The Hobo's List forums now have resources in over 175 cities, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
But this is just the beginning. The objective of Phase One was to compile an initial nationwide list, so that when resources were requested, we have a place to refer people. Right now, to view a particular state, you need to go through the forums in reverse alphabetical order. It's there, but it can be tedious.
Now we begin with the refining part. My plan at this point is to have a downloadable template (initially, a trifold brochure, with Hoboslist.org information on it). The second side can be printed with local information, and as we begin filtering out state and city information, our plan is to compile that where it can be printed on the second side.
We will also begin compiling the website database. This will be searchable, and the long-range goal is to develop a Droid and iPhone app that can access the database. If any developers are interested in taking on this project (unfortunately, it will need to be on a volunteer basis at this point), please contact us; otherwise, it will be put on the shelf until the database is developed enough to make an app practical.
We welcome any volunteer help at hoboslist.org. If you have resources, feel free to register for the forums and add them, or email them to me and I will handle them when I have time to do so. Understand that the email option will be the slowest way, though.
Please ask any ministries interested in being featured in an "organization spotlight" article on the blog to contact me. I will fit them in as quiakly as time allows.
Thank you for your "likes" on Facebook, as well as your words of encouragement. I am excited at the momentum the project is building.
Also, don't forget to support your local organizations. They do a lot of work for the poor and needy, and it is a true blessing to have those resources at hand when they are needed.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
42 States; over 150 Cities
There are now 626 entries on the forums. We have indexed resources in 42 states and over 150 cities. We should be ready to launch into Phase 2 on schedule.
Please take a moment to look at some of the fantastic ministries that we have listed. These people are doing the hard work; providing housing, clothing, food, jobs, and medical care to people who desperately need it in these trying times. And don't forget to register and add your local ministries. If your church has a food pantry, clothing ministry, homeless shelter, job training program, or other resources, we want to know about it. Don't forget to "like" our Facebook page. And watch as we launch into Phase 2.
Please take a moment to look at some of the fantastic ministries that we have listed. These people are doing the hard work; providing housing, clothing, food, jobs, and medical care to people who desperately need it in these trying times. And don't forget to register and add your local ministries. If your church has a food pantry, clothing ministry, homeless shelter, job training program, or other resources, we want to know about it. Don't forget to "like" our Facebook page. And watch as we launch into Phase 2.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Over 300 Resources Indexed!
We now have over 300 resources indexed on the Hobo's List forums at http://hoboslist.freeforums.org/ . By the time we finish Phase One (projected finish: July 31), there should be over 700 resources in all 50 states. Our current listings cover over 20 states and over 50 cities!
Phase two is primarily the promotional phase, but we will not stop adding resources to the forums (eventually a searchable database). This will be an ongoing process that will include researching, reviewing, and providing more thorough infomation about the resources we do have on file.
Stay tuned, folks, it is about to get exciting! Whn we launch into Phase Two, I will be featuring various organizations here on the blog as well as the facebook page. If you haven't "liked" the Facebook page, I encourage you to do so.
Phase two is primarily the promotional phase, but we will not stop adding resources to the forums (eventually a searchable database). This will be an ongoing process that will include researching, reviewing, and providing more thorough infomation about the resources we do have on file.
Stay tuned, folks, it is about to get exciting! Whn we launch into Phase Two, I will be featuring various organizations here on the blog as well as the facebook page. If you haven't "liked" the Facebook page, I encourage you to do so.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
100 Forum Posts!
Just finished with the 100th post at the Hobo's List forums (http://hoboslist.freeforums.org/). More than 100 different resources total, in 8 different states and more than 25 different cities, plus national databases for free clinics and campgrounds.
Spread the word, folks. You can "like" us on Facebook, join the forums at the above link, and visit the website at http://www.hoboslist.org/. If resources in your area are not available on the forums, feel free to register and post them. As soon as we have resources in all fifty states, we will make downloadable flyers and cards.
