Greenwashing at Walmart

As Walmart and Walmart supply-chain workers rise up for dignity and respect, we can support them in Western Massachusetts and across the nation.

On November 23 (“Black Friday”) Jobs with Justice coalitions are adopting Walmart stores to engage in creative action.  In areas where OUR Walmart members are walking out, coalitions will mobilize community/labor solidarity for the picket line, coordinating with the workers’ plans.  Elsewhere, actions will include Walmart-focused Christmas caroling, leafleting shoppers, asking them to wear “I support Walmart workers” stickers inside, flash mobs inside the stores, and more.

To get involved in Western Mass., click here to email us.  After you pick a store, the team captain will be in touch.  Our stores are:

Chicopee Walmart Supercenter

Hadley Walmart

North Adams Walmart

Northampton Walmart

Orange Walmart

Pittsfield Walmart

Springfield Walmart Supercenter

Ware Walmart Supercenter

Westfield Walmart

 

Right to the City - anti-foreclosure activists protest in Boston

No One Leaves in Boston (photo Joe Oliverio)

Yesterday forty of us from Springfield hopped on a schoolbus and drove to Boston under the No One Leaves banner to join 3,000 other activists to protest the brutality of Bank of Boston's foreclosure policy.  Here's a link to a MassLive article which talks about the rally and the arrest of protesters, and a link to Right to the City, the conveners/organizers, and here's a photo history of our day.

We had a short protest at BofA in Springfield before loading

Candejah Pink Bank Tenants leader, goes over the logistics of the day

City Life/Vida Urbana gets ready

Rally at Boston Commons

people block entrances of the Bank of America

Add caption

Ruben (red on the right) rallies us in front of the bank

Where are the jobs?

It's not like we at Arise haven't been busy this summer, because we have-- but looking ahead to the fall, to everything we want to accomplish, I feel both excited and anxious.

This week we've been interviewing candidates for a resource developer position at Arise-- seven people total.  It's been hard.  I liked every person we interviewed.  Some clearly had more experience with fundraising and with social justice than others but everyone had at least one quality we knew would make a valuable contribution to Arise.

What really got to me, though, is how desperate people are for work.  We got resumes from teachers, veterans, web designers, single mothers, organizers and store clerks.  They were fully qualified to do the work that they had been doing previously, and for which some had spent big bucks in the educational system.  But they'd been laid off, and unemployed long enough to know they were unlikely to get work in their field.

If you can't get a decent job with a good education, you can imagine what it's like for everybody else.  Yeah, there are some part-time, service jobs out there, that don't even come close to supporting you, but even they are out of reach for some.  On Saturday, I got a call from a guy, a former member of Arise, who was serving a five year prison term at Walpole!  he was out!  He's spent some of this past week visiting former employers, to see about the possibility of a job.  Most were sympathetic, but couldn't or wouldn't offer work.  The future looks rough for my friend, and I hope we can help him hang in there until he gets a break.  But it could be a long time.

I've been thinking a lot about the Poor People's March on Washington, D.C. next June 30, and how we're going to get there.  Maybe it'll help break down the invisibility of the poor that Katha Pollitt has written about in the Nation:: The Poor, Still Here, Still Poor.  Check it out.

Photo from b4b2's photostream at Flickr.

Obama's failure, a truth-telling tour, and a march on Washington, D.C.

This morning I read an opinion piece by Drew Westen that completely summed up the deep disappointment I feel in our president, Barack Obama.  I urge you to read all of it, but these two paragraphs frame Obama's failure.

When Dr. King spoke of the great arc bending toward justice, he did not mean that we should wait for it to bend. He exhorted others to put their full weight behind it, and he gave his life speaking with a voice that cut through the blistering force of water cannons and the gnashing teeth of police dogs. He preached the gospel of nonviolence, but he knew that whether a bully hid behind a club or a poll tax, the only effective response was to face the bully down, and to make the bully show his true and repugnant face in public. 

