Happy Birthday, HEAR US! True Confessions

All I can remember about 12 years ago was scrambling. And anxiety. And plenty of stifled doubt.

I was in the process of giving birth to HEAR US Inc., the incorporation took place on July 1, 2005, overseen by our attorney-friend Judd Lofchie. 

Now I can admit: I had no clue what I was getting into. I had decided to sell my townhome, my SUV, most of my stuff to buy a small RV that would become my home-office-wheels. I had never been in an RV before. I had to buy a pro video camera, with mics and paraphernalia. I had never filmed video before. I figured I’d travel to non-urban places where families and youth experiencing homelessness would hopefully speak with me on camera for a documentary which I had no clue about how to produce.

Amazing things happened! Help came in all sorts of ways. My friends Betsy and Francois held a massive fundraiser dinner (over $7,000 raised, enough to give me courage to proceed). A generous $5,000 grant from the Aurora Foundation allowed me to buy video equipment. Immeasurable donations large and modest bolstered my courage. Prayers and well-wishes continue to pave my route.

My friends agreed to serve on the board of directors for this venture which I could only vaguely explain. They kept their doubts to themselves. Incredibly, most of them are with me still! 

July 1, 2005 was the birth of this unimaginable journey called HEAR US Inc. 

I’ve met courageous kids and parents who’ve compellingly articulated their plight and promise. School personnel, including selfless McKinney-Vento liaisons doing the impossible, trusted me enough to connect me with their students and families. Donors generously filled the coffers as I nervously checked the bank balance, calculating how few months remained if money didn’t come in. Friendly strangers became friends, eventually strengthened by the unimaginable social media Facebook. Media folks poked into this weird story and managed to report honestly which gave me cred. Willing homeowners let me park in their driveways and plug into their outlets. 

The hundreds of interviews I’ve done are real life films thanks to my video guru and friend Laura Vazquez, professor at Northern Illinois University who taught me all things I now know about documentary making. 

Daniel Riefstahl, PixelPoint Creative, stepped up when a friend asked, becoming my web guy, designing the HEAR US website and providing much-needed tech assistance over the years. 

Jim Robbs, Sassetti Inc., agreed to provide the financial management and reporting tasks to keep HEAR US in good standing with the IRS. 

Oh yeah, they do this stuff free. Good, because HEAR US never had the kind of money that would have been needed to do what they’ve done. (And so many more people did so much more...I'll never be able to list everyone!) 

Flipping through my journal (yes, I’d love to write a book about this adventure), I laughed out loud about tech issues (getting cellphone signal, much less connecting to the internet). My naiveté about all things RV made life interesting, and a few times scary, especially as I encountered storms or had mechanical issues. 

I won’t bore you with the details. I get nostalgic on these milestone occasions. Besides the nostalgia, I have a deep sense of gratitude that I am inadequately expressing. 

The focus of my efforts has been, and continues to be, giving voice and visibility to families and youth experiencing homelessness. My purpose is to raise awareness of and sensitivity to these kids and parents without homes who try gallantly to get an education and to have a life beyond homelessness. My commitment to them is to get their stories in front of as many eyes as possible. 

You, dear reader, friend or stranger, are the one who can make this possible. I’m not asking for your money (although that’s always welcomed and needed in this frugal operation). I need your time, your networks, your energy to get the word out about this problem we’ve yet to address as a nation.  

I’m on RV #2, a smaller rig that gets double gas mileage. I’ve got at least 300,000 miles of mostly backroads travel through 48 states under my belt. I have no idea how long I’ll continue this unique mission. My health and determination are solid. Family and youth homelessness soars. More states are asking me to film families and youth experiencing homelessness. 

This adventure is beyond my wildest dreams. Thank you. 

