I have been buying sweaters, waters, granola bars, fruit, chips, and have been making PB&J and putting them in a bag that I give to homeless people. I can give you instructions on exactly how to make your own hope bags if you are interested.
Nice! You don't know how happy it makes me to see actions like this and Operation Safe Winter. I usually stop and chat for a while and maybe buy coffee or a sandwich, but I could certainly do more as I think about it. Can you post those instruction here so the people who are interested can quickly jump straight in?
Anonymous #OPSafeWinter Re-Engaged 2015-2016 Fellow Anon and Citizens of the world, We are proud to re-announce #OPSafeWinter. In this age of consumerism there is very little love or care about each other and we are here to change that. No longer shall we stand by and watch isolation and fear be spread by the establishment, which is killing and destroying community and lives. We all have a voice, so make yours heard, you are the power, your choice, your life, you are the motivation for justice. OP mission is to highlight the homeless situation in areas throughout world. Build up a resource network for food supply, blankets, clothes, socks etc. that can be donated. Amenities for warm showers, warm food, warm places to sleep and the like. 1st Mission: Please list the current homeless count in alphabetical order by town/City Country Within each town contact local charities, shops, businesses that will support with any of the above list and more. You can get the latest figures from your local council by sending them a freedom of information request if you are not sure of the figures in your town. 2nd Mission: Coordinate with anons and others willing to participate in the execution/distribution of services we are able to provide. Whether it's transport, collection of donations etc. This is not definitive, any other suggestions and ideas are welcome. Please list at the bottom of the pad as bullet points to make it easy to follow. Lets make winter as safe and comfortable as possible for as many people within our reach and beyond. Please share this OP with as many people as possible Work together online or RL, everyone can help no matter how small or big the activity. @OpSafeWinter #OpSafeWinter https://opsafewinter.net/ https://www.facebook.com/anonymousopsafewinter
Okay, lockers for the homeless seems like a sensible notion. What was at the root of Mountain View's policy? Did they one day decide that they didn't want homeless using them, or did they find that some people were abusing them by cramming lockers with a shopping cart load of junk, including rotting food? What kind of policy should they have (no food, junk limits, 5 minutes locker time, etc), and how much money/time would it require? If you can present them with a working plan to build on, that's a good first step. You might even be able to get input on the proposal, off the record, from the people who would end up running it, especially about costs. Once you have a plan and ballpark costs, then you have something you can drop on a social activist politician. (And it might not be a lefty politician if you have a solid workable plan.) Some kind of post box system to given them a fixed mailing address could be good too. And for Anomm: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coat-collection-homeless-giving-1.3321587 (Cute, but I don't think that's the best way to distribute clothing.)
I keep thinking of problems with bike lockers, including the fact that there will be abuse, rotting food, etc. (Backpedaling) The most enabling thing that you can do for a homeless person is to subsidize public transit. Give him/her a monthly bus pass in return for minimal participation in case management at the local shelter. With a bus pass, and possibly a subsidy for renting a small storage locker, you can transform a hopeless and miserable situation into one where the person feels empowered to take other actions to make his/her life better. The secure storage of belongings needs to be addressed. It doesn't do any good to give a homeless person equipment or clothing that will be lost or stolen or just abandoned within a few days. When you have to take everything that you own with you wherever you go, you can't manage to have very much. For example, the person will typically be wearing all of the clothing that he/she owns. Violent theft is a problem. I met a man just a month ago who had his face kicked in during the night; the attacker bashed in his face and stole his backpack, sleeping bag, and jacket.
One cool idea I saw was Swags for Homeless: They partner with homeless Welfare Agencies to distribute Backpack Beds to street sleeping homeless people without shelter. View attachment 3022099-inline-i-1-how-a-backpack-that-converts-to http://swags.org.au/
You sound as if you are homeless by choice not by circumstance. You have internet access which you use to post insane ramblings in a style much like a manifesto from a lone wolf who's name I care not to mention. I never said that we were giving anyone money and furthermore food sleeping bags and compassionate human contact is far from useless shit. As a former junkie and homeless wanderer myself your advice is not needed. I've been in recovery for the better part of the last decade now and my eyes see the human that has lost his way not a blight. Please sir take your misogynist view and hide away from those of us with "a plan"
Do not bother trying to make rational discourse with people who lack a mind open enough to accept other peoples perspectives. JS TL/DR for those who pay close attention: Brainstorm is as Brainstorm does
(Forwardpedalling) In my dreams, city councils "zone in" homelessness by proactively soliciting businesses catering to the needs of homelessness. A wide downtown sidewalk could accommodate a hundred "stuff shelters", designed to accommodate homeless peoples' stuff while making it impossible to sleep within them. Many homeless people have significant monthly income from the government and would be able to pay market rents for such storage. Those who do not could be subsidized. Much of the misery on the streets is caused by the voting population wanting to "zone out" homelessness.
Published on Feb 3, 2016 Short documentary for Operation Safe Winter and Anonymous looking at the ongoing issue of homelessness today in the UK. Please visit the #OpSafeWinter and #OpGroundZer0 pages and show your support! https:// youtu.be/2IMikiFMYoA Excellent people! Excellent cause .... Bravo Anonymous UK!
CHESTER P FOR MAYOR: Hip Hop, Homelessness & the Housing Crisis (Documentary) https:// youtu.be/XzuPwTbo_tM https://twitter.com/thejediknight1 https://opsafewinter.net/ https://twitter.com/OpSafeWinter https://crypt0nymous.wordpress.com/about/
Speaking as a person who had been homeless and camping in a small tent at night on a street in downtown Los Angeles from April 21st 2015 up until Jan 11th, 2016 (when I was taken to LA County / USC Medical Center ER with a very severe cellulitis in both lower legs after collapsing in the street), I wish to applaud the efforts of those posting on this thread to help homeless persons wherever they may be. I reckon such good works are worth lots of extra Good Kharma points, for those who believe in such things. Great job, all! Michael A. Hobson Independent Scientologist email: warrior_mike2001@yahoo.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mhobson2011
