New Blog

This blog’s on life support. I’m not homeless anymore. It makes no sense to keep posting here. So I started a new blog: Man of Many Words. It’s just stories and things. Real stuff. My life. Your life. This place. People, animals, weather. Books and cars, breathing and giving. Homeless in New Haven will eventually morph to become purely a reference and resource center for folks who need help in and around New Haven. Frankly, I would like to get this blog so refined in that sense that it should become a model for other cities as well. Homeless in New York, Homeless in Albuquerque, Homeless in Minneapolis, Homeless in every place you can be homeless. And that’s everywhere.

Now what about rural homelessness? That’s something I know nothing about. Why doesn’t somebody start a blog about living in the sticks homeless? I’d like to hear about that.

Meanwhile, I’ve got work to do. Check out the new page on this blog titled Resources. There are only three items there, without explanation, as of today. Look for a soup kitchen schedule, a list of shelters, a handy survival guide, places to get free clothing and bus passes, information about family services,free legal counsel, and so on and so forth. If you have any information in that regard, feel free to send it to me at qualitywritingprofessional@inbox.com.

As for my new blog, you will notice there is a donation button. “What a minute,” my regular readers will say. “Didn’t you say you were going to stop asking for donations out of respect for those who need it most?” Yes I did. The reason I am putting a donation button on the other blog is because it makes no claims that I am desperate. To put one on this blog, the homeless one, would be a mite disingenuous. Don’t get me wrong: I ain’t rich. I’m still pretty “poor”. I need money. I am a writer and I need money and I am grateful for whatever anybody can swing. But as always, I write primarily to give people a pleasurable reading experience, so if you don’t want to or simply cannot give me any money, please relax and just read. I hope you’ll enjoy the stories found there.

Happy reading.

No Longer Homeless

Dear Readers, Friends, Family, Donors, Acquaintances,

I am no longer homeless. Due to the response I have gotten as a result of this blog, I now have the tools I need to get up and off my feet. I have a somewhat permanent place to live, job prospects, and even a little money with which to get me through to my first paycheck.

I have learned so much from the experience of homelessness. This blog will remain open, so that I can continue to catch you all up on what it’s like on the underground. I have many stories yet to recount. However, I will no longer be asking for donations. As I said in my last post, thank you again to everybody who reached out and helped me.

I also intend to continue to compile information and resources for homeless people who might happen upon this blog. One might ask how a homeless person could even read this blog. To that person I would say, “Welcome to the Age of Information.” You might have heard the jokes or seen a comedy sketch about the guy who lives in a cardboard box but owns a cell phone, PDA, laptop, and what-have-you. That would not be too far from the truth. There is also the fact of many Internet kiosks and terminals available at Universities, libraries, and other types of venues. And then there are the people who are doing just fine right now – with a job, a home, plenty of food, and so on – who might read this, fall on hard times sometime in the future, and then be able to refer back to what they read here, so that they might be able to survive and be as comfortable as possible.

I haven’t begun to scratch the surface with regard to posting information about soup kitchens, shelters, bus passes, free clothing, and so on. I am currently working on a new and improved version of the soup kitchen schedule I picked up one hungry day at Community Soup Kitchen at 84 Broadway in downtown New Haven. The changes I am making are designed to improve readability, as well as include updates as far as which soup kitchens are still open, and which are now closed. That will be posted soon. Stay tuned.

Again, this blog will remain open, but the purpose of it has changed. More stories to come.