Amanda Jones

Recent Activity

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  Amanda commented on the article | over 1 year ago

  A School Where Every Student Is Homeless

  >>And why do we spend so much time and resources trying to create what might be a well-intentioned effort to help unhoused students? Have we given up on the prospects of housing as a human right? Can you look around at your community's vacant housing and say we don't have housing?<<

  
  

  i don't think the majority of us have given up on housing.  at the same time, it's important to address those who are in need NOW, while we work to change the system.  unfortunately, this will take a long time to do.  should it have to take so long?  of course not.  but this is the grand ol' u.s. of a. we're talking about here.

  
  

  as for the politics of making good use of vacant buildings, that is deserving of a blog series of its own.  it all goes back to the damned red tape that's built into how our systems work.

  
  

   

  
  

   

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  Amanda commented on the article | over 1 year ago

  A School Where Every Student Is Homeless

  Intriguing. I've considered starting a school as part of the service provision plan for the organization I've been designing. Like Josie said, it makes for a tight-knit community where everyone understands the students' situation. At the same time, I do see how it could be a problem when it comes to mainstream socialization.

  
  

  On the other hand, when we look at services such as permanent supportive housing, we're acknowledging that people who experience homelessness have a unique set of traumatic circumstances that require specialized care and support to heal. If kids who've never been homeless are having major problems in mainstream schools, why is it such a far cry to consider creating an option for youth who've been homeless.

  
  

  In short, I think it's like any other service or educational option. It needs to be tailored to individual circumstances as much as possible. Some homeless youth would thrive better in a school specifically for them, while others would do better in mainstream schools, and yet others would do better in a home-school type of arrangement. There are no blanket solutions! 

  
  

   

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  Amanda commented on the article | over 1 year ago

  Why Housing Is Not the Answer to Homelessness

  i've worked with a couple of people who had extremely difficult times adjusting to life in their own apartments & i've heard stories of others.  one guy would take his cardboard box out to the balcony & sleep outside!  a young lady i knew had serious fears about being alone; she had a support system in the shelter that went away when she left.  after having been clean for almost a year, she relapsed not even 8 weeks after getting her own apartment.

  
  

  it takes a very different mentality to survive on the streets & in shelters from the mentality it takes to handle living in housing (often alone).

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  Amanda signed the petition | over 1 year ago

  Tell Congress: Pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
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  Amanda signed the petition | almost 2 years ago

  Ask Congress to increase funding for services to the homeless!
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  Amanda commented on the article | about 2 years ago

  Will Twitter Transform Homeless Services in 2010?

   

  
  

  @Marissa - Sometimes, meeting the most immediate need - what you call a heart/gut reaction - IS most important.  Spending $100 to provide clothes, food, and gifts for a mom and her kid provides an immediate result.  To me, that *is* maximizing a contribution.

  
  

  I do, however, understand your concern about getting the most out of each dollar.  Ending homelessness requires BOTH approaches: meeting the immediate need, while also building up a system to provide broader/longer-term support.  

  
  

  Still, it makes no sense to be staring at two homeless people and not help them because $5 given to a nonprofit will buy more at Costco than $5 spent by helpful Joe at his local supermarket.  

  
  

   

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  Amanda signed the petition | about 2 years ago

  Protect Federal Funding for Homeless Children and Families
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  Amanda signed the petition | about 2 years ago

  Educational Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Kids
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  Amanda commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  I Would Walk 1,100 Miles for Homeless Kids

  I just LOVE to see kids supporting other kids.  Another young man from Florida, Zach Bonner, has been doing the same thing for several years: www.littleredwagonfoundation.com.  Zach should arrive in DC in July as well. 

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  Amanda commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Wasting Food

  Natasha -
  I read that and agree with your points about serving healthy food at food banks & shelters.  Indeed, this has been a concern of mine for some years.
  
  On the other hand, in reading Julie Gunlock's article, I think the impetus behind her frustration is more about shelters & food banks throwing away donations that don't meet their standards.  As she quoted:
  "In a Washington Post article covering the visit, one Miriam's Kitchen official explained, 'If anyone brings us donuts, Steve [the chef] throws them away. . . . It is not good food for our guests. We care too much to give them anything but the best. Steve wants our guests to have the same experience as if they were paying $30 for the meal.'"
  
  While I understand the desire to feed guests only healthy food, I do take issue with throwing away food.  I think that if an organization would prefer donors to focus on healthy options, that should be encouraged.