Catching Up, A Few Words on a Few Things

I had a list going of things I wanted to post about...

The Kentucky Point In Time Count, where all over Kentucky the homeless and precariously housed population was counted.  The day is carefully chosen by the state government to fall in January, a time in the dead of winter when the friends and family of the homeless population would have pity and take them under their roof for a while.  That way there will conveniently be a small number of people counted as homeless, and the statistics would reflect better on the state.  The "precariously housed" component was added to help rectify that- the term includes people who are on the verge of homelessness.  This includes families that are doubled or tripled up in a home as well as families who live in truly substandard housing- without running water, electricity, etc.  As a member of Build Corps, I participated in the Perry County PIT Count.
For more information: http://www.usich.gov/member_agency/department_of_housing_and_urban_development/point_in_time_count/

The other was the FAHE Caucus I attended in February.  FAHE stands for the Federation for Appalachian Housing Enterprises.  The Kentucky faction consists of different affordable housing organizations.  The Caucus was a meeting of the Kentucky members, so that they could share information and work together on influencing issues and policies.  It's always refreshing to learn that there are other organizations working towards the same goal- safe, affordable, and decent housing for all (or at least more).  There was a time when everyone got to voice the biggest challenges for their organization at this time- and many people voiced concerns over the dwindling federal funds for rural housing.

The final item on my list is Hot Topic Cold Dish.  This is a monthly event held at the First Presbyterian Church, just a short walk away from our house.  There is usually a speaker, an expert on an interesting or controversial topic, and people are supposed to bring brown bag lunches.  The February topic was prisons in Central Appalachia.  The gist of the discussion was that here, prisons are seen as an opportunity for job creation and economic growth.  But often times, they don't meet those expectations.
This article provides a good summary:
http://www.dailyyonder.com/speak-your-piece-prison-progress/2013/02/12/5651

... But this all leads up to that I actually had something different I wanted to post about this time!  But I'm breaking it up into two posts.  And the second, I hope, will follow promptly

I hope you all are getting used to the liks in the blog, I've been doing a lot of reading lately, so somethimes it's easier to refer to something already written rather that re-write the same things in my own words.  But the next entry will be link free!