Articles in the Featured Category
Featured, Headline, Homeless, Inspiration, Lessons and Insights »
On any given weekend in a million backyards, parking lots, empty fields and sun-baked pastures they gather to worship at the altar of the remarkable, unusual and cheap. Antique hunters, both self-proclaimed and by profession; full-time mechanics and the shade-tree version of handy-with-a-wrench, roam the aisles for bargains, for treasure, for great deals and the “once-in-a-lifetime” sale.
Fleamarkets. Yardsales. Thrift sales. We’ve all been. And the thing I find fascinating is that with all the experts, all the collectors, all the people with the mind set that, “I might find a …
Featured, Headline, Homeless, Observations »
According to a July 2010 article in Fast Company, “Neuroeconomist Paul Zak has discovered, for the first time, that social networking triggers the release of the generosity-trust chemical in our brains. And that should be a wake-up call for every company.”
Why? Because people feeling that chemical release of the hormone Oxytocin (NOT the narcoctic oxycontin) spend and give more when they’re feeling it. People also stay healthier, live longer, are more generous and helpful when infused with the love hormone. One of the things that brings on this state naturally …
Featured, Film, Headline, Homeless »
It’s okay to be alone. Many homeless people are - even when they are part of a family. It is okay to be a “party of one” at a restaurant, to take up a table for four when the buffet line is crowded. It is okay to see a movie without turning to comment to a friend about something you noticed or thought or found immensely funny. It’s okay to laugh out loud even if there is no one to hear.
A friend of mine shared this marvelous YouTube video with …
Featured, Headline, Homeless, Observations »
Finally. The Washington Post confirmed today what I have been telling people for several years now. That the five most popular conceptions people have about the homeless are myths.
Those myths:
1) That homelessness is a long-term condition. It’s not long-term. Most homeless average a few days to less than 30 days as homeless.
2) That most of the homeless are mentally ill. Nope, only 13-15% the Post writer concludes.
3) That homeless people don’t work. Again, the Post notes, “According to a 2002 national study by the Urban Institute, about 45 percent …