≈

Beyond the Obvious, Reasons to Fear for Homeless Families

Most enlightened people can grasp the common concepts of why homeless families become and remain homeless so long. Realities like:

• An appalling shortage of decent affordable market-rate housing; 
• An even worse dearth of subsidized housing, with wait-lists of 5 years and more;
• Stringent, some would say impossible, credit requirements filtering out people in poverty (those with tainted credit tend to be the most impoverished);
• Harsh penalties for those who’ve done time in prison—banning them from even stepping onto public housing projects, excluding them from consideration as tenants in the private market.
• Exorbitant application fees that don’t get refunded if an applicant is denied. 
• Steep deposits, for housing and utilities, which often get kissed goodbye when the tenant moves out.

(Read Matt Desmond’s excellent expose on this topic, Evicted. Or my 1-page "Causes of Homelessness" from my book, Crossing the Line: Taking Steps to End Homelessness.)

That's tough enough, as exemplified by our nation’s record high number of families in homeless situations. 

HUD’s (U.S. Dept. of Housing and Human Development) policies  and their continuing refusal to acknowledge the horrifying level of homelessness among families and youth, will only get worse with an incoming clueless HUD Secretary.

While HUD is dancing around the Washington Monument waving banners proclaiming “Homelessness Is Ending!” the U.S. Department of Education grimly points to the doubling of homeless students identified since schools began seriously counting back in 2006. The number of students—not parents, older/younger siblings, nor those still unidentified—has doubled, from about 600,000 to more than 1.3 million in 2015. 

That's bad enough, but another barrier exists that causes, perpetuates and prevents homelessness from ending. It doesn’t get discussed much publicly. But it needs to be addressed. 

Trauma. 

That one word encompasses physical, mental, sexual abuse that creates a sense of panic, dread, and immobility, to name a few manifestations. This affliction often sabotages a person’s return to self-sufficiency. It’s the invisible demon that lingers in the background, waiting for the opportune moment to shatter any chance of progress. 

I’ve seen it time and time again. Depending on the damage the trauma has inflicted, some are rendered pathetically, frustratingly immobile when it surfaces.

We’ve heard “PTSD” referring to soldiers exposed to horrors of war. Post traumatic stress disorder. It’s not just a way of explaining away unacceptable behaviors of our troops. Or our citizens. Lady Gaga’s admission of her PTSD recently rocked her fandom. 

It’s far past time to acknowledge that those exposed to violence—mental, physical and/or sexual—are vulnerable to PTSD. Their trauma is real. As I’m witnessing now.

The mother who, after 3 long years of enduring and surviving incomprehensible abuse and hardships, including homelessness that resulted in her family being split up for survival’s sake, has an opportunity to move out of her (and her daughter’s) hell-hole of indentured servitude and homelessness into a decent, affordable place of their own. 

I suspect the demon is circling, pushing her vulnerable self-esteem against the wall, shouting the abusive chant that she’s unworthy, that she’ll fail, so why should she try. 

She texted me to ask how soon she should tell her sinister employer/housing provider that she and her daughter are moving. Reading between the lines of this short text, she wants to, understandably, tell him to “f-ck off,” a satisfying response to a hated bully. 

Her justifiable anger is ready to spew, amassed over years of abusive, demeaning, brutal experiences that have threatened her wellbeing, and worse, that of her children, just as she’s about to break out of this prison. 

Not now, I uncharacteristically advised. He can kick you to the curb, or make your lives even more miserable while we’re waiting for the languid housing authority to hand her the keys. 

She thanked me for my counsel and said this will be, next to the birth of her kids, the best Christmas ever (we agreed to postpone the celebration of Christmas by a month, figuring they’ll be in their new home). 

This can be my best Christmas, with my fingers crossed that she can hang in and make this happen. Selfishly, I could use a reason to cheer 2017’s inauspicious arrival. Demon, be gone!

A Homeless Family's Christmas Tale: From Ogre to Oh My God!

Melissa kept sobbing “Oh my God!” Probably 50 times. 

Then she said the phrase that caused me to cringe. “We don’t have to worry about The Man anymore.”

Spoken by the absolutely desperate mother of a young girl. They, by virtue of desperate poverty and homelessness, were doubled up in a hardscrabble Kansas town. This Mom and her 9-year-old daughter share a small, dark room in return for the mother’s providing in-home health services to the disabled wheelchair-bound, obese and allegedly perverted homeowner, a man whose 2 teens who also live in this menagerie.

