2008 Street Survey Report Is Out Now!

The Homeless Alliance has released its 2008 Street Survey Report and it can be read at http://www.wnyhomeless.org

There has been significant coverage of the story in our local media. The Buffalo News wrote the below article:

Buffalo News Street Survey Report Coverage

And WGRZ did the following report (video link):

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59449&catid=13

We will be posting some salient points and highlights from the Street Survey Report here on the blog, so stay tuned!

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NYC Starts Measuring Poverty Differently

Though poverty advocates have been saying it for years, the inadequacy of the “poverty level” that we have in the US really hit home when coordination the 2008 Poverty Challenge.

Mayor Bloomberg in NYC found that this poverty level particularly didn’t reflect the standard of living for families in the Big Apple. Therefore, NYC has begun to use a new formula that is different than the federal formula for calculating poverty. This new formula found that an additional 400,000 people in NYC are living in poverty.

The New York Times published an editorial yesterday on this new poverty measure. The editorial is behind the link.

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Couple Helps Working Poor in Rural WNY

Todd and Linette Crelly have been a part of the Homeless Alliance FOOD Project almost a year now. They have been interested in knowing how best to serve the needs of folks who are coming to their Trading Post Community Care Center in Springville. Linette has come to a number of community meetings and shared her concern about the difficulty of service access for folks in the rural edges of Erie County, particularly homeless individuals and families who are reluctant to enter the city of Buffalo.

Recently, Todd and Linette were highlighted in the Buffalo News for their work of being a point of access for food and clothing in Springville.

Read the story here (pdf).

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Our 100th Blog Post! Devan Decicco given Sr. Jean Frank Award

With our 100^th post we thought that it might be fitting to let our readers know that Devan DeCicco our Americorps/VISTA Education Coordinator who is the staff person most responsible for much of the content here on the blog was recently honored with the Sister Jean Frank Award by the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless.

The Sister Jeanne Frank Award was first conceived in 1995 and has been presented annually since then. It is given to an individual who exemplifies Sister Jeanne’s spirit in relating to the homeless and needy. The honor is presented to an individual who has demonstrated persistence, a strong sense of social justice and willingness to go many extra miles for the causes of the homeless.

Past recipients include: Mary Stengel, Pat Griffin, Kathy Johnson, Michael Burgess, Kathy Laughlin, Jack Gustaferro, Penny Selmonsky, Adrian Slocum, Karen Carman, Katie McHugh Connolly, and Bill Graham

Sister Jeanne Frank, a member of the Roman Catholic order of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, was a powerful advocate for the poor of Buffalo and Erie County. She was the founder of the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room (originally operated out of Our Lady of Lourdes on Main Street) which continues to provide food and critical services to the poor and homeless. Sister Jeanne’s approach is summed up in her instruction to her volunteers: “Remember you are serving your equals. Don’t put a plate in front of them without putting yourself there as well.”

She was a founder of the Western New York Coalition for the Homeless, bringing together people from various organizations to work together to raise public awareness and improve the lives of homeless people.

She was both teacher and inspiration to many in our community who continue to serve and advocate for those who are homeless and in crisis.

Devan is certainly a worthy recipient of this award. Devan is responsible for the growth of the Homeless Alliance’s efforts to include our faith communities in homeless prevention efforts. Devan has also written a number of successful grant applications for both the Alliance and the Homeless Coalition. His passion for social justice and his commitment to those in most need among us is an inspiration to us all and he is a very deserving recipient of the Sister Jean Frank Award.

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Veterans Living on the Street: CNN Reports

CNN did a short story on Homeless Veterans in Washington, D.C., highlighting that post traumatic stress disorder is a contributing factor to homelessness and almost 2,000 Iraq War veterans around the country are homeless (according to the US Dept. of Veterans’ Affairs).

See the video here.

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