I am a sponge. While I will drip away some of the information I'm saturated with over the next few days, most of what I have learned will be carefully wrung out of me onto this blog, into conversations with friends and connections, and back into the foreground of my memory as I continue to develop this paper.
Oh, this paper. There is so much to do. Thank God for the road map session tomorrow morning with Andy.
That's tomorrow. Today, the three sessions I attended covered Essential Strategies for Seeking Grant Dollars, Why Engaging Volunteers is Good Business Strategy and How to Do It, and Vendor Recruitment and Retention. The first one was OK - I picked up a few things - but the second two were a wealth of info - plenty of notes on the second, and a video from the third.
The more I soak up, however, the more inadequate I feel to lead the charge for this paper. I know I can "do" the paper - it's this foundational stuff, this strategic planning, budgeting, donation-seeking, people-managing, networking stuff, that has me gasping. Vision and mission? No problem - I've loads of ideas and goals. Producing the paper? No problem. It's all the stuff in between. My G-d, what have I gotten myself into?
But, my G-d, I have never felt so useful before.
Defining Homelessness
Last night's Tent City meeting was a little crazy. We had some new folks that, understandably, had quite a few questions about TC. This had us bouncing back and forth between progress reports and educating new folks.
One of the newbies had questions about homelessness itself: What is it?
This may seem like a "dumb" question on the surface, but those who work (and hang out) with the homeless - or, as some of us prefer to called them, the unhoused - know there are a lot of stories out there, a lot of reasons why people end up on the streets, in shelters, in transitional houses, on friends' couches...
Which brings us back to the question: What is homelessness?
Amy Newman-Mentel of the Red Cross quoted the VA's simplified definition: When you're sleeping in place that's not yours.
Gee, by that definition, I have been homeless.
On February 6th, 2006, my aunt and I lost our home to a fire. We spent five months living in my dad's guest room. Were we fortunate to have a place to go? Yes! Did our family and friends support us and help us get back on our feet? Hell yes! Yes, we were the fortunate ones. I wonder, though, if the fire had been delayed three years to happen this last February, would circumstances have allowed us to be as fortunate?
I believe our country is at a pivotal moment in history. Social justice is rising to the forefront - even the Church is slowly waking up to the true calling of Christ: Love. The economic crisis is allowing more people than ever in at least two generations to see the line between homed and unhomed become thinner and thinner, making "them" quite a lot like "us".
As Jim Bailey from the Cherry Street Mission said in regards to serving at Tent City, "You realize the only demographic [for the homeless] is they're people."
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SMALL CHANGE.
One of the newbies had questions about homelessness itself: What is it?
This may seem like a "dumb" question on the surface, but those who work (and hang out) with the homeless - or, as some of us prefer to called them, the unhoused - know there are a lot of stories out there, a lot of reasons why people end up on the streets, in shelters, in transitional houses, on friends' couches...
Which brings us back to the question: What is homelessness?
Amy Newman-Mentel of the Red Cross quoted the VA's simplified definition: When you're sleeping in place that's not yours.
Gee, by that definition, I have been homeless.
On February 6th, 2006, my aunt and I lost our home to a fire. We spent five months living in my dad's guest room. Were we fortunate to have a place to go? Yes! Did our family and friends support us and help us get back on our feet? Hell yes! Yes, we were the fortunate ones. I wonder, though, if the fire had been delayed three years to happen this last February, would circumstances have allowed us to be as fortunate?
I believe our country is at a pivotal moment in history. Social justice is rising to the forefront - even the Church is slowly waking up to the true calling of Christ: Love. The economic crisis is allowing more people than ever in at least two generations to see the line between homed and unhomed become thinner and thinner, making "them" quite a lot like "us".
As Jim Bailey from the Cherry Street Mission said in regards to serving at Tent City, "You realize the only demographic [for the homeless] is they're people."
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SMALL CHANGE.
