March - Help the Homeless (People)

March - Help the homeless

• Now, I know in many areas you will pass homeless people in the street, sleeping in doorways, begging or busking, some may have a dog with them, others may have a cat, and I have even met one man who had a rabbit as his companion. Some will have ended up on the streets due to a rough childhood, others may have had one bad thing after another which has lead them into a down-ward spiral until they have hit the rock bottom which is where they are now. Others may have drug or alcohol issues or mental health issues, and sadly some of them may not even be homeless at all and are there to make money off the good will of others instead of going to work... but let's ignore the poser scum and focus on the genuine homeless.   

• In the cases of those with drug or alcohol issues, there is the concern that if you donate money to them, it may be used to buy those things instead of it being spent on what they truly need. 

•  Ideas to help:
• If you have any spare (clean) hats, gloves, scarves that you no longer need, please consider giving them to the next homeless person you pass, they might help keep them warmer at night. 
• Unfortunately, the homeless can also be victims of muggings and rape, so if you can afford to, consider making up a safety kit with items such as a whistle, attack alarm, pepper spray inside it to give to females and males alike. It could make a difference and help them to escape or get aid in those situations. 
• Hygiene can also be an issue as those without shelter access won't be able to get to running water, so consider next time you're buying a packet of tissues, hand sanitizer gel, plasters (pre-cut sizes) or antiseptic wipes, buy doubles and give the spares away. 
• If you see a homeless person with a companion animal, consider buying a small box of dried food, bottled water or a toy / treat for that animal. Pets (or Companion animals) can also be victims of homelessness and items for the companion animal will be appreciated. 
• In some areas of America (I have not yet seen this scheme rolled out here) you can ask for a 'suspended' cup of tea or coffee in the coffee shops (coffee houses?)- this is a 2nd cup of tea or coffee kept on tab, paid for by you, but is then given to anybody who requests one. I don't have more info on this scheme but would love to know how it works exactly. ~ alternatively, if you are stopping off for coffee somewhere, consider buying a cup to go when you leave and give this to anybody who you think will need it. 

• If you belong to a church or religious group, you may want to consider applying with your church* group to your vicar / priest / pastor / other leader (as appropriate) for permission to turn the main hall into overnight shelter. Places where this scheme has worked have run it in teams / shifts where all who use it have to arrive between 9 - 10.30 pm and leave at 7 am. Drugs, alcohol and sex is banned. The hall is then split into single sex areas where those who stay may have tea, coffee, sandwiches (or other hot food if provided by the church* group) they would then bed down for the night on their own sleeping bags (if they have them) or make-shift beds using donated items such as camp beds, fold away mattress etc. As this is a long term aid suggestion it may get costly so you would need a strong team who are prepared to donate food/drink or bedding supplies on a regular basis as well as take turns in shifts as it can be time demanding as over night supervision would be needed for security.  I have known of such schemes to only take place at certain times of year, for example winter only, Christmas week only, or on state holidays only. *this could also be a mosque, synagogue, meeting house, kingdom hall, other building or worship and of course the members of that location. 

• And if helping set up a make-shift shelter isn't for you - consider helping out a local shelter instead! Many of the year round established shelters are run off donations, and requests for goods are common, typical items wanted are: New knickers / boxers (various sizes - factory sealed only) socks (New only) clean jumpers, clean t-shirts, shampoo / shower gel, toothpaste / tooth brushes, deodorant, blankets, bedding items can all be used by them. so dig out those toiletry sets that you got for Christmas but never used. Bare in mind that some of these items can be purchased for as low as 50p / $1 in the supermarket so it need not be heavy on your wallet. 

• A final way to help, and this might not be available world-wide, but it is in most areas of the UK, is buy copies of THE BIG ISSUE. For those not in the know, The Big Issue is a charity magazine published on a weekly / fortnightly basis and is sold by street vendors. The street vendors are in fact homeless, and the magazine sales help generate an income for them, gain work experience so that they may then go on to get a fixed address and a bank account. Most banks will not give an account unless you have a fixed address, and you cannot get a full job without an account, so it helps them to help themselves get out of their current situation. For my area, the north-west, it is known as 'The Big Issue in the North' http://www.bigissueinthenorth.com/ but it is also run in other areas, see London office, http://www.bigissue.org.uk/ for more information. I will be buying copies myself on a regular basis through out the year, but am also hoping to do a spot-light on The Big Issue in the North at some point in March. More details to follow as the month progresses. 

