Please help: Gift cards for the #homeless are needed!

Please help me and Paul Saini by donating a $5 gift card to compensate homeless individuals for a photo shoot that will benefit Journeys From Pads To Hope, a homeless services agency. Gift cards can be mailed to me at:

AnnMarie Walsh / Pads Chicago
1456 West Oakdale
Chicago, IL 60657.

Thank you so much for your faith in me! Paul and I also greatly appreciate your support to raise awareness of homelessness and so we can raise funds to benefit Journeys from PADS to Hope.

Payback!

I made it to Cross & Crown’s MOH yesterday and picked up some mail. *GOOD* mail–not bills! One was a prescription discount card. The other was a prepaid credit card that can be reloaded from a Green Dot Money Pak, purchasable at most stores! Having this card will allow me easier access the money donated to my Pay Pal account. (fyi: Pay Pal is not currently working but I hope to have it going again very soon–for now, money can be donated through the Green Dot Money Pak.) Easier access to money means I will be able to purchase things I need: phone service, bus passes, shoes or clothing. If I receive enough donations, I will be able to focus not just on myself, but also other homeless individuals and networking activities. In the future I would like to have separate cards for personal use and helping the homeless. When its raining, have you any idea how much I hate to not invite a homeless person in to McDonalds or a store for coffee? There is so much that could be done for the homeless population that isn’t being done!

I wonder if the homeless community could go on strike? Go on strike for better services or to give up being homeless for a day. If you need a job done, you could go up to one of them who are on strike and hire them on the spot, giving them opportunity to not be homeless for a day. It would take some thinking out and creativity, but couldn’t something similar be done? What are you thoughts on helping to improve the quality of life of those who are homeless?

2010 – This is my year!

This is it. 2010. My year to remember! I can promise it. This is going to be a great year–the BEST year–with amazing experiences and achievements! I can honestly feel it in my blood, in my mood, in my body, in my pain, in my every heartbeat. No wonder I have palpitations where my heart skips a beat sometimes, LOL! If attitude is everything, then I have it ALL. You know what I have been telling myself lately when something bad happens or when I have pain? I tell myself, “Smile”. Such a small, simple word. But it works! I love that word. Even more, I love to do it, and to receive it. I have faith that what I do this year will provide me with incredible opportunities. I will change my life, and create new foundations of hope for others in the process. I am excited to discover so much good in my life–there is a reason for me. I will trade my pain and sadness for something so much better: happiness! With the right attitude, anything can be done. Goals will be achieved. It is all a matter of perspective. Turning things around and seeing from a different view. Any negative can be thought of in a positive way. Take my pain issues, for instance. I have mild to severe pains that even narcotic pain medication doesn’t always help. Of course, I hate to have pain and with it the limitations and discomfort it can cause. But also, I am grateful for it! For without these rheumatic pain issues, I couldn’t understand the suffering of another person with a rheumatoid disease, or another painful condition–like the nerve pains and headaches I also experience. Having chronic pain can also teach tolerance. The nausea and food intolerances from kidney disease have taught me nutrition and to watch what I eat. Palpitations and chest pain have taught me to be prepared and set physical limitations if I need them instead of trying to over-do as I used to. Unfortunately, I have run out of time. But I am still with you…on Twitter! @padschicago  I love you all and can’t wait to be with you in Twitterverse! Tweet you from my phone. XOXOXO

Be safe, my new friend.

A woman came to the shelter overnight from the hospital. A domestic violence victim. And she didn’t speak English–she spoke Assyrian. They were planning to put her in a cab and send her to the homeless services office. I told them to check with whoever is on-call because the office isn’t open that early. Well, they got the ok and someone would be there to open early. I couldn’t let this woman take the cab alone, not speaking English, so I said that I would go with her. And good thing I did!!! Dispatch didn’t tell the driver an address, he asked about payment, directions to the building (which side of the road, etc). Anyway, my heart goes out to her. Her face was quite bruised. We got the office and the caseworker who was there didn’t even know about her or that she was coming, so I had to tell him the story. If this woman had gone alone, what would have happened?! Thank God I went with her! I had an appointment to go to in the city so I hated to leave her at the services office. I tried to explain to her the best I could, and gave her a hug–which she gladly and emotionally returned, with a kiss. I could see she was unhappy and scared that I had to leave. She affected me. Not a PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) trigger. Just one of those very sad things but happy that she is getting help and I was able to be one of the people to help her. I have thought about her throughout the day, wondering what happened. I assume that she was taken to a safe house for domestic violence victims and will no longer be at the shelters with us. I do hope she remains ok. I wish I knew.

