A fresh start: Well House takes in troubled teens battling abuse, drugs

LAKE CITY — Ashley Hall needed to be freed from her past, but bouncing around from home to home, state to state, it just kept following her.

Running low on options, she turned to church. Church turned her to The Well Freedom House. And that has turned her into a new woman.

Teens like Hall that are in need of refreshing their life and purpose now have a place to go in The Well Freedom House, a camp for high school to college-aged youth. The nonprofit camp, founded by Chuck and Cherie McDonald, helps teens battling drugs, physical and sexual abuse, depression and peer pressure.

Hall, 20, originally from Tennessee, came to The Well House last November with a history of abuse spanning virtually her entire life in one form or fashion.

The first time she tried to commit suicide was at 7 years old because of abuse she endured. Her circumstances led her to the edge of homelessness, moving state to state. In 2009, she moved to Florence, to live with her father and mother, where she attended high school and started “hanging out with really bad people,” she said.

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Happy 4th of July, Independence Day from Seattle, WA

Have a Safe and Fun 4th of July!

Declare your Independence Today from the Normal Rat Race of the same old things!Upgrade your Future Today!

Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States.

Why has Seattle had so much Prosperity? It started with Small Business…

What constitutes a small business varies widely around the world. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships. What constitutes “small” in terms of government support and tax policy varies by country and by industry, ranging from fewer than 15 employees under the Australian Fair Work Act 2009, 50 employees according to the definition used by the European Union, and fewer than 500 employees to qualify for many U.S. Small Business Administration programs, although in 2006 there were over 18,000 “small businesses” with over 500 employees that accounted for half of all the employees employed by all “small business”. Small businesses can also be classified according to other methods such as sales, assets, or net profits.

Two New Businesses that are going to thrive in Washington State!

Cellular

High Tech Training and Marketing

Join us in Seattle and blow you Future out of the Water! See what the Ladies are doing!

Have a Great 4th of July!

Ending Homelessness among Veterans!

A Veteran Left Behind!

As a homeless Vet living only in the one thing that I could get my hands on, a Tent Trailer, in Washington State; winter is the hardest. I moved back to Washington State in hopes of a better Job in a state I like living in. As I looked on the Computer, employers were listing a lot of jobs available. But when I arrived I soon found out that the employers was only taking applications for future use.

There were no call backs or any other correspondence. It took me about 6 months to find any job at all. Yes, it is a great place to work, but the pay is low for this area. They only will allow 32 hours per week. I have tried getting a second job so I can save up enough money for a down payment on a home to live in. I have not found any place that will hire you if you already have a job. I don’t know if it is the hours restriction or if it’s the issue of a second job since there is a lot of people looking for work.

As I have my Certificate of Eligibility; I have tried to contact various Banks and Mortgage Companies to use my Veterans Benefit of Guaranteed Home Loans, but they always have the stipulation that they don’t do loans for Credit Scores under 620. Since I have a Homeless Credit Score, I can’t get any loans to purchase a home. I have contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs and asked about this Credit Score Stipulation. They said that is not the Federal Law, they do not require any special Credit Score to use the Loan program.

President Obama and Eric Shinseki, secretary of Veterans Affairs have public announced that “President Obama and I are personally committed to ending homelessness among Veterans within the next five years.”

If they don’t take care of the issue with the Credit Score Stipulation, they will never reach their announced Goal for the Veterans!

So since I haven’t been able to get a second job to reach my Goal of buying a Home, I have turned to online Network Marketing. It is the only way to get enough money to reach my Goal and get out of being Homeless. After searching the web for a reliable Network Marketing Company, I have finally found THIS ONE, that is legit and it has the Training I need to show me how to succeed. I didn’t know that you needed training to make an income online, but after trying out various other Programs, I see that you need their High Tech Training.

I understand, it will not happen overnight, but anything that is good only happens in time! As I get my on-hand Training and put it to work exactly as they teach it each every day, I know I will succeed!

