Pathways To Hope ~ A journey

A TRIBUTE TO SERVICE DOGS

2011-05-29T13:20:00.001-07:00

GOD and Dog

2011-05-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Do Not Forget ...

2011-01-14T04:13:00.000-08:00

My friend Sr Giovanna works in Southern Sudan, helping people. We do not know the sadness and real sorrows that other people face in countries that have no one to protect them. Do not forget them

From: Giovanna
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 5:32 AM
To: Sr Pauline Quinn op
Subject: from Sr. Giovanna..

Dear Sr. Pauline, I was happy to hear from you. Yes, I am also working with displaced refugees from Congo due to the attacks of the rebels from North Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army. Let us pray for each other, God bless
Sr. Giovanna

Should the Elderly Who Can't Get Out of Bed Be Kept In Prison?

2010-06-21T06:41:00.000-07:00

Sex Trafficking IS a World Wide Problem

2010-06-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

Animal Planet's "Pit Boss" visit Pathways To Hope youth correctional dog program in California

2010-06-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

PATHWAYS TO HOPE California "P.A.W." program at SYCRCC, Norwalk was visited on 6/16/10 by Animal Planet's "Pit Boss" Shorty Rossi. The crew filmed an episode of Pit Boss to be aired sometime in September; we'll get the date out as soon as it has been confirmed! What a great and exciting day for the wards to have an opportunity to show off what they and their dogs have learned!!!!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

When People Pay Thousands of Dollars to Bury a Loved One, We don't Want This To Happen!

2010-05-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

THE JOURNEY

2010-05-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

Everyone has their own journey that they are on and perhaps you would like to share your journey, too.

We might be on the same train which is taking us through this life as unique souls that we are.

Sr Paulina Quinn op

HOPE ~ NEVER GIVE UP

2010-05-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Service dog to SURFice dog

2009-12-10T14:37:00.000-08:00

A TIP

2009-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NEADS~ PRISON DOG PROGRAM VIDEO

2009-03-30T06:07:00.000-07:00

CLICK HERE

NEADS Dog Program NCCI was the first Massachusetts Department of Correction facility to incorporate National Education for Assistance Dog Services (NEADS) back on December 23, 1998.

The program is a result of corroboration with Sister Pauline Quinn of , who has aided numerous correctional facilities across the country implement similar programs.

NEADS is a non-profit organization established to provide Hearing and Service Dogs for people who are deaf or who use wheelchairs. These Assistance Dogs become extensions of their owners and bring security, freedom, independence and relief from social isolation to their partners. NEADS is one of the oldest and largest programs of its kind.

CHECK OUT PATHWAYS TO HOPE SHUTTERFLY BOOK~ Helping one person at a time

2009-03-02T09:03:00.000-08:00

CLICK HERE

A NEW STAR

2008-11-10T04:50:00.000-08:00

Explanation: A new star, likely the brightest supernova in recorded human history, lit up planet Earth's sky in the year 1006 AD. The expanding debris cloud from the stellar explosion, found in the southerly constellation of Lupus, still puts on a cosmic light show across the electromagnetic spectrum. In fact, this composite view includes X-ray data in blue from the Chandra Observatory, optical data in yellowish hues, and radio image data in red. Now known as the SN 1006 supernova remnant, the debris cloud appears to be about 60 light-years across and is understood to represent the remains of a white dwarf star. Part of a binary star system, the compact white dwarf gradually captured material from its companion star. The buildup in mass finally triggered a thermonuclear explosion that destroyed the dwarf star. Because the distance to the supernova remnant is about 7,000 light-years, that explosion actually happened 7,000 years before the light reached Earth in 1006. Shockwaves in the remnant accelerate particles to extreme energies and are thought to be a source of the mysterious cosmic rays.

DOGS TRAINED TO HELP WOUNDED VETS FROM ALL WARS

2008-07-02T07:14:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

We have a new match!

Greetings Team! Congratulations! We have raised our first $12,000 for Pathways to Hope and the Prison Dog Program through Sr. Pauline. As you know this money went to the program that trained Jackson, who was matched with Sgt Arthur Lyles.

Today we are pleased to announce that Sr. has made a second match with a very special dog named Lance. Lance was one of the dogs that Jackie, Anne and Patty helped transfer to the Southern California Women's Penitentiary with Sr. Pauline. The man who has been matched with Lance is Robert Davis, a Marine, wounded in the Vietnam war. Robert lost both legs and a hand when he stepped on a land mine. Sadly he also lost his best buddy who tried to save him by throwing himself on top of Robert. Then during the evacuation with Robert, the helicopter rotor blades touched off a tree top mine which caused the helicopter to explode. He came to in another helicopter as they were rushing him to the hospital when he found out that his buddy had died. He was in several hospitals, including one in the Philippines and the naval hospital in San Francisco.

Robert has been alone since the 1980s. He has had no attendant and he was very lonely until he was matched Lance. He said that he talks all the time to his dog and Lance never stops listening. Robert said that one time he nodded off in his chair and dropped the television remote control. He woke up to see Lance holding the changer in his mouth by his knee, looking up to him. They are learning together; it takes awhile until they can become a working team.

Robert wants to make the public aware of service dogs, especially for the wounded Vets. He is quite a talker and you can tell, a military man.

He has two sons. One son lives near him and he has a 17 year old granddaughter who wants to be a veterinarian or a veterinarian technician.

