Giving apartments to the chronically homeless sounds like a nutty idea, right? Turns out, it might not be so crazy after all.
When the Urban Ministry Center in Charlotte, North Carolina proposed building apartments to gift to homeless individuals in the community, some greeted the idea with derision. Naysayers believed that doing so rewarded bad behavior. But the interfaith organization forged ahead with the plan, using government grants and private donations to build a $6 million housing complex consisting of 85 units.
And now, a University of North Carolina at Charlotte study examining the first year of results found that giving housing to the homeless — even to those who have substance addictions or are mentally ill or can’t meet the requirements to stay in regular shelters — saved the city money. A lot of money, in fact: $1.8 million dollars.
Not only did the occupants of the complex, called Moore Place, visit a hospital 447 fewer times, but they also were admitted for 372 fewer days. Arrest numbers of residents also decreased by 74 percent, and tenants spent 84 percent fewer days in jail. These drops in city service usage is what resulted in the more than one million dollars in savings.
These findings have motivated Charlotte officials to build more projects that take a housing-first approach to helping the homeless. Charlotte’s Neighborhood and Business Service Department is currently considering proposals for ten more homeless housing projects. Plus, there are plans to expand Moore Place to 120 units.
One disabled Moore Place resident, Michael Byrd, visited emergency rooms 24 times the year before he moved in, accumulating $268,000 in medical bills. The year he moved in, he visited the hospital just five times, costing taxpayers only $9,000. Byrd told Mark Price of the Charlotte Observer, “When I was on the streets, my worst night was trying to sleep bundled up in an abandoned car when it was below freezing. It scared me.”
Caroline Chambre, director of HousingWorks for the Urban Ministry Center, told Price, “You can’t argue with the statistics. This approach was controversial at one time because of the stereotype of who the homeless are, and we had to change that stereotype.”
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Tag: Homeless
Why a Talk-Show Host Rewarded This Kindhearted Man With $10,000
While stories about natural disasters, death, and bickering politicians dominate the airwaves, all’s not bad with the world. We think that good deeds should not go unnoticed. And fortunately, neither does a popular television talk show host.
One such kind act that deserves to be recognized is performed weekly by Derrick Walton.
Some years back, a few bad choices left Walton living on the streets. After finding his way back on his feet, he’s now the proud owner of Chef D’s Rock Power Pizza in Des Moines, Iowa. But the nice story doesn’t end there. Walton, who has seen his share of tough times, makes sure he gives back to the community. Every Monday, the 47-year-old closes his restaurant so that homeless and needy families can eat for free. This he does out of the goodness of his own heart and pays for it out of his own pocket.
“I made a promise that if I ever got in a position where I could help somebody, I would give something back,” he told Yahoo! Shine in February.
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As you can see in the video above, this inspiring story made its way to Ellen DeGeneres, who not only invited Walton to the show to talk about his business, but also to present him with a check for $10,000 to help him continue his good work. (Who doesn’t love a giant cardboard check?!) The gesture immediately brought Walton to tears.
“I didn’t know where the money was going to come from, and I knew I just had to keep these doors open no matter what,” Walton said after the show. “The people that come in there truly inspire me to continue to do this.”
Can Writing Poetry Help Set Incarcerated Youth on the Right Track?
“You don’t understand what it’s like.”
“You never listen to me.”
Most teenagers make these over-the-top complaints to adults at some point during those angst-filled years. But for some troubled teens, these emotional statements aren’t hyperbolic. And those are just the kids that Richard Gold wanted to help.
When Gold left Microsoft 18 years ago, he started the Pongo Teen Writing Project, a Seattle non-profit that connects with troubled teenagers who are in jail, homeless, in the foster care system, or being treated for mental illness, and teaches them to write poetry to express themselves. Since 1992, Pongo has served 7,000 teenagers, providing them with volunteer writing mentors and publishing their work in anthologies.
Gold told Jeffrey Brown of PBS NewsHour, “What so many of us struggle with is the unarticulated emotion in our lives, and when poetry serves that, it’s doing something essential for the person and for society.”
Through one of Pongo’s programs, writing mentors visit juvenile inmates individually for an hour, asking questions about their lives and emotions to guide them toward writing poetry about their experiences. The mentors transcribe what the inmates express, collaborate on revisions, then give the teenagers a chance to read their work aloud to the group.
Pongo volunteers do similar work at the New Horizons homeless youth center Seattle, helping homeless teens write poems, and hosting poetry reading events.
