It started out for me as a way to eat, then became a crutch to pay for my drug addiction, and eventually ended up being a way to keep a few cans of food on top of the motel fridge. I don't condone it.
Basically everything you just mentioned is perfect. All of those things. Hand warmers in the winter are literally what sometimes got me from one street to the next.
Thanks for the reply, Michael. Are you guys co-authoring this Substack?
Oh, I paused and went to read the "About" page and learned about the purpose and structure of "Speak Up." Fantastic model! I wasn't aware a Substack could be set up this way. Looking forward to hearing more voices. :-)
Hi Kate. Currently Speak Up has at least three dozen authors, probably more — I'd have to count. Hundreds of essays total.
It is the "voice of the streets." So we, with me in the editor's chair, work with many, many writers who are facing or have faced homelessness. Probably everyone who has published on here gets the "author" tag.
My dream: thousands of writers, representing a wide diversity of perspective and experience.
I'm so glad to be here, and will do what I can to raise the voices of people writing on here by restacking and spreading the word into my humble little network on Substack. Your dream will become real; it's just a matter of time! 💜
Thank you for this. I live in a medium metro area in the Midwest. There are always folks standing near the freeway on and off ramp lights holding signs. I'm always conflicted. A friend said she keeps baggies of almonds or dried fruit to give. It gets cold in the winters here, so at work we put a box on the counter asking for new socks, protein bars, gloves, handwarmers, and chocolate. Then we bagged them up for people to keep in their cars to give out. I don't give money, because as you said, I won't contribute to drug or alcohol purchases. Do these other ideas make sense to you? What else would be helpful? Bless you.❤️
Want to sure you saw Michael's reply to your comment, which appears above in the thread:
"Basically everything you just mentioned is perfect. All of those things. Hand warmers in the winter are literally what sometimes got me from one street to the next."
Michael — thank you for sharing this piece. I'm humbled by your honesty and inspired by your commitment to keep reaching higher.
Basically everything you just mentioned is perfect. All of those things. Hand warmers in the winter are literally what sometimes got me from one street to the next.
Thanks for the reply, Michael. Are you guys co-authoring this Substack?
Oh, I paused and went to read the "About" page and learned about the purpose and structure of "Speak Up." Fantastic model! I wasn't aware a Substack could be set up this way. Looking forward to hearing more voices. :-)
Hi Kate. Currently Speak Up has at least three dozen authors, probably more — I'd have to count. Hundreds of essays total.
It is the "voice of the streets." So we, with me in the editor's chair, work with many, many writers who are facing or have faced homelessness. Probably everyone who has published on here gets the "author" tag.
My dream: thousands of writers, representing a wide diversity of perspective and experience.
Thanks so much for being part of the community!
I'm so glad to be here, and will do what I can to raise the voices of people writing on here by restacking and spreading the word into my humble little network on Substack. Your dream will become real; it's just a matter of time! 💜
Thank you for this. I live in a medium metro area in the Midwest. There are always folks standing near the freeway on and off ramp lights holding signs. I'm always conflicted. A friend said she keeps baggies of almonds or dried fruit to give. It gets cold in the winters here, so at work we put a box on the counter asking for new socks, protein bars, gloves, handwarmers, and chocolate. Then we bagged them up for people to keep in their cars to give out. I don't give money, because as you said, I won't contribute to drug or alcohol purchases. Do these other ideas make sense to you? What else would be helpful? Bless you.❤️
Kate, thank you!
Want to sure you saw Michael's reply to your comment, which appears above in the thread:
"Basically everything you just mentioned is perfect. All of those things. Hand warmers in the winter are literally what sometimes got me from one street to the next."
Thanks, Matt...I hadn't seen it, as you suspected. I appreciate your pointing me to Michael's comment. :-)