Week 9 - Girls Love Mail

This week I'm taking part in 'Girls Love Mail'

'Girls Love Mail' is a breast cancer support letter writing program created by Gina M. Mulligan of California, USA.  The goal of 'Girls Love Mail' is to write letters of support and well wishes to women who have recently been diagnosed as having breast cancer. As the letters can be sent as little as once ever, or as regular as once a week!

For more information, or to take part, please visit: http://www.girlslovemail.com/

NB: The sign up option does say ZIP but it will accept UK postal codes! Hurrah!


I do also have a request to make of the readers of Project52, besides hoping that you will join me in this week's activity. As those of you who follow the Project52 facebook page, which can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/project52ayear ,will know that each month at Project52 has a theme. I am currently collecting research for May's features. If any of you would like to take part or contribute to May's features, which will be looking at LGBT related charities/support groups, The Sophie Lancaster Foundation and other charities that aim to help those who have suffered from discrimination or hate crime. As part of this research, an online question has been produced. If you would like to take part in the questionaire, it can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/W6WKJ62

week 8 - write to save yourself future problems

For this week's post, I decided to do an act of change for myself. I am writing to my doctor.

No, I am not ill, or attempting to solicit a relationship outside of the standard doctor-patient rule, but in protest.

Many of the readers of Project52 in the UK will have heard that our medical records held with our GP's are to be made available to organisations outside of the NHS. Some of this sensitive personal information will be shared with researchers but there are no clear restrictions on who may receive this information. Before being made available, the data will go through a process of pseudonymisation in which some personal identifiable data will be removed. The data that is made available could still include date of birth, postcode, and gender, which could easily be matched against public records such as the electoral register and data already held by private companies to identify individuals.

Other groups who may be given access to this information are completely outside of the medical community entirely. These groups include Insurance companies and their associates. This could potentially lead to individuals being refused service by a company based on their medical history or even cold callers targeting individuals whose medical records mention specific conditions.

This of course does not sit well on my conscience, as not only will it enable others to profit from my own medical problems and those of my fellow countrymen (and women), but I fear it will also leave those who have a poor prognosis or on-going mental health conditions open to being taken advantage of, as these companies will now have access to people who may be vulnerable or easily coerced.

With this in mind, I have decided to write to my doctor to explain that I do not give consent, and that I wish for my records to be removed from the scheme. I strongly recommend that all my UK readers do the same for themselves and anyone under their care.

For more information, please visit: www.medconfidential.org

**Project52 acknowledges that there are some wonderful Insurance companies out there, many of which will let the client come to them, rather than them approach the client through cold calling methods. **  

Remember Valentina - Greyhound racing victim memorial

Five years ago today, a slaughtered female greyhound (that was later found to be pregnant with a litter of six puppies) was found dead, dumped in a bin bag, and her ears had been hacked off to prevent identification. Tattooing of a dog's ears with a code number is common practice amongst racing dog owners and breeders as it will prove ownership of an animal in the case of racing disputes or theft. It is common practice for ears to then be cut or hacked off (regardless of if the animal is alive, dead, concious or unconscious)  prior to disposal of the animal.

While St Valentine's day is meant to be a happy time for couples, the holiday started after all in honour of a man who went against the laws of the time to allow loving couples to have the union of marriage that they wanted.  Sadly, dog racing is a legitimate sport, and the law does not investigate what happens to the animals used in it, only those who are against such BLOOD SPORT investigate and fight against it. The killing of Valentina (as she was christened) should be against the law.

Please consider taking a moment to remember the animal victims of sport, their hearts beat for their equal partner/mate just as ours will beat for our lover(s).

for more information about Valentina, visit the link below warning: contains graphic and distressing images 

http://www.cagednw.co.uk/remember-valentina.html


 

Week 7 - Surprise a friend!

