hope

Last week we concluded one look at homelessness in Jackson, Tennessee, with the story of Tracey King, 50, and her back-and-forth relationships. First she married, had a daughter, and divorced. Next she married a police officer and gave birth to twin boys. She divorced the police officer and then remarried him. King said he began taking drugs so they divorced again and she “lost everything.” When drinking and smoking pot no longer numbed her emotional pain, she snorted fentanyl. Stints at seven different drug treatment centers — in Nashville, Savannah, and elsewhere — failed to bring healing. In February 2022, she moved in with her mother, who also battled addiction, King said. Two months later, her mother kicked her out. Read More ›

As Stephanie Woodley, 42, sat last month in the dayroom of Area Relief Ministries (ARM) in Jackson, Tenn., she said the stabbing of her ex-husband was no big deal. “The gash is only this big,” she said as she extended her right thumb and index finger to demonstrate a one-incher.  Woodley said her ex-husband tried to push their daughter, Maddie, down the stairs, so Maddie stabbed him. Maddie moved in with her aunt in Memphis, and Woodley was sleeping on the streets in Jackson, 88 miles away. Woodley’s dark almond eyes teared up: “I miss my daughter.”  Woodley showed the homescreen on her phone: a picture of Maddie standing next to a pink agapanthus flower. She said Maddie has offered Read More ›

Scorching Hot Week Incredible effort RIGHT NOW by Seattle’s homeless outreach community. Especially @SeattlesUGM. This faith based group is mobilizing volunteers and hitting the streets, passing out water and supplies. They’ve got some PRO TIPS if you want to help. Pro Tips If you run into a homeless person on the street during HEAT WAVE, @SeattlesUGM says be ready with following: 1) Bottles of water 2) Gift card to an air-conditioned restaurant Contact UGM if you think someone is ready to get off streets. https://www.ugm.org/contact/ Cooling Centers @KC_RHA also has a solid list of places to refer homeless folks. Working on Story Also dropping next week, RARE look into extremely vital work @SeattlesUGM is doing on Seattle’s streets. They call Read More ›