“On the street I saw a small girl cold and shivering in a thin dress, with little hope of a decent meal. I became angry and said to God; ‘Why did you permit this? Why don’t you do something about it?’ For a while God said nothing. That night he replied, quite suddenly: ‘I certainly did something about it. I made you.’”
The sessions—which are free and open to the public—will be moderated by highly-acclaimed journalists Kathryn Gretsinger and Charlie Smith, and the great David Diamond (Headlines Theatre’s trailblazing co-founder and current Artistic Director). They “will get at the nuts and bolts of creating safe, affordable and supportive housing. Each day deals with location, financing and necessary supports and services.”
Moderated panels will be made up of people who have experienced homelessness, Metro Vancouver city councillors and business leaders.
Panelists will each present a short talk on the day’s topic, followed by an open dialogue with the audience.
The ideas discussed at the Sessions will generate an official Community Action Report—designed “to inform policy.” In fact, Headlines Theatre has written agreements from the following organizations to receive the report for their research for national, provincial, regional and local strategies on mental health and homelessness:
If you’d like to participate (and you really really should), The Community Dialogue Sessions are being held in Vancouver at the Firehall Arts Centre:
280 E. Cordova Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
November 24, 25 and 26 @ 1:30pm each day
Admission is free and open to the public
For more information call 1-604-871-0508 or email info@headlinestheatre.com.
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Learn more at headlinestheatre.com
Then…
Read Irked posts tagged “homeless”
Read Irked posts tagged “theatre”
Read Irked posts tagged “mental illness”
Read Irked posts tagged “British Columbia”
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Cyberbeg.com offers hope, by providing a way for homeless people to connect with potential donators. Think of it as a website dedicated to tangibly helping people. Before the emergence of “digital panhandling,” homeless people had no way of broadcasting their need for help to a large audience. After two years of posting cyber begs, the site has raised almost $23,000 for its members.
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Here’s a corresponding news segment from David Abel’s outstanding feature for Boston.com:
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Then…
Read Irked posts tagged “poverty”
Read Irked posts tagged “technology”
Read Irked posts tagged “creativity”
Read Irked posts tagged “campaign watch”
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You know how much homeless blogger Tony Clemens’ recently prescribed medications cost per month???
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In other news, Tony’s been “evicted” by the new guys in town >>
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According to Philip Stern writing October 9th on the Homeless Man Speaks website, Tony Clemens’ heart was “a thin beat away from not working at all. The cardiologists are doing everything they can. Thank god for socialized medicine. Tony says many, many thanks for all the good wishes and prayers.”
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Then, writing October 16th in a post titled On the street once more, Philip states: “Tony was sprung—so to say—yesterday. He’s back at his old location [on Roncesvalles Avenue]. His face has good colour (it’s autumn, after all). I bought him a coffee from Alternative Grounds and I gave him a toonie so he could buy a bagel from Mabel’s.
And…
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Quoting Philip Stern, writing on HomelessManSpeaks.com:
Hi Everyone, I just visited Tony at St. Joe’s. He’s got cancer, probably in the lungs, though it’s not certain if it’s in one lung or two—or even which lung. While I was there, the doctors took him for an x-ray, but I don’t know the results—if any. In addition, he’s got heart problems, and an ugly hernia protruding from his upper abdomen.
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Our thoughts, prayers, support, and deepest deepest condolences are with Tony during this difficult time.
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And…
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*PLEASE NOTE: Tony’s on the 4th floor of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto, Room #4M16. If you’d like to visit him, he’d be delighted. Any ready-to-eat food you can bring him (only stuff that is easily chewable) will be very much appreciated, as his appetite is well beyond what hospital meal portions can fulfill. Before you visit, check the hospital visiting times and associated regulations at stjoe.on.ca/patients/visitor/index.php.
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The concept is radically simple: Spend an hour doing something for somebody else; deposit an hour into your time bank account as a time dollar. You now have one time dollar to spend on having someone do something for you.
An interesting idea…but can it help neighbors weather the recession while building stronger communities?
Click here to read all about it >>
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Watch a TV news segment about time banks from myfoxphilly.com:
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Remember Tony Clemens, the warmhearted homeless blogger we first profiled in March 2008 and then again in October ‘08?
Tony’s not doing so well.
