I had the weirdest, most audacious dream ever this morning. It was completely different from anything I had been thinking about. Like a message from the universe.
The main idea was to create a train-the-trainer or mentorship for people living on the streets.
On topics that the person wanted to learn. Not life skills or job training.
Anything the person may have aspired to learn before they ended up on the streets or living in extreme poverty.
Art ~ Urban Farming ~ Creative Writing ~ Philosophy ~ Music ~ History …
The mentors could be interested experts willing to share there insights.
They could be people like Alicia Keys talking about music to a person, or Bill Gates, or Barack Obama, or Sir Richard Branson.
The key is to meet people where they are. Some may simply be glad that someone is talking to them about something they love.
Others may have been professors and professionals before illness or misfortune brought to the place they are now.
Many people who are now thriving will tell about times when they were bankrupt, homeless, or broken.
They survived and learned to thrive, often with a hand up.
And one of the ideas is that the person would in turn mentor others.
Mentor the Mentor
The logistics are challenging
The first thought was to have a space or a mobile unit where a person could connect with a mentor.
A physical space would need a social worker and an empathetic security person to facilitate.
The actual mentoring sessions could be through Zoom on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
For that matter, anyone with any of those devices could participate. There probably are billions of unused devices stuck in drawers and landfills that could be used for this.
Celluar service providers could sponsor simple data plans.
All of the tools to support this are available online for free or near free.
Still, this could be an enormous mission involving government agencies, non-profit organizations, sponsors, volunteers, and volunteer mentors.
Do you know of projects doing something like this already?
Is this something you could help with?
Do you have ideas or suggestions?
Send me a note to gregdixon@sharedvisions.com or
Add comments on Social Media if that is where you saw this.
P.S.
Where this idea might have come from?
My mother had regrets that she never went to college to study Anthropology and Archeology. She read lots and was able to travel to many world locations including Machu Pichu, Greece, Egypt, China, and the Mayan ruins in Mexico. Still, she had regrets.
My father lived the last part of his life in a rooming house in the Vancouver Downtown East Side. Not quite homeless, but close. He loved photography and had a weird sense of humour.
I learned a lot from both parents.
In my travels in India and elsewhere I was aware that most of us so very far from the streets.
A mugging, accident, illness, financial misfortune, natural disaster, or pandemic can put you on the streets in a flash.
Let’s see if we can lift some out of their situation
and help them help others.
Send me a note to gregdixon@sharedvisions.com or
Add comments on Social Media if that is where you saw this.
This is one way to fund the dream:
