Why Blog?

May 29th 2024

Hello, and welcome to Homeless Dignity. This is a non-profit, designed to give dignity to the homeless by offering basic services to the homeless population. A study was conducted which showed that homeless people get only one shower per year. PER YEAR! If we can do something about that, by providing mobile showers, a free haircut, sack lunch, and a change of clothes, we will go a long way toward serving the less fortunate.

The scope of this organization is just that - simple services at ground zero. We are not offering housing or employment, but we will gladly provide referrals to those organizations.

So: why the blog? I am currently incarcerated for a series of stupid decisions I made eight years ago when I was very depressed. In fact, I was suicidal, but I was too ashamed and embarrassed to admit it to anyone, or to reach out to those that love me. In my despair, I decided that I was no good, there was no hope for me, and nothing mattered. I threw away all my morals, values, and integrity. I am extremely sorry for this behavior, and the effect it has had. I fully acknowledge and take complete responsibility for my actions. I offer this explanation of events not as an excuse, rather as an explanation of a very dark road I was traveling down, and the absolute blindness I experienced with regard to consequences.

I am pleased to say that blindness is gone; I am a substantially changed person. In my 35 weeks in jail as of this writing, I have read 37 books, or an average of one per week. I am taking a meditation class, a moral reconation therapy class, and a class originating at Stanford University called “Cultivating Compassion Training”, funded by the Dalai Lama, among others. I meditate twice a day, and my meditation, reading, and extensive note-taking has allowed me access to my pure heart and enabled a mindfulness that was largely hidden in my past. These are daily practices that I am committed to for the rest of my life.

The main effect of all this work on myself is to open up in me a truly altruistic lifestyle = filled with joy and compassion for others. I’ve lived a somewhat selfish and unmindful life: it’s high time for me to give back. Not out of a sense of guilt, not to pat myself on the back - but to allow my true heart to speak. And I want to teach others what I’ve learned on this journey.

So I hope you’ll join me on this journey of compassion and joy, and help me become an unstoppable force for good!

Peace,

Dan