IN contrast, when faced with the greatest economic crisis, the greatest levels of economic inequality, and the greatest levels of corporate influence on politics since the Depression, Barack Obama stared into the eyes of history and chose to avert his gaze. Instead of indicting the people whose recklessness wrecked the economy, he put them in charge of it. He never explained that decision to the public — a failure in storytelling as extraordinary as the failure in judgment behind it. Had the president chosen to bend the arc of history, he would have told the public the story of the destruction wrought by the dismantling of the New Deal regulations that had protected them for more than half a century. He would have offered them a counternarrative of how to fix the problem other than the politics of appeasement, one that emphasized creating economic demand and consumer confidence by putting consumers back to work. He would have had to stare down those who had wrecked the economy, and he would have had to tolerate their hatred if not welcome it. But the arc of his temperament just didn’t bend that far.

 Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West believe that Barack Obama is ignoring the plight of poor people.  They have launched The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience, to help wake this country up to what poor people have to go through every day, how their lives and the lives of their children have been stunted and cast aside.  Their inspiration also comes from Dr. Martin Luther King: "I choose to identify with the underprivileged, I choose to identify with the poor, I choose to give my life for the hungry, I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity. . .This is the way I’m going.  If it means suffering a little bit, I’m going that way.  If it means sacrificing, I’m going that way.  If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard a voice saying “DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS.”

Poor people are organizing on our own behalf, too-- not just in the small ways we do every day, but for major mobilizations.  The Assembly to End Poverty, which was formed from the poverty resolution at the 2010 United States Social Forum, is calling for a march on Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2012. I don't know yet how we're going to do it, but Arise, and poor people from all over Western Massachusetts, will be there.

We are fighting for our lives.

Photo from Racole's photostream from Flickr.

Live bullets and beards on women - the idiots who "serve" us

Ohio National Guard fires on demonstrators, killing 4 - 1970

OK, I know there are lots of examples we could give here (and feel free to chime in), but when I first get an email about one idiocy and then see the Reminder's Mike Dobbs' Facebook status within two minutes, I just have to write about them.

A deputy attorney general of the state of Wisconsin (fired today, hallelujah!)  got into a tweeting war with a Mother Jones reporter and said he thought that live ammunition should be used on the demonstrating teachers and public employees in Wisconsin.  One of Mike Dobbs' friends said, "Where are we again? Libya? Bahrain?"

Maine's Governor Paul LaPage was asked if he supported his own environmental board's recommendation to begin phasing out BPA in baby bottles and children's dishes. (If you don't know what this is, click the link.)  His response?

"Until I see science that tells me that BPA is a problem--and I haven't seen it--quite frankly the science that I'm looking at says there's not been any science identified that there's a problem," LePage said. "The only thing that I've heard is if you take a plastic bottle, put it in the microwave and THEN heat it up it gives off a chemical that's similar to estrogen. And, ah, so the worst case is some women might have little beards, but we don't want to do that."

Read the rest of the Maine Public Broadcasting story. 

White Power "postponed;" celebrate Black History Month!

So last night at the Arise board meeting, Holly got an email stating that the hate group New England White Power was having a public meeting at the Worcester Public Library tomorrow. Not only that, the NEWP meeting was taking place at virtually the same time and in a room right next door to a film series being sponsored in honor of Black History Month!  Coincidence? I think NOT!

This morning I reached the woman running the film series.  She had only just heard about NEWP's meeting the day before, and was waiting to hear back from the head librarian.  She had heard that some folks from Clark University were planning to protest.


"What do you want people to do?" I asked.
"Well, I'm going ahead with showing the film-- The Souls of Black Girls."
"OK, I hope to see you there," I said.

So this is a dilemma-- so little time to organize, and what is the best strategy?  I've heard of Nazis marching in cities where the residents stood on the streets and turned their backs on them.  Then there's the Phoenix, AZ response:

A few minutes ago, the Worcester Public Library website announced that the WELP meeting has been "postponed."

But we know there will be a next time, and a next time.....so what will we do?

This is what democracy looks like

Like many of you, I've spent much of my time in the last two weeks watching the revolution in Egypt unfold and flower, and reading as much as I could, because I want to know: how did this happen?  How were the people in Tunisia and Egypt able to succeed?

I've heard it was a revolution enabled by social media-- then I heard we (in the U.S.) arrogant to think social media could play such a significant role.  I've heard Egyptian activists saying that their revolution had no leaders-- and yet, as a community organizer, I know how nearly impossible it is for such well-organized actions to take place without coordination.