Spread the word, folks. You can "like" us on Facebook, join the forums at the above link, and visit the website at http://www.hoboslist.org/. If resources in your area are not available on the forums, feel free to register and post them. As soon as we have resources in all fifty states, we will make downloadable flyers and cards.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Forum Update
Until we have enough usable data compiled to build a searchable database, the forums are basically where the information we are trying to provide is located. Because of the scope of this project, after populating the forums ith a few food banks we know, we are going through state by state, picking the three or four largest cities in each state to research for now. Once this data is compiled, we will have downloadable forms at the Hobo's List website so that you may print them and distribute them wherever homeless people gather.
The ultimate idea is simple: keep several cards in your glovebox and hand them out when you see a panhandler on the streetcorner. It's a grassroots approach, but one I personally feel is better than walking away hoping that you didn't accidentally abandon someone in need.
As always, if your church, group, or ministry is not listed on the forums, you may register and post it on there. It would certainly save me some time and effort, and if you simply email, it might be awhile until I get to it. I hope to have postings from all fifty states finished by next weekend, and once done with that, can ocus on expanding and improving.
If you look at the main website, you will note several changes in the wording. In the course of doing my research, I was reminded that: 1, there is a vast difference between homeless and hoboes; and 2, that hoboes are still an active culture in America, even if we often see them as remnants of the past.
I hope you will contribute constructive criticism trough the building process, and that you will help me to get the word out about the list. After all, in times like these, we need to help each other out.
The ultimate idea is simple: keep several cards in your glovebox and hand them out when you see a panhandler on the streetcorner. It's a grassroots approach, but one I personally feel is better than walking away hoping that you didn't accidentally abandon someone in need.
As always, if your church, group, or ministry is not listed on the forums, you may register and post it on there. It would certainly save me some time and effort, and if you simply email, it might be awhile until I get to it. I hope to have postings from all fifty states finished by next weekend, and once done with that, can ocus on expanding and improving.
If you look at the main website, you will note several changes in the wording. In the course of doing my research, I was reminded that: 1, there is a vast difference between homeless and hoboes; and 2, that hoboes are still an active culture in America, even if we often see them as remnants of the past.
I hope you will contribute constructive criticism trough the building process, and that you will help me to get the word out about the list. After all, in times like these, we need to help each other out.
Liberty Justice, hobo
Not sure if I'm related to this fellow, but wouldn't be disappointed to find out if I was:
Building the List
OK, from time to time this will be a journal of where I am at. Having posted the food banks that readily come to mind (spacing them out somewhat to cover more area), I am now working on the state-by state list. I had the girls assemble an alphabetical list of states, and they are compiling a list of four cities in each state. I know, many states need a lot more, but we're going to have to cast a broad net, and then tighten it as time goes by.
I admit I am an impatient soul, and was a little disheartened by the very low early responses. Yesterday saw a bit of a push, though, and our numbers have been climbing quickly as I have been posting. This is a pretty significant project, and will take a great deal of time to assemble, so the results are encouraging me to stay "on task".
In addition to learning more about the resources, I am learning more about the hobo community, which is still an active and vibrant community in America. This is information I will need to correct on the homepage, but it has been fun and educational to learn more about the hobo community as it was and is. Thanks to Fran at Fran's Hobo Page (http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/) for a great deal of valluable information
I admit I am an impatient soul, and was a little disheartened by the very low early responses. Yesterday saw a bit of a push, though, and our numbers have been climbing quickly as I have been posting. This is a pretty significant project, and will take a great deal of time to assemble, so the results are encouraging me to stay "on task".
In addition to learning more about the resources, I am learning more about the hobo community, which is still an active and vibrant community in America. This is information I will need to correct on the homepage, but it has been fun and educational to learn more about the hobo community as it was and is. Thanks to Fran at Fran's Hobo Page (http://www.worldpath.net/~minstrel/) for a great deal of valluable information
Saturday, July 23, 2011
24 Posts!
There are now 24 posts on the Hoboslist forums. They are not all resources, of course, there are a few entries on hobo lore and an FAQ, but most are entries from different areas. It will take me a LONG time to catalog this information solo, so if you don't see services in your area, if you could register and submit the information, it will gaat on quicker.
