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Organization: Homelessness Resource Center (HRC)
Publication Date: 2009
Patty Wudell, Director of Joseph’s House in Washington, DC, describes the place as “always gently moving.” Here, people who are formerly homeless and dying of HIV/AIDS can come to live and receive compassionate care. HRC’s Wendy Grace Evans spoke with Patty and learned about the beauty and the mystery of Joseph’s House.
“I was thinking about the house this weekend and it really did feel like standing at the edge of deep still waters with tall gra...
Organization: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Publication Date: 2009
The foreclosure crisis is nothing new. Every day we hear about more and more people who are losing their homes. HRC’s Wendy Grace Evans takes a closer look at the impact on renters, and what some groups are doing to address this epidemic.
“What are we gonna do?” says Deborah Jones, Cleveland resident and mother of three. “It’s crazy and I mean hilarious.” The edge in her voice becomes more apparent. “This has affected me real bad. My parents got...
Organization: Homelessness Resource Center (HRC)
Publication Date: 2008
On or around the first day of winter every year, communities across the country celebrate the lives of those who have died on the streets. Wendy Grace Evans attended the recent march and vigil in Albuquerque and describes the experience.
Albuquerque, NM—
It’s Tuesday December 9, 2008. I walk through the brutal cold and listen to the stories of people walking with me. I am six months sober this week and grateful to be awake for this privilege. Thr...
Organization: Homelessness Resource Center
Publication Date: 2009
Division: Junior - Intermediate
Subject: Visual Arts
Includes ideas for a multi-media curriculum engages students and teachers with essays written by people who have experienced homelessness, photographs, music, and speakers who share their stories about the lived-experience of homelessness
NOTE: LINK ON THE PAGE DOES NOT WORK!
Replacement: http://www.giveusyourpoor.org/education/close-to-home.php
The Close to Home curriculum uses a multi-media a...
Publication Date: 2012
In a cost benefit review of a single typical patient, Care Oregon documented that Central City Concern’s Recuperative Care Program reduced annual hospitalization and medical costs by more than $80,000 per patient. The Recuperative Care Program has provided care and housing for more than 1,000 patients since the program’s inception in 2005. Nic Granum, Program Manager, talks about the important transitions people make from hospitals to homes with...
Publication Date: 2012
Mollie Lowery, Program Director of Housing Works in Los Angeles, understands that at the core of outreach to human beings who are experiencing homelessness is patience; there is a slow process of trust building that may take months. After years of experience with the LAMP Community, much of Mollie’s work is informed by the people who have lived on the streets and who have worked with her side by side to change the face of homelessness. Mollie’s s...
Publication Date: 2012
Alexander Bennett, a researcher for the National Development Research Institute (NDRI), works to assist veterans in their efforts to readjust to civilian life and to develop a voice alongside those who are reaching out to help them. His ultimate goal is to build trust and a community of veterans who can succeed in their life after combat.
Publication Date: 2012
Pathways Vermont is demonstrating that Housing First can have the same success rate in a rural area as it does in urban areas. Executive Director Hilary Melton, who has been working with this model since the 1980s, shares how creative use of tele-health and a commitment to providing everyone they serve with a home and intensive services is the key to their success.
Publication Date: 2012
William White, M.A., after first testing the waters as an anti-methadone counselor and clinical director in the early days of his career, has since challenged the myths and misconceptions about methadone treatment and its role in long-term recovery from opiate addiction. Today he is pleased to have worked in the field long enough to witness these changed perspectives within him and within the field he has served for more than four decades.
Publication Date: 2012
Recovery-focused systems of care offer person-centered opportunities for change, family involvement, and an enhanced quality of life for people who have been experiencing the trauma of homelessness, substance use, desolate poverty, and isolation. Journey of Hope in Philadelphia provides support for long-term recovery. Marcella Maguire, Ph.D., shares insights into this unique collaboration.
Publication Date: 2012
Many communities are establishing mental health courts to better serve the needs of people with mental illness who are charged with crimes. The result is a model that offers healthier paths to recovery and higher-quality, more cost-effective services. Melissa Knopp, Esq., Manager of the Specialized Dockets Section of the Supreme Court of Ohio, discusses the establishment of a mental health court in her community.
Publication Date: 2012
Dr. Les B. Whitbeck is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln whose research focuses on LGBTQI2-S youth experiencing homelessness in small Midwestern cities. His mission is to keep underserved youth safe from repeated harm.
Publication Date: 2012
Jonathan Scott, Executive Director of Victory Programs in Boston, MA, talks about the meaning of leading innovative programs and creative financing in building spaces for people to recover and grow with the land they cultivate. At the center of his work and the work of his organization is person-centered relationship building in the midst of acres of land and fields of vegetables.
Publication Date: 2012
Writer Mark Vonnegut shares his experiences of the nuanced and necessary dialogue between art, writing, his work as a doctor, and his experiences with mental illness. Mark offers insight into providing good care and sheds light on what he calls his own “reluctance not to give up.”
Publication Date: 2012
Dr. Sandra Young Olson, Executive Director of the Coalition of Behavioral Health Services, discusses a curriculum she is developing to train community members to identify and assist people who are struggling with substance use problems. Sandy’s own lived experience, knowledge, and passion have inspired her to find ways to help others find solutions.
Publication Date: 2012
Frances Cox works with individuals on probation in Austin, Texas through the Working on Wisdom (WOW) program. WOW is informed by Motivational Interviewing and offers a 12-session, strengths-based program to people on probation, may of whom are experiencing homelessness.
Publication Date: 2012
Jama Shelton, Coordinator of Research and Evaluation at the Ali Forney Center in New York City, has been working with LGBTQI2-S youth in direct services since she was studying to become a social worker. Currently, she is finishing her dissertation on the need for systems change to better support transgender youth experiencing homelessness. Her dual perspective of the macro and micro views of the system allows her both to effect change at the poli...
Publication Date: 2012
Jaime Ebaugh of Southwest Counseling Solutions in Detroit, Michigan discusses Piquette Square, which offers permanent supportive housing to veterans experiencing homelessness. The organization uses a combination of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT), PATH outreach, and referrals, and a unique approach to alternative healing modalities that impact mind, body, and spirit.
Publication Date: 2012
Outreach worker Ysi Ramos shares his thoughts on the essence of outreach, which he believes comes from patience and the ability to build rapport over time. He and a colleague from REACH in Seattle, Washington rely on patience and other resources to build trust with people who are living on the streets.
Publication Date: 2012
Sisters Empowering Sisters is a peer specialist-run program in Washington, DC that offers women in recovery from co-occurring disorders an opportunity to connect with other women who share the same struggles. Project Director Renee Robertson speaks about the powerful impact the sisters can have on each others’ lives when there is common understanding about moving away from loss, grief, and suffering, and towards hope and healing.