I’ve always been a terrible sales person in business. I’m pretty much a “take or leave it” kind-of-guy. I don’t know if you should buy what I’m selling or not. The variables are honestly too great.
But I have no problem, like ZERO, selling you on giving the homeless at The Homeless Charity and Second Chance Village $1.
Here are 101 reasons why you should donate a single solitary dollar to our homeless mission RIGHT NOW.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE YOUR $1.
- We are giving them so little. A tent on some pallets. But they are SO grateful.
- We are taking single women out of the woods where they often are abused and giving them a safe environment.
- We have porta potties so you don’t have humans shitting and pissing all over your city. (sorry for the graphic language there. I just don’t want to paint a picture that is anything other than it really is.)
- We have trash service. A person living in the woods has no choice but to throw their trash all around public land. That looks gross and is costly to pick up.
- We have computers so they can fill out job applications.
- We keep these folks in one place so their mental health professionals can come and work with them.
- Community Support Services REGULARLY comes here to work with our people to get them into housing. They are much harder to find in the woods.
- We have a food pantry provided by individual donors and the Akron Canton Regional Food Bank. So they can get good, healthy food every day.
- We have sinks and hand sanitizer to help keep various illnesses like the flu and Hepatitis A away. (Hep A is making it’s way all across America killing homeless people because of poor hygiene.)
- We have Internet access so people can contact their families and loved ones.
- We have charging stations so they can charge their phones. (This is a ridiculously hard thing to do as a homeless person, btw.)
- We have showers so you can take a shower whenever you want, whether you live with us or not.
- We have laundry facilities so any homeless person can wash their clothes whenever they want.
- We have the support of schools like Hoban and Walsh that bring food weekly and volunteer regularly.
- The Fire Chief of Akron, Clarence Tucker, came by our facility and publicly said that he supports what we are doing. Here’s a picture of him and me.
- We had a communicable disease nurse from the County Health Inspectors Office come by to talk to us about the importance of using hand sanitizer especially as Hepatitis A is sweeping the homeless communities of America.
- The health inspectors of Summit County come by regularly to make sure we are keeping our facility clean and in order.
- While we still have issues we’re fixing with our Fire Inspections, the actual tent city is free and clear of any fire risks.
- As winter is getting near we are hitting a maximum of 50 people that want to live in tents in Northeast Ohio. That should tell you the desperate situation of our homeless population, when tents are sought after in winter.
- All other shelters are now booked, as of the beginning of October. The best you can hope for is a mat when they open their facilities below a certain temperature. (for some it’s freezing. For others its zero.) It will likely be like this until April.
- When you live alone in the woods you are at the VERY bottom of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. There is no why in that hell that you can even begin to think about working on your addiction issues or mental health issues.
- You are part of a community here. You instantly matter.
- You are required to be moving forward in your life when you are with us. We are not a warehouse. You come here when you are ready to move forward.
- We kick people out regularly because we aren’t just a warehouse. We have a waiting list of people that want to be part of what we’re doing. If you are stagnant or slipping backwards you aren’t ready for us.
- We don’t judge people that get pushed out. It’s a tough love situation. We totally get that you might not be ready to work on your addiction or mental health. You just can’t stay here.
- Our community is one of the key secret ingredients to why we are different. Our community is critical to our success. We protect the community very carefully. People that come to us need to know that people have their back.
- Another key to our success is that we are homeless run. This isn’t some sort of construct forced on the homeless. They are creating it.
- Every job and position is run by a resident. This is to remind them that they are definitely of value.
- They elect their own Tri-Council in a democratic election. The tri-council then advocates for their needs with our security (also homeless) and our director (Paul Hays, a person who lived 7 years alone in the woods).
- Our vision is to actually become a role model for the rest of society. We want to show you how a community can function, how we can grow our own food, run off of solar power and recycle everything. We aren’t there yet. But that is definitely where we are headed.
- Everyone must either pay $35/week to stay with us or volunteer an hour a day. (most people have no money. So they volunteer.)
