Down But Not Out

Read a lengthy, detailed report concerning certain aspects of some of the lives and experiences of those who face living unhoused (aka homeless) in Burlington, Vermont, here [via Vermont Cynic - weekly student newspaper for the University of Vermont (Tuesday, February 20, 2007)].

fyi: Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS)

Ducky Doolittle's Talking Points

Ducky Doolittle was one of the co-hosts during the 2:00 AM [EST) long program talking from experience about: Why Do So Many Foster Kids Wind Up On The Streets?

[...] Co-Hosts: Ducky Doolittle, a rape crisis counselor and sex educator who became a street prostitute when she first got our of foster care, and Richard Wexler, director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform and author of "Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse," and Jennifer Rowan, a formerly homeless former foster kid now the Fresno County Youth Advocate.

[via Homelessness Marathon 2007 Schedule]

Ducky blogged up their talking points used while on-air during the hour of discussion concerning the link between foster care systems and homelessness (excerpted):

[...]

Fostercare is the
fast track to homelessness

AGED-OUT FOSTER KIDS FACE
-very high rates of homelessness
-don’t have enough food to eat
-don't go on to college
-only 46% have a high school diploma
-have mental health problems
-have very unstable living arrangements
-face eviction
-move around a lot
-involved with the criminal justice authorities. (arrested or incarcerated)
-often victimized physically or sexually


THEY NEED LIFE SKILLS
Money management
Budgeting
employment support
educational support (college entry)
Health care
Shopping
cooking, nutrition
Sexuality
ResourcesRole Models


THE FACTS
PBS program Age Out
Nationwide, an estimated 30,000 adolescents age out of the foster care system each year. According to the Child Welfare League of America, 12-36 percent become homeless, 56 percent are unemployed, 27 percent of male children end up in jail. (Nearly 11,000 kids a year go homeless.)

Charlotte Observer
Reports 1 in 8 go homeless in North Carolina.

mnhomelesscoalition.org
Approximately 2,000 youth age out of foster care each year in Minnesota. (More than 500 kids a year go homeless.)

These are just the kids they can track.
Kids slip through the cracks. Disappear. Move.
For example, in MN cases were closed on 261 youth who were runaways from placement and 189 youth listed as "missing data."


WHAT CAN YOU DO?
-Mentor older kids and help them make and independent living plans
-Take in older foster kids. Keep them for their lifetime as family.
-Create a resource list for homeless kids in your neighborhood with a list of drop in centers, clinics, soup kitchens, food pantries... you can get some resources here: Cwla.org. Copy it and keep copies in your wallet to give homeless people who are about 24 and under. Create on for adults as well.


WHERE I GOT MY FACTS:
On the streets. I lived it.
http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org/docs/media_art_charobserver.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/youth/jan-june05/foster_care_5-19.html
http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/resources/toolkits/foster-care-toolkit/challenges/
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/9944,kihara,9673,5.html
http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/agingoutresources.htm

[via Ducky DooLittle (excerpted), here (If the kids were united, we could never be divided!: Wednesday, February 21, 2007)]

In the News: Homeless find platform on radio ...

Fresno chosen for annual show to call attention to city sweeps, here [via The Fresno Bee; Wednesday, February 21, 2007 (includes photos)].

Last Hour, Waning Minutes

Nobody (Jeremy Weir Alderson) grills President Bush's Homelessness Czar, Phil Mangano, Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness concerning the Bush Record On Homelessness.


[photo via the Homelessness Marathon Tabernacle of Truth live Webcam]

10th Annual Homelessness Marathon National Radio Broadcast: Airs Tonight (2/20th) @ 7pm Until Tomorrow (2/21st) @ 9am [EST]

Call in, starting from 7:00 PM [EST] tonight
(Tuesday, Feb. 20th)
until 9:00 AM [EST] tomorrow morning
(Wednesday, Feb. 21st):

1-877-NOBODY-8
(1-877-662-6398)

If you are homeless: 1-866-LEFTOUT
(1-866-533-8688)

Email your questions:
questions@homelessnessmarathon.org

For additional information, including where to access the broadcast via online streaming, visit the Annual Homelessness Marathon Website.

Open Thread

As the description of this blog indicates, [t]his blog has been set up for the Annual Homelessness Marathon for people to use to discuss what they hear during the broadcast, [...]. Let us hear from you.

Please feel free to use the comment feature of this particular post thread to post your comments concerning matters you have heard discussed during the 10th Annual Homelessness Marathon broadcast in order to share your own thoughts and insights about such with anyone who may visit the blog.

In the News: Fresno's homeless

[...]

Recent discussion about Fresno's homeless has been fueled, in part, by criticism heaped on the city by a federal judge and some national advocates, including one who is coming to town Tuesday to broadcast a national radio show.

[...]

A national advocate says he decided to air a radio broadcast in Fresno after hearing about a number of the city's controversial tactics, including penalizing shopping-cart thieves, throwing away possessions during encampment raids and fencing off places where the city's destitute gather.

Jeremy Weir Alderson, a broadcaster from New York state, says he will interview some of Fresno's homeless and several local advocates during a 14-hour radio show scheduled to begin Tuesday afternoon.

Alderson airs his show from a different city each year and targets places that have made national headlines for their handling of the homeless. His 10th annual Homelessness Marathon will begin at 4 p.m. and be carried locally on KFCF 88.1 FM.

Fresno First Mexican Baptist Church will host the show, which will be made available to Pacifica Radio Network, allowing stations throughout the country to broadcast it.

[...]

Read the entire article, here [via The Fresno Bee; Monday, February 19, 2007 (includes photos as well as blog post type of commenting featuring available at bottom of page)].

"Homeless, not hopeless"

Article published with the Thursday (February 15, 2006) edition of the Burlington Free Press (Burlington, Vermont), here [online edition of article includes photo].

fyi: Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS)

Broadcast Schedule & Stations Airing List Posted

The 10TH Annual Homelessness Marathon (2007) broadcast schedule has been posted, here and, the station list was also posted as well, here [Homelessness Marathon Website].

7th Annual Homelessness Marathon Video Excerpts

Part 1
(length: 10 minutes)


Part 2
(length: 6:46 minutes)



[via YouTube]