We'd like to take this time to acknowledge each and every one of you. You are all making this possible and changing lives. You cannot imagine the difference that you have made in the lives of these 2 dogs and these 2 very brave men that have sacrificed so much for us. We want to thank you on behalf of Barkley Ventures, Inc for supporting Dog Bless America and our commitment to giving back to the community. It is only possible with you and your efforts. As Sr. Pauline said, "if we only help one, we've made a difference." As we write this our hearts are so full of gratitude for you and this opportunity.

We invite you to revitalize your own Dog Bless America programs today and together, lets support Robert and Lance. Thank you all so much for your efforts.

Sincerely,

Barkley Ventures, Inc.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

lisa@centralbarkusa.com

Barkley Ventures, Inc. 836 S. 60th. St. Milwaukee WI 53214

Military prisoners training dogs to help wounded vets

2008-06-27T07:52:00.001-07:00

Camp Lejeune Prisoners Train Dogs for Wounded Marines Peter Biello

WILMINGTON, NC (2008-06-27) Prisoners at the Camp Lejeune Marine Base Brig are doing something no military prisoners in the US have done before: they're training dogs to help Marines wounded in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The dogs will perform more than seventy different tasks for their disabled owners, and for their able-bodied trainers, the dogs perform another service.

Twenty-three year old Mark wakes up at oh-five-hundred in the long, hollow bedroom he shares with nearly a dozen other prisoners in the brig at Camp Lejeune. Brig rules won't allow us to use Mark's last name. Along side his narrow cot is a cage, and inside that cage is Mark's constant companion, a black Lab mutt named Roxy.

Mark and another prisoner take care of Roxy. Mark is one of a select few prisoners enrolled in a special program guided by Carolina Canines, a dog-training company based in Wilmington.

"Being an inmate here, you constantly think about what you did. And it creates a nagging thought in the back of your head that's always there," Mark says. "But having someone like Roxy be a companion for you and reciprocate the love back to you, it takes your mind off those thoughts."

Someday Roxy will serve Marines injured in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And don't call what Roxy does tricks. Mark says he and his partner have been teaching her skills.

"She can retrieve items really good. She's just learning to retrieve clothing items and put them in the laundry basket and put them in the washing machine. She's just now learning to mess with the light switch, turn it on and off."

Trainers from Carolina Canines visit the brig a few times a week to guide lessons and dole out homework assignments. Outside in the brig's fenced-in courtyard, trainer Vicky Wilcox shouts instructions to Marines dressed head-to-toe in their orange brig-issued jumpsuits.

"You wanna just tuck your leash in your pouch and use yourself and your little cookies to motivate your dog to stay with you."

Rick Hairston, president of Carolina Canines, says the program is a way for these Marines to atone for what they've done. And because they're able to make good use of their time behind bars, Hairston says he's noticed that these Marines are the only ones in the whole brig who smile.

"They've got a chance to do some things that nobody else is doing, and so they have a new leash on life, so to speak."

Eventually the dogs will be able to open refrigerators and complete bank transactions for their wounded owners. Those skills are hard to learn, so the dogs practice an easier exercise, a slow, careful walk through an obstacle course made of white plastic pipes.

And before they go back inside the brig for more training, the Marines lead all the dogs to the chain link fence surrounding the courtyard. Then, on command, it's business time.

"They're all in sync?" I ask.

"They're taught to go potty on command," Hairston explains.

"Not together at the same time."

"But that's what they were doing, right?"

"They were just given the command at the same time," Hairston says. "Thing is, you get ready to go on an airplane, you go to the bathroom, right? These dogs can't. So they have to totally eliminate before they get on an aircraft."

Once inside the brig, Roxy's trainer Mark puts her in a harness. Then a Marine in a wheelchair grabs the harness, and with a little encouragement, Roxy pulls him across the smooth brig floor. For her next lesson, Roxy learns how to pull a laundry basket.

Mark's face beams with pride as he watches Roxy practice. He says in a place where life can be drab and depressing, Roxy makes him feel alive.

"We messed up. But at least we can do something productive with our time while we're in here. And it's going to benefit a life of someone who really needs it."

Mark says Roxy might be the first to complete the program this summer. When he gets out of the brig in a few months, he says he wants to train service dogs for a living. Mark says he'll miss Roxy, but it's comforting to know she'll be helping a wounded Marine who needs her.

Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please e-mail us, we'd like to hear from you. news@whqr.org.

PRISONERS HELPING OTHERS ~ TRAINING DOGS TO HELP THE HANDICAPPED

2008-05-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

Coming Back From War, Fitting In

2007-12-22T15:57:00.000-08:00

Saturday Dec. 22, 2007

Unlike the Civil War veteran, who had to trudge across muddy fields and back roads for weeks or even months before getting home, today's soldiers are put on a jet in Baghdad one day and are back home at Wal-Mart the next. Some military experts say the transition from combat to civilian life is too fast. And veterans say when they do get back they're strangers in their own country.
Web Resources

So far, more than a million troops have been sent to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Army studies have found at least 30 percent of those coming home suffer from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. And the Government Accountability Office says there are some 200,000 homeless veterans from current and past wars living on American streets. So veterans who've successfully made the transition hold events like this one.

In one room, employers from local businesses hand out business cards while in another larger room, admissions counselors from nearby colleges and universities hold out financial aid applications.

Sitting behind the University of California at Berkeley's table, four Iraq war vets have come for the day. They're offered up as role models of soldiers-turned-students. But to hear them tell it, the transition wasn't easy.

