New Kid on the Blog

Can someone please tell me when exactly did our collective sense of humanity fall behind our need to balance our federal budget? When exactly did we all say let’s stop funding programs that help children in need, seniors who are struggling and neighborhoods that are derailing while we do little to cut the real culprits of our budget woes: Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and defense? Must we immediately sacrifice our children, our seniors and our neighborhoods, without at least addressing waste, abuse, and fraud and without means testing of entitlements??

I don’t remember anyone asking me. I clearly understand we need to get our fiscal house in order and stop spending more than we bring in. I am a believer in shared sacrifice for the common good. I’m just not seeing the shared part of this idea nor do I sense any great cry for the common good.

Continue reading →

Over the last several weeks, quietly and with very little fanfare, several connected statistics came out concerning families and children across this country. I am willing to bet that few people took notice of these data points and their significant implications on so many of our neighbors. Here is the info:

The US Census Bureau reported that in 2009, 44 million Americans were living in poverty – the highest figure ever reported since the tracking of this information in 1959! Of this astonishing figure, 20% or almost nine million are children living in poverty; again the highest figure ever recorded. Finally, the USDA reported that 42 million Americans were now using the food stamp program – the highest figure ever reported!

Continue reading →

At 9AM, Monday through Friday, for six weeks this summer, something magical happens at Beyond Housing’s Pagedale Family Support Center. This is the time that the children in our summer camp program do Harambee. Harambee means ‘coming together’ and for thirty minutes they, as the Children’s Defense Fund describes it, “celebrate and affirm the value of each participant and prepare for the work and learning ahead”. This celebration is performed with songs and chants and is as uplifting and energizing an event as you can imagine.

It’s about 11:00PM on Wednesday, March 31^st and as I think back upon my hectic day today and it occurred to me that I am so fortunate to have so many relationships that truly matter. This is true in my personal as well as professional life. Let me see if I can chronicle my day for you and convey the great relationships that I am lucky to have. Continue reading →

As I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening, two different things came to mind…my English lit class from high school and Confucius. I will say that again, as I thought about this past year and how I would describe it to you this evening two different things came to mind…my English lit class from high school and Confucius. In my English lit class, we read the classic Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. Now I will be honest and say I have vague recollections about the story. I know it is set in the time of the French Revolution. While I am being honest, it is very likely that I may have purchased the Cliff Notes for the novel as well. What I do clearly remember is how the book begins. The very first sentence is as follows; “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” At the time, I liked the language; but, I remember thinking to myself how can it be both the best and worst of times simultaneously. Continue reading →

On September 20^th, 1993, I started this job as Executive Director and I am now President/CEO of Beyond Housing.  Back then, we were called Ecumenical Housing Production Corporation and, as the name implies, we had strong roots in the faith community. The original notion was to have people of all faiths come together to produce much-needed, affordable housing.  I was 31 years old, with a great deal of enthusiasm; but, not much experience. My biggest worry at leading this well-respected organization was to not “drop the ball” that was handed me by the Board of Directors and the retiring founding Executive Director, Lynn Broeder. Lynn was a dynamic and charismatic leader who grew the organization out of, yes, a church basement to its well-respected place. She had cultivated the strong ties to the faith community that we still enjoy today. Continue reading →

Leadership and courage are traits that are hard to come by in individuals and even harder in groups.  Further, leadership and courage are even more difficult to find when times are hard and these two traits are more in need than ever.  The organization I have the privilege of leading from a staff perspective, Beyond Housing, just held our annual strategic planning session on Saturday, September 12^th.   Our mission is to strengthen neighborhoods, one family at a time and this already difficult task has gotten that much harder due to the recent economic downturn.  More and more families come to us each and everyday asking for our help in finding a place to live, help to prevent them from losing their home due to foreclosure, help to repair their existing home, help to provide support in the daily struggle to live with the weight of poverty on their shoulders.  The sad irony of this increased need for our mission delivery comes at time, due to the economic downturn, when we are anticipating a 30% decrease in charitable giving in 2009 from 2008.  This 30% equates to around $300,000. Continue reading →

In small and large ways, being there for children can truly make a difference.