Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011
Occu-Pie for Peace Part 2
After a successful Saturday, we returned Sunday morning. A few Facebook friends had alerted me to the presence of snow (there was only a dusting where I live), and the drive out saw me routed around a rather nasty accident involving a semi and an SUV, but there was less than an inch by the time I got to Amarillo.
As we set up, though, the snow started falling. And falling. It would fall for seven straight hours, approaching whiteout conditions. But we had said we would be there, and we were.
Sunday's turnout was lighter than Saturday's (we served about six people in all), in all likelihood because of the weather. But we were encouraged by the fact that the people who came mentioned the news story. We had a visit from a Colombian sculptor who spoke halting English, and fortunately had the assistance of Daniel Ramos for translation.
As the day grew on, I was thankful to God for the weather. Shelter is one thing many of us take for granted, and spending 8 straight hours in the open wind and snow was a greater Christmas gift than I could have imagined. The zipper on my coat busted early on, so I was unable to close it against the cold, but we had FEMA blankets that had been donated to OA to help keep us warm. I was very grateful for those blankets.
We didn't see a police officer. At one point, we did see two cars parked by the Civic Center and one across the street at the Globe News Center, so I suspect there was some video footage shot. Cars drove by and occasionally honked there support, but for the most part, our interaction was limited to each other and the people who came by.
It did get amusing to watch the reaction of some of the drivers, though. Some switched lanes as they passed us, apparently afraid we carried some kind of "commie cooties" or something.
As the day dragged on, it got colder. My feet were wet, and at one point I was a bit concerned about the numbness, but between the van's heater and rubbing my feet, I was able to restore feeling. I sat in the van for a bit as a precaution, but again it bears noting that many of the people we are trying to help don't even have that as an option. Small wonder that many who are left with no home find a short term hail stay to be a preferable alternative.
One gentleman who came at the end of both days said he had been arrested for public intoxication 57 times.
As the day drew near to a close, I noticed that our last customer had no gloves. I gave him mine. I'll get new ones.
All in all, it was a beautiful weekend and a very good learning experience. I am blessed to have a family that understands that holidays can be celebrated on different days if need be (we celebrated on the 23rd), but that need has no days off.
As we set up, though, the snow started falling. And falling. It would fall for seven straight hours, approaching whiteout conditions. But we had said we would be there, and we were.
Sunday's turnout was lighter than Saturday's (we served about six people in all), in all likelihood because of the weather. But we were encouraged by the fact that the people who came mentioned the news story. We had a visit from a Colombian sculptor who spoke halting English, and fortunately had the assistance of Daniel Ramos for translation.
As the day grew on, I was thankful to God for the weather. Shelter is one thing many of us take for granted, and spending 8 straight hours in the open wind and snow was a greater Christmas gift than I could have imagined. The zipper on my coat busted early on, so I was unable to close it against the cold, but we had FEMA blankets that had been donated to OA to help keep us warm. I was very grateful for those blankets.
We didn't see a police officer. At one point, we did see two cars parked by the Civic Center and one across the street at the Globe News Center, so I suspect there was some video footage shot. Cars drove by and occasionally honked there support, but for the most part, our interaction was limited to each other and the people who came by.
It did get amusing to watch the reaction of some of the drivers, though. Some switched lanes as they passed us, apparently afraid we carried some kind of "commie cooties" or something.
As the day dragged on, it got colder. My feet were wet, and at one point I was a bit concerned about the numbness, but between the van's heater and rubbing my feet, I was able to restore feeling. I sat in the van for a bit as a precaution, but again it bears noting that many of the people we are trying to help don't even have that as an option. Small wonder that many who are left with no home find a short term hail stay to be a preferable alternative.
One gentleman who came at the end of both days said he had been arrested for public intoxication 57 times.
As the day drew near to a close, I noticed that our last customer had no gloves. I gave him mine. I'll get new ones.
All in all, it was a beautiful weekend and a very good learning experience. I am blessed to have a family that understands that holidays can be celebrated on different days if need be (we celebrated on the 23rd), but that need has no days off.
Occu-Pie for Peace Update -- Part 1
Well, this holiday weekend was a blessed one. Hobo's List participated in "Occu-Pie for Peace", an action designed to challenge the Amarillo city ordinance that forbids public feeding of groups without a permit.
We believe the law to be unjust and unConstitutional, as it infringes on our free exercise of religion. We are asking that the Amarillo ordinance be no less restrictive than the Texas state ordinance, which allows exemption for nonprofit organizations.
We were not sure what to expect when we set up in front of City Hall Saturday. It was a reasonably pleasant day, and se set up with shepherd's pie, beans, and cornbread. We also had water.
Joseph Hayes, Rusty Tomlinson and I set up on Saturday. Joseph's wife did the cooking, and a couple of the holdovers from the Occupy Amarillo encampment did the laborious job of peeling a mountain of potatoes. We had asked local grocers to contribute to the cause, and were pleased that United Food Stores offered a $100 gift card to help out.
Saturday was pretty uneventful. We did get local news coverage from channels 7 and 10. Joseph spoke to channel 10 and I spoke with channel 7.
The channel 7 news story can be found here: Occupy Amarillo speaks, acts out against Public Health Article I: Despite the lack of a permit, Occupy Amarillo served prepared food to the homeless on Christmas Eve.
The Channel 10 video is below:
I left about 3 PM Saturday for other engagements, but we served abut 12 people.
In Part 2, I will cover Sunday's feeding.
We believe the law to be unjust and unConstitutional, as it infringes on our free exercise of religion. We are asking that the Amarillo ordinance be no less restrictive than the Texas state ordinance, which allows exemption for nonprofit organizations.
