Take The Dollar Challenge. See if you can make it all the way to the end of this article without giving us $1.

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
As a business owner you learn to stop whining and complaining about what this administration is doing or what that politician is enacting.
All you have are the rules. The rules change all the time. If you want to survive you play by the new rules. You can complain all you want. But that’s not going to do you any good.
As you might imagine, the rules are changing, rather significantly, from a Liberal President to a Conservative President.

Trump FY18 Budget Calls for Massive Cuts to Affordable Housing Programs: National Low Income Housing Coalition
The administration would slash federal investments in affordable housing at HUD by nearly 17%, or $7.7 billion, compared to FY17.  The proposed cuts could mean more than 250,000 people could lose their housing vouchers. It would also impose punitive measures that would jeopardize family stability – increasing the financial burdens they face through higher rents and ending support to help cover the cost of basic utilities, like water and heat.

This is the philosophy of conservatives.
Just recently Paul Ryan was asked by a nun how he squared his Catholic understanding of helping the poor with his Conservatism. He said:
Paul Ryan Faces Off with Catholic Nun at CNN Town Hall About Healthcare

And for me, the preferential option for the poor, which is something that’s a key tenet of Catholic faith, that means upward mobility, that means economic growth, that means equality of opportunity.

I don’t think I’m being too bold to say that the philosophy of the current President, Senate and House is: We make it too easy for the poor to stay poor AND the government isn’t here to take care of the poor.
They believe that by giving the poor too much they are making it too easy to stay poor. They also believe that it isn’t the job of government to take care of the poor.
I’m not angry at that. I’m not judgmental of that. I’m simply trying to understand the lay of the land. If you feel that I’m incorrectly judging the current government please let me know in the comments below.
But if we can agree that’s the situation then this article is for you. And this is why you need to give us $1.
Please take a minute (literally 60 seconds) to watch Keith’s testimonial on his experience with us. He’s moving back to Indiana now. He’s got his CDL and will start driving again soon.

“Second Chance Village gives people a second chance so they can clean up the past so they can move forward.” – Keith

On not making the homeless too comfortable.

I saw the head of the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carsan, tour some HUD facilities in Columbus Ohio.
This is his quote:
Don’t Make Housing for the Poor Too Cozy, Carson Warns – The New York Times

Compassion, Mr. Carson explained in an interview, means not giving people “a comfortable setting that would make somebody want to say: ‘I’ll just stay here. They will take care of me.’”

Well, we’ve got that covered.
The people in the Second Chance Village live 24/7 in the cheapest tents we can find. They cost $50, maximum.
The zippers break. They leak. They are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
I will say that we may have over done the coziness of them by giving these people old pallets to put their tents on and sometimes, if we have them, we give them tarps to put over their tents to keep out the inevitable leaks.
But fear not. Many times we don’t have pads to put their blankets on (we almost never have actual sleeping bags). So they have to sleep directly on the slats of the pallets.
Our pallets often come to us looking a lot like this:

So, while it’s true that we’ve gotten most people up off the ground, the broken nature of the pallets are still quite uncomfortable.
We have 2 porta potties for 30 people to use. Granted, that’s pretty comfy considering we used to make them all use 1 porta potty.
But being that they only get cleaned out once a week they get really smelly for at least 3 or 4 days. You pretty much are assured of gagging every time you use them. We don’t have men’s and women’s porta potties. Everyone uses the same ones.
About one third of our residents are women.
They have no running water by their tents. They have no electricity.
The fire department has demanded that no open flames are permitted what so ever. So there is never a camp fire. Nor are they permitted to use tiki torches. So, when the sun goes down it’s lights out.
Winter is coming. That should continue to add to their discomfort. We certainly don’t have year round tents. We could never afford those. We’re mostly hoping some donations of more blankets will come through.
And, as I mentioned above, you don’t have to worry about them cuddling around a cozy campfire when the temperature dips below freezing. We aren’t allowed to have fires. Just blankets, if we get enough donated.
Just cold and darkness. After 5pm it will be just darkness and cold.
It should be like that for a good 4 solid months.
You are always more than welcome to come visit some time. I’d love to show you around. I assure you I’m not over exaggerating any of this.
Just the same, our people are thankful to have a place that is stable and secure.
Stability, security and dignity are the only extravagances we afford our residents.
I can understand if you feel that’s too much. But that’s where we draw the line in eliminating society comforts.

On not being the job of the government.

I’ve met with the people in the government who give out money to the homeless. They flat out told me that there is no place in their program for what we do.
So, I can’t imaging ever seeing a dime from the government.
That means that this tent city we’ve made must exist on private funds. It’s on my private land being paid for by working families’ private money.
We’ve never gotten a grant. But maybe some day we will. Although, I’m not exactly holding my breath. Magically getting a grant is not my marketing plan. If it happens, great.
But otherwise we grind out our money. My wife supports our family and private investors are slowly supporting our Second Chance Village.
But we’re still easily $2000/month in the hole. That’s being covered also by my wife’s income.
I’m building up my auction business and we’re also building out services and products we can sell that are made and offered by the homeless that live with us.
So, you don’t have to feel bad that you are contributing to a non-profit that’s getting fat off the money of government programs.
“Fat” is nowhere near where we are currently. We are just in survival mode.
So, this charity is everything a conservative could ever dream of.
Incredibly sparse living that no one would ever want to spend any more time at than is absolutely necessary. And it’s all run by private money.
Here’s the pitch: I NEED YOUR DOLLAR!!!!
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
I don’t need $5. I don’t need $10. I need $1.
On top of that, when you donate $1 you will get inside information that is only available to members.
I know some dirt poor people. I’m talking: no photo id, no food stamps, no social security, no disability, no income at all. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
AND THEY CAN AFFORD TO GIVE $1.
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
YOU can afford to give $1.
What’s your excuse?
Do you still feel you’d be throwing away your hard earned dollar on lazy, no good losers?
Everyone at our facility is only allowed to be at our facility if they agree to be moving forward in some way. Quit drinking. Quit drugs. Go to your doctor. Work on your resume. Get a job. Get a house.
If you aren’t moving forward we kick you out.
Your dollar is not going to lazy people. Your dollar is going to people that fell through all the cracks in society. All they are asking for is a place to sleep so they can get back on their feet.
That’s it.
There is no one that is more deserving and more needing your dollar than the people at the Second Chance Village.
I don’t mean to be rude here. But what is it that you can rationalize not giving us $1?
Are you too lazy? Are you too selfish?
What?
Here is a testimonial from another one of our residents, Cloud:

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
If you are a Conservative I’m giving you EXACTLY what you’ve asked for.

• A very sparse, uncomfortable living situation for the poorest of the poor.
• A totally privately funded organization completely outside of the government. (If anything, the government would rather we not do what we’re doing.)

GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
If you are a Liberal: PLEASE help me. The government is abandoning the poor like rats off a sinking ship. Without a doubt, homelessness is going to get worse and the suffering is going to increase the next 4 years. We need you so much.
GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.
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GO HERE TO DONATE YOUR DOLLAR.