Local Media Coverage
Friday, December 28, 2007
Hello guys and gals. Dave Bakee over at the State Journal Register was nice enough to run a small article about me and my travels today. I wanted to respond to some of the feedback I have got. Rather then try to do it via the comments section there I figured I could do it here.
I know its the nature of life that no matter what you do some people are going to disagree with you or think your in the wrong. I could be running a store that gives free puppies to one armed Hurricane Katrina survivor orphans, and some people would find a reason to take me to task. Starting this trip back in late November I had no doubts that some people would find was I was doing offensive, wrong, and a waste.
First I would like to thank Kimberly for the kind donation of the Flickr premium account! Would like to thank Ellen for the donation offer of 'On The Road', and Kiyoshi for the offer of a domain donation. The kindness of strangers always blows my mind.
First thing. There was a miscommunication someplace (my end, and/or my cellphones crappy reception no doubt) between Dave and I about the Breadline being closed on x-mas. I was trying to convey that it was the only thing open for the homeless during the holiday. Places like the Washington Street Mission, and public library where time is often spend where closed. However it was only opened for a very limited portion of the day. Leaving a lot of time for the homeless to hang out at the train station, or wonder the streets.
Now to respond to some comments.
Friend of the State wrote - "Travel to exotic places and meet interesting people. Join the military! This act would help you accomplish your goals."
No thanks. Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran are not on my list of places to see.
One reader wrote - "The positives of Cory's trek is that he gives a first hand account of what it's like to be homeless. I was surprised to learn that the Bread Line was closed on Christmas, and the homeless had nowhere to go but the Amtrak station. I was pleased to learn that food services for the Spfld homeless appeared to be better than those in Bloomington. The negatives are that Cory states on his blog that he has an Illinois Link card. The Link card provides assistance for the needy, and is paid for by Illinois taxpayers. Cory is on an adventure, not a truly needy person. He states on his blog that he was able to stay three nights at the Student Library in Bloomington/Normal, while posing as a student cramming for finals. That concerns me. Plus he solicits funds on his blog using Paypal. It's a different generation, I suppose."
Well I can see your where your coming from with some of your worries. If you read the whole post about the Link card you can see what kind of things I am doing with it though. I am not going to link to the post but if you want you can dig though the blog and see what I was doing in that post I mentioned the Link card. I do not make a post every time I use it for good like that but that is pretty much what it is for. I also wanted to see what the process was for getting one when your homeless and how hard it was to get. I did not lie about my income or living situation and did not know if I would be approved or not..I was.
Some things just in general. Some people seem to have a real problem with me asking for PayPal donations. Maybe you have not spent much time on the web, but many, many websites and blogs that get a fair amount of traffic (37,940 page impressions so far) ask for donations. Its not uncommon at all. If you do not like it you simply do not have to donate, no worries one way or the other.
When I get to warmer areas I will use shelters much less. I will camp, and stay other cheap places. It is very cold in Illinois right now not leaving me many choices that I can afford. Even with the 10 or so negative comments the feedback over all has been very good. Sleeping in the Salvation SOS shelter some night (not done it every night I have been in Springfield) does not put anyone else out. It is an 'over flow' shelter that is taking pretty much everyone who shows up at the right time and follows the rules. It maybe a hallway or corner someplace but they find a place to stick you. People sleeping outside in Springfield right now are doing so by their own choice not because I took the last open bed.
I also do not want Springfield to think that I do not like the town. There are many nice things about it. From a 'homeless' standpoint the Salvation Army is a godsend here, and so many other places. Helping Hands seems to have a good little operation although I did not spend much time with them. The Bread Line..I can not even begin to say enough good things about what you do. There is also the Washington Street Mission doing what they can to help chip away at the problem. Where are you lacking? Springfield needs something like The Compassion Center in Bloomington. It provides a place for the homeless to go during the day when the shelter is closed. (Besides the library!) Job placement, showers, laundry, and other much needed services are offered there. The Washington Street Mission comes close, but does not quite go far enough. Something I have noticed here is that there are many more people on the streets with serious mental health issues than in Bloomington.
Apart from the homeless related issues, Springfield is mostly a nice town. There are a lot more abandoned buildings and houses then I expected. Downtown is very pretty in places, but beyond the tourist areas this seems to drop off some. I just kind of get an overall negative vibe from this place. That being said I have met some wonderful people here. I look forward to spending my last week here seeing a few last things and meeting a few new people.
