‘Peace House Community Journal’ Archives
Sing After Every Storm
By MIKE HAZARD PHOTO MIKE HAZARD Ellie and Jamaih posed in the sun outside the back door at Peace House. Ellie wrote a poetical reflection on life the day she got sober. It hangs on the poetry wall inside. A few lines go: “Be like the winds: Sing after every storm. Change is scary, especially to those who watch us change while their lives stay the same. Don”™t hang out with negative people, especially yourself. You don”™t need a loud voice to be heard. All you need is something worthwhile to say. Sometimes you must end an old relationship to begin a new one with yourself.” Sing after every storm, Ellie. This picture story is by Mike Hazard. It is part of a project called Peace House People. A version of the work will be on display at Franklin Library from April 13 through May 9, 2020. The project is funded by an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.
Peace House Community”“A Place to Belong “Relatives are in Danger!””¦Native Community responds with speed and determination
By MARTI MALTBY After over 20 years of working with social services agencies that serve the homeless, I have seen many different responses to ending homelessness. Some have been more successful than others, while some have benefitted from having good salespeople promoting them as the next big thing. Recently, I have been encouraged by the work of the Native American community, especially with efforts around Franklin and Bloomington. In the last couple of months they have opened two overnight drop-in centers, coordinated overnight street outreach efforts, made sure the issue of homelessness doesn”™t slip to the back pages, and generally made a positive difference to the homeless and the greater community. Most of the responses to homelessness that I have seen haven”™t started at this level. When homelessness first became a national problem in the 1980s, this was how people addressed it. Churches, community associations, and similar groups saw the problem [...]
He Has His Own Mind
By MIKE HAZARD and MARTI MALTBY “As you can see, I”™m part Irish American, part African American, and part Native American,” said Vernon. I asked what nation. “My brother says Cherokee.” He thumbed through his cellphone texts looking for a picture of his Irish American great grandfather, Henry O”™Killian. He never found it. We talked. MIKE HAZARD “My father taught me to hunt,” says Vern. “We hunted to eat. Venison, bear, beaver, raccoon, and quail. We lived in southern Illinois, near the Kentucky border. I was a country boy. I”™m ready to go back.” “I was a cook in the military, a biscuit burner. Sister Rose (the founder of Peace House) hired me to cook. I cooked at Peace House for two or three months, and then I got a job as a machinist. Machinist paid more, but I liked cooking more. I cook everything. I learned a lot about cooking from ex-girlfriends. (Laugh.) Italian, Spanish, [...]