This morning's New York Times has the best article I've read so far about how the revolution in Egypt organized itself.  I'm sure we'll read more and better detailed accounts in the future, but for now, this is it: years of work that came about because of repressive conditions, lots of organizing, and a big role for social media.

CAIRO — As protesters in Tahrir Square faced off against pro-government forces, they drew a lesson from their counterparts in Tunisia: “Advice to the youth of Egypt: Put vinegar or onion under your scarf for tear gas.”

The exchange on Facebook was part of a remarkable two-year collaboration that has given birth to a new force in the Arab world — a pan-Arab youth movement dedicated to spreading democracy in a region without it. Young Egyptian and Tunisian activists brainstormed on the use of technology to evade surveillance, commiserated about torture and traded practical tips on how to stand up to rubber bullets and organize barricades.

They fused their secular expertise in social networks with a discipline culled from religious movements and combined the energy of soccer fans with the sophistication of surgeons. Breaking free from older veterans of the Arab political opposition, they relied on tactics of nonviolent resistance channeled from an American scholar through a Serbian youth brigade — but also on marketing tactics borrowed from Silicon Valley.

Poster from Nick Bygone's photostream at Flickr.

A message of hope and freedom

The people of the world stand at the doorway of a fretful future. What exactly will it be no one can say for sure. The people may not be able to predict the future, but I'm sure they know what they want; peace, liberty, an enriched life, that is free from want, oppression, violence and restriction; the people want democracy, a refreshed democracy; they want to be able to feel, see and smell freedom. The people want to sink their teeth into democracy and freedom and they want tangible assurances that all the loud chatter of democracy will include them, regardless of their station in life. They want certainty and will not be satisfied with mere high-sounding yet trite and cliche remarks by politicians or presidents.

These turbulent times are hardly the time to fumble with mere abstractions. The people want concrete safeguards of their rights so their faith in the democratic system won't be lost. We the people are in a titanic life-and-death struggle for our rights and freedoms against ruthless and efficient foes. Now is the time for the people of the world to galvanize into decisive action on the side of freedom and democracy. Freedom has become a world-wide issue to discuss and settle here and now.

Should the elitist and their vision of a "New world order" (N.W.O.) suddenly fold up their tent and surrender to the people's will tomorrow, the capitulation would provide only a brief respite of peace unless the people believe and act without reservation to make true the words of Sumner Welles that, "Our victory must bring in it's train the liberation of all peoples. Discrimination between peoples because of their race, creed, color or sexual orientation must be abolished".

Millions of people of all stripes; black, brown, yellow, red, white, straight, gay, Christian, Muslim, Jewish and all other minorities do not believe that the elitist and their police state N.W.O. intend to put into effect democracy and freedom for the people. In fact they have done everything in their power to take away our rights and freedoms, tear up the Constitution and destroy the principles of democracy. This belief is what accounts for the depths of passion that underlie all the struggles for freedom and democracy witnessed around the world today.

The rumblings for freedom and equality for the people of America and the world will reverberate into a mighty roar and spread like wildfire in the days to come, the days of talking quietly have past. These are the days for bold action, this is the time to serve the ways of democracy and preserve the integrity of the Constitution. Sweeping changes will set the peoples of the world on fire and they will stand in great numbers and have the power to demand justice, demand freedom and demand equality. Help us fight for our freedom and for what's right.

ARISE for Social Justice has been in the fore-front of the struggle for freedom, justice, democracy and human rights for many years, however we cannot continue in this struggle without the help and support of the people we serve. Because we accept no government funding and due in part to the economic downturn, we find ourselves in a rather precarious financial situation. We need the help of the people to continue fighting for the people. If you can spare a dollar, a few dollars or a few hundred dollars please consider a donation to ARISE, anything that will help us to continue helping the people would be appreciated.

Please send what you can spare to the following address: ARISE for Social Justice P.O. BOX 5423, 467 State Street, Springfield, MA. 01101. Your contributions are tax deductable. Thank you so much for standing with us for freedom and against oppression.


Don James

President: ARISE for Social Justice

David Kato's funeral - Tuesday vigil

ACTIVIST INSULTED AT HIS OWN FUNERAL:

The pastor presiding over the funeral of murdered gay rights activist David Kato went on an anti-homosexual rant Friday, adding insult to injury for the circle of activists hoping to honour and bury their friend.
It started out nicely enough, according to news reports, with friends offering reading tributes and statements of condolence from international leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama. Then the priest, Anglican Pastor Thomas Musoke, took to the pulpit, saying that homosexuality is "evil and will be punished by God....Even the animals know the difference between a male and a female."
Pepe Onziema, of Sexual Minorities Uganda, reportedly pulled the microphone away from the priest, prompting a scuffle. Then the police moved in and whisked the priest away.
Villagers then refused to bury the coffin, so Kato's friends carried it to the grave and buried him themselves.
About 300 people attended the funeral outside the capital city of Kampala. The police still deny Kato's murder had anything to do with his sexuality and was more likely a robbery gone wrong. This is possible, but seems unlikely given the number of death threats he received after he was featured in a tabloid article purporting to expose "Uganda's top 100 homos." The government is likely spinning it this way because any suggestion Kato's murder may have been a hate crime opens a legal can of worms the government would much rather avoid. Most Ugandans oppose homosexuality and would not look favourably upon any government action to protect them from violence.
You can read a full account of the funeral here.
Meanwhile in the U.K., Ugandan lesbian Brenda Namigadde is trying to fight deportation back to her home country, fearing her life will be in danger if she returns. A British judge has ruled she is not really a lesbian, and she could be deported as soon as Saturday. Vancouver Sun.

PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release:  January 29, 2011 -  Media Contact:

Holly Richardson, Out Now (413.348.8234)

 

On Tuesday, February 1, 2011, Out Now, Arise for Social Justice and other concerned members of our community will hold a peaceful vigil in front of the Arise office to remember the life of David Kato, Ugandan LGBT human rights defender, murdered on January 26 in his home.  His violent death comes in the wake of threats, violence and intimidation that he himself and other LGBT individuals and their supporters have faced. In the most recent incident of incitement to homophobic violence, the faces, names and addresses of “alleged homosexuals” were published under the headline “Hang Them” by a local tabloid.

What:     Vigil

When:    February 1, 2011pm at 12:00pm

Where:   In front of the Arise for Social Justice office headquarters,

    467 State Street, Springfield

The murder of David Kato further highlights the concerns many here in our community have had with regard to the recent exposure of Scott Lively’s residency and work in Springfield.  Holly Richardson of Out Now states,” We are calling upon Scott Lively to stop his hateful rhetoric. She adds, “If Scott Lively is truly working to help improve the lives of the people in our city, as he says he is, than I would think he would want to start with a genuine apology for any of his actions that may have led to inciting violence at home or abroad.” 

Arise President Don James says, “We have to stand against oppression wherever we see it.  No one should have to be in fear of their lives because of their sexual orientation.”

The vigil will both show that members of our community will oppose and confront those who put forth hateful and violent rhetoric, and will honor the struggle for human rights for all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Next Community Coalition for Justice Meeting

Monday, Feb. 7th at 6 pm, at Out Now, 1695 Main St., Springfield.  Help us plan for the upcoming "Know Your Rights" training on Feb. 11, plan court solidarity, plan for the Police Brutality Speak-Out-- all seekers of social justice welcome!

Ask the Super Bowl Host Committee to Stand Up and Protect Children

Targeting: Bill Lively (President and CEO), Tony Fay (VP of Communications), Larry McCoy (CFO), see more...Bill Lively (President and CEO), Tony Fay (VP of Communications), Larry McCoy (CFO), Robert Cluck (Arlington Mayor), Clay Christopher (Board Member), Tara Green (President, COO), Paige Smith (VP, Sponsor Services), and Kit Sawyers (VP of Special Events)

