Reflections

Last night, I caught a news show feature about a fairly sizable group of people working to house homeless folks. I especially appreciate people who take direct action like that, outside of "the system" supposedly for the same purpose but comparatively dismal at doing so.

Just over three years ago, I became homeless. At the time of my "anniversary" date I was considering a posting here to mark that. Instead, I've let this blog idle out again. The reasons are distinct.

First and foremost, through that time I've realized how few people actually even want to read about this stuff, much less continue to on an ongoing basis. Heck, even good, caring friends tire of hearing about the vagaries, hardships and mind-numbing, dragged out saga. So I had to rethink my own purposes in keeping the blog going.

Secondly, I'm not "as homeless" as I was. I've managed to secure a rather modest, reliable income which immediately meant important improvements in my predicament, of course. Although I finally lost the RV I'd been relying on for over a year and a half to stay off the streets, I've also "been indoors" a lot this year. I haven't yet managed to arrange for a more full, real residence yet, but continue to try toward that. So it's back to the bicycle, public transport, etc. to get around in the meantime, too.

The streets and places I most relied upon while so totally "out there" have steadily become far less accomodating. In a rather ironic sense, I realize how relatively "fortunate" I was to have to go homeless at the time I did. There was quite a lot more resources, community and other "support" aspects available then, than there is now. It all would've been seriously harder to have to go through that now, especially that initial, disorienting and difficult time and process while still new to the predicament.

While I've been pleased to see that some of my efforts devoted to this topic, and particular local activist involvements I've pursued, have actually produced some manifest results of true benefit to some people, I also have had to reckon with some deep disappointment and discouragement about the overall, larger situation and how formidably the basic adverse conditions perpetuate. And even worsen.

So I seem to be perched on a possible or probable "escape" from those years of very precarious homeless plight. Yet, my life as I knew and had it going for so long, has apparently been fundamentally changed. I've lost so very much that took me years and years of earnest efforts to acquire and build. It's likely that I'll not be able to much restore myself to a lot of that again, too.

And the experience of having had that all happen, to find one's self "out there" on the streets with nothing and then be considered and treated so differently due to that, is something that also kind of changes one, in a pretty basic way. I'm now suspecting that some of the effects don't go away, especially when this happens later in life.

I continue to reflect on all these angles, even as I continue to ponder my way ahead. And just what I ought to continue to keep going, or not.

The Saga Continues

Recently, there have been demonstrations against local biz group efforts toward a "Sit/Lie" law in Berkeley, as has been accomplished in SF. Further efforts to "enforce" against homeless (and other "undesirable" people) in certain areas have been mounted and continue, such as foot patrols by police and "selective enforcements" of various existing code.

During my time in the area, I've noted that a number of the "regular" homeless folks have come and gone... with quite a few "gone" now. This has resulted in a larger population of the younger folks and "street kids" and "travellers". And these are among those targetted for official riddances.

The "issues" can get difficult, as I've discussed with some local officials and business owners/operators. But there they are.

Likewise, apparently People's Park is under similar scrutiny and attentions, with some influential persons now advocating that the Food Not Bombs meals no longer be allowed there. My own personal guess is that as the new U.C. student housing building construction across the street proceeds, we have a manifest gauge for a timeline for concerted programs to "clean up" that park. As the project nears a point of completion enough to go into marketing mode to sell parents/students on occupancy, chances are that's roughly the time that the Powers That Be would like to have effected their intended changes in the area and, especially, right across the street.

Time will tell.

The Change.org "End Homelessness" Solution!

UPDATE:
Well, Change.org apparently has ended ALL the various "blogs" now, ONLY offering online "petitions". Just so, ALL of my previous postings no longer show on that site. Awhile back, they emailed blog authors advising that a new contract was being emailed out, to supercede and replace all the existing ones.

I never received one of the new ones, and so was removed from their authors/bloggers list. Wonder why? '-)

About a year ago, there was an interesting "story" that developed involved Change.org and a homeless author. Perhaps it's time to take a closer look, now that it's played out even more. Where will it be published and available? Stay tuned....

[Original Entry here:]

End the "End Homelessness" blog! Voila!

That's just what they did, apparently, and folded all the "homeless" categorized items under the umbrella Issue: "Poverty in America". Hmmm ... why just "America"? While at it, that could all get collapsed under an "Economic Justice" category, - globally, eh?

As usual, these kinds of matters basically come down to various priorities and practicalities. Things like "positioning", "demographics" and the like. And now that the site/venture has honed its cachet to be "action" specific (i.e. mainly linked, online things to simply click a mouse-button, rather than more real world involvement like show-up-somewhere or go-do-something-directly-in-person) the slant compels, and filters, "blog" entry picks on a basis that there be a reasonably relevant such "action" available, to merit inclusion and publishing. Many significant, even important, truer blog entries aren't that, of course. Oh, well...

