These meetings are a highlight for all. They present a chance to hear about challenges and successes from the week just passed. Together we celebrate victories–like selling ten magazines in two hours or getting into an apartment. Rob Burbank, who spearheads business and community development for Speak Up, always brings a couple boxes of donuts. Coffee flows like…coffee. We laugh a lot. And sometimes cry. Vendors, volunteers and Speak Up employees intermingle on the couch, in chairs and around the table.

It feels a lot like family.

Above: Rob Burbank with a Speak Up vendor.

Here are a few laugh-aloud moments from today's meeting:

As we discussed life goals, a new vendor said, "My goal is having a sports car, because in the end that's all you've got." He paused, thought for a moment and added, "And maybe a horse."

A 29-year-old vendor said, "I've had 30 jobs, 30 cars and 30 homes. I'm a very successful man, but look at me now."

On a more serious note, our most successful vendor of 2012 shared one of his keys to success:

"Like Patrick Swayze said in Roadhouse, 'be nice.' And I'm nice–no matter what, I'm nice. Someone snarled at me, 'no, I won't buy your magazine!' and I said, 'thank you.' The next day they came back by, said 'you were really polite yesterday' and bought the magazine. You've got to be nice!"

If you're reading this, please accept an invitation to our vendor meetings. It's a great way to learn about Speak Up and what makes us tick. Mondays at 10am. Directions.

Photo courtesy of Luis Alvarez via SentimentsExpressed.com

I met Luis Alvarez at the Urban Ministry Center's Art Auction this past October. He was dressed in a slick black suit and had spoken softly, but very articulately. He didn't have any of his work displayed that night, but he and I did have an enjoyable conversation about the importance of feng shui and contrasting colors in canvas art.

I gave him my card and encouraged him to look into being a vendor for Speak Up. He emailed me a couple weeks later and our art conversation continued. But when talking about his life, he used a term that stuck out in my mind: "housing impaired." Luis considers himself housing impaired, not homeless. I was intrigued by this and wanted to know more about the meaning.

Luis was born and raised in Nicaragua and he says fate is what brought him to Charlotte. While on his way to New York a few years ago, he was in an altercation, and lost everything he had on him, including identification.

He remained here in Charlotte, and attempted to create a new life. His opinionated nature and desire to give advice to his bosses backfired. He says he felt misunderstood by employers, and has been repeatedly fired over favoritism and miscommunication. Chronic unemployment has left him without a home. But this is where Luis differentiates himself as being housing impaired as opposed to homeless. “I don’t have a home or a (permanent) place to reside, and I live in a shelter with individuals who are homeless,” he says, “but I am not homeless.”

“I see a homeless person as someone who has given up and has accepted his or her current state,” he explains further, “but someone who is housing impaired like me continues to generate business and attention.”

In Luis’s case, the business and attention he’s talking about is his art. Thanks to the CommunityWorks945 program at the Urban Ministry Center, he has been able to create art using donated tools, and develop websites to showcase his work. But as someone who is housing impaired, he isn’t doing this as a hobby. “My relationship with the Urban Ministry Center is strictly business,” Luis says.

“I’m not creating art to just reach out to an audience,” he continues, “I’m creating things to bring a much needed change to humanity.  I want to bring people to a new state of realization and creativity.”

Luis isn’t afraid to be honest. His intentions are sincere, and he’s very passionate about his art. A tour of several of the sites he operates shows quite a range of artistic variety, from sensual imagery of the female form to multimedia presentations.

“My art is a science…everything has a purpose and a meaning, from the color to the texture to the frame. I’m giving people the liberty to perceive it as they wish,” he says.

For now, Luis is building his portfolio and continuing to develop more websites. His current project is a site aimed at literacy education for families. He’s also working on writing novels and composing songs. Luis’s ultimate goal is to have his own place that’s big enough to display all his work. “Doors have closed on me,” he says, “but being housing impaired is just a transition. I am simply waiting to reach my position of power.”

———————————————————————–

Brooke Gibbons serves as the Community Connections Coordinator for Speak Up. She can be reached by email: brookegibbons@speakupmag.org or by telephone: (704) 750-0721.

To supplement the traditional sales method, we're introducing countertop magazine racks. Over the last week, our most active vendors have been placing these racks with small businesses in Charlotte. They sit next to cash registers in coffee shops, nail salons, pizza parlors and a variety of other places.

Each rack is personalized with the vendor's name and photo.

As with street sales, the magazines in each rack are owned by a specific vendor–who have already purchased each magazine for $1.50. Our vendors are excited about this additional method of distributing the magazine. Already we can see that a variety of individuals will benefit from this concept:

• Vendors with a physical disability and cannot stand on their feet for hours.
• Vendors that own vehicle, which they can use to supply and maintain many racks.
• Vendors who want to sell on bad-weather days–they can ride the bus to check and restock their racks.
• Vendors who've shown a lot of initiative with street sales but need additional income to reach their goals.
• You. Because even if you don't know where to find a vendor, you can always find a copy of the magazine.

