faces of homelessness speakers' bureau atl

Check out our speaker Carlito Muhammad's New Book!

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:36:24 -0400

Check out our speaker Carlito Muhammad's New Book!

June 2012 Update on the Speakers' Bureau

Thu, 14 Jun 2012 14:33:43 -0400

We are still educating the people of Atlanta! Lately we have done peer supported education. We are collaborating with Church on the Street to create a women’s mentoring group. Our speaker, Adrienne Johnson and others go and give hope and useful resources to women still struggling to overcome the homeless experience in Atlanta. We are also starting to mentor women at the Atlanta Day Center. Soon we will collaborate with Vision Outreach,Inc. to reach out to veterans who are dealing with homelessness, substance abuse, and/or mental illness.

We are still open to requests for presentations! Feel free to reach out and connect with us at 404-215-6685.

Help Us Share Hope!!!!

Wed, 02 May 2012 10:27:35 -0400

The Speakers’ Bureau is going in a new direction. We want to bring our speakers’ to organizations that are helping the homeless. Our speakers’ have great stories of resiliency and it will help people who are struggling with homelessness to hear some success stories and some tips on how to recover. If you want us to come speak at your organization just drop me a line. We will come for free, people can give monetary donations if they desire. You can reach me, Catelin Lindsay at: c.lindsay@gatewayctr.org

Check out the VISTA Spotlight! It Features Brad Mckinley and Catelin Lindsay, the Two Coordinators of the Speakers Bureau for Metro Atlanta!

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:38:28 -0400

Check out the VISTA Spotlight! It Features Brad Mckinley and Catelin Lindsay, the Two Coordinators of the Speakers Bureau for Metro Atlanta!

Kennesaw State University and the gala with Beautifully Human, Inc.

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:26:00 -0400

We have been fortunate to have numerous great presentations recently. Brad Mckinley and Adrienne Johnson spoke at Kennesaw University. We are always happy to speak there. Kennesaw is a great university with a very welcoming atmosphere.

Then Catelin Lindsay took Kristy Kehely to speak at a gala done by Beautifully Human, Inc. Beautifully Human, Inc. is a organization that focuses on decreasing domestic violence, empowering our youth, and helping people who are homeless. Photos from this event will be up shortly. It was a beautiful night with great live jazz and our speaker was accepted with open arms. Good job Kristy Kehely and thank you Desaree Johnson for having us. You can check out Beautifully Human, Inc. at:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Beautifully-Human-Inc/244220315642443

Check out this video of Lee Boyd explaining how he overcame...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:08:00 -0400

Check out this video of Lee Boyd explaining how he overcame homelessness to become one of our most successful advocates in Atlanta!

Check out this great video of Nikki Kelley explaining how she...

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:03:37 -0400

Check out this great video of Nikki Kelley explaining how she overcame homelessness in Atlanta!

The Bureau Presents at Georgia Tech!!!!

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:23:00 -0500

March 6, 2012

We would like to take a moment and thank Georgia Tech for having the Speakers’ Bureau come present during their MOVE: Hunger and Homelessness Week! It was fun! It inspired us to see how enthusiastic the students were about volunteering in Atlanta.The students asked great questions and we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. We wanted to take a second to also showcase some of the photos from the night. Check them out!

Why Not Help Fight Poverty Beyond Atlanta Too?

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:31:59 -0500

Please help me support this wonderful cause. The Global Village School takes refugee girls from the most war-torn and repressive regions of the world and helps them assimilate to the United States (as well as peace, safety and freedom.

Dear Friends,

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

I am applying for a special grant of $2500 from GOOD to support the Global Village School (GVS) One Voice Chorus http://makemusic.maker.good.is/projects/GVSOneVoiceChorus

GVS is a school in Decatur GA for teenage refugee girls from Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, and Central African Republic. This is my 3rd year as GVS Artist-in-Residence. Our repertoire includes songs from the students’ home cultures PLUS our own original songs, and classic american peace and justice anthems. We want to create a chorus to become the public face of the school and to leverage further funding for this unique institution that serves girls whose formal education has been interrupted by war and refugee camp experiences. Music is an important part of the GVS innovative curriculum, and the One Voice Chorus will reflect both the diversity of the student population and the effectiveness of music as a tool for learning English as well as Science, Math, and Social Studies. We use singing to help these teenage survivors of war achieve their dreams - and they do dream big!

The recipient of the grant is chosen by having the most public votes…

http://makemusic.maker.good.is/projects/GVSOneVoiceChorus

Voting opens at noon on March 15 and runs until March 29.

Between March 15-29, we need to get a LOT of people to vote for our project.

