“Kicking It!” a movie about the Homeless World Cup, don’t laugh.

Everybody knows that in the United States we call it “soccer”, and the rest of the world calls it football.

But did you know that over 1 billion people in the world are homeless! And what’s the most popular sport in the world? “Kicking it”, the ball that is.  All over the world, one sees the poor taking a refreshment from their daily trials on the field, and for those minutes or hours they are as a rich in enjoyment as the greatest of professional game players.  Furthermore a championship world cup in the world’s most popular sport and one that draws only from the 1/5 to 1/6 of the world’s most vulnerable population is one of the most incredible ideas I have heard of for a long time.

Last night I had the privilege of watching the film “Kicking it!” about how a ball can change the life of a displaced person in the most dramatic of ways. It chronicles the lives of six homeless or formerly homeless individuals from five countries and how participating in playing in organized street ball can be taken all the way to a very real world championship tournament, in this case in South Africa emceed by  Bishop Desmond Tutu.

The idea was founded in 2001by  Mel Young co-founder of The Big Issue Scotland, and Harald Schmied, editor of Megaphon, a street paper in Austria while attending the International Network of Street Papers conference that was in Cape Town, South Africa. (wikipedia)

Colin Farrell gives the intros and exits to the documentary but the real characters are the six otherwise marginalized people who have the privilege of playing in the tournament:  Najib from war torn Afghanistan; Alex from the slums of Kenya; Damien and Simon from the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland; Craig from the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina; Jesus from the overflowing public shelters of Madrid, Spain, and Slavan from the shadow culture of the illegal rural immigrants to the big city of St. Petersburg, Russia. (movies.aol.com)

For those who care about the human condition, those in the poverty scene looking for ideas,  fans of any sport will enjoy this movie.  I enjoyed writing this article particularly to learn that other writers in my sector were responsible for making this happen.  I hope you’ll watch it then take some action in your area with a great idea as well.

btw I saw it on hulu.com, but I ‘m sure you can find the movie elsewhere.

Paul Gydos

New Website for Discussion on Transitional Housing – http://hafup.com

I put a little bit of time in to crafting a website for The Discussion on Transitional Housing dubbed, Homeless and Friends United – Piedmont(HAFUP).  You all can see the results at http://hafup.com.

I purchased a short domain name which only costs $1.99 the first year.  Then I forwarded the domain to point to a free webserver service.

I put on the front page a widget which allows you to see the headlines and first few lines of each post on the Google Group Listserv which we created.  If you press on the right links there you can either come into the Google Group interface or read the whole story/post.

I also included a Google Calendar.  I gave access to change the calendar to Theresa Hicks, Liz Seymour, Jennifer Worrells, and myself (Paul Gydos).  If you require any training on Google Calendar feel free to contact me or if I missed someone who should be able to adjust
the calendar.

I included a Google Map for the Greensboro Central Library which for this week is pushed down in favor of a Google Map for the Greensboro Cultural Center.  You can get directions from wherever you are if you study the map widget.

So if you need to post to the website all you need to do is be on the Google Group listserver, then create a post from the Google Group interface or send an email to: homeless-and-friends-united-piedmont@googlegroups.com

I’m a total noobie when it comes to doing this kind of stuff, so I kept it simple for now, as some of what I included was already an exercise for me.

I hope that you like it.  Hopefully will create a list of weblinks soon.  I’m open to suggestions.

Paul Gydos
hafupadmin@gmail.com (for purposes of this discussion)
paulgydos@gmail.com (for general correspondance)
336-965-1816

Functicafe.com will hold its first Words event at the Baobab Tree Cafe in the Historic Glenwood Neighborhood of Greensboro, NC

Functicafe.com invites you to participate with your presence, your poetry, and your words, this Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at The Baobab Tree Cafe in Historic Glenwood, Greensboro, NC for Poetic Relief / Words – The address is 1404 Glenwood Avenue (near the intersection of Grove Street) and not to far from Florida St.. The event will begin at 7pm and likely continue until about 9pm. The Words event will be preceded by a free vegetarian meal at The Hive 1214 Grove Street presented by Food Not Bombs.

The event is hosted by the founder of functicafe.com, the artist and thinker known as Anton Bell.

Anton Bell is a contributing editor of sparechangenews.com. He is currently a resident at The Hive, with the WE! (Winter Emergency) program. Overcoming many difficulties, Anton approached Liz Conrad of The Baobab Tree Cafe and convinced her to let it be the initial location for Poetic Relief / Words an event of Anton’s new events company, functicafe.com.

A website was promptly formed with a domain name (functicafe.com), and imbeded google map, administrative and public emails, an imbedde google events calendar, a wordpress blog (functicafe.wordpress.com) and all out of free resources that cost nothing to maintain.

The Baobab Tree Cafe is a multi-use facility. For sales of local crafts, cottage industry, and micro-enterprises, a place for events, and sometimes to stop in and have some food and beverage. Liz reported that the store had been largely closed and on odd hours as of late. But Anton’s interest in the place seems to have sparked it alive again. Now one sees a posting that hours will be kept again starting the day following the event. Look further and their are ambitious plans for food and drink on menues that could activated at that time. More information forthcoming.

Liz Conrad is a Greensboro native, and world traveler who has returned to Greensboro about 2 years ago from Africa. Liz reports that The Baobab Tree Cafe is more than a crafts and art gallery, but the holder of a vision for encouraging the community during these hard encomic times, using the same tactics that have helped in developing world; facilitating cottage industries, crafts, and microenterprises, and acting as a point for communication and commerce. More information can be found by calling her at 336-286-1174.

