Tag Archives: Homeless

Pets in Need Project gives free medical care to pet owners experiencing homelessness

The Pets in Need Project traveled around California for two months giving free medical care to pet owners experiencing homeless and will soon expand to other cities and states.

By Heather Newgen

Pet owners living on the streets must make an unthinkable choice. Do they go to a shelter and leave behind their companion? The majority of shelters don’t allow pets, unless they’re service animals, so most people choose to tough it out and stay with their furry friend.

With homelessness on the rise in California, ElleVet Sciences, a Portland, Maine company that produces hemp and CBD oil supplements for pets, wanted to help. So the co-founders, Amanda Howland and Christian Kjaer, rented an RV, enlisted a team of volunteer vets and embarked on a two month journey treating over 1200 animals in different homeless communities.

The Pets in Need Project handed out supplies and administered vaccines, flea and tick preventatives, deworming, and general checkups.

“We found that people will feed their pets before they feed themselves, ” Howland explained to The Voluntourist. It’s really an extraordinary sacrifice to care for their pets,” she continued.

For weeks the team drove to various homeless communities and when people lined up for hours waiting for their four-legged bestie to be seen. In the few cases where a pet needed surgery, Pets in Need found a local animal hospital and paid for the procedures out of pocket, but that’s not all. They also helped in other ways.

“One lady that we met right off the bat in San Diego was a lovely woman who had been homeless for about a year. She had a sweet little kind of Maltese Shih Tzu dog and she came to us to have a check up. But she also said she had cancer and she was really worried about what was going to happen to her dog if she got sicker or had to go to the hospital,” Howland told us.

“So she was trying to find her a good home. We were so touched by the whole story, we posted on our social media and we were able to find a home for this little dog. We were able to put her in touch with a couple of candidates so she could choose the home. Then we went and took pictures of the dog at her new home so we could share with her and she could see dog was taken care of.”

Pets in Need Project had such a successful test run in California and are currently working on visiting other areas and creating volunteer opportunities. Check their website for more information.

October 8, 2020 admin

Bridget Pettis steps away from WNBA to focus on her community

Bridget Pettis is leaving the WNBA to focus on her nonprofit Project Roots AZ amid health concerns for the players over coronavirus.

By: Heather Newgen

Fans have seen the last of Bridget Pettis on the court. The former WNBA star recently left her position as assistant coach of the Chicago Sky due to health concerns over Covid-19, as well as the civil unrest around the country.

Pettis will instead put her focus on her community in Phoenix, Arizona, where she founded the nonprofit Project Roots AZ. The organization’s mission is to have healthy affordable food available to everyone by teaching people to grow their own food through various educational programs. Besides growing gardens to help others, Project Roots AZ supports people experiencing homelessness by feeding them from their community gardens and mobile kitchen service, while supplying clothing and shelter.

“I asked a lot of questions that not too many people were happy about. I discovered that some medical staff of teams not only believe it’s not safe, but also the women don’t have enough resources as they believe we should unlike the NBA going into this bubble,” Pettis said in a statement. “If the WNBA cannot upgrade the situation even more with safety I feel the WNBA should wait and play the following season. Why put ourselves and players in Florida as cases increase?”

Pettis believes giving back to others is the pivot needed right now. “I feel the WNBA should use it’s platform this year in the communities of the teams and the communities where players live, said Pettis. “I encourage others to find a project they are passionate about and jump in 100%. We can play next year.”

She added, “I definitely understand the WNBA is a business, but we need healthy players for this type of business to function properly, said Pettis. “We seek to provide and promote a healthier, natural and more sustainable way of living in urban areas where there is a need. This is the right decision for me and others as we move forward during the pandemic.”

Bridget Pettis is working full-time on the nonprofit and is always in need of volunteers to help plant, weed and harvest at their two gardens located at Spaces of Opportunity (1200 W Vineyard Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85041) and Agave Farms (4300 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85012.).

Along with volunteering in their gardens, the nonprofit also offers seasonal produce bags, sells garden boxes for home use, makes soup for the homeless and sells at the Spaces of Opportunities farmers markets.

For more information visit www.projectrootsaz.org.

July 13, 2020 admin

Former Crips gang member negotiates cease fire with the Bloods so he can feed the homeless on their turf

Former Crips gang member Gernay Quinnie Jr. turned his life around after 19 years in prison and is now helping the homeless in a rival gangs’ neighborhood.