I know there are millions of Veterans left behind by our government and society. This issue needs to be taken care of, as our government sends Millions overseas to help others that are not Americans! The Veterans have put their Life on the Chopping Block to defend our great country! They deserve a benefit that works and no strings attached.

It is easier to get Food Stamps and other programs then it is to use a Veteran benefit that is supposed to be Guaranteed!

If you are in the same Situation as myself, Get Started Now on your Training, as you will need it to succeed!

To all my readers, Please share this article so I can Help others with the same issue!

The Best Way To Stop Homelessness? Support Homeless & Eviction Prevention Programs

• The best way to stop homelessness?  Prevent it from happening in the first place.
• State & city efforts to prevent long-term homelessness have reduced homelessness nationwide by 1% over 2009-2011, but federal funding for these programs ended in September of 2012.
• Public based eviction prevention programs have been seriously stretched by the prolonged weak economic recovery.
• Most Cities have effective non-profit eviction prevention programs.
• Support Eva’s Village comprehensive anti-poverty & homelessness prevention programs by volunteering or donating.

Last January, 2012, the National Alliance to End Homelessness reported that the number of homeless  in America decreased by about 1% over the period of 2009 to 2011¹, a remarkable achievement given one of the  slowest economic recoveries on record — just after one of the worst recessions on record.  The NAEH credits the decrease to stepped up efforts² by the federal government to rapidly find affordable housing for the recently homeless.

Unfortunately, this national effort ended on September 30, 2012 at a time of increasing risk factors for homelessness. Specifically, over the same period, 2009 – 2011, the NAEH reports that because a greater share of Americans’ income now goes to paying the rent and mortgage,  there has been a 13% increase in families sharing housing.  Additionally the number of people living below the poverty rate has increased every year since 2009³.  While this data does not include 2012 trends, given even slower economic recovery this year compared to 2011 and 2010⁴, we can assume the risk factors have, at the very least, remained elevated this year.

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Anthony Cymerys, Barber Evicted From Park After Giving Haircuts To Homeless For Hugs, Allowed Back

Making a Difference!

HARTFORD, Conn. — An 82-year-old barber who has been giving free haircuts to the homeless in exchange for hugs for 25 years was granted permission by the mayor Thursday to keep working in a city park, despite orders to leave from police and health officials.

Anthony “Joe the Barber” Cymerys has been a fixture every Wednesday for years at Bushnell Park, where he cuts hair and his friends hand out food to the needy.

But shortly after Cymerys set up shop this week, he said, health officials and police confronted him and his friends and told them they had to leave because they didn’t have permits.

“I thought it was a drug raid, honest to God,” Cymerys said. “It was the peanut gallery on TV where everyone was watching.”

City health officials said they ordered Cymerys out of the park Wednesday after unnamed local residents expressed concerns about the “safety and sanitation” of Cymerys’ free haircuts to homeless people and his friends’ food distribution. They also noted that Cymerys is not a licensed barber.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Pedro Segarra said later Thursday that he granted Cymerys a special dispensation in light of his years of charitable work. The spokeswoman, Maribel La Luz, said the city will help Cymerys obtain a state barber’s license if he likes.

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How can you reach out to the homeless!

As homeless struggle, police reach out

FARMINGTON — Farmington Police officers are breaking down traditional barriers between law enforcement and the homeless.

During the first week of January, officers with the department’s District Coordinator Unit surveyed the area’s homeless and street inebriate population. They found that more cooperation and coordination between law enforcement and homeless-assistance charities and agencies in the community is necessary to better help the area’s most chronically homeless and destitute.

For some homeless people, the solution could be as simple as a more permanent roof overhead.

Jarvis Yazzie, 55, sat inside San Juan Catholic Charities’ Good Shepherd Center on Wednesday enjoying warmth and company before heading back out into the cold. It was 10 a.m. and he was drunk.

“We try to survive,” Yazzie said. “For me, I go through a lot of depression. This place, Catholic Charities, gives me hope.”