Stories from the Road: "He Had a Nice Voice"
I'm going to detract a bit from mission statements and explanations about what we are all about. This is, after all, a blog, and if you don't catch a little bit of me in it, well then, I haven't done a very good job communicating, have I?
This story comes from 3 years ago. I was driving in Pampa, when I saw a couple with packs on their backs leave the local Salvation Army and head around the corner. Now, we haven't had bus service in Pampa in a number of years, so to find travellers coming through is highly unusual. I headed towards them, and offered them a ride where they were headed.
They were ultimately headed to Albuquerque, had gotten to Amarillo, and had ended up in Pampa. As Albuquerque is the opposite way, this naturally invited questions. It turned out that they were hitching a ride in Amarillo, and a lady came up and picked them up. They didn't know much about where they were headed, so they didn't protest much when she took them to Pampa, offered them a good meal and a hotel room. It put them 60 miles behind on their journey, but that's part of travelling the road, really.
I was curious what they did for money, so I asked them if they played instruments. The young lady said she played guitar, and had set out on the road with one, but she was sitting around with some other kids and one of them had a nice voice, so she gave him the guitar.
Thyat's the kind of action, the kind of sharing that really restores one's faith in humanity. he whole way to Amarillo, I was wishing I had an extra guitar in my truck so that I could send her on her waay with a replacement.
This story comes from 3 years ago. I was driving in Pampa, when I saw a couple with packs on their backs leave the local Salvation Army and head around the corner. Now, we haven't had bus service in Pampa in a number of years, so to find travellers coming through is highly unusual. I headed towards them, and offered them a ride where they were headed.
They were ultimately headed to Albuquerque, had gotten to Amarillo, and had ended up in Pampa. As Albuquerque is the opposite way, this naturally invited questions. It turned out that they were hitching a ride in Amarillo, and a lady came up and picked them up. They didn't know much about where they were headed, so they didn't protest much when she took them to Pampa, offered them a good meal and a hotel room. It put them 60 miles behind on their journey, but that's part of travelling the road, really.
I was curious what they did for money, so I asked them if they played instruments. The young lady said she played guitar, and had set out on the road with one, but she was sitting around with some other kids and one of them had a nice voice, so she gave him the guitar.
Thyat's the kind of action, the kind of sharing that really restores one's faith in humanity. he whole way to Amarillo, I was wishing I had an extra guitar in my truck so that I could send her on her waay with a replacement.
Hoboes vs. Homeless
In seeking permission to use some material for the website, I was reminded of a very important distinction. while our culture tends to use the terms "tramps", "bums", and "hoboes" interchangeably (and often as synonyms for "Homeless"), they are NOT the same thing, and shouldn't be confused with each other.
Hoboes and tramps, as opposed to the other groups, work for a living. Although tramps are a little less inclined to do so and often use work as a last resort, hoboes are frequently migrant workers who simply move from place to place.
I've often thought of hoboes as being associated with trains, and although that may be true of some, it is not universally true. In fact, looking pretty closely at the hobo culture, I've pretty much been a hobo much of my life.
I don't want to detract from the larger point I am trying to make with the website, though. What I am hoping to eventually emulate is the hobo CULTURE, which can permeate just about any segment of society. The idea of taking care of one another, of warning folks of danger and telling them where they can get a good meal, well, that's just downright Christian hospitality. Although, as the hoboes have shown, you needn't be aa Christian to do it.
A large part of the inspiration for this site came from my growing familiarity with the busking community, and with tramps out on the road that I have picked up for the ride. I've often picked up tramps that were looking for a place to bed down, always afraid of the local police, and I've told them of places where they could rest their head for the night without worry from the police. And ever since I took a young couple into Amarillo looking for a place where they could score some food, I realized how desperately we need a place where all of that information is gathered at once.
The fact is, folks, we've come upon hard times, and are likely to see hard times for the foreseeable future, and all of us -- hoboes, tramps, bums, homeless and just plain ordinary folk...are going to have to learn to work together to stick it out. And who better to learn from than the hobo culture?
