In the mid-section of her ordinary life, my friend Denie, whom I’ve known since before we were old enough to vote, felt what she described as a call of God to minister to the homeless. She wasn’t sure what that meant for her life, but she was full of faith and unction that she had received a bonafide...

On Monday Mom’s social worker called to say that the program she works under was about to lose almost 90% of itsfunding, which comes from King County.  This kind of a cut would functionally eliminate the program for nearly all of the 150 (of the most vulnerable/severely mentally ill) people who use...

Shame is my least favorite emotion. It’s different than guilt. Guilt I can deal with. Guilt compels me to action. I can confess my sin, ask forgiveness and strive to do better next time. Shame is the stranger who leads me down a dark road where more shameful things await, things that will surely cause...

Count me among the millions. It’s been a year since I lost the best job of my journalism career, working as an editorial writer and columnist for a family-owned newspaper. Call it what you like – riffed, cut, layed off, let go – I joined the ranks of the nation’s unemployed. Tears welled up in...

My 12 year old daughter has gotten up almost every Thursday at 4:30am for almost two years to go cook and feed breakfast to the homeless population of Baton Rouge.  The breakfast is served at the Baton Rouge Dream Center’s Roselawn location, which is just off Florida Blvd, right down the road...

This week at Lehigh University, where I work, is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  On Thursday many of us in the community will be wearing t-shirts to represent our support in fighting this sad reality within our communities, country, and world.  I wanted to share the story printed on the backs...