ThePinkBlogger Presents: The Magic Cure: National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, November 10

For those of you unaware this week may is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. For ThePinkBlogger however, I am spreading this awareness ALL MONTH OF NOVEMBER.

As we prepare to give Thanks over the Holidays, please take just one moment to read below about how you may help play an IMPORTANT role to a child or family less fortunate than you this season, Just one kind word spoken such as,"Happy Thanksgiving", "Seasons Greetings" or "God Bless" to the next homeless person that crosses your path can go a looong way.

Please rememeber Hunger and Homelessness plays no bias to race, color, sec, age, religion or creed and is often MISJUDGED by it being that person's fault or by expecting those in that unfortunate situation to look, smell or behave a certain way. Trust me, there's a lot of "well-kept" persons, commuting on our smae paths back and forth on our same trains, buses and streets, that still have inadequate food and shelter at the end of their work day.

Our children also depend on us. A Hungry Belly is Often A Sad Belly....

ADVOCATE
Advocacy is critical to creating the systemic changes needed to end homelessness. Advocacy means working with people experiencing homelessness to bring about positive changes in policies and programs on the local, state, and federal levels. It means working with various sectors of the community (e.g. city/county officials, members of Congress, direct service providers, and the business community) to develop workable strategies for responding to homelessness. It also means changing your language and behaviors in small ways that may contribute to larger changes in the way people experiencing homelessness are seen and treated in our society.

Become more aware of your language. Try to minimize language in your own and others’ vocabularies that refers to people experiencing homelessness in derogatory ways. By using expressions such as “people experiencing homelessness” rather than labels such as “bum,” “transient,” or even “the homeless,” we remind ourselves that people who are in such situations are still people first—just people who are going through a difficult period in their lives. In a time when they may find it difficult to hold onto their sense of humanity, it is particularly important that we do not use language that further diminishes the dignity of people in homeless situations.

Follow local politics.

Educate your leaders

Involve the media.

Register people experiencing homelessness to vote. ( The “You Don’t Need A Home to Vote” nonpartisan voter registration/education/get-out-the-vote campaign occurs nationwide each election cycle. Find out how you can lobby for homeless voting rights written policy or law in your state. To obtain the voting rights registration manual and poster, contact Michael Stoops, (202) 462-4822 or mstoops@nationalhomeless.org. )

Sponsor a Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. (NSCAHH at (800) NO-HUNGR or info@studentsagainsthunger.org.)

Recognize National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. ( Every year, on or around the first day of winter (December 21), nearly 100 communities nationwide hold local memorial services to remember people who have died homeless during that year).

REACH OUT
Reaching out by volunteering your time to work directly with people experiencing homelessness is one of the best ways to learn about homelessness and help to meet immediate needs at the same time.

Work at a shelter. Take an evening or overnight shift. Help with clerical work such as answering phones, typing, filing, or sorting mail. Serve food, wash dishes, or sort and distribute clothes.

Share hobbies. Teach your hobbies to a group of people staying at a homeless shelter. Ask them about their hobbies and have them teach you.

Invite people experiencing homelessness to a community event. Invite people who are experiencing homelessness to a worship service, public concert or picnic, city council meeting, etc.

Work with children. Assist program directors that are coordinating events such as field trips, picnics or art workshops for children staying in homeless shelters. Find out if there are children who could benefit from tutors or mentors.

Involve others! Encourage your classmates, co-workers, church/synagogue members, or civic club to join or support your efforts.

Also try the following sites:

Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Report on Hunger and Homelessness: http://usmayors.org/publications/default.asp
The National Alliance to End Homelessness: http://www.endhomelessness.org
The National Low Income Housing Coalition: http://www.nlihc.org
The National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness: http://www.studentsagainsthunger.org/
The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty: http://www.nlchp.org
Homes for the Homeless/Institute for Children and Poverty: http://www.homesforthehomeless.com/
National Health Care for the Homeless Council (Formerly The Better Homes Fund): http://www.nhchc.org/
Universal Living Wage Campaign: http://www.universallivingwage.org
To find out other ways to help homeless people: http://earthsystems.org/ways/list.html