small things matter

I have received a tremendous honor in being invited to speak at the #140conference in New York City this June 19. I have secured a place to stay with the a lovely artist and her husband. The are the Aunt and Uncle of my friend and colleague at the HELP Institute.

I need to raise travel money, ie: airfare, public trans[transportation funds and food money for the trip. Please consider donating as my presence in New York will I am sure connect me with lots of incredible people who can help me do the work I am trying to do.

Please use the donate button below if you believe in my vision and care to help. I have included my vision for helping the poor and homeless below. Please help me help those in need.

Read about “Small Things Matter” at www.smallthingsmatter.org or in the post below!

Namaste,

Revolution MacInnes
Founder
Small Things Matter

-Revolution MacInnes

#140conference

From east to west, people have been using social media for more than just locating high school classmates. Sites like Facebook and Twitter have been used to advertise businesses, recruit amazing talent (Ted Williams, anyone?), and promote causes. Small Things Matter relies on several different social media sites but gets the bulk of its readership from Twitter followers. Thanks to the people who follow Rev’s tweets, we’ve come a long way and are encouraged by every step.

An upcoming step is Rev’s speech at the 140 Conference, an event where “tweeps” from all over the world share how Twitter has changed their lives. Rev has been invited to tell his story and promote Small Things Matter to a wide variety of people, and hopefully make connections with those interested in the cause. The conference will not only put him in contact with other non-profit organizations but with potential donors and resources.

Let the Couch Surfing Commence! To save a couple bucks and to meet some new friends, Rev is signing up with the amazing program called CouchSurfing, where those looking for a free place to crash on their travels are matched with hosts. After speaking at the 140 Conference, Rev will be able to come “home” each night to some free laughs, food and ideas with hosting members of the couchsurfing website. As Time Magazine noted, “CouchSurfing isn’t just a means of accommodation; it is an entirely new way to travel.” (If you haven’t done it yet, check it out at: https://www.couchsurfing.org/). The suggested donation to become a member of CouchSurfing is 25.00 US bucks and any contribution towards that goal would help! If you would like support Rev and his endeavors in New York during the 140 Conference, please use the PayPal button below to make a donation.

bring the bank to the people

Do you have a laptop, netbook, IPad, Nook, Kindle or other device the can surf the web and access online banking sites? We have a program in development called, “Bring the Bank to the People,” in which volunteers make house calls to help those with little or no resources set up and access their bank accounts online on a regular business. Local churches and community centers in Chicago will soon have ‘banking parties” where those with internet devices can help their friends and community members gain access to the internet and open and maintain bank accounts. We will bring a mobile banking vehicle to shelters and community events in Chicago’s under-served community. We will be partnering with local community banks to offer free or greatly reduced service fees to customers who sign up at one of the events we sponsor. Eventually, we plan to offer a full service bank or credit union that while transparent and socially conscious will allow investors to make money by investing with us. If the potential customer doesn’t have proper ID to open an account we will not turn them away we, but have the standard forms and documents necessary to get those ID’s available as well as work with the customer to get the ID they need to open a bank account with us or any bank they chose at no charge. Each “banker” will be a community liaison.

We will make available tablet size to customers who fall 20% above or anywhere below the poverty line for free in order to accesses the web with Wi-Fi connectivity. If we can negotiate a very low 4G price we will offer that as well. We will never charge a fee to maintain an account. All ‘penalty” fees will be held at a very small percentage 1-3% above the actual processing costs.Customers we hope who generally maintain large balances will bank with us specifically to help offset the fees we are waving for those in need. They will bank with us because we are an ethical and socially conscious business. No one should have to give up a meal in order to cash their paycheck. A $5 fee to cash a paycheck each week adds up $260 dollars a year, that could easily mean two or three meals each month might have to be skipped simply because their is no money available to eat at the end of the week. Millions make choices like that everyday and we aim to change that!

Ultimately, we are going to put this idea into action on a national scale.

Please explore my nonprofit as well at www.smallthingsmatter.org

the story of HELP, part one

The following blog post by my best friend Dr. Dominica McBride, she is the co-founder of the HELP institute. HELP is a nonprofit I support and truly believe can change the world. I want to share their story with you!

