Doug Schenkelberg has been cranking out some great posts at the blog for the From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign.
Follow the links below to see what I mean. And while you're there, join the over 1,000 people who have already endorsed the campaign that aims to reduce the number of people in Illinois who live in extreme poverty in half by 2012.
HOPE VI legislation up for a vote in February.
In his campaign speeches, presidential candidate John Edwards has begun to talk a lot about the significant numbers of homeless veterans. Edwards' figures are based on a recent study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. It found that veterans represent 11 percent of the adult U.S. population, yet they make up 26 percent of the homeless population, with 495,400 counted during 2006.
Many thanks to Zumiez for their generous December 2007 donation of coats and other winter wear!
This is the second year that the skateboarding and snowboarding gear company has given Chicago Coalition for the Homeless a gift of warm clothing to help our homeless leaders through the cold of a Chicago winter. CCH’s organizing staff distributed the coats over the course of the month at advocacy meetings and in shelters.
Disclaimer: CCH never endorses a political candidate or party.
This is an interesting website that you may have already seen. It asks you a handful of questions about today's political issues, and then measures your politics against the field of presidential candidates. Pretty cool, huh?
Check it out here.
Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 450 stations in North America. Hosted by Amy Goodman, the show is an hour long, which usually features about 15-20 minutes of headlines, while the remaining time is devoted to in-depth interviews or documentaries by some of the most inspiring activists and key players in the struggle for democracy today.
It's not enough to tell people that they ought to have health care and goods schools and lots of jobs; they already know this. The point of a political movement is to explain why things are lacking and to advance an argument about how we should adapt to the larger forces that led us here. Ideally, a movement offers some theory that flips on the lights on the lights along the path ahead, so that the future seems a little less dark and confusing.
--Matt Bai, The Argument
Thanks to everyone who has listened to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless' podcast, Voices of Hope.
And if you haven't yet listened to Voices of Hope, you can check out the most recent episode with U.S. Representative Judy Biggert. (Click here to listen to Voices of Hope on your computer, or here to access it through iTunes.)
CCH has just put the final touches on our new YouTube channel, HopeVision.
Like our podcast, HopeVision will feature regularly published interviews and stories from activist, community leaders, and people who have experienced homelessness.
Via AP:
Poll: Homeless concerns rising
By Jennifer C. Kerr
WASHINGTON
Nearly a third of Americans have at one point worried about becoming homeless and many more have taken in friends and relatives needing a home, a survey has found.
The homelessness issue has touched more than those living on the streets, according to the Gallup poll released Wednesday.