By Heather Newgen

The Bloods and the Crips have a longstanding violent history and deadly rivalry that stems back to the 70s. Both street gangs originated in South Central Los Angeles and are nationally known for their vicious crimes, but for Gernay Quinnie, it was never a question of which gang he would join.

“My family associated with the Crips and that played into my decision of which side I was going to play on. My dad was a [Rollin] 90 Neighborhood Crip and my mom was a 111 Neighborhood Crip.”

But Quinnie’s dad didn’t stick around for long. When he was just 7-years-old his father left and he hasn’t seen him since. His mom struggled to raise Quinnie and his older brother, and it was “in a way expected” for him to join the gang.

“I can only speak for African Americans, but most join out of necessity, especially for males. When you look out into into the environment, you look for the strongest male figures and you can’t help but notice these gang members who are out there boldly standing up to the police, or boldly standing up against another person. That becomes the man’s figure. Because men have been removed out of the homes, or not allowed in the homes because of their inharmonious backgrounds, that entirely goes to us looking at these [guys] as the men in the community. You get influenced by imitation,” Quinnie, 38, told The Voluntourist.

He added, “I was coming out of poverty. There was economic opportunities [to being a Crip]. I was jumped in at 13-years-old, but there was a little bit of a twist because I already had a gang started in my apartment building. So I brought them 12 recruits and that gave me status in the gang.”

Crips Gernay Quinnie helps a friend who “jumped him” into the Crips when they were kids

As a Crip, Quinnie committed several robberies, but at 14 he was involved in an armed robbery that went wrong in the West Athens neighborhood of South Central. His partner and best friend was shot and killed, and Quinnie was shot in the face.

“As a result of his death I had to ride the beast. His murder was on me because we were accomplices. Anything that happens in the commission of the crime falls on equal partners. Patrons and police were shooting back at us as we attempted to rob the store,” the former Crips member said.

He served time in jail and would have been released when he was 25, since he was a juvenile. However, when he was 18-years-old, he successfully escaped prison and was free for over two weeks until he was captured. He then had to serve another few years and spent a total of 19 years imprisoned.

“I didn’t see my mom the whole time I was incarcerated. There was a big disconnect between me and her. My grandmother was my staunch supporter. She had passed away and I ended up going to a crazy house in prison and that’s where I actually found myself. It was at the lowest of the low for me. I’d seen what I become and I’d seen what I was doing to myself. I knew I had enough intelligence at this point to change because I was an avid reader. It was me being confronted with extremes. I was there for a year seeking help for depression and suicidal ideations as a result of this lack of value I had on my life.”

The big turning point for Quinnie was learning the story of Joseph in the Bible, which he instantly resonated with.

“His story connected with mine–being outcasted from your family. He was sold into a situation where he was almost a slave. His whole situation addressed the anatomy of human behavior. Within that I started to extract lessons from his life and how I could apply it to mine,” he explained.

He was so taken with Joseph that he started teaching other prisoners about him and called it The Joseph Project.

“It’s a narrative therapy based science and that’s what really changed my life.”

Quinnie was released from jail in 2017, has been reunited with his mom and “retired” from the Crips after 20 years.

“I gained the respect of my peers who allowed me to go and do my own thing. In doing my own thing, I turned things around and started doing some improvements to my neighborhood. That’s how I really got the respect and how they respect us older guys who are now getting out of the game. They respect us if we take that step and then add something to what we actually stepped away from,” he said.

He’s now giving back to the homeless in underserved areas of LA and is trying to help them through the coronavirus pandemic, even if that means going on another gangs turf. The Bloods and the Crips have been notoriously feuding for decades, but Quinnie worked out a temporary cease fire so he can enter their territory without issue. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t fearful.

“Everybody is disguised now [with masks due to COVID-19] and that intimidates me. Before I knew who guys were and I could see things coming. I’m more afraid of getting shot than I am of catching COVID-19. I go out there on a wing and a prayer every day. What I’m doing is nonsense to people out there on the street. So I have to make it make sense to them when they come up to me.”

Quinnie visits the roughest parts of LA every day handing out food and trying to educate homeless communities about coronavirus.

“People respect, but they don’t understand the full scope of it because as far as the gang life is concerned, it’s too soft. ‘We respect you and we know what you used to be, but this, what you’re doing is too soft, but give me some food at the same time,’ he admitted. “It’s a mixture on that end, but as far as the community, I cut their grass, I fix their door, I go shopping for the neighbors, I protect the neighbors and check on them. I do what the men in the community was originally designed to do.”

