1 in 5 children in LA County live in poverty

This is a series of several blog posts I am writing regarding poverty.

There is no where better to start than right here where we live.

When we moved to Los Angeles in July of 2015 I took my time looking for a job and in August landed the perfect one. My past job in Denver was fundraising for an agency that serves youth experiencing homelessness and this new one is fundraising for an agency that serves neglected and abused children in the LA County foster care system.

I immediately jumped into learning about the children my new agency serves and the numbers are stark. One word that came up right away was the word poverty.

1 in 5 children in LA County live in poverty. This number blows my mind. No matter what type of activism you are involved with, this crazy poverty rate affects you. From hunger to homelessness to violence to liberation and economic inequality, it's even more difficult to find even a small success when poverty, and in many cases extreme poverty, is part of the problem.

Welcome to this journey into exploring poverty. I'd be thrilled if you joined me.  What is the child/poverty rate where you live? What does poverty look like within your activism? How does poverty affect how we engage around veganism, liberation, animal rights and politics?

Thank you for reading. And thank you for all you do to make the world a better place for all living beings.

The young and homeless

As you may know, my day job is as a fundraiser for an organization that serves young people experiencing homelessness in the Denver area. No matter where you live, there is a homeless population.

As a vegan, I have compassion for all living beings and my biggest passion is to make the world a better place for all living beings. This includes humans.

On a daily basis I get to see up close and personal the brutality of homelessness. The brutal reality of a life that does not include a lot of hope for hundreds of young people who call the streets of Denver home every day. Nationally the number is 1.7 million.

In my life I see a lot of privilege. I can spend $6.00 on vegan breakfast sandwiches without even thinking about it. A daily stop for coffee on my way to work. The newest vegan junk food.

And I always remember those who have nothing.

Homelessness is an epidemic. One that doesn't seem even close to coming to an end. In regards to young people being homeless, I just see the problem getting bigger and bigger.

Sexual abuse, physical abuse, young people coming out as LGBTQ, drug and alcohol abuse on the part of the parent or guardian, trauma in a hundred different forms, mental illness in the home, and of course plain poverty. All of these are reasons why young people become homeless.

Where am I going with this? Why does this matter to The Gay Vegans?

I want to end all suffering. I know when people, especially those who read this blog, get information they knew nothing about, they take action.

Nationally, of the 1.7 million homeless youth right now, 40% identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.

40%.

As I do when I see animal cruelty, many times I see the brutal reality of youth homelessness and wonder what the heck is wrong with our world.

Most of us live in privilege. Let's not forget those who don't.

Thank you very much for reading!

A (crazy busy) vegan life

I find myself describing my life as "charmed" when chatting with people.

Indeed it is.

As one who spends his work day raising money to support homeless young people, I am very well aware that I have so much in my life.

A loving spouse who I am in love with.

A wonderful roof over my head that I get to share with my husband, four dogs and two chinchillas.

I have a job I love.

I have an incredibly amazing group of friends who are always there with love and support.

I have the opportunity to eat very well.

I could keep going.

With this blog I have the opportunity to share things that are important to me, like veganism, animal rights issues, equality and about how we all have more in common than not.

And I lead a life that is just a regular life.

I got up close and personal with this thought this week when life just seemed so crazy. Work was crazy busy. As I realized this I also remembered that it wasn't just this week, but the last couple of weeks. Sixty hour work weeks as I prepared for our largest fundraising event of the year. One night I didn't gt any sleep and got back to the office the next morning pretty exhausted.

Add in home life, blogging, and everything else that we do as part of life and I was completely wiped.

I'm sure you can relate.

So this weekend I am completely chilling out. I have time planned with my little brother (from Big Brothers/Big Sisters) and that is about it. Maybe some gym time. Maybe some writing time. A book sounds good? And I think Mike and I are due for a date night.

These are the things that relax me, that make me feel like I am alive.

Life can get crazy. Sometimes I have to stop, take a breathe, and just smile. Or take a nap.

Thanks for reading!

We all have more in common than not

One of the things I try to promote with The Gay Vegans blog is that in my opinion, we all have mroe in common than not.

What I really mean with this statement is that I might disagree with you on one point, and another, and another. Yet it in the big picture of life, what we do not agree on or what we do not have in common is pretty small compared to everything that we agree on or have in common.

Why does this matter?

I usually start with 9 billion.