I’ve known this mother for over 2 years. I’ve known others who’ve known her longer. So I know her story rings true. She’s allowed me to share it (4-min. video) hoping it would enlighten or embolden other women (and maybe men) in similar situations.   

As with far too many women, she found herself and her 2 daughters bouncing from couch to motel to basement floor and around again after her marriage broke up—shattering both her jaw and self-esteem. She worked the jobs mothers can work when juggling child care, school obligations, and pernicious poverty. Instability was their constant companion. So was violence, sexual abuse, and hopelessness.

The one insurmountable barrier to returning to any kind of normal living was a $2500 debt to the local housing authority. It’s a long story, but trust me when I say this mom found herself doing something most of us would have done, and she was “sentenced”  to 5 years of hard time (homelessness), barred from the only affordable housing in Kansas—subsidized by the federal government via HUD (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development). 

I kept in contact with her for reasons I cannot explain. Maybe because she was the one mother I interviewed who had no one. I encouraged her when my normally optimistic self was cringing at the hopelessness of her situation. I suggested that she apply for a housing voucher before the new HUD administration takes over. She did, and was told that she’d be eligible (strict guidelines) as long as she was able to pay her arrearage. I personally tried to get them to waive all/part, to no avail.

Through a lot of luck, I was able to find donors to clear her debt. She meets with the housing authority person next week. They evidently have a unit ready for her and her family. 

Families (and individuals) who live in these horrible conditions for so long need time to adjust to having their own place. The trauma they’ve experienced for so long follows them like a vicious tornado cloud ready to tear their fragile lives to shreds. And too often, the earlier experience of homelessness often leads to homelessness as an adult. All is not “happily ever after” yet, and maybe ever.

Imagine yourself as a parent in this situation, what would it mean to have your own place? And try to imagine Melissa’s relief when she realizes, “We don’t have to worry about The Man anymore.”

Be assured—she’s not the only parent in this situation.

I'm No Wuss, But...

I’ve been living in a van/RV for the past 11 years. I’ve traveled to 48 states, over 300,000 mostly backroads miles chronicling homelessness of families/youth under my HEAR US Inc. (www.hearus.us) banner.

I’ve been in blizzards (Snowzilla is the latest), dust storms, powerful wind and rain storms, and have lucked out avoiding hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires, with close calls. I’ve been in places cold enough to freeze all my water systems (thawing in a fire barn once) and in places hot and humid enough to scare me from any hell-earning behavior. I’m no wuss, but I’ve come to accept that cold is better than heat--not by much. 

My latest projects is a trifecta--filming in Oregon, Washington, then Idaho--three separate projects focused on how schools work with homeless families/youth. I’ve been hired because, I’d like to think, I’ve gotten pretty darn good at making documentaries of this topic, perhaps a product of my 3+ decades of homelessness work. 

When I made arrangements for this trip I naively thought “Great! A nice time to be in this part of the country!” Silly me. 

I’m in the middle of my first heatwave, with temps hitting 105. Fortunately it cools off dramatically at night.  I naively thought since this round of scorching temperatures is supposed to abate tomorrow, that I was done with the heat. But not so fast. Give it a few days and we’re right back up to the 100s again.

For me, the heat is inconvenient. I need to either sweat and film during the hottest part of the day or find a place to stay cool during the afternoon/early evening hours. It’s a challenge, but I’ve got resources so I can make stuff work.

What has been painfully evident to me--because I see it with my own eyes--is the number of infirm adults without homes, some very obviously seniors, who are out in this heat with no relief. In many cases, they have no place to go--few shelters, especially in the smaller cities and towns, much less rural areas. Oh yeah, they’re probably all hungry and quite thirsty, and often scorned.

The other reality--unlike my previous northwest area trips--is the absolute ban on anyone sleeping anywhere but a motel or expensive campground (most of which have been at capacity) or shelter (not always an option). I’ve joined the ranks of people without homes--though, again, I have resources--who are not wanted. For me it’s a good, albeit painful, experience. 