Also check out the Blog I helped Earl a local homeless man launch. He has much, much more to say about being homeless here in Springfield then one who is passing through like myself. He has been here since before I came and will be here when I am gone. I can not say I agree with everything he feels and thinks but he is a smart cat who is very passionate about the homeless plight here in Springfield. I will be doing a video interview with him today or tomorrow and will be posting it to my YouTube channel.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." - Plato
posted by Cory @ 1:45 PM,
11 Comments:
-
At December 28, 2007 at 2:54 PM,
said...
-
You aren't really getting to know what it's like to be homeless. You're living like a homeless person, but that doesn't quite cut it, because if it gets too bad, you can always just "quit" being homeless and go back home. That takes away the hopelessness that many of the homeless feel. You also haven't factored in that many people are homeless due to mental illness or drug addiction.
You may know what it's like to be broke and have no place to live, but you're not living the "homeless experience" by a long shot.
That being said, it's nice that you're doing something to draw attention to the homeless. At the same time, it would be nice if more homeless people would live by your example of working at LaborReady and working to actually improve their situation, instead of just "treading water" so to speak. This is STILL a great country full of opportunities for people who are willing to work hard for them. Nothing comes free. -
At December 28, 2007 at 3:05 PM,
said...
-
That is one thing you will really learn on your adventures Cory, there will always be a negative side to everything but how you choose to respond to it makes you the person you are to become.
-
At December 28, 2007 at 3:10 PM,
said...
-
I am sure you realize that this is only a partial experience of being homeless, but even a partial experience beats none at all.
Also, with your education and ability to use the internet, etc. you are able to share your experiences in a way that real homeless people who are addicted, mentally ill, or illiterate cannot.
I see nothing illegal or unethical in what you are doing. It seems to me that you are doing pretty much the same thing that the "Walk Across America" authors did, only instead of staying in people's homes or bringing your own camping gear you make it a point to stay where homeless people would stay, and to earn your way by day labor.
Good luck in your journey and have a Happy New Year! -
At December 31, 2007 at 1:33 AM,
said...
-
If you're going to be in Springfield for a few days, send me an email. I'm a local blogger and it'd be rad to meet up for a story or video or such. My site is daveheinzel.com, and you can reach me at dave AT heinzeldesign.com. Good luck on your travels.
-
At May 12, 2013 at 2:12 PM,
said...
-
Definitely believe that which you stated. Your favorite justification seemed to be
on the internet the simplest thing to be aware of.
I say to you, I definitely get annoyed while people consider
worries that they plainly don't know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people can take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
Feel free to surf to my web-site - bien -
At May 17, 2013 at 1:11 AM,
said...
-
I blog often and I really thank you for your information.
Your article has really peaked my interest. I'm going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted in for your RSS feed too. -
At May 28, 2013 at 9:03 AM,
said...
-
Hello there I am so glad I found your blog, I really found you by accident, while I was
researching on Google for something else, Regardless I am here now and would just like
to say thanks for a remarkable post and a all round interesting blog (I also love
the theme/design), I don’t have time to read through it all at the moment
but I have bookmarked it and also added in your RSS feeds, so when I have time
I will be back to read a great deal more, Please do keep up the great b.
Here is my website: phentermine without rx -
At May 31, 2013 at 1:33 AM,
said...
-
Undeniably believe that that you said. Your favorite justification appeared to be
on the net the simplest factor to take into accout of.
I say to you, I certainly get annoyed whilst people consider issues that they just do not recognize
about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well
as outlined out the entire thing without having side-effects ,
people could take a signal. Will likely be again to get more.
Thanks
my page: http://tasteforlife.net -
At June 4, 2013 at 11:40 PM,
said...
-
Howdy, i read your blog from time to time and
i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam comments?
If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can suggest?
I get so much lately it's driving me crazy so any help is very much appreciated.
Stop by my web-site: http://callme2insure.com/ -
At June 6, 2013 at 1:04 AM,
said...
-
Article writing is also a fun, if you know then you can write
or else it is difficult to write.
Also visit my web blog; background check -
At June 17, 2013 at 11:22 AM,
said...
-
Keep on writing, great job!
Here is my weblog - live roulette
