Re: (fwd) Thoughts on the Homeless (fwd)
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Mon, 5 Jan 1998 13:07:49 -0800 (PST)
Donald, my brother:
It sounds like you are beset by immediate privation, as are others of us on
this list. I, for one, live in a squat that might fall through any moment.
So I can empathize with your "freaking out".
>I really don't know what to say. I think that you've all heard it from me
>before. What can I do to help (beyond intellectualizing the problem)?
>Will starting soup kitchens and youth hostels help?
A youth hostel or boarding house, if you could help to create one, could
help a lot of people. Any advice from others on list on how to go about it
in a small town, such as Moscow, Idaho?
>Look, we need to organize, and I don't mean to become an
>advocacy agency which uses government funds to meet governmentally
>ordained needs of the poor. Is anybody interested in helping out? Or can
>somebody tell me of a group that is doing the work that I have in mind?
Food Not Bombs and Homes Not Jails are direct action groups that do not
expect or wait for government sanction or help. Members of both groups are
on HPN list, as well as members of other direct action groups.
Ontario Coalition Aganist Poverty is another direct action group with
represenation among HPN members. So not all you see on HPN is about
"governmentally ordained" solutions.
Participants in more mainstream nonprofit groups are also among us HPN
members. We are here for dialog among people with diverse backgrounds and
approaches to ending homelessness. We may dispute tactics for solving our
problems, but I hope we can at least agree on the aim of securing housing
for everyone.
>I'm going back to my shell. Fuck you all very much for your silence and
>the meaninglessness of your advocacy approaches to poverty....
>this new year promises even more shit than I have been heaped under in the
>past >four years, and no way out.
How can those of us on this list help you personally, Donald?
>Thanks anyhow for your attempts to help homeless people get in touch with
>one >another.
You're welcome, and I hope you stay with us.
>I hope that others benefit from your efforts more than I have.
I know you are isolated where you are, Donald. One use of this list is to
help overcome our isolation from others in similar circumstances (homeless
or close to it), and with similar aims (a just society).
Don't give up on us, Donald. And don't give up on yourself!
Thanks for honestly sharing your frustrations with us.
May you have all you truly need. Keep hope alive--and organize!
For peace and justice.--Tom Boland