PALO VERDE PR STARING STEPHANIE KLASKY-GAMER CEO

NOTE: THE ORIGINAL VIDEO POSTED HERE WAS TAKEN DOWN OFF YOUTUBE.


SOUNDS GOOD... now are these apartments really the rent-paying resident's or is this another shelter where anyone can just knock on your door and walk right in? Do you have to come home every night? So you have to sign in or tell a case manager where you were or why you weren't home? What about the restrictions on visitors?

How do you explain the fact that some residents have been at the LAFH Valley shelter for 4, 5, 6, and 7 years? What percentage of people you intake end up in their own apartment in a year? At all?

CROSS FIT LA DEBASES HOMELESS BY JONATHAN MASENG OF THE LA WEEKLY

Link to the article, which appeared in the July 13-19 2012 edition of the LA Weekly now!

"The photos depict members of CrossFit Mean Streets, a gym located on the edge of Skid Row at 265 S. Main St., engaged in mockery and humiliation of troubled local denizens, some of whom had passed out on the sidewalks...In one photo published on his website and Facebook, Teasdale grins and poses with Wayne Willette, owner of CrossFit CrownTown in Corona, and several other CrossFitters as they happily pose over an unconscious man slumped in front of Teasdale's truck. Aris Gregorian, a coach at CrossFit Crown City in Pasadena, holds a CrossFit shirt above the downed man. Oner shot from Teasdale's Facebook page implies that the highly fit bunch had brief contact with, but did not help, the unconscious person: Somebody has laid a CrossFit shirt across his back.Another shows a different unconscious man sprawled on a sidewalk with a CrossFit shirt draped over his body. The photo caption mocks "free gift."It is not known whether CrossFit members tried to verify if these men needed medical help..."

SARGENT SHRIVER NATIONAL CENTER ON POVERTY LAW

"The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law provides national leadership in advancing laws and policies that secure justice to improve the lives and opportunities of people living in poverty. The Center engages in direct advocacy campaigns in Illinois and around the country to improve policies and programs on specific issues, and also engages in broader advocacy on general issues of justice, opportunity, and human rights. Our advocacy niche is the nexus between federal policy and state implementation, a key position in this era of devolution of power to the states in many areas of social policy and law."POVERTY LAW ORG

HUNGRY 24/7 BY SUSAN FREUDENHEIM - JEWISH JOURNAL - MAZON - SOVA

" - right now, one in six Americans is living with food insecurity — which means they either are constantly at risk of being without their next meal or living with disrupted food patterns. This shocking number comes from a study just released by Feeding America, a food-relief organization. These people do not choose to be hungry. And here are some even more stark statistics: • 17 million of America’s children live with food insecurity.• Only 10 percent of the 50 million are homeless.• About 36 percent of food-insecure families include one working adult...MAZON — which Charity Navigator has just raised to four stars, its highest rating for philanthropies — has just begun a promising new initiative to explore ways to distribute more fresh foods. Created in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, the program is called “Healthy Options/Healthy Meals” and is initially funding 12 food banks around the nation, helping them explore ways to make healthy and nutritious food more available to populations with specific needs, such as the elderly.

Link to the full article, which appeared in the Jewish Journal October 7-12, 2011. Thank's "Country Bumpkin" for the lead on this story

Link to MAZON on our side bar!

DEATH WARRANTS KILLER SUSPECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY IN STABBINGS OF HOMELESS IN SANTA MONICA and SKID ROW

Courtney Anthony Robinson is pleading Not Guilt of a series of stabbings of homeless men and women in Santa Monica and downtown - skid row - Los Angeles. Detectives believe Anthony may also be responsible for two other stabbings in the Santa Barbara area.

Homeless who are sleeping outdoors at night are targets for violence. There are people who want to pick off homeless people.

BROADCASTER BILL HANDEL - KFI RADIO - SENSITIVITY RATING GOING UP

Successful KFI radio broadcaster Bill Handel has taken some well deserved criticism from us.

KFI is a station with a big range and Bill's got influence. We were upset when he joked that he and his brother baited homeless people with five dollar bills. Bill is however getting more sensitive to the homeless because he has learned that an old friend of his is on the street. Bill recently mentioned the WAR ON POVERTY as over. We have a video at the bottom of this blog on the WAR OF POVERTY as well as inaugural speeches by various U.S. Presidents concerning human rights.

We'd like KFI, which broadcasts out of Burbank, California, to get more activated when it comes to homeless and poverty issues in Burbank.

The myth about Burbank is that, since the movie studios moved in and started paying taxes and shopping areas have been revitalized, there is no poverty or homelessness in Burbank. Some people say Burbank Police throw homeless over the border into LA City territory. Worst of all, Burbank does not want any homeless shelters in the city and does not want the United States Armory, located near the Fry's near the airport to be used as a winter shelter. (As usual, the homeowners are offended.) All of which, as we see it, goes to prove the point that poor people are more generous than rich.