That is the number I use that represents the amount of animals being killed for food in the US alone in one year. It does not include animals in labs, in circuses, in "fashion". I also don't think it includes living beings killed in our oceans or jailed in places like Sea World.

It's a big number. Each living being being forced to live in fear, live with torture and pain and cruelty.

I am vegan because I want to do the least amount of harm as possible during my time on earth.

So with the statement about what we have in common, I also mean that in order to be a voice and to make change, we need to set differences aside and focus on the 9 billion.

Or on HIV/AIDS.

Or on poverty, marriage equality, homelessness, fill in the blank.

Why spend one ounce of energy focusing on a difference, on a disagreement, when we know that energy takes away from us being a voice for the voiceless or making the world a better place for all living beings.

It's not easy. In fact, it can be outright difficult. But it can be done. It has to be done.

Thanks for reading!

Doing my small part

Talking to someone while protesting the dog vivisection labs at CU. They were shut down in 2003.

I was once at a fur protest and a passerby asked me why we (the protesters) didn't help children or the poor. I simply told him that he didn't know us at all and he had no idea who we were or what we did when we were not protesting fur. He agreed.

I had quite a busy week. At my day job I am a fundraiser for an agency that serves homeless youth. On Wednesday we served 120+ youth a Thanksgiving dinner. I walked around chatting with many youth that I know, and the room was quiet. I thought of the phrase "Peace on Earth. Good will to everyone" as a large group of people seemed so quiet, so peaceful.

Thanksgiving morning I was at the same place, our drop-in center, and was able to be a loving presence as youth who live on the streets came in for a hot breakfast.

Sometimes I feel I have had a victory at work when I leave a meeting with a donor carrying a nice sized check. Other times it's the smile I see in a youth who has lived a life filled with trauma. Then I get an email from a blog reader who is in their third week of being vegan, reading the wonderful news while one of our rescue dogs is laying stretched out on my lap.

Thanksgiving day we had a house full of friends who we love so much and who are such important parts of our lives. Every one of them makes the world a better place for all living beings, in their own way. Mike and I have a life filled with people who take action against animal torture, human rights abuses and hate.

Some days I feel like I do not do enough. No matter how much each of us does, there is something right behind it. It can and does get overwhelming at times.

This blog has made a huge difference in how I feel I can be effective in making the world a better place. Today is the last day of our dog and cat food drive for Animal Haus and I have been blown away by the amount of food we have had donated. I'll have official numbers later. Over a hundred blog readers and supporters donated food or made an online donation. Incredible.

We all have the power to make the world a better place for all living beings. In our own way. No action is too small. Our compassion and passion can rock it.

To all of our amazing readers, thank you. Thank you for what you do every day to make this world a better place!

And thanks for reading!

Run a half marathon - Check!

If you know me personally, you know that I am not a runner. Never really have been. Although I am trying my best to become healthier every day, I never imagined running would be part of that.

So imagine my surprise when I was talking with my new co-workers about using the upcoming Colfax Marathon as an opportunity to raise money for the agency we work for, Urban Peak, and I say that I would be willing to do the half marathon portion! Urban Peak serves youth experiencing homelessness, and there isn't much I wouldn't do to support our mission.

But running? And a half marathon?

I went home after work that day and talked with Mike about it. He immediately said he would do it with me.

Holy cow!

Looking back, the entire experience was amazing.

Most importantly, together we raised $2,500 for Urban Peak in support of youth experiencing homelessness.

And there were so many other awesome parts of doing a half marathon. Mike and I got healthier. We are on a continual path of getting healthier and this really helped. I actually began to enjoy running. Just east of us is a city park called Sloan's Lake, and that is where I trained. Once around the like is about 2.5 miles. I would plug in my Latino hits list on Pandora and just run. It certainly wasn't easy at first, and there were training runs through the three months I trained where I thought I just couldn't do it.

And I kept at it. I checked in with other vegan runners around the country and I reached out to friends here who are runners. I learned not to over do it, and not to give up.

The day of the half marathon Mike and I arrived around 6:00am. We were both nervous, which is something we hadn't really felt until the day before the run. As the time came for the half marathon to begin we gathered with a few thousand others and waited our turn to start. One of the things we both loved were the continual references to "athletes", referring to us! We kept laughing about that.