The food he distributes is donated by Pastor John Hernandez from New Challenge Ministries and Quinnie is working in partnership with WordsUncaged, an organization that empowers currently and formerly incarcerated people through arts and education, as well as R.A.C.E.(Reclaiming American’s Communities through Empowerment), which helps prevent gang and youth violence.

“The areas I’ve been in are ones people don’t go in to help. The homeless are literally left out to dry on this,” he said. “Sometimes I’m out until 10:00 p.m. at night still feeding. They say, ‘Man, are you coming every day?’ Even the ones that are tough and control their little camps, you see them eating the food. I’m forming a relationship with them. I know their names, personalities and what they’re going through. They’re human beings, They just made a mistake,” Quinnie continued.

If you’d like to help, volunteers to sort and deliver food are always needed. You can reach out to Quinnie on his personal Facebook page. If you’d like to make a donation click here.

You can also drop off canned goods and non perishable items to 1732 W. 111st Los Angeles, CA. 90044.

April 20, 2020 admin

Rosario Dawson on homelessness, her new documentary Lost in America and dating Cory Booker

For anyone keeping track, Rosario Dawson is a busy girl. She’s a single mom, has a new drama series “Briarpatch” debuting on the USA Network, she just produced a documentary on the youth homeless crisis in America and she’s dating former presidential candidate Cory Booker. Talk about multitasking!

By Heather Newgen

For the last 20 years Rosario Dawson has dazzled audiences with her compelling performances, fierce characters and undeniable beauty. But off-screen the New York born actress has another powerful role she plays–activist. While she’s known for her high-profile film career, Dawson has passionately advocated for a number of causes including LGBTQ rights, HIV and AIDS and homelessness, which she recently produced a documentary about titled “Lost in America.” The “Sin City” star talked to The Voluntourist about the issue and how others can get involved to help.

The Voluntourist: One of the things I’ve always loved about you is your passion for advocacy. So what’s a cause that you’re really backing right now and that we should turn our attention towards?

Rosario Dawson: Homelessness, especially youth homelessness. Having a daughter that was in foster care for years and was in her fifth placement by the time she came to live with me. Starting to become aware of incredible organizations like Children’s Rights, but they literally work as an arm to fix very broken policies and situations that exist within the foster care system, it’s a governmental program. The fact that we even need an organization that’s been running for over 20 years to correct what our
government is doing is just terrible, but they’re under resourced and there’s just a lot of inherent problems. So for me, when I look at, especially the foster care system and how many of these kids age out, have no community, have no resources and ends up on our streets. How many kids are LGBTQ, who ends up on the streets because their parents suddenly stopped loving them because they love people that they don’t want them to love, is just super scary and alarming. So I produced a documentary called Lost in America that’s going to be coming out over the next couple of months. We just did a thing called A Night for Youth and we broke the Guinness book world record of how many people doing a sleep out. A lot of homeless organizations will do that to fundraise, but they don’t normally do it in conjunction. We had over a hundred organizations that participated nationwide
in doing a sleep out and bringing attention to this issue. So it’s definitely something we’re only finally starting to get the numbers even, which are sadly in the millions. When you watch the documentary, you’ll see people go out. Was it like maybe 50,000, 100,000? I mean, we really haven’t even put any of the resources to even understand the breadth and scope of this problem. So I’m just really excited. Tiffany Haddish, who was homeless. Jewel, who was homeless, she wrote a song for it. That’s an original
song for it. So there’s just a lot of push to bring people to this attention which I think is really important.

The Voluntourist: And why are there so many youth on the street?

Rosario Dawson: When you really think about the reality, that we have more animal shelters than we have human shelters. I think there’s a lot of gaps that these kids are falling through and people in general. We’ve got vets, we call ourselves the home of the brave and then people go and they fight for all different kinds of reasons overseas and they come back and they disproportionately end up homeless. In general, I think this documentary is really critical to just start bringing people into the conversation and shifting the narrative so that people can feel like we can do something about it.

USA Network Events — TIFF Briarpatch Red Carpet and Screening in Toronto, Canada — Pictured: Rosario Dawson — (Photo by: Dan Boczarski/USA Network)

The Voluntourist: Why is this issue so important for you?

