2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

I haven’t added anything new, but still had 7,100 visitors. Guess I better get back to it. But very busy over at phoneworthy.blogspot.com and near to launching speedmobile.ca

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 7,100 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 12 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

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2011 in review from the Missionlog – Help the Homeless

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,900 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 7 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Social media activist – Mark Horvath – puts a face on Canadian homelessness.

For immediate release – press release: Calgary Homeless Foundation, Community Action Committee
(Toronto, ON; August 12) Heading into Toronto August 19 – 22, Cross-country Invisiblepeople.tv Roadtrip gains momentum as formerly homeless man & renowned social media activist, Mark Horvath, puts a face on Canadian homelessness.

Ever doubt the power of social media to make true change? Let us introduce you to Mark Horvath, Huffington Post blogger, @hardlynormal on Twitter and founder of invisiblepeople.tv. Mark puts power into the hands of Canada’s most vulnerable people: those experiencing homelessness. By giving individuals a voice, he is building awareness and support to end homelessness.

Mark, once homeless himself, understands the issue. He is midway through the Invisiblepeople.tv cross-Canada Roadtrip coordinated by The Community Action Committee (CAC) and the Calgary Homeless Foundation (CHF). Socially-responsible companies General Motors, Petro-Canada, Virgin Mobile Canada, Hanes and Delta Hotels are sponsoring Mark as he gathers and posts these real, raw and unforgettable stories on: http://www.invisiblepeople.tv with mainstream media networks demonstrating the value of his message.

 We’re exposing the un-natural disaster of homelessness in Canada through the personal stories of those experiencing it.” said Tim Richter, President and CEO of the CHF “As Canadians see their homeless neighbours through Mark’s lens, they are compelled to act and join the growing number of Canadian communities committed to ending homelessness.

“The power of social media is that we associate names, faces and stories with homeless individuals.” said Barry Davidson, Chair of the CAC. “Canadians are listening and communities are galvanizing to take action to end homelessness.”

Roadtrip Stops

City	Date	City	Date
Victoria	July 5-6	Regina	August 5-6
Vancouver	July 7-10	Winnipeg	August 8-9
Kelowna	July 12	Thunder Bay	August 11
Calgary	July 14-16	Sault Ste Marie	August 13
Red Deer	July 17	Toronto	August 19-22
Edmonton	July 18-19	Ottawa	August 28-30
Whitehorse	July 21-22	Montreal	September 1-3
Yellowknife	July 24-26	Fredericton	September 5-6
Fort McMurray	July 28	Halifax	September 8-9,14
Edmonton	July 30-31	St. John’s	September 11-12
Saskatoon	August 2-3

**dates subject to change. Visit http://www.calgaryhomeless.com/cac for the most up-to-date schedule.

How can you help?

• Spread the word, post stories on Facebook and Twitter, try & gain as much attention as you can.
• Welcome him to your city and provide him with a tour of where homeless people stay.
• Speak to your media friends and help get the problem noticed.
• Follow Mark’s journey on Twitter @hardlynormal.
• Help build support for 10 Year Plans and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.

Contact: Sean French, Community Action Committee

sean@calgaryhomeless.com  Twitter – @seanfrench1

About Mark Horvath

Follow Mark’s journey on www.invisiblepeople.tv, a site that shares unedited, uncensored and raw interview footage. Go to www.wearevisible.com, a site that gives people dealing with poverty and homelessness the tools to go online and have a voice.  Follow his journey on Twitter @hardlynormal, with almost 13,000 followers. Mark was featured on CTV Canada AM, CBC Connect with Mark Kelley, The Roy Green Show, CNN, CBS, L.A. Times, Mashable.com and NPR. InvisiblePeople.tv has 2.5 million video views on Youtube alone with an average of 50,000 views per month.

10 Year Plan

From 1994 to 2006, Calgary had Canada’s fastest growing population of people experiencing homelessness, culminating with nearly 3,500 people sleeping in shelters. In 2007, the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness was formed to create a 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness. In January 2008, Calgary became the first city in Canada to have a Plan that committed the community to end homelessness. This tour supports the Calgary Homeless Foundation’s goal to create a Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. To date over 2300 individuals have been housed with support.

