I do not understand Because of someone else’s refusal, to see the truth that is before them that Men can be belittled berated or even made fun of and said to have mental problems, especially by some people who are by either their own ignorance or their own selfish desire to be helped, allow themselves to continue to be exploited, I do however not fault someone who’s desire to see justice for themselves lives in their unwilling ignorance by not looking at what is happening all around them.
So Be it, That is truly Not why I began this post I began it because Homeless people are daily exploited by Homeless help agencies and Men and women who claim to be homeless advocate’s I will say it again And people should almost at some point listen, I am and for sometime been what I would consider to be the worlds foremost expert on homelessness, and the exploitation of this sub sect of society I lived Homelessness for almost 24yrs, until this week! I have for sometime refused service from homeless providers even after they themselves prequalify me on the premise that I am mentally unstable IE A Nut. Why because I refuse their services And I scream from the mountain top stop exploiting these My people. And This is what the Post is about I am Just getting started I suffered in silence long enough no homeless help Organization in this country can say I took advantage of their system and am just Hurt or Bitter because the shelter system didn’t work for Me because I didn’t Lend to it the opportunity too, I laid under your bridges and in your Abandoned warehouses and anywhere I could stay out of the elements as men who believed this system, Laid in it’s arms with hope until they had no more hope left and then where cast out of the system and left to parish in most cases cold tired Hungry and alone. victims by every definition of the word, of the plan to end homelessness. The problem with this plan is it has never worked and was not ever designed to because it was structured then and is structured now, as a plan too help only those most desperately in need of the Help. keeping a never ending supply of those becoming more desperate and in need with every day.
So In truth We can stand and say Lets Don’t talk about the Money It is spreading Vitriol It is Unnecessary, It is meaningless, It has nothing to do with our efforts, what ever ones reason to avoid the truth, we can make excuse, however it is happening the organizations most likely to receive Both funding and praise are the ones who have received them for years, they are the ones who can most afford to buy a PR campaign and employ Marketers Like Mark Horvath, and a Team of Grant writers, and legal minds who make more annually than the organization spends to House any homeless individual.
So a lot of people would say to me I am a harsh critic of this PR campaign, By @hardlynormal Mark Horvath, who would like me and others to believe, His whole life has been sacrificed to help homeless people, and He now lives in His van traveling around the country in sacrifice giving all he has, the ones who believe this are ostrich's you truly have your head in the sand , this man is given a car by a sponsor is given a expense account that stems from a grant to help homeless people. Is on the payroll of a nonprofit Org, gives away socks paid for by a sponsor saying it is a great thing, when without the sponsorship of socks, months ago said of people this handing out of socks is nothing the homeless don’t need socks they need houses. and claims I gave all to help but the people he interviews during the day remain in their tents at night and while he goes to a motel room that the expense of per-night cost more than this homeless man afforded for a month in food. And the 100k homes campaign has in it’s first year spent more on training advertising and employee expense accounts than it has to house the 12-14 thousand people it has housed, and by the way at the rate they are going financially and success in housing it will take over six years to house one hundred thousand people and at a cost of over 100k per person. so tell me why I should keep my mouth shut about it Oh yea For there sake and not the sake of the homeless, so yea I am a harsh critic Because I find it hard to believe a self educated homeless man is the only one able to figure out the American people are once again being duped by people who have made it an industry and thrived off of the misfortune of others. They all go home at night to there homes in the Santa Monica Hills the Hamptons and many Florida beach towns and they stay at the finest hotels and the people they are helping are still left to perish on the street. And if you do not believe this to be true than look into the personnel assets of the board of directors of any homeless help Organization out there. That is If you are now pissed at more than Just Me.
God bless you one and all my friends and on a personal Note to Mr. Mark Horvath, I do Have Peace with My self and My direction, but I will not let those who have oppressed and prayed on men like myself have it any longer. and to those who have a right and good heart and want to help men like me don’t let them be your voice and direction any longer think outside the box, you only need look at my life Now as compared to the Day this blog started to see you the right and true hearted ones can help without any PR campaign . It Only takes a little Love.
You have no real argument with Mark.
ReplyDeleteYou twisted your life of pain into an attack on someone completely different than you've portrayed him. You're mad at the world, and jealous that he's climbed one step up from where he was, and you haven't.
You probably can't even see it, but you're going after him out of pain, not because of any of the spin you assembled above.
You talk about love and being "a Christian who doesnt go to church me and Jesus aren't welcome there", but you just hurt the cause.
You just hurt others.
and you are both funny and anonymous what could you possibly know of Me not being able to respond to someone who doesn't believe in anything enough to put there name behind it, how does one respond By saying only if you believe me to be wrong say it openly, and stick to the facts, and dont be a blind follower of a con man, tell me where I ere'd in the truth the whole thing is about the money, if it where about the cause as the sheeple say then where is the money going all I spoke is truth if you wish for the system to keep exploiting the homelesss population fine that is you but as I have lived it and know the truth I will not remain silent for the sake of the comfort of one Man who is a doing little at great expense to others sorry you are so sucked in.
ReplyDeleteJoseph:
ReplyDeleteI disagree with "Anonymous."
I read everything that you post and I have long been impressed with your courage and your wisdom.
We need to be listening closely to the people like you who have slept under the bridges and in the abandoned warehouses of our country.
Some homeless people are easier to help than others and with a little societal assistance, they generally land on their feet.
Chronically homeless people are generally those who fell through the cracks of the system. They are very often disabled, most often with multiple disabilities.
I have been conducing research among this population in the northeast for some time now. Most of them have told me stories very similar to your own.
What seems to be happening is that poorly trained employees of shelters and/ or subsidized housing developments often make and impose restrictive, unreasonable and even punitive rules and requirements that some people cannot or will not tolerate.
Disabled - and other - individuals seem to be evicted with little to no appeal or leave on their own, choosing instead the dangers - and personal dignity - of freedom on the street.
We need to focus on getting it right for those people. Eviction decisions put people at staggering risk of death on the street. These decisions should not be made without review by two social workers or rehabilitation couselors with Masters degree levels of training.
The most highly skillled personnel - not the most minimally trained - should be serving at the front lines of homelessness, that is, in the shelters and in the subsidized housing developments.
For the record, I do not think you are a "nut" at all. I think you are an enormously intelligent, courageous, highly resilient individual with sufficient faith and inner resources to have made it own your own for all of these years.
We should all be listening!
