A Hiatus From Writing Doesn't Mean A Hiatus From Helping Others...

Okay, so I apologize to the one point seven peeps who read this drivel with any regularity; I've heard ya and you can stop sending me emails and comments to "please return" to the blogosphere.

I've been involved in a number of things that have taken the vast majority of my time, most of them computer/training related, and by the time I complete a 10 or 12 hour day on the keyboard or buried in research and writing, the last thing I want to do is head over to the blog and jam in another couple of hours rehashing all the stuff I've been up to.

Besides, I've learned from writing at Change.org that the dry, boring policy-making crap I'm involved with doesn't get a lot of hits.  Folks want sensationalism.  They want to read about "Bumfights" and folks who freeze or bake to death while on the street.  They want to hear about the man who is discharged from the hospital in a wheelchair, rolled out to the curb while still clutching his catheter bag and told to catch a bus or be arrested for loitering on hospital property.  They want to see images of the latest demolition of yet another Tent City, or watch some poor sod get busted for "obstructing the sidewalk" or "blocking a public passageway."  Figuring out how to stop this from happening to people is about as interesting to many folks as watching paint dry.

And basically, it's what I've been doing; figuring out how to provide better services to folks, how to treat people like human beings instead of the dregs of society, how to convince them that after years of hearing "sorry, we can't help you" there actually is someone now who can - and wants - to help. 

A few of the more notable things cooking:
A couple of documentaries underway that I have a small role in.  Oprah Winfrey's upcoming Tent City documentary (I'll get some pics of the Stick Figure production company up shortly as they worked to film a Tent City couple's wedding last weekend) is nearing conclusion after a year's worth of filming and following folks around, both before and after the "great flood" of 2010.   There is some footage of the camp underwater I shot about 3 days after the rains started that they've asked to use in the documentary, so I've been working a bit w them to finalize that.  You may also see a number of camp images in the documentary that also belong to me, although I'm not sure that's going to happen yet.

The other documentary is just getting started and if all goes well will be done by Patricia Foulkrod (also check out the Huffington Post's piece on Patricia here)  on a local female Iraq war vet who is dealing with issues of homelessness and mental illness after serving. Patricia contacted me after reading something I'd written here and at Change.org, so it was nice to see that the blog has been responsible for connecting me to people who have the potential to reach thousands, perhaps millions, with the work they are doing.

I've also been deeply involved in getting a brand new Consumer Advisory Board up and running for SAMHSA.  The Services in Supportive Housing Consumer Peer-Specialist Network (SSH CPN) has had its inaugural meeting, with six of the 8 new members on hand to receive a welcome aboard from SAMHSA federal project officers and project developers and coordinators for the Center 4 Social Innovation.  Additionally, I've taken the lead role in the more established, but differently focused Projects to Assist the Transition from Homelessness Consumer Provider Network (PCPN) and to that end have been working with the six active members of that group on several very interesting efforts.  The PCPN's mission aligns itself with the PATH mission and the focus is primarily on outreach and engagement, while the SSH CPN is going to play a large role in providing consumer input into the policies and projects SAMHSA will be establishing in the area of supportive housing.

Both these groups have the primary goal of ensuring the consumer voice is finally heard, and I cannot give thanks enough to the directors and colleagues at SAMHSA who have really been at the forefront of ensuring that we consumers actually have some role in crafting the treatment protocols designed to assist us!  What a novel concept (kin ya hear the heavy sarcasm???).  The folks at SAMHSA recognize it's really an organizational culture change they're working on here, and to that end have gone above and beyond the call of duty in working to bring our voices to the table.

I just finished a training w the National Health Care for the Homeless Council  right here in my backyard, and invited Carolyn Cooper, who recently left the Mental Health Coop to take on the role of Housing Coordinator at the Nashville Homelessness Commission, as a co-presenter.  She didn't let me down and basically stole the show with her wonderful insight into street outreach, based on the ten year stint as one of the Coop's Outreach specialists.  Also presenting with us was Dr. Deborah Borne, who is the Medical Director for San Francisco's Tom Waddell Public Health Clinic, and let me tell you, Deb is an incredible practitioner, not to mention a wonderful new friend.  Together with Carolyn, we had great fun with our presentation and hopefully were able to share some good insights with the conference attendees.  I know our session was one of the most heavily attended, so apparently we were offering something folks wanted.

Finally, I'm leaving for Washington DC on Dec. 6th for a week to attend the big PATH Grantee Conference.  Big WillyC will be presenting on SOAR at the event, and I've been orchestrating a presentation on Outreach and how not to get it done.  The entire PCPN group will be role playing through three skits and if they are half as good as the practice seesions indicate, I think folks are really going to enjoy themselves.

I will be out of town during our upcoming Project Homeless Connect and I'm bummed about that, but Denis Huey and I, along with about every person involved with the event this year, have been posting flyers and giving out the handout cards, so I imagine with the number of people who attend and who volunteer, they won't even know I'm gone.

I'm hoping it won't be so long between posts again but all work and no play do make Stevie a dull boy indeed!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!!