For this week, I will be doing an act of goodwill instead of charity, by going through my address book, and finding all the friends who I haven't spoken to or seen in person for a long time and sending them a surprise letter instead of texting. who knows, I may end up cheering up somebody who needs it without even knowing.


Letter to local MP - week 6 follow up...

Dear David Nuttall,

My name is XXX XXX, and I am writing to you to ask for you to consider supporting the Racing Dog Protection Act, which will bring in new changes to gamboling on and the treatment of racing dogs, especially greyhound racing, of which thousands of dogs are badly treated, slaughtered inhumanly or simply 'disappear'. I won't go into detail as to how this slaughter takes place as it makes for highly uncomfortable reading, and may not be of interest to you. Many ex-racing dogs which are successfully rescued often end up under the care of local animal sanctuaries, which takes away spaces for other local lost or abandoned animal residents of Bury or placed with local foster carers. If the Racing Dog Protection Act was to be passed, it would lead to a reduction of the numbers of dogs bred for racing, and in turn, less of a strain on local animal shelter resources and also on police resources as they often have to be present at anti-racing demonstrations, such as the protest held outside the Hilton hotel, which you may recall from recent news.

In summary, if The Racing Dog Protection Act was to be passed, it would be a win all round for the dogs themselves, animal rescue groups resources, police resources and also gamboling support resources too. For more information, including an initial draft of The Racing Dog Protection Act, please visit: http://www.rdpa.org.uk/Act.html



Yours sincerely,

XXX XXX

Week 6 - write to the MP's

Here we are now at week 6 and the first full week of February!

I hope any of you who are following the blog have registered for LetterMo if they are taking part. there's still time to register for this year: http://lettermo.com/   

This week I am going to contact my local MP as well as government to pledge my support for the proposed Racing Dog Protection Act (see http://www.rdpa.org.uk/home.html for more information, including a letter form you may use yourself) This important proposal will help save thousands of Dogs from unnecessary death or ill treatment at the hands of breeders, owners and race track staff as well as cut down on the numbers of dogs that are bred in this country to simply 'disappear' abroad.

If you would like more information on greyhound welfare, this site is a good starting point: http://www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/greyhound.html  those of you who are of a religious faith such as catholic, christian or protestant will remember that greyhounds are the only dog breed directly mentioned in the Bible and deserve the respect given to the names of any person mentioned within it.

Besides taking part in LetterMo, I am also donating items for auction! Several rescue groups have been using facebook groups and event pages to run their own private auctions so that 100% of the money raised goes directly to that rescue group!

The ones who are featuring items donated by myself are:

• West Wales Poundies - a dog rescue group in Wales  https://www.facebook.com/groups/116513388499326/
• Angel's Rest, a mixed animal group in Bosnia  https://www.facebook.com/events/1390320257890284/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular
• Patrick's flight via Feral Fundraiser a feral cat rescue group based in Larnarca, Cyprus https://www.facebook.com/groups/243425342477973/
• Save a stray Fundraiser, aimed at helping the dogs of Targoviste, Romania https://www.facebook.com/groups/499927520098951/
• Kitty Connections, a cat rescue group in the UK  https://www.facebook.com/events/621813311199189/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Please consider taking a look at what they have on offer and help a good cause

February - reach out and write!

February - Write to those you love or like or those who you want to make a change / support 

•  Unknown to many people, there are several not-for-profit companies and groups whose goal is to provide support for those who are suffering from cancer. One of these groups is called 'Chemo Angels' where the 'Angel' (person who has signed up to the scheme) sends cards and letters to a patient who has cancer by way of support, cheering them up etc. I did this myself last year. Anybody who signs up is usually paired with somebody who has the same religious view point and lives in the same country - to make it easier to send letters on a regular basis. For more information, please visit http://chemoangels.wix.com/chemo-angels-1/ 

• February in certain circles is also the month of the letter writing challenge, to encourage people to write letters instead of texting or emailing. The goal is to write one letter a day. So instead of texting a friend to see if they want coffee next week, send them a charming note card instead. Found a product you really like? then send a letter to the company telling them how much you like it. Angry about a change in laws or want to make a change in your constituency? then write to your local MP and tell them about it. If you are interested in this challenge, please register at: http://lettermo.com/     

                                        The Pen is Mightier than the Sword