-Revolution MacInnes

Have you ever experienced synchronicity – when all parts of a desired situation magically come together at just the right time, falling into perfect place? This is the story of The HELP Institute.

From Dr. McBride’s perspective….

At the age of 15, my purpose rose to my conscious mind: to help people. As sure as the heart beating, I knew that helping is what I was born to do. Since my childhood, I could feel people – their pain and plight, their joy and desire, and, better yet, they’d overtly share these feelings and experiences with me too. This exchange was healing for both of us. This undercurrent of empathy and trust drove me to want more – more relationship, more healing for everyone, more help. “Seeing” the inner experience of others also illuminated the needs and desires of humanity and possible solutions to the problem – true love, balanced perspective, seeing people for their beauty and areas in need of growth, accepting them for both, and compassionately listening and responding in action. For most of my life, helping others has been a necessity, not a choice – a drive like hunger.

At 15, I made the choice to eventually go to Michigan State University to obtain my bachelors in Psychology (an obvious fit for cultivating this type of relationship with others), get my PhD in Psychology from a university in another state, become a doctor, and do my part to change the world. And this is what happened. Fortunately, I encountered some critical teaching moments along the way that have shaped my purpose. At 19, I went on an alternative spring break in Chicago and met a woman who ran a nonprofit organization that helped those in need – from youth to seniors. This was the first time I saw a real- life picture of how one person can impact so many people, how working on a community level can also bring empathy-in-action to scale, how one initiative can live beyond the person to shape generations to come. Years went by, graduation from MSU came and went, and in 2005, I went to Tanzania to do HIV prevention work. There, I conducted an evaluation of an HIV prevention program and found there was no difference in risky behavior after the program. With enhancements in the program, the organization I worked with was able to move towards making real change in the communities, actually saving lives instead of thinking they were when they really were not. This was my first real taste of the potential of program evaluation to make real change and move towards social justice and community empowerment.

A couple more years went by, I completed my doctoral internship, and the same month I returned to Arizona to graduate from ASU, I met Mr. Cofrancesco, HELP’s Co-Founder, at an evaluation meeting (this was the only AZ evaluation meeting I had attended). Within the first 10 minutes of our meeting, we learned of our common values – the mission of HELP. In the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan, Mr. Cofrancesco experienced abject poverty on a community-wide scale. He overcame his own poverty and a difficult childhood, started a business at 18 and experienced the potential of entrepreneurship. His personal dream is to help people in need, because he believes every person is extremely talented and worthy of achieving self-actualization. With a background in business, economic and community development, and strategic management, mine in psychology, holistic wellbeing, and cultural competence, and our shared focus on program evaluation and community empowerment, our partnership is a manifestation of complimentarity. In that first meeting, we saw both of our purposes taking more shape and our dreams coming true. Due to our shared passion, complimentarity, and commitment to our mission, we have been able to form a strong bond and build The HELP Institute.

I look back on the sequence of events and seeming predictability of it all and I wonder if this journey is one of serendipity – a lucky accident or synchronicity – when things come together perfectly as if by magic. I have an inkling that it’s synchronic and purpose- driven, that there is meaning and purpose in our work and our drive. Regardless if this is a story of serendipity or synchronicity, our purpose is the same – to help, to amplify impact, and to do our part in making a world where all people are empowered and, therefore, realize social equality, self actualization, and optimal living.

Read “The Story of HELP, Part Two”

Follow us on Twitter @TheHelpInst and on Facebook!

Small Things Matter

a very good year

I have had an amazing year to say the least. The connections I have made, the love I have found is phenomenal. Almost a year ago to the day I became homeless.  Now I am housed and I am learning how to love myself. I am working with the homeless and trying to change the world. What a year!

I will be doing some kind of year end wrap up soon attempting to thank everyone who has helped transform my life. There are three amazing people who I care deeply for that I need to mention over and over. Kristine Socall is the executive director of Gifted Dreamers where I am helping out and came into my life way back in February. Maegan Carberry, www.maegancarberry.com a former  television personality and political analyst came into my life in June. Then my newest friend Dominica McBride of the Help Institute who has only been in my life since October, though I am quite sure we have known each other forever.  All three of them have helped to transform me with love, compassion and have persevered through all of my short comings, of which there are many. I love all three of them very, very much and it is a joy to have each of them in my life.