I meant to mention as well that while there are standards that most be met for human habitation in most residential developments, their seems to be little to no oversight of homeless shelters.
ReplyDeleteAs an example, I am aware of one shelter where a group of about 100 or so women were housed all together in hot weather and required to share one shower.
We would not allow prisons or even animal shelters to treat residents like that.
It is difficult for me to comprehend where all of the money spent on homeless programs goes. Surely the funds need to be redistributed so that far more of the budget goes directly towards improving the experience of the people being served.
I think Joseph is in very strong position to give us a great deal of insight into how priorities and payments need to be revised.
I view him as a man of inner peace who is working hard to help change a very deeply flawed system.
Many of us are very grateful to have the opportunity to learn from him.
Finally, I could not help but notice that every sentence written by "Anonymous" begins with the pronoun "You."
ReplyDeleteSometimes people hide behind the term "Anonymous" so as to launch a personal attack on an individual they might barely know.
Most often their attacks involve a long string of "You" statements.
Thank-you, DrMMcLaughlin, your comments were very helpful.
ReplyDeleteJoesph supports a small group of homeless activists that, for whatever reason, have decided to hate me. What's interesting is every one of them at some point I have tried to help, and I have helped, and will continue to help. They are not really made at me, but they have become haters (which is interesting because they also profess to follow Jesus) The haters consider themselves my competitors. Most of the haters are feeling sad because they aren't getting the recognition they deserve, and they feel that I'm over-recognized. I cannot help that. I actually have often helped each one of them get recognition. I still would as long as they do good helping others and don't just talk about themselves. I work hard to give homeless people a vice. what's different about me and Invisiblepeople.tv is it is not about me, it's about the homeless people I met. That is what has been attractive to people. I also help everyone and I respect everyone. I am far from perfect, but I do my very best to do the right thing - always. I get the recognition because I work hard and put others first, and most importantly, Invisiblepeople.tv has real, tangible impact.
ReplyDeleteJoesph, and all the homeless activists he supports, have not helped one person GET OFF THE STREETS. Yet they complain I stay in hotels, and that I get my socks donated, and that this year my gas is being paid for. They forget to see the connections being built between brands and homeless services to have more impact and get people off the streets into housing. And the idea I have to suffer to help suffering people is insane. 75% of my hotel stays are free. I run a video blog so I must have internet access. If I stay with people we end up talking all night and I get zero work done. If I sleep in a car I get zero work done and all impact stops. What I do is hard, emotional labor - and there is nothing wrong with staying in a hotel. Writing posts and comments about me staying in hotels is pure madness and shows the hatred. Sadly, this year, because of this group of haters.
Continued
Yes, it's great Joesph has a voice, but he has done nothing to constructively change the broken system he hates so much. He just writes post like these attacking good people who are actively getting people OUT OF HOMELESSNESS!
ReplyDeleteI too agree about the massive amounts of funding and there is huge waste. But 100,000 Homes, again an organization I've seen you publicly support, is doing great works with every penny they receive. I don't get lots of funding, and I get zero government dollars. The impact of Invisiblepeople.tv is huge compared to money other organizations spend on awareness and education. This summer's road trip alone has created a conversation that will save thousands of lives.
I wish more than anything the small group of people who have decided to hate me would look at my impact not the free hotels I recieve. I wish more than anything those people who hate me would stop posting ridicules lies causing madness, separation and strife. I wish more than ever the people who spend their time hating me would use their energy to get homeless people OFF THE STREETS. I wish more than ever everyone would work together to fix our broken system to save more lives and save money.
Mary,
it's really sad that a medical professional such as yourself who works in homeless services would validate a nonsense post like this.
Joesph,
I'll say this to you again. I have never done anything to hurt you, nor will I ever. I do my very best to help hurting people. I am sorry if you cannot see that. These personal attacks are wrong, especially from someone like you that claims to follow Jesus. I have no idea why you started to hate me, and I am powerless over your feelings, but I am sorry that you have chosen to post personal attacks on this blog and other blogs slamming me. We really are on the same team. I am fighting the abuse of the system more than you know, and I am having impact. I am sorry for whatever it was that started you to hate me. I only now can ask you to forgive me and the next time instead of posting madness like this simply pray for me. That's what a man with inner peace would do.
**** this was to be the first of the order
ReplyDeleteMary,
you validate a post that is a personal attack on me, 100,000 Homes Campaign, and the industry you also work in? This post is ridicules and is not based on facts. It's pure propaganda with the only intention of causing madness.
Yes, homeless services is an industry. So is healthcare and construction. Should we not have doctors treat cancer? should we not have architects design safe buildings? Is there abuse in healthcare and construction - of course there is. There is abuse in every industry.
The fact is majority of people working in homeless services work long, emotional hours to help people with little pay. people who work on 100,000 Homes Campaign are not getting rich. You work with homeless people, too. You get paid I'm sure. The ideal that only people in poverty can help homeless people is insane. That is like saying only a person with cancer can help someone with cancer, or only a blind person can help a blind person.
I made $22k last year from working as a case manager. I make zero from InvisiblePeople.tv. I sometimes get paid for speaking but 100% of that money goes into InvisiblePeople.tv and We Are Visible to help move that forward - to help more people. I work 12 - 16 hour days and rarely get a day off. I don't do this for money - I have given my life to help homeless people. I make huge sacrifices every day and always put other before me. Am I rare? NO! most of the people in homeless services are the same - WE CARE AND DO OUR BEST TO HELP OTHERS!
That all said, the system is broken. Many of us are working to fix that. 100,000 Homes is an example of fixing a broken system. What Joesph write in this post about 100,000 Homes and me are flat out lies - and you know this!
this blogging format put the first part last. The above post should be read before the others.
ReplyDeleteBut all in all my hope here is instead of slamming people with personal attacks we can work to fix a broken system to help people.
I welcome different thoughts and even encourage them. But I will not respond or engage in a conversation based on personal attacks on anyone. It is unproductive and does not help anyone. The time spent here on this drama could have been spent doing something good to help others.
Check out http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/page/3/ Bonnie's video
ReplyDeleteMark says about Bonnie
"What is not stated in this video is I was told Bonnie has alzheimer’s disease, and that she often forgets what tent she is in."
How many homeless hate crimes are there? You just informed the world where this woman lives and that she forgets things. Why not draw
a target on her shirt?? If it is not stated in the Video what gives him the right to post how volunerable she is?
What kind of consent do you think she really gave if she often forgets what tent she is in? Mark had to talk about her Alzheimers because
it pulls on heartstrings to get people to donate. Think Bonnie got any money?
