Hearts of Fire & The Homeless Guy
Local resident and Sound & Vision Learning Resource Center co-founder Bob Ballard has an interesting non-profit project he has been building called Hearts of Fire. Their mission is to shift public perceptions of homeless people through artistic and musical expression, primarily via a mobile art and music studio, which will visit homeless shelters in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego capturing the art and music of homeless people. It is a really innovative approach to a complex and difficult problem that our nation faces (or ignores, all too often). If you are interested in getting involved, get in touch with Bob, 877-827-2012 or heartsoffire@ureach.com.
On another note, over the last couple months, I have found The Homeless Guy blog to be a fascinating read, and worthy of a well-frequented bookmark...
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Comments (4)
Wow Tyler, I love that blog! Thanks so much for posting it. Putting it on my favs list so I can keep reading.
Comment #1 Posted by: Kate | July 31, 2007 07:18 PM
This post strikes home for me, Tyler. I just returned yesterday from the Bay Area by train. (Sorry to have missed Glenn's memorial.) First time I've taken the train in many years. I was shocked -- I shouldn't be -- and disappointed to see the many homeless encampments along the way. I realized that our society, like everything in this dualistic galaxy, has a front and a back. The front, the facade, faces the streets. The back faces the tracks. As we rolled past miles and miles of broken cars and trucks, discarded refuse, and trash of every imaginable type, I thought of all the energy (human, solar and otherwise) tied up in all that stuff. Multiply what I saw by every back yard and storage shed in the country and no wonder we are facing an energy crisis. Just an observation. Sorry, no new solutions right now. It's all been said anyway by Al Gore, Bucky Fuller and countless others. All I can think of is: let's get out the vote and take back our country and our planet in 2008. The percentage of Americans who vote is still shamefully low.
Comment #2 Posted by: Lanny | July 31, 2007 10:01 PM
Yes, there are many homeless "tent" villages in America today. Some are quite large; one near Fresno has about 2,000 people. Hearts Of Fire is about shifting perceptions and not about solving anything. Homelessness is not a problem, it is a state of mind, a reflection of our lack of connection among ourselves. This disconnection, or our lack of consciousness of each other humany beings manifests in many aspects of our society and culture today. Homelessness is just one manifestation of many.
Comment #3 Posted by: Bob Ballard | August 8, 2007 11:18 PM
I have just returned from our very first and very successful Hearts Of Fire tour. It was an AMAZING experience! We have been gone for 6 weeks. My wife and I drove to the east coast, then I went to Washington, D.C. on our first tour of homeless shelters. The next couple of weeks we spent with family and friends as well as a "side" trip to Grand Manan Island, off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada. In early November, we drove back to Ojai, picking up an RV which was donated to the project. We headed straight to San Diego and where we had another incredible tour at the homeless shelters there.
You can follow the whole journey on our blog as well as learn how we are doing with the project at our web site, www.heartsoffire.tv.
Stay tuned, some exciting announcements and local events coming soon.
Comment #4 Posted by: Bob Ballard | November 26, 2007 07:56 PM