8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS VENDOR VOICES I hereby resolve ... When asked about my New Year’s Resolutions, I replied, “to finish what I started.” I’m not talking about the end of my life, though I am getting closer. There are projects I want to finish before I die, and finishing my autobiography is the big one. I got as far as the 6th grade and have 70-some years to go. Since my birthday is the Day of Che, October 8 is a double celebration. On my 80th, a good number of us watched “Finally Got The News” at the State Theater, and on my 82nd a smaller number watched “Salt Of The Earth” at the Friends Meeting House. For October 8, 2025, I hope to watch “The Motorcycle Diaries” with you as part of the celebration. In the words of Che, “We are realists, we dream the impossible,” and “At the risk of sounding ridiculous, it must be said that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” I think you will love this film. Robert Redford affirmed the importance of the original language to get the feel of the story and good subtitles for the meaning of the spoken word. It’s an artistic treat. This will be another potluck social, probably the Sunday before or after October 8, and I hope to have good news on the progress of the autobiography, as well as a shared sound system so everyone can hear. Washtenaw Community College said they have no classes for that but do have systems available for students. They recommended I work with my hearing aid, smart phone and an app, KEN PARKS Groundcover vendor No. 490 so it’s off to hearing aid technicians. Meanwhile, my life's work continues. Maybe we will have a “Greenhouse Hostel” as a model for tiny houses in the context of the Accessory Dwelling Units ordinance. City planning commission members were at the Groundcover office and we discussed the inclusion of permaculture design into the permit and inspection protocol. This process needs follow-through. If we learn composting to deal with all our waste, it will revolutionize waste water treament. Our base camp on Corrizo Comecrudo land in Texas used wood shavings as the first step in our bathroom bucket. It was odorless and the first step in composting human fecal waste. These are the changes that Mother Earth will welcome as we learn the lessons of climate chaos and create an interactive friendly environment for ourselves and all sentient beings. Taking responsibility for the results of our actions is the big challenge we face. If we engage in the struggle for freedom, the stages of the path will promote our creative labor to work on the transformation of our lives. We will learn to move the money from war to meeting human needs. Discovering who we are will be a grand learning experiment. The impermanence of our bodies will be welcomed as we learn to heal and prepare for a timely death when that time comes. Untimely death will be with us for some time, so ongoing prayer for those surprised by death will help us in this collective transition which of course has individual experience at its heart. To be fully present, you have to do it yourself, but you don’t do it alone. Those of us experiencing aging in its last stages will be welcomed as we learn to embrace life without the denial of death. It will be OK to die in celebration at this new kind of birthday party. When we experience life and death as a seamless whole, our awareness will be on the path to full and complete awakening. Writing about these matters steps beyond our ability to think. Our understanding of the nature of the mind is in a collective gridlock due to obstacles that are encouraged by a culture of control through a chain of command with which you must be in compliance or face the death penalty. I learned much from Mumia Abu Jamal. His book “Live from Death Row” is a classic of prison literature. Prison Radio will deepen your educational experience. Keep in tune with the Prisoner Creative Arts Project. The University of Michigan promotes this exhibit which I hope will feature art from Guantanamo and Israeli prisons. I had the great honor of giving my copy of Mumia’s most famous book to Assata Shakur (Black freedom fighter and auntie of Tupac) when the Pastors for Peace Caravan to Cuba met with her in the 1990s. Her presence is deeply empowering. I hope we all can share something about our resolutions for 2025. Many of us want peace with justice in our time. How are we doing? Health is the issue of our day. Physical and mental health run hand-inhand. When both do well, peace will be that much closer. Dr. Jack Kruse’s advice on sunlight and reducing bluelight stress is a good place to start. He has an excellent post at his own podcast, “Sun Education.” Learn about heteroplasmy, charge density and the light choices you make. It will improve mitochondrial function, that is, energy production. Let us tune in to the simple living that promotes health. Feed your mind the awareness that arises with a natural breath. Find the teachers who help you reach the next level of awakening. They are ready for you. One of them, Ernest Becker, wrote “The Denial of Death” and “Escape From Evil.” His intellectual honesty and clarity will open your mind to the possibility of science as a lifestyle. Facing reality and embracing our power will be a big change. The adventure is happening now! JANUARY 24, 2025 WORKING from page 6 Low-wages and under-employment are frequently cited as causes for homelessness. Shockingly, of the people I surveyed, not a single homeless person was working at a job earning minimum wage. Some examples of current or recent hourly wages were $15 on the lower end at Burger King; Shelter Association and FedUp employees reported earning approximately the local living wage at around $19; and hourly wages were reported as high as $23 at We the People Opportunity Farm. As of December 2, 2024, MSHDA’s Washtenaw County Payment Standard for a one bedroom is valued at $1,357 and a two bedroom at $1,618. An individual working fulltime at $23 an hour could find a one bedroom and qualify based on income and someone working full-time at $15 could share a two-bedroom or find a studio. Unfortunately, most with formal income reported not being offered enough work hours to be considered full-time. Another disappointing realization made during the process of talking with the Buddys was that many people who are eligible for SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) are not even fully linked to services. SOAR is a special expedited process to apply for social security benefits only available to those experiencing or at risk of homelessness who have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or co-occurring substance use disorder. One Buddy shared that they had received benefits since the age of 12, yet they went to prison (for a crime they didn’t commit) and since being released have been without any financial means. At this time this person has recently started the process of getting linked to services through Community Mental Health. While not everyone with a substance use disorder and/or mental diagnosis qualifies for SOAR, some Buddys do attribute homelessness and lack of employment to not being supported during a time of crisis. Another Buddy who was recently approved for SSI/SSDI reported he hired a lawyer to help and it still took years. Some people who are employed fall under the category of gig workers. This category refers to those who may have some income, but they are likely working for cash or at least don’t get a taxable paycheck. In this category, some Buddys report sex work, selling drugs, mowing lawns, snow removal or hard labor. Some Buddys reported DoorDashing or using their trucks for odd hauling; however, both of the individuals do not have running vehicles at this moment for Uber or Lyft. One Buddy shared they donate plasma, explaining there are two companies in the community, Octapharma and Biolife, that have a twice-weekly donation schedule and earn about $60 each time they donate. The challenge with donating plasma is donation requires identification, an address which cannot be a homeless shelter, and it may cost up to $4 to access deposits at an ATM. I would like to thank the dozens of people I spoke with this month about their working while homeless experiences. I wish I had enough space to include more of the dialogue and will continue to carry the memories from our discussions. As a working homeless person, I would like to express my gratitude to my local support network, which allows me to wash laundry twice a week, shower daily, get propane to keep me warm and have options to cook allergy-friendly foods. Thanks also to the community of my alma mater, Eastern Michigan University, who helped me achieve my undergraduate dream of practicing social work from the comfort of my tent with a classic car parked near it.
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