As some of you may know I have just come off an 8 month volunteer stint with a Pinellas/Pasco nonprofit that was for helping house the homeless. I was the Director for Ex-Offenders. My duties were to arrange and provide housing through our Non Profit.  It is very important for the ex-offenders to have housing upon their release, not only to them but to the communities they return to.

If our communities have no transitional housing for them they may return to a life a crime just for survival purposes which can impact society in a very profound way.

I did my very best to make this happen during my 8 months with this NP. Unfortunately the NP did not have honorable intentions and it's only goal was to present the image of doing the right thing to get donations. As you can imagine, I came away quite discouraged after this experience because my intentions were honorable. I also felt so terribly sad that I hadn't helped those who had placed their faith in me and the NP, those whose hope had been raised only to be dashed.

Though there is nothing I can do about the past, it is my hope that HCA can really do what hasn't been done to help with transitional housing and provide real solutions for their homeless plight.

Ex-Offenders are just that, Ex. They are coming back into the community. Our friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. We must make a place for them, even if it is transitional. Can you imagine the door to the jail or prison being opened, set loose on the street? No where to go, butterflys in your stomach, where would you go?

 [ send green star]