Is Cultural Identity at Risk in Nepal from Christian Missionaries?

Is Cultural Identity at Risk in Nepal from Christian Missionaries?...Background Nepal is a deeply religions country. Buddha was born in Lumbini – a sacred garden in Nepal. And some Nepalis may still consider the King of Nepal to be an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. There has been a huge increase in the number of churches all over Nepal in recent years. The latest data from the national Christian community survey says there are now 7,758 churches in the still overwhelmingly Hindu country. South Korea is behind much of this transformation. There are around 300 Korean missionary families currently in Nepal. The 240-year-old monarchy was abolished following a decade of civil war, and a coalition government came to power, declaring Nepal a secular republic in 2008. Nepal is now a secular state, and the 2015 constitution enshrines religious freedom. However, an anti-conversion law that came into force in 2018 means anyone convicted of encouraging someone to change their faith faces up to five years in jail. Yet, many missionaries don't view their work as breaking the law because they are quiet about their work. Still, some have been charged with bribing people to convert. Undercover Conversion "Doing evangelical work within Nepal is a challenge. So we have alternative ways," he says. "Our mission is to convert - as Pastor Dilli Ram Paudel was a Hindu priest when he was younger - any souls we can, so we must remain undercover." Destroying the Culture of a Country? The cultural identity is at stake. The fabric of the national unity is at stake," argues former deputy prime minister, Kamal Thapa. He views the Korean missionary work as an "organized attack on the cultural identity of the country". "Missionaries are working behind the scenes and exploiting the poor and ignorant people and encouraging them to convert to Christianity. Current Figures The Christian community makes up less than 2% of Nepal's population - Hindus account for about 80% and Buddhists 9% - but census data reveals its growth....Joe Read the full article

Criminalizing Homelessness

Criminalizing Homelessness...Unsheltered homelessness is a vast and growing national problem primarily caused by the dearth of available affordable housing, compounded by lack of adequate healthcare and other social safety nets, and exacerbated by criminal law enforcement policies. Due to structural racial discrimination in each of the above systems, Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color disproportionately experience homelessness and its collateral and inter-generational consequences. In recent years, commensurate with the increase in unsheltered homelessness, states and municipalities have increasingly enacted laws criminalizing activities engaged in largely by people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Almost every state, 48 in total, has at least one law restricting behaviors that prohibit or restrict the conduct of people experiencing homelessness. There are laws that prohibit sleeping in public. Some states have laws restricting sitting and lying down in particular public places. For example, in North Carolina, a person cannot “willfully stand, sit or lie upon the highway or street in such a manner as to impede the regular flow of traffic.” In Delaware, a person who “stands, sits idling or loiters upon any pavement, sidewalk or crosswalk, or stands or sits in a group or congregates with others on any pavement, sidewalk, crosswalk, or doorstep, in any street or way open to the public in this State” can be found guilty of loitering. There are even laws prohibiting sleeping in vehicles. Unhoused people often resort to sleeping or living in their vehicles instead of on the streets. Vehicles can offer necessary privacy and security, a place to keep families together, as well as a place to store one’s belongings. Nevertheless, states restrict utilizing this otherwise life-saving form of shelter....Joe Read the full article

We Are Atheists Helping the Homelesss DC

We Are Atheists Helping the Homelesss DC...As Humanists, the mission of AHHDC is to help people experiencing homelessness in Washington DC and nearby areas by making life easier. Our goals are to help our community, to give to those who wish to have our help, to learn, and to respect ourselves by respecting others. We are your neighbors and family. Read more: https://www.atheistshelping.org #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Homelessness and Discrimination

