To write two books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of blog posts, I've interviewed slaves in West Africa, coffee farmers in Colombia, sailors in Nicaragua, and garment workers in Bangladesh. And I've never had the weight of a story overcome me all at once and leave me a puddle of a man, … [Read more...]
A participant of Facing Homelessness in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, decided she wanted to do something to help homeless individuals sleep better at night. Now she makes and gives sleeping bags to Ft. Wayne’s homeless. A students writer who participated in Facing Hope in Rome, Georgia, got a job at the … [Read more...]
South Bend, Indiana, recently held their book release and video premiere event for their Facing Project, “Facing the Future through the Voices of Teenage Girls.” Nearly 150 folks turned out to celebrate the stories of 17 teenage girls from the South Bend area. And the organizers for the … [Read more...]
One of the 350 folks in attendance at the Facing Autism event in Muncie was author and radio host, Stephen Terrell. Tonight Stephen is going to have J.R. and I on the air for the entirety of his show "Just Us" on Indiana Talks Radio. Listen to the live stream of the show over at Just Us. We'll … [Read more...]
If you follow our posts on The Facing Project Facebook page, you more than likely noticed throughout August, September, October, and even into November, we highlighted the work that had been happening in three different Facing communities: Rome, Georgia; Muncie, Indiana; and South Bend, … [Read more...]
Hey, everyone! J.R. here. Kelsey and I continue to be completely amazed at how The Facing Project has grown, and the ripple impact it has had beyond individual Facing communities. For example, “Facing Homelessness in Fort Wayne” is now being used in universities as far away as Florida, and … [Read more...]
Immigrant. Does the word define a man, woman, or child? Or does the word keep us from finding common ground because we’re uncertain if their lives are like ours? I never truly understood the uniqueness of the U.S. until I was in Japan and I was asked what I was. “What Am I?” I … [Read more...]
Each day I wake up, hit snooze on the alarm. . .once, twice, and up on the third. . .stretch, kiss my dogs on the head, and make the decision that it will be a positive day. All before my first cup of Joe. This is a routine I’ve had for some time, though I do stray; I hit snooze up to … [Read more...]
How did the Facing Project start? Why are we doing this? J.R. and I had the pleasure of attending the culminating event of Fort Wayne's Facing Homelessness Project. The project's organizers asked us to tell the story of the Facing Project and we were happy to oblige. Fort Wayne was one of … [Read more...]
If you would have told us a year ago that in one year The Facing Project would pilot in five communities across the U.S. and that we’d be on the verge of opening the opportunity up to others, we might have said that sounded like a nice dream. After all, helping people tell their stories and … [Read more...]