I’ve scrambled to find places, tapping resources of friends and friends of friends (thanks Facebook!) who might let me park stealthily in a driveway. I’ve drifted into a restless sleep, pretty sure I’d be disturbed by the authorities (or booted, like I was in Atlanta a couple years ago). 

Those not as lucky as me tough it out in a variety of abysmal situations--in the woods, in storage units, in vehicles that will often get ticketed or impounded--and all of those “solutions” are horrible for any number of reasons. Families often double up (or worse). Youth commonly “couch surf” or find abandoned buildings.

Homelessness is out of control--an assessment I don’t make lightly. Despite the gallant efforts of both those in this quicksand-like situation and those truly trying helping them escape, it’s getting worse, not better. I see far too many people on street corners or in doorways--way more than I’ve seen in previous treks through these same areas--to think we’re making progress. (My anecdotal observations are at least as valid as the inaccurate federal census of this nomadic population.)

I suppose it’s too much to expect that we’ll make any significant dent easing homelessness. It’s not part of the political priorities of either party. So our best bet is to build an underground railroad. It worked once. I’m sure it will again--if we can maintain some level of humanity. Let’s Make America Kind Again. Or something.

(Thanks to Mary Ann Parks for the design of this bumper sticker which you can actually order (for only $5 + shipping)!

Let Yay Babies! Work For You—Locally!

Leave it to the littlest ones to get attention about homeless families. HEAR US launched Yay Babies! Yay Kids! in July and received an unprecedented response!

Our cutest video ever was viewed over 2,000 times in less than a week! With lots of shares! And plenty of kudos! 

Yay Babies! video focuses on the youngest segment of this almost invisible population. It’s designed to be used by as many people as possible to share in their LOCAL circles to generate support for LOCAL babies—collecting diapers, baby food, formula, etc.— to donate to a LOCAL program serving LOCAL babies.

Yay Babies! Facebook PageYay Babies! Yay Kids! HEAR US Page

Get it? LOCAL. HEAR US created this awesomely cute short (less than 2 min.) video for you to use locally. It’s that cute. It will generate response—and you’ll be able to collect items—diapers, formula, baby food, etc.—for the LOCAL babies whose families struggle to survive. And, most importantly it will generate awareness of the massive number of homeless babies, toddlers, kids, youth, and parents that seems to be a surprise to most. 

HEAR US also generated a simple flyer to go along with your local campaign. And it has room for LOCAL contact info. Email Diane for the PDF file.

Thanks to the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation commission of the Joliet Franciscan Sisters for the grant to film, produce and promote the Yay Babies! film. 

Oh yeah. All of this is free. HEAR US relies on donations and occasional grants or speaker’s fees. So we encourage those who can to become monthly supporters so we can keep these babies and other young ‘uns in the faces of those who need to have their consciences poked.

And very soon we’ll launch a powerful tool for Yay Kids! Stay tuned!

Sounds of Thuds and Silence.

I get a unique vantage point on occasion when I park at a homeless shelter or day center. Such is the case here in Carlisle, PA where I’m plugged into Carlisle CARES’ drop-in center while I’m doing a few projects here.

My early morning quiet doesn’t last long. Folks leave their night shelter site, in a nearby place of worship, and hightail (walking, no matter the weather) it back to this “home” base to wash up, grab breakfast, and head out to work or school. The murmur of conversation drifts my way as they near the building, ending as the thud of the door slams behind them. 

This community does a pretty impressive job of at least providing shelter, with as many services as they possibly can, for hundreds of people a night, including a rising number of families. From what I’ve seen over the past 5 years when I’ve occasionally hung here, Carlisle doesn’t have more resources than the average community, they just have an attitude that people shouldn’t suffer if they can help it. 

Housing costs here are, like everywhere, out of sight. Jobs either pay well or not enough. No need to say which ones the homeless folks get. Mental health and other services are scarce. It’s no paradise, for sure. Waiting lists for housing are miles long. (Don’t rush over here to further tax their shelter system.)

People of all ages end up in homeless situations. They stay for varying amounts of time. Some cycle in and out. Most are from the Carlisle area. Volunteers and impressive community support make this program and others work. Scant government help is available.