Jason is the most outspoken of the small group. He was in the Army for 10 years. One was spent in Iraq. "Things had wrapped up. We went to King Fahad Air Base and got on a plane," he explained. "I think it was actually a Delta airlines plane with stewardesses and everything, and we were full of sand and armed."

Almost immediately after the plane landed at Fort Bragg, N.C., Jason says he had one thing in mind, to wash away the dirt and sand that he says was everywhere, in his eyelids and up his nose.

"I got off the plane, went home, and I took a metal folding chair and an icy six-pack of beer and I got in the shower turned the shower on real hot," he said. "Got my metal folding chair out. Unfolded it under the shower and sat there under the hot-ass shower and drank the whole six-pack. Then I got dressed. I went off post. I got a great meal. Then I came back, I crawled into my bed and I went to sleep."

But after the initial relief, Jason woke up to a harsher reality. He realized it wasn't going to be so easy to wash off the fact that he'd been fighting for his life in Iraq. He couldn't just change back to being a civilian. He was deeply troubled, ready to hit anyone over a small misunderstanding.

"The expectation that you can move from one set of norms, a military set of norms to civilian set of norms and function appropriately that expectation is absurd," he said. "Veterans who have been in a fight and who go from a fight to their civilian home in just couple of days feel like they've been dropped in from Mars," explained Jonathan Shay, a psychologist at the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Boston, Mass. "You have adapted both in mind and in the physiology of your body to the real situation of other people trying to kill you … and often doing a doggone good job of it."

Shay said there's a giant chasm between the returning combat soldier and the people waiting back at home. For instance, take a soldier's adaptation to driving on a highway in Iraq. "Number one, you drive as fast as you can. Number two, you try and stay equidistant from the two sides of the road. Now you bring that back home, and you have an automatic setup for numerous moving traffic violations when you're driving your own car if you flip into that surviving-in-Iraq mode."

Jason says he tried to tell his family and friends what he'd been through, and what he'd done in Iraq. And why he was the person he'd become. But that didn't work.

"Everybody who's in the Army has the first time: 'What's a good story you have from the service?' And you mention a little something you saw or did. You realize immediately to never ever to do that again," he said. "That's the one mistake you never make again because that's the first-hand experience. Nobody wants that. But at least be conscious of the fact that people had that experience. Be aware of it."

A walk down just about any shopping street in America, there isn't much awareness of war. Posters announce holiday sales, and bell-ringing Santas raise money for people struggling economically, but the war? Not so much.

But there are people and organizations gearing up to help transitioning vets find their way. Joseph Bobraw is a clinical psychologist and founder of the Coming Home Project, a non-profit group of veterans, psychotherapists and interfaith leaders who provide daylong and weekend retreats for returning vets and their families. There the team of professionals offers treatment in psychological trauma, and they provide the vet with tools for stress management. "It was like the saying of Hillel," Bobraw says, "'if not now when, if not me then who?'

"We try to create the conditions for healing. And those conditions are safety, trust, a sense of unconditional acceptance, compassion. And in terms of the stress management techniques, we offer meditation."

For returning vets, unfamiliar with meditation, Bobraw says, the Coming Home Project offers silent writing and drawing sessions. "The writing is a very rich exercise which takes people even deeper, and then in the small groups they can either read what they've written or show what they've drawn and discuss, listen to one another. And that takes people to another level."

Meanwhile, deep in the Northern California Redwoods, another group is taking their support of returning vets to another level. They're building a veterans' village, a four-story, dormitory-style building that, beginning in January, will house up to 18 veterans from the Iraq war.When the building is finished, the veterans living here will get long-term counseling, help finding jobs and applying to college. But most importantly, the village offers vets, who have just gotten back from combat, a chance to sit quietly under towering Redwoods with other vets who understand where they've been and what they've been through.

Mark Knipper will manage the project. In Vietnam he served in the Navy on a nuclear submarine and now he says this is the least he can do. "We were at war every time we went to sea," he said. "I really thought I was going to die. I'm older now and I need to have some legacy to leave behind. What better way than to help the folks coming home now and welcome them? I didn't get welcomed home until 30 years after I served."

But even with efforts by individuals and organizations to help returning vets in their transition, psychologist Jonathan Shay says something critical is missing. Throughout history, he said, from the Ancient Greeks to the Roman Legions, societies held communal rites of purification. When their soldiers returned from battle, there was a ritual in which the society accepted responsibility for what the fighter had been asked to do in their name.

"We really need to pay attention to the health of our democracy," he said, "and this is part of the invisible substructure of democracy, how veterans are returned to civilian society and how their future flourishing is nourished or destroyed."

Back to the Concord Veterans Fair. Jason said the American people sent the troops to war and now it's their responsibility to bring them back and help them heal. "It's the civilians, it's the society at large who bears the responsibility, not just the ethical obligation but the moral obligation as well, to take the people who have served in this capacity that their government has mandated, and then transition them back to being a civilian."

OPERATION UNITED HEARTS

2007-12-01T03:18:00.000-08:00

WAL~MART GIVING FUNDS TO HELP PATHWAYS ~ OPERATION UNITED HEARTS TO BUY CALLING CARDS FOR OUR TROOPS THAT ARE DEPLOYED TO WAR FROM OUR AREA

FOR MORE PICTURES OF WHAT WE ARE DOING CLICK HERE

INJUSTICE TO WOMEN

2007-11-24T16:01:00.001-08:00

Male Prisoners Force Female Teen to Have Sex for Food in Brazilian Jail
Saturday, November 24, 2007

E-Mail Print Digg This! del.icio.us
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A teenage girl was locked up on theft charges in an Amazon jail for weeks with 21 men who she said would only let her eat in return for sex, according to authorities, setting off a national scandal over the treatment of women by Brazil's justice system.

