Thanks Fran. Maybe that's why I work for non profit housing groups helping low income people get a home of their own. God is KUHL!

In Akron you can buy a panhandler's license... so if you are caught it's legal for you to do it... How funny is that? You can't even get arrested to have a warm place to stay for the night and a meal...

I have a better idea. Move in with me for a day. I'll only charge you 50$ then I'll toss you out the next day so you can really be homeless and you will have saved 25$!!!!





















J/K--- That is one of the stupidest things I've EVER heard.

The greatest!!!

Congratulations to you, for taking a bad situation and turning it around.

All it takes is self determination, kudos to you Ted!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, that is awesome. It takes a strong person to go thru all that and then still be able to give back Bless you

they want you to relate and hence have compassion .. and making it a fundraiser makes sense .........................................

to them

If I was homeless ............I'd find people on the signup list and give them a tour for $50

I was homeless when i was 22.wish i had thought of putting together a box tour...

they want to know what it's like to be homeless? have them hop a train to spokane, wa, with only the cloths on their backs. spend a week with no access to their credit, cash or anything else. and oh yea, don't provide their way home FYI, I chose Spokane because it's the homeless capital of eastern WA.

I'm afraid I don't see the problem. It's a fundraiser for the shelter and an attempt to raise public awareness. I don't think anybody really believes that you'd come out of it fully understanding what it's like to be homeless. But it might make you think a bit about it and perhaps motivate you to do something useful.

oh i can see it now,instead of vacationing at Disney World or something like that


"kids we're going to be homeless for 12 hours"

"YAY! daddy you're the best dad ever!"

Well, I wasn't seeing it as a family outing, but that certainly would make an impression

I know they have good intentions. However, if you want to spread awareness and raise money for a cause... then hold a fundraiser. Donate. Get out there and help at the soup kitchens. I truly don't see how "being homeless for 12 hours" is going to help. The way it was put meant that people would "experience" being homeless so they have a better understanding of it. I find it insulting to homeless... it almost seems like they are mocking them. It even says in there for individuals, families, and group rates. I mean come on...

It seems to me like this program was created by people that never spent the night on the streets.

Probably so. Why is that a problem? I'm sure their intent is to raise money for the shelter and raise public awareness about homelessness. Events like these do both. Sometimes it's hard to get someone to just give money. If you can come up with something that's unique that people WILL give their money for then isn't that still beneficial to the cause?

I understand that people that have been or are homeless could be sensitive to people 'pretending' to be homeless. But this isn't done to mock or make fun of homelessness. It's a legitimate attempt to raise money and awareness. And I'm sure the people participating have the best intentions as well. And to me, if it's being done with that intent, I have no problem with it.

Just because people have money to spend doesn't mean they're smart......

It creats people who suddenly "know what it's like"... If it's one thing that drives me crazy it's someone "who know's how I feel" when they have no idea.

You're pre-supposing what these people feel and what they will do with this experience. I seriously doubt any one of them would begin to tell you they know what you feel.

I'm sorry for what you've been through, I really am. And you're right, I have no idea. But it sounds to me like you're bitter about people having the gaul to try and understand and for people having the gaul to offer a program that pretends to even begin to offer the experience of being homeless.

This isn't a commercial venture. It's being offered by the county. It's not a ride. It's not for fun. It's to help.

This isn't about me being bitter. I just feel that there are far better ways to raise awareness and funds than pretending you're homeless. If it was just about awareness and raising funds for the shelter, they wouldn't charge so much. The only people that can afford to "play homeless" are people that have at least an extra 100 bucks to drop out of nowhere.

you can just put on old torn clothing, pee on yourself, go sit under a bypass for 12 hrs and get the same feeling....