Vive Le Français

Yesterday a French journalist contacted me and asked if she could share my story in a blog post and I was delighted. My story and message has now gone international. Below is a translation by Jérémy Dagorn who is @jrm2k6 on twitter. Thank you Jérémy. Here is the original post in French as well. http://bit.ly/glr-rev

Thanks to everyone who is helping me work on behalf of the homeless…It was a very good year.

“All the story begin with a tweet, published Monday evening.”

By: Morgane Tual For youphil.com

The tweet says : Here i am, living in my car, 30 yo, with a long-term job. It hurts
Gloria is just evicted from a friend’s place. Two months ago, she came to Paris where she had found a job, a long-term position. But no place where to live. She only has a SMIC (minimum salary – 1100 euros/month), and it is not enough to have a place in Paris. She told her story on Twitter. Few minutes after, her story is known all over the french twitosphere.

@Dugomo, followed by almost 3000 people, published an article on his blog, strongly relayed. In 24 hours, hundreds of tweets, signed #HelpGloria, make people find a place to sleep for Gloria.

Answers are raining. Dozens of people, not known by Gloria, give here a place to sleep. She said : “I’ve 50, 100 propositions.. I don’t know, I can’t count anymore, I’m totally overwhelmed. “. Last night, she didn’t have to spend the night in her car, thanks to social networks. She knows she’s welcome in other places for the next days. “It is only a temporary solution”, said this girl, working for, ironically, Century XXI (Real estate agency).
Minister for Housing is in.

Gloria’s boss discovered her situation on Twitter, and has decided to find a solution. “But he has anything for now, no houses available, and, the final decision belongs to the renter, not the agency”.

Then, last night, somebody else came into the story, and it is Benoist Apparu, Minister of Housing, asking her to send him a private message.

Tweet says : Hello, could you contact me by MP? Thanks

“He asked me to send him an email explaining my situation, what I’ve done of course. I haven’t received any answer yet”, says Gloria, still astonished by what happened. “I don’t realize what is it happening. Usually, when I tweet, I only have few answers.. It is hug what it is going on, but it is heartwarming , even psychologically”.

That represents a proof of the online solidarity, and it shows social networks could do concrete things to help people, not just abstract things.

Over the Atlantic, @from_nothing experienced that last winter, when he suddenly found himself in the streets, with only a Starbuck’s card with some credit on it. More than coffee, he could benefit from the warm of the place, its safety and free wifi, giving him the possibility to tweet his daily life.
But, the card emptied slowly and he asked his follower if they are aware of another warm and safety place, to spend his icy mornings. If they didn’t find answer, several people provided him with new Starbucks cards. So, he could continue to pass time tweeting in Starbucks. He gave people list of items needed by others homeless he knows : gloves, boots, glasses. And, people who could afford it give him some of these items.

A potential power of mobilization, which could work at the scale of a country like France, as it had proved it few hours ago. Some influnt people begins to recognize this power. By reacting so quickly, Century XXI (the french real-estate firm) avoid from nothing a Cora’s-like buzz, really depreciable. Benoist Apparu, kind of not really appreciated by Twitter users, also avoid a negative buzz. (People who seek about a place to live in Paris are gathered around the #ImmoParis hashtag).

Even if this event give here a place to live for few days, Gloria feels really uncomfortable. “Now, I want this to stop, and we pass to someone else, using this mobilization for people in the same situation as me”. And there is a lot of these people…
PS: Cora is the story of a cashier who has get a receipt with macdonalds discounts on it, forgotten by a client. She was threatened to be fired because of that. People did some buzz about that, and she avoid the firing.

erasing the distance

Many of you know me for my deeply passionate quest to eradicate homelessness in the next 10 to 20 years. But, what you may not know is I also suffer from bipolar disorder. I am very lucky that I am able to manage it thanks in part to some great therapy through Thrive Counseling center in Oak Park, IL as well as group and individual therapy lead by LCSW Deanne Drechsler of West Suburban PADS. I have also worked very hard to stabilize myself and bring it under control. You can read a brief blog post detailing part of my journey to better brain health in “Enveloping Darkness.”