Creating change

I have posted on Twitter about fun, new projects. Tell you, I am honestly excited about this! Through the place where my caseworker is in Chicago, I am starting a class in advocacy–perfect for me! The class works with legislative issues and writing to representatives (what we are working on right now), volunteer issues, and more.

This class will help me to develop my advocacy skills. I have never written to members of senate or congress before or had much of anything to do with legislation. I am sure the advocacy training will inspire new ideas how to help homelessness issues. The interaction with others in the class will help my social skills also.

I am also about to finally start the counseling, and am already on psych med. Amazing things have been happening in my life the past months! It is easy to see. A new life is waiting for me just around the corner.

A mentoring program for the homeless?

This morning on my way in to the Arlington Heights Memorial Library one of the employees stopped and talked to me. He mentioned something that I have said before: there needs to be a mentoring program for the homeless.

New people arrive to homelessness every day. To whom can they turn for help? When I first became homeless, I didn’t know what to do, where to go. I didn’t know “the ropes” to being homeless. I got in my car and just sat there. I thought, “Now what?”. I finally drove with no real destination. When it got dark and I was tired, I didn’t know where it would be safe to sleep. I didn’t know how I would stay clean without being able to take a shower. I wouldn’t be able to cook.

The homeless such as myself can actually teach others how to survive homelessness! I also believe that non-homeless people can volunteer to mentor the homeless–for social skills or being a “e-pen pal”, job search skills, addiction recovery. Homeless people also have skills and knowledge that someone needs! Why is there not a job agency that matches homeless people with employers who are looking for new talent with the opportunity to help someone in need? Why does the homeless services agency not offer a program in which the homeless receive specialized job skills training to advocate for themselves and the agency by going to businesses themselves to inform them of homelessness and needs, and to ask them to consider helping the homeless with services, discounts, or job postings? Currently they have only a lawn care services crew during warmer months as “job training”. The job training services and others should be expanded!

There is so much that homeless people have to offer–to each other and their communities! We have a need to attack homelessness ourselves! Teach me and I will teach you. I  have mentioned some of these things and others to the local homeless services agency but they have not developed any new mentoring programs. We can still do this ourselves! Help me to create better opportunities for the homeless so we can build ourselves a new life!

No pain, no gain.

Trying to find motivation for writing this. Right now, oddly enough, it is pain distraction. I’m having some bad renal-related pain on the right side. (It was on the left side in back this morning, but not nearly as bad.) Finally just popped a good, strong pain pill and logged on to WordPress.

I think that pain is what motivates me to writing in my blog the most–whether it be physical pain or emotional pain. There are a lot of times when I would do it more often, in immediate reaction to something, but I don’t have a laptop or netbook computer to capture those moments. So then I text a tweet to my Twitter account from my cell phone instead. Sometimes if I am in a place where I can write privately and have abundant paper with me I will write my thoughts to transcribe later.

Life is like what seems to attract me to blogging: no pain, no gain. It takes some level of effort to succeed and reach goals. When I blog, I gain from readers, and from within my self. In life, I gain by doing things that will lead to taking me out of homelessness. I am trying. And I am doing. I am taking steps to helping myself accomplish that goal. I am trying to make more notes to help me remember things. I am getting mental health care, including counseling and psych medication. I am working with my caseworker regarding psych issues and future housing possibilities. I know that everything is working out. Finally. I am on the right track.

Crazed!

