Talk About It! Philadelphia’s Homeless Crisis

Posted by on March 2, 2009

Project H.O.M.E Celebrates The Soloist, and Invites You to Join Us At These Upcoming Events. (Additionally, there are lots of ways that you help stop recently proposed cuts to the Philadelphia Shelter System.  Visit http://www.voteforhomes.org for more information.)

Background Info:  The One Book, One Philadelphia Selection Committee has chosen Steve Lopez’s The Soloist as the featured selection for 2009. The story follows Lopez, a columnist for the Los Angeles Times and friend of Project H.O.M.E., as he sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a violin with two strings in Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Envisioning this “Violin Man” as the topic of his next column, Lopez befriends Ayers, and uncovers an even more extraordinary story about a street musician who was once a promising Juilliard student. While Lopez initially set out to improve Ayers’ circumstances, he finds that it is his own life that has changed for the better.

Talk About It! Philadelphia’s Homeless Crisis
When: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 7:30PM
Where: Central Library
Cost: FREE

With families in shelters and adults on the streets, cities search tirelessly for ways to put people back in their homes. How does homelessness impact all the citizens of Philadelphia and what are the solutions? Join panelists: Dr. Dennis Culhane, University of Pennsylvania professor; Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director of Project H.O.M.E., Paul Levy, CEO of Center City District, Christine Smiriglia, Chief of Operations at Pathways to Housing, and John Barrett of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association as they respond to Philadelphia’s homeless crisis. John Timpane of the Philadelphia Inquirer serves as moderator.

One Book, One Philadelphia Special Event: Black Pearl Orchestra with Steve Lopez and Sister Mary Scullion
When: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 at 7:30PM
Where: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 114, 1101 Arch Street, 215-418-4726
Cost: FREE

In honor of the close of the One Book, One Philadelphia program, the Black Pearl Orchestra will play Copland’s Variations on a Shaker Melody and Beethoven’s Sixth, mentioned on page 40 of The Soloist. The concert will be followed by a discussion of homelessness in Philadelphia with Sister Mary Scullion of Project H.O.M.E. and author Steve Lopez. While this event is free and open to the public, donations of children’s books for the Free Library of Philadelphia and items recommended from the Project H.O.M.E. client wish-list are encouraged. For more information about donation items, visit http://freelibrary.org.

See http://www.freelibrary.org/onebook/obop09/index.cfm for other related events