LOS ANGELES FAMILY HOUSING - BITTER RESIDENTS USING FACEBOOK AND TWITTER TO GET THEIR EXPERIENCES OUT THERE

According to our source, bitter residents and ex residents of LOS ANGELES FAMILY HOUSING have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts to get their real experiences to funders about life at the shelter. Bad experiences living at the shelter as well as with the management at Palos Verde apartments, provoked these people into trying to stand up for themselves. Our source says that funders are kept unaware of what life is like at the shelter. Complaints range from other residents to case management. Our source tells us that WEST VALLEY MENTAL HEALTH may separate itself from the shelter due to the recent scandal at the Palo Verde apartments where 35 residents there on their first section 8 voucher where told to give their vouchers back and accept Shelter Plus instead. Since we don't use Twitter or Facebook at this time, we are unable to verify any of this.  this.

SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE - HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME

GREENVILLE SOUTH CAROLINA NEEDS HOMELESS ACTIVISTS

We recently got a comment by a person in Greenville, South Carolina, asking us if there is a way, without mentioning his or her contact information, that we can network for activism.

To quote part of this person's message, " I live in Greenville, SC and the mayor, all leadership, even the top players of service organizations are doing all that they can to kick the homeless out of the city. It is sad and disappointing and I just wanted to reach out for help or suggestions, because this seems like an awesome blog and perhaps there's something that we haven't tried yet..."

So we have some suggestions: First of all WHY NOT BLOG OUT OF GREENVILLE? WHY NOT GET AN E- MAIL ADDRESS THAT YOU DON'T MIND EXPOSING ON THE NET that you can use only for this cause? (Yahoo offers disposable addresses as well.) Search also for CIVIL RIGHTS lawyers in your area. CONTACTING THE ACLU might be helpful. They like class action lawsuits but may have some referrals.

We know that most homeless people are unable to do this, but we also suggest taking notes, keeping a diary, of your experiences. If you have to, send yourself e-mails. We find that there are many powerful agencies that are part of the problem. Please contact us again, use this post, to let us know how it's going. We'll be glad to link to your blog, website, or other information, that may bring local people to your cause!

NOTE! IF ANY OF YOU READERS KNOW OF ANY CONNECTIONS FOR GREENVILLE, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT!

SOVA RESOURCE CENTERS - NEW LOCATION METRO in WEST HOLLYWOOD

SOVA is a really cool place. If you're homeless or destitute this is a place you can go that is run pretty much by volunteers, and though it gets a little crazy, our experience is that you're dealing with real people (not case managers with Masters Degrees who think you're a statistic.) We've posted them before but we're doing so again because you may not know about their new location, METRO - located in West Hollywood at 1140 North La Brea Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90038

The METRO pantry is located on the east side of La Brea.
Metered parking is available on La Brea as well as on surrounding streets.

You can bus there on MTA.

HAS YOUR SHELTER EMPLOYMENT OFFICE HELPED YOU FIND A JOB?

One of the biggest obstacles to those who have changed their address to the shelter on their California drivers license of ID is that few employers go out of their way to hire homeless people and most Google your address and find out. People who do physical labor or blue collar jobs seem to have a better time of finding employment, even with criminal records, than do those who have educations or once had careers but lost everything because of long term unemployment.

The solution to this problem is for shelters to provide PO boxes for job hunters, though PO boxes can't appear on picture ID's. In this case many a homeless individual can get a little further along in the interviewing process before having to turn over a picture ID.

Another solution is for the shelter employment personnel to actively seek out employers who will give a homeless individual a new start.

PETS OF THE HOMELESS ORG - AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PLACES TO GET YOUR DOG FOOD !

Some people don't think homeless people should have pets, but ask some homeless who have been kept safe on the street by their loyal German Shepherd or Pit Bull... How do you feed your dog when you may be pan handling for food for yourself? (Should we mention the old women we see in the store buying nothing but a couple tins of cat food and how we wonder if they are eating it themselves? What ever happened to the dogs that were taken off one senior citizen we know who became homeless and brought them to the shelter that took him in?)

This site has a list of HOMELESS SHELTERS THAT TAKE PETS.

LINK RENEWED JAN 2015 http://www.petsofthehomeless.org/

"Our volunteer collection site members support our objective of collecting pet food and pet supplies. They are working with distributing organizations-local food banks, pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters-who have agreed to distribute the pet food to the homeless and poor in their communities."

There locations all over the US and they are always looking for more.