We were not sure what to expect when we set up in front of City Hall Saturday. It was a reasonably pleasant day, and se set up with shepherd's pie, beans, and cornbread. We also had water.
Joseph Hayes, Rusty Tomlinson and I set up on Saturday. Joseph's wife did the cooking, and a couple of the holdovers from the Occupy Amarillo encampment did the laborious job of peeling a mountain of potatoes. We had asked local grocers to contribute to the cause, and were pleased that United Food Stores offered a $100 gift card to help out.
Saturday was pretty uneventful. We did get local news coverage from channels 7 and 10. Joseph spoke to channel 10 and I spoke with channel 7.
The channel 7 news story can be found here: Occupy Amarillo speaks, acts out against Public Health Article I: Despite the lack of a permit, Occupy Amarillo served prepared food to the homeless on Christmas Eve.
The Channel 10 video is below:
I left about 3 PM Saturday for other engagements, but we served abut 12 people.
In Part 2, I will cover Sunday's feeding.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
#Occupieforpeace
We had good media response today, didn't feed a lot but we are hopeful to have more tomorrow:
Friday, December 23, 2011
How Twitter Taught This Cynic a Thing or Two
This past summer, I sat around a table visiting with friends from high school. I made the offhand comment that I was becoming a cynic, and they chuckled. The general consensus was that I had pretty much always been a cynic, I was just no longer in denial.
I can't say that has changed completely, but I have to say I have a different perspective. The Occupy mvement has had a lot to do with it; as the movement has gone forward, a lot of activists have gotten together to work on addressing a lot of their social concerns directly. Many of the laws broken in the various Occupy camps were laws specifically written to punish the homeless. And with Christmas coming on, a lot of the resources donated to the movement are being used to help the homeless in the communities.
But more to the point, I have connected with the Twitter feeds of various groups to help the homeless, and I am overwhelmed by what I am seeing. Twitter is causing a greater connectedness between groups, and giving supporters a firsthand look at what is going on. Not only that, but news articles are tweeted, giving even more information and opportunity to get involved.
I imagine I will always be a cynic. But Twitter has done a good job helping to connect me with a larger community, of people who DO care, who are actively trying to make a difference in the world around them.
And while that's not the best gift anyone could give, it certainly ranks up there.
I can't say that has changed completely, but I have to say I have a different perspective. The Occupy mvement has had a lot to do with it; as the movement has gone forward, a lot of activists have gotten together to work on addressing a lot of their social concerns directly. Many of the laws broken in the various Occupy camps were laws specifically written to punish the homeless. And with Christmas coming on, a lot of the resources donated to the movement are being used to help the homeless in the communities.
But more to the point, I have connected with the Twitter feeds of various groups to help the homeless, and I am overwhelmed by what I am seeing. Twitter is causing a greater connectedness between groups, and giving supporters a firsthand look at what is going on. Not only that, but news articles are tweeted, giving even more information and opportunity to get involved.
I imagine I will always be a cynic. But Twitter has done a good job helping to connect me with a larger community, of people who DO care, who are actively trying to make a difference in the world around them.
And while that's not the best gift anyone could give, it certainly ranks up there.
Friday, December 16, 2011
No Place Like Home(less) for the Holidays
"...there's a world outside your window
and it's a world of dreaded fear"
Do They Know It's Christmas, Band-Aid
The economy has wreaked a heavy toll on Americans this year, a toll we should soberly consider as we set about our holiday preparations. A survey of 29 cities shows that in 86% of the surveyed cities (25), requests for emergency food had increased; only two cities reported a decrease.
51% of those requesting help were families. 11% were homeless.
In 23 of the cities, pantries had to decrease the amount of food available to families. 19 cities had to reduce the number of times recipients could use their services.
Homelessness increased 6% among surveyed cities. Among families, homelessness increased 16%.
This Christmas, be thankful for what you have. And if you can, consider donating to your local food bank or shelter.
You can read the entire survey here:
Do They Know It's Christmas, Band-Aid
The economy has wreaked a heavy toll on Americans this year, a toll we should soberly consider as we set about our holiday preparations. A survey of 29 cities shows that in 86% of the surveyed cities (25), requests for emergency food had increased; only two cities reported a decrease.
51% of those requesting help were families. 11% were homeless.
In 23 of the cities, pantries had to decrease the amount of food available to families. 19 cities had to reduce the number of times recipients could use their services.
Homelessness increased 6% among surveyed cities. Among families, homelessness increased 16%.
This Christmas, be thankful for what you have. And if you can, consider donating to your local food bank or shelter.
You can read the entire survey here:
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Occu-Pie for Peace
Tim Justice 806-662-5366
Rusty Tomlinson 765-722-1113
HfTomlinson@riseup.net
For Immediate Release: 12/13/2011
Who: Occupy Amarillo
What: “Occu-Pie for Peace” We will be serving vegetarian Sheppard's Pie to the needy and homeless.
Where: City Hall Plaza 7th & Buchannan
When: Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 11AM-7PM
Why: To feed the poor in the spirit of Christmas and to challenge city ordinance Public Health Article I. Sec. 8-5-1
Rusty Tomlinson 765-722-1113
HfTomlinson@riseup.net
For Immediate Release: 12/13/2011
Who: Occupy Amarillo
What: “Occu-Pie for Peace” We will be serving vegetarian Sheppard's Pie to the needy and homeless.
Where: City Hall Plaza 7th & Buchannan
When: Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 11AM-7PM
Why: To feed the poor in the spirit of Christmas and to challenge city ordinance Public Health Article I. Sec. 8-5-1
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