They only fund one project! So mark your calendar!

Please send this link out to ANY lists you can think of, and urge them to vote for the GVS One Voice Chorus!

Also go on the site and post a comment.

The more the better! The link is up now, so you can already post comments.

http://makemusic.maker.good.is/projects/GVSOneVoiceChorus

In addition to the money, it would bring a lot of national attention and focus to GVS.

Thank you for your support!

peace with harmony,

Elise

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WEBSITE: http://www.EliseWitt.com

WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj6gdagEiPM

LISTEN & PHOTOS: http://www.SonicBids.com/EliseWitt

ELISE WITT

EMWorld Records

PO Box 148, Pine Lake GA 30072

(404) 297-8398

--

Watch this Great Video for a Good Explanation of the Speakers' Bureau

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:38:30 -0500

Watch this Great Video for a Good Explanation of the Speakers' Bureau:

Brad McKinley, an Americorps VISTA who coordinates the Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau explains our fabulous bureau located in Atlanta, Georgia. Watch this informative link to get an in depth perspective of the bureau’s work and its effort to educate and encourage people in the community to help people who are homeless.

Our Speaker Adrienne Johnson Achieves Volunteer of the Year!!!!

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 09:45:00 -0500

March 2, 2012

Yesterday was a proud moment for the Metro Atlanta Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau. Our speaker Adrienne Johnson achieved Volunteer of the Year from the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness. Adrienne is a powerful voice in combating homelessness in Atlanta.

Adrienne has an amazing story. Adrienne was homeless for five years in Atlanta. She volunteered for the community while homeless and once she secured housing she went on to volunteer for many organizations in Atlanta that are working to decrease homelessness. She has worked as a speaker for the Metro Atlanta Faces of Homelessness Speakers’ Bureau for three years. She has substantially increased donations to the Gateway Center with her moving speeches. She has also volunteered for such organizations as Hosea Feed the Hungry and the Pilgrims Cathedral of Atlanta.

Adrienne along with many other top notch speakers are available through our bureau. If you would like to have Adrienne or others present just call the Speakers’ Bureau at 404-215-6685. You can also email me, Catelin Lindsay, at raistlyn80@live.com.

Come join the Speakers' Bureau for a Fun Night at Community Grounds!!!!

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:31:00 -0500

Feb. 21, 2012

Calling all artists! We need some musicians and poets to participate in our fundraiser! You will get part of the profit, we are taking donations at the event. The event is March 15, 2012 and it will be at Community Grounds in Atlanta. If you would like to participate send me an email at raistlyn80@live.com.

Thanks!!! Catelin Lindsay

Speakers' Bureaus Are Powerful!

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:56:44 -0500

February 20, 2012

The Speakers’ Bureau provides a valuable platform to reach others in the community. I think most causes and most communities could benefit from having a speakers’ bureau. Humans need stories! We need uplifting tales, we need stories that compel us towards acts of compassion, we need stories that make us laugh. All of these help us see our fellow man in a more honest and heart filled light. The bureau provides a venue for people to share their stories. Beyond that, it provides a venue for people who often feel disconnected from community to connect with others. Our speakers are volunteering at Atlanta Outreach Project, the Open Door Community, and other organizations.Through volunteering the speakers remember and we remember an essential human truth….we can all help one another.

Stay tuned to more updates from the Bureau. We have many more great opportunities coming up!

Wow! The Bureau is hopping!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:16:03 -0500

February 14, 2012

We have so many great events on the horizon I almost can’t keep track of them all! First, we have potentially two radio shows in the near future. More details to follow as soon as the dates are set. Second, we are collaborating to create a homeless list serve that will connect volunteers and needed items with organizations on the front lines of combating homelessness in Atlanta. Next, we are diving further into creating a curriculum for the public schools. The first meeting of the curriculum task force is this Friday, February 17th at 1PM. Finally, we have many great collaborations in the works with area organizations.

We are collaborating with the Atlanta Outreach Project to educate more faith based communities about homelessness. We also met with the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, we may present a seminar about homelessness and domestic abuse at their conference in September. We are waiting to find out if our proposal has been accepted. We are visiting the Open Door Community in Atlanta this week to volunteer and hear their ideas on intensive community outreach for people who are homeless. Finally, right now I am taking a class from Church on the Street to learn how dignity can serve and how the bureau can help volunteers expand on their gifts and create a future beyond surviving homelessness in Atlanta.

Could you avoid homelessness if you lost your job? Prove it!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:53:00 -0500

Could you avoid homelessness if you lost your job? Prove it!:

If you click on the title, you will be connected to a game called,”SPENT.” SPENT allows you to see how you would survive the month if you faced some unfortunate economic circumstances such as losing your job, losing your apartment, etc. Also, the game is fun! Give it a try!