The 15-year-old said she was required to have sex with at least two inmates, police spokesman Walrimar Santos said by telephone Thursday from Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, where the victim was transferred after nearly a month living with male inmates.

By her account, officials did nothing — until the story erupted in the national media and outraged Brazilians demanded her transfer.

"Throwing a 15-year-old girl into a cell with 20 men was a heinous and intolerable act," Brazilian Bar Association president Cezar Britto said in an interview. "It is a serious case of criminal negligence against women, who in Brazil continue to be victims of prejudice."

Santos said the girl was not beaten or injured. But the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, which said it had access to private testimony after her transfer from the jail, reported she was tortured with lit cigarettes on her fingers and bare feet to force her to have sex. Her cellmates cut her hair to make her look more like a boy and difficult to recognize, Estado said.

She said her only reprieve from obligatory sex was on Thursdays — when intimate visits were allowed — and things "calmed down," Estado reported.

Police and human rights officials said the girl was out of touch in Belem and would not speak to reporters. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who may have been victims of sexual assault.

The girl was arrested Oct. 21 on accusations of breaking and entering a house and jailed with male inmates in Abaetetuba, a city of 78,000 outside the Para state capital of Belem.

She was transferred to a jail for women in Belem on Nov. 17, although police claim they requested her transfer earlier but were ignored.

Santos said separate jails for men and women do not exist in most towns in Para — a sprawling, largely lawless state twice the size of France.

Days after the case was divulged, the Brazilian Bar Association announced that a 23-year-old woman had been obliged to share a cell with 70 men in a police detention center in Parauapebas, in southern Para. It was not clear if she was forced to have sex.

Para Gov. Ana Julia Carepa said she was outraged by the alleged abuse at Abaetetuba. She suspended three top police officials pending an investigation and promised that the guilty parties would be "punished in exemplary fashion."

"There's no excuse for what happened," she said in a statement. "I'm also shocked and indignant, as a woman and as governor. ... A woman can never be jailed in the same cell as men."

The federal government on Friday sent a task force of human rights officials to Belem to accompany the investigation after the girl and her family reported receiving death threats.

"First we will guarantee the safety of the minor, who will be included in the program for the Protection of Children and Adolescents threatened with death," Marcia Ustra Soares, a director of the program, told reporters.

The victim's father insisted in a televised interview that she was 15, and that police threatened to arrest him unless he produced a certificate showing she was 20.

"I want justice. The situation can't stay like this," he said.

Amnesty International said Brazilian women "are the hidden victims of a crumbling detention system," and many cases of women abused under government custody go unreported or uninvestigated.

"We receive extensive reports of women in detention who suffer sexual abuse, torture, substandard health care and inhuman conditions," said Tim Cahill, Amnesty's researcher on Brazil.

Carepa said the government also was investigating reports that the girl was arrested purposely for the sexual gratification of the prisoners.

"This is an unfortunate practice that regrettably has been occurring for some time," she said. "But it would be good to make this public, so that all society will be mobilized and we can end these practices. ... We won't allow this to happen again."

The Brazilian Bar Association voiced skepticism that officials would take effective action.

"What has happened in the state of Para's prison system shows that for authorities the concept of human dignity is only useful as a rhetorical instrument, not something to be taken seriously," Britto said.

If police did not have the required separate cells, the government "must recognize its inefficiency and ... release those citizens it cannot hold," he said.

WHY PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN

2007-11-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Why People Don't Listen...

By Carla Rieger

It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even your dog (!) won't listen. While you can't control how they receive what you say, you can control how you send it. Here are a few tips on why people don't listen and what you can do to change it.

1. Short Attention Spans

When asked to guess the average adult attention span, most people say around thirty minutes. According to statistics, however, the average adult attention span is actually only seven seconds. That's right! Every seven seconds you go away somewhere. You think about something else. In fact, you could actually be taking a mental break right now! It is a normal part of how the brain integrates external stimuli like when your computer starts defragging for a moment while you type. It helps to pause from time to time when you speak. This allows people to integrate your information or ask a clarifying question. Also, include examples to anchor your concepts. For example (see--I'm doing it now!), a concept without an example is like tree without roots, a house without a foundation, or Sonny without Cher. It just doesn't have as much staying power.

2. Too Many Distractions

I was in a meeting the other day and five people coughed, four people side talked, three cell phones rang, two people went to the restroom, and a partridge did email on his PDA. Distractions are a big part of modern life. Your best bet is to acknowledge the distractions in a playful way such as a manager who recently led a meeting I attended. When a cell phone rang, he grabbed for it and said, “Oh, that's for me….my mother likes to check in on me from time to time”. That prompted everyone to turn off their phones.

3. Lack of Training

Few of us were formally taught how to listen. While you probably took Reading 8, Writing 11, did you ever take Listening 10? It's little wonder listening is challenging. Quite accidentally, I learned how to listen by practicing meditation. After a five-day retreat, I felt very light-hearted and so went to visit my aging father who was hard of hearing. My habit was to sit vacantly for hours while he complained about his arthritis, the error on his bank statement, and how hard it is to find good slippers. After this retreat, I surprised myself by totally paying attention to him with patience and compassion. After about ten minutes of complaining he suddenly changed tracks and started telling me fascinating and funny stories about his childhood. Then he cranked up his hearing aid and asked about me! Learn how to be present with people, give them your full, undivided attention and be ready for some pleasant surprises.