View Speak Up Magazine Racks in a larger map

How you can get involved:

• Host a magazine rack. Do you own or manage a small business, church or any organization that people visit on a regular basis? This is a great way to directly support needy individuals and spread the word about Speak Up.
• Seek out a rack and buy the magazine. And please thank the owner and manager for allowing the rack in their store.
• Sponsor materials to build more racks. The materials cost of making these racks is about $5 each.
• Build more racks. Are you a handy man or woman and have a workshop? We need more volunteers to help produce more. This is a fun project!
• Let us know if you see empty racks. Vendors are expected to keep all of their racks stocked with magazines, but we want to help keep them accountable.

 Val Cripps and Bill Shaw building the first batch of magazine racks.

To get involved in any way, please contact Matt Shaw at matt.shaw@speakupmag.org.

From Amazon.com (see wish list):

• Lanyards for vendor ID badges
• Red Vests for vendors
• Toner for Brother Laser 2240DL
• Camera — Speak Up Magazine needs a camera!
• A DSLR (like Canon's 60D) would be huge.
• A point and shoot would also be much appreciated.

From Grocery stores like Trader Joe's or Sam's Club

• Coffee for vendor meetings (plus creamer and sugar)
• Granola or snack bars
• Bottled water
• Disposable cups, paper towel

Cash Donations

• For any of the above items
• Peddler's Licenses — Speak Up pays half of the $50 license that vendors need to sell the magazine.
• Magazine printing and production
• Transportation
• General vendor support
• Administration

What did you read this week? Take a moment and check out these local stories related to homelessness and needy people.

Not exactly homeless, but related. "The city has a big target on it."
Charlotte has good reason to worry about DNC protests The Atlantic Wire (12/09/2011)

Encouraging picture of local philanthropy
Calls, emails, offers of help show Charlotte’s heart Charlotte Observer (12/03/2011)

Let's not try to fool ourselves: The homeless are still with us
The Alternative to hiding Charlotte's homeless Examiner (12/05/2011)

Charlotte's libraries engage their homeless patrons
Budget Cuts Have One Positive Impact on Public Libraries Fox News (12/05/2011)

Good cause or not, what you're doing ain't legal!
City Shuts Down Charity Event, Calls it "Illegal Retail Operation" Fox News (12/06/2011)

Who are the homeless? Who are they underneath the worn clothing and disheveled appearance? (And what about those homeless folks with clean clothing and nice appearances. Who are they?) What's blatantly obvious, of course, is that they all lack stable housing. There are so many reasons as to why an individual succumbs to homelessness. According to the Homeless Resource Network, divorce, domestic violence, loss of job, illness, and low wages are all contributing factors to a person becoming homeless. But past these reasons lies something that is largely below the surface: how we choose to see them.

Homeless individuals have a lot in common with the rest of society. Many of my homeless friends genuinely want to work and contribute to society. The only difference is that they don't have the safety, comfort and resource of a home. Of course it is easier to think of them as so different or separate from the rest of us. That mindset, however comforting to housed individuals, only contributes to a homeless individual’s displacement in society.

While it is true that some homeless individuals suffer from drug, alcohol, or mental issues, many housed individuals suffer from the very same problems.  For the most part, however, housed individuals are able hide these aspects of their life better than a vulnerable and exposed homeless individual.

In truth, a homeless individual is bigger than their issues. Their problems should never be weighed or measured as an accurate depiction of who they are. We as a society have to look past these issues and see the person in the homeless equation. The one who underneath the appearance is a lot like the rest of us. And when connected to the right services, some of their challenges can easily be treated with cognitive or dialectical behavior therapy.

The next step in recognizing a homeless individual for who they are is to stop considering homelessness as a "phenomenon." Calling something a phenomenon infers that the situation is out of the ordinary. When we view their unfortunate plight as such, it evokes a painful separation internally. Thus, a homeless individual takes on an identity of sorts. They confuse who they are with what they lack. This is extremely debilitating to their chances of being reintegrated into mainstream society.

Explained this way, it's quite evident where the true problem exists. Every time a person on the streets is treated just as one of the homeless rather than a unique individual, it further solidifies in their mind that they are different, worthless, and beyond help.  Therefore, society (that's us) creates and perpetuates the dysfunction plaguing the homeless population.

We as a community, need to come together and help the homeless recognize their strengths in spite of their situation. We need to get to know people who are homeless. We need to help them believe that they are equal members of society, capable of overcoming the obstacles that stand in their way. By doing this, it allows our deeply ingrained stereotypes to dissipate, and it also provides these individuals with hope.

And having hope can change anyone's life–regardless of their housing status.