Paul Gydos of gydos.com (myself) has facilitated with some of the media aspects discussed above. Paul reports, “This is Anton’s inspiration and obviously it is contagious. I hope that many come and express themselves and share with the community. I also want to point out that my belief is that the event itself is a medium in an of itself. I see that Poetic Relief / Words as hosted by Anton Bell’s functicafe.com will be one of those types of event where it transcends being just entertainment or a party and becomes something that is more becoming and therefore is a medium and art in an of itself seperate from the mediums and art that are being showcased, in that the community will come alive around such a thing.”

Paul facilitated by doing the webwork and designing the flyers. Paul himself is a resident at The Hive. “I have twins on the way arriving in May. There really is some pressure to make something out of nothing. So although I can’t yet afford a residence, I went ahead and set up an office to help with my facilitation services, webpresence packages, and ecommerce. Since I am totally new to this, I more affordable than anyone else. I’m sure that I can help get my customer up and running on the internet in a way that gives them basic representation. I look forward to this time as I will be able to learn and test my skills and eventually become a full fledged web designer. Right now I can help you get a unique and effective domain name, basic website, with many useful features such as maps, calendars, blogs, listserves, and paypal. I am immediately expanding into ecommerce next and whatever the needs of my customers and my existing business will be is the priority.

Housing Summit – February 26th, 2009 (@Revolution Mills Studios hosted by Greensboro Housing Coalition) Register by Feb 19th

     from Beth McGee-Huger to Liz Seymour to Day Center Program Committee to you (SCN readers)

Liz, for the Housing Summit, we want to have everyone “at the table” to make
decisions about the priorities and strategies for housing in our community
in the next five years. We have scholarships for anyone who does not have
the money to pay.  Can you come and encourage people you know to register
and speak up in the table discussions?  I am attaching the brochure.

            Beth

   transcribed from the brouchure

Housing Summit February 26th, 2009  9am -1:30pm (@Revolution Mills Studios 1000 Revolution Mill Dr. Greensboro, NC 27405)  Register by Feb 19th

Transforming the housing Crisis into Opportunity
Keynote Speaker Martin Eakes Founder of Self-Help Credit Union.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: February 19
Registration form:
Name: _________________________
Address: _______________________
___________________Zip_________
Telephone: _____________________
Email: _________________________
Organization: ___________________
Registration fee: $25 ($20 for seniors and
students)
Become a member today and save! Registration
is $10 with your $50 or more annual
membership contribution.
Make checks payable to:
Greensboro Housing Coalition
122 N. Elm Street Suite M6
Greensboro NC 27401
Scholarships available—call 691-9521

Schedule:
8:30 Doors open for registration
9:00 Welcome and Speakers on
Greensboro’s transformation:
⇒ Dennis Quaintance: Quaintance Weaver
⇒ Tom Low: Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.
⇒ Equal Access to Safe Affordable Homes
⇒ House Calls
⇒ Housing First
10:45 Table discussions: Participants will break into groups to brainstorm ideas about what we can do together to move from a housing crisis to new housing opportunities by
2014. The discussions will be used to create GHC’s annual action plan (virtually every item from last year’s plan was addressed!) and will be used in the City’s 5-year Consolidated Plan.
11:45 Buffet lunch
12:00 Awards ceremony
12:30 Keynote address by Martin Eakes

Martin Eakes, CEO and founder of Self-Help, graduated from Yale Law School and the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs. He received the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1996.

Dennis Quaintance builds environmental sustainability into his successful hotels and restaurants—including the Platinum LEED certified Proximity Hotel.

Tom Low is director of the Charlotte office of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ). Andres Duany is the “‘father” of New Urbanism. DPZ’s architects and town planners designed Willow Oaks and Southside.

Equal Access to Safe Affordable Homes: 25 of Elon Law School’s best students researched policies and strategies that can be used to promote fair housing so that everyone can have for safe, affordable housing.

House Calls: 17 organizations in the HealthyHomes Greensboro collaborative work
together to diagnose unhealthy housing conditions, prescribe healthy solutions, treat
the underlying problems safely, and assess outcomes. Video by McWhorter Concepts.

Housing First: Partners Ending Homelessness focuses on implementing, evaluating, and updating Guilford County’s ten year plan, Partnering to End Chronic Homelessness. The group uses the Housing First approach to end chronic homelessness.
Presentation by Jehan Benton.

Transform Crisis into Opportunity?
⇒ Inspire bold partnerships and projects
⇒ Identify what we can do together to turn the corner on the housing crisis
⇒ Set priorities for Greensboro’s 5-year Consolidated Plan
The Housing Crisis: Losses…
⇒ Rising foreclosure rates
⇒ Declining property values
⇒ Rising energy costs
⇒ Declining employment
⇒ Rising health care costs… and New Beginnings
⇒ Moving homeless families and individuals with mental illness to housing: Partners
Ending Homelessness, Beyond Pathways, WE! (Winter Emergency Communities)
⇒ Preventing health problems, conserving energy, reducing disparities: Healthy Homes
Greensboro Initiative
⇒ Restoring neighborhoods and stability: Preserving Homeownership, housing bond, Neighborhood Stabilization Program
⇒ Finding common ground among residents, policy makers, and developers for fair and sustainable housing practices