Hoboes and tramps, as opposed to the other groups, work for a living. Although tramps are a little less inclined to do so and often use work as a last resort, hoboes are frequently migrant workers who simply move from place to place.
I've often thought of hoboes as being associated with trains, and although that may be true of some, it is not universally true. In fact, looking pretty closely at the hobo culture, I've pretty much been a hobo much of my life.
I don't want to detract from the larger point I am trying to make with the website, though. What I am hoping to eventually emulate is the hobo CULTURE, which can permeate just about any segment of society. The idea of taking care of one another, of warning folks of danger and telling them where they can get a good meal, well, that's just downright Christian hospitality. Although, as the hoboes have shown, you needn't be aa Christian to do it.
A large part of the inspiration for this site came from my growing familiarity with the busking community, and with tramps out on the road that I have picked up for the ride. I've often picked up tramps that were looking for a place to bed down, always afraid of the local police, and I've told them of places where they could rest their head for the night without worry from the police. And ever since I took a young couple into Amarillo looking for a place where they could score some food, I realized how desperately we need a place where all of that information is gathered at once.
The fact is, folks, we've come upon hard times, and are likely to see hard times for the foreseeable future, and all of us -- hoboes, tramps, bums, homeless and just plain ordinary folk...are going to have to learn to work together to stick it out. And who better to learn from than the hobo culture?
To AdSense or Not to Adsense?
OK, I know I don't have a heck of a lot of viewers right now, hopefully that will change over time. But in perusing costs to promote the http://www.hoboslist.org/ websit, as well as the forums (the blog is just a little extra -- to provide current info without a lot of page edits), I've decided that I need to figure out some sort of revenue stream, no matter how small. I can't help the ads on the forums (unless I can afford to upgrade the site), but I am determined to keep ads off of the main site.
What I want to know, though, for any who are reading: what do you think of AdSense ads on the blog? As mentioned earlier, it's not a critical part of the website, but I also want to do my part to be as noncommercial as possible with this project. I balked at the Paypal link on the page, but decided I could live with it as it is entirely voluntary.
So, thoughts? Let mme know! I want this page to be as useful as possible, so any thooughts are encouraged.
What I want to know, though, for any who are reading: what do you think of AdSense ads on the blog? As mentioned earlier, it's not a critical part of the website, but I also want to do my part to be as noncommercial as possible with this project. I balked at the Paypal link on the page, but decided I could live with it as it is entirely voluntary.
So, thoughts? Let mme know! I want this page to be as useful as possible, so any thooughts are encouraged.
Portrait of an American Dream
A song I wrote and sung at Okemah, 2011. The audio is less than optimal, but hope you enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKf0rkg2XoI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKf0rkg2XoI
Welcome to the Hobo's List Blog
This blog was created specifically for page updates to Hobo's List. I will post news, featured items and commentary here from time to time, and will use your comments for input. Please visit our website at http://www.hoboslist.org/, or check our forums at http://hoboslist.freeforums.org/.
Hobo's List was created out of aa pressing need I have seen. As the economy has deteriorated, I have seen more and more people hitting the road, and ending up in strange cities with no idea of where to go for help. In addition, I have seen middle class families who suddenly find themselves needy because of layoff, foreclosure, health care costs, and other circumstances beyond their control. These people have no idea where to turn.
In the 1930's, the hobo community devised a complex communication system to inform other hobos about the availability of assistance, as well as warn them of danger and help them learn where they could catch trains. In this era, we have the Internet, which can be used for the same purpose.
I hope you will peruse this site and others and spread the word so that others can get the information they need.
Hobo's List was created out of aa pressing need I have seen. As the economy has deteriorated, I have seen more and more people hitting the road, and ending up in strange cities with no idea of where to go for help. In addition, I have seen middle class families who suddenly find themselves needy because of layoff, foreclosure, health care costs, and other circumstances beyond their control. These people have no idea where to turn.
In the 1930's, the hobo community devised a complex communication system to inform other hobos about the availability of assistance, as well as warn them of danger and help them learn where they could catch trains. In this era, we have the Internet, which can be used for the same purpose.
I hope you will peruse this site and others and spread the word so that others can get the information they need.
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