- Our work coordinator, Herman, has everyone come and sign in every morning to get their daily chore. He’s, of course, homeless.
- We focus on a meritocracy model. There are clear paths where you can move up in our community. We have staff positions and security positions.
- I forgot to mention that we are strongly supported by the Peter Maurin Center. They pay for our porta-potties, trash service and occasional dumpster. I don’t know where we’d be without them.
- I find that MANY people want to help the homeless. But they often don’t know how best to help. We have a facility where they can cook for these people, volunteer and bring donations. This is an important outlet for people that want to be part of doing good in their community.
- This center gives us a platform to talk with the community about homelessness. When people are buried in the woods they are very easy to forget about. They still exist, however.
- We have a small library where people can take books whenever they want them.
- We distribute sleeping bags and tents to people that aren’t ready to come out of the woods, again, thanks to the Peter Maurin Center.
- We are starting to have church services on Sunday for people that want to work on their spirituality.
- We are starting to have AA meetings on site for people that want to work on their addiction.
- If you are ready to quit drinking or doing drugs there is a place you can go to live where there are like-minded individuals.
- The cost of running a tent community is incredibly affordable.
- We are entirely privately funded. No government funding is used for our facility.
- We are not coddling people. We are only for people that want to help themselves.
- We give humans a platform where they matter again. The homeless often feel useless and just a drain on society.
- We often give shoes to people that actually come to us barefoot.
- We are near other homeless services so they can get to a meal every day of the week.
- Mental health facilities are within 2 miles. That’s a very walkable distance for these folks.
- We are seeing more and more businesses come to us to get day workers. Most of these people are desperate to work.
- You can bring your pets with you.
- You can come and stay as a couple with us.
- You are treated like an adult.
- There is no curfew, so you can work any shift you want.
- Your religion is your private choice. We don’t force ANY religious activities on anyone.
- You can wear any clothes you want. You aren’t told what to wear.
- Homelessness is treated as a crime in America. These people truly have nowhere else to go. They are constantly being kicked around like animals.
- We help people get their IDs.
- We help people get food cards.
- We help people get into detox.
- We help people get into rehab.
- We have a minivan that was donated. So we often take people to their appointments.
- Our minivan is used as a lure to entice people to get their license so they can drive the minivan.
- We have an ever increasing support from churches to help with our cause.
- We help keep the homeless from downtown which is something the city would like to see more of.
- We are located on a very private plot of land that is quite hidden. So people don’t have to see the homeless living in boxes on the street.
- A tent on a secure, stable, private piece of land is WAY better than living in a doorway on a main thoroughfare.
- We have saved a person’s life who was overdosing at our facility. The community is what saved his life.
- We offer a place of work for a mom to come and bring her son. She mostly is a volunteer. But we pay her rent.
- We are starting to work with the residents of the apartment building next to us. They are seniors. So we are starting to work on a grocery pickup and general outreach program to help them.
- We regularly see people moving from our facility into housing.
- We have residents who credit our facility with helping them quit drugs and alcohol.
- Thanks to a $120,000 advertising grant Google has given us we have become a national resource center for homeless and homeless advocates all over America.
- What we are doing is largely met by the community as a good, common sense approach to helping the homeless.
- Someone needs to do something. Letting people fester on the streets and in the woods is not acceptable no matter how Libertarian you may be. It hurts the entire community to have sick (mentally and physically) people wandering around with no place to sleep.
- People come to us scared, alone and having lost faith in humanity and their very existence. We are a beacon of hope and stability. They will tell you over and over again that they thank God that we are here.
- We’re offering a variety of classes to teach people new skills.
- We have people that don’t want to come in from out of the woods that use us for food and clothes and tarps and blankets.
- We aren’t afraid to push people out if they aren’t ready for our program. This is critically important to the stability of our community.
- We require people to attend 3 group meetings a week, unless they have work or another meeting. This keeps them connected to the community and helps develop personal responsibility.
- People are required to clean up after themselves and their pets. This is also intentional. We are slowly moving people back from being completely isolated to remembering the habits required to be part of a community and team.
