2/17/2019 Status Update

Good morning everyone. I am pleased to inform you that we received our registration for the state of Georgia. It is a good day! Now, things can begin on a good note with fundraising and servicing the homeless here. We have lots of plans and I have been working on the fundamentals of a new program and getting the information ready to seek funding for the new program.

We, my husband and I, will be putting some of our own money away towards this program to show our support and everything will be laid out in black and white for everyone to see. I can also start setting up tables here in Georgia too to bring in some funding.

I am excited about this year because it will be a new beginning for Hope Station USA. Some other good news is that I have an agreement with my husband that if I do my treadmill every day and build up my time and endurance, get my weight down to two-hundred and thirty or less, and get medical clearance from my doctor, I will be doing a state walk for charity here in Georgia and then next year will be Florida and Tennessee.

I want to bring about the awareness that we have a serious issue with homelessness that needs our attention. These are human beings having a hard time in life and they need our compassion, respect, and help. Get to know these people in your local community. Buy them a cup of coffee or a burger and sit and talk with them.

I will have a book coming out in November on homelessness and with my walks, I will be sitting along the way with some of them getting their story and picture putting it inside the book so you can get to know these people for who they are and not what drugs or alcohol they are using.

Well, that is all the excitement for now, but I will have more in a few days when I come back and do another status update. Remember these are people too so do something nice for one today. My thoughts and prayers are out there with them. Take care and everyone be blessed.

2/10/2019 Status Update

Hello everyone! It is two twenty-three in the afternoon and thirty- five degrees outside. It is a light rain but you can feel the moisture in the air. I have been up since about ten o'clock and have gotten my coffee and house cleaning done for the day. Now it is time to get some of my writing stuff done.

I took the afternoon off yesterday to take a nap and could not recoup from it until around dinner time because my husband and I were talking about something that woke the beast within me. I did a walk for the homeless back in two-thousand and ten and I think it is needed again to raise awareness and to show my passion for helping them regain their self- sufficiency.

We are currently registered in the state of Florida and Georgia and by the end of the year, we are hoping for Tennessee to be included. We were talking about doing a shorter walk which would be a state walk at a time. I began looking at a map last night to show me routes and mileage for Georgia. My husband would go along as my support team.

I also began looking up solicitor permits last night for door to door donations which we could collect money, blankets, food, and clothing. I get amped up every time we talk or discuss things relating to helping the homeless. I want to do whatever we could to help them.

A percentage of all my book sales go to the organization to give her a residual income to help out. Right now all supplies needed are coming out of my own personal money to help. It is something that is very important to me. Hope Station USA has been incorporated for ten years now and it has been slow due to health and medical issues, but I feel a comeback is coming shortly.

So we would do one state walk during this year which we made a deal that I needed to lose a little bit of weight and get my health back into gear before allowing me to do the walk. I agreed that I need to get I shape for it and have set a goal date to have my weight down and my diabetes under control again and that date is August thirty- first.

I have already started back on the treadmill again to build up my endurance and with that, I also have to have my weight down to two-thirty or less and my sugar has to be under control before that date to do the walk in September. I will make these goals and will make this walk to bring about awareness for the homeless situation going on in our country.

I have a book that is scheduled to be written and published in November on homelessness and while I am on my walk, I want to get some of these individuals stories and pictures to put into this book to allow society to get to know these people and see that they are just human beings and what be homeless has done for and to them.

I am also working on the financial and plan for the new program of Hope Station USA that will help them immensely. I am working on the paperwork to set it up for grant proposals to send out. I have thought about this program in my sleep and have seen it work in my mind. This program could take off and then become a national thing to help end our homeless issues. I will be posting this same post on Hope Station USA's website for those who miss it here.

Other than everything going on there, I am still working on my next book and I have one in editing still, but hopefully, it will be published by the end of this month. I have changed my writing schedule around so that it gives me two weeks per book to write them and then work on the editing stage.

I am very excited right now to get things moving and I wanted to share all my thoughts with you and hopefully, I will get some feedback. Please do something nice for a homeless person today and show them you care. It is all I am asking unless you want to purchase one of my books and that can be your way of contributing to our cause.

I want to wish everyone a blessed day and my thoughts and prayers are going out to everyone sleeping outside in the cold. "Happy Birthday" to everyone born on this date. Take care.

2/9/2019 Status Update

Good morning everyone. How are you? My thoughts and prayers are with those sleeping on the streets tonight and may you stay warm. I have some good news to announce to everyone. I just spoke with my husband who is also a director of Hope Station USA about a charity state walk for homelessness awareness.

