Homelessness

by POPSUGAR Sex & Culture

"You don't need a TV. You don't need a radio. You don't even need a newspaper. But you need the Internet."

A 37-year-old homeless man in San Francisco says he stays connected through Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and the forum he runs on Yahoo. Shelter attendants report that more and more overnight visitors are showing up with laptops and New York City is putting computers in shelters it operates. Perhaps keeping homeless people wired to the Internet will help them escape from the margins of society.

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by POPSUGAR Sex & Culture

If you need your heart warmed before the weekend, get a load of this wedding story. A Washington DC couple, who started dating nine years ago while they were both living on the streets, just got married in a ceremony organized by the parishioners at Grace Episcopal Church.

Both White, 28, and his new bride, Nhiahni Chestnut, 39, attend Bible studies and a meal program at the church. When White mentioned to a fellow churchgoer how much he wished he could afford a wedding, everyone decided to pitch in.

"In good Grace church congregation fashion, everyone got behind the idea: one person managed flowers, I helped with the wedding rings, one woman made the cake, someone helped with the tux, and someone else with the bride's gown," [parishioner Margaret Davis] said.

Another churchgoer paid for a two-night honeymoon stay at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Until White went to pick out his suit, he had never even seen the inside of a shopping mall, and when the couple met, both were living on the streets. Chestnut said, "I was basically living from day to day, trying to survive, and I wound up meeting him."

Sadly, the couple remains unemployed and homeless, but their love story kinda puts things in perspective, doesn't it?
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by CitizenSugar

Have any of you Bay Area readers ever been to the Berkeley Public Library? It's a beautiful historical building, but some days has an acquired smell that can't exactly be attributed to old books.

Well, Schaumburg Township District Library in Illinois has now added "offensive bodily odors" to the forbidden list, which already includes talking, running, and beverages! The library says it will kick people out if their stenches disrupt others' use of the facility.

While a pleasant smell would make for a more enjoyable library visit, you could argue that the ban discriminates against poor people. If people don't have access to showers, I'd bet that they don't have access to a computer either. . . unless they can go to the library.

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by POPSUGAR Moms

Hard economic times have shaken the lives of many children in the United States. While the parents carry the burden of paying bills and finding shelter once they lose their jobs, youngsters miss the little things like their toys, backyards and personal space. Families that never would have imagined themselves in such financial predicaments have fallen victim to the recession and become homeless.

by CitizenSugar

Living off unemployment and scraping the bottom of your checking account each month? Well if you can stomach no meat, alcohol, and sex along with required meditation, tent cities may not be your worst-case scenario. A yoga "community" in the woods could be!

NPR reports that at least one yoga ashram has seen an uptick in newcomers since the economy nosedived last Fall. Yogaville, which rests in Virginia's Appalachian foothills, never intended to be a safe haven for the nouveau poor, but it welcomes new residents whether they've come for the unlimited yoga or the $300 rent.

While there's no credit check or competitive admission process, there are a few catches. To see where Yogaville gets you, read more

by CitizenSugar

You can think of them as recession refugee camps, but they're called "tent cities" and their populations keep increasing as more Americans lose jobs and homes.

The chronically homeless have illegally lived in encampments before. But with a boom in people seeking out shelter, cities like Sacramento, CA, are thinking about legalizing the communities and providing services. Does that sound like a reasonable safety net to you?

To watch a recent segment on tent cities from Oprah and see more photos, read more

by CitizenSugar

Michelle Obama volunteered at Miriam's Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides case management, housing support, and meals to homeless people in DC. Yesterday's meal was donated by the White House in a new effort to highlight the work of local nonprofits. The first lady urged Americans to donate food and, if that's out of reach, time.

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by CitizenSugar

Getting homeless people off the streets is a never-ending challenge for most cities. Who would have thought a game of soccer was the answer?

Yet it has been for hundreds of homeless people throughout the world, and now it's kicked off in the United States. Street Soccer USA organizes four national tournaments each year. It requires players to set three-, six-, and 12-month goals to get their lives back on track. Players who stick with it say the physical demands motivate — if not require — them to cut back on life's vices.

But it does more than improve physical health; it empowers them. They report feeling more positive and motivated to lead productive lives. One 20-year-old player said the physical, emotional, and mental demands prove to him that he can "achieve perfection in other areas of life."

The results are certainly palpable. Eight out of 25 men on one Chicago team have moved into apartments only months after they began playing. And 28 of the 36 men who play on the US's national team — there's a Homeless World Cup — have remained off the street.

Now if they could only start winning . . . not to be demanding!

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by LibertySugar

• Homeless: No home for the holidays? The number of homeless families in NYC shelters has hit an all-time high. — Gothamist
• Law: How are you using Bush v. Gore in your daily life? Apparently the Supreme Court's decision did a whole lot more than just let Bush rule. — 23/6
• Religion: Change you can believe in? Rick Warren scrubs anti-gay language from website. — Huffington Post
• Condi: What a hilarious way to waste money: Arab leaders shower Condoleeza Rice with $300,000 in jewels that no one will get to keep. — Gawker

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