Mike is a faster runner than I am so we knew before we started that we wouldn't run together. As we began I blew him a kiss, turned up Pandora, said a little prayer (basically asking that I not die during this attempt) and took off.

At first I thought of how far I had come. Then I started to think about how the money we raised would help others, folks who are challenged every day just to find shelter, food, acceptance and many days hope.

The last two miles were tough for me. At mile 12 a bunch of the firefighters from the Colorado Firefighters Calendar were lined up, shirtless, cheering us on. That helped.

I crossed the finished line and had tears in my eyes. Oh yes, I'm that kind of guy.

It was an incredible experience. I am pretty sure we will do it again next time. Sending a HUGE thanks to all of you who donated to our fundraising efforts and who gave us love and support!

Thanks for reading!

Will you take 10 seconds for homeless youth?

My day job is as Director of Development and Public Affairs of Urban Peak, a 26-year old non-profit organization in Denver whose mission is to support youth experiencing homelessness on every level.

Urban Peak rocks.

Will you help us? I swear it only takes 10 seconds!

Urban Peak employee (and Americorps volunteer) Alex Vaassen won the Community MVP for the Colorado Rapids! This is an annual award and a huge deal for us at Urban Peak.

The next step is national voting. Each of the 19 MLS teams have a Community MVP. Now everyone can vote to see which MVP wins the national Community MVP.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Imagine what it will look like for Urban Peak, for our mission and for youth experiencing homelessness around the country if Alex wins. A win for Alex would put the conversation of youth experiencing homelessness on a national stage. For the MLS All Star game, where the national winner will receive her or his recognition, over a million people will be watching! This can be a huge opportunity to not only support Urban Peak, but all organizations that serve a mission like ours.

Voting started this morning at 9am. It will go through July 12^th and then a winner will be announced on July 15^th.

Please vote. Please vote often. Please send the below link to everyone you know. Please ask them to do the same. People can vote as many times as they like.

Imagine Alex on mid-field at the All Star game on July 31^st in Kansas City!

We can win this. We have the most amazing staff around. We have committed donors, volunteers, supporters and board. We can spread the word throughout the country to get the most votes.

Here’s where you can vote, right now: http://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsworks/community-mvp/vote

Votes can also be made on the MLS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/MLS/app_398709353508343

THANK YOU so much for your support with this. Please forward this to all of your friends. Voting literally takes 10 seconds!

P.S. You can vote as many times as you wish!

My training continues

I knew signing up to run a half marathon was a crazy idea. Back in high school ( along time ago) a ran  a10K, which is about 6 miles. I think the most I have run since were 1.5 mile runs while in the Navy and maybe a 5K sometime back. I have not run at all in the 12 years or so.

For those of you who, like me just a little while ago, do not know, a half marathon is 13.1 miles.

The half marathon I am running is part of the Colfax Marathon on May 19th.

I know, it's crazy. And the only reason I would ever consider doing something this crazy is to help animals or others without a voice. This time it is for the youth experiencing homelessness we serve at Urban Peak, where I work. I have created a fundraiser out of this crazy idea, hoping to raise $2,000 for the young people we serve.

You might know that crazy people don't like to do thinks alone, so I asked Mike to join me. He is now signed up and training as well.

It is not easy. I have to admit that it is a lot more fun that I thought it would be, but definitely not easy. I have been doing most of my training at Sloan's Lake, a Denver park about a mile from where we live. It's roughly 2.5 miles around the lake and I don't seem to get bored. Lot's of people and lots of dogs. Oh, and geese and ducks. So I am always looking at something.

Last weekend I ran the most I have ever run in my life, 7.22 miles! I couldn't believe! My nephew was with us last weekend. He is an amazing runner. He said that I was within striking distance of the half marathon. That of course made my day.

I have had a couple of short runs since last weekend. Both were tough. Sometimes, like other things in life, it's a struggle. And, like I try to do with everything else in life, I keep my eyes on the prize. The prize is not training or even finishing the half marathon. The prize is being a voice for the voiceless and supporting youth who are in a difficult spot.

After every training run I post a video. They're not pretty. If you'd like to see them my YouTube account is under vegandude.

I have gotten a lot of strength from many of you who are always working to be healthier and more physically fit. I am totally grateful.

More to come. Thank you so much for reading!

Running for a cause

I'm not a runner.

I haven't run any kind of distance distance since 2000 and that was a 5K, I think.

I love riding my bike and swimming, and working out.