JOIN US ON JAN. 26, 2016, 7:00 PM, DICKINSON COLLEGE, DENNY HALL, FOR A FILM (MY OWN FOUR WALLS) AND A DISCUSSION ON HOMELESSNESS. FREE. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. FOR INFO, http://www.carlislecares.org

Winter here, from what I get to see, varies from tolerable (if you are properly dressed and don’t have to stay outside too long) and unbearable. For those who are the most vulnerable, the infirm, elderly, children and babies, they’ve got it extra tough. 

Maybe we can’t end their suffering right away, though we are trying. But much can be done by us mere mortals. Suggestions include:

• Volunteer.
• Provide food.
• Donate warm winter clothing, hygiene products, socks and undies.
• Tell your Congressperson you’re appalled at how much homelessness is in her/his community. Some don’t know. They need to. (Here’s their contact info. HOUSE  SENATE)
• Support financially if you’re able.
• Enlighten your peers. Don’t believe the media myths. 
• Advocate for better policies. And we’ve got a good bill, the Homeless Children and Youth Act, which needs your help nudging your legislators. Go to www.helphomelesskidsnow.org and TAKE ACTION.

I’d love to hear that the need for these programs and shelters have greatly reduced because people are finding places to live and help that they need. But until then, I’ll let the sound of silence be disturbed by the thudding of doors, at least finding peace that some have a haven…albeit for just a few hours a day.

Does Compassion Still Have a Place in the U.S.? Homeless Kids Want To Know

 I was one of millions enthralled to watch and listen to Pope Francis address Congress. Sure, my evil self wanted him to flog the recalcitrant, heartless members. But the Pope's compassion prevailed, not before he gave them, and us, a papal prodding.

Throughout his visit, he's constantly calling attention to the poor, homeless, downtrodden and forgotten. I couldn’t be happier that this growing segment of our nation’s adults and kids finally get attention. Now, to turn attention to compassion.

Realizing that immeasurable good is done behind the scenes every day, I still hope that more will be done. I’ve seen firsthand, nationwide, the suffering of families and youth who lack a place to call home. 

For the past 30 years that I’ve been working in, for and among those clumped together as “the poor” and “the homeless,” I’ve seen a frightening growth in their numbers, and an atrocious reduction of resources needed to survive, much less thrive. Recent reports of our nation’s (lack of) progress on reducing poverty, and alarming documentation of soaring homelessness among students (and their families) confirms what I’ve seen in my HEAR US travels: more families, youth and adults are struggling to escape the shackles of poverty and homelessness. 

Recently I spoke with one of the women I met in Kansas this year during my filming of Worn Out Welcome Mat - KS (click to watch).  Her plight, and that of her young daughter, was and is dire. Her path out? Well, let me say she’d have better luck winning the lottery than escaping her doubled up situation. 

The other day I heard from a friend about what she’s doing in her community to help—a vital service—giving a homeless college student a place to stay over holidays when the dorms are closed. Sweet!

What makes a difference in the lives of the families and youth without housing? Plenty, large and small (check our HEAR US compassion epidemic list, a 1-pg. menu): 

• Housing, a given, with advocacy to make more housing available being one place to get involved. 
• Education, another biggie, should be happening all over the country, thanks to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education program. 
• Basic needs—supplies, clothing, shoes; food; medical supplies, etc.
• One-to-one help—tutoring, mentoring, etc. 
• Support your favorite homelessness organization. Sure, we’d love you to join the HEAR US supporters, but local efforts are good, too. 

I’m about to embark on what will be a 10,000 mile marathon journey across much of the U.S. to conduct presentations, meet with potential partners, screen my new film, and speak with current and formerly homeless families and youth. I’d like to tell them that everyone possible is doing everything possible to make life better for the millions of our sisters and brothers without housing. 

I’d love to hear from you. Just click POST A COMMENT and let me know what you’ve done. It’s not bragging—it’s further inspiring a compassion epidemic! 

American Christmas Celebrations, Not (Homeless) Family Friendly

Christmas spoiler alert: I am not a fan of what Christmas seems to have become here in America.

