauly, Bernie; Reist, Dan; Belle-Isle, Lynne; Schactman, Chuck
In this paper, we examine Housing First as an example of the integration of housing and harm reduction and then put forth a community level policy framework to further promote the integration of harm reduction as part of a response to homelessness. 
International Journal of Drug Policy

Prevalence of Homeless Older Adults and Factors Causing Their Homelessness: A Review
Ng, Stephanie; Rizvi, Shafqat; Kunik, Mark E.
The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of homeless older adults and causes of homelessness among the elderly. 
The Internet Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology

High rates of head injury among homeless and low-income housed men: a retrospective cohort study
Svoboda, Tomislav; Ramsay, Jason T 
The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors and temporal patterns of head injury presentation in the emergency department among cohorts of homeless and low-income housed men. 
Emergency Medical Journal

May 15, 2013

 

VIDEO
An integrated housing model for Aboriginal youth – Foyers for youth organized through the bands - Susan McGee,
Homeward Trust Edmonton 

Watch now


REGISTER TODAY
National Conference on Ending Homelessness

Oct 28-30, 2013 Ottawa, ON 
Whether you are a policy maker, funder, researcher, advocate, community leader or a front line worker our jam packed conference program will arm you with the inspiration, information, tools and training you need to begin ending homelessness in your community.
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