Project Homeless Connect Memphis 2013
We need YOU to volunteer!
Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013 8-AM-4PM
Cook Convention Center (255 N Main Street)
Show Memphis some love this Valentine’s Day by volunteering in this third installment of our massive outreach and service event to break down barriers that make it difficult to leave homelessness. 1,000 people needing help are expected to attend; we need just as many volunteers!
Services Anticipated:
Medical and Vision (limited), Housing counseling and placement, Employment services, Benefits (Food Stamps, Medicaid, etc.), Social Security, Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Veterans Benefits and services, Food, HIV/AIDS testing, counseling and support, IDs, Barber Shop, Legal assistance, Donated Goods
To volunteer please sign up on the CAFTH website: communityallianceforthehomeles
or call 901.527.1302, Mon-Fri 8AM-5PM
*must be 18 or older to volunte
G.O.T. Power, MSPJC’s training program, is committed to building our community’s capacity through building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work and offering anti-oppression and liberation education. Here are our upcoming trainings and workshops.
They discussed needs for comprehensive community driven (re)investment in impoverished communities and in law enforcement institutions via police-community programs.Police members present cited barriers they face such as: the prioritization of statistics; the pressure to complete call times as quickly as possible and thus to answer more calls each shift as well as, budget cuts;and reform of current practices of interviewing, hiring, and training of new officers. They also cited the need for diversity and anti-racism training, particularly and more buy-in from elected officials to implement these ideas.
In other news, CPR is encouraged to see signs that the MPD may be exploring a new direction in their law enforcement strategy. This may involve a departure from the Blue CRUSH model of policing, as alluded to in a recent editorial in the 
As a result since the implementation of the Blue CRUSH program, a large number of young people of color have been stopped, and many arrested and jailed, with an average time to disposition of 9-12 months. Others while not arrested are stopped and feel harassed by simply walking in their own communities. Such reactions are sadly growing far too common in the African America,Latino and LBGTQ communities.
We will offer two 
H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community.
For almost a year now, H.O.P.E. has been meeting at the Manna House every Thursday night from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. For our members, H.O.P.E. meetings are a safe space to share thoughts, ideas and struggles in a secure, supportive environment. While we regularly talk about the harassment of individuals experiencing homelessness by law enforcement, we have never had an instance at our meetings when that safe space was violated by MPD until Thursday Nov.15. Two MPD squad cars made a U-turn and pulled up on the remaining eight members present. The officers harassed members and eventually issued citations for “obstructing a sidewalk” to three members. H.O.P.E. members have filed complaints with MPD and representatives of H.O.P.E. along with members of the Community Police Relations team have since met with Major Casad of the Crump Precinct concerning the incident. H.O.P.E. will be coordinating a series of meetings, beginning in late January, with our members and officers in the area to begin a process of dialog and improving relations. H.O.P.E. will also be organizing a series of KNOW YOUR RIGHTS WORKSHOPS for people experiencing homelessness and work with our brothers and sisters on the streets to enact aSTREETWATCH campaign to confront and address instances of Police harassment of people experiencing homelessness. This program will work closely with Major Casad and Internal Affairs to ensure that these issues are addressed in a proper manner.
Domestic violence is the leading cause of Homelessness among women and 92% of women experiencing homelessness have suffered severe physical AND/or sexual abuse and we have dealt with issues of rampant sexual harassment in our own homeless services system. As homelessness among those who identify as women is a distinct experience we need an organizing space made up of women to address and confront these issues. Saturday, December 15th marked the first meeting of the H.O.P.E. Women’s Caucus. These meetings work in two parts.The first is a series of women only emotional healing sessions at Caritas Village led by Laura Sullivan where members can share past experiences and mutually support each other. The second is a series of Self-Defense classes taught by the 
The Point in Time Count is an annual count of people experiencing street homelessness on one given day of the year, which is required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to retain federal funding for homeless programs. It is also important that the results from the count provide an accurate reflection of homelessness in Memphis. Volunteers will be talking one-on-one with any unsheltered individual willing to be interviewed. The Community Alliance for the Homeless then use this data to move forward with securing housing and other services. Groups of five will go to certain precincts throughout the city in order to visit soup kitchens, crisis centers, shelters, and other offices where homeless Memphians congregate during the day. H.O.P.E. members, many of whom are themselves currently on the street will be assisting in this years count but we need your help too! The annual Point in Time Count will be Jan. 23, 2013 5:00 am-7:00 pm. you can 
Last month, Memphis Health Center invited members of H.O.P.E. to attend their memorial service to honor the memory of men and women who have died while experiencing homelessness in Memphis within the past year. It was a particularly meaningful event for members of H.O.P.E. who recently lost member, Tommy Burchett, when he died unexpectedly of a heart attack in November. Unfortunately many of our brothers and sisters who die while on the streets have no one to recognize their passing and it is a reminder of why we do the work we do.
We know that the only way we will achieve social change is by building movements comprised of those that are most affected by social problems in our society. This is why it is so important for you to become a member. It is not just about raising mo
Next, partner Playback Memphis, led by director Virginia Murphy, created a space for individual participants to share stories of their experiences with community-police relations. Through a unique combination of storytelling, improvisational theater, community and dialogue, Playback Memphis helped CPR begin the important work of relationship-building. Community and Law Enforcement participants reflected on questions such as, ‘What inspired you to become a law enforcement officer or community activist? What experiences have led you to have the views you have of one another? What hopes do you have for the future community/police relations of Memphis?’ Everyone was very open about their experiences that relate to the barriers that cause distrust between these two groups. Playback Memphis took stories and brought them to life before the eyes of those in the audience and the impact was powerful.
The experience brought laughter and tears and feedback, and revealed that participants share a strong sense of importance of taking time to deeply listen to one another and better understand what it’s like to walk in the shoes of those with whom we often feel in conflict, a process which allowed them to feel the pain of others.
This combined meeting between Community Leaders and members of Law Enforcement was the first of its kind in our city. While participants realize that one meeting will not lead to an overnight miracle, we view it as an important step towards building a vision and process to continue the dialogue and, ultimately, towards creating an action plan that includes solutions at all levels: political, economic, institutional, and psychological.
a grassroots gala and banquet for the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center 
Featuring Chris Hedges & an engaging program featuring the best of local food, music, arts and movement.