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YouTubeHard at work, NYC, Jackson Family Residence
Posted by Scott on 05/05 | Permalink | Email this entry |
Writing this one on my Blackberry standing waiting for path train back to Jersey city where we left our RV. It's about 9 PM. We spent the evening at the Jackson Family Residence Shelter, housing app. 90 families, in the Bronx. This was an unscheduled addition to our trip. We meant to be halfway to Hartford this evening for our last shelter visit tomorrow night.
But my meeting with Robert Hess, Commissioner of New York City's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) this morning resulted in our adding in one more event tonight in NYC. DHS is a $1 Billion agency with reputedly the most advanced and comprehensive programs in the nation. I was delighted to learn that one of their new programs is a scholars initiative with St. John's University based on the One Family Scholars Program Dancing Deer has been supporting for years. There is much to tell about what I learned and saw in NYC. But it's late and a long way to Hartford in the AM. At this point we hope to shut down our computers and be in bed by 11:30. So I'll circle back around on all of that later and just make a note about my conversation with the Commissioner.
He's been in this field in one way or another throughout his career and had knew many of the programs and people we have met. He financed the HELP USA project we were so impressed with in Philadelphia, knew Donnis Honeycut and shared our enthusiasm for him. We were in agreement that what we're talking about is poverty. Homelessness can be solved. But poverty is on the rise. While the city has been dramatically successful in reducing the number of individuals living on the streets, the applications for families are also dramatically escalating. In New York, everyone is guaranteed shelter. It's the law.
We turned ourselves inside out to add the shelter and it was a bit of a fire drill. But the decision to do it was an outgrowth of a conversation about the difference between effecting critical structural changes in society and effecting a change in our value system. I explained that these gingerbread events aren't about the structural stuff, they are philanthropy at a very personal level. We, as a society, use financial metrics to define our worth as human beings. When one spends the evening decorating gingerbread houses with a bunch of homeless families, those metrics melt away and we meet each other on a level playing field.
Further note: We enjoyed the Commissioner's company this evening and he jumped right in with the activities. The NY media wasn't interested and we'd hoped they would be so that we'd get some lift on our scholarship fundraising goals. But their absence was totally forgotten the moment we walked in the door and met the kids.
So we still aren't hitting the numbers, but we have given and received something joyous and special at each of these places.
But my meeting with Robert Hess, Commissioner of New York City's Department of Homeless Services (DHS) this morning resulted in our adding in one more event tonight in NYC. DHS is a $1 Billion agency with reputedly the most advanced and comprehensive programs in the nation. I was delighted to learn that one of their new programs is a scholars initiative with St. John's University based on the One Family Scholars Program Dancing Deer has been supporting for years. There is much to tell about what I learned and saw in NYC. But it's late and a long way to Hartford in the AM. At this point we hope to shut down our computers and be in bed by 11:30. So I'll circle back around on all of that later and just make a note about my conversation with the Commissioner.
He's been in this field in one way or another throughout his career and had knew many of the programs and people we have met. He financed the HELP USA project we were so impressed with in Philadelphia, knew Donnis Honeycut and shared our enthusiasm for him. We were in agreement that what we're talking about is poverty. Homelessness can be solved. But poverty is on the rise. While the city has been dramatically successful in reducing the number of individuals living on the streets, the applications for families are also dramatically escalating. In New York, everyone is guaranteed shelter. It's the law.
We turned ourselves inside out to add the shelter and it was a bit of a fire drill. But the decision to do it was an outgrowth of a conversation about the difference between effecting critical structural changes in society and effecting a change in our value system. I explained that these gingerbread events aren't about the structural stuff, they are philanthropy at a very personal level. We, as a society, use financial metrics to define our worth as human beings. When one spends the evening decorating gingerbread houses with a bunch of homeless families, those metrics melt away and we meet each other on a level playing field.
Further note: We enjoyed the Commissioner's company this evening and he jumped right in with the activities. The NY media wasn't interested and we'd hoped they would be so that we'd get some lift on our scholarship fundraising goals. But their absence was totally forgotten the moment we walked in the door and met the kids.
So we still aren't hitting the numbers, but we have given and received something joyous and special at each of these places.
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