BETTER THAN A MOON SHOT
What Could Make a Real Difference?
These three moms, & MacKenzie Scott hold the key
Sometimes good ideas hit me like a ton of bricks. As I scrolled through my newsfeed over the past few days, I could not help but think of a (albeit maybe farfetched) “solution” we have for one of our nation’s festering issues — family homelessness.
If I were to ask these three Melissas what they want for Christmas, or any day, they would echo
“We want every family experiencing homelessness to have a copy of our book,” The Three Melissas — The Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness!
This unique handbook, available since mid-September ’24, is the product of three formerly homeless moms, all named Melissa, written FOR moms/parents experiencing homelessness. Their shared wisdom is also worthwhile for those working with homeless families and those curious about this hidden issue.
Think about it. How many people, when their family is faced with losing housing, get any practical advice, much less meaningful assistance? Not many, according to my more-than-vast experience. When these families need the most help is when they get the least, and then things get even worse.
The beleaguered families disappear, left to make do in circumstances that would cause mighty moms (and dads) to crumble. Their kids suffer, even newborns, thanks to the cruelty on the streets, even from police officers.
For law enforcement to come upon somebody that is in labor and whose water has broken, and just say they don’t believe her, it’s disgusting,” said Christen Herron, the director of housing services at the Arthur Street Hotel, which shelters and helps homeless people in Louisville. — New York Times, 12/21/24
My scathingly brilliant idea…
My idea the other day was inspired by the flamboyant, extraordinary giving spree MacKenzie Scott has been on. I’m tickled purple with her relentless distribution of her billions for good causes. And I have a suggestion that might appeal to her.
How about a mass distribution of our Three Melissas books to families and those working with families? This could be done through public schools (over 130,000 schools in more than 13,000 public school districts all required to have district homeless liaisons) and family shelters (my web search failed to turn up how many family homeless shelters, a sad statement).
To be clear…
I’m not wanting any of that money for my one-woman nonprofit, HEAR US Inc. Nope! Honest! My board committed to directing Three Melissas’ book proceeds to these three Melissas who made this book possible. My co-author Diana Bowman and I don’t get a penny from the book sales. As it should be.
Since 2005, after running shelters for 15 years, I’ve been on the road chronicling family and youth homelessness, living in a van, traveling to non-urban places to establish that homelessness is everywhere. That’s where I met each of the three Melissas* who inspired this project.
*FYI, these three courageous, articulate moms are what I would classify as the middle of the road homeless parents. They had horrific bouts of homelessness with their kids. Others have it way worse, some not as bad. I certainly don’t want to diminish their experiences.
Validation from news media!
Two recent news stories did a uncommonly decent job illustrating what I’ve been seeing everywhere about two subsets of families experiencing homelessness, the Littles and those in hotels/motels.
1. Homeless babies and toddlers
- CNN, which I’ve tried to boycott since they’ve shifted their political priorities, adeptly covered the astounding efforts of Horizons for Homeless Children and their stellar work with homeless babies and toddlers. CNN’s coverage would make any viewer unaware of the scope and impact of The Littlest Nomads’ homelessness cry like babies.
(I filmed the short video Life is But a Dream, below, at Horizons. It gets big help from Sara Thomsen’s song “Little One,” used with permission.)
2. Motel homelessness
- NBC probably spoiled people’s Christmas/Hanukkah celebrations with their excellent story about families stuck in Hudson Valley motels because they can’t afford housing (aka experiencing homelessness). Staying in motels won’t be the same after you watch this piece and realize that families across the land are in this dire predicament.
(My video below was thanks to Tamu and her family generously allowing me to spend time with them in their NJ motel room.)
Family Homelessness: The Upstream Issue
I’ve long been ranting and raving about family homelessness being the “source” of many of the adults we see on the street these days. If you’re curious, here’s a recent post of mine about homelessness that offers insights on the sources of street homelessness (hello, Supreme Court!). The three Melissas astutely opine on this topic in their book.
My words don’t begin to convey the plight of families as much as the families in my videos (available to watch free). School districts and other organizations have been using them for years to help people grasp the reality of family homelessness.
What’s up with the three Melissas?
In the three months since our rousing national book launch in Raleigh, NC, I’ve done a book tour that allowed me to visit with each of the Melissas back home. We’ve done presentations to communities and family shelters, distributed books to local school libraries, and agencies, and done interviews for news media.
We’ve got some exciting offshoot projects in the works and will be doing a few team presentations at state conferences. They’re itching to use their passion and know-how to provide encouragement to families in the various iterations of homelessness (far more than HUD’s street homeless designation) and to raise awareness in schools, communities, and among elected officials.
So, MacKenzie…
I’m not stuck on a particular method to distribute these Three Melissas books, but I sure want them to get out far and wide, something my little operation is not capable of.
The purchase of the books for homeless families across the country, some way to handle distribution, and postage is what I’m seeking. Logistics remain to be determined.
You could make massive clamor about the millions of kids and families experiencing homelessness by this project. Maybe that noise would get the powers-that-be off their too-comfortable duffs and push them to finally address the shameful, debilitating, growing issue of family homelessness.
You could claim the honor of doing something bigger than sending rockets into space. And millions of kids and parents would be eternally grateful.
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