My Friend's Place

This post is in response to this article.

"Does looking down on the homeless help people feel better about their inaction?" - tweet from Miley Cyrus in response to the coverage about his criminal background.

Yes, it does. Because then it's like he deserves to be homeless. The media wants a homeless person above reproach so they can feel good about helping them. The reality is that a lot of homeless people aren't homeless because they're living amazing lives or because they make the best choices a lot of times. That doesn't negate the genuine need these people face.

I myself have spanged here at this exact location when I was homeless. 

I wasn't surprised at all when it came out that Jesse Helt had a record. Does that mean he isn't worthy of the chance to better himself and get out of that situation?  Hell no. There are basic things everyone should have like food to eat every day,  a safe place to sleep, human dignity and respect.  ALL PEOPLE.

This style of reporting, as well as how some media outlets have chosen to portray Michael Brown shows how many people really think people deserve homelessness, or murder or rape (I was told I deserved to be raped because I was homeless when it happened and if I hadn't put myself in that position it wouldn't have happened). Instead of looking down their noses at people going through something,  they should take a long look into their hearts and repair what is broken within them to make them think ANYONE deserves these things.

My Friend's Place, the place Miley visited to hang out with some homeless youth and the staff, is an amazing organization that is dedicated to helping homeless and at risk youth. You want to know how it started?  It was a couple of dudes who noticed there were a lot of people who had not while they had,  so they made sandwiches and gave them out from their cars to homeless kids they ran across. How awesome is that?

I recognize Frank, Camilla and Heather here from when I was kicking it at MFP.

I'm doing the Ice Bucket challenge today and my $100 is going to MFP. They saved my life. That's no exaggeration. $100 is a couple of coffees, a couple of lunches brought from home instead of purchased, a few bottles of nail polish. I am blessed and I work hard to make sure I can eat every day, I have a safe place to sleep and clean clothes to wear. If you have these things too, pony up some money and donate to My Friend's Place today.

Photos came from My Friend's Place website and this article. It's a good read, check it out.