The workers in the juvenile justice system attest to the difference Pongo makes in the lives of the teens it works with. Warden Lynn Valdez at the King County Juvenile Detention Center, once an incarcerated gang member himself, said that after the teens write their poems, “the reward is, I think that they have actually released something that they have repressed inside.” King County Juvenile Court Judge Barbara Mack said that the young people she sees in her court “have never really learned how to express themselves. And Pongo gives them the opportunity to do that in a way that’s not threatening.”
It’s clear that poetry can be a powerful tool to make teenagers feel valued as they try to move past their rocky adolescences and become productive adults.
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SXSW Is Over. Here’s What You Can Do With All That Swag
So much swag and so little room in your suitcase. (What a first-world problem to have.) Anyone who has ever attended a business conference knows the drill. You get a grab-bag, stuff it with stuff, and maybe — just maybe — you’ll use one or two pieces of the various promotional items you accumulate throughout the event. At SXSW, one of the largest conferences in the U.S., the swag flows like water.
Since you can’t take it home with you, what should you do with all that stuff? Medallia, a Silicon Valley-based tech company, had the answer: Give it to the homeless.
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Throughout the conference, which ended March 16, representatives from Medallia, along with Austin’s Foundation for the Homeless, placed themselves in strategic spots asking for attendee’s unwanted swag. They promoted their efforts via Twitter using the hashtag #SwagDonationSXSW. And it didn’t take long for the swag to come swaggering in. According to a post by Andrew Nunnelly on Medallia’s blog, the swag drive was as a massive success. From hats to backbags to USB drives to food to waterbottles and too many t-shirts to count, conference attendees were quick to rid themselves of their swag to help the homeless. In total, nearly 50 pounds of swag was collected.
“It’s not easy to catch people’s attention at SXSW — there’s simply so much to do and so much to see — but it was clear that the wastefulness of traditional marketing swag immediately resonated with nearly everyone who saw our volunteers,” Nunnelly wrote. “They knew what they had collected from brand booths and street teams was destined for a dark corner of their closets at best, or the landfill at worse. By having volunteers ready to take the swag off their hands though, we provided them with an entirely new (and impactful) ‘best’ option.”
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Nunnelly writes that the goal of the company’s initiative was not only to collect much-needed items to distribute to the community, but also to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in Austin. According to the city’s website, more than 2,300 people are on the streets in any given night and about 900 individuals in the city are considered chronically homeless.
But we think there’s an even bigger message behind this idea. We already know that Americans are obsessed with stuff. Why? Most of us don’t need any of it. But there are many people who do. As SXSW attendees return to their respective cities across the country and around the world, take a look at your swag bag. Do you really need it? If not, pay it forward by donating it to your local homeless shelter. Let’s keep #SwagDonationSXSW going. Now that’s what we call swagger.
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This Craft Project Not Only Helps the Homeless, but Reduces Landfill Waste, Too
Finally, someone has come up with a brilliant idea that answers the age-old question: What to do with all those old, plastic grocery bags stuffed in your kitchen drawer?
Groups across the country are banding together to crochet tens of thousands of plastic bags into portable, lightweight, and water-resistant mats that provide an extra layer of protection between homeless individuals and the cold, hard ground. And you can do the same.
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Two years ago, 25-year-old Chad Dominguez and his mother, Kris Georgeson saw someone weaving together these “plarn” — plastic yarn — mats while on a trip to Seal Beach, California. They thought it was a great idea, and so they introduced the project, Mats 4 Homeless, at the Upland Host Lions Club in Upland, California. The group wove 25 mats and donated them to a homeless shelter. In return, they received a group of pictures of individuals with their new mats.
“When I went through those pictures and saw one of an 8-year-old hugging so tight onto that mat, I just started to cry,” Georgeson told The Inland Daily Bulletin. From there, the project continued to grow, even moving to other club chapters.
For Sandy Watts, a 63-year-old retired elementary school teacher and Upland resident, the ground mats are a way to help the homeless while preventing some of the 100 billion plastic bags that are used in the U.S. each year from ending up in the landfill. Although it takes her about 1,200 bags and 10 hours to make one 36-by-72-inch mat, she has already made 11 of them since learning the craft in June. “And nothing is wasted,” she said. “Cut scraps are used to stuff the coordinating pillows.”
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Meanwhile, in Norwalk, Iowa, the Mighty Mat Makers meet once a week at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church to create their own mats, using about 700 plastic bags apiece. So far, they have spent at least 100 hours on the project, producing 18 mats that have been handed out to the homeless, and there are many more to come. “A lot of care and a lot of love are going into these,” one of the Mat Makers, Vickie Clingan, told KCCI News. “We care about the people who we’re making these for.”