It was actually some time after I'd "joined" there and had even begun to have material published that I discovered that Change.org isn't even a nonprofit venture. Understandably, it was the ".org" in the name and URL that fooled ... uh, that is, threw me, of course. For a long time the internet custom and etiquette was to reserve/use "org" for nonprofits. For-profit businesses typically use the familiar "dot com" [.com].

As it turns out, there is no actual rule or law or anything that outright prevents for-profit businesses from using "org" ... so maybe this is news to you. Sure was to me, and I've been very involved online for literally decades. Well, more accurately, I realized that there was no real "authority" that can or was checking on that kind of thing and "enforcing" - rather, there's been a voluntary ethic about such usage. For a business to deliberately breach such a longstanding practice could even seem ... what ... even a bit knowingly deceptive?

But such might be some of the emerging vagaries of the newer type of business that Change.org is, known as "socialpreneuring" ... meant to appeal to people's responses to various "social media" while harnessing various, say, "assets" of their personal activity, efforts and certainly their personal contacts and family/friends. Possibly meant to "do good" as well. And to mine and purpose these for business and, naturally, profits - if not a nonprofit org ... er, outfit. Whatever.

Perhaps the Change.org business came to find that Ending Homelessness wasn't turning out to be a profitable thing? After all, how could it be? That's probably an examination best left for another time, and possibly another place.

Still, is actually Ending Homelessness even a realistic mission? Or is demoting, de-emphasizing, subordinating and/or dropping any such campaign while manifestly cutting way back on resources, people, efforts so deployed more the order of the day? After all, just take a look around. The latter appears to be something of a trend, most places. Business ... as usual?

Getting over ANOTHER bout of "flu"...

All The News That's Fit To.... ?

When I think I think of "Blogs" I think of the original term: "weblogs". Logs, as in a personal logging of one's own experience. Anymore, this has come to mean just short postings, often topical and with a sprinkling or slant of "comentary". And less and less "personal" in a bona fide experiential way, but more a contrived "style" of writing.

Just so, I found Change.org to be far more of a commercialized blog "venture" than anything else. And now, more so. The "editorial mission" is to position online as the website that devotes its "blogs" to linked "actions" only (automated petitions, email campaigns, etc.). But what with professionalized writers groomed for this purpose, it continues to lose "voice" as a real blog, in terms of being a venue of relevent, ongoing personal experience, in my opinion.

This is why those of us yet willing to do so must find ways to keep chronicling the realities. I see some of the more successful at garnering online and other attentions tending to "professionalize" their status in various ways, to their own personal benefit if not anyone else's (although some vehemently argue that it's ALL to do "other" good, really). I don't know, but think it merits some real examination.

Maybe it's time to get this blog going better, and with wider exposure, too?

Down Again, but Hopefully Not Out

Well, it finally happened -- my computer died. This one is a somewhat beatup MacBookPro I managed to acquire after my previous one was stolen inside my pack that was taken from me while sleeping on the street. And so the replacement has failed, leaving me both computerless and with valuable data and resources trapped in that digital void.

My good camera, a nice Panasonic Lumix, was also stolen recently. Must be the fifth or so digital camera I've lost during this saga. But, this time, I already had a backup on hand. And just last night acquired a battery charger for it, for $2.

MacBookPro's are relatively expensive computers. But that's what I have all the software for that I've relied upon, so it's my challenge (repeated now) to have to find a way to get yet another. Fortunately, I did do a backup of the hard-drive not too long ago. I could also probably remove the hard-drive from the dead laptop and find a way to extract what lesser amount of newer, unbackedup data that's on there.

It's already been a coupla' weeks now, mostly offline. I'm using a friend's laptop right now. And it changes the shape of my days/eves and time spent to not have the resource. It also seriously delays some important projects.

If you're reading this and have any way to help me in this venture, I'd sure appreciate it. You could send email and it will arrive at my phone. Thanks.

slumjack@gmail.com

FALLing Back In

Again, I return to blogging after quite a spell lapsed.

During the hiatus, much has happened, of course. And I've put a lot of thought into the writing and publishing I'd been doing -- some of the basic issues of purpose and affiliations and results, along with a number of attendant considerations and factors.

I just noticed this morning that I've been "demoted" on the Change.org website, from a pictured "featured writer" down to the "other writer" button category. I've not contributed there since last July or so, despite their enquiry/encouragement since.

Circumstances have continued to crowd my writing, but my own concerns about just what I'm writing, where and within which context, has affected my participations with both this blog and others.

I may be sharing some examination of this ahead. Here.

Meanwhile, local action has been heating up and that deserves more attentions here, too. Soon. I hope.