Or how about Sylvester (you need to scroll down)
http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/page/8/
Mark said " Off camera Sylvester told me he was raped at 15 by the group leader of the foster home he was living in."
Im sorry I thought things off camera were off camera. Did Sylvester give permission to out that"
This man is a con man. He attacked a woman the other day for simply asking a question. I filed a complaint with the IRS and the California Registry of Charitable Trusts who will be going over his documents
All statements being made I must Honestly say that the issue at hand is still not addressed simply avoided Sad really to say I have lied but not address it is how someone tries to distract from the truth. it is and has been a political opt out for as many decades or more.
ReplyDeletesimply put the truth will stand when the world is on fire,
So Mr Horvath, you have so much confidence that I have lied I ask you publicly now will you submit too me your Tax records and all expense account info for the past 2yrs while you have been helping us homeless people and will you support me in getting one 100k homes and Path to do the same as it is most difficult to continue doing FIO request and a lengthy process. because anyone who is on a expense account being paid by any non-profit grant receiver, is at very best being deceptive in saying I don't receive federal funding. But i digress if you help me get these documents you can kill to birds with one stone Mark if what you say is correct they will bear up that I lied about these practices of there exploitation and you can post that you have helped another homeless Man.
***interesting you keep deleting my responses to you:
ReplyDeleteit's easy to post poison anonymously.
also interesting you went through all the InvisiblePeople.tv videos to find something to hate
maybe even more interesting is you claim I posted Bonnie's story for donations, yet I never asked for money! That's a fact!
You claim I am a con, which means I lie for personal benefit. My life, my reputation, and my results are all online. It's all there for anyone to
see the truth. You've taken much effort to cast poison. Not sure the reasoning, or the threats with the IRS, but this is unproductive and
nonsense.
Let me leave you with some results:
http://hardlynormal.com/blog/2011/07/18/homeless-to-housing-success-story-meet-donny-in-his-apartment/
and
http://hardlynormal.com/blog/2011/05/31/terry-pettigrew-died-this-morning-in-a-home-with-family/
and
http://hardlynormal.com/blog/2010/08/02/you-do-the-math/
and
http://hardlynormal.com/blog/2010/07/30/the-farm/
I won't return to this blog. This conversation is filled with poison and lies. You all continue to hate amongst yourselves. I'm gonna go spend
my energy helping others.
this was posted to the blog it was not originally recieved as a post due to it being links and nothing more no where does it address the issue at hand people who profit from the homeless!!!
DeleteNo post were or have been deleted post with more than one link however are auto removed as spam and it is so others can not promote their agenda's but rather are forced to stick with and deal with the subject at hand sorry you can not post multi Links with your post I will not in any way sensor post unless they are in there text full of foul language. so here is the post with links as it to is off of topic.
ReplyDeleteJoseph did not post as Anomyous as it is clear he has no problems calling you out. Yes, every once in a while Mark does something good but even a broken clock is right 2 times a day.
ReplyDeleteWhen the homeless ask Mark questions he banishes them never hearing from them again.
When someone else asks questions Mark attacks them.
Mark is like the powerful OZ as Dorthy goes to look behind the curtain and the oz saying ignore the man behind the curtain.
I think it is very encouraging that those of us working in the homeless advocacy community have online forums and that we have a long tradition of listening to everyone, no matter what they have to say.
ReplyDeleteWe are all doing the very best that we can, each in his/ her own way, to help resolve a situation that represents the most lethal health crisis in our country at this time, homelessness, against seemingly insurmountable obstacles and extensive community resistance.
Mark visited us in Auburn, NY last year. His room and breakfast were generously donated by the Holiday Inn in Auburn, he worked in this area for two days and collected no pay, he asked for nothing in return and we are grateful that a sponsor loaned him a vehicle and paid for his gas and tolls so that he could come here to shed a bright light on the topic of homelessness in rural and suburban areas.
Invisibepeople.tv has inspired me and many others to work to help resolve this national humanitarian crisis.
For the record, I have never received one cent of payment for my own extensive work on this matter and I have never received one donation.
Mark: I am hoping that you will find some time to stop by to visit us again this year as you travel through New York State.
At the same time, there remains much work to be done. I will write another post later this afternoon to share my own perspective about where we are today and where we need to be going as it relates to this topic.
DrMMcLaughoul, if there was a priest, out doing Gods work, in the name of God. And he goes around helping the poor and seems like a nice Priest, BUT has a thing for touching little boys. Would you support him because he helps more then he hurts? After all what's 1 or 2 little boys worth when in the end he is also doing such good work in God's name.
ReplyDeleteIn the next few weeks more and more homeless will start coming forward and talking about how Mark used them, how Mark lied to them and in the end Mark abandoned them. They will talk about how Mark exploited them for his own gain.
Yes Mark does some good work but it comes at the expense of hurting others.
You are more then welcome to stick your head in the sand like many did when priests started to get outed in the Catholic Church or you can start listening to the people you claim to want to help.
Mark is like the great and powerful OZ as long as you don't look behind the curtain because if you look behind the curtain you will see pain and suffering Mark has caused.
I am not an ethicist or a moralist so I cannot answer your question. What I do know is this:
ReplyDeleteWe are all tired and discouraged.
It has been a very taxing struggle to get this far; moreover, discouragement and setbacks have become a common experience.
In the past few weeks alone, Kelly Thomas was allegedly beaten to death by police in Fullerton, California; the City of Orlando, Florida protested homeless "feedings" and arrested workers there for providing meals to hungry people; Project 5050's truck was vandalized and items collected for distribution to people in need were stolen - as were Mark Horvath's vehicle and its contents earlier this summer.
In my quiet corner of the earth, a homeless man was found dead downtown; a month later police raided and cleared out an encampment frequented by the deceased man's friends and ordered a memorial to him to taken down; city officials declined to provide a near empty building for a homeless shelter even though winter is approaching and we are located in one of the harshest winter climates in the United States.
Sometimes we can get so busy in the trenches that we do not see the forest for the trees.
I think we are all suffering from burn-out. We need to take a step back, stop attacking each other and refocus our anger on the problems.
Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Nelson Mandella and even Mother Theresa all had critics. We are all flawed and imperfect human beings.
Let us get back to focusing our outrage on solutions. Anger is an extremely powerful emotion; let us use our angry energy effectively and not dissipate it in attacks on each other.
