Setting Prisoners Free

A petite elderly Persian woman slept in her car. Suffering. In pain. In excruciating pain. In desperation, she cried out for help, and help she got! She got a temporary room. She got food. She got a phone. She got a warm bed to sleep in. That night her pain continued. The excruciating pain Intensified. An ambulance came, resulting in tubes, blood draws, tests, medication and a stint in the ICU. Had she not cried out for help, she woulda, she coulda died in that lonely isolated vehicle. Finding a place to stay shouldn’t be this hard. Housing is a human right. Housing saves lives. Housing is harm reduction. Housing should be for all. Time heals: at least for her it most definitely has! At night, her car now sits empty while a home is filled. Today I visited this petite elderly woman. She invited me into her immaculate home, where she made me a cup of her delicious Persian tea. We shared stories. We laughed. We celebrated life. Don’t underestimate the power of a warm, safe and secure hous

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. - Audre Lord Whether people want to admit it or not: Homelessness, poverty, and the need for housing are severe problems in Auckland and Chicago.  In  response to what I've seen and experienced, I've been writing a  post  about  7 Differences and 7 Similarities  between the 2 cities I've lived and worked in .  After realising writing this will be a long journey, I've decided to post each "difference" and "similarity" as separate posts.  In the opening section, I illustrated 7 noticeable differences between the 2 cities. These 7 differences matter. They can be life or death for those experiencing homelessness.   I often visit this older fella who lives in his van out here in Waitākere. He's done this for several years. He's made his vehicle comfortable and has no issues about sleeping in there every night. He knows what to do to

Today, I drove an elderly gentleman to his tiny home, a place surrounded by other tiny homes, a place that includes a toilet and a shower, but is smaller than most of our bedrooms. He didn't complain. He loves it. He's grateful. He said it's airy, it gets enough light, he's eating well, and his neighbours are great. To him, it's perfect, it's just what he needs at this time. It was just a month ago he was sleeping on a mouldy stained mattress under a bridge, now he has a tiny home, a bed, regular healthy meals, and a caring community surrounding him. To many, this sounds horrifying. Many of us have much more and we want more and then even more, myself included. While we crave, he's content in the present. I drop him off, and he exclaims, "God bless you, Jeremy". I reply "God bless you too, my friend". He wanders off toward his tiny home, satisfied and smiling with a thankful heart. I drive off, blessed to be part of his journey, blessed

"Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted" - Albert Einstein Whether people want to admit it or not: Homelessness, poverty, and the need for housing are severe problems in Auckland and Chicago.  In  response to what I've seen and experienced, I've been writing a  post  about  7 Differences and 7 Similarities  between the 2 cities I've lived and worked in .  After realising writing this will be a long journey, I've decided to post each "difference" and "similarity" as separate posts.  Chicago R eporting. It's got to be done! Every shelter, every agency, and every organisation has to meet certain standards to get the money required to run the programmes. Every Grant stipulates what questions need to be asked, what outcomes need to be accomplished, how to record all this information and when it needs to be submitted. Beyond the scheduled reports, programmes in Chicago and Tāmaki are frequently

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." - Helen Keller Whether people want to admit it or not: Homelessness, poverty, and the need for housing are severe problems in Auckland and Chicago.  In  response to what I've seen and experienced, I've been writing a  post  about  7 Differences and 7 Similarities  between the 2 cities I've lived and worked in .  After realising writing this will be a long journey, I've decided to post each "difference" and "similarity" as separate posts.  Here's the 6th Difference: how each city attempts to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. The next big difference between Chicago and Tāmaki I want to focus on is what services each government offers those experiencing homelessness. We all need food to survive. Money is necessary in today's society. We should all be able to receive medical help. Having a roof over our heads that keeps us warm, dry, healthy and safe should be a basic human r