Professional Blogging and Homelessness: Why few succeed and many continue to fail

Everyone makes mistakes when they first begin blogging. There's the 'teeth cutting' period. I see hundreds of sites weekly that are given up by people with unique material out of discouragement.

It's the mindset that self professed professional bloggers have created that new bloggers buy in to. Dreams of leaving day jobs, of being able to work at home...when the reality of having to self educate hits hard most can't stay the course.

One web directory giving promises of high returns of visitors (sometimes with disclaimers in small print at the bottom), promises of being Paid Per Post by advertising middle men taking their cut...the simple truth is that when a person starts thinking of blogging as a business...they need to professionally evaluate if they can self manage themselves.

Everyone can be a blogger. Everyone can create online accounts.

The difference between everyone and the professionals is tenacity.

It's the same thing with people experiencing homelessness. They fall into three categories.

1.) Those that break the cycle on their own volition.
2.) Those that do by being inspired by others that have.
3.) Those that never do.

Jacksonville Homeless Speakers' Bureau: December 8th, 2009

Please join us for a real look at the Face of Homelessness among our children.
During this presentation you will hear the stories of three young adults who have aged out of foster care and found themselves experiencing homelessness at one point in their lives.

Donations of coffee are much appreciated and will benefit the St. John’s Cathedral coffee service to the homeless.

You can always check for an online auto insurance quote as well.


Date: 12/8/09 Time: 3:30-4:30pm

Taliaferro Hall
St. John’s Cathedral
256 E Church St
Jacksonville, FL 32202

A rose by any other name would still be a flower

A number of years ago I remember the lure of living in an RV, traveling the countryside and seeing it's sites, and finding a way of making a living to exist in a nomadic lifestyle.

A sign to the likes of "sell motorhome" never seemed to pop in front of me when I had the cash.

I remember two television shows in the 70s that revolved around people living this lifestyle, one seeming to be financially self sufficient and the other a freelance photographer. These days it's much easier, the only thing necessary being the ability to connect to the internet...everything else I; and others do; online use tools integrating with laptops for mobile office use.

Depending on who you talk to and the definition they choose to use, nomadics living in homes on wheels to me doesn't feel 'homeless' should be applied to...they identify and feel 'at home' in such.

Who should be the authority of what label is given a demographic slice of society?

Ten Year Plans To End Homelessness: Not for the masses

When a person goes from living a 'sheltered life' to having a home, there are many challenges they face to sustain themselves that are taken for granted...by others and themselves. Many more 'fall off' the wagon than some would want to admit publicly.

While communities across the nation embrace "10 year plans" to end homelessness, many times they don't offer numbers to justify initial or continued cost. While 'placing' individuals or families into 'secure housing' sounds good, many civil authorities can't 'buy in' to such plans due to the best interest of all residents they serve.

It's not just the residents in existing stable housing, there's the fact of services necessary for the needs of the masses that won't fit into predefined planned homes.

How many people could be served by the same funding used to create a safe campground, potable water for consumption and showers, and availability to transportation by including one local transit bus line adjacent? Local service providers could 'satellite' and rotate regularly employees jointly at such sites for case management, medical, and other existing services rendered in facilities requiring overhead cost that could be invested in the service...not the building to provide services to those not living in buildings.

For over three years I've had the chance of witnessing a police lieutenant of Jacksonville Sheriff's Office personally manage a daytime foot patrol beat of Hemming Plaza. Both him and a fellow officer are seen regularly enough there that I address them both by first name when not in the presence of others.

Jacksonville has in it's ability to provide a safer habitable area than many of it's military currently serving overseas and living 'in the field' experience.

When we get past the notion it requires someone in an office to do 'the right thing', maybe we'll start finding the money in our pockets to have done what was needed long ago.

To serve the residents rather than our self serving goals individually.

If you read this far, thanks. If you don't like the air of it, consider changing the humidifier filters if you're that stuffy.