February 23, 2012

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Helping the Homless in You Community

Homeless Shelter 

Image by Tobyotter via Flickr

Deciding to lend a helping hand to those in need is a wonderful act.  Each community finds people that have fallen on hard times. They cannot provide the basic items they need to survive. No matter what has placed them in that position, their needs outweigh their means. Daily life is a struggle. They seek shelter. Helping out at a local homeless shelter is a good thing.

The main reasons that have contributed to the rise in homelessness over the last two decades are poverty and lack of affordable housing.  When employment opportunities are slim, cuts in pay or benefits can make a dent in one’s financial security. Sometimes the financial load grows to large and sets an unfortunate chain of events in motion. Homes can become foreclosed on, leaving people in need of somewhere to live. Some of those displaced from difficult circumstances find themselves at a shelter.

By choosing to volunteer your time to assist at a local shelter, you are providing an invaluable source of help to these organizations. Many shelters are run by non-profit agencies and community churches. Whether you serve a hot meal, help someone with their resume, or perform light office filing, you are making a difference. If you are able to donate time, see which shelters are in your area.

People are busy. Sometimes finding time can be a challenge. Shelters are constantly in need of basic items such as shampoo, razors, toothbrushes and shaving cream. These gifts are accepted with gratitude. Another unfortunate aspect of homelessness are the children affected. Shelter life can be hard for a child. Donations of diapers, children’s multi-vitamins and clothing are priceless.

 

Filed Under: Homeless, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,

Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise Charitable Events

Promoting a charity event is an important part of the planning process. However, not every planning committee has the resources or funds to spend a lot on promotional tools. Luckily, organizers have the ability to utilize cost-effective ways to promote the event and raise the public’s awareness about the non-profit or charitable cause.

As a non-profit committee, if you are brainstorming ways to promote a charity event, here are some cost-effective ideas you can use.

Flyer Distribution

Flyers can be printed in bulk for a low cost. These can be used for a blitz campaign and passed out to people as they walk by, sent out to a mailing list, or placed in stores and on bulletin boards.

Social Media

Word travels fast when it comes to social media. Creating a Facebook page or Twitter account will help get the word out there about the charity event as people share the information and link with their friends and family members.

Community Newspapers/Radio Shows

Local community newspapers and radio shows offer advertising space for a very low price. Placing an ad through these media outlets allows the organization to attract the attention of the public, without having to spend a lot on advertising space.

Sponsorships

Ask for sponsorships from corporations or local celebrities. This will allow you to bring in a larger audience because there are more resources that you can use to get the word out there for the event.

Even with all this promotion, remember to sell tickets to the event. This is a great way to raise money for the location, prizes and even the charitable cause the event is held for.

Filed Under: Economy, Homeless Tagged With: , ,

Penny Sit-Ups and Four Penny Coffins – Early Homeless Shelters

Salvation Army homeless clients at Blackfriars...

Image via Wikipedia

A homeless shelter is a place for homeless or displaced peoples to stay temporarily. Typically, such shelters are only available during the night and the residents are to spend their time elsewhere during the day. In Victorian era London, two of the earliest examples of what we would call homeless shelters became known as the penny sit-up and the four penny coffin.

The penny sit-up was a shelter in which the homeless could pay a penny to sit indoors, out of the elements. For their penny, patrons got a seat on a bench and not much else. Some penny sit-ups provided food, but sometimes it was just the bench that people could sit on during the night. They, however, were not allowed to lie down and sleep on the bench though presumably they were free to sleep sitting up.

The penny sit-up provided only a bench, warmth, and usually a little food. What was termed the four penny coffin – or coffin house – provided food and a place to lie down and sleep. People paid a small amount and, for the night, they received shelter, food, a simple wooden, coffin-like box, and a tarp for covering. Some organizations provided actual beds, but at higher prices.

By today’s standards, these shelters are considered largely inadequate or harsh. In their day though, they were economical and even compassionate. Many were run by the Salvation Army – an organization that continues to provide for the homeless and displaced today. Though nowadays, the Salvation Army generally doesn’t rent out a coffin and tarp for a night’s use.

Filed Under: Homeless Tagged With: , ,

The Economy Is Just Experiencing a Change of Pace

There are always ups and downs in every nation’s economy history just happen to be in one of the down moments for America. It is not necessarily a bad thing that we are in the low spot right now it just means everything has a little less value. The economy is doing really bad when it seems like nobody can get work and everyone is waiting in line to get fed. We are not in that position and America may be on its way there, but we have the knowledge to keep it from happening.

