The Important Podcast - Ep 2 A Community for The Homeless - Amber Fogarty

Send us Fan MailOn the surface, it seems that housing would solve homelessness. However, it’s not that simple. A village on the outskirts of Austin, Texas was founded with the belief that community will solve homelessness. This ‘Community First Village’ currently houses 200 paying tenants who are no longer chronically homeless; they will house 1,000 formerly homeless tenants in the next 10 years, which would reduce the Austin homeless population by half. Their community approach is working, but how is this possible... In this episode, we’ll learn from Amber Fogerty, the Chief Goodness Officer at Mobile Loaves and Fishes, about the philosophy behind this unique village that serves the homeless.In This Episode, You Will LearnHow Amber defines goodness What to do when you encounter homeless people on the street. A common cause for homelessness: the catastrophic loss of familyHousing alone will never solve homelessness, community will.What holds people back from sharing their talent.How to encourage people to serve others  The fundraising philosophy of: heart over pocketAmber believes that human beings have two inherent needs / desires:  Desire to be fully knownDesire to be fully lovedThe importance of listening to your communityThe cons of scattered site housingHow MLF dealt with opposition from the Not In My Backyard Movements (NIMBY) The role of fear in the bias against community housingThe value that CommunityFirst Village provides to the neighborhood next door. “Empower communities into a lifestyle of service” for the homelessThe role that grace and mercy plays in conflict resolution at Mobile Loaves and FishesThe MLF.org ten year plan to mitigate homelessness in AustinLinks and Resources Learn more at mlf.orgAttend the Symposium for Goodness’ SakeCheck out the book about the presence that we’re all born with: The Second CircleDonorbox - fundraise online for your nonprofit or causeAbout the Author / Show HostJared Polivka’s mission is to serve others while living a light-hearted, present, empathetic and responsible life. Jared serves nonprofits at Donorbox.org, teaches at organizations through The Joy of Improv and advises various startup founders and organizations. Stay in touch with Jared on Instagram, Twitter and Medium.Support the show