Here are some ideas for decreasing homelessness and increasing community interaction. Check them out!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:48:29 -0500

1. Encourage people to use 211. 211 is a phone service provided by the United Way to help connect people to services and it is free.

2. Support organizations like Atlanta Outreach Project that work to permanently house people and teach job skills. The Atlanta Outreach Project can be reached at: http://atlantaoutreach.org/contact/

3. Support Faces of Homelessness by using Good Search. Good Search is a free search engine. Just choose Faces of Homelessness Metro Atlanta Speakers’ Bureau as your cause, and change Good search to your homepage, and you will help us raise funds. These funds will defer costs (such as gas, speakers’ honorariums, etc.)This will allow us to travel further, speak more, and decrease stereotypes about the people who are homeless in the community.

4. Join legislature alerts for the organizations you care about. Contact the Coalition for Homeless People with Mental Illness. The contact for this is Alan Harris. He can be emailed at: alanmharris@juno.com. Find out what is really happening. Contact the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. There is a huge correlation between domestic violence and homelessness. For example, 92% or homeless women have been abused. There email is http://gcadv.org/get-involved/connect/. The phone number for GCADV is 404.209.0280.

5. Visit places like the Open Door Community and Church on the Street to build meaningful relationships with people who are homeless. The Open Door Community can be reached at 404-874-9652. The Open Door Community website is http://opendoorcommunity.org/. Church on the Street can be contacted at: 770-634-1122. The website for Church on the Street is http://02de82c.netsolhost.com/dotnetnuke/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx

6. Volunteer at Gateway. Contribute to Gateway. Gateway is a great place to learn about homelessness and how it is impacting Atlanta. The volunteer coordinator’s number at Gateway is 404-215-6651. Another great organization to contact is the Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness. The Georgia Alliance to End Homelessness compiles information regularly on homelessness. The website for them is http://www.gahomeless.org/

7. Check out the organization Project Live love. It is a great fun way to help others in the community. There website is info@projectlivelove.com

Speakers' Bureau Update: February 6th-12th, 2012

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:00:12 -0500

So what is on the agenda this week for the Speakers’ Bureau? Well, let me fill you in on some incredible highlights. Tomorrow we are meeting with the Executive Director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. We are developing ways to mobilize people in the faith based community to get more involved with helping people who are homeless. Then on Thursday we are attending a Region 3 Planning Meeting in Atlanta. At this meeting we will take a couple of our speakers to share their stories and hopefully discourage any further cuts to services. More details on the meeting and location to come. Thursday night we are partnering with Church on the Street. Church on the Street has a great class on faith based outreach that we are taking.

We are still always open to speaking engagements and if you would like to have us come speak at your function please contact us at 404-215-6685. Thanks and watch this blog…….many exciting developments to come!

Social Security Probation Case: Class Certification Will Benefit Countless Thousands

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:09:56 -0500

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) policy of suspending Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits whenever someone has an outstanding warrant for an alleged violation of probation or parole is unlawful. Clark v. Astrue, 602 F.3d 140 (2^nd Cir. 2010), 2010 WL 986544 (Mar. 19, 2010). The decision vacated a district court judgment awarding summary judgment to the government and denying plaintiffs’ motions for summary judgment. 2008 WL 4387709 (S.D.N.Y.).

The appeal revolved around the interpretation of statutory provisions which prohibit the payment of benefits to individuals who are “violating a condition of probation or parole.” 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(x)(1)(A) & 1382(e)(4)(A). Judge Calabresi, writing for a unanimous court, concluded that SSA’s “practice of treating a warrant alleging that a recipient is violating a condition of probation or parole as sufficient and irrebuttable evidence that the recipient is in fact violating a condition of probation or parole is inconsistent with the plain meaning of the Social Security Act.” In reaching this conclusion, the Court rejected the government’s argument that it is not equipped to make case-by-case determinations of whether an individual is violating a condition of probation or parole, because “that is precisely what, we conclude, Congress has required it to do before it may suspend benefits.”

The government had also argued that because the statutory good cause provisions authorize SSA to restore benefits when a warrant is vacated, therefore the mere existence of a warrant must be a basis for suspending benefits in the first place. The Court rejected this argument because it concluded that the good cause provisions do not apply to probation and parole violations because the good cause provisions apply only to warrants for a “criminal offense and probation and parole violations are not criminal offenses.