Beyond that, I'm not a fan of what this country continues to do to millions of families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

Like Tina. Here's my latest AlterNet post on her holiday-hell. If you're not going to read it--the bottom line is this gallant mother of 7 children is right now scrambling around to move her family into a small house trailer before Jan. 1.

The kicker--she's got to wait for the local housing authority to inspect the 3-BR trailer she's located to move into to make sure it's up to the HUD (US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development) standards. Factor in double holidays at the end of this month and she'll be lucky to make this all happen. If she doesn't, her family will be on the streets in a city without a family shelter.

She didn't procrastinate. Her landlord gave her exactly 30 days notice as required. She jumped right into the search, list of potential housing units in hand. When they weren't panning out, she pleaded for an extension but no go. Speculation is that he's losing the house where her family's lived for this past year. They've gotta go.

I don't know, but I'm thinking Tina and her kids probably aren't enjoying this commercially-motivated Christmas season. And I know they're not the only families suffering from house-lessness, hunger and other maladies during this time of year when most of us are involved in parties, time off from work with pay, shopping and ripping into presents. Scant media attention is given to these unfortunate millions, with a smattering of feel-good stories about Christmas cookies and Barbie dolls being shared with shelter kids.

Here's stuff most people don't know about how millions of our nation's most vulnerable families are housed:

• Subsidized housing, which pays the balance of rent after 30%, using our tax dollars, is only available for about 25% of those who really need it.
• Tenants must pay utilities and deposits, often hundreds of dollars.
• Strict rules govern tenants' behavior--and being kicked out of housing or falling behind on rent can blemish their record to the point of banning them from this program.
• Family/friends who need a place to stay can't bunk with their subsidized housing friend/family member. Guests are limited to 10 days...and pushing that can get everyone tossed to the streets.
• Family/friends with felony records are typically banned from subsidized housing properties.
• With 30 days notice, at the end of the lease period, the owner can tell the tenant to move. No recourse. 

Housing authorities oversee subsidized housing. They get federal funds. HUD's budget, now about $45 billion, despite the increased population and soaring poverty and homelessness, has been drastically slashed by the housed Members of Congress over the past 3 decades. That doesn't take into account The Sequester, when HUD's budget took an additional and devastating 10% hit.

Imagine--please--what Tina's family is going through now. No tree or Christmas celebration for the kids. Her truck's axle broke the other day, adding to her fiscal duress. She's scrambling around gathering boxes, shoving stuff in it, and getting her older kids (14 YO) to help. Stress, stress and more stress. 

Before you label Tina's family as freeloaders, dependent on government assistance, swallow this bitter pill:

According to WRAP, the recent big corporate bailout cost taxpayers over $800 BILLION, far exceeding the entire homelessness/housing assistance budget for 3 decades.

In the spirit of anti-commercial-Christmas, I'd call on a boycott of this carnage called "Christmas" until the most vulnerable families in this country have what they need to (at least) humanly survive. I'm guessing that even Jesus would approve.

Connecting the Dots: Homelessness of Families and Youth Needs Attention

Lynne Weise, Anne Arundel School District (MD) homeless
 liaison, welcomes the audience at Abundant Life
Church.

My audience last night in Glen Burnie, MD (on the outskirts of Baltimore) was a mixture of seasoned veterans who've worked with families and youth experiencing homelessness for years and newbies, the kind-hearted folks disturbed by knowing that thousands of kids and their parents in their community "have no fixed, adequate place of abode," i.e. are homeless.

I'd suspect, having done sessions like this all over the country for decades, that the group suffered from a massive guilt, how could we let this happen in our relatively affluent community?

My first task was to assuage their guilt. In virtually every community across this country, you'd find families and youth without homes. The latest stats from the US Department of Education points to a record-breaking dire reality: over 1.1 million students have been identified as homeless. That, by no means, is a complete number, with many districts failing to identify their homeless students, and families/youth in homeless situations failing to self-identify. Almost 1,000 students are identified as  homeless in this district, a steady increase from previous years.