DrMMcLaughlin that makes you part of the problem and not part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteYour saying you would not take sides if a priest is touching little boys? You won't take sides if the homeless are stepping forward saying Mark is doing more to hurt homeless then he is to help?
There is a difference between being flawed and exploiting homeless for personal gain.
The other day on twitter @org9 asked Mark a simple question and Mark savaged her for daring to ask a question.
If people ask Mark real questions he runs away saying poor me, people are picking on me.
You took my last question and took the cowards way out. So I will ask another question which I'm sure you will not answer.
How many homeless is it ok for Mark to exploit before it becomes wrong to you or will you Just stick your head in the sand?
This post is about what I think needs to happen next and I am hoping that we can refocus our thoughts and comments on what we all think needs to happen next.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that there are people who are easier than others for homeless services agencies to house. Bostonhomeless recently wrote a blog post on this topic entitled "Bitter Blueberry" which I hope all you you will read because it provides an excellent and very timely illustration of what I am talking about.
Here is a link: http://bostonhomeless.blogspot.com/2011/08/bitter-blueberry.html
Please also read the comment I posted to it just today.
In other words, there seem to me to be people who will probably land on their feet after experiencing homelessness and others who probably will not. These others will probably become our so called "chronically homeless" population, people who will very likely die prematurely and possibly horribly on the street.
People who probably will land/ have landed on their feet include Joseph, Mark Horvath, Shay Kelly, BostonHomeless, Carey Fuller, Lost Awareness and many others.
Chronically homeless individuals are most often characterized by one of more disabilities; usually these are traumatic brain injuries, psychiatric disorders and addictions.
To a significant degree, these chronically homeless individuals are some of the individuals whom Mark is highlighting in his video interviews and people working in advocacy initiatives are collecting and distributing food, goods and services to help.
What this means to me is that many people do get housed successfully and others fall through the cracks and/ or endure long and painful periods of struggling daily for their very survival.
So I can understand why housing agencies feel proud of their work; many people do eventually get housed successfully.
IMO,we need to direct the attention of those agencies to the people who are not getting housed successfully. We also need to get the ones who will land on their feet housed a lot faster: think Carey Fuller and her two daughters - but with much greater courtesy, dignity and respect.
More about the ones who are at highest risk of death next....
John will probably land on his feet and his two friends seem to be drifting; one is in the hospital already.
For my part, I have been conducting research among chronically
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI did not comment on the topic of priests and boys. That is an issue that has been and is being addressed in the courts. Please do not misquote me.
We need to remain focused on the issue under discussion. We need to stop the name calling, blaming, misquoting and attempts at misdirecting the topic right now and focus on homelessness and its solution.
That includes you!
What do you think will help to resolve homelessness - or at least help to get it into the courts for legal resolution?
Dr that's a cowards answer. To hide and bury your head in the sand to avoid conflict is a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteI'm am telling you as a homeless person Mark used and exploited me for personal gain.
By you sticking your fingers in your ear and yelling "lalalalala I can't hear you" is just as bad.
You want to work on fixing homeless, then start listening and stop ignoring
I am listening.
ReplyDeleteI am deliberately choosing to stay away from name calling and choosing to focus on the issue under discussion.
This is the first time you have mentioned that you feel that you were exploited.
Do you want to tell us about that?
It will be most effective to start your sentences with "I" rather than "You."
Using "I" instead of "You" is the cornerstone of assertiveness training.
Many times people tune out "You" statements.
This is not a criticism, it's just a communication recommendation that I think might be helpful.
"first time You mention That you feel exploited. I wonder how many people who said they were raped were told "that you feel you were raped.
ReplyDeleteMark Horvath exploited me for his personal gain.
I do not feel that he did, I do not guess that he did
Mark Horvath exploited me as a homeless person for his personal gain.
And over the next few weeks you will start to see more and more come forward.
Please note there was no name calling.
I didnt say the self centered jerk Mark exploited me
I did not say the manipulative Mark exploited me
I did not say the slimeball Mark exploited me
What I did say was
I was exploited as a homeless person by Mark Horvath.
Changes are coming because the homeless do have a voice and those hurt by Mark are stepping forward
You sound very angry.
ReplyDeletePlease consider this before you post details:
Mark is not a medical doctor or a professional therapist. He is not bound by HIPPA regulations or by expectations of privacy.
He is a documentary producer who functions more like a journalist or a reporter covering a war or a crisis.
I too have cringed at times about personal information that he has uncovered and disclosed in his videos.
However, I have had the same reaction to photos of wounded soldiers, videos of gunshot victims being loaded into ambulances, funeral coverage, premature interviews with grieving parents and vulnerable victims and to news programs about nursing homes and developmental centers.
Are you angry with him or with the situation that he has been documenting?
Sometimes people receive unwanted attention when they appear - willingly or unwillingly - in news programs and documentaries.
Is this what happened to you?
DrMMcLaughlin You are a coward. I have a lot more I wish to say about your last comment but my better judgement says I should not.
ReplyDeleteYou are what's wrong with the system.
You have sold out for some sort of gain and it's too bad
What have I said that makes you think that?
ReplyDeleteBy the way. Me calling the Dr a coward was not name calling but rather a word to describe a fact
ReplyDeleteDr M you just said Mark has Zero hippa rules no expectation of privacy. Isn't a shrink yet you expose him to some of our most vulnerable and give him free reign? You don't see a problem with that.
ReplyDeleteI seriously now question your judgement
It is an opinion. I am curious about what I've said that led you to form this opinion.
ReplyDeleteI do question the appropriateness of that and I am not defending him on that point. I have never conducted and posted such an interview.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I guess I am a realist about what it is that producers do and about expectations of privacy on the street.
Obviously some people will be hurt and embarrassed. It sounds like you might have been one of them.
I wish he'd simultaneously asked viewers what they'd be willing to do to help get each particular individual off the street.
I especially have worried that some vulnerable individuals might be located and attacked.
"Obviously some people will be hurt"
ReplyDeleteThat comment freely rolls off your tounge. I guess 1 or 2 of the obviously ones who will get hurt are worth it for Marks cause. Listen to your own words.
The fact that you say things like "obviously some people will be hurt" and not stand up to him makes you a coward.
How many Dr of the "some" that you admit will get hurt is worth it. At what point will you open your eyes? 5, 10, 100? What is it.
Your a coward in your field and in Gods eyes. By allowing even 1 person to get hurt and do nothing makes you a coward. And by coward that's not name calling it's a fact.