The case was filed as a putative class action and plaintiffs will likely file for class certification on remand to the district court. The impact of this decision is likely to be substantial since plaintiffs estimate that over 100,000 people have had their benefits suspended or denied under this policy.

The facts of the named plaintiffs are illustrative of the problems faced by class members. Plaintiff Elaine Clark had been sentenced to probation in California and was ordered to pay restitution. Around the same time she was diagnosed with end stage renal disease and was unable to obtain a kidney transplant in California and was also unable to pay the restitution on her modest Social Security check. She instead moved back to her hometown of Buffalo, NY where she was able to receive a kidney transplant. As her probationary period was coming to an end, a warrant was issued in California in order to retain jurisdiction and continue the obligation to pay restitution when she was able to do so. Her Social Security benefits, her only source of income, were stopped and she was threatened with eviction from the facility on a nursing home campus where she resided. Ms. Clark has since died without having her benefits restored.

Plaintiff Tony Gonzales of Oregon City, Oregon had his Social Security Retirement benefits stopped because, as a teenager, he had been sentenced to three years probation for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in Los Angeles. He first learned that a warrant had been issued in 2006 when SSA suspended his benefits. Unlike other class members he was able to go to Los Angeles, where the court vacated the warrant and terminated probation, noting there was no evidence of any violation.

The statutes at issue in Clark are part of the same statutes that were at issue in Fowlkes v. Adamec, 432 F.3d 90 (2^nd Cir. 2005) and Martinez v. AstrueNo. CV-08-4735-CW (N.D. Cal. Sept. 24, 2009). Those cases concerned the provision which prohibited payment of benefits to anyone who was “fleeing to avoid prosecution” for a felony. SSA’s policy for these two different provisions was the same for both, i.e., a warrant alone is sufficient basis for suspending benefits. Martinez was settled in September, 2009 and restores potential eligibility for over 200,000 people, some of whom may be entitled to retroactive relief worth over $500,000,000. See, Martinez v Astrue. For further information, contact Gerald McIntyre in the NSCLC Los Angeles office.

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What a fabulous few days for the ATL Speakers' Bureau!

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:14:00 -0500

January 17, 2012

On Saturday, I went to the commemoration of a peace pole at the East Lake Garden. It was a great event. Thirty people showed up to plant new seedlings in the garden,make goat puppets, share food, and celebrate the planting of a peace pole. There are 45 peace poles in Atlanta, and over 200,000 in the world. The poles say “May peace prevail on Earth.” The message is displayed in English, Spanish, and other languages. The person who assists with the planting of peace poles in Atlanta is Andrea Kay Smith. She explained that the organization, Partnerships in Peace views the peace poles as “prayers implanted in the Earth.” The children loved it. The adults loved it. I left with a feeling that this little community would embrace the great sentiment of peace engraved on the pole. The notion I liked the most is I was there because two of our speakers invited me. Its great to see their love of their community and their nurturing of its future.

Then, Brad and I participated in Decaturs MLK event on Monday, January 16. What a fabulous event! Over 1200 people in three days participated to make this event a sucess. The volunteers fixed up 21 homes for seniors in the area. Hundreds of bags of leaves and debris were removed. It was such a good feeling to see 1200 people taking time to invest in their community. I would recommend the MLK event in Decatur to anyone. You can find out more information about volunteering for it at: http://www.mlkserviceproject.com/.

So what is next for the Speakers’ Bureau? Well, we continue to encourage people to do Good Search for us. The website for this is www.goodsearch.com. All the money will go towards paying the speakers for their presentations and for traveling costs. It is free and you can look us up under Faces of Homelessness Metro Atlanta’s Speakers’ Bureau. Then you just make Good Search your search engine of choice. In addition, we have another engagement on the 28th. Finally, we have three strategic collaborations we are encouraging with local organizations to fight homelessness. If you would like to have us come speak at your event just contact us at:
mwilliams@gatewayctr.org

This is Molly William’s email and she is the supervisor for both VISTAS, Brad Mckinley, and Catelin Lindsay, which is me.

Want to have fun and raise some money for an awesome cause? Why not look into this idea???

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:51:00 -0500

Want to have fun and raise some money for an awesome cause? Why not look into this idea???:

http://www.wix.com/lightscamerafashion2/makingthedreamarealitytelethon

January 13, 2012

As the economy struggles on and more funding is cut the homeless of America only increase. However, this telethon is one of many efforts to turn the tide of homelessness in the U.S. The profits will be used to help homeless mothers and their children and homeless veterans. It’s guarenteed to be one heck of a good time! It’s going to have some of the leading celebrities in Atlanta, all of which are willing to help this good cause. Check out the url above for more details about the telethon on April 28th.