Filed under twitter …

Jan 03 2012
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homeless, Resources for Social Workers, twitter, welfare

GOALS

What I want HomelessInLA to accomplish in the next year -

 

  1. a comprehensive list of all the local shelters and the demographics they serve
  2. a user friendly guide to navigating the Public Assistance system (Cash Aid, Medi-Cal, Medi-Care, Social Security, IHSS)
  3. A Sample budget for the low income that reflects a savings plan
  4. More introductions and contacts for you to know – ie: who is out there looking to end poverty and enabling you to move from poverty to self-sufficiency and possibly prosperity.
  5. More stories of people who are average, smart people who have fallen into poverty so that poverty has a face we are not afraid to look at and an issue we feel comfortable addressing.
  6. To use Twitter and my personal engagements in the local sphere to be more connected with people and agencies whose work I admire.

 

Jun 28 2011
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homeless, Homeless dumping, housing, hunger, PATH, shelter, Social Work, twitter

Celebrate the Little One’s Joys

When I was a kid we were turned out to the street from the end of school until the street lamps came on. Then we dropped the footballs, hula hoops, and brushed off the grass from our pants and went home to dinner, homework, baths and bed.

Toys dot the parking lot of PATH in Glendale

For some that is the American Dream, and only a dream because they were born into homelessness. They live under overpasses, in tunnels, on garage floors, in back seats of cars, on the street and occasionally – the lucky ones – live in shelters and dream of a place to call home.
February 4th, a little boy with no home and a mother who was living in the park until her baby was born

 

On February 4th I took my youngest daughter, Darla, to Glendale PATH Achieve to meet the staff there. Also, we had clothes and supplies that we did not need. Via Twitter I had heard that a week after Darla was born – another baby, Rose,  was born to a young couple living in Griffith Park in a tent. Rose is in the purple and white blanket above, Darla is in yellow.
Without assistance, it is possible that the baby in this picture would be without permanent housing for years and grow up in tents and moving from shelter to shelter. Her parents are bright, enthusiastic and loving but faced the challenge of funding formula, diapers, blankets, clothing and child care with only a small income. At PATH  Achieve they were given beds and case management and help finding an apartment of their own. Actually, that is where they live now.
A week after this photo was taken I heard that the little boy wearing the red cap had found housing along with his Dad. This is a huge deal. Even shelter placement for a male adult with a child is monumental. But now they have an apartment and I ran across this post today on the PATH Achieve blog.
Look at how happy he and his father are (The Photo belongs to PATH Achieve)
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Apr 03 2011
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social media, Social Work, twitter, wordpress

Twitter and Homelessness

Being homeless robs people of their voices to the point that they resort to standing on corners holding signs, or dying in silence. Without the ability to ask for help – it is hard to receive help. And trust me, ending your own homelessness is almost impossible to do alone.

 

But, being homeless isolates you.  If you are not living in a large shelter, you are not likely to meet other homeless folk or the service providers who can assist you. It is a dirty secret you don’t want to tell your co-workers friends, or even family about. The truth, however, is that you are NOT alone. People are living  in RV’s in Venice CA and in every WalMart parking lot I have seen. Families are “couch surfing” and spending partial weeks at one friend’s home and a few days in other places.  Adults and children are living in cars,  alleys and church pews.

Being homeless and poor makes meeting service providers difficult. Actually, even knowing to whom and where to turn is often a mystery. When you did not need a food pantry – you simply never thought about where they are unless you were the sort who donated to them.

ENTER TWITTER

  1. Twitter is Free
  2. Twitter is easily accessible -by phone or library computer
  3. Twitter is searchable
  4. Twitter connects you to people and companies
  5. Twitter is portable
  6. Twitter is 24 hours a day
  7. Twitter is populated by Service Orgs and People just like you
  8. Twitter allows you to suggest users to “follow”
  9. Twitter gives you a conversation space
  10. Twitter is international

 

Basically, Twitter helps you find and build your own community. I have also seen it used to end homelessness.

I am a Welfare social worker and a volunteer at shelters. Twitter gives me a conversation where I have the answers and can ask the questions. I am reachable to people who are not my clients and freely give advice and direct them to answers and resources. Of course, I find many resources through Twitter itself. As a volunteer, I vet the agencies I give my time at, and clothing and efforts to. I read their tweets and know when they need volunteers to serve meals, walk around and hand out waters, or are having fundraising dinners.

A good Twitter account makes connections. It is excellent outreach and advertizing for services and products for the well off and the impoverished. Sometimes I think of it as a portable Yellow Pages.

But, Twitter only works if you use it. As wonderful a resource, community and tool as it is to the poor – if they are not introduces to it and shown how to use it – it is wasted.

Fortunately there are projects like WeAreVisible.com ( @wearevisible on Twitter) that give basic instructions and introduction to social media platforms like Twitter, FaceBook, Blogging at places like WordPress (this is a WordPress Blog).

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