On Friday November 4th, I was fortunate to attend a production of “Say It Out Loud,” a customized production from Erasing the Distance – a theatre company founded in 2000 by Brighid O’Shaughnessy. ETD’s mission is to help reduce the stigma of brain illness and create a better understanding of disorders among the general public. ETD does this through staged productions based on the real stories of people suffering from brain illness. They conduct interviews up to 4 times a year to gather stories that are then transcribed and paired down to be told on stage around the United States. This production is sponsored by the Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township, NAMI of Metro Suburban Chicago, Thresholds-Dartmouth Research Center and Thrive counseling services of Oak Park.

The concept is phenomenal and this production was a roaring success for the large crowd that gathered to see the show. Actors Kamal Angelo Bolden, Desla Epison, David Hornreich, Angela Johnson, and Maura Kidwell along with the rest of the crew all gave truly outstanding performances. Many audience members commented on the realistic portrayal of the each illness, a credit to the talent of director O’Shaughnessy and the dedication to all involved at Erasing the Distance. Deanna Fiorentino, who was the stage manager coordinating everything behind the scenes, must also be credited for a flawless production. My only disappointment is that the house was not packed for such a powerful performance.

Although many in the audience were professionals and patients in the brain health field, the production was by no means preaching to the choir. Everyone from the patients and their families to professionals and even the few locals that stopped by all took away something new in relation to brain health, I suspect.

There was a post-production question and answer/discussion session at the end of the production lead by O’Shaughnessy. The thought provoking conversations helped to drive home the point that brain illness is not something to be considered shameful. It is beyond the control of the patient, and, to be quite frank, I find many professionals in the public health/brain health communities are very much a part of the problem.

Some professionals in the field seem to have an attitude that people suffering from brain illnesses are somehow less than human. It leads to the patient often being treated like a child with little respect. If I am broken or damaged I am still a human being and I deserve to be treated with respect. I’ve had more than one psychiatrist over the years just push pills to me along with a condescending attitude that goes something like this, “Just suck it up and change what you are doing!” Completely invalidating the reality that my illness is very real and very much not my fault. The people who we trust to help the public, are themselves often ignorant to the stigma they promote. More mandatory sensitivity training should be required, especially in medical schools where physicians and even psychiatrists seem sadly to sometimes foster a negative, condescending attitude for people who suffer from brain illnesses.

You may have noticed I never use the word “mental” when discussing the above illnesses. The definition of mental is “of or relating to the mind.” Using the words “mental” when speaking of a brain illness is demeaning, misleading and offensive for those who suffer. It is a barbaric, archaic term left over from a vestige of a time when medical professionals had little understanding of modern neurology. I urge everyone to replace ‘mental’ with ‘brain’,especially when addressing health care professionals, the media and the public at large.

an epic event

Last Thursday I was privileged to attend the EPIC “Rallery” fundraising event and what an event it was! I met the most amazing people: creatives, artists and nonprofit warriors! EPIC is the brainchild of Erin Hyuzinega, the founder and director of this incredible organization. EPIC brings together nonprofit organizations in need of creative marketing assistance with some of the best design firms and advertising agencies in Chicago. It works like this; a volunteer creative director leads a group of creatives to do what they do best: brand, re-brand, and create a website or ad campaign from the ground up, all done pro-bono. EPIC pairs the most dynamic and creative individuals and companies in Chicago with not for profits that could never afford the level of talent and creativity being brought to the table. It is social change at an almost insupposable level!

