Uncategorized Archives - Page 3 of 4

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 9, 2018/3 Comments/in childcare, children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, eating healthy, hardship, homeless, homelessness, job, mental health, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 2

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

In my most-recent blog post, I wrote about the fact that until I began working with Our Front Porch, I had no idea just how difficult it is to become totally stable after living in that type of unstable environment. The difficulties of trying to save money and start fresh, all while searching for house and looking for a job, are magnified with you’re also trying to support children or a family. And unfortunately, there are other factors that make the recovery process so difficult to navigate.

Photo Credit: Matt Longmire

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 7, 2018/1 Comment/in childcare, children, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, hardship, high rent, homeless, homelessness, job, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 1

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

As a child, I remember riding in the back of a friend’s parent’s car on a brisk day where our breath fogged up the windows. We were driving through the heart of the city in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As we were covered in goosebumps, we pulled up to a red light where we saw a woman with a cardboard sign. After reading the sign describing her situation, and her two kids, my friend’s dad proceeded to say “why can’t she just go get a job like the rest of us? There’s no excuse to be homeless.” We drove past the woman and didn’t give her a second glance. As I grew up in the more rural outskirts of the city, I tended to start to share a similar mentality. I would often think about how if I see “now hiring” signs in windows everywhere, why are there so many homeless people?

Photo Credit: Daniel Nelson

How Our Front Porch Helps

January 22, 2018/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, homelessness, house fire, hurricane, hurricane harvey, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, social enterprise, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Every person in the United States faces struggles on a daily basis. From running out gas, to losing a credit card; the human race struggles in every aspect of life. But what happens when a natural disaster hits and you lose everything you own and love? Would you be able to pick up and move on, know what to do, or be able to function soundly? I know in my personal life, I would not be able handle the most basic of everyday tasks. People are resilient and can handle so much, but sometimes they need help in this crisis period. I say this, because this is what I do in my internship: I help individuals who have lost everything due to a natural disaster.

Residents wade through floodwaters in Beaumont Place, Texas during Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters/Newscom

The Family Vacation We Didn’t Prepare For

July 4, 2017/in disaster, hurricane, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Sarah Stone, Our Front Porch Intern 2016-17

It was supposed to be a traditional Spring Break family vacation. I was in the eighth grade. My family and I had spent time on the beach, sippin’ on all-inclusive virgin strawberry daiquiris, and explored local expeditions that gave us a glimpse of Mexican culture. Little did we know what we were about to encounter.

Photo Credit: Sarah Stone

Working in Long Term Disaster Recovery

March 1, 2017/2 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, fire, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, renters insurance, social enterprise, startup, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, women /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Carla Williams, Our Front Porch Intern 2016-17

Moving to Colorado less than 5 months ago, was nothing short of my biggest life decision. I knew University of Denver was offering me a chance to be a part of an amazing program I couldn’t pass up. Within our program, we are required to partner with a local internship for field experience. That was when I encountered Our Front Porch.

From left to right, Carla, Heather and Sarah presenting Our Front Porch’s services at the Arapahoe County Resource Fair.

Three Things I’ve Learned from Being Part of a Start Up

January 28, 2017/1 Comment/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, house fire, job, mental health, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Sarah Stone, Our Front Porch Intern 2016-17

First of all, I can’t believe this internship is half over. I feel like just yesterday, I was completing orientation and getting the OFP 101. I took the time to reflect over the holiday break on the growth and development that I have made as well as Our Front Porch.

Scenes from a start up.

Compassionately Listening

January 11, 2017/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster stress, fire, healing, house fire, mental health, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Listening with compassion sounds pretty straightforward, but it is often more challenging than you think. I have had lots of practice, especially when I’m working with disaster survivors, and I still have plenty of room for improvement. I have often gone back to this Dalai Lama quote as I think it so well describes how to truly be compassionate:

“Usually, our concept of compassion or love refers to the feeling of closeness we have with our friends and loved ones. Sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong. Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to be happy and overcome suffering, just as much as you. On this basis, since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine sense of concern for them.”

~ The XIVth Dalai Lama

Heather responding to a disaster as part of the Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team.

When Disaster Strikes… on Vacation

October 27, 2016/in disaster, disaster stress, fire, hardship, house fire, mental health, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Sheila Babyak

Vacations can be the most anticipated, fun-filled events of a lifetime. We spend all year deciding where to go, how to get there, what we’ll do, and budgeting our money to be sure it is a vacation of a lifetime! No one ever thinks that their vacation could be disrupted by some sort of an unexpected event or disaster. While we can’t plan for unknown disruptions or disasters there are things that we can do to prepare ourselves in the event a situation should arise.

Where the fire started. Photo Credit: Sheila Babyak

Mindful Eating While Stressed Out: Part 2

August 25, 2016/1 Comment/in colorado, Denver, disaster stress, eating healthy, healing, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, yoga /by Heather Korth

Here’s more from our guest blogger, Paige E. Butkus, Nourished to the Core, LLC – Holistic Nutritionist & Yoga Teacher, on how to stay healthy when dealing with stress.

Work on keeping a healthy gut flora.

In order to combat stress we need all of our defenses strong including our gut bacteria. The microscopic bacteria that live inside of our digestional tract help us with more than you may know. Scientists have labeled the stomach our “second brain” for a reason. As much as our mind influences our body, our gut influence our mind. When our healthy bacteria are out of whack:

Our immune system is compromised.
Our digestion is weakened.
Our mental state and mood is negatively affected.
Our energy levels are reduced.
Our oral health is affected
Our craving for unhealthy food increases.
Women’s vaginal health is affected.

Image Credit: Creative Commons

Mindful Eating While Stressed Out: Part 1

August 18, 2016/1 Comment/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster stress, eating healthy, healing, healing yoga practice, mental health, support system, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, yoga /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paige E. Butkus, Nourished to the Core, LLC – Holistic Nutritionist & Yoga Teacher

Stress is a part of life and how we deal with it determines the quality of our life. One way of dealing with stress is to eat foods that comfort us such as pasta, pizza, ice cream, cookies, and the list goes on. Just reading these words might conjure up feelings of happiness as carbohydrate-rich foods have been shown to increase your feel good neurotransmitter serotonin. Food has a profound impact on our lives in a multitude of ways from reminding us of our childhood to distracting us from dealing with our problems. In order to combat stressful eating, prepare yourself with awareness and knowledge.

Image Credit: Creative Commons