Started by: Melissa Snow

The trafficking of children for sale at the Super Bowl is well documented.  Texas Attorney General Abbott is taking a stand and has prepared a task force to identify and respond to traffickers who plan to sell children at the Super Bowl.  However, it is not enough to expect law enforcement and victim advocates to bear the entire burden of responding to this issue, which is expected to include many victims.  In support of the efforts of the task force, we are requesting the Super Bowl Host Committee embrace a proactive approach with community members by endorsing the “I’m Not buying It” campaign, which would raise awareness and deter the buying of children during the Super Bowl.
As evidenced by the tremendous amount of work and money the Host Committee has channeled into Slant 45, clearly improving the lives of children is a priority. Countless children in the DFW region have benefitted by the commitment and opportunities provided by this program.
However, the children trafficked to DFW to meet the demand of the Super Bowl are being left to fend for themselves.  According to the Dallas Police Department children exploited through sex trafficking have an average life expectancy is just seven short years. The average age a child is tricked and trapped in sexual slavery is just 13 years old.  These children are beaten, brutalized and tortured for the profit and pleasure of others.
This Super Bowl Host Committee’s hard work has turned the North Texas Region into a showcase with a record number of million-dollar sponsors, state-of-the-art infrastructure and events that appeal across audiences. They’ve set the standard for the Super Bowl experience.
Now, let’s join together and ask the Host Committee to take a stand and set the standard for all Super Bowl Host Committees to come. The Host Committee has the biggest megaphone to prevent the buying and selling of American children during this year’s festivities.  Law enforcement, legislators, non-profits, churches and business all are stepping up to the plate to stop this horrific abuse of our children. It’s time that the Host Committee faces the reality that children will be trafficked to North Texas and answer the question – What role will they play in preventing the sex trafficking of children during the Super Bowl?
DFW-based Traffick911 is leading a comprehensive game plan to protect American children. Local, national and international organizations have joined forces with Traffick911 in the I’m Not Buying It campaign. This Super Bowl Host Committee has proven it has the power and influence to make history. Join me in asking the Super Bowl Host Committee to endorse and fund the “I’m Not buying it” campaign to protect and defend children during the Super Bowl!!

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   Photo credit: Lady DragonflyCC

Homeless shelter turns away gay people

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From Michael Jones at Change.org: The House of Mercy homeless shelter in Columbus, Georgia, might want to go back and read their Bible. There's a passage in Isaiah they should pay particular attention to: "Share your bread with the hungry, take the homeless into your homes, clothe the naked when you see him/her, do not turn away from people in need." But instead of following that line, the House of Mercy shelter has a rule on its books: if you're gay and homeless, you belong on the streets. Perhaps House of Mercy might consider a name change to House of Ignorance.
The CBS station in Columbus, WRBL, ran a story last week discussing two women who were booted out of the House of Mercy homeless shelter, because shelter staff thought they were gay. These were women who actually fled abusive homes, and as one of them told WRBL, she was expecting to be treated with compassion by the folks at House of Mercy.
"I was hoping that just by the name ... I was hoping for security," one of the women said. Instead, the woman says the way she was treated at the House of Mercy was unholy. "It was not a place of God."
The director of House of Mercy, Elder Bobby Harris, told WRBL that "practicing" gay people aren't welcome at his shelter, no matter how in need they might be.
"[Homosexuality] is not tolerated here at all. Let me tell you one reason why: because of the Bible, of course. And then we have little children ... We believe that Christ can change all. But when they begin to practice their acts," Harris says, there's nothing he can do for gay people in need.
Harris did not say where in the Bible Jesus gave permission to cast LGBT people out into the street, or refuse them service if they're needy or, in the case of these two women, fleeing violent homes. WRBL reached out to other homeless shelters in the area, and found that not a one, outside of House of Mercy, excludes gay people from being served. They interviewed Valerie McLain, who works at the Crisis Center of Russell County, and she told reporters that homeless shelters should be in the business of serving all who come through their doors, and not revictimizing those in need.
"We welcome anyone that is a victim. That's who we serve. We have no discrimination. We make no discrimination with anyone. We're not in the business of revictimizing the victim," McLain said.
Sounds like the House of Mercy not only needs to re-read their Bible, but they could also stand to learn a few lessons in service from other shelters in the area.
Meanwhile, here's the real kicker: the two women at the center of this controversy? They say they're not even gay, which means that the House of Mercy denied them service based on rumors or bad information. Still, one of the women told WRBL that even if she was gay, she would hope a homeless shelter would have enough compassion to help her out.
"If I was gay, and I had all these other issues and I came [to the House of Mercy], is that what you do to people going through stuff?" she asked.
Apparently so. How about sending the House of Mercy a message that this policy of excluding gay people is not only inconsiderate, it runs counter to the supposed religious teachings they hold dear. Check out the story below from WRBL for more information, and to see Elder Bobby Harris actually say on camera that it's his Christian duty to deny homeless gay people service.

