Dwight, IL – Pontiac, IL   19.9 miles For the second time in my cross-country journey I have found myself interrogated by police simply for being a person with a backpack. Now I have no problem with a police officer asking me if I am OK. There was just a tornado in Dwight, the location from [...]

Sooner or later, most people will encounter a panhandler. It is an unjust fact of life. Though on most days my path crosses someone or another begging for some change, typically I don’t give money to panhandlers. It is not that I don’t empathize with their suffering, or that I doubt their need, but I [...]

Jan. 19, 2010 The Washington Post today reported that the crush of those seeking public services has so far exceeded the district’s ability to process applications that some have been forced to spend day after day waiting in line. It is a far cry from the near mob scene in Detroit last October when thousands [...]

Dec. 17, 2009 It is no secret that so many of the homeless in this country are veterans. And little shocks me these days. But I found myself surprised to learn the number of homeless female veterans to be on the rise. According to a report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, women are [...]

Dec. 16, 2009 More than a year ago my husband and I were at home one Sunday morning when he noticed the back of our apartment was on fire. Faulty electrical wiring in the restaurant below had created a fire that was likely smoldering for hours before it spread to our apartment. In the months [...]

Day 94–Oct. 5 (rest in Cleveland, OH, 0.0 miles) As a general rule I try not to give money to panhandlers. It is not that they are not deserving. It is not that I do not care. I don’t give money because it does not solve the problem. Instead I prefer to give money where [...]

Day 91–Oct. 2 (Hiram, OH – Aurora, OH, 11.1 miles) Poverty. It is a word no one likes to hear. It is not something we want to acknowledge exists in a country as wealthy as the United States. But far too many times when I tell people I’m walking for poverty and homelessness I’m told [...]

Day 90–Oct. 1 ( Braceville, OH – Hiram, OH, 10.8 miles) On more than one occasion on this trip I have been told I do not look like someone on a walk for poverty and homeless. Most days, but by no means all, I have started my morning with a hot shower. I have a [...]

Day 89–Sept. 30 ( Lake Milton, OH – Braceville, OH, 14.8 miles) *came to Lake Milton from Warren by car and spoke to students at Jackson-Milton Elementary School When we are young we are told not to talk to strangers. We are told to fear those who are different, to judge people by their appearance. [...]

Day 85–Sept. 26 (Beaver Falls, PA-New Castle, PA 18 miles) In the bad times, when we struggle and make our way through hardship or tragedy, we vow we will never forget. But we do forget. When I was first married I can remember struggling to pay the bills and staying up nights wondering how we [...]

Day 84–Sept. 25 (Baden, PA-Beaver Falls, PA, 10.8 miles) Twenty miles to the north of Pittsburgh the town of Aliquippa is perhaps the most run-down town I have seen in my life. Many of its buildings are abandoned and drug dealers and prostitutes run rampant. I was warned against visiting the town. I was told [...]

Day 69–Sept. 10 Coming soon!

Day 61–Sept. 2 Over the border in Surrey, British Columbia city leaders attempted a truly foul solution to the problem of homelessness. According to an article in the Surrey North Delta Leader, chicken manure was spread around a Whalley social service building on Aug. 14 in an attempt to drive away vagrants. A political relations [...]

Day 35–August 7, 2009 The human body cannot live without food. Yet time and time again we give up food in favor of other things our body does not require. And certainly many people have gone hungry in favor of If this is the case, that so many people would rather go hungry than roofless, [...]

Day 31–August 3, 2009 I do not remember the first time I encountered someone who was homeless. It is not something that entered my consciousness growing up in the suburbs of Albany, N.Y. So it comes as no surprise to me that the Albany County 10-year Plan to End Homelessness suggests that it is an [...]