Road warrior - biographical article
My Experience
> I ran substantial emergency shelters in Illinois for 15 years,
> 40+ years advocating for public policy changes, with some success!
> author of 4 books on homelessness,
> 20 yrs. of US backroads travel (49 states, 500k miles) filming and producing videos featuring stories of families and youth sharing about their homelessness for HEAR US Inc.
The Book About Homeless Families I Want You to Read
I know most people know little - nothing about family homelessness. I can't solve that issue. What I would like to solve is getting people who work with families/kids experiencing homelessness to know a bit more about their situations and circumstances.
I've been around enough people in schools and shelters to know the knowledge gap is huge with some. And it causes a lot of unnecessary misery for the families. So I wrote a short book to at least open readers' minds to this unknown segment of the population.
School personnel assigned to be the "homeless liaison" who admit they know nothing; administrators who need to know what the federal law is governing how the school needs to assist the students; legislators who make policies affecting families; and compassionate, curious individuals who want to know more...you all are going to love this little book!
BONUS! Throughout the book, I've inserted relevant short videos I've made featuring families sharing their stories. And I've included other relevant links for more info.
E-Book
My Previous Latest/Greatest Work
My latest book, co-authored with Diana Bowman, is The Three Melissas - The Practical Guide to Surviving Family Homelessness. What an honor to work on such a powerful and unique book with these amazing, articulate women!
Dismazed and Driven - My Look at Family Homelessness in America, part memoir/part social narrative, covers highlights from my travels wrapped around the stories of families I met along the way.
This reader-friendly book received rave reviews including the prestigious LA Review of Books.
My latest films -
Meet the 3 Melissas (5:17)
Host SuperPower (:30)
My first/best film -
My Own Four Walls (20 min) features short interviews of kids from across the country sharing their thoughts on their homelessness and what school means to them. Winner of the NAEHCY Outstanding Media Award (2007).
My Blogging
No doubt about it--I use my Medium blog to inform, inspire, and infuriate readers on issues pertaining to poverty, focusing on family/youth homelessness.
Every so often I deviate from the norm, like when I raged about the horrible customer service and ongoing ridiculous mechanical failures that have plagued my travels in my Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, aka "Tillie2." Imagine my "joy" when I see that this post still gets readers.