My mind is crazed. I can’t think. I went to the shelter office to turn in a copy of my TB test, and the case”worker” decided he needed to sit down and talk to me about an email and what happened between him, the director, and me a short while back. To remind you in short, it caused me a bad PTSD freakout due to malicious behavior on the director’s part! Since that place now is an emotional trigger for me, I didn’t react nicely to talking to him about it! Then he took his loooooong time to make the copy of my TB test–stopping to talk to other staff about me first before doing it and returning the original to me. (Did ya have to stop at Kinko’s for the copy too?!?!) It took forever! Meanwhile I was getting even more pissed off and agitated! I took some Propranolol to relax some and it has helped but my mind is still fried. I am relaxed enough to not be screaming and B* too many swear words writing this. I got out to the main room there today and when someone mentioned him to me I referred to the case”worker” as an @*****. One of the people he needed to talk to about me (prior to giving me back my original TB test result?!) was evidently the person in charge of the place–”about a ‘related’ issue”. Wow! I feel honored! The executive director had interest in talking to him about me! I almost have to think or wonder, have ya guys got it who I am behind all this web stuff?! Of course with my name and face posted online now, the evidence is there. And I don’t care. I have a voice–I have a right–to post my opinions and experiences. I have thus far respected them and not given them bad publicity by mentioning the name of the actual shelter/homeless services program that I am registered with. I am getting closer to doing it though as more happens. Part of me is almost dying to get the word out what this place is really like! I started this blog wanting to keep open and not bad mouth any particular agency. I thought that I could still write about events and still make readers aware. It just doesn’t feel right to me to single any one out with negative publicity. But I am wondering if maybe I should?

Helping you help people like me

People frequently ask me how they can help the homeless.  There are millions of ways to help!  Here are just a few…

• Post in your church bulletin, on community bulletin boards, on Craigslist, etc, asking for room and board of a homeless person, house or other work in exchange for rent until the person has income.
• Offer resume help.  Look it over and give suggestions or help design a new one. Everyone is qualified to do this–it could be your own resume next.
• If you are spiritual, offer to say prayer.  Saying prayer on the spot can even do wonders for a person’s attitude!
• Give clothing, shoes, and accessories needed for job interviews.
• Buy the person a phone card to put minutes on their cell phone, if they have one.  Offer your own cell phone to make a phone call.  Tell the person about GOOG-411–a free phone directory service by Google, by simply calling 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411).
• Help the person set up a free email account online and teach how to use it.
• Help the person sign up and use job sites such as Hot Jobs.
• Assure the person is warm/cool enough during the day and at night according to climate.  Long underwear is always a hit in winter months in colder climates!!!  Check for a hat, scarf, and gloves.  Also wool and warm socks!  Hand warmer packets are good, but remind people that they can burn (especially people who have nerve damage).  Ask if they have a warm enough sleeping bag and blankets.  In warmer months, ask if they would like shorts, or for women perhaps skirts and casual dresses.
• Give camping essentials like a tarp to put on the ground to protect from dirt and moisture; a flashlight; batteries; eating utensil; 1-man tents or a large tarp with pegs to hold in the ground; a mini kerosene cooking stove (there are some that are single-use).
• Give transit tickets for getting to appointments, social services, or soup kitchens.
• Offer help getting laundry done.  Give them supplies. Some laundromats offer their own debit card that the machines use instead of coins.
• Offer non-perishable food like peanut butter (tip: Goober’s brand is peanut butter and jelly and needs no refrigeration), granola and cereal bars, canned goods, potato chips and “shoestrings”, juice and milk boxes or small bottles, water bottles,  powdered drink mixes, fruit rolls, foil-packaged meat and other food products, kipper snacks, beef jerky.  Ask if there is access to a microwave so you may buy microwave-ready foods, including everybody’s favorite, popcorn.  Ask about food allergies or dietary restrictions before you buy!
• Ask about health needs. For medication assistance, refer to programs for help and info like PatientAssistance.com, Partnership for Prescription Assistance, Rx Assist, Medicare Pharmaceutical Assistance Program, Rx Hope, National Conference of State Legislatures State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs.  Ask if the person has blood pressure and heart problems if they could use an automatic blood pressure monitor, diabetes supplies, or other health needs. Also think to ask if the person has a special diet or nutrition needs, including vitamins.
• Give store gift cards and certificates. Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, and other retail–even mall type stores like Kohls or Penneys would make a nice treat. Grocery, restaurant and coffee shop gift cards are also very good. If the person has a car, or gets rides from someone with a car, offer a gas card.

I hope these suggestions help.  I will try to add more from time to time and add these to my site.  I will also try to make list of pharmaceutical companies who have prescription assistance programs, as I am also in that need right now!  Please feel free to comment to this post, email me, or send me a tweet on Twitter if you have any other suggestions, questions or comments.

Oprah will give your shelter a makeover!

I just saw this online today–Oprah will give your shelter a makeover! Check it out! Looks like an awesome deal!!!