Saturday, January 21, 2012

What If?

Duke grade donates $7 million to help repair Washington Monument.

What if private donors took just as much interest in helping rid homelessness, as they do in upgrading a national monument?



What if Today's Headlines actually read 'Donor gives $7 million to help rid homelessness?

#peoplefirst

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Three Who Get It

Tavis Smiley, Suzy Orman, and Dr. Cornell West speak on poverty in America.

"You can't look at someone anymore and assume are they rich, are they poor, are they starving? You don't know", said Orman.

"But I want all of you to make the assumption that their lives are not going the way they'd wish their lives were going. We gotta change this. There should be no face of poor in the entire United States."

Jobless and Homeless

Around holiday time last Christmas a middle aged man got on the metro train and made his plea.

"Merry Christmas everybody", he said.

"I don't mean no harm, but is anybody hiring?", he asked the crowd of slightly startled metro train riders. "I am willing to do anything."

It was cold outside that afternoon. He wore a black jacket that looked like it had a broken zipper, jeans, and what looked like a short-sleeved pull over shirt. He had no hat, no gloves, and he wore sneakers.

How brave he was, I thought, to get on metro train and reveal this most intimate detail. No job. No home, and willing to do anything by legal means that he could to obtain both.

The man repeated his plight, and after a few minutes of silence he asked the metro customers who may have shared my same sentiment, "Well, can anyone give me a few cents so I can buy some food".

After a few minutes of complete silence, the man, shaking his head, was met with only one person who came forward and offered him some change.

People, we have to do better than this.

When we see our brothers and sisters in need, don't just act like they don't exist. It only takes a simple gesture to help.

What can you do today to help homelessness in the Nation's Capital?