4. Language Barriers

It is no secret that the world of business is fast becoming a multicultural world. Although English is the default language of commerce, many people in your audience may speak English as a second language. Last month I was addressing a large insurance company where most attendees turned out to be new immigrants from China. I used the expression “getting jiggy with it”, and I saw people rifling through their dictionaries. This prompted me to say “I'm sorry, that went way over your head”, and a number of people looked up at the ceiling! If your listeners are ESL or have a more basic educational background, you need to simplify your language. Use much more literal descriptions rather than cultural expressions. Use facial and body language to express humor, and fewer words.

5. Unchecked Assumptions

Back in the 70s, Gilda Radner a comedienne who regularly performed on Saturday Night Live was well known for her popular character Emily Litella, a social activist with a hearing problem. Her causes included such important issues as violins on television, soviet jewelry and endangered feces. Believe it or not, those Emily Litella types can be found in your audiences. For example, I once told a story about my mother who was a secretary for the British Civil Service in WWII. She spent most of her time daydreaming that her boss would burst into the room and ask her to spy against the Germans. She could leave the nasty paperwork behind, don a disguise and become the next Mata Hari.

Needless to say, one day her boss did burst into the room but instead he fired her for daydreaming all the time. A woman approached me after this story and told me that she used to be a Hari Krishna, too. One way to clear up false assumptions is to state your point in many different ways.

6. No Reason to Listen

Finally, the main reason people don't listen is because you haven't answered their favorite question: “What's in it for me?” Before you start a long-winded monologue, tell your listener why you need their attention and make sure they understand how it will be benefit them. For example, “I'd like to tell you about this free software that will block all the spam before it gets to your Inbox …interested?” That will give you much better results than “When I was a youngster and I sat down in front of my first computer, I asked myself how can I make this machine work for me…” In general, put yourself in your listener's shoes before you talk and their ears tend to perk up.And just remember the greatest of all wisdom--no one ever listened himself out of a new friendship.

VOLUNTEERISM

2007-11-03T05:09:00.000-07:00

Volunteerism is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gain. Volunteers may have special training as rescuers, guides, assistants, teachers, missionaries, amiture radio operators, writers, and in other positions. But the majority work on an impromptu basis, recognizing a need and filling it, whether it be the dramatic search for a lost child or the mundane giving of directions to a lost visitor.

In economics voluntary employment is unpaid employment. It may be done for altruistic reasons, for example charity, as a hobby, community service or vocation, or for the purpose of gaining experience. Some go so far as to dedicate much of their lives to voluntary service. One way in which this is done is through the creation of a Non-Profit Franchise.

Contact a non profit organization to see what you could do to help them... or volunteer yourself to help your neighbor or a friend in need.

hOW MUCH DO WE CARE ABOUT PLANET EARTH?

2007-11-01T17:13:00.001-07:00

How much do we really care about earth... about fixing problems that is causing global warming, the destruction of forest lands, and all sorts of things that are being done that is causing our planet to slowly die.

Welcome to Planet Earth Credit: Apollo 17 Crew, NASA

Explanation: Welcome to Planet Earth, the third planet from a star named the Sun. The Earth is shaped like a sphere and composed mostly of rock. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water. The planet has a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Earth has a single large Moon that is about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet's surface, is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun. With its abundance of liquid water, Earth supports a large variety of life forms, including potentially intelligent species such as dolphins and humans. Please enjoy your stay on Planet Earth.

HAVE WE BECOME PEOPLE OF INDIFFERENCE?

2007-11-01T17:05:00.000-07:00

Listen to Elie Wiesel
The Perils of Indifference CLICK HERE

Edmund Burke:
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.

Elie Wiesel:
For one who is indifferent, life itself is a prison. Any sense of community is external or, even worse, nonexistent. Thus, indifference means solitude. Those who are indifferent do not see others. They feel nothing for others and are unconcerned with what might happen to them. They are surrounded by a great emptiness. Filled by it, in fact. They are devoid of all hope as well as imagination. In other words, devoid of any future.

Elie Wiesel:
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.

Helen Keller:
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings

Joan Vinge:
Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it.

Indifference to Suffering ~
Failure to report suffering ~ Silence in response to suffering ~ Avoidance of reference to suffering ~ Indifference in response to injustice ~ Moral indifference

PLEASE DONATE AIR MILES TO PATHWAYS TO HOPE.ORG

2007-11-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Do you have a travel voucher you could donate?
It must be transferrable.

Do you have frequent flier miles you could donate?

American Airlines
Call: (800) 421-0600
Online: www.aa.com
Guidelines: 250-mile increment

British Airways – Executive Club USA
Call: (800) 955-2748 :

Follow instructions on automated system.
Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file

Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum

Continental Airlines – OnePass
Call: (713) 952-1630
Online: www.continental.com
Guidelines: No minimum donation. Donors must include account number and PIN number to make a donation.

Delta Air Lines –

Please have your SkyMiles account number

Call: (800) 323-2323 or (800) 325-3999
www.delta.com/skymiles
Fax: (404) 773-1945 :

Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file 1.39 MB
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum

Northwest Airlines –

Call: (800) 327-2881
Online: www.nwa.com
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum in 1,000-mile increments.

