{"id":79730,"date":"2013-08-08T05:12:05","date_gmt":"2013-08-08T10:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=79730"},"modified":"2013-08-08T05:12:05","modified_gmt":"2013-08-08T10:12:05","slug":"signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Signs of dignity and hope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A remarkable project<\/a><\/strong> in Boston:<\/p>\n

Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless<\/a>\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their story which they share on their site. They also make a donation in exchange for the person\u2019s old, scrawled, cardboard sign and replace it with a snappy, creative, hand-painted version with the same text\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can visit the Signs for the Homeless website<\/a><\/strong> to see the pictures and read the stories, like the one below, from last April:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0April 2013, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Name<\/strong>: Mike a.k.a. \u201cThe Pope of Harvard Square\u201d<\/p>\n

Where are you originally from?<\/strong>
\nI was born and raised in Boston, MA.<\/p>\n

How old are you?<\/strong>
\n57 years old.<\/p>\n

What was it like growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m adopted Ok. I was adopted through the Catholic Charities at 4 months old to the best family in the world. My father owned funeral homes and construction sites. My mother was a stay-at-home wife. I also had a sister who was adopted. My family are all dead now.<\/p>\n

How long have you been homeless?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2009.<\/p>\n

How did you become homeless?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I always did relatively well in life. I was a construction work supervisor. In 2008 I had a mild stroke, and months later was laid off during the economic crash. I have a lot of medical bills, and because I haven\u2019t fully recovered from my stroke, I can\u2019t go back into the construction business again. My health is about 65% back to where it was, and I\u2019m grateful for that. But my poor health hinders me from going back into my trade.<\/p>\n

How do you get through the cold winters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is very tough. Very tough. The problem is when you wake up with 6 inches of snow on you. There is never enough space in the shelters, and you don\u2019t know where your next meal is going to come from. Fortunately, some businesses in Cambridge allow you to sleep in the door ways of some of the stores for shelter.<\/p>\n

What is your biggest struggle being homeless?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Maintaining interpersonal relationships. Everybody in the streets are always coming and going. You have friends that are here today but are gone tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I want to thank you guys for your donation of twenty dollars. It will really help me get through this week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their story which they share on their site. They also make a donation in exchange for the person\u2019s old, scrawled, cardboard sign and replace it with a snappy, creative, hand-painted version […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration","category-this-that"],"yoast_head":"\nSigns of dignity and hope<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Signs of dignity and hope\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Deacon's Bench\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/aleteiaen.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/11\/tumblr_mm0qpxi9o21rp2iz4o2_1280.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Deacon Greg Kandra\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/\",\"name\":\"Signs of dignity and hope\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\"},\"description\":\"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Signs of dignity and hope\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/\",\"name\":\"The Deacon's Bench\",\"description\":\"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970\",\"name\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Deacon Greg Kandra\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Signs of dignity and hope","description":"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Signs of dignity and hope","og_description":"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/","og_site_name":"The Deacon's Bench","article_published_time":"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/aleteiaen.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/11\/tumblr_mm0qpxi9o21rp2iz4o2_1280.jpg"}],"author":"Deacon Greg Kandra","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Deacon Greg Kandra","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/","name":"Signs of dignity and hope","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00","dateModified":"2013-08-08T10:12:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970"},"description":"A remarkable project in Boston: Every few weeks the guys behind\u00a0Signs for the Homeless\u00a0sit down with a homeless person around Boston and listen to their","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2013\/08\/signs-of-dignity-and-hope-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Signs of dignity and hope"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/","name":"The Deacon's Bench","description":"Where a Roman Catholic deacon ponders the world","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/7466606aa54639bf56a17705dcfc0970","name":"Deacon Greg Kandra","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7332f32e3041fc2061e292186274b171?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Deacon Greg Kandra"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/author\/deacon-greg-kandra\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}