The last day!!!! One night to go.

So, we have come to the end of this adventure.  It was really very interesting and I learned a lot more than I thought I could or would.  In the future, I will update this blog every week, but that is not to say that there is not a lot going on.  In fact, the fact that I am moving it to a weekly thing shows that there is a LOT going on and I do not even have the time to write this on a daily basis.

I may have seen too much.
   The goal was attained, I guess.  I was able to see what really goes on out here and I wonder how much I can put into this posting without offending people.  This is something that must be said and these are things that must be known.  I have seen people shoot up, smoking crack pipes...I have seen people offer and accept $10 for oral sex.  Dumpster diving, robbery, I have seen a lot but I do not think I have seen it all.  Some days the sadness is overwhelming and I think I have seen too much.  So when I read about people spending one night out, or two, I tend to think maybe more than a night or two  is needed.

   The idea behind Winnie Mae's and The Waiverly Project as a whole is to find links and find solutions to problems.  Real solutions.  Winnie Mae's and social entrepeneurism in general is about.  The idea is simplicity.  That means using realistic and sustainable means to advance the cause.  Donations do not seem to be the way to go for the future.  People seem too constrained by the economy and for that matter, their own ideology about homelessness.  If we want to find long term, serious solutions to this problem, we have to find ways to tie into the economy.  Donations and social programs may not be the means for a long term solution, in my humble opinion.

Give a man a fish...
    Giving two or three dollars to those we pass on the street is not the solution either.  The old maxim about giving a man a fish versus teaching him to fish is quite literally true here.   When you give a person a few coins on the street, they may be able to eat lunch or something cheap but hours later, they will be hungry again.  That was the main thing that people on the street want everyone to know, it seems, is that Thanksgiving and Christmas are nice, but the next day and maybe even hours later, they are hungry again.

Shelters
   One person advised me not to even go to shelters.  I have heard nothing but bad things about shelters for some reason.  People say that they have been robbed and attacked in shelters because the bad guys tend to go where the weak and vulnerable are to take advantage of them.  The people who run them work hard and have the best of intentions, but the fear that the homeless have is what goes on when the guards and the police turn their back.  Those who would do harm, know that those who would do good cannot look out all the time.  One person told me that he was robbed for his phone at gunpoint.

Lifers 

   Some people have been out here for years.  They sit and they talk about the younger people who are out here and they see themselves when they were young.  They wish someone had grabbed them before they became part of "the life".  It is such a devided group...good guys, bad guys...those with homes, those without and sometimes, there are those who have decided that they will be out here for the rest of their lives. 

   There are those who have mental problems and these need to be addressed and it is sad to have seen so many.  Survival is hard enough without the spectre of dealing with a world that does not make sense.

If I can sum it up...

   If I could  just sum it up it up, I think what is needed is aggressive attack on homelessness.  People who want to help need to get out there and dedicate to it.  We need a concerted effort.  We need to attack the causes of poverty.  Ironically, I think a down economy is the best time to do it.  As this tide of recovery rises, it has the power to lift some of the smaller ships that are bobbing on the water. It is not going to be easy.  Nothing worth doing ever is and that which needs to be done rarely is...In my humble opinion. 

"We were hungry the next day..." Day 28, Two to go!

I talked to a lot of people this weekend.  When they find out what I am doing and why, they tend to get pretty excited.  When I spoke to people on Friday morning, though, they were happy for the "feed" on Thanksgiving day and very thankful.  The major sentiment of that next day was, "We were hungry the next day..."  Shawn was upset that it was a Friday and he could not rake leaves to get money for food, nor could he go to the day labor place and get a job there for the day.  I think the main thing that we need to remember is that there 363 other days in the year aside from Thanksgiving and Christmas...