My second task is to introduce the courageous kids who share their stories of homelessness in my award-winning, highly-acclaimed documentary, My Own Four Walls. Any audience watching this 20-minute film can't hold onto ignorance or callousness. And they didn't.

Our discussion, I believe, was fruitful. People wanted to help. And a ton of help is needed. Practical things, diapers, clothing, food, etc.; the vital extras, band instruments, prom dresses, and baseball cleats, etc.; and the underlying essential, raising awareness so that a compassion epidemic can spread.

What I think astounded/vexed them the most is that so many families and youth are still unsheltered in their communities, causing all sorts of logistical nightmares for the unhoused and for those responding to the inevitable emergencies related to being unhoused.

Yeah, it's pretty dismaying to know that for decades our nation, and communities within, have pretty well ignored the basic human needs of vulnerable families and youth. And our federal government, despite what they say, continues to under-fund and under-serve this growing population, at a great cost to taxpayers as well as the beleaguered families/youths.

It would be nice if local communities could muster the compassion needed to solve the problem in their borders, but that's not how it works. They can do great things, but if we don't ramp up the basics: affordable housing, support services, educational opportunities, health care, child care, etc., those teetering on the edge of homelessness will fall hard. That requires pulling in (reluctant) elected officials on all levels.

I'll continue doing gigs like this as long as I get the support (check our our time-limited -3/31/14 matching grant), but I've got to say it's daunting. This crisis isn't easing. And the do-gooders might start feeling like their Uncle Sam has deserted them. At this point, I'd have a hard time arguing.

Holiday Homelessness Reports: Poppycock!

Sure as Santa replaces Halloween costumes on store shelves, pseudo-heart-wrenching reports about homelessness pummel us between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tis' the season of befuddling accounts “documenting” our nation’s "progress" fighting homelessness.

With decades of paltry federal homelessness-abating efforts failing to stem the tide of individuals and families finding themselves roofless, HUD’s recent claim that homelessness is decreasing might cause a raised eyebrow or two. But no, mainstream media dashes off a drivel-filled dab pronouncing: Mission accomplished. Tomorrow, the US Conference of Mayors releases their annual hunger and homelessness report. With decades of perusing these documents, I could save them the money and write it myself:

Hunger and homelessness is decreasing for some, increasing for others. Federal investments in programs to address these crises are decreasing. Economic conditions continue to worsen. More people are suffering.

One might be inclined to ask, with the dramatic loss of affordable housing, record un- and under-employment, brutal sequester-related cuts to social safety net programs, decades of ravaging federal support for anything to do with keeping people from the worst of poverty…how do the numbers of homeless people decline? This, after all, is the era of epitome Scrooge-like behavior on the part of government, ebbing corporate generosity, and, oh yeah, those pesky paychecks can't keep pace with the cost of living either.

How do HUD officials pass off their Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress with straight faces? Why doesn’t the headline “Homelessness Down, but Poverty Up” get attention for the absurdity factor?

Little consideration gets paid to how the majority of the 99% struggle to pay for essentials, like housing, health care and food. The recent NYT article describing struggles of working stiffs unable to pay the rent points out some indisputable facts: “Today, millions of poor Americans are caught in a similar trap, with the collapse of the housing boom helping stoke a severe shortage of affordable apartments. Demand for rental units has surged, with credit standards tight and many families unable to scrape together enough for a down payment for buying a home. At the same time, supply has declined, with homebuilders and landlords often targeting the upper end of the market.”

What about those dire circumstances would allow homelessness to recede?

A recent report by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies confirms the impact of the shortage of affordable housing on the legions of income-challenged households. As Bryce Covert on Moyers & Co. points out, “There is very little affordable housing available. These low-income renters who make $15,000 or less would have to find housing that costs less than $375 a month, yet the median monthly cost for housing that was built in the last four years is more than $1,000. Less than a third of those units rents for under $800, and a mere 5 percent go for less than $400. There were just 6.9 million housing units that these renters could afford in 2011, but there are 11.8 of these renters, and to top it off, 2.6 million of the affordable units are occupied by higher-income people.”

