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Showing posts from February, 2012

The Homeless Mentality: A Need For Love and Empowerment

MY APOLOGIES if you already received this blog post, as I WAS fixing a technical problem. I'VE FOUND A WAY AROUND THE TECHNICAL PROBLEM THAT WOULDN'T ALLOW ME TO SEPARATE MY POST INTO PARAGRAPHS. I THINK WE'RE BACK TO NORMAL FUNCTIONING NOW... .. Last year I received a call from Pam Fessler of NPR (National Public Radio). She'd interviewed me twice in the past. But this time she wasn't asking for an interview. she just wanted to ask me a question. It would turn out to be the toughest question to date that I've ever had to answer as a homeless advocate. She said, "Eric, I used to be the White House correspondent for NPR. Now I cover poverty. And it seems that, ever since I started covering poverty, everybody wants to hug me. Why is that?" I was completely dumbfounded by the question, but have never been in the habit of denying a person an answer to a question -- especially a question about homelessness. If I don't know the answer, I try to poi

Demanding an End to Homelessness on Capitol Hill

Well, you're probably wondering why I haven't done any blog posts lately. The short answer is that I've been really busy, working with other members of SHARC (Shelter, Housing And Respectful Change) and other homeless advocacy groups to take the matter of homelessness to the Hill -- Capitol Hill. Truth be told, we've also been involved with Occupy DC and look forward to March 30th -- the official start of the "American Spring" (which plays off of the name given to recent uprisings in the Middle East -- the "Arab Spring"). But not only is March 30th, 2012 the official start of a "revolutionary confrontation" of the Capitalist system which causes the few to horde the wealth of the nation while the many lack their most basic human needs. It is also the date by which my colleagues and I hope to address the U.S. Congress so as to demand that they fund housing for women, children and families. This effort is part of a much bigger picture thou