Homelessness and Discrimination...The homeless are a vulnerable population in many respects. Those experiencing homelessness not only experience personal and economic hardship they also frequently face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status. A large body of work demonstrates that people who are homeless also experience disproportionate rates of health problems and associated social disadvantag. Pervasive discrimination experienced by people who are homeless, particularly discrimination based on access to accommodation and goods and services, contributes to the high rates of poor health. Moreover, the discrimination that homeless individuals face is perceived as legitimate, not only by the general public, but also by individuals who experience homelessness themselves. Despite the fact that individuals who are homeless are perceived as struggling and in need of care and compassion, there is also evidence that homeless individuals are not perceived as fully human. Research has shown that homeless people as a group are seen as neither competent nor warm, and thus form “the lowest of the low". This elicits the worst kind of prejudice – disgust and contempt – and can make people functionally equivalent to objects. This further enhances the perceived legitimacy of negative treatment against the homeless and, in turn, further compromises an individual’s ability to cope with discrimination. Read more: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00739/full #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Homeless People on Christmas

Homeless People on Christmas...As you’re enjoying a delicious holiday meal with your family, you might wonder what the holidays would be like if you didn’t have a family and a home to enjoy for the holidays. You might even worry about what’s going on with your houseless neighbors and how they are getting through the holidays. The good thing about the holiday season is that there’s usually an outpouring of donations and support to help homeless services agencies such as shelters, drop-in centers, meal service programs (food kitchens), and outreach programs. It’s heartwarming how much generosity is directed at the homeless during the holidays. It’s also a marked departure from the rest of the year. But being homeless on the holidays can be especially difficult. Christmas can be an incredibly stressful time of year for some. The additional pressure it brings can push struggling houseless people to the breaking point. Family breakdown is the biggest cause of youth homelessness, and to be homeless at Christmas is especially difficult for people experiencing Christmas without family, emotionally and financially. Additionally, the weather can be cold and dreary. Also, snow and freezing temperatures are common at Christmas. These factors too make Christmas a difficult time. Read more: https://centrepoint.org.uk/about-us/blog/whats-it-like-to-be-young-and-homeless-at-christmas/ #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC  ...Joe Read the full article

US shelters see influx of homeless seeking help amid ‘life-threatening’ winter

US shelters see influx of homeless seeking help amid ‘life-threatening’ winter...December 22, 2022 The Guardian.com Burke Patten helps run the Night Ministry, a Chicago non-profit that annually supports 6,000 of the Windy City’s 60,000 unsheltered. As a ferocious and freezing blast of Arctic weather heads into the US he knows it could be lethal for the city’s vulnerable homeless population. “Unfortunately it’s going to be very dangerous,” said Patten who is Night Ministry’s communications manager. “It’s cold. But it’s going to get a lot worse.” Advocates for policies that benefit the homeless and shelter operators across America are seeing an influx of homeless people needing food and shelter as the vast Arctic weather pattern sweeps over the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions and raises fears about the safety of unsheltered people. “It’s very worrisome. We know that people die in these types of conditions,” Patten said. “It’s dangerous. I’m concerned.” The Night Ministry’s outreach team, who visits encampments, has found fewer people in tents and on the street, inspiring hope that the city’s unsheltered are finding places to stay with friends, in hotels, or in shelters, Patten said. Data from Homeless Deaths Count estimates that more than 7,800 people experiencing homelessness died in the US in 2020. Quantifying the exact number of homeless deaths a year and the causes is difficult due to jurisdictional loopholes. But there is no doubting the risks. Hypothermia is already an ever-present threat people experiencing homelessness face. It can occur at cooler temperatures, as high as 50F (10C), if people get wet from cold water immersion or weather. Once temperatures dip and snow falls, the tents, sleeping bags and clothing unsheltered people rely on to stay warm get wet and the risk of life-threatening hypothermia skyrockets. The body temperature of an exposed person drops, diminishing their ability to move or even cognitively understand that they are in mortal danger, the CDC reports. Read more: #AHHDC #Atheist...Joe Read the full article