United Airlines –

Call: (800) 421-4655 : Specify the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.
Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file 1.39 MB
Mail to: Mileage Plus, Inc. Charity MilesPO Box 40Rapid City, SD 57709-0040
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum

US Airways –
Call: (800) 428-4322 : Select Prompt 3 and say “Representative” to be connected to a live agent at the Dividend Miles program desk.
Online: www.usairways.com
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum in 1,000-mile increments
.
Tax Deductibility
The IRS recognizes award points and miles as a gift or an award from the corporation to the individual. Therefore, points and miles donated to charity are not considered tax deductible.

WINTER BLUES ~ FINDING SUNSHIE WHEN THERE ISN'T ANY SUN.

2007-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Many people hate when winter comes. They move south for the winter just to enjoy the warm weather. Many people can't afford to travel south and have to endure the cold winter months, especially in the northern states and in Canada. For some, living in the dark cold months of the year set off depression. Finding ways to avoid the on slot of depression before it happens.
Here are a few ways..

Go Away Winter Blues !

by Margareth Montenegro

CLICK HERE

LOOKING FOR HOPE?

2007-10-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

IT IS OUT THERE.

IT CAN BE FOUND DOWN MANY ROADS. PRAYER, CHURCH, HELPING OTHERS, THROUGH PEOPLE WHO SHOW KINDNESS AND LOVE. IT CAN BE FOUND IN THE SPIRIT OF THE POOR WHO ARE THANKFUL YOU TOOK TIME TO CARE ABOUT THEM. HOPE CAN COME INTO YOUR HEART THROUGH THE EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE OF COURAGE... WHO DO GOOD IN THIS WORLD. IT CAN BE FELT WHEN SOMEONE ACKNOWLEDGES YOU OR GIVES YOU TIME TO SHARE YOUR FEELINGS. PEOPLE ARE SEEKING HOPE IN ALL WALKS OF LIFE AND IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING TO BUILD SOME ONE'S HOPE, THEN WE ARE DOING SOMETHING TO MAKE THIS A BETTER WORLD.

VICTIMS OF TRAUMA

2007-10-27T06:46:00.001-07:00

People who don't have any knowledge what trauma can do to our fragile self esteem or our brain, nor do they seem to even care to learn about it, can pull us down in a moments notice by their indifference.

Trauma can happen so quickly from natural disasters, from a car accident where we lose members of our family or we become severely harmed. There is the tragedy of war, kidnappings, killings, sexual and physical abuse, to children, women, the elderly... and to men. There is trauma from neglect and trauma through medical abuses.

Some people only experiences a one time trauma while others experience on going trauma since they were children. They had no out for their situation.. no one they could go to for help.

How does someone recover from trauma?

To find someone you can talk to and who gives you encouragement is very helpful.. but often times there is no one you could really go to. Over 200,000 women were used by the Japanese army as comfort women for the soldiers. They were held against their will and used by the army soldiers, sometimes 50 times a day. What these women experienced was kept hidden inside because they were deeply ashamed and could not talk about it.

Many, many women died and if they lived, their spirits would have been dead through the pain and suffering they had to quietly live.

What ever happens in people lives that traumatizes them, especially by the brutal rapes and dehumanizing experiences, no one deserves to be harmed. No one should ever been made to feel shame for something that other people did to them.

Even if we feel our lives are fragile because of these experiences, don't allow the evil deeds of others to pull you down into the ground for something that doesn't belong to you. Be strong. Take back your life and go out and do things to help others.

It is when we can do things for others, that we will find meaning to our own pain. So many others who have never experienced trauma as some people have, can rewound them by the way that they respond, or don't respond.

People can be cruel to those who have been traumatized through their indifference.

It is sometimes hard to tell. Have courage. You are understood.

THE COMFORT WOMEN CLICK HERE

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORER CLICK HERE

WOMAN LEFT TO DIE ON MOUNTAIN ~ WHERE HAS OUR COMPASSION GONE

2007-10-27T06:41:00.001-07:00

AMERICAN CLIMBER RISKS ALL TO SAVE WOMAN LEFT TO DIE ON EVEREST

A stricken climber left to die on Everest was saved by an American guide and a sherpa who found her by accident as they returned from the summit.

The dramatic rescue of the Nepalese woman has reopened a passionate debate about mountaineering ethics, a year after the controversial death on the mountain of the British climber David Sharp.

The woman, identified only as Usha, was found on Monday morning suffering from severe altitude sickness about 550 metres beneath the 8,848m (29,028ft) summit.

She was at a similar altitude to the cave where Sharp died on May 15, 2006, after an estimated 40 climbers passed him by, most of them without making any attempt to save him. His death sparked an international controversy, with some arguing that a rescue would have cost more lives. Others, including Sir Edmund Hillary, condemned the cynicism of commercial mountaineers.

Usha, like Sharp, was apparently on the sort of barebones expedition that charges clients typically as little as £4,500 and provides them with only basic equipment.

Also like Sharp, she was too weak to move when she was found by David Hahn, a veteran American guide, and his sherpa, Phinjo Dorje, on their way down from the summit. Mr Hahn and Phinjo Dorje decided to risk their own lives by taking her with them, even though she was only semiconscious and suffering from severe cerebral oedema, or water on the brain. “I was very concerned because her oxygen had run out. She was virtually unresponsive, and in a precarious spot on the mountain, on a steep snowy slope,” Mr Hahn told The Times via satellite phone from Base Camp.

It was a huge risk given the harsh conditions in the “death zone”, above 8,000 metres, where there is so little oxygen that people need all their strength to keep themselves alive, let alone someone else.