Not running.

So when co-workers of mine began to talk about running all or a portion of the Colfax Marathon coming up in Denver on May 19th, I kept thing "well good for you".

The fundraiser in me thought that this would be a good chance to tell all of my friends about my new agency, new job, and the mission I now fundraise for: youth experiencing homelessness.

I signed up to run the half marathon.

I know! It's crazy!

What we do for our causes: for the animals, for human rights, for those who suffer.

So on May 19th at 7am MST I will begin the longest run of my life. I am doing it because no matter how tough it is for me, it doesn't even come close to what young people have to go through just to get to our agency. Not even close.

Here's me after my first training run explaining a little more. Warning, I'm not looking pretty!

http://youtu.be/19MNwhRWagA

This is a chance for me to raise money, to show what a 47 year old vegan can do physically and to work on a goal with my husband. Yep, Mike is doing it too.

I am super excited and a little scared. I am powered by love from friends and family, by the mission of the agency I am fundraising for (Urban Peak) and by a good amount of vegan friends who have become athletes for a cause.

If you'd like to support my fundraising efforts and youth experiencing homelessness, you can donate here: https://www.coloradogives.org/danrunsforurbanpeak

As of the writing of this blog I am at 33% of my running goal and 17% of my fundraising goal.

Imagine what we can all do for our causes!!!

Thank you for reading. I will keep you posted!

Dan

PS...Mike just reminded me that he is part of this blog too and therefore I should publish his fundraising page! Here it is: https://www.coloradogives.org/stringmanmike

Back to work!

My time being unemployed came to an end this week! As I had written about in another blog, this past Monday I started my new job at an agency that serve youth experiencing homelessness. It is an amazing gig and I am thrilled (and feel privileged) to be working there.

The week flew by and I just realized this morning that I had not written a blog post all week! Yikes! I have learned that the first rule of blogging is to be consistent in ones posts. It's not tat easy being brand new in a job, and I even more excited to be back in my blog world as there is so much going on!

First things first. My "Can you spare 47 minutes?" blog post in celebration of my 47th birthday ended up supporting so many awesome things. Dozens of our readers wrote me telling me what they would do during their 47 minutes. So much volunteering! I am truly grateful as this is how we all make the world a better place for living beings.

Mike and I celebrated my birthday with friends at our favorite restaurant, Linger. Dinner was amazing as usual and then the server brought our this beautiful birthday cake and so the celebration continued! Dear friends, delish food and a wonderful environment for a celebration. Who could ask for anything more.

The month I experienced being unemployed wasn't always easy. I am fortunate that I had many options, an incredible support system and quickly was interviewing. I know it's not that way for everyone and I have a much deeper understanding of what it's like for people who are unemployed and searching for a job. One thing we can all do is to reach out and support them. Take them to lunch. Remind them that we are on their side.

And so my journey continues and I am fortunate to share all of this in the blog world. I love our blog, and I love all of those who read it, support it and engage in conversation (and sometimes debate!) around it.

Thank you for reading! More to come!

Can you spare 47 minutes?

Many years ago, in anticipation of gifts and cash that I knew were headed my way for my birthday, I asked family and friends to donate to their local animal shelter or local HIV/AIDS organization rather than gift me anything. I have been thrilled to hear of all of the groups doing great work around the country receiving donations and in fact many of those same family and friends ask for the same thing now.

This year for my birthday I was thinking of the same thing. Now with this blog, and being connected to even more amazing people who want to change the world, I have thought of something different. And to be honest with you I am going to be 47 and asking someone to donate $47.00 is a little different than asking them to donate $25.00.

So this year I am asking people do donate 47 minutes. Everyone is busy, I know. And as I have written many times, 47 minutes can change the world. Will you donate 47 minutes of your day in the coming week to make someones day? To be a voice for the voiceless? To change the world for someone?

I am sure that many who read our blog already donate their time, so the thought process on what to do shouldn't take very long. Here are some ideas just in case:

Walk a dog at your local animal shelter.

Play with a cat at your local animal shelter.

Make a vegan pie for your neighbor.

Read a book at your local elementary school.

Bring vegan muffins or brownies to the staff at your favorite local non-profit.

Drop off dinner at a friends house.

Call someone you love who you haven't spoken to in a long time.

Write a letter to someone serving time in prison.

Go to your local highway intersection and clean up the trash.