She adds, “The availability of low-cost housing has been declining for decades — in 1970, there was an actual surplus of 300,000 low-cost rental units, but by 2011, there was a shortfall of 5.3 million units.”

So, ‘splain it to me like I’m a 6-year-old. How do decades of declining availability of low-cost housing units, rising long-term unemployment, inadequate wages, slashed government investments in human essentials, long-lasting global economic demise, increasing numbers of renters, sequester government spending slashing, and a growing population combine to REDUCE homelessness?

Seems like the same folks foisting Santa on unsuspecting lil’ kids are at it again, making believe that a housing fairy is flitting about as the bamboozlers steal cookies from the plate on the kitchen table. And the US Mayors Conference drank the kook-aid. Fa-la-la-la-la….

Also posted on Diane's AlterNet, Speakeasy page.

Lost and Forgotten: Income-Challenged Families In America

Lost and Forgotten: an appropriate reference for this neglected blog. Sorry I've been MIA for a while, but I haven't been sitting under a rock. In fact, 2 major events have grasped my time and taught me invaluable lessons in the process.

1. Death of my Mom, Ellie Nilan. On May 9 I received the call that she had quickly and unexpectedly passed away. Ellie was a treat! And she lived life to the full. Her 93rd birthday, on the first day of Summer, approached, but she didn't make it. Ellie was an ardent supporter of HEAR US, and she was an essential part of my life. Our daily 8:45 a.m. calls were our touchstone. I find myself looking at the clock, reaching for my phone...and recalling she's "in the next room" as the What Is Death? meditation reminds us. To continue her generous legacy, the Ellie Nilan Memorial Fund was established by HEAR US. Among other things, her death and dealing with the aftermath, gives me new appreciation for those who struggle with loss.
2. My trip to Tanzania, Africa. A planned trip, my "vacation" so to speak, for 3 weeks in June. I'm part of a nonprofit organization Friends of Imiliwaha NFP. We develop support for a specific educational effort and medical project. Three of us went to see what things looked like on the ground. I've never crossed the Atlantic, so this was an eye-opening trip! And contrary to my little imagination, Tanzania is beautiful! Here's a 5-min video I made showing the school we're supporting. And I penned/typed a blog for AlterNet on our visit vs. President Obama's trip a couple weeks after.

That being said, Lost and Forgotten means much more. It reflects how abysmally this country's leaders are treating the families and individuals on the bottom of the economic ladder. Case in point: the recent slash and burn of food assistance, aka SNAP or food stamps, in Congress. Poor families don't need food. Rich farmers need federal support, billions. Uh huh.

Lost and Forgotten formerly middle-class families got a great visibility boost in the recent PBS film Two American Families. In an unprecedented (at least to my knowledge) look at a 22-year span at the same 2 families, we witnessed the unraveling of their lives as their union jobs fall by the wayside and they struggle to survive. 

Bill Moyers and Company did a fantastic job on this film. But it was ugly. I expressed my feelings about the film in my AlterNet blog, asking the question: How Far Is Your Family From Homelessness? 

Sometimes I feel the frustration of "just" blogging when so much more needs to be done. But if enough people see my blog, watch the film, and contact their elected officials or at least clue-in their neighbors and coworkers, some good will occur. 

Don't know if I was in the Lost and Forgotten category that I'd be satisfied with "some good," which takes me back to my frustration. 

HEAR US has begun our astounding 9th year July 1, 2013. In my wildest dreams I never imagined I'd be sitting here typing those words. HEAR US began out of my frustration--knowing that homeless families and youth populations were skyrocketing at an unprecedented level, but most people didn't even know it was a problem. 

We all can make the world a better place. HEAR US, and my related activities, is my attempt to ease the suffering of the Lost and Forgotten. I'm asking you to at least watch the (free, available online) Two American Families documentary. You'll recognize families you know and love in these stories. If more would watch and learn of others' sufferings...well, I'd like to believe we'd have less Lost and Forgotten. Then I could go MIA and no one would miss me.

P.S. If you read this far and found this worthwhile, please fling it around--Facebook, wherever. Thanks!