*****************************************************************************

Here is the list for Southern California

BURBANK
Burbank Temporary Aid Center
1304 West Burbank Blvd. Burbank, California 91506818-848-2822http://thebtac.org

RIVERSIDE
CAYA Homeless MinistriesRiverside, California 92513
951-689-0792http://www.cayahomelessminitries.com
Eddie D Smith Senior Center
5888 Mission Blvd.
Riverside, California 92509951-275-9975

MONROVIA
Foothill Unity Center
415 W. Chestnut Ave.
Monrovia, California 91016
626-358-3486

LANCASTER
Grace Resource Center
45134 N. Sierra Highway
Lancaster, California 93534
661-940-5272http://www.graceresources.org

GLENDALE
Loaves & Fishes Food Programs
4322 San Fernando Rd.
Glendale, California 91204
818-409-3080

LONG BEACH
Long Beach Rescue Mission
1430 Pacific Ave.
Long Beach, California 90813
562-591-1292http://www.lbrm.org

SAN BERNADINO
Mary's Table
641 Roberds Ave
San Bernardino, California 92411
909-889-2558http://www.marysmercycenter.org

SANTA MONICA
Meals on Wheels West
1823 Michigan Ave., Ste A
Santa Monica, California 90404
310-394-5133

POMONA
New Harvest Community Church
480 W. Monterey Ave- Sundays 4-p p.m.
Pomona, California 91768
909-623-8646http://www.rchurch.com/pomona-central-foursquare-church---new-harvest-community-church-pomona-california.html

PAWS
Los Angeles
1150 S. Hope Street
Suite A
Los Angeles, California 90015
213-741-1950http://www.pawsla.org/

...there's more!

30 DAYS ON MINIMUM WAGE MORGAN SPURLOCK TAKES IT ON!

We were watching a DVD from the creator of "Super Size Me" called "30 Days." In this video Morgan Spurlock and his wife go to Cincinnati Ohio as a representative city, and take minimum wage jobs. Things actually go well for them because they are able to find an apartment on the first day and jobs soon after. The apartment is not furnished but they have enough to get a table, chairs, and mattresses at a local charity store.

So many homeless have been working for minimum wage or less, just barely holding on, before and after the street. We know of people who worked secretarial jobs though living in an encampment under a freeway ramp, people sleeping in cars and going to community college or who have been sofa hopping for years. Most homeless can't do this for long. It's exhaustive, most employers will not hire someone if they learn they are homeless, even when they are living in a shelter or program.

HOMELESS TURN TO TWITTER FOR FOOD AND SHELTER ?

Cool video that includes some testimonials by formerly homeless Mark Horvath who started WE ARE VISABLE, and Rd Plasschaert, who uses Twitter to find food banks and other resources.

RELECTIONS OF MY LIFE - MARMALADE

HARDLY NORMAL - MARK HORVATH BLOGS ON HOMELESS SAN FRANCISCO and POLITICS

..." San Francisco is an interesting community. On one side it’s very progressive in social services and on the other San Francisco does some really dumb things that almost contradicts the good that the city does. Now add politics and you’ll get lots of varying opinions. I’ve heard all kinds of stories about Gavin Newsom, but to me, any mayor that leads a community by washing the feet of our homeless friends is a hero. I have traveled all over North America for the homeless cause and I can tell you two things: 1) fighting homelessness does not get votes 2) the communities that are really having impact fighting homelessness are the ones where the mayor is taking an active role. It’s almost political suicide for any politician to fight homelessness, which is very sad since fighting homelessness saves lives and taxpayer dollars."...

PATHWAYS TO HOPE (FIES) SERVICES : FULLERTON CALIFORNIA

Pathways of Hope (PoH), formerly know as Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Service (FIES), is a cooperative community organization established in 1975 by the Fullerton Interfaith Ministerial Association (FIMA). The goal has always been to provide emergency food, transitional housing and other support services to the hungry and homeless in our community. PoH offers transitional housing for families and adults, food distribution, meals for the homeboung, holiday gift program and rental and utility assistance. Services available are based on current funding.


Mailing Address
Po Box 6326
Fullerton Ca 92384

Physical Address – Main Office
514 Amerige
Fullerton CA 92832

Distribution Center
611 S. Ford
Fullerton CA 92832

Phone: 714.680.3691
Fax: 714.871.3032
Email: info@pathwaysofhope.us


WE WANT TO KNOW IF KELLY THOMAS EVER GOT HELP FROM FIES/ PATHWAYS TO HOPE OR ANY OTHER HOMELESS SERVICE NONPROFIT OR AGENCY>

KELLY THOMAS' FATHER FREDERICK THOMAS JR, FILES CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT AGAINST FULLERTON POLICE : MURDER OF ANOTHER HOMELESS PERSON

"The father of a homeless California man who died after being beaten by Fullerton police officers filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday against the city, its police chief and the six officers allegedly involved in the fatal incident.

The lawsuit filed by Frederick Ronald Thomas Jr., 55, of Cypress, California, also alleges assault and battery, negligence and civil rights violations in the death of his son, Kelly James Thomas. Yhe suit, filed in Orange County Superior Court one year after the beating, seeks more than $25,000 in damages.
Kelly Thomas, 37, a lifelong resident of Fullerton, was shirtless and carrying a backpack, and was wearing long pants and slippers, when Fullerton police were called to investigate a "homeless" man looking in car windows and pulling door handles of parked cars at the city's bus depot last July 5, the lawsuit said.
A security camera at the downtown bus depot provided 16 minutes of video of the officers questioning and then beating Thomas, who was schizophrenic..."

BUTTERFLIES

Dover Free Use Sampler Image

ALBERT HAMMOND - IT NEVER RAINS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

COLORING BOOK BUTTERLY (6) FOR OUR HOMELESS CHILDREN