Many shelters are closed to members of Farmington’s homeless such as Yazzie. Although People Assisting the Homeless, P.A.T.H., housed 65 clients in December, according to the police survey, it requires sobriety for residency.

For Yazzie and other homeless people like him, simply going sober may not be an option in the immediate future.

Police officers were able to get 50 people to take the surveys and estimate that the homeless population ranges from 90 to 100 people on any given winter day. During warmer months, that number likely doubles.

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READER BONUS – Women in Business

Help us end the Homelessness of our Veterans!

They served their time for our Country and now we should serve them by making sure they are not living on the streets!

Please give today to make sure they have a home to live in!

Homeless Projects

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How to be a homeless person?

How to be a homeless person in the U.S. without being destitute -or- Creating a distributed household!

I am working on a homeless project with a friend that is requiring research, and as part of doing that research came across this site:

Survival Guide to Homelessness

This is one of those brilliant reconceptualizations that is worth reading simply because of the inventiveness and clarity of the author. Instead of being “homeless”, he reconceptualizes the problem into “creating a distributed home:

I spent nearly five years, from mid-1996 to the beginning of 2001, homeless, or as I liked to call it with a distributed household. I had storage, shelter, mailbox, telephone, shower, bathroom facilities, cooking equipment, and transportation, even access to television, radio, computer equipment, and ac power. I had the essence of a home. It was simply more geographically scattered than is traditional in our culture.

If you think about it that way, homelessness changes from “disaster” into “an exercise in maximal frugality”. He puts it this way:

Imagine working two weeks to pay for your expenses for two months. You can easily go to college with an income requirement so low. My expenses, excluding food, averaged $300 per month for the five years I was homeless. That included storage, mailbox, telephone or pager, gasoline, vehicle insurance, health club membership, dry cleaning, laundry, new clothes, and entertainment. I went to the movies a lot. Imagine what you could do with the time if your work week was two days and your weekend was five.

I went to museums, libraries, volunteered, went to concerts, went to college, watched trials at the local courthouse, spent time with friends, played chess, practiced yoga, read, went to movies, and spent time just thinking.

The freedom is awesome. It is also somewhat daunting. It is hard to be prepared for so much time on your hands. In a strange way I felt a kinship with prisoners. The time can draw out and overwhelm you, so don’t be surprised by this experience. Depression can sometimes attend this amazing freedom. In the end, the freedom to do as you please is addictive.

It’s a worthwhile read simply because it gives you a different perspective.

One step up from that would be the freegan lifestyle described in this post:

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Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program

Funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program  (HVRP) is a Federal program that awards money to both nonprofit organizations and government agencies who work to place homeless veterans in jobs.  Volunteers of America currently operates HVRPs in the following areas:

• California: Los Angeles
• Florida: Brevard County, Broward County, Cocoa Beach, Jacksonville
• Illinois: Chicago
• Kentucky: Pikeville
• Michigan:  Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Jackson, Lansing, and Niles
• Montana: Helena
  
• Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton
  
• Tennessee: Knoxville
  
• West Virginia: various rural areas

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Homeless families get boost from all-volunteer group

In a forest of nonprofit organizations, volunteers and benefactors in the Naperville area, Families Helping Families has operated quietly for 19 years to assist homeless families in gaining stability.

As one of the 45 Bridge Communities partners, the organization helps place single parents into apartment housing and provides volunteer mentors who help guide the family with advice about finances, jobs and child care.

Relying solely on donations, Families Helping Families receives no grant money and says it does not use a single dollar for overhead costs, such as office expenses.

“We’re a completely volunteer organization,” said director Vicky Joseph. “We use our own phones, we drive our own cars. It’s really important to all of us to have no paid staff.”

Families Helping Families has roughly 50 volunteers, she said.

While Bridge Communities partners help an average two homeless families each, Families Helping Families mentors 10 clients at a time. A constant among single-parent homeless families is that child care nearly always falls on a woman.

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