Stand against police brutality

Please come to the Springfield Court tomorrow, Tuesday Jan. 18th to stand against police brutality.  Melvin Jones has a court appearance and we will stand out on State St. with our signs.  Please come at 8:15am!

Also, we will go to the Chicopee Court next Friday Jan. 28th at 8:30am, when it will be decided if Jeffery Asher will get approved a 'change of venue' for the criminal charges brought against him for the beating of Melvin Jones.

.. Elle Magazine: Apologize for Trying to 'Whiten' Indian Skin

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It looks like Elle had quite the white Christmas.
Bollywood actor and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is featured on the cover of Elle Magazine looking far paler than she is in real life. Most fans are up in arms and an appalled Ms. Bachchan is considering a lawsuit against the magazine.
Consumers have long been inundated with ads that use prominent Bollywood actors to promote skin-lightening products. In a country that produces gorgeous women of color, it is sad that Ms. Rai-Bachchan, who is relatively light-skinned, is one of the very few with some cross-over appeal. To see magazines like Elle further enforce the color hierarchy of crossover appeal by making Aishwarya appear lighter-skinned is a slap in the face.
This is the second racial debacle surrounding Elle. The American version was criticized for its October 2010 issue, which featured actress Gabourey Sidibeon on one of its four celebrity covers with noticeably lighter skin than her natural complexion.
Lets tell Elle Magazine to make a commitment to moving away from using white as a standard for beauty, and demand a public statement and apology.
For regular updates on the 'Elle Whitening' campaign please follow us on follow us on Facebook, just click 'Like' at the top of our Facebook page and check in from time to time.

Thanks, Change.org!

This, that and an other thing,

Things are getting pretty busy at Arise. With demonstrations, vigils, fund raising, meetings and then everything else, time is limited. There are never enough hours in the day. I wanted to take a moment and let folks know about a couple of things that are happening in the next week or so.

This past Tuesday The farmers market at the "X" is back with a new location. The market has moved to Cyr Arena in Forest Park. They are open every Tuesday 12:30 PM TO 6:00 PM now through the end of October. Just let the attendants at the entrance to the park know where you are going and you'll get a pass to park in the lot next to the arena. Don't park anywhere else or you'll get towed.

Wednesday, May 12th @ 6pm the Arise Springfield Tenants Union will be meeting in our office on State St. We are organizing to let people know their housing rights. We've had a great victory in tenant protections on a state level. An omnibus bill was passed this past week that gives tenants more protections in foreclosed properties than ever before. It also the first step in foreclosure legislation that truly protects property owners caught in the throws of the foreclosure crisis. Stop in and see what we are up to.

Arise Membership Meeting. May 15th, 2010 at Tapestry Health on Bay St Spfld., MA We plan on having lots of fun and sharing information about what we've been up to and where you think we aught to go. So stop in if you can if not stop by the office and say Hi.

Homeless Nation gains attention

Last fall community and social media expert Chris Brogan gave a plus t0 Canadian-based Homeless Nation, a site I frequently go to for updates on homeless organizing.

You might have heard of the site. They won both the Canadian New Media Award (CNMA) and the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) Award for Excellence in New Communications Award for New Media Creation/Social Media Production, so it’s not like they’re going unnoticed. The organization has been around since 2003, providing information on services, events, missing people notices, and much more.

I found the fact that members of Homeless Nation can produce podcasts and video to be quite an interesting component. Imagine a world where your physical location is no longer fixed. You might have a place to stash parts of your belongings. You will certainly find ways to acquire temporary shelter, will learn how to find food, find a place to bathe, and the like.

Homeless Nation describes it goals as:

Our Goals

Build and strengthen communities, both virtual and actual, across Canada

Provide access to the Internet, media and training to Canada's homeless population

Encourage discussion and learning on social issues surrounding homelessness

Create dialogue between Canada's homeless and mainstream society to counter isolation and marginalization

Recycle and re-purpose technology for use by Canada's homeless communities

Break down stereotypes and barriers in our society

Community development uniting resources serving the homeless

Create a national collective voice by and for Canada's homeless population

Wouldn't it be great to have a site like this in the U.S.?