After giving Usha a steroid injection to ease her altitude sickness, they pushed and dragged her down the treacherous south side of the summit for four hours until they reached Camp IV, at 7,920 metres. They were met there by members of a team of British doctors from the Caudwell Xtreme Everest expedition and others from Mr Hahn’s International Mountain Guides group.

“The doctors were a huge help in stabilising her,” Mr Hahn said. Realising that they would have to take Usha to Camp III, at 7,300 metres, where the rest of the British team was waiting, Mr Hahn and his four colleagues wrapped her in a sleeping bag and strapped her to a sled. Accompanied by André Vercueil, one of the British team, they spent nine hours dragging and lowering her by ropes across the Lhotse Face and through the rocky Yellow Band. At one point on the face they watched in horror as another woman climber fell 1,000 metres to her death. They did not reach Camp III until about 9pm, long after nightfall – and 12 hours after they had first found Usha.

“I was pretty exhausted, because I’d put my oxygen on the patient during the rescue,” said Mr Hahn, who has climbed to the peak of Everest nine times. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t think she’d survive.”

Mr Hahn and his team continued down to Camp II on Monday and were at Base Camp yesterday, recovering from their exertions. Usha was also brought to Base Camp yesterday, where doctors are still treating her for altitude sickness. She was not capable of speaking on the telephone.

Mr Hahn, who helped to rescue two climbers on Everest in 2001, said that he had never considered leaving Usha behind and believed that most experienced climbers would have done the same as him. But the rescue has refuelled the debate about whether climbers have a responsibility to try to rescue those in trouble.

Terence “Banjo” Bannon, a veteran Irish climber, wrote in an open letter last week: “I have been climbing for 25 years, and I’ve seen people risking their lives to save others. Those who say there was nothing they could do are lying.”

Heroes on high

— Rescue missions are not usually carried out at Trollveggen in Norway, Europe’s highest cliff, so when the British climber Michael Garton fell during a solo attempt on the face last year, he was sure he would die. But a tourist with a telescope spotted him dangling upside down with a broken neck from a ledge and the Norwegian Air Force came to rescue him

— When Claudio Corti and Stefano Longhi floundered halfway up the north wall of the Eiger in 1957, 50 of Europe’s best climbers scaled the mountain with heavy equipment and set up a pulley and cable system from the top to haul the climbers up. Corti was saved; Longhi could not be reached.

DESERT DWELLER OF MEXICO

2007-10-27T06:17:00.000-07:00

In my travels, I have found many poor people living in terrible conditions as this family out in the middle of the desert of upper Mexico without any neighbors for a long way. When the dust kicks up it's heels, it sweeps into the little stick hut making life very difficult. There would be little shelter from the cold in the upper desert in winter. What I have found is that these simple people are bound together to survive the harsh realities of their life as a family, where as those who have wonderful homes, jobs, cars, the nice things of life sometimes seperate, divorce and lead terribly sad lives.

See more pictures of my work in Mexico click here

WELCOME TO PLANET EARTH ~ HOW MUCH DO WE CARE ABOUT WHERE WE LIVE?.

2007-10-27T06:00:00.001-07:00

TWO MILLION PEOPLE IN PRISON

2007-10-27T05:52:00.000-07:00

OVER TWO MILLION PEOPLE IN THE US PRISONS IN 2005 WITH THE NUMBERS GOING UP. HOW CAN WE STOP THIS? WILL YOUR CHILD END UP IN PRISON? IF YOU DON'T TRY AND DO SOMETHING, THEY COULD. TEACH BY EXAMPLE. THE WELL-BEING OF A CHILD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL THE THINGS IN THE WORLD YOU COULD HAVE. CLICK HERE

On December 31, 2005 --
-- 2,193,798 prisoners were held in Federal or State prisons or in local jails -- an increase of 2.7% from yearend 2004, less than the average annual growth of 3.3% since yearend 1995.
-- there were an estimated 491 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents -- up from 411 at yearend 1995.
-- the number of women under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities increased 2.6% from yearend 2004, reaching 107,518 and the number of men rose 1.9%, totaling 1,418,406.

At yearend 2005 there were 3,145 black male sentenced prison inmates per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,244 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 471 white male inmates per 100,000 white males.In 2003 there were an estimated 650,400 State prisoners serving time for a violent offense. State prisons also held an estimated 262,000 property offenders and 250,900 drug offenders.

FINDING HOPE IN UNEXPECTED PLACES ~ PRISON DOG PROGRAM

2007-10-27T05:17:00.001-07:00

Finding hope in unexpected places. My cellmate and I are helping others

By Charles Huckelbury For New Hampshire the MonitorJune 17. 2007 10:00AM

Living in a prison cell is always a battle with clutter, but my cell is a bit more crowded than usual these days since Joey moved in. No, Joey isn't your typical slug who doesn't know how to do time. He's a Labrador retriever, just shy of two years old, smarter than most of the guys I hang around with, and still full of puppy mischief in ways I would love to describe if I could be sure his trainers weren't reading this.But there's much more to Joey than cute, something I discovered when I was fortunate enough to be among the men selected to participate in Pathways to Hope, a national program conceived by Sister Pauline Quinn and implemented here at the state prison to train service dogs for people with specific disabilities.After careful vetting by the administration, those of us who made the cut as handlers underwent an introduction to Dog Training 101, courtesy of Gail Fisher and her staff at All Dogs Gym and Inn in Manchester. Dogs had been my constant companions before I came to prison, but the type of training Gail introduced opened my eyes to possibilities I had never considered.