Nichole Jaworski is the founder of Serve Charlotte's Homeless (formerly Steele Creek Outreach). Photo credit: iheartfishtown on Flickr.

Loretta had total confidence that she was going to sell out of racks this morning. Her first attempt at rack placement was in the Elizabeth area. "I live in the shelter around there, so my rack route needs to be close so my leg doesn't break" she says with loud laugh. She is one of the more successful Speak Up vendors. She regularly attends the Monday meetings and often brings a friend in tow.

Her first visit to her church was successful, but she cheerfully accepted rejection at the next place she went to. However on her last stop, she scored another successful placement. She came back to the car beaming with pride. "They took them all, one store told me to call the owner, but it's ok, because I don't have any more magazines."

No more magazines, what a great way to start the morning, praise be to God.

Kaitlyn Tokay volunteers with Speak Up as a "vendor mentor." She assists with training of Speak Up vendors and accompanies them onto the streets to provide real-time support and encouragement.

Currently Speak Up has over 20 homeless vendors who've been trained and equipped to sell the magazine. As a result, one of our–and their–biggest volunteer needs is for vendor mentors. As a vendor mentor, you'll give 3 – 4 hours of your time each week to encouraging and supporting vendors while they sell the magazine.

Your duties may include:

• Giving a vendor a ride to their sales location
• Standing near them on the street and offering advice and encouragement
• Being an advocate for them with law enforcement officers and security guards
• Buying them a hot chocolate/coffee in cold weather or cold drink in hot weather
• Driving them around to place magazine racks
• Listening to their needs and challenges
• Being a friend

"Don't Help The Homeless Directly"
QC Business Leaders Discourage Spirit Of Giving In Uptown, Fox Charlotte (12/01/11)

Getting by in a Weekly Hotel Room
Family of four crowd into a hotel room, Charlotte Observer (11/30/11)

Serving with a Smile
Local volunteer is agency's True Blessing, South Charlotte News (11/30/11)

Big Needs
Homeless families need help this Christmas, WBTV (11/28/11)

Celebrating the Unsung
Celebrate your favorite silent heroes, Charlotte Observer (11/27/11)

Church People Give Big
Coats + Blankets, Elevation Outreach (11/25/11)

Occupiers vs. Homeless?
Steele Creek advocate fears Occupy Charlotte protest could hurt homeless, Lake Wylie Pilot (11/22/11)

A few weeks ago, temperatures in the Queen City turned frigid rather quickly–leaving many homeless individuals exposed and unprepared for the long night that ensued. With winter fast approaching, it's imperative that outreach workers, ministries, and everyone in-between work together to devise an effective solution that will ensure that we successfully get the unsheltered off of the street.

During the winter months, there is an amplified need for cold weather supplies and emergency shelter. Outreach groups and ministries are successfully putting supplies into the hands of those in dire need of help; however, emergency shelter for the homeless is currently lacking.

Winter on the streets. Image from Rick Forgo.

In truth, there are plenty of independent shelters in the Queen City. However, very few shelters cater to the "issue free" homeless individual. Not all homeless individuals have substance abuse issues or mental illness, and as a result far too many of them fall through the cracks and remain unassisted.

The Men's Shelter of Charlotte is a safe haven where every homeless man can obtain shelter; however, the shelter is over capacity. Moreover, because of overcrowded conditions at local shelters, hundreds of unsheltered men chose to sleep outside. Certainly, the Men's Shelter of Charlotte is an amazing facility dedicated to helping these homeless individuals–but in truth, with so many in need, there's simply not enough room at area shelters to accommodate 2800 individuals.

Furthermore, during the winter months especially, these homeless individuals are at an increased risk for developing exposure-related conditions such as hypothermia or frostbite. Left untreated, these conditions can result in death. Consequently, every year nearly seven hundred homeless individuals freeze to death in our country. The fact that any human being is left outside to freeze to death is a true tragedy — one that could easily be avoided.

There are a plethora of vacant, dilapidated buildings uptown–any of which could easily be renovated for emergency shelter. Ultimately, for emergency shelters to become a reality, the city would have to reallocate some of our tax dollars to renovating and operating these shelters. I believe that our tax dollars are often unintentionally allocated towards maintaining a homeless person's current state of homelessness without rectifying their situation. If the city succeeds in getting the homeless off of the streets, even temporarily, it drastically reduces the amount of money that they cost tax payers–when factoring in jail stays and medical bills incurred from emergency room visits.

If the city were to launch an emergency shelter initiative, then county homeless support services, nonprofit organizations, and additional ministries that assist the homeless could form an alliance aimed at getting these individuals off of the street. Furthermore, Charlotte nonprofits/ministries already provide meals for the homeless at an uptown county building, and therefore, they could easily transition to providing for those in an emergency shelter environment.

Nichole Jaworski is the founder of Steele Creek Outreach.