Street Papers in the News
I had a good meeting with Tom Crothers yesterday afternoon. It was exciting to see what some folks are trying to do downtown to make Toledo a more vibrant city. I also appreciated Tom's directness regarding his organization's (and the city's) approach toward panhandling. Thankfully, street paper vendors aren't panhandlers. However, Toledo does have some laws on the books that need "our" greater understanding. But, as Tom said, laws can be changed...
I need to speak with Andy Freeze again and update him on what I've learned, ask some more questions, and see if NASNA can help me strategize regarding the laws. In the brief time I've been talking to him, Andy and NASNA have been a great resource.
I attended a "strongly encouraged" informational meeting this morning with the Center for Nonprofit Rescources regarding their capacity grants. I must admit some intimidation, both with the grant process and with the short time-frame, on my part as I have not done an RFP before and I'm in the somewhat unique situation of just starting out.
To wrap up this post of random updates, here are some links to great recent articles regarding street papers and vendors.
An overview of street papers by a University of Florida Student.
This story in the Chicago Tribune made me cry.
And another great story about how vending a street paper is changing a couple's life (interesting to note Nashville also has anti-panhandling laws).
Remember...
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SMALL CHANGE.
I need to speak with Andy Freeze again and update him on what I've learned, ask some more questions, and see if NASNA can help me strategize regarding the laws. In the brief time I've been talking to him, Andy and NASNA have been a great resource.
I attended a "strongly encouraged" informational meeting this morning with the Center for Nonprofit Rescources regarding their capacity grants. I must admit some intimidation, both with the grant process and with the short time-frame, on my part as I have not done an RFP before and I'm in the somewhat unique situation of just starting out.
To wrap up this post of random updates, here are some links to great recent articles regarding street papers and vendors.
An overview of street papers by a University of Florida Student.
This story in the Chicago Tribune made me cry.
And another great story about how vending a street paper is changing a couple's life (interesting to note Nashville also has anti-panhandling laws).
Remember...
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SMALL CHANGE.
Hurdles & Heats
Hurdles: A running event that involves a runner clearing a number of barriers.Heats: A series of qualifying races which decide who will race in the final of an event.
Laying the groundwork for Toledo Streets is starting to move along and, like any project, is already encountering some barriers. Namely, will the laws (and those who enforce them) of Toledo prohibit our city's marginalized to make an honest buck. If so, Toledo would be the first city in Ohio (Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati each have their own street papers) and, as I understand it, in our nation to block the freedom of speech of its most impoverished citizens. That would be a shame.
However, the start-up process is as yet in its early stages and there's no reason to assume that leadership in Toledo would be, well, without reason when the time comes to put things into motion. As I stated in a recent email to someone who may be able to help me study the feasability of Toledo Streets, it's one thing if Toledo won't support (i.e., prohibitive laws) a street paper; it's another entirely if it can't (i.e., lack of foot traffic).
In other news - and positive news to boot - I have purchased my plane ticket to Denver (and back, unfortunately) for the NASNA conference, July 30 - August 2. Seeing as I have absolutely no funding for Toledo Streets (another hurdle), NASNA is generously footing the bill for the conference on my behalf. Andy Freeze, NASNA's Executive Director, has already been a great help, and he has informed me of the creation of a special workshop for street paper start-ups (and very new existing papers). There's a couple in Charlotte, NC, working on a paper to launch about the same time I'd like to launch Toledo Streets: October. I should be getting more info on the conference soon. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited.
Tomorrow I have a lunch meeting with Tom Crothers, the Executive Director of Downtown Toledo Improvement District. I'm hoping Tom will be able to give me some insight on the day-to-day downtown environment, maybe even help me find answers to the feasibility study questions. Keep your fingers crossed, folks. The heat is on...
Tonight, I plan on making a Leadership Class led by Dan Rogers, the CEO of Cherry Street Mission Ministries. I'll never tell him this, but Dan is brilliant. I've met few people with such a unique perspective, and I always enjoy the chance to learn from him.
Until I have more news...
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS SMALL CHANGE.