My incredible friend Michelle Ernsdorff, founder of Compass to Care, tapped me on the shoulder early in the evening and I came to find out she was one of the lucky NPO’s to be a part of the EPIC adventure. She had her website completely recreated. She spoke about her experience to the attendees at the party. Michelle spoke about how it was very touching how deeply she and the creative team connected to bring the vision of her dream website into reality. Michelle is a survivor of childhood cancer and started Compass to Care after having seen her parents experience extreme financial hardship paying for her travel to cancer treatment facilities. Compass to Care aims to support families by serving as their medical travel concierge. The Compass to Care team coordinates and pays for all travel arrangements, including airfare, bus fare, car rental, gas, lodging, meals, parking fees, taxi fees and train fare while families travel to seek the best cancer care for their children. Thanks to EPIC, Compass to Care now has an amazing web site that is both highly functional and effective. Check it out at http://www.compasstocare.org/

I also met Eric Lower, a digital artist from Chicago who donated one of his creations to the silent auction to help raise money for EPIC’s fantastic programs. You can find Eric’s art at www.ericlower.com. He has a current show at Aligned at 3515 N. Southport Ave in Chicago and he will be showing at Rainbo Club at 1150 N. Damen Ave in Chicago in December as well. I am hoping to catch the opening night event at Rainbo to see Eric’s high intensity digital creations in person!

Tattoos, leading, kerning, fonts and metaphysics came up in conversation with several of the designers I met, including Megan Patrick the the Content Director of HOW magazine.  Megan is now a part of the EPIC team. I very much enjoyed speaking with Megan and the many deeply interesting people and connecting our circles together for incredible possibilities, yet unknown.

The event was held at The COOP, a coworking space in the River North neighborhood in Chicago and what a fantastic place it was! Matt Lausche ( @Mlausche ) and I are still desperately looking for donated offices to use in the loop. Someday when I figure out a way to make living doing what I am doing maybe I can join a coworking co-op like The COOP. Their rates seem extremely affordable especially for the very “tony” address you could put on your business cards. Special thanks to Jocelyn Ibarra, Chief of Happiness™ at One Design Company who manages the facility; it was a great evening in a fantastic space. Jocelyn helped me find a very safe and secure space for my massive backpack AKA my mobile office transport device and something I could scarcely imagine living without.

I was privileged to have lunch with Maria Scileppi on Thursday. I “met” Maria at the Epic event as well. Met is in quotes because the Universe seems to like to bring very like minded people together in interesting and unique ways. She is a well accomplished artist with a genius for data who creates outstanding works of art perfect for our emerging data driven era. I will be participating in her next art project on November 25, 2011 in Chicago. If you want to be a “work of art” follow the link to Maria’s project and join her! www.mariascileppi.com

The night however, belonged to Erin Huizenga and her incredible vision for a phenomenal organization that is the epitome of what social change should strive to be…Thank you EPIC for helping to change the world in a very unique way!

Please consider donating or getting involved with EPIC  http://iamepic.org/and Compass to Care http://www.compasstocare.org/ both extremely worthy organizations.

Find them on                  @Twitter
EPIC                                   @iamepic
Compass to Care           @CompassToCare
The Coop Chicago        @TheCoopChicago
One Design Company @OneDesignCo
How Magazine               @HOWbrand
Maria Scileppi               @mscileppi

maybe together we can change the world?

why I fight

Why do I fight for the homeless or those on the verge of being homeless? I fight for people like Ayesha ( http://bit.ly/Ayesha-hmlss ) because in spite of an amazing 24 hours of hope. One where the incredible power of social media to do good and change lives raised all the money needed to help Ayesha start a new life in California. So successful was our victory that Ayesha will never have to spend one night in a homeless shelter. The battle took shape for me two days ago when a total stranger out of the blue gave me $100 while riding the L to help Ayesha get to her new job. Despite all the incredible things that have happened in the past couple of days, the spirit crushing loneliness from my homelessness won’t go away. That is why I fight, the pain, my pain. No one should ever have to live in a god damn fucking shelter. No one should have to be homeless, not fucking ever.

The pain overwhelms me. It pushes people I love away from me. It overpowers them. They do not know how to help me without my sorrow dragging them into hell with me. No one should have to feel that.

Thats why I fight for the homeless, for people like Ayesha. Thats why I will never stop fighting until this absurdly fucking insane and beautiful universe evaporates my brief little existence or and I still hold out hope that victory over homelessness is actually achieved

Thats why I fight!

Please be sure to read “Starbucks Changed My Life: An Open Letter To Howard Schultz” that was published in the Huffington Post. http://huff.to/huff-sbux  Also listen to me talk about the experience on the Bella Buzz podcast and the Fundamentally Flawed podcast .