These articles originally appeared in “The Alley,” the newspaper for the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis.
After over 20 years of working with social services agencies that serve the homeless, I have seen many different responses to ending homelessness. Some have been more successful than others, while some have benefitted from having good salespeople promoting them as the next big thing. Recently, I have been encouraged by the work of the …
This December I got to lead the annual Homeless Memorial March, an event that honors those who died in the past year who were either homeless or formerly homeless. It was the fifth time in seven years that I led the March, an honor I received because I carry Luna, a huge “puppet” mounted on …
“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” -Edmund Burke I first encountered that quotation when I read Bob Geldof’s autobiography Is That It? Geldof had reached the part of his story where his band The Boomtown Rats couldn’t get any of their songs on the …
“The Homeless”, a title that should only describe a person’s living situation, but often describes so much more. On the one hand, being part of the homeless population automatically means sleep deprivation, instability, the daily challenge of finding what you need and so much more. Unfortunately, that is only the objective side of homelessness, the …
When Sister Rose founded Peace House Community, it quickly became known as “the living room on Franklin Avenue”. Sister Rose wanted anyone who walked through the door to feel like they were going to a friend’s house where there was acceptance without invasive questions. People could share what they wanted or not share as they …
Each day that Peace House Community is open, we host a “meditation” for our guests, volunteers and community members. It isn’t meditation in the traditional sense; we focus on one topic and discuss it as a group to help us understand each other and develop a great respect for the people and world around us. …
When asked to name a person’s most basic needs, most people will reliably name food, shelter and clothing. A quick Google search adds air, safety, warmth, health and sex. Sometimes one or two other ideas like companionship get tossed out, and Wikipedia adds sanitation, education, healthcare and internet to the list. (I suppose if you’re …
The latest Father’s Day was a reminder to me of the need to be flexible and enjoy what comes your way. My plans didn’t go as I had envisioned, but fretting about it would have caused more worry than productivity, and I would have missed some great moments. At our house Father’s Day starts on …
pictures and story by Mike Hazard David A. De Lampert Jr. has peace on his mind. “I do a lot to make sure in my soul I don’t let nobody steal my peace.” “We are so hard on each other. Nitpicking, always looking for what’s wrong and put someone down. People don’t know how to …
Peace House Community values the “Community” part of our name. PHC’s founder, Sister Rose Tilleman, focused on people rather than things, and as such she wanted to bring together a community rather than open a drop-in center. Since PHC was founded, its members, volunteers and Board have found many ways of keeping the focus on …