Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Everyone Deserves a Roof

It's not often that I see an answer to a problem that makes this much sense.

Movie Producer, Peter Samuelson, himself living a lifestyle of advantage and comfort, noticed a growing population of homeless people along his bike route. After actually getting off his bike and talking with sixty-two of them about why they were there and where they were living, he decided to go home and seek a solution to at least part of the issue--the lack of available shelter.

CNN covered part of the story in in this article .

And I found more of the story here:



And if that's not enough to move you--maybe this article, Down and out in Sherman Oaks, California will help.

Peter's statement, "We are living three miles apart. I got the refrigerator and she got the box" speaks to a huge problem in our society with the haves and the have-nots. It doesn't hurt to remember that none of us are immune to the possibility of homelessness. For many people, the streets are just three months away. For some it's less time than that.

For more information or to make a donation you can check out their site at: Everyone Deserves a Roof.

5 comments:

jeanie said...

That led to some very interesting article surfing. Thanks for the information.

David said...

Great post and links, Mary.
I remember reading an article that argued against the cliché that ‘once you hit rock bottom, the only way is up and you just have to pull yourself up by your boot straps’.

The fact is that the greater majority of people who hit the bottom stay there, despite their efforts to rise up, until someone comes along to help them. So good on Peter Samuelson and people like him.

DavidM

Scotty said...

Great post, Mary - it's difficult to believe in this day and age that so many people are homeless, isn't it? That EDAR is a good idea though.

Debby said...

Everybody does deserve a roof. 14 years ago, I went from a comfortable middle class life to homeless, with three kids. I worked as hard as I could, but really, I could have never worked myself out of that 'hole' alone. I needed help to do it. We all have a responsibility to one another. All of us.

Mary O. Paddock said...

'Glad you got something out of this Jeanie.

David--I don't know where I'd be without people who know how to help others.

Scotty--I was stunned by the numbers myself.

Debby-You're absolutely right. I've often thought "there but the grace of God go I".