- We try not to push too hard or too fast. But we do push. You aren’t at our facility to just lay around all day.
- We always welcome people back into our community if they’ve been kicked out (other than selling drugs and violent behavior). Getting kicked out isn’t a judgement. It’s just a cause and effect.
- All people are involved in making our facility better. Cleaning, painting, organizing, running electric (with the oversight of a certified electrician), running plumbing, snaking out drains.
- We are VERY thankful and supportive of other homeless agencies. We are not trying to take over any other agency’s work. We are just filling the holes that currently exist in the homeless community.
- I just heard a resident respond to the question: “What are doing here?” Her response, “I’m doing volunteer shit. I’m doing good people shit.” Sorry for the profanity. But the point is: people feel like they are doing good work by being part of our community.
- Being part of Second Chance Village reminds people that there is value being part of society. Society isn’t a completely negative entity, which is often what they feel like when they first come here.
- Our security monitors drug houses all around our facility. We know who the drug dealers are. We work with police to shut them down.
- People come to us having not showered in 2 or 3 weeks. They haven’t changed their clothes in months. They haven’t eaten in days. We fix those issues immediately.
- Mental health issues are a major roadblock for these people. We spend a lot of time and energy getting people to see their mental health professionals.
- We work with families who have people staying with us. We help them communicate and work together to find help for their loved one.
- We give people stability so they can work on their issues so they can see their kids again. We think about 60% of the people that stay with us have kids they aren’t allowed to see.
- We have an open door policy with the police. They are welcome here any time of the day or night. That’s true with any city service.
- We give people ideas on how they can come up with entrepreneurial initiatives. The homeless are often ideal candidates for entrepreneurship.
- We have a partner that sends us harmonicas. We are working on helping some people learn how to place them. This is a possible income opportunity and a self-esteem opportunity.
- Eric, pictured here is turning his life around. He now has a job at McDonald’s, is starting manager training and LOVES working with people here to help them move forward in their lives. He’s working with local ministers to start a Sunday service. People regularly tell him how thankful they are for his love and dedication to them. He’s amazing!
- We give people important roles in the community like intake of new residents, running the pantry, running the Second Chance Store. This not only is critical for our operation to run but it gives them value in their existence in their lives.
- Selfishly speaking, I was feeling a deep hole in my heart with the traditional business work I was doing. I’m immensely grateful for the purpose this project has given to me.
- This kind of program is ideal for a rust belt city with a lot of empty land in low rent areas of their town. We can test innovative solutions easily and quickly in these spaces that could then go on to be implemented in more expensive communities across America.
- If the City of Akron allows us to continue this work they will be known as one of the very few innovative cities that care about the homeless and don’t just ignore the poorest of the poor rotting on their streets.
- For #100 you should know that we can get 100 pounds of food for $1 at the Akron Canton Regional Foodbank.
- We ask for nothing from the city other than to let us continue our work on the private property we own. Nothing is happening on public land or anyone else’s land.
“IF NOT YOU THEN WHO” is the mantra of my life. I have resources. I have male white privilege. I have tired of making money. I have energy. I have enthusiasm. — I’m not telling you this to tell you how great I am. Trust me my self loathing knows no bounds.
If YOU don’t donate a dollar then who will? Please don’t look around waiting for someone else to donate the $1 we need from YOU.
There is very little downside to donating a $1 to us. It goes to clothes, food, tents, tarps, blankets and resources to help the homeless get back on their feet and become a valuable part of society. Your dollar gives them that opportunity.
And no matter what the news and politicians tell you, the homeless DO want to get back on their feet. They HATE being a drain on society. It’s humiliating and embarrassing. It just makes their addictions and mental health issues worse.
Give us a dollar so they can have the platform to once again become a valuable part of society.
Awesome article, Sage. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! And thanks for all that you are doing.
Thanks man! You’re the best.
I love coming up with these article ideas. It’s pretty much an endless obsession for me.
Thanks again for everything.