I challenge you for the sake of the "some" you mention. I challenge you to unfollow Mark and announce to your twitter followers you no longer can support him.
Or haven't enough of the "some" been hurt?
I am a trained research scientist. It is part of my responsibility to remain informed, whether I agree with the information or not.
ReplyDeleteI regret that you have chosen to view that as cowardice.
I am also a strong advocate for open and honest communication, that is, talking and listening.
We have done a lot of that here today and I think that's a good thing.
For my part, I hear stories of intense pain and suffering every single day. It is not easy but I work hard to remain as objective as possible.
Perhaps that comes across at times as not caring.
Believe me, I do care. Very much.
That does not answer my question.
ReplyDeleteYou admit Some WILL be hurt by what Mark has done.
My question to you is a simple one. How many is too many to be hurt by Mark?
I do not know if anyone was hurt. I probably should have said "...some people may feel hurt or embarrassed."
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry that you feel that you were hurt.
There is really nothing more that I can say about this but I wish you peace and healing.
I am very sorry for whatever has happened to you.
I do care.
I do love how you wish the homeless person spear peace Rather then question how Mark could change and not hurt people. Again, you have your head in the sand.
ReplyDeleteI will be looking up who the governing body is for your field because you have raised serious ethical Questions about exposing mentally I'll people to people with questionable ethics
You wish I find peace yet won't question mark
Dr mary as you and I have talked often I am ashamed of you quite honestly that in one instance you talk too me as if you understand the money is being mis-allocated and then in the next post you would have us believe that This man is doing the best he can and has because of no Phd or doctorate no implied consent needed and can for the furtherance of a cause betray people at a whim especially with you facing the struggle of getting funding, the reason you can not get it is because you are up against a system that is entrenched with profiteers everyone who is either funded or seeking funding has the same response you must have been hurt!
ReplyDeleteand this is a defense mechanism and nothing more let us forget for one minute, the blessed cause because it is not about some cause it is about Men and women who for over 2 decades I have watched wither away on the streets of this country as Men Like mark and the Orginizations that He represents have because of Being Grant recipients and tax deferments proffited from the misfortune of the very people they claim to help and I agree with anonymous, you Mary are either a part of the solution or the problem and you need to stop stradeling the fence you can not sing both tunes
ReplyDeleteand lets be realist Also Mary he is no journalist he is a Public relations director of social media for path achieve glendale and 100k homes and nothing more he has no more interest in the homeless people he interviews than the man in the Moon, what he does have interest in is getting more people to adopt the 100k homes campaign which is the brainchild Of pathways to housing common grounds, because 15yrs into the 10yr plan to end homelessness it wasn't working and private sector donations had fallen to a all time low, and every time it does they change there name and start another Org and I have proved that to you, when I did you told Me follow the money.
ReplyDeleteObviously, this argument isn't getting anybody, anywhere! Round & round, childish and a waste of breath & time. I'm sure both sides are right.. Mark is a sinful human, as is Joseph. Both are not perfect, both make mistakes. Who will rise above their mistakes and stop wasting their breath & time and really fix the issues. A childish fight will only draw bad attention to the real cause and steriotype homeless persons as angry and ones 2 b feared. Cut it out men! Your r in place as our leaders, we look to you for our support and hope. If you can't get along, how can you help others. Your wasting your precious energy on arguing, and you could be putting that energy into something more useful. If your angry, your job will suffer! God is love, love covers over all things. When the apostles were acting foolish, di Jesus yell and fight with them? No! He kindly gave them illustrations and kindly showed them their errors, thus allowing them to see their mistakes without the hurt blocking the way. A group can get more done than a single person can...teamwork, you have the same cause, you should help each other.
ReplyDeleteI honestly do not see the point of anonymous posting but if you even read the above peice and are not just embroiled in the comments you would see that It is a matter of me no longer suffering in silence and as I am Inside now and could easily say it's ok a couple of people may well be housed and all that are left in the wake of this propaganda machine, or of little consequence and to say we want the same thing and to call it a cause only continue to belittle homeless people and further there oppression. but hey it ok right because what the Hell homeless people are lucky to have someone like mark to give them a voice right.
ReplyDeleteno we don't in anyway want the same thing, I want for cowards like you to understand these people are getting billions and spending millions to help the homeless, so don't try to sweep that simple fact under the rug. and yes I will say it and you, you a quite frankly like most people I talk too under the impression that I should not only allow the profiting off of homeless people to continue but promote it and in me not doing so believe I am hurting the cause.
sorry but screw you and your cause I don't give a damn about your cause what I care about are the Men And women I have lived with for over 2 decades out there on the streets. so i don't see this as a argument it is a fight for life wake the hell up.
Joseph:
ReplyDeleteI understand your anger. You have been in the trenches for over twenty years now and probably know how the system works better than most people - maybe even better than all people.
I also know that in the environment you have endured, premature death, disability, stigma, contempt and humiliation are ongoing, possibly even daily events.
This bothers me tremendously, especially since my areas of specialty are psychiatric disabilities, brain injuries and addictions.
Too many people have suffered and died. I cannot even find words to express my horror and indignation over the recent death of Kelly Thomas in California. The interaction between police and individuals with psychiatric disorders has been one of my areas of academic concentration for nearly thirty years.
Each one of us has to make up his/ her own mind about how best he/ she can use his/ her own talents and skills to "DO SOMETHING."
I put those last two words on quotes and capitals because in the book written by Steve Sundberg, Street Logic, a long-time-homeless woman was found dead along the banks of the Charles River in Boston with a note in her hands containing those two words written in capitals and in pencil still in her hand. This was her death bed message.
I reviewed the book and also interviewed the author, who was a street outreach worker in Boston (my home town area) and he told me that the stories in the book were based on true stories although he wrote the book as fiction. You can find both articles on the Poverty Insights blog if you want to read them. They are also posted to the Spare Change News website.
So I am trying to do what I do best, that is, counseling, advocacy, research and writing. I am also trying to get homeless people in my area housed and I serve on the Homeless Task nForce here.
I do not understand the economics of the housing industry. I have never taken one finance course in my life. It is enough for me to keep up with all that I do and all the information generated in those areas.
I have some skills to facilitate discussions and that is what I have been trying to do here. I cannot do any more than I am doing already even though there is much more work to be done. Given everything that has happened this summer alone, I have to remind myself constantly to remain disciplined and to focus on what I do best and not to get sidetracked by something else that also needs to be done.
I am not straddling the fence. I will post another message shortly about why I want to focus on moving forward.