Serve a meal at your local homeless shelter.

Gather used blankets from your neighbors and donate them to your local animal sanctuary.

Take a platter of baked deliciousness to the USO Welcome Center at your local airport.

Write a letter to an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience.

 Whew. I should stop. As I write, my wheels are turning and I am imagining all who read this stepping out of their busy, maybe hectic lives and taking 47 minutes in service of others.

You don't have to do this alone. Do something with a group of friends. I promise you that your action will not only make someones day, but add a ton of cheer to your day as well!

Thank you for reading and thank you for being so amazingly supportive of our blog!

I got a job!

The day I was laid off was tough. Not money tough or fear tough or what am I going to do tough. It felt personal. No matter who said what, if felt like getting fired for not being good enough. I wasn't sure if I wanted to share all of that on my blog, of getting laid off and the process I was going through. Well, I did. I posted a blog post about losing my job and it became one of the most read, most commented on posts I have written.

The gift in that, beyond continuing to always use my blog as a way to help others, be a voice for the voiceless and build bridges, was that our blog readers were incredibly supportive of the process I was going through. For that I am beyond grateful and want to say thank you to all of you who wrote messages of support.

During my 22 days of being unemployed I learned a lot. I learned that there is a stereotype or even prejudice around the unemployed and that even folks who are unemployed don't like telling people that. I was having a wonderful conversation with this guy, and his whole interaction with me changed when I told him that I was unemployed. I was blown away.

My experience of being unemployed was short lived. I am grateful for that. I am also grateful for the huge amount of friends and colleagues who invited me to coffee or lunch, called to check in, told me about a job, helped with my resume and cover letters, gave a gift card of some kind or swung by the house with a hug and flowers. The support I got was incredible and I hope all of us can be as supportive whenever a friend loses their job.

On my 22nd day of being unemployed I accepted an offer at an agency in town that helps homeless teens. I am super excited and can't wait to start! I will continue in fundraising, which is what I love to do.

I hope to write an e book about searching for a job. I will keep you posted. I also made changes on my fundraising blog, adding links to job search websites in an effort to help folks still looking for a job.

Thank you!

And thank you for reading this!

Action of the week - reach out

I am still unemployed (today is day 21) and have been able to take "me" time during my job search. By the way, I did receive an offer letter yesterday and am hoping to take this job after looking into the benefits.

Yesterday I went to the Max Fund, a local shelter here that Mike and I support and where I have been volunteering for 12 years. We have fostered a bunch of dogs from here and last Saturday swung by to check about fostering Chico, a one-eyed Pekingese mix who is 8 years old and they believe would be better off right now in foster.

I had time yesterday after a lunch appointment to go visit with Chico again. He is pretty snappy and I wanted to see if he acted any differently on a slower day at the shelter. His only interest in my was to try to bite me, not in a way to harm me as he doesn't bite down, he just snaps.

While visiting with Chico a gentleman came into the shelter asking if he could pick up some food for his dogs. I am not sure of his situation except that he is experiencing difficult times and was asking for dog food as he could not afford it.

I wanted to tell him that I would buy all the dog food he needed until his times got better, but the Max Fund employee said to him that he would go check to see what they had. The employee came back in less than five minutes with a couple of bags of dog food. I was ecstatic.

If you are still thinking about Chico, more to come on him. I am going back today to bring him home as a foster. And you know that means a Chico blog post soon!

Do you know anyone like the gentleman who came in to Max Fund? Would you reach out to them with some dog food or treats, or a pound of coffee? Perhaps a care package with some treats? Mike and I are financially good right now but the gifts people have given since I lost my job did more than give us something nice, they filled us with love and gratitude. That's the perfect gift!

I have been unemployed for 21 days and have been blown away by the love and support I have received from friends, family, colleagues and people I don't even know. My hope is that all of us can do this, reaching out to those who might be in need. When the economy went downhill I clearly remember shelters I volunteer at getting more and more filled with dogs and cats from families who could no longer afford their care because of loss of a job or home. What can all of us to to support those who aren't quite there yet, but are struggling to care for their beloved companion animals?

Today when I go to the Max Fund going to donate dog and cat food for families struggling. I don't know what else to do but will ask them. I'm not sure how many animal shelters or homeless shelters have options to support those struggling, but I am sure there is something all of us can do.

Will you join us and reach out to those in need?

Thank you for reading!