I attempted a walk across the country back in 2010 from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles, California which had to end abruptly due to my support person/Treasurer getting sick that we had to return to Florida where she battled Cancer for a couple of years because of no health insurance and we lost her in 2017.

I want to raise awareness of the homelessness issue here in the United States one state at a time. I have a goal to set it up for September so that it will not be so hot out there while I walk. He agreed to let me do a state walk for each state we are registered in to show our support of the issue. I have health goals to make before doing this and I believe I can do it.

On another note, I will begin working on paperwork today to get our new program together to submit to foundations for funding. It is a good day for getting things done. I will be working on grant proposals today and every day to get some funding coming in to keep going. We might even start some door to door solicitation for money, blankets, and clothing donations. Everything is getting set to go.

I just wanted to give you an update on stuff going on and that we are moving forward. Hope Station USA has been incorporated ten years now and we are excited. Have a great day and do something nice for someone less fortunate today. Take care.

2/1/2019 Status Update

Hello everyone and again my prayers go out to those sleeping out in the cold and may they be safe from harm. Today was a good day and I still cannot forget about last week when my husband and I went down to Atlanta to pass out bag lunches to those sleeping on the sidewalks. We are going to have to get a video next time it was just dark by the time we got down there and found all of them.

I saw a man today while out getting some groceries sitting on the curb and he had a sign that stated, "I'm hungry" and it yanked at my heartstrings once again. I still had some bag lunches in the car with no sandwiches in them, so I bought a hamburger to go in the bag with the chips and drink and gave it to him. He was so appreciative that I gave him something to eat. I also gave him a hygiene kit and a box of donuts that I had just bought in the store. I figure he needed it more than myself since I am diabetic.

I felt good to know that I helped someone today even if it was just giving him something to eat. He was happy as he sat there eating it and I was happy knowing that I still had those items in the car. I cannot express how much compassion I have for the homeless and their story. Eventually, I will get with some of them and get their story just so that I can tell it to everyone. Most of society see the homeless as being in their situation because of drugs and alcohol, but if you ever got the chance to talk to one of them and got to know the person, you would see something entirely different.

I still need to get on the phone and make arrangements to set up tables for donations, but I need to get our finances in check first so that we will have the gas to make the trip. A lot of what we are handing out comes from our own finances when we have it to spare. We have not been operating lately because of me being ill and having all the doctor appointments, but I am good now and ready to get things moving.

Not only does my daily schedule work for my book writing and authorship, but it incorporates things for Hope Station like grant writing and program planning. Tomorrow after working the flea market for Hope Station, I have some foundations and grant research to do. I finally broke down and drew up the physical plan for the new program and now I just need to get the paperwork and financials of it down and ready to present to foundations.

Well, this was just a quick update because I need to get candles finished and ready for tomorrow's sale. I hope everyone has a wonderful day and remember to help someone out less fortunate than yourself. Pay it forward.

Feeding the Homeless 1/26/2019

Good morning everyone. It is ten twenty-one in the morning and thirty-four degrees outside here in Dalton, Georgia. It is beautiful outside with the sun shining, but pretty cold. I just woke up from having a bad night last night with sleep. We were supposed to go to the flea market this morning, but after my night, I just couldn't go.

Yesterday was an awesome day because we made up bag lunches and hygiene kits to hand out to the homeless. We were going to hand them out locally but could not find but two individuals and I know that Dalton has lots of homeless people we just couldn't find them and we drove around checking all the spots for about an hour.

Thanks to the Mayor and law enforcement, they have forced the homeless out of the city limits and into the county which makes them widespread. After driving around for about an hour and checking where the tent cities should have been, we decided to go to Atlanta. It is only an hour away and I know that they are all over down there.

We jumped on the interstate and headed South. We got caught in traffic due to road work where they closed off a three-lane interstate to one lane and we were stuck at a slow move for about an hour and a half before it finally cleared up and we were back on our way.

With the Super Bowl a week away, Atlanta does things and events the whole week beforehand leading up to it the main event. This year my Patriots are in the Super Bowl and it is being played right here in Atlanta but I don't have the money to go which is a bummer. It was very active driving through downtown.

We reached our destination at about six o'clock and it was just beginning to get dark and we found a few homeless people but it was dinner time so most of them were at local soup kitchens. We stopped at one because I had to use the bathroom and when I walked inside, this place was packed with homeless individuals and I really got to see just a percentage of the homeless population and it was devastating to me mentally.