I think each of us needs to think long and hard about how best to contribute to progress and to decide for himself/ herself what each of you think you can do best. I do not have the answers for anyone but myself and I do not mean to encourage or discourage you in your choices. The point is that - just like me - you have to decide for yourself and then stay focused on that.
I cannot join you in your specific area of choice because I need to stay focused on what I can do and that is massively time consuming for me. As a result, you will continuously see me resisting being drawn into other people's areas.
This does not mean that I do not care. I do.
The book that influenced me most in my life - besides the Bible - is Nelson Mandela's autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom."
ReplyDeleteMandela was a lawyer in South Africa who had a wife, children and a successful career.
South Africa was governed by white people under a policy that permitted "aparteid" which is basically racial discrimination. (Please do not criticize my recounting of this - I am not an historian and I am doing the best I can to recall what happened there without spending hours and hours reviewing this). Mandela was black.
He joined the movement to fight this policy and ended up in prison for about 25 years. His marriage was destroyed; he was not even allowed to attend his son's funeral when his son died in an accident.
He is a gifted writer and during that long period of incarceration, he wrote this book.
Over the long years in prison, he seems to have come to grips with his anger and outrage.
When he left prison, he went on to become President of South Africa and he instituted a national policy of reconciliation.
He had apparently come to believe that the best way to get what he wanted for the people he cared so much about was to make peace with the people who had oppressed them.
He apparently came to view forgiveness is a useful strategy. He probably thought that he could get more done by getting those people to help him to do it that by going on a crusade to punish them or to make them "pay" for whatever it is he felt they had done.
Again, I do not have time to find the book and reread passages for absolutely precise historical accuracy here. I have long encouraged others to read this book and I encourage readers of this blog post to do so too.
So in all of the years that I have been horrified by things that have happened to people and populations that I care deeply enough about to have devoted my own life too, I have at every point asked myself what is the best way to move forward, to get the most accomplished in order to help them.
This is what I am encouraging us to do here.
However, whatever strategies you believe will be most effective in accomplishing what it is that you are trying to accomplish, you are free and you are responsible to make your own choices and only you can do that. It is something to think about carefully.
As we all move forward to the very best of our unique abilities, we might see that some strategies work better than others - or that some strategies work better for a while and might need to be revised or abandoned as new information becomes available. The strategy you choose initially is not necessarily a one time and forever decision.
There will also be times when it is useful to stop, rethink, reorganize and regroup. In my opinion, given the awful events of this summer, I think this may be one of those times.
Surely this is one of those times for Joseph, now that he has recently "come in" and has work.
Since daily survival issues will not consume his time, he will probably have more time available to contribute to causes and issues that he cares about and knows a great deal about.
I pray every day that I am making the right choices about what to do with my time and my skills and I look for spiritual guidance and direction, sometimes in the moment. I also pray daily for courage. I encourage those readers who are spiritual people to do the same. Others can think about what fate or destiny or karma or providence calls them to do.
In my opinion, the situation in our nation's streets, on our sidewalks, under our bridges, in our abandoned warehouses and in our jails, on our freight trains, in our tents, cardboard boxes and in our vehicles - calls out for solutions. We are less likely to be effective spending time casting stones and arguing with each other.
I think we all need to focus and discuss what it will take next to get the job of housing these suffering and dying people accomplished.
In other words, what is the next step?
PS: there is another post that I wrote this morning before this one that seems to have vanished. If it shows up again, it will make the most sense to read that one first.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot that I have to do for the rest of the day and evening so I probably will not have time to post again today but I will check back in as soon as I can.
I believe that Dr Mary is a danger to the people she is "working with" therefore I am sending a letter to Jim Mott with the Red Cross, Rachna Vas with Cornell, Bill Burns with the Department of Labor, William Albert and others on a Advisory Committee Mary Serves on With the VRR. I will also be contacting "The Citizen" newspaper located in Auburn NY. Mary seems to be more concerned with hurting Marks feelings or upsetting his attack dog ED then doing what she set out to do and that was to help the vulunerable
ReplyDeleteAnonymous:
ReplyDeletePlease wait to read the post that seems to have disappeared before making a final desision about your choices of actions.
I understand that you are angry. It is not clear to me what I have done that has upset you so much but I always teach people to "Act and not react" and I try to do the same myself.
So I encourage you to wait for the missing post.
I am confused re: the difference between your last post and the one before. Are there two different people posting here as "Anonymous?" It almost seems that way to me.
In any event, please wait to read the missing post as I think it will clear up some misconceptions for you. I know that Joseph was having trouble yesterday with posts being published in the correct order and perhaps that is happening again today.
Dr Mary, You have proven yourself to be nothing more then a coward seemingly playing both sides. Too many people helping the homeless have done this.
ReplyDeleteIf you place a gun in a room full of little kids using your logic you would have done nothing wrong. Yet we all know something very bad would end up happening.
That is what the services are doing by Letting Mark in
You continue to be part of the problem.
I will continue to write my letters expressing my concerns by your actions and let them form their own opinions.
Any yes there are 2 people posting Anontmous
Yes it is a problem, Post by people who have posted links or those being lengthy other than those that are made by myself as the administrator of this blog are auto placed in spam as it may be of little help post should be broken up if they are becoming a lengthy discourse sorry of that I have no control.
ReplyDeleteDr Mary I thank you for your eloquence of speech I understand also you have great passion to Help and Know that you struggle in your effort to do More and you seek what is right for these people I hold so dear.
I truly Must say that at no time will any of you find me standing for those simply because it is what is best for the cause Because quite simply as I have said this is not about a cause.
people use this word even to advance their own agenda, there is no cause sleeping under a bridge we are dealing with a Human beings who are exploited for a Cause, and for me too remain silent as to what is really going on is or would be my failure to bring light to the injustices done by the Profiteers of a people because of a broken system, the only way to bring about change too this system is to at every opportunity draw attention to the injustices of it while some can look and say but there is some good being done for me some good is not enough, because annually there is an increase in the homeless population and the system we are fighting against is by it's very design, helping only those this year who are most at risk gives to the continued practice.where we can waste millions of dollars on programs that have made it A industry to begin with.
ReplyDeleteIf you are given by Grant allocation, millions of dollars annually and it is not part of your plan to eradicate the problem and work yourself out of a job than you are part of this ongoing problem.
and that problem being homeless help should not be a career path for anyone you should not hope to give your life too this work people in this industry as they call it should be looking to retire at the end of this annual cycle rather than doing just enough with what was given to have Job security.
