Month: December 2017

My mom has been dead 2 Christmas’ now.
She always had a day after Christmas party.
It was one of those things that I didn’t always look forward to, because I was exhausted from all the other holiday events. But I was always glad we had it once I got there.
We’d have simple foods like bagels and fruit and appetizers. And then we’d usually go see a movie in the afternoon.
It was a low key event that tapered the end of Christmas without the abrupt end to it all that would normally happen.
I thought a lot about the meaning of Christmas this year. I’m not really sure I ever asked myself that question before: What is the meaning of Christmas?
Like all good religious stories, the meaning of Christmas is many layered.
The top layer is the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. That’s the one that is easy to get. It’s a very important layer. But it’s not the only layer.
The story of Jesus being born in a manger, in poverty, is no less astounding. Why would you take the son of God and have him born like that? That’s such a cool touch, when you think about it. If someone like that is the son of God what does it mean about how we treat all people?
What will the son of God look like in the second coming? Will we know him when we see him?
Mother Teresa is a big inspiration to me.
Jesus in His Most Distressing Disguise | Word On Fire

The secret to her infectious joy and boundless compassion was that in every person—every paralytic, every leper, every invalid, and every orphan—she recognized Jesus.

This belief was based on Matthew 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
This was the truth from the day Jesus was born.
I truly believe God likes to watch how we treat the most poor. I feel like it’s this interesting test He’s giving us to see if we’ve learned what he taught.
I always imagine Him not angry but, instead, shockingly amused like he’s watching a reality TV show.
“Not in my back yard” is such a thing that it has now become an acronym: NIMBY
Prisons, homeless shelters, you name it. If it threatens the property value of our home the teachings of Jesus go right out the window.
I often imagine people thinking that the teachings of Jesus are nice and all. But they aren’t meant for serious and important issues like the ones I’m dealing with.
So it’s really no wonder that we haven’t had the Second Coming yet. God has given America more money and resources than has ever been achieved before in the history of humanity and we still have:

• Countless people living under bridges.
• Kids living in cars.
• Healthcare that is too expensive.
• Education that puts people in debt the rest of their lives.

I just can’t stop thinking that He’s watching all this like we’d binge watch Jersey Shore or the Kardashians.
I imagine Him just throwing more and more money on America just to see what shocking thing we’ll do next.
And then He puts empty malls and abandoned houses everywhere in the middle of America and watches as politicians come up with endless reasons why it isn’t a good idea to put humans in them.
And the end of every episode, every week, is watching these people stream into church on Sunday morning for an hour. Then the credits role, “Tune in next week when we see rich Americans throw away endless food because their lawyers told them it’s too unsafe to give away.”
I imagine He just can’t turn that show off.
So the poverty angle of Christmas interests me a great deal.
But there is another aspect of Christmas that isn’t talked about as much. But is maybe equally as important.
It’s the community of it all.
I always loved the story of the 3 Wise Men, the little drummer boy, angels and shepherds. They all show up to see Jesus be born.
And they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. That just seemed so cool to me. I still don’t know what frankincense and myrrh are but they sound REALLY fancy.
They traveled from the east a long distance to see this birth.
This is the magic I saw this week at Second Chance Village.
Yesterday, on Christmas Day, the Akron Jewish and Muslim community put on a HUGE dinner for the people living in tents in Second Chance Village.
On Christmas Eve a family of Asian decent came and put a massive dinner on for them that day.
The week before Christmas a group of very successful businessmen came into our facility to start building out what we need to electrify and heat our new community room.
The furnace is already in and the electric is going in this week.
This all was surrounded by countless others bringing food and clothing and hygiene supplies.
I have never in my life seen anything like it.
It was EXACTLY like all the wise men and angels and shepherds coming to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Shoot. We even had a kid named Timmy come by to bring homemade cookies.
Actually, the kids that participated in this week were all too many to count.
I imagine what Mary and Joseph must have felt like that night when all those people came to see Jesus. It’s an ocean of giving and love and hope and charity.
Overwhelming isn’t even the word for it.
I’m telling you. I experienced the birth of Jesus this week with the way you all came out in support of the homeless.
You get it.
You know what the birth of Jesus is all about. Even if you can’t describe it in words you get it.
It’s about love.
It’s about loving something you can’t understand and can’t even fully appreciate.
It’s just showing up because there is a force that feels like you should show up.
And now I see it everywhere I look.