Sleeping in Cars

Sleeping in Cars...When Micki first moved to Seattle, she tried to find a studio apartment she could afford — nothing fancy, just a warm room for sleeping and a small kitchen so she could have her son over for dinner. Instead, the mother of five and grandmother of 14 is sleeping in her car, a 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. She is not alone. Each night, Denis shares a parking lot outside a Methodist church with as many as 50 cars, vans and trucks, some housing entire families. In the morning, kids spill out and go into the church to get ready for school. But Denis — the 64-year-old cousin of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and sister of a Nevada state senator — wakes up each day in disbelief that this is her life now. She lived in nice homes for decades, until her divorce in 2003. From 2005-07, she served a mission in Florida and El Salvador for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Just last summer, she traveled around Europe. Coming from Utah, where despite rising rental costs Denis could live on a variety of part-time jobs — like being an interpreter for a school district and a cafeteria cashier at her church’s Salt Lake Temple — she was shocked by the Seattle-area housing market. Read more: https://www.deseret.com/indepth/2019/10/19/20897026/living-in-car-seattle-homeless #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Couch Surfing--Hidden Homelessness--a Majority of the Homeless Population

Couch Surfing--Hidden Homelessness--a Majority of the Homeless Population...Homeless since birth, Cristynn had always stuck by her mother's side as the two bounced from one crowded apartment to the next, huddling on a sofa at night, living by the grace – and the rules – of other families. “We probably shared space in other people’s homes for so long that she had no idea what to do with when we finally got a small apartment: her own space, her own toys, her own TV,” said a  young mother working delivery gigs to supplement her unemployment benefits. Their circumstances outwardly invisible, people sheltering in others’ homes are believed to be a majority of the homeless population in the United States, says Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Couch-surfing families account for three-quarters of the more than 1 million homeless students in U.S. public schools, according to data from the federal Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program. Yet this growing population is traditionally shut out of the housing aid system, which regards them as less vulnerable because, technically, they are housed. Sometimes families double-up. But for one woman, the housing manager of her brother’s discovered the extra tenants. Mother and children had to move into a shelter. Sleeping in others’ living rooms you cannot have your own schedule or space. You can only go to bed after everyone else. And as soon as the others get up, couch surfers have to clear out the sofa they slept on. Bathroom time is available only after others have finished. Quality sleep is sometimes not available as surfers must sit up while their children use the couch. Children often have no place to do their homework. Read more: https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2021/0604/A-couch-is-not-a-home-Where-the-hidden-homeless-get-housing-vouchers #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Police Partnerships and Homelessness

Police Partnerships and Homelessness...The Center for Court Innovation, in partnership with the COPS Office, has launched Sharing the Solution: Police-Court Partnerships to Address Homelessness. This project explores the innovative strategies law enforcement agencies share with local partners when responding to homelessness. Throughout the course of this work, experts explain homelessness as a public health issue and offer guidance on how police can be a part of the solution. How does public health intersect with homelessness and policing? Throughout their years of service, police develop relationships with these individuals. Each day, law enforcement connects people experiencing homelessness to emergency housing services, medical care, and most recently personal protective equipment (PPE). Further, in times of crisis, police are called as first responders for homeless individuals in need of care. Once a year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) conducts a point-in-time (PIT) count. The PIT count is a yearly count of sheltered and unsheltered individuals across the country. In January 2019, HUD reported that 567,715 were experiencing homelessness during the most recent PIT count. Disparities unfortunately exist within the homeless population. African Americans make up approximately 13 percent of our country’s population; yet approximately 40 percent of the homeless population, or 553,000 people, identified as African American. Of homeless individuals with children, 52 percent were African American. The PIT count shows 200,000 individuals, or half of people experiencing homelessness, are unsheltered. Compared to their sheltered counterparts, unsheltered individuals are shown to be at a higher risk of illness and disease....Joe Read the full article