The Community Action Committee

This Committee is the voice of community and works at the policy level, providing real-time information to coordinate the efforts of agencies, government and funders. With more than 100 member organizations that plan, deliver, evaluate and assess the services needed to end homelessness in Calgary, members work directly to help people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. For more information about the CAC or the invisible people Canadian road trip visit www.calgaryhomeless.com/cac.

 

Media inquiries, homeless serving agency inquiries and sponsorship inquiries can be directed to:

Sean FrenchCommunity Action Committeesean@calgaryhomeless.com@seanfrench1

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada.

People Say the Nicest Things Department

If you have been following over on Twitter [ and you should! at  http://twitter.com/canayjun ] – then you know that I am in the middle of a job search – primarily in the non-profit industry, organizations making an impact on helping people who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, marginalization or recovering from disasters.

I’ve been fine tuning my LinkedIn profile and received quite a few recommendations from former colleagues. Here’s one of my favorites so far:

Andy successfully inspired broad spectrum community participation as the street outreach Community Development Coordinator at Project417 – Ekklesia.  Andy’s writing, public speaking, scheduling and community liaison skills in addition to his commitment and dedication to the “Sandwich Run” program of Ekklesia Inner City Ministries were instrumental in developing a strong and dedicated army of volunteers and team of volunteer leaders. Many of the leaders and volunteers that became involved with the Project 417 program under Andy’s leadership remain in place today. I am one of them. His guidance was always heartfelt and trusted and his compassion for the plight of those less fortunate provided inspiration that resonates with volunteer groups and leaders to this day” June 9, 2011

Darlene W., V.P. Operations, JLG Asset Management Group Inc.
reported to Andy at Project417 – Ekklesia

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Red Cross Red Crescent refugee relief in Tunisia and Libya

Via the IFRC Flickr photostream –

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is working tirelessly at the border of Tunisia and Libya providing shelter and basic relief to tens of thousands of refugees from the civil war in Libya.  Gadaffi is systematically waging war on his own people seeking democratic freedoms and has been charged by the UN with crimes against humanity.

Volunteer work is not often glamorous as William Carter, IFRC WatSan delegate, can tell you – seen here resting after digging latrines in the Tunisian desert for a Red Crescent refugee camp.

via @canayjun on Twitter

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Homeless Advocacy – We’re back online

Canayjun's vacayshun

After a brief hiatus since last May when we marked the blog private, I’m pleased to announce the MissionLog is back online available to the public. Stay tuned for more posts on homelessness. Together we can reduce homelessness in our communities.

Stay updated realtime on Twitter at http://twitter.com/canayjun

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[some of the older post’s links and sidebar may be outdated. Cleanup in progress]

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Homeless, Why homeless?

Homelessness – not simply defined as “absolutely without shelter” or “the chronically homeless” – is a plague on our society, sapping the health of our communities.

home-less

There’s been a hiatus here at the MissionLog as I’ve transitioned from a full time outreach worker to the homeless with Project417  back to a more traditional career as a phone guy in the telecommunications industry. Reasons?  Ask me offline – but at the core is a realization that volunteerism and community development is driven by ordinary people working ordinary jobs who have the desire, opportunity and ability to give back.  And I’m about as ordinary as they come. I’m tired of homeless friends who die without hope of ever having a home again.

I still have a vision:  to definitively identify the root cause of homelessness and find the cure.  Homelessness is not a poverty issue. It’s not simple economics, nor is it a self-inflicted wound.  It is complex. It is pervasive.

So I’m working towards that end by founding The Whyhomeless Movement – a grassroots campaign to really help the homeless. This can’t be left to governments. It’s our city, our community, our village.  Joining the WhyHomeless Movement is easy. Start by visiting Twitter and tweeting homelessness issues with the #whyhomeless hashtag. Search for people who are making a difference and tweet their story.  Tweet out and re-tweet links to sites on the web that make a difference in the lives of people who are experiencing homelessness.  Follow me at – http://twitter.com/canayjun and let me know you’ve joined the WhyHomeless Movement.