Formerly homeless, they know whereof they speak

[Fire Walk With Me]

By Nita Lelyveld, Los Angeles Times
November 13, 2011, 8:55 p.m.

He grew up in the suburbs, went to Catholic school, got himself a job at the telephone company. Then he lost the job and the slide began.

"Everything was good and then it all shattered," he said — and he became one of the people passers-by walk by on skid row.

"Take time to give somebody a chance, give somebody some dignity. Say hello. Say good morning," Rodriguez said. And as he spoke, support from the room — "Mmm-hmmm," "That's right" — washed over his words in warm waves.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homeless-ambassadors-20111114,0,2714651.story

[OneGrassRoot]

1. K&R n/t

[a la izquierda]

2. Happy to K&R

and though I'm a lapsed Catholic, I'll take a quote I saw in the comments:
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" Matthew 25:40

[duhneece]

3. My favorite verse

Or maybe second favorite, next to "God is Love"

[Rabblevox]

4. As a formerly homeless person. Yes we do know, usually, about "boots on the ground" stuff...

but please don't maintain the fiction that homeless people have better answers about the economy than others. That's about like expecting a baseball player to have a great quiche recipe. Maybe you'll get lucky, but the smart money does not bet with you.

[Fire Walk With Me]

5. Of course, but the overall gist is them having a Voice, long since denied.

In a day when tea baggers cheer for "let them die if they're sick" regarding healthcare, it's important to stress the other polarity. Now the homeless are gaining attention, when it is becoming obvious that many are just one disaster from joining them. They're us, we're them, welcome home...what are the problems so we can all begin solving them...