Rosario Dawson: I grew up in a squat– we moved there when I was 6-year-old, so housing issues are something I’ve always been really sensitive towards. People are really critically important and any space that they occupy, people are valuable, they need to be seen and we’re not doing that. I live on the Westside of LA and we’ve seen it all the way from San Francisco. There’s an influx of homeless people everyone. They’re treating it by incarcerating people with mental health problems and addiction problems. We’re throwing so much money on wars and dropping bombs on poor people. Then we invite our soldiers to come back home and be homeless. I think this is an issue that needs to be looked at from many different sides. People don’t recognize how many people are vulnerable to homelessness, how many people are a paycheck away from being homeless. Women who homeless because they left abusive relationships, kids age out of the foster care system, troops come home and they have PTSD and mental health problems, people get sick and can’t afford their healthcare bills. So many people are vulnerable to becoming homeless and we need to step up before they become invisible to us. Once someone crosses over to being homeless, we don’t want to look at them. We don’t want to deal with them and you can tell by the disproportionate amount of animal shelters than homeless shelters. And we make it difficult on people. There’s youth homeless shelters that don’t allow LGBTQ youth, there’s homeless shelters curfews, there’s homeless shelters that you have to pay to get into. There’s all these weird things. People who do food banks and stuff like that are disallowed from doing it because changed the law. They say they’re giving out fresh food and they could be accountable if someone gets sick. So it shuts down people trying to do good. There’s a lot of backwardness around this situation that isn’t helping for it to be better. I keep sending people to the Lost in America website, even before the film is out. You can go check it out and there’s a list of organizations across the nation that you can support and you can be better aware of what exists within your community that can be of service to people. As my boyfriend says, we should not allow our inability to do everything to stop us from doing something.

The Voluntourist: What are things people can do to help the homelessness situation?

Rosario Dawson: I would go to Lost in America on their website so you can see different organizations [helping the homeless] and you can get a lot of factoids that people are very much unaware of. This way people can contribute food or money or their time. Also this is a census year. A lot of people might very well become homeless because people didn’t fill out the census in their community and then that community has been affected with not getting the resources it needs over the next 10 years. So you’re going to see a huge disparity because guess what everybody in Beverly Hills is filling out their census forms. So their community and district is going to get all the resources it needs. Their roads will be great, their schools will be great, their hospitals will be great. They will have nice decorations over the holidays. Then there’s a bunch of people who have been made to feel scared because they were threatening putting a citizenship question [on the form]. There’s obviously an uptick in deportation, so people have been very afraid and won’t fill out the census forms for fear they might become targets.

Q: What has it been like to be on the campaign trail? Is that a different kind of world for you?

Rosario Dawson: Oh, for sure. I mean I started a voting organization in 2004 for the Latina. So I’ve definitely, I’ve been going to correspondence dinner since Bush was still president. But I’ve never been blowing kisses to candidates at a debate, as many debates as I’ve been to. So it’s definitely quite a revelation. I’m grateful for all of the years in which I’ve spoken to voters and non-voters and all kinds of people. But to have this sort of different perspective into politics has been really eye opening to understand why I have a right to be so frustrated. And so many people have a right to be frustrated because there are a lot of people in positions of power that are not always working with the idea of being cohesive and idea of being progressive and really trying to work together and collaborate. There’s a lot of them fighting and so it was really interesting learning that, but also alarming. Because I’ve never experienced the severity that comes along with politics. I mean the standards that politicians are held to are very, very, very different. And that’s true from the level of the toxicity from the trolls and that people you encounter, to just the danger element. I mean, he’s had a bomb sent to his office. So it definitely was one of those things as I got into the relationship, like I don’t get to just cavalierly just fall in love with someone. I have to really consider. I have a daughter and I’ve got a family and are we all willing to go down this path together? And he’s just the love of my life. So it just is what it is. And we’ve all kind of grown together and figured that out. But yeah, it’s definitely been very eye opening… He’s never given me any flack that I couldn’t be more on the campaign with him. It just been a really remarkable experience to be with someone that I feel more free with and I’m growing with rather than compartmentalized with. And so it’s definitely had a profound impact. And I can say this is one of the most challenging years of my life this past year. And I’ve had so much gratitude and I look back on my younger self who was so much more stressed and anxious and scared and made choices, poor choices from those places and angry and made really poor choices from that. And I took a nonviolent communications course in 2017 and I’ve really tried to transform that and turn it around and I’m really grateful. I wish my grandmother was still here and I could share that with her, that there’s another way of going about things than necessarily she was taught to just survive.

Briarpatch starring Rosario Dawson, Kim Dickens and Alan Cumming, debuts on the USA Network February 6th.

For more information on Lost in America please visit www.lostinamericafilm.com.

January 21, 2020 Heather Newgen

Just voluntourist