During the great depression none of the banks had any money because everyone was pulled out what was in their savings. There was no confidence in the market anymore and everyone was scared. This actually made the depression worse, because no confidence in money meant that the money everyone used had no value. Today we still hold value to the dollar, because it still costs money to buy a gallon of gas. If gasoline were to ever drop in price then the dollar might as well.

Our economy is not built on the gold standard and hasn’t been for years. The one thing every business needs to operate is oil. We are on an oil standard and if the price of oil rises then the value of a dollar goes down. The value goes down, because every company relies on oil in some way to do business directly or indirectly. You can start worrying about the economy when the price for a barrel of oil tops one hundred dollars and stays there. When oil prices raise then the cost of doing business will rise too and the dollar will drop in value.

Filed Under: Economy, Homeless Tagged With: , ,

An Investment Opportunity Under One Roof

When you are going to buy a home even a cheap home you want to be very picky with what you end up with. A home is a lasting investment and you need to treat your buying options like an investment opportunity. You don’t want an investment that seems to be run down and going to cost you money. You want an investment that is easy to make money from so you can get into a better investment. People look at homes as a place to live when they need to look at them as something to sell to get into the home they really want to live in.

If you look at your options of buying a new home like an investment opportunity then you will start to notice some things that bother you. It’s a good thing to notice things that you don’t like about the property. As long as you are keeping in mind to sell the home later on you cannot make a bad choice. A good home investment will have the qualities that make it easy to improve on.

If your perspective home is sitting on a lot of land then you could build on the land to make it more valuable. If the home is in a neighborhood that is growing then the investment will likely grow as well. The structure should be in good shape and need little to no repairs before you buy it. If you have to put money into repairing the building then you need to take that out of the price of the home. Even if the home is already priced for repairs negotiate the price further to the level you feel comfortable with.

Filed Under: Economy, Homeless Tagged With: , ,

Phones Give Voice to New York’s Homeless

Pre paid cell phones are offering the homeless of New York the chance to be heard through an innovative project aimed at raising social awareness.

The Underheard in New York project is offering Internet users across the globe the chance to gain insights into life on the streets as seen from the point of view of those who live it.

Organized by a team of interns from the Barle Bogle Hegarty advertising agency, the Underheard in New York project was born of a challenge set by their supervisors to “do something good, famously.”

With a budget of just $1,000 the three twenty-somethings planned to give a voice to the homeless of New York, using the micro-blogging site Twitter. The team used its money to buy and credit four prepaid cell phones, which they then gave out to four willing volunteers selected from the Big Apple’s homeless population.

The men, who were to become the voices of not only the project but of the city’s homeless population as a whole, were given instructions on how to operate the handsets and create Twitter profiles that would be visible to a worldwide audience.

All that was asked in return was that they share their experiences through the popular social networking site. Volunteers Albert (@albert814), Carlos (@jessie550), Danny (@putodanny), and Derrick (@awitness2011) now Tweet daily on their trials and triumphs giving the global community an authentic glimpse of the reality of homelessness in one of the world’s most famous cities.

Intern Willy Wang, who was a part of the group behind the Underheard in New York project, said that the idea was to give a voice to people whose circumstances had forced them into silence. His colleague Robert Weeks expressed a hope that similar projects would follow their model to allow more people to be heard.

Filed Under: Economy, Homeless Tagged With: , ,

Don’t Be Afraid to Seek Shelter

Homeless shelters are there for anyone that needs to use them for safety from the cold or an abusive situation. If you or someone you know is being abused then a shelter may be the answer for temporary sanctuary. Every life has its struggles and when your life is going through a hard spot you need to find someone that will help you. If you have a child with you and you are going through an abusive time in your life you need to get away for the sake of the child.

Children that are abused show aggressive tendencies when they grow into adulthood. When a child is subjected to abuse they may take on these traits when they have relationships of their own. Not every child lashes out like this when they grow up, but the majorities do. When a child comes from a very abusive household they have a higher chance of showing these traits. It is almost guaranteed that a child will grow up to be violent if they are subjected to abuse every day. The child will either be violent to themselves or with the people they have a relationship with.

If you are a mother and you are being mistreated and your child is being mistreated then you have the responsibility to move out and seek shelter. You do not deserve to be abuse and your child does not have to grow up seeing that. There is a better situation out there for you, but you will not be able to see it if you don’t leave. Take the first step in the right direction with your life and leave. Cut your losses and take your child with you and seek out a better place to live. No human being needs to be abused and if you are being abused then know that there are people, who have been in the same situation willing to help you.