I do however wish that anyone posting anonymously had the courage to stand up and be counted as Pro Or Con because people willing to stand on there belief's are truly the only way we will be able to have true effect I had a conversation as to thinking of stopping anonymous post, but I believe that there are some people because of there situation or there life and those who know them fear having A TRUE STAND ON THIS SUBJECT! It is to me however as I said a matter of life and death for these homeless homies that are and have been the ones I love for so Long. If you are passionate Pro or con on this subject you owe it to them.
ReplyDeleteI posted anonymous cus of all the anger...not up for the harassment,cus your my friend & I don't want to be badgered or harassed
ReplyDeleteI understand and thank you for the support I after over 2 decades on the street care not if I did peeps would have long ago harassed me into an early grave, again thank you.I truly do understand
ReplyDeleteThank you for locating and posting my missing post.
ReplyDeleteI hope it has helped readers to understand that I cannot do all that I do and also get drawn into your issues too, no matter how important they are.
I do not think it is fair play to disparage me and to malign my choices because I have chosen not to join your fight. I have not disparaged you or your choices.
I have chosen not to do a lot of things because I simply cannnot do any more. As one recent example, I have not posted very much on Kelly Thomas' death even though I am outraged at what happened because I cannot take any more time away from the things I have chosen to do and get those done.
Please remember what I said earlier: Anger is a very powerful emotion. It generates a lot of energy. Please direct that energy wisely.
Remember as well: it is far more powerful to act than to react.
I send great love to all of you. I think this has been a very useful discussion. I have learned a great deal and I hope that each of you has as well.
"I work hard to give homeless people a vice" ~ Mark Horvath
ReplyDeleteVery interesting thread here and thank you all for contributing with courage. Being anonymous does not make you a coward if you speak from the heart..just as men who use their real names speak not from the heart but from greed and twisted desires that they believe they have well hidden away. Some of see clearly and some of us will act, not react, pander and obfuscate with gentle tones..when we see harm being done.
ReplyDelete@Dr MMclaughlin
"I especially have worried that some vulnerable individuals might be located and attacked."
...and yet you continue to support him and try to "counsel" people here on "proper communication" online because they have valid opinions matched with actual experience? I believe now and being fully cognizant of your statements here that you in my personal opinion are perhaps the very last woman in your profession who should be giving advice at this time to anyone on this thread.
General notice to all:
I stand counted and not anonymous this week and i too am a social scientist. I 100% without fail disagree with what Mark Horvath does and is doing. I am raising my voice on ALL my social media accounts (even if and after being attacked by Marks friends)and will continue to do so. I am contacting others in the ethics in visual representation field as well for comments on this. I have no fear of repercussions from his fans or supporters and hold the eagle feather given to me by my Anishinaabe elders with honour today as i speak. I have been called to answer to this shame and i will not be silent and am continuing to work behind the scenes with the media and other organizations about raising awareness about this mans "work". Carry on your conversations and thank you to all who speak the truth. I will not be revisiting this thread for further discussion but just know i am indeed working hard as i believe the homeless ARE speaking here and no one "needs" Mark Horvath or his #wrecked4socks humiliation project or rather timely monetary donations to do so.
Be blessed and always speak the truth!
@org9 Laura Madison
ps I have and will continue to report Mark Horvath to all relevant authorities as i find their contact information. This is just getting started....hang on with faith! Mark Horvath is NOT the "homeless messiah" and i am not fooled nor would the heart of any knowing and honest person be.
I have read today's post by Joseph and all the comments that have followed and I can only say one thing....this is precisely why it's so hard to further the "homeless cause". I see a lot of passion, but much of it is misdirected. This in-fighting between the very people who care so much will distroy whatever momentum we are trying to build if we spend our time tearing down each others accomplishments because of our own insecurities.
ReplyDeleteWhile the very people who claim to care about the problem of homelessness MOST.....continue to fight and harass each other, we will continue to see and read about more homeless human beings that are dying each day.
Is that what you want? There are too many overblown egos out there that want all the media attention and glory they can find and not enough people who just want to help. Get over yourselves and get back to work. Because while you're online, there's people dying out there.
Joseph and Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking this afternoon about the two issues we've discussed most here, housing costs and the invisiblepeople videos and I had a couple of thoughts:
First re: Housing:
Joseph you know that I have been trying to get housing built here and construction people have prepared a budget for this. I am astonished at the cost of a single unit - a single one bedroom unit built in this area to all the required codes will cost more than an entire house in this area.
Maybe one thing that needs to happen is for homeless housing agencies to buy up abandoned and foreclosed houses instead of building new construction. Maybe the construction people need to lower their costs. According to the rules, the "Developers Fee" is a percentage of the overall cost - my best memory is that it's between 10 and 15% (but I am not going to take any more time to go and confirm - I am confident you could find this information online). The project developer has to use those funds to pay the entire staff including the finance people who put the financial deal together and the grant writers. Usually these projects take about five years from start to finish and the developers fee is a one-time thing so they need to keep more than one project going at a time to keep their employees continuously employed.
So I don't think the issue is just about executive salaries. That may be one part of it but there are probably a number of areas where costs could be examined and exceessive costs reduced so that more units could be built.
There is one area where I think costs should be increased and that is to hire better trained and better educated management people because so many individuals living in these kinds of units may be disadvantaged and/ or disabled and/ or senior citizens, etc.
There are land costs, engineering costs, architect fees, site clearing fees, legal and accounting fees, etc., etc. - probably all of these could be examined and maybe reduced with skilled negotiators.
If you would like, I will go over our budget with you so that you can see exactly what costs are involved and if I ever get funding for this project, I will keep you "in the loop" so that you can keep a constant check on this.
If anything, using government money and grants, I suspect that better negotiation to lower construction and all the other costs could pay dividends in lowered costs.
Maybe the housing developer should not be permitted to use his/ her own construction compay (if the developer has a construction company), that could be another route to lower costs. or maybe all jobs should have to go out to sealed competitive bids.
As you can well imagine, I do NOT want to spend time debating this!! I am just throwing a few ideas out there that might be worth thinking about. If you'd like to review our budget, send me an email and I will get it to you.
I am going to post this and then comment on the other topic just to keep these posts shorter.
Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteI am almost afraid to post these thoughts because I don't want to get you angry with me again but here goes - maybe these will be useful to you, maybe not, but here goes:
Yes, many individuals who are chronically homeless have certain characteristic disabilities in common that seem to contribute to a long slide into homelessness and then to great difficulty getting out of it. As I mentioned earlier, these are primarily traumatic brain injuries, psychiatric disabilities and addictions.
With respect to Mark's videos, none of these conditions leads on it own to an inability to give "informed consent" to being interviewed and recorded.
Given that in all the videos I have seen (and I have not seen all of them, probably none of the new ones all of this year)the people are talking into the camera and answering questions willingly. As far as I know, Mark did not conduct any "ambush" videos (like tv reporters sometimes do).
It looks to me like the people in them - as far as I can tell - wanted to tell their stories and consented in advance to do so.
As you have described - and again, I have not seen all of the videos - it may be that Mark commented further about the individuals' situations on his own, I do not remember seeing any like that, but one thought I had is to write or email him and ask him not to do that any more and also you could ask him to edit out any final comments that he made on his own.
I think the people who agreed to be recorded had a great deal of courage and in the ones I've seen, it looks to me like they wanted to take the opportunity to get their stories out there and did so willingly.
I think you get my idea. You could also ask him to stop doing video recordings altogether but for those people who really want to tell their stories, that would not be fair to them.
Anyway, as with the housing post above, you can well imagine that I don't want to debate or discuss this any further. I just wanted to give you some suggestions so that you could start to think about possible solutions.
I would suggest being very business like when/ if you make any requests pointing out carefully why you think his format ought to be reviewed and reconsidered, giving examples. etc.
I truly do not think Mark wanted or intended to hurt anyone and I suspect he will feel very bad if he thinks or even suspects that any people were embarrassed or regretted their decisions to speak out.
I would also suggest to him - if it were me - that when he visits those communities again, that he try to revisit his initial interviewees to see how they are doing and to see of they want to present an update on their situations.
I would especially encourage him to record success stories - stories about people who got out of homelessness - telling viewers how they did it.
In my field we know that the best way to get people to grow and change is to provide positive role models. In other words, maybe the best way to get the housing people or the construction people to be more efficient - or whatever - is to record videos of people who were helped by doing things better than other homeless housing developers and contractors.
I am trying to help here with some suggestions that might be do-able. PLEASE don't get angry with me. I don't want to argue - at least not about the topics of housing developers and Mark's videos.
This is my final post on this discussion topic. i hope my comments have been helpful. That was my intention in providing them.
I hope that all readers who have experienced homelessness will be able to achieve spiritual, emotional and physical healing.= - and housing.
And this I am hoping honestly my last post also it is directed at both Dr Mary and anonymous the last anonymous poster, while you both say you read the post you just don't get it do you so I have to ask myself why? and I go on from there not really knowing why it is that you don't and I would by all you have written inyour post that it because you seem to be looking at what it is you believe to be helping the homeless and not the homeless themselves you both refer to the cause once again and the furtherance of it.
ReplyDeleteand that because of your refusal and your inability to see that people are suffering from the actions of Mark and the orginizations he represents you can make all the excuses in the world for it you can say it is for the cause it is so that we go forward and work together to tell me too work together with someone who is both yes what you won't talk about profiting from the less fortunate in our society is like saying to me take up the mantle of oppression and help us make sure that this industry continues to abuse your fellow Man.
and I honestly dont think there is anyone in this world that is truly that blind that you dont see the truth, if your afraid of me hurting the industry understand you very well should be because I will not stop until this abuse does.
I have and will not rest until the funds that make it possible for the abuse to continue is Cut off understand Me clearly it is not just the Homeless that is being used and abused in this picture it is the American tax payer and the private sector donation's that are being taking advantage of also, people see all over this nation that the money is being thrown away. there is no way that anyone with the belief that it is ok if we just work together we can fix it because you cannot be so Daft as to believe that the fix is not already in and we the homeless are paying the cost.maybe not financially but with something much more dear our very lives.
ReplyDeleteso with the rest of this system which you so eloquently praise falls I pray that you have awakened to the truth of you being part of the problem and It fall not on you.because of your inability or fear of recognizing the truth.
now you know I am driven and not just another Guy with a traumatic brain injury. but a man seeking Justice and accountability, of the Men and women who have made there fortunes and chose to be partakers of the feeding frenzy upon our Flesh.
and I also believe you should in no way be trusted in the care of People who need real help because you are selling them out they have trusted you to look after there best interest and it becomes all to painfully clear by your words who's interest you have at heart.
Wow... Not even a matter of where to begin, but rather I have to question my willingness to jump into this conversation! LOL
ReplyDeleteI think people are expecting a universal code of ethics taylored to thier personal liking.
I don't REALLY know Mark, but I see a guy going about helping the way best suited to him. A sort of "front man" or a "hype man". And that's important. The public DOES respond to a vidual story that they can sink their teeth into, and then pat themselves on the back when they send a dollar. Don't hate Mark for giving the public what it needs. As for being taken advantage of, c'mon there has to be a sense of personal acountability.
Trust me, I've already been "warned" from people to watch for Mark, and I just laugh. I'm a big boy, and don't often find myself doping anything without thinking it out several steps ahead, and ONLY doing what I want to do or not do.
If you got put in the spotlight, you obviously wanted that, just probably get what YOU expected from it. However the outcome is on YOU to think through.
I'm looking forward to meeting Mark, and apreciating each others ability to play the game for the right reasons
And as for other issues, people's help needs vary inividually too, so you can't always attack a part of the system that works for one and not another.
The needs of me compared to needs of Joeseph are vastly different, so hard for either of us to see each others perspective, but I respect the individuality of the needs, ideas, and opinions.
I wouldn't last on the streets. And He'd get thrown out of my place in a heartbeat for petty rules! LOL
And Dr Mary Rules! Again you can't always expect an opinion to go your way, but I do know she was there for me when I needed. So that's enough in my book ;)
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMark Horvath is self-promoting, and uses the homeless to promote himself. He's found his meal ticket, and markets homeless people to feed himself. He's "found housing" for certain homeless people who can afford to finance their housing opportunity. There are plenty of people out there who advocate for homeless people to exist without being criminalized. And do so with little fanfare.
ReplyDeleteI applaud homeless people who stand up and take issue with the social service system, who too employs itself to market homeless people's circumstance at exhorbitant cost.
I applaud tent cities and other venues that allow homeless people to stop long enough and exist legally to get their minds settled and their hearts a chance to heal from their expulsion out of the capitalist system. Everyone is human and deserves to live and breathe without being charged for this experience.