Our primary job was to teach the dogs basic commands (e.g. sit, stay, down, come) and socialize them in order to prepare them for the more intensive and precise training they would need to undergo prior to being assigned to particular clients. Along the way, we also taught them other things that werefun for us and the dogs, things like retrieving specific objects from a collection, turning lights on and off, and removing items of clothing.

Joey was ahead of the curve when it came to removing clothing. Unfortunately, before he perfected his technique, removing my jacket, for example, also resulted in numerous surprises: First he removed my jacket's cuffs, then the collar. Imagine a 75-pound animal working like crazy because he knows he'll get a treat at the end of the exercise, and you'll have some idea of how that must have looked.

Gail and her staff regularly check our progress. They assign us additional tasks to teach the dogs, since it quickly became obvious that they were smart enough to accomplish their original goals in spite of our own limitations in training techniques. Their progress has been amazing, because they are incredibly smart.

A year and a half into the program the dogs are getting ready to graduate and leave for their specific training, which will naturally create a huge hole until we have three more to continue the process. But the consolation, of course, is the knowledge that they will be going to someone who needs them far more than we do. For example, for every soldier killed in Iraq, at least eight more are wounded, many critically. What greater service could these dogs provide than helping those men and women who have given so much for the rest of us?It is impossible to convey what being a part of this program has meant for us in here. In an environment that ridicules affection, where claims of loyalty are only lip service to expediency, and where the only beauty is found in a three-hour visit with my wife twice weekly, Joey has added a dimension to my life that I never would have expected.

I came to prison when I was 27. I am now 61. By traditional standards, I would hardly be described as lucky, and yet I am. Never have I smiled or laughed more than since Joey has come to live with me. Never have I felt such satisfaction in being able to do something worthwhile. And never have I felt such a sense of accomplishment than when looking into those soulful eyes - even when I know he's hustling me for an extra treat.

Pathways to Hope is thus the most appropriate name of this program. While I probably don't share a common religious faith with the people Joey will eventually help, we do share a common hope for a brighter future. And it will be brighter in no small measure because this program makes it possible for us to give what we can to make another person's life more rewarding.
If Joey can help one wounded soldier walk again, If he can help one blind person navigate the streets and shops in Concord safely, all of us will be better for the experience.

By allowing us to be a part of something much bigger than prison, Pathways to Hope therefore defines us in terms of our potential as human beings and not as mere statistics or, worse, the last bad thing we did. I can't make yesterday better, but because of this astonishing program, with Joey's help, I can improve someone else's tomorrow.

(Charles Huckelbury is serving a murder sentence at the state prison.)

------ End of articleBy CHARLES HUCKELBURYFor the Monitor

JUSTICE ~ AT A PRICE

2007-10-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Man Exonerated After 22 Years in Prison

Date: Thursday, July 13, 2006

It’s been one stop after another for freed inmate Alan Newton, who was released from prison last week after 22 years in jail for a crime he did not commit.
After a week of parties, picnics and public appearances, Newton, a former bank teller from the Bronx, is adjusting to life on the outside after DNA testing cleared him in the vicious rape and beating of a Bronx woman whose shaky identification sent him away for nearly half his life.
VIDEO: DNA Clears Wrongly Convicted Man for Rape

“I kept my hope alive,” an emotional Newton said outside the courtroom where a judge vacated his conviction after a joint motion from his lawyers and prosecutors. “I didn’t know when it was going to happen. I kept my spirits up for 22 years.”

Newton, whose mother died while he was in prison -- when Ronald Reagan was president, and gasoline was $1.20 a gallon -- is now adjusting to a new world of cell phones, Ipods and digital cameras, not to mention the joys and challenges of new-found freedom.

That transition is likely to be made easier if Newton collects on what is expected to be a multi-million dollar wrongful imprisonment lawsuit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Innocent Man Freed After 14 Years
Oct 9, 2007

Ronald Taylor was released from prison Tuesday after serving 14 years for a rape he didn't commit. Oct. 9, 2007. Video by Meg Loucks.

Instead of going directly to his mother's kitchen for the home cooking he'd been denied while serving 14 years for a rape he didn't commit, Ronald Gene Taylor's first order of business after getting out of prison Tuesday was to confront the mayor at City Hall. He urges City Hall to prevent the same ordeal from happening to another innocent person. SEE VIDEO CLICK HERE

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 25, 2007

Innocent man shares his 20-year struggle behind bars

Willie "Pete" Williams had no idea when he was pulled over by police that the criminal justice system was about to steal away half his life.
Sitting in the flashing glow of Atlanta squad car lights along Georgia State Road 400, the 23-year-old part-time house painter didn't know police were looking for a rapist who had struck nearby three weeks earlier.
Police questioned -- and then arrested Williams, triggering a series of mistaken witness identifications that led to his unjust conviction for rape, kidnapping and aggravated sodomy. FULL STORY CLICK HERE
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After 21 Years in Prison – including 16 on Death Row – Curtis McCarty is Exonerated Based on DNA Evidence

CLICK HERE

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLICK HERE FOR MORE STORIES

VIKTOR FRANKL ~ MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING

2007-10-26T19:56:00.001-07:00

Through Viktor Frankl's book Man's Search For Meaning, I learned the value of suffering and how to bring meaning into your life through suffering. He was a Holocaust Survivor, helping others learn how to cope with the pain through helping others. More Information...

"We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a value; and (3) by suffering."