Filed Under: Homeless Tagged With: ,

Churches Help the Homeless

Homelessness is often considered a problem in society and the society will want to eliminate this problem through programs. Some people call the programs social safety nets, but for anyone without a home it’s a God send. If you become homeless and cannot contact family or friends there is help for you out there. Churches are a great place to go if no one can help the situation you’re in. churches are full of caring people that offer a helping hand to lift you up out of your situation. The only reason why anyone would not go for help is because they are stubborn or they just don’t feel comfortable with it.

To be comfortable with going to a church for help, you need to understand that the people actually do care about the situation you’re in. They want to relieve your stress and help you get to a place that you can call home permanently. It hurts them to see people in such dire straits and they will do anything in their power to help them. The only thing you need to do is to allow these people to help you up. They may provide more than just shelter they may also provide clarity in your situation through past experience.

Know that no one is trying to change you or save you they just see a problem and want to help out in any way possible. For them to not be able to help you is a failure on their part and they view it as such. You may not understand this kind of thinking and it may seem straight out foreign to you. Just realize there is help waiting for you in the churches of your community. All you need to do is go to a church and find a member and ask for help. They may not know what to do, but they can show you to someone that can help you out. Churches can’t make the first step for you, you have to find it within yourself to ask for a hand up and some love.

Filed Under: Homeless Tagged With: ,

Applying for Habitat for Humanity Housing and What to Expect.

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that builds housing for needy families, who fall below certain income levels, around the world. According to the Habitat for Humanity website 95 million Americans need housing based on a variety of different circumstances.

The first step in applying for a Habitat home is finding a local Habitat for Humanity office. This can be done online, or by calling the toll free number listed on the Habitat website. These resources will tell you how to apply as well as providing information on the types and pricing fo homes available in your area.

After submiting an application for a Habitat home certain qualifications must be met by the applicant. While qualifications differ from state to state and community and community, the most common qulifications that must be met are; legal residency, ability to afford a home, proven steady income and good credit.

Once accepted applicants must realize that their work is not over. Accepted applicants are required to maintain a savings account, provide an affordable down payment on a home, as well as complete “sweat-equity” hours on other Habitat for Humanity homes being built in the community; including their own. Applicants are also required to attend home ownership classes, preparing them for home ownership and what to expect. This class is a huge home owner asset, as most do not know what to expect when signing a contract on a home.

Habitat for Humanity, based on these qulifications, chooses what are called “partner families” who would be the best candidates for a habitat home. Habitat for Humanity doesn’t descriminate against race or religion when determining proper home applicants and are only selected based on need and ability to pay a mortgage. Habitat for Humanity helps families of all ages making this organization a much needed blessing in times of economic hardship and instability.

Filed Under: Economy, Homeless Tagged With: , ,

American And The “Rebuilding Together”

Habitat For Humanity volunteers constructing a...
Image via Wikipedia

The economic recession of the second half of this decade has placed many Americans of all backgrounds in the way of financial harm. However, from that desperation grew something amazing. Hundreds of thousands Americans from across the United States banning together to fight the first economic war of this century together. Because of organizations such as Rebuilding Together and Habitat for Humanity American citizens are volunteering to help and protect one another from the perils of poverty and the loss of a home.

Rebuilding Together, which is a noon-profit organization with hundreds of affiliations all over the world has been working tirelessly with its volunteers to provide a multitude of services to people from every walk of life. Here are just a few volunteer opportunities to get involved and help the less fortunate rebuild their lives.

Three Volunteer Opportunities From Rebuilding Together

1. National Rebuilding Day- An event held once a year in April that requires a year of planning and mobilizing. When the hoopla begins hundreds of thousands of volunteers hit the streets and start repairing homes for the elderly or handicapped and revitalizing building and neighborhoods.

2. Gulf Coast Operations- After Hurricane Katrina had displaced and condemned homes all over the Gulf Rebuilding Together sent in volunteers and still help to rebuild homes and move Katrina victims back into their homes where they can afford to keep paying their affordable housing costs.

3. Veterans Relief- Rebuilding Together sends thousands of volunteers out yearly to go to homes of disabled or elderly victims to address issues such as unsafe building or repairing anything that needs to be repaired in order to keep the home in a good and livable condition.

Rebuilding Together is important because it is a tool for mobilizing volunteers and help that have a genuine care in doing better in peoples lives and through the implementation of their volunteer opportunities create better lives for those in need.

Filed Under: Homeless Tagged With: , ,
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