There were able-bodied men, who after talking with a few of them stated that there were no jobs that would hire them. It is a shame that a city as big as Atlanta had no jobs for these men. Then, we made our way to our final destination which was the bridge down by the hospital. They lined both sides under the bridge of people laying on the concrete and trying to keep warm.

They were excited to see us coming to hand them a bag lunch and hygiene products. I could not believe how appreciative and polite they were. One of them asked me why we wanted to help them when no one else cares. I almost wanted to cry because these people have been shoved aside like trash to wither and die in the cold.

My husband and I found ourselves in some serious conversations with some of them and it was heartbreaking to see another human being feel like they were worthless and thrown out like trash. One of them asked us to take her home because she didn't want to be out there anymore. Let's just say that our experience was eye-opening to these individuals.

Some were huddled against the wall without a blanket and just covered by a jacket and I felt so bad that we didn't bring any blankets, but I know better now. We need to campaign for blankets and socks. If that is all we can do right now just to help keep them warm during these cold months. So, if anyone wants to make a donation of a package of socks or a blanket, they will be greatly appreciated. These people really need it and we want to spread the warmth as we try to help.

If you decide to make a monetary donation, just click the PayPal button on this site and the money will go towards purchasing food and blankets. We all need to come together to help out our fellow human being. We just hope that everyone has a heart and wants to help.

Well, it is time to get to work finishing off some books of mine because a percentage of all earned royalties goes towards Hope Station USA to assist us in helping the homeless. I want to wish everyone born on this date a "Happy Birthday" and may you have many more to come. To everyone else, have an awesome and blessed Saturday. Take care.

Status Update 1/23/2019

Good morning to all. It is actually a nice morning this morning. It still got a bit cold during the night but right now it is forty degrees outside. I wanted to give everyone an update on our status and it is good news. We are going to be delivering bag lunches out to the homeless this Friday or Saturday, but more like Friday so that we can work the flea market on Saturday. I also have my list of merchants to call to set up tables and get things going.

We will be handing out the lunches, hygiene kits, and some warm clothing. I am going to be working on getting some blankets and socks for the homeless soon because they need it sleeping outside. We will be here serving the homeless in Dalton, Georgia and then working on a trip to Jacksonville, Florida. We are excited and pumped up about getting things started.

We are still waiting on Georgia registration paperwork to be processed, but when I spoke to them they told me to continue working under the same identification number because that won't change. We should have it this week but it will not stop me from helping people. My passion does not need a piece of paper to tell me I can help them. So cross your fingers that it comes soon so that we can start fundraising.

Well, it is time to get going because I have a doctor's appointment this morning and I have some things to get done first before we leave. I just felt the need to update everyone on what we are doing and we wish everyone a blessed and prosperous day. Our prayers go out to those sleeping outside for them to stay warm and be safe. "Happy Birthday" to everyone celebrating one today and may God bless you with many more. Take care. 

Status Update 1/21/2019

This has been a stressful week trying to get candles made for the flea market and then being rained out Saturday only to freeze while working it on Sunday. We sold a couple of candles for Hope Station but I will be setting up tables this week to begin in February. We will be going out to our local community here in Dalton to pass out bag lunches, hygiene kits, and some warm clothing.

I have been so busy that some things have been put aside until I was finished and now we are ready to get things going and moving forward. I have found my grant foundations list and will be working on getting some more funding in for our programs, but until then, we are doing the best we can do. There are so many out there who are afflicted by homelessness that not one organization can take it away but through a group of organizations and communities, we can make a difference in someone's life.

I have been placing ads for donations of food, clothing, and warm blankets and we are waiting to see if anyone responds. I feel like I need to get out in the streets to make a difference and I am thinking that might be the best way. We need a street outreach program that goes out and makes friends while giving them hope that their nightmare will end.

Many people assume that drugs and alcohol are what makes a person lose everything and be homeless when those are just the coping mechanisms of the shame and guilt that person is feeling. The loss of a job starts the ball rolling and when they begin losing everything, the drugs and alcohol make it feel better for a minute even though the issue will still be there but it makes them feel nothing for a few minutes. I know because I was once out there and the drugs took away my emotions so that I could just focus on surviving and not what I was feeling.

I hope everyone can understand that? Not everyone is as strong as another person when it comes to downfalls or loss of employment. Some just don't know how to deal with it and some have a mental illness which is another thing going against them. All these things make a person stuck in this nightmare and not knowing how to get out or wake up. I want to help them and even if I only help one person a day, that is thirty people a month and that is what I base our success on.

Well it is getting late and I need to get some other things done so I will wish everyone a blessed night and may you stay warm. God Bless!