Even if you have no experience with crocheting, anyone can learn how to make these plarn mats. Just follow the instructions in the video below and start your own crocheting group in your community. Just think of all the bags you can save, while also providing a small comfort to people in need.
This Innovative Program Found Housing for 200 Homeless Veterans in Just 100 Days
For far too many veterans, the end of their military service doesn’t involve a happy homecoming when they arrive back on American soil.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, 62,619 veterans were counted as homeless in 2012. Despite this being a drastic decline of 17.2 percent since 2009, veteran homelessness is still a huge problem in this country. In response, cities across the country — as part of Community Solutions’ 100,000 Homes campaign — are tackling the issue of veteran homelessness, vowing to reach the Obama Administration’s goal of ending it by December 2015.
And it seems to be working: Phoenix has already declared victory in their war against veteran homelessness. Utah claims to be on track to end homelessness altogether by 2015. Tennessee was recently profiled by 60 Minutes for the state’s efforts. And now officials in the nation’s capitol are doing their part. Last week, representatives from Veterans NOW, a coalition of district and national organizations and agencies, announced that in just 100 days — between August 9 and November 30 — they were able to place 207 homeless veterans, 96 of whom were considered chronically homeless, in houses.
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In 2013, a one-night census of Washington, D.C.’s homeless population found that 499 veterans were living on the streets — a 29 percent decline since 2009. However, twice as many veterans were considered “at risk” of homelessness and in need of emergency housing services. Bolstered by that statistic, national organizations like The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Human Services teamed up with local groups such as the DC Housing Authority, Miriam’s Kitchen and Pathways to Housing DC to connect homeless veterans with subsidized housing.
According to DCist (a local blog that covers all things Washington, D.C.), these veterans are assessed through a universal service prioritization decision assistance tool, which asks about their history of homelessness, risk factors, socialization and medical needs. Each person is then scored to see if he or she is considered “vulnerable,” in which case permanent supportive housing or rapid re-housing would be recommended. The veterans are housed through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program — $6.5 million in funding has provided for the D.C. region — Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), HUD Permanent Supportive Housing and the D.C. DHS Permanent Supportive Housing program. The apartments themselves are located by officials from the D.C. Housing Authority directly reaching out landlords who partner with the organization.
MORE: Phoenix Just Became the First City to End Chronic Veteran Homelessness. Here’s How
The success of Veterans NOW’s first 100-day program has convinced everyone involved to give it a second go-around. Currently, the organization is in the midst of another 100-day push, where they hope to house 190 homeless veterans, including 56 who are chronically homeless, by March 31. And it looks like they’ll meet their goal. So far, 161 veterans have been placed in homes, including 84 who were considered chronically homeless. In total, communities participating in the 100,000 Homes Campaign have placed almost 89,000 homeless individuals in homes. And that number is growing every day.
While it is too soon to tell if we’ll reach President Barack Obama’s goal of eradicating veteran homelessness by the end of 2015, it looks like we’re getting a whole lot closer.
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Watch What Happens When a Homeless Man “Wins” the Lottery
With the popularity of the television series Candid Camera, Punk’d, and Da Ali G Show, it goes without saying that people like practical jokes.
In fact, Magic of Rahat has made a living with his popular prank videos on YouTube. Most of the time, his mischievous acts are at the expense of the people caught on camera (all in good fun, of course). But on Tuesday, the Internet personality put his pranks to rest and published a heartwarming video that changed the life of a local homeless man and brought Rahat to tears.
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For a few weeks, Rahat noticed a homeless man hanging around a shopping center near his house. “From what people have told me, he’s a nice and respectable guy,” he said in the video. So instead of just giving him a buck or two, Rahat decided to give him a “winning” lottery ticket. Of course, the ticket wasn’t really a winner, but Rahat got a convenience store clerk to play along to give the homeless man his special prize: $1,000 in cash.
“You’re kidding me right?” the man said. “Come on man, you’ve got to be kidding me!” After his disbelief wore off, the man counted the money, turned around and tried to hand half of it back to Rahat, saying, “I want to share it, my friend.” The heartwarming exchange that followed is just the stuff that viral Internet videos are made of. Be sure to grab a tissue before watching. You’ll need it.
ALSO: Watch How Much This Couple Can Stuff Into a Backpack for the Homeless for $20
This Innovative Website Connects Mobile Phone Users to Vital Services
These days, it seems like just about everyone — from small children to the elderly — has a cell phone. This can even be said of low-income and homeless individuals in San Francisco (home of the country’s hottest tech hub), where a decent percentage this population has mobile phones.
