Last week, in honor of National Hunger and Homeless Week, I wrote about lots of fantastic organizations addressing hunger and homelessness across the country.  There are a range of things these groups are doing to address these issues: providing housing, shoes, health care, job training and fielding soccer teams. Who would ever say soccer that being like David Beckham is a way to address homelessness? It’s not exactly the first thing that comes to mind. But, let me introduce you to Street Soccer USA, which organizes “soccer for social change” programs nationwide.

It also runs the Homeless USA Cup, where inner city soccer teams and social services agencies compete for the title. The winners then compete in the Homeless World Cup which begins in Australia on Thursday.

However, this is more than just soccer. The program is a catalyst for social change by helping participants find new directions in their lives to transition from homelessness to stable housing and employment. The organization says that “77% of participants in Street Soccer programs make a significant life changes such as moving off the street, or pursuing further education.”

The team is currently practicing in my town, Los Angeles, before heading to Australia in a couple of days. takepart to follow the national team or to learn more about the program.

(photo: Ctd 2005)

Being a teenager is already really tough. It’s filled with lots of angst, peer pressure and trying to grasp one’s identity and role in the world. But, can you imagine going through those difficult years while homeless? Unfortunately, there are thousands of teens across our nation who are homeless. And, the dangers they already experience on the streets is worsened by the fast approaching, freezing winter temperatures which are a threat to their health and survival.

Covenant House offers warm, safe places for thousands of teens across the country. Since this is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, be a part of the solution to helping homeless teens. takepart and support Covenant House’s Bed and Blanket program to ensure teens have a bed at a Covenant House and receive medical care, clothes and meals. Just imagine how the basic services of Covenant House could transform a teen’s life.

As you probably know by now, this is National Homeless and Hunger Awareness week which gives me many opportunities to highlight the fantastic work of some of the organizations were working with on the Social Action campaign for The Soloist. Have you ever imagined walking without shoes? I’m not talking about the luxury barefoot option of some select shoeless hikers and marathoners or people (like me) who like to walk around their homes sans shoes. I’m referring to the thousands of people throughout the US and millions of people around the globe who do not have proper footwear or any shoes at all. How many pairs of shoes do you have in your closet? Yes, shoes can be beautiful and an art piece. But, that doesn’t mean we need a zillion pairs while millions of people walk around every day without anything on their feet.

There’s a really simple way to help bridge the gap between those of us fortunate enough to have lots of shoes (guys-this includes you too!) and people who need shoes. Soles 4 Souls is “changing the world one pair at a time” with the simple goal of trying to distribute as many pairs of shoes worldwide as possible. This is an impressive, achievable goal that you can help them reach by donating new and gently used shoes. The process is simple! takepart to find a drop box in your community or set one up at your school, house of worship or community center today. Your donation is more than just a pair of shoes—you will help someone move forward in the world-literally.

(photo by asleeponasunbeam)

All week I’m writing about hunger and homelessness for National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. These 10 facts will give you a better sense of homelessness and hunger in the US in 2008. They are from the Coalition for the Homeless, HELP USA, National Alliance to End Homelessness and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

1. Most homeless are not lazy people. Many adults living in shelters have jobs but cannot afford housing, especially in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Washington, DC where housing costs are astronomical.
2. The majority of people in New York City shelters on any given night are families.
3. Los Angeles has the highest rate of homelessness in the nation, with approximately 88,000 individuals.
4. The number of homeless continues to increase. There are now 35, 200 homeless in New York, up from 21,100 in 1998
5. 36.2 million people lacked access to adequate food at some point in 2007.
6. There were 13 million “food insecure” households last year. This includes 691,000 children and 783,000 seniors.
7. 400,000 US veterans have experienced homelessness this year with 195,827 without shelter on any given night.
8. Between 1 and 1.5 million teenagers experience homelessness at least one time per year.
9. Homelessness is not just an urban issue. About 9% of all homeless people live in rural areas.
10. Homelessness and hunger can be solved when we all devote enough energy and resources to help hungry and homeless people in our communities today. Takepart today by volunteering and supporting the following organizations: Coalition for the Homeless, HELP USA, National Alliance to End Homelessness.

