I have For some time remained Silent as I watched others Often Those who Were staunch Critics Continue On. Doing what they have done for Decades and That is Profiting from Homelessness.This statement in itself is why I have often come under fire for sharing with others what I know to be true.
I say there are Many people in the Homeless Help industry who do Just that,and they all profit in a wide variety of ways, Some do so with excessive salaries their Homeless services Organizations paying them and Others in their Organization Six Digit incomes, Others Do so By allowing the service Organization to Pay all of their Living expense Right down to Their Rent and Insurance, Then there are those who spend the vast amount of their time Going from Conference To Conference while the Organization they work for or have created pays for all of their travel expenses there Lavish Living In expensive Motels And there Dining in 3-5 star restaurants.
I am Only writing this today Because Of a conversation that was Had, By A Young woman who I have come to call a friend And one who I believe is willing to defend someone in whom they have never really looked at their motives but rallied to their side simply because they Claimed to be advocating for homelessness. However I believe people are very aware of the truth in what I am about to say, the Homeless are being advocated to Death, (Literally)
In that conversation The statement was made that You are not an authority on Homelessness Nor is anyone! This rekindled In me a fire that I felt that I had Lost Because Like it or Not After 20+ years of Homelessness I am somewhat of an authority. It is Or has been My blatant Honesty and or My lack of fear in Naming these Profiteers of Homelessness, That has often found me under attack and has at times subjected me too Down right Hateful rants by the supporters of those I have exposed, I do not blame the defenders of these Organizations in most cases because When it comes to Homelessness there are many people who truly want to effect change and cling to anyone and any Program That claims to be able to solve the Problem. and Believe That there is no way people would ever try to Profit from the misfortune of their fellow Man.
This however Is not The reality Of what is Happening in the Homeless services Industry, Almost 2 years ago a few Month’s into a campaign in this country which was geared towards helping eradicate homelessness in three years by helping those most vulnerable in the Homeless population in America, I myself found Conflict with this Program, first and foremost being geared towards helping only a small percentage of the Homeless population it secluded the rest of us. And secondly It was a Reboot of The 10 year plan to end Homelessness, which was a miserable Failure. Thanks to the ease of access to social Media I became a harsh critic of this program and any help services agency that supported it. Since that time I have been ostracized I have been personally attacked Via social Media,and I have been banned from commenting in many major media Publications and a great deal of industry web sites blogs and conversational forums. in essence I have by the Homeless services industry been moderated into non existence.
I however have never changed My stance 100k homes is and has always been a failure in it’s very concept, and any agency that supports it in no way has the Homeless men women and children of this countries best interest at Heart. I have never been taken to task by Becky Kanis, Roseanne Hagerty, Michael Shore,Jake Maguire, Joel John Roberts, Naeh, Path Partners Path Achieve Pathways to Housing Common Grounds Or any other Supporter Or Supportive Agency Of the 100k Homes Campaign. Save One. And His only response to me has always been we have to Change this system from the inside we need to all just get along, I wonder if he even realizes that being on the inside means you are a part of the failed system.
2yrs ago I revealed that this Program had been tried and failed under Common Grounds 10yr Plan to end Homelessness and it would fail again Everyone Refused To listen then An are often today found with there head still in the sand, this program claimed to be the next best chance for the homeless and would house 100,000 homeless people in three years! at that time I told everyone this would never happen it would simply consume the funding needed to effect real change It to date Has Housed only 17,300 hundred people and it is 2 years into the campaign, and needs to extend the program for two more years to consume more funds!
I proclaimed This would Be the end result, Does that Mean I am Some kind of prophet No But despite Popular belief I am somewhat an authority on Homelessness. There is an estimated $68,000 annually allocated per homeless person in this country. and the next year there are still homeless men women and children. I have a Limited education and I have claimed and stand by the claim You give me 2/3 of that One time not year after year and for every allocation of that sum $47,000 and I can Move a homeless Person from the streets of this country into a sustainable housing environment. (A Home Of their Own)
And then the Only obstacle with which we would then be faced is to have housing recognized as a Human Right! But I have No Faith That this will ever Happen The Only Faith I have Is In Yesh’ua The King of Kings And Him returning Before we ever stop pouring Money Into the proven Failure that this industry has afforded Us So far. And Until He does I have Faith That There are those that will continue to profit from Homelessness!
awesome brother
ReplyDeleteWhat Would Jesus Do?
ReplyDeleteI am bewildered by all the misery. Do we throw money at the problem? Do we organize efforts to fix the problem? What constitutes wise ordering? What constitutes a fix? Should someone be paid to organize? How much should they get? Should they wine and dine politicians and people of influence in the process?
Is it possible to start out trying and thinking that your efforts will help and then find out you are wrong? Or is your failure an indicator that you never really cared for the poor? Is it possible that you might care, just not as much as is really necessary?
Aren't some people hard to help? Some just squander care offered to them. Some don't accept it to begin with. Some will accept it and then critique your help... Is that okay? Are there any examples of help that really made a lasting difference? Are those examples merely anecdotal or are some proven methods? What is success? Who gets to define success?
I have seen profiteering in the industry too. The emporer's clothes! I too critique the industry. I too am on a learning curve. I am aware of Jesus' words on the judgment to come. Those words guide me and give me cause for pause daily.
The only thing I am sure of is that Love is involved. If you are not loving the poor (and this involves sacrifice), then you are not loving Jesus. And if the poor are not loving Jesus, and those they critique, then they will answer for it too. But when the love works its way through people from all quarters and makes them all one camp, that will be a beautiful sight that I will call a success. And it may look radically different than the American Dream that seems to not fit into the process.