Homelessness and Tents

Homelessness and Tents...Introduction Living in a tent city is far from ideal, yet many people who are homeless in America somehow make this type of living arrangement work despite the unsettling conditions. For many of the nearly 600,000 documented homeless in the United States, a tent city is a home by choice. For others, they don't know any other way of life. Seattle, Washington People who reside in tent cities in Seattle turn living without a permanent home. Some areas have a small form of government, such as in one camp called Nickelsville; one person is in charge of security, one person makes executive decisions for the good of the camp, and a working system manages the chores. People earn their keep in Nickelsville by working security or cleanup for a few hours each week. The camp, though rustic and low-tech, seems to work without much trouble. Police generally leave these Seattle tent cities alone. Gainesville, Florida Occasionally, police get involved with a tent city arrangement in Gainesville, Florida. One prominent settlement exists on some wooded property owned by Larry Carlton, a local businessman. Carlton says that he doesn't have any warm feelings towards the homeless people living on his land; he simply understands that they have no place to go. Every six or seven years, police have to clear out this tent city because of drugs, crime or violence. Eventually, people return to Carlton's property because it's relatively safe. Carlton enlists the help of one of his employees to keep track of everyone there. The names of people are given to police in case of emergencies. In general, Carlton's arrangement is peaceful. Read more: https://news.thehungersite.greatergood.com/cs-tent-city-solution/ #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC  ...Joe Read the full article

Warming station aims to provide support

Warming station aims to provide support...The long-awaited warming station at the Cranston Street Armory opened for the homeless on Friday night, with the Rhode Island National Guard helping with the operations. Amos House will serve as the vendor in charge of running the station in Providence. "We are ready, we've got staff for 24-hour shifts, we have the medical reserve here to provide medical care if we need it, we have cots set up for 50 folks," said Amos House CEO Eileen Hayes. Hayes said they will have case managers at the station every day to provide people access to services, help with applications and provide three meals a day and shower to empower three times a week. "This is not a shelter, it's a warming station so people can start their journey to hopefully housing by getting out of the elements getting in here and getting support," Hayes said. Read more:https://turnto10.com/news/local/homeless-encampment-warming-station-cranston-street-armory-vendor-amos-house-support-shower-meal-rhode-island-state-house-governor-aclu-judge-tent-removal-december-16-2022 #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Youth Homessness in Great Btitton: Shelters Are Full Every Night

Youth Homessness in Great Btitton: Shelters Are Full Every Night..."We're trapped in a world where there's no growth," says Kaitlyn, who is 19. "It's not easy to get a job, save money, go back to school." After being kicked out by her parents, she was left homeless and turned to charities to help rebuild her life. Homelessness charities say Kaitlyn is far from alone, with rising reports of rough sleeping and people at risk of eviction during the economic hardship. They are collectively calling for more support for young people at risk. Analysis from homelessness charity Centrepoint, reveals their helpline is the busiest it's ever been since it started five years ago. Kaitlyn wants to see more funding for youth groups and education centers as well as more affordable accommodation. "There needs to be a solid service for 18-25-year-olds who are homeless to help specifically so we get the support we need and the help catered to us," she says. "If I could talk to the government, I'd say they need to understand how different the world is and that it keeps changing every year." Read more:https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-63971004 #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Sacramento County says hundreds are seeking shelter from cold temps

Sacramento County says hundreds are seeking shelter from cold temps...Amid the recent cold temperatures, the unhoused population is seeking overnight shelter at unseen numbers in the Sacramento area, officials said. Sacramento County opened up a few overnight shelters three weeks ago and began a motel voucher program before Thanksgiving. The Paul Wright Building, located at 1725 28th Street in Downtown Sacramento, saw its largest turnout on Tuesday night with 58 people staying the night to shelter from the cold. In all, the county has been assisting nearly 400 people a night for the past three weeks. It's the most people they've had during a weather activation by far. "The fact that there are more people unsheltered on the street definitely means that there are more people that need these services and I think that the duration of this cold weather event also plays a part," said Sacramento County's Janna Haynes who works with the Homeless Initiatives division. "We're seeing seven, eight, nine days where the temperatures overnight are really low." Read more: https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-county-says-hundreds-are-seeking-shelter-from-cold-temps-more-than-usual/42258800 #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Angry residents push back against atheist group's call to move nativity scene