• The new Star Wars movie is about coming together.
• Walking Dead (which I don’t even know why I can’t stop watching) is about coming together.
• The Grinch That Stole Christmas
• Christmas church service where many families only come to church once a year.
• Black Friday
• Christmas parties

I’m telling you, the story of community and coming together is everywhere. It’s like it’s shouting at me. Come together. Come together.
And in the case of Second Chance Village all these people came together because of the most poor in our community.
The gifts we get by giving help to the poor are greater than anything we ever can give to them.
Coming together and giving allows us all to rise up. It allows us to transcend the daily grind of things that probably aren’t all that important.
When we come together to help a common cause we all rise up just a little bit. We become a little greater. We become more like the image of God that He’s always wanted us to be.
Christmas is a powerful force that shows us the message. It’s a great universal story that causes us to act and reminds us of where we come from.
We are the creation of God. Jesus called us his brothers and sisters.
We are trying to learn the lessons He has taught.
We are reminded of them on Christmas Day. But the question is, what will we do the day after Christmas?
Have we learned the message well enough to keep coming together? Or do we just go back to our same habits?
I know for many of you the message of giving and coming together is a life long pursuit. I see it every single day at our charity.
There are many people that have found the path. They have found the enlightenment God has taught.
But there are others that still have yet to internalize it. They are the people that give and come together in the spirit of Christmas. They get it. But then they slip back.
These are the people for whom I’ve written this story. You are so close!
You feel the power of it all. It is the path God wants us to be on. Try to stay on it. It is the path to salvation for us all.
It is you that will save the world. It is you that will bring us together and solve all the problems of the world. Don’t give up. Your instincts are right.
Keep coming together. Keep giving. You are the hope of humanity.

This weekend represents a major milestone in the human rights movement of the homeless of Akron Ohio.
A group by the name of People 4 Homeless run by Dave Murray built this home.
The floor and all 4 sides are insulated. The slightly sloping roof is covered in a single piece of dense plastic that could be easily replaced if it gets holes.
There is a lock on the front door.
The entire back wall opens up to form a patio ceiling so you can relax under cover on nicer days.
This home took 5 days to build. And took about 1 hour to assemble on location.
It cost about $1000 in supplies.
Dave feels that costs could decrease to between $500 and $800. And he thinks he could get to the point where he could build 1 a day.
Here is a video of this amazing tiny home:

Let’s just stop and think about that for a minute.
You could house 100 of the most destitute homeless for $80,000.
This is the efficiency of innovation. Bureaucracy only looks at problems. Innovators only see solutions.
We have so much land in Akron that there should be almost no cost to get land from the Summit County Land Bank. There are currently 139 pieces of vacant land available right now in the Summit County Land Bank list.
There is only one excuse for not taking care of the homeless in Akron: FEAR.
The city has never faced its homeless crisis and therefore thinks it is a near impossibility to get a handle on it.
So let me lay it out for them:
Step 1: Stop the hemorrhaging. Give the homeless a place to exist. A tent. A tiny house. A vacant house. A vacant building. I don’t care. Give them a place where they are safe from the fear of being caught and thrown out. The administration is BY FAR the most dangerous threat to these people. Cold, violence, starvation, disease. All of these are secondary threats to the homeless.
Step 2: Have existing service providers go to these known locations to work with these people. Get them involved in mental health programs, addiction programs. Get them identifications. Get them food cards. Get them on the list for housing. Step 2 is incredibly easy. All of this currently exists.
Step 3: Work on affordable housing. There is no reason why we can’t build $20,000 homes in Akron. We have the talent and land to make this happen immediately.
Step 4: Assess the system and evolve with changing needs.
Step 1 and Step 4 will be the hardest for the administration to deal with. Changing and innovating are not their strong suits. So it is very likely we will constantly need to hold city officials accountable. I suspect a human rights law for the homeless will likely need to be created.
I honestly sometimes feel like I’m with the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars trying to restore freedom and justice for the homeless.
Everything we’re doing with the homeless is being met with suspicion and distrust from the administration.
According to them, we are jeopardizing the lives of the homeless. If we give them tents we are threatening them with hypothermia and death. If we let them sleep in our building we’re threatening them with fire and death.
Meanwhile, the actual homeless are living in the worst possible conditions imaginable because the administration doesn’t know what to do with them. The administration’s lack of action is the true and real threat to the homeless.
So, it is with a certain amount of trepidation that I tell you that the very first tiny home for the homeless has been built and put up in Akron Ohio.
To be VERY CLEAR it is NOT located in Second Chance Village.
We have built it in a secret camp in an undisclosed location.
It is our belief that the building department will not allow tiny homes to exist in Akron if they are not connected to utilities and meet all the building codes.
People living in infested, disease ridden illegal hidden camps are fine (until one person calls to complain about them). But trying to do something to make their lives slightly better is overtly illegal and must either comply or shut down.
So, until we get written confirmation that the city of Akron will allow homeless to live in tiny homes we will build them covertly and secretly.
But ultimately this is a great day for the homeless of Akron. The people of Akron are taking the lead in helping the homeless of Akron.
America was built on the foundation of “by the people, for the people.” This is how we will solve the homeless disease of America. The people will solve it.
 

