First Ever Music Event A Hit!...

Roger Houston We all had a fabulous night at the Talking Stick in Venice on Friday night! The juices were flowing and excitement was palpable (love that word). Several great performers lent their time to help us empower people without homes. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first ever concert by homeless or formerly homeless musicians for the benefit of other homeless people. Empowered people create their own...

Motor Home Housing Launch Huge Success...

L-R Ed, Mikey, Bob, Maria, Victoria & Connor Wow! What an amazing day we had at the launch of our new Motor Home Housing Program. This past Saturday, January 30 we awarded a motor home to Maria Pollack and her son Mikey at a ceremony hosted by Regalo Virgin Olive Oil. Representatives from three local newspapers covered the event as well as the local access TV station. (See links to stories below) Maria and her son...

RV To Be Awarded To Homeless Family...

New Home We are pleased to announce our first RV award! On Saturday, January 30, we will give Maria and her son an RV! Maria is a caregiver who has been staying at client homes trading her services for rent. Like many low income people, she doesn’t earn enough to move out and get her own place. She and her 12 year-old son have health issues which make it even more difficult for them to live without their own place. Maria...

2009 In Review...

Outside San Francisco City Hall A lot of wonderful things happened in 2009 and I am grateful for all the fantastic people who supported us in empowering homeless people in 2009. Like most people, we have faced a lot of challenges this year but we have persevered through it all. I thought it would be a good idea to get some perspective on the year, looking back to see what was accomplished. Here are some of the highlights...

Hearts Of Fire Lights Up Christmas Show...

Here we are at the One Of A Kind Christmas Show in Ventura! We had a great corner spot at this 3-day event and met a lot of great people. This was the first time for this show and they plans to make it an annual event. We sold greeting cards and art prints as well items provided by local merchants and artists. Our friend, Yudit Ecsedy displayed some of her amazing “angel” art as well hand-made leather cell...

Art Programs Flourish On Skid Row...

Lillian & Student This past week, I had the privilege of visiting with two powerful art programs on Skid Row in Los Angeles that are empowering the people from the neighborhood. The SRO Art Workshop and the Lamp Community Art Project have been working with homeless and low income folks for years, persisting and flourishing despite a lack of resources. The success of these programs is attributable to the people who...

RV Rehab Program Launch!...

Home On Wheels Look at this beautiful 27-ft, 1985 Suncrest RV! Thanks to our friend Ed from Newbury Park, CA, this RV will soon be home to a local family. We are launching the RV Rehab Program with this donated vehicle.  This baby runs great and has only 60K miles on it. However, it needs some interior systems work. It is very roomy inside and sleeps up to eight people! We are looking for volunteers to help us get this...

The Experience Of A Life Time...

We traveled from Ojai to San Francisco to participate in Homeless Connect Day at Bill Graham Auditorium on October 28. Although we knew it was a big event, we really had no idea how it would go. After a frantic week of last-minute fund raising, we were finally posed to go. On October 27 at 6AM, I chugged down to Ventura to pick up Jillian - an amazing woman and supporter who came along to lead the art workshop we planned...

San Francisco Here We Come!...

We are heading out to San Francisco to participate in the annual Homeless Connect Day on October 28 at Bill Graham Auditorium. More than 1,500 homeless people are expected to participate. We will be holding an art workshop for as many people as we can accommodate. We have a great team in place for this event and the excitement is almost out of control! We will be leaving from our base in Ojai in our RV  on the morning...

Art Show Success...

Art Show In Progress On Saturday, August 22, we exhibited 60 pieces of art at the E.P. Foster Library in Ventura.  The art work was created by the people at the homeless shelters we have visited.  In addition, we screened the documentary film of our tour. The event was simply amazing. A small but enthusiastic crowd attended and everyone enjoyed the art work and the film. I talked about the status and my vision for the...