Writers Organizational Meeting

On Friday, the project's initial writers met at Cornerstone Church of Boulder Valley (www.cornerstoneboulder.org)to define processes for integrating writing with the portraiture photography. We're very thankful that Tom deMers and Carol Grever have joined the team.

Tom is a writer and former HUD property manager. He writes extensively about homelessness and is a contributor to the Denver Voice.

Carol Grever (www.carolgrever.com) is a recognized spokesperson for straight spouses, having interviewed on major network television and radio shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Anderson Cooper 360, Good Morning America, The Early Show, and Iyanla, among others. She has been interviewed more than 70 times on issues related to her books and DVDs.

In providing guidance to our writers, Elle Page noted that the goal of the project is to create connection with and reinforce the humanity of the homeless. What is going on at the intersection of their lives and ours? We want to create awareness of the entire story of homelessness.

In addition to writing about the homeless individuals, interviews will include people whose lives regularly intersect those of the homeless; e.g. police, emergency workers, shelter workers, people who have overcome homelessness and others.

The writer’s job is to give voice to the subject, to help them communicate whatever message they feel the need to communicate. It may be about how they became homeless, the prejudice they encounter, their views on policies or politics, or just about any subject. We want to avoid a book that focuses only on “how I became homeless”.