To be clear : THIS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT Second Chance VILLAGE. This is about a Camp site we have been helping remotely near Haven of Rest. 
I just got word yesterday that the city of Akron is shutting down the outreach camp we’ve been working with.
It’s absurdly comical that officials shut down camps in the middle of the winter.
Second Chance Village was started because a group was kicked out of the space where Freedom Trail was being built. I’ll never forget the day. It was January 7, 2017.
Kabir Bhatia from WKSU was one of the first reporters on that story. This one was posted on January 8, 2017:
Homeless People In Akron Have Some Ideas After Being Asked to Leave the Freedom Trail | WKSU
The picture in that article is of our basement on that day.

 
 
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Less than a year later it looks more like this:
[clearboth]

 We started with just an empty basement.
And through work ENTIRELY done by the “useless”, forgotten, invisible homeless, we now have:

• Laundry
• Shower,
• Computer lab
• Clothes closet
• Food pantry

And for the record, we are working incredibly close with the fire inspector to get the building approved for people to use as a day center.
And ALSO for the record, no matter how cold it gets, no matter how much people beg, we are not allowing people to sleep in our building as an emergency shelter. We will be shuttling people to Haven of Rest and other places.
There are people in the world that are great at pointing out problems. But don’t have any solutions.
We are the product of that frustrating system.
We are a solution. And all we hear is all the problems we’re causing.
And now the city has so wisely found another problem.
They’ve found a tent community that is too cluttered. Is too unseemly.
So how do they solve that problem? How do they fix the glaring homeless epidemic that is America today?
They “solve” the problem by kicking people off land but offer no other solution. Do they think for one minute what will happen with those people? Do they not have one sliver of a heart? Do they not have even a mild curiosity for what happens next?
Well let me tell you what will happen next:

• These people were right behind Haven of Rest. When the temperature falls below 25 degrees Haven opens their doors to anyone. So these people had a quick way of getting out of the cold. That support is now gone. (And I’m the one being accused of threatening them with hypothermia and death.)
• The Haven of Rest offers lunch and dinner to the public. Now that is gone.
• People brought them firewood for their barrel. There is no way they can carry that. So that’s gone.
• They knew who their neighbors were so they knew who to trust and not trust. So that’s gone.
• The are scattering even as we speak. So people we could work with and support have disappeared. It’s likely we’ll never see some of them again.
• St Bernard Parish also has a bagged lunch program Monday-Friday from 8:30 A.M.-9:30 A.M in the Bill Corbett Center (Bologna House). That will now be gone.

These people will run like scared cats deeper into the woods. They will make themselves more isolated. More alone.
Don’t you see that actually seeing the homeless is what we want? It means they are willing to be vulnerable and open to society. They are willing to take help.
Now we’ve terrified them and they are running away. You’ve just made a bad situation 10 times worse. IN DECEMBER!!!
All the bonds we’ve made have been broken.
You think making them disappear is a good thing. But it is a wound festering and undermining your entire city.
You want these people back in society yet you have absolutely no understanding of who they are and how to work with them.
You likely have a better understanding how to work with a feral cat than you do with a homeless human. And the only reason is because you’ve never taken one minute to think about who they are and what they need.
But ya know what? We’ll handle it. We’ll take care of it.
Throw your homeless under a bridge. Then go to that bridge and throw them out of that place. We’ll sweep them up.
Your homeless situation will never get better with this cycle. It will only get worse.
But congratulations. You made some incredibly poor, incredibly damaged people disappear.
Good job.