Last weekend I found myself in a gym in Portland, Oregon with tears streaming down my face. I was at Lewis & Clark Law School, at the graduation ceremony of Ksen Pallegedara, one of the first young people ever to stay at the Ali Forney Center.
Not all female veterans returning home have been assaulted or need an abortion or even have an injury. But they're winding up on the streets anyway. Being homeless is a tragedy for anyone, but it seems particularly harrowing for women.
My letter is a tribute to all of the people and institutions involved in assuring that Karen Lee, an unsheltered homeless person, died free of pain and indoors.
With significant deficits in the city's budget, and public debate over city employee raises and cuts in services, the notion of ending homelessness for 23,500 Angelenos seems daunting.
The courtyard was barren with dry crabgrass; the deafening roar of the Bayshore Freeway next to it drowned out conversations. But we were thrilled at the opportunity to have a place to send homeless families with kids.
I'm naturally a giver. But I don't take credit for it. It's not something I had to work at, it came naturally. It was imparted to me -- my legacy from my parents. I was pre-programmed to attend to the needs of others and do what I can to make them feel as good as possible.
From what I've seen, most homeless people aren't like everyone else because most of them care when everyone else gave up on them and they have learned to survive and even overcome situations others can't even imagine but for those who cling to their judgmental views, think before you speak.
Supporting our veterans is not cheap; it involves a real investment in both policy and budget priorities. But our veterans put our country first and stepped up, and on this Memorial Day, state legislators of both parties need to be standing up for veterans with real resources as well.
Homelessness is profoundly complicated. People experiencing homelessness are not all in the same situation for the same reason.
Most solutions to the problem of youth homelessness center around increased shelter services, but we have established a three-tiered approach that is multidimensional and holistic; each part is important in its own right but ineffective without the others.
Memorial Day barbecues are being planned as we prepare to remember the millions of veterans who have served our nation, protecting and defending those less fortunate as well as our way of life. For some of these veterans, the idea of a backyard barbecue is far from their reality.
Mr. Karber clearly has good intentions with his #FitchTheHomeless campaign. He is arguing that defining beauty and coolness in such a narrow way is exclusionary and insulting to people who think differently.
For some children, the uncertainty of life on the street is better than certainty of violence at home. It was for me. At age 14, I escaped from an abusive home with no money, nowhere to go and only the clothes I was wearing.
Today could have been a day as bad as yesterday, only it was worse. Today was the day Tina was scheduled to move from her apartment back into homelessness.
I hope you remember this recent post: "Catherine Died Sleeping Outside Last Night". Sadly, when you work with homeless people, death on the streets ...
Congress' attention and action right now: the millions of low-income families who rely upon federal housing assistance to keep a stable roof over their heads and are being threatened with losing access to these funds.