Light...! Day 26...5 to go

I see a light at the end of the tunnel and I can only imagine how that would feel for someone who is in the same boat as I but worse.  I mean to say that if there is someone out there who somehow and for some reason fell, I can only imagine what it would feel like to know that you are on the verge of a life off of the street.  To be able to return to a place that is warm and comfortable and all your own, would have to be fantastic.  
With everything that we have done this month, in these 26 days, I have been motivated by the bad and seeking to keep others from having to go through what I have gone through voluntarily, but now I see that I can be motivated by the good of wanting to see someone go through it and come out of the other side. 

Taking Thanksgiving Off...Day 24 continued...

I hope that everyone is enjoying their turkey day.  When I first started this, I did not give a lot of thought to what I would be doing on Thanksgiving.  To be honest, the thought didn't even really cross my mind when I committed to this. Most Thanksgivings I can be found in front of the TV full of food and happy.  Not so this year.
   Still, I feel as though I have worked really very hard and if nothing else, I am going to take the day off and reflect on what has happened, and what we would like to see happen.  I have no doubt that we can make Winnie Mae's happen.  Using companies like Fare Start (http://www.farestart.org/) and Street Bean Espresso (http://www.streetbeanespresso.org/)  as templates, we can do the same with Winnie Mae's.
   The major thing to keep in mind is that we are not reinventing the wheel.  What we would like to do is not incredibly unusual and it has been done a thousand times before.  When we add the relatively new component of hiring homeless and at risk youth, we see that something as basic as a first job, can make a world of difference in a person's life. 
   So, that being said, we want and need your support to get this done.  Please help. "Never doubt that a small group of committed individuals can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

The good, long day...six days to go.

   So, we are figuring things out and we are doing some good today on this day before Thanksgiving.  Last night, I slept in the park in the crook of a tree's roots.  Cloaked in the fog and haze of the night, my sleep was only broken by the occasional drop of rainwater or the sound of voices passing in the darkness.  Still, I slept.
   I heard this morning, as I was sitting drinking coffee, someone saying that all the homeless are scamming people.  I heard the story about the guy who makes $45,000 a year and just begs for money in his spare time.  The guy who got robbed by people at the shelter that he volunteered at.  I think at this point, I have heard it all. 
   I am not saying that there are not some scammers out there.  I have been robbed since coming out here, though I was not around when my stuff was taken.  Perhaps it was even the people that I was trying to help.  Who knows.  Who cares.  It is only stuff.  I guess my point is that the homeless are just like every other group of people on the planet.  There are good and there are bad.  Spending the night in the wind and rain like I have, leaves me with only one conclusion:  whatever your belief about what is going on, there are people suffering.
   It is horrible out here.  That is all.  There are people who aer out here for various reasons, bad economy, drugs, alcohol, but whatever the reason, we are talking about human beings and our fellow human beings are sleeping in puddles of cold water.
   We have a long day ahead of us, interview with Fox5 and then dinner at Standup for Kids!  I am going to post twice today to keep people updated on what is going on because these are the reasons we do it. 

Momentum...Day 23...one week to go.

We are drawing to the end of this and I am thankful.  I am nowhere near giving up.   I like meeting people and getting out on the street, but there comes a time when  we have to sit behind a desk and make some phone calls, mail some things, and do the annoying paperwork! This morning I met with the city planner of Doraville, Scott Haeberlin.  We are moving forward.  Progress is being made at every turn and we have that greatest of things...momentum!  So, with seven days to go in this, we can see that this is not the end but just a passing the next phase. 

Cans…Day 20, 11 to go
Ok, yes a simple metaphor and delightful double entendre, but I could not help it. We are drawing to the end of this whole thing and yes we can. I will not hit my original goal. I believe that goes without saying. The great thing is that we are now bold of spirit and I think that is more of the issue.

I now hate the site of beer and beer cans. I hate the smell of stale beer, soda, and overly fruity energy/alcoholic beverages that have been lying around for days or weeks. Still, I know that each can that I pick up and crush goes to a good cause. If I don’t get it, it will be wrapped up in a plastic bag and buried under tons of garbage. I could give up. I could do without the smell of stale beer at the end of the day; and the annoyance of having to cart them from spot to spot. Every ounce counts, though and every can that I can get, I will.