Angry residents push back against atheist group's call to move nativity scene...Residents in a small Maine town protested after their town removed a nativity scene that had been there for decades because an atheist group complained it was against the law. At the city council meeting, over a dozen angry residents defended the manger scene as part of the town's history and called for it to be put back up. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) said the town was violating the First Amendment by displaying the Biblical Christmas scene on public property. Maine chapter president Tom Waddell requested Bucksport put up one of the group's secular signs that celebrated the Winter Solstice and Bill of Rights next to the nativity or remove the manger from public property. Instead, Bucksport temporarily took down the display at the recommendation of counsel last week over fears of litigation. Read more: #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Anchorage: Twenty-four people believed to be homeless have died outdoors

Anchorage: Twenty-four people believed to be homeless have died outdoors...The deceased were found all over: In city parks. Tucked behind office buildings. In an encampment alongside one of the busiest roads in Alaska. The youngest was 30. The oldest was 74. A mother of seven. A former chef. The data falls short of capturing every death of a person experiencing homelessness, including those who die in hospitals, homicides or elsewhere. And police have, in the past, stopped short of calling every person on the list “homeless” because being housed or homeless can be a quickly changing state. Still, such deaths serve as an important measure of the city’s efforts, experts say: The most basic goal of sheltering unhoused people is to ensure that they don’t die on the streets. Read more: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2022/12/11/24-people-believed-to-be-homeless-have-died-outdoors-in-anchorage-this-year/ #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Mayor Sworn in as Los Angeles Deals with Homelessness

Mayor Sworn in as Los Angeles Deals with Homelessness...At Sunday's ceremony, after being sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris, Bass said her first task as mayor will be to declare homelessness a state of emergency in the city. Homelessness has risen in the Los Angeles area since the pandemic. The county released a 2022 report in September, after not doing so in 2021. The count reached 69,144 unhoused people across the county, up 4.1%, and 41,980 people in Los Angeles City, up 1.7% since 2020. "My emergency declaration will recognize the severity of our crisis and break new ground to maximize our ability to urgently move people inside, and to do so for good," Bass said. Read more: https://www.npr.org/2022/12/12/1142171887/karen-bass-los-angeles-sworn-in-homelessness Read more: USC Homeless Count 2022 #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC...Joe Read the full article

Why Do People Experiencing Homelessness Avoid Shelters: the Drama is Part of It

Why Do People Experiencing Homelessness Avoid Shelters: the Drama is Part of It...Some homeless New Yorkers say they would rather live on the streets than stay in a city shelter, even as Mayor Eric Adams launches a plan to involuntarily move homeless people suspected of having mental illness to hospitals. Continuing his crackdown on street homelessness, Adams last month unveiled a plan to remove people who appear to have a mental illness from the streets, subways and other public spaces and take them to hospitals for psychiatric evaluations, even when they are not a threat to themselves or others. Such removals would hinge on whether the person “displays an inability to meet basic living needs.” The mayor has asked police and other city workers to stop people from lying down on the subways and to dismantle homeless encampments. The initiatives have been praised by business leaders, but they met with fierce backlash from homeless advocates. Here’s what some people experiencing homelessness had to say. - Things would get stolen. People could pop your locker. It was a little hectic, you know, and that's when a lot of people were smoking the synthetic weed stuff. I had a knife pulled on me. - Everything is catered to you like a child. It's like you're not treated like an adult. - The shelter as it is today, all mixed in one room is, very degrading. I didn't want to be there. I mean, there's just too much drama, you know.? Read more: https://gothamist.com/news/adams-hochul-roll-out-subway-safety-plan-crack-down-homeless-trains-and-stations #AHHDC #Atheists Helping the Homeless DC  ...Joe Read the full article