So in order to connect these residents — about 6,500 homeless individuals live within the city limits — with vital services such as food, shelter, hygiene and medical services, Zendesk, in partnership with Gray Area Foundation and St. Anthony’s Tech Lab, created Link-SF. The site, which is specifically optimized for mobile users, officially launched on Friday after a month of testing. It gives homeless and low-income individuals from across the city the ability to search for nearby services through an easy-to-use mobile site that takes advantage of technological advances such as geolocating and real-time data. This way, individuals can be directed to services they need quickly and efficiently.
Additionally, Link-SF gives users the location, phone numbers and hours of operation for service providers, plus it also allows for filters where users can narrow the search depending on specific needs — such as women’s shelters or places suitable for children.
“Historically, the way service-seekers find out about services is a printed piece of paper, a spreadsheet,” Kenshiro Nakagawa, software engineer at Zendesk, told Mashable. “That’s very different than what the consumer world uses [today]. There’s no reason why, besides access to the web, service-seekers wouldn’t have the same tools at their disposal.”
MORE: How You Can Help the Homeless With the Push of a Button
The idea for Link-SF was born from workers at St. Anthony’s Tech Lab, a free technology center for the homeless and low-income population located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. These workers began to notice an increase in web-enabled, mobile phone use from the people who visited the lab. Of course, we’re not talking primarily about high-end smartphone devices. Rather, the lab’s representatives estimate that at least 45 percent of visitors have basic “feature phones”, which is exactly what Link-SF was optimized for.
For a population that is increasingly relying on mobile phones to find and access vital services, Link-SF is putting all the information they need right at their fingertips.
ALSO: How Can We Beat Homelessness? Predict It Before It Happens
How You Can Help the Homeless with a Push of a Button
A San Francisco-based startup has created a new online platform called HandUp that allows donors to directly help a homeless person through text messaging or web donations.
Here’s how it works: When a homeless person signs up on HandUp, they get an online profile that lists their needs, such as food, clothing or medical care. Check out HandUp member, Alvin, from the video above. After being hit by a car, he lost his front teeth and now needs dental work. He says with a new smile, he’ll try to find a job in retail so he can also finally buy the Christmas presents he owes his daughter. Donors can help Alvin — or any of the other 100 homeless people on the site — by signing up for HandUp’s secure SMS system or through the website. 100 percent of donations go straight to the member’s HandUp account. Credits can than be redeemed through HandUp’s partner, Project Homeless Connect, where members can pick up their listed necessities.
MORE: How Can We Beat Homelessness? Predict It Before It Happens
John Moore/Getty Images
Co-founder Rose Broome told Fast Company that she started the site after realizing she wanted a more efficient way to help the homeless: “Last year, I saw a woman sleeping on the sidewalk and it hit me — why can’t I push a button and transfer resources from my phone?” Since its launch, more than 100 homeless San Franciscans have set up profiles on the site. While the service is only in San Francisco, HandUp has plans to expand their service nationwide, meaning it could soon be easier than ever to help someone in need.
Why One Minnesota Teen Is Sleeping Outside for a Year
The temperature in Minnesota recently dropped to a blistering low of negative 27 degrees Fahrenheit, but that wasn’t cold enough to deter Rudy Hummel. What started as a personal challenge to sleep outside for a year has since morphed into a selfless mission for the 17-year-old to ensure that people and animals have homes. As part of his Snores Outdoors for a Better World campaign, this Hermantown, Minn., native is raising money for Habitat for Humanity and the local Hawk Ridge Bird Conservatory while building awareness for social and environmental issues. “I thought about what’s important to me, like the outdoors. I also thought about how many people have to sleep outside all the time, without sleeping bags or warm clothing,” Hummel wrote on his website. “At first glance, these don’t seem very well connected, but to me they are. Caring for people is important, and so is caring for the environment that sustains us. We all live on this planet together.”
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Hummel moved outside on June 7, 2013, in warmer weather. At first, the avid camper figured he’d try to sleep on a tree platform he built in his backyard for the entirety of the summer. But as fall breezed in, he realized that the challenge he had given himself simply wasn’t hard enough, so he decided to keep going. As Minnesota’s brutal winter arrived, Hummel realized he needed some sort of shelter to keep him warm, so like any good Boy Scout, he improvised and built himself a quinzhee, a hut-like structure made from snow. In the recently freezing weather, Hummel simply adds extra layers of warm clothing, fills a bottle with hot water and heads out to his hut, where he crawls under a pile of blankets at night. So far Hummel has raised almost $900 for his local Habitat for Humanity chapter, and $300 for Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. As for his health, he says he’s doing just fine. “I’m about as warm as I would be inside, I think,” he recently told CNN’s NewDay. “But I haven’t slept inside in so long that maybe that’s not true.”
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