Sacramento Homeless blog

The Panic of 1893 Redux (that follows the Gilded Age of Bush, Jr.) that we're in is the fundamental, structural economic problem in America. We need to move more of the prosperity that comes from our economy (which is highly efficient in boom times) to the middle class and poor, and away from the obscenely-rich rich.

The entrance to Loaves & Fishes' Friendship Park as seen from the north side of the North C St. cul-de-sac that abutts 12th Street. As I’ve written frequently previously, contrary to the stereotype, a great great many homeless people are scrappy. They are not work avoidant; they are work (and pay!) accepting and seeking. This optimism that ‘something can be made to happen,’ to break the waves of despondency, is what is most admirable (and constantly refreshing!) about those struggling in Homeless World Sacramento. It’s sparkling hope in a tightly bounded universe that too much tries to crush hope . The lure of ‘escape’ from the circumstance of homelessness, for this very big subset of Sacramento homeless people, is to find meaning and happiness that isn’t available ‘out here.’ 1 The effort to find a more-normal life begins by sparking opportunities to make things different than just spinning around the turnstile of always just subsisting (and for many, doing the usua...

The block of text, below, is from philosopher Matthew B. Crawford's thoughtful book on the topic of 'work,'  Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work .  While the quote, here, concerns young people, I think that it can easily concern people more broadly, very much including homeless men seeking to rejoin the workforce in an occupation that will fully absorb their interest, turn them away from their addictions, and provide a sound basis for meaning in their lives [Emphases in the quote are mine.]: The basic antagonism of economic life: work is toilsome and necessarily serves someone else’s interests. That’s why you get paid. Thus chastened, we may ask the proper question: what is it that we really want for a young person when we give them vocational advice? The only creditable answer, it seems to me, is one that avoids utopianism while keeping an eye on the human good: work that engages the human capacities as fully as possible. What I ha...