(photo from jspatchwork’s photostream)

Feed the Need

Did you know that according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 36.2 million people, including 13 million families were considered “food insecure” in 2007, which means they did not have regular access to food? Included in these families were 691,000 children and 783,000 seniors. This week is National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week which gives me the opportunity to highlight some of the amazing organizations involved in the Social Action campaign for the Soloist (which will be released in 2009).  One such group is Do Something, which is spearheading the “Feed the Need!” campaign (I know Danny wrote about it last week but I wanted to re-highlight!!) to combat hunger nationwide.  They are mobilizing teens across the country to organize food drives to support homeless and hungry families and individuals, who often aren’t guaranteed three daily meals.  Teens are encouraged to start a drive at their school, house of worship or community center to collect canned and boxed food for their local shelter.

Mobilizing teens is a great way for them to do something to fight hunger and homelessness and to be part of the solution to ending this crisis today. takepart Tell the teens in your community to Takepart today by signing up to Feed the Need!.

This Fall DoSomething.org and Participant’s upcoming film The Soloist are partnering up for Feed the Need, an initiative to get kids across the country to help fight hunger in their communities.  With the goal of collecting one million pounds of food, high schools, middle schools, orchestras and church groups across the country are running food drives to bring hope to communities in need.  Here’s High School Musical’s Corbin Bleu to explain:

takepart by starting your own drive. Find a local participating food bank near you with the widget below and follow these simple steps from DoSomething.org.

Today’s Feeding the World Conference in London will address the hotly debated use of genetically modified(GM) crops to address the global food crisis (apologies to British readers who didn’t get the word sooner).  While proponents of GM crops argue that the benefits of increased yields and nutritional value outweigh concerns over genetic manipulation, recent studies are reinforcing support for organic solutions to  global food concerns.  I fully believe that GM crops are not the answer, and that we can find ways address the problems of worldwide hunger through organic methods.  There are too many risks involved with GM crops, which place control of food in the hands of a few multinational corporations and reduces food security.  Many people argue that we already produce enough food to feed everyone and that the real problem lies in the politics of distribution.

Here is an excerpt from a  panel discussion at the Slow Food Conference some of us attended over Labor Day weekend, with Vandana Shiva laying it down about GM technology:

takepart and learn more with Participant Media’s upcoming film Food, Inc.

During October 17-19 the record for the biggest mass mobilization on a single issue was broken when over 116 million people participated in the Stand Up and Take Action Campaign to end world poverty. Stand Up and Take Action mobilizes people to contact their government, donate blood, plant trees and a variety of other actions that help end poverty and inequality.

Stand Up and Take Action is a global movement to demand that world leaders keep their promises to end poverty and inequality – in 2000, leaders of 189 countries signed the Millennium Declaration agreeing to end extreme poverty through achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. takepart and visit http://www.standagainstpoverty.org/ for ways you can take a stand against poverty.

Wars rage. Ice caps melt. Reefs crumble. A child dies every 5 seconds of sheer hunger or preventable disease. Your 401K looks like a tip jar. An Escalade snaked your parking spot. Aimless teenagers repeatedly flip you off.

Day in the life?

Indeed some days. Yes, there is much to frustrate, infuriate and incapacitate. Apathy lurks. Entropy looms. But is this second law of thermodynamics inevitable? Is chaos preventable, degeneration reversible? That, I suppose is the nature of faith. I don’t exactly know what I believe but I know that I have to believe in the essential goodness of people – and I do.

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This Thursday marks the 27th anniversary of World Food Day, a global event orchestrated to raise awareness and understanding of hunger, and to seek solutions to alleviate this worldwide problem.   This year’s theme is ‘World Food Insecurity - the challenge of climate change’ and events are expected to take place in over 150 countries, and in cities across the U.S. The focus of World Food Day is particularly vital now as we are seeing a dramatic rise of food shortages and sharp increases in food prices that are effecting people everywhere.   There are a multitude of factors that have led to these dire circumstances, and World Food Day brings together communities and organizations to coordinate dynamic and localized responses to the problems.

takepart by attending an event in your community or organize an event if there isn’t one planned already.