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Showing posts from March, 2017

What is work???

What is "work"??? It's a simple but profound question. Some might even say it's a stupid question. However, with 2017 marking 30 years since Ronald Reagan was forced by Homeless Advocate Mitch Snyder and others to begin "working" on ending and preventing homelessness, it's a very relevant question. Let's add to our list of considerations the fact that DC Government began "working" on ending homelessness in 2004 and that various advocates -- including but not limited to Yours Truly -- have been "working" on getting the local government officials who are charged with ending homelessness to implement a plan that actually "works" . Before I address the definitions for "work" or the justifications for describing what any of the aforementioned groups do as "work" , I'll lay out a few goals for my "work" as a homeless advocate. GOAL 1: With there being a strong possibly that the Ma

Homeless Advocates: A Tax Payer's Best Friends (Getting Government Right)

[P]ARCHING ORDERS : Homeless advocates should use DC Government's [foul] ups in terms of the homeless services that should have been provided before the MLK Jr. Library's 3/4/17 closing (due to a planned three-year renovation) as a springboard for demanding that DC Government hear, respect and act on the advice given by homeless and formerly homeless people -- and that they pay us stipends for our input as per this 2014 draft ICH document (a principled proposal that was quickly trashed), since the six-figure earners royally [fouled] up something they've been working on for three years. That'll really BURN THEM UP!!! ********************************************************* In Washington, DC there is much talk of the "haves" and the "have-nots". Charles Dickens "Tale of Two Cities" is often invoked here. As a matter of fact, I've shot videos of tent cities in the shadows of DC's tower cranes and edifices. However, we also talk