This past week in class we were fortunate enough to have a Skype conference call with David McGuire, the CEO of Homeless Solutions, Inc. in New Jersey. They are a homeless shelter who serve a variety of people,  from single men, single women, families, and those who are mentally ill. They also have a traditional housing program where people have jobs, but simply cannot afford the housing in their county. It is an 18 month housing program and they will help you create a budget, improve your credit score, help you work towards a better job or a promotion, and several other things that could help better your life. Another thing they have been working towards is affordable housing. Something that plays a large factor in homelessness is the fact that there is no affordable housing options. Homeless Solutions Inc. has recognized this problem and has began to build affordable houses to better benefit their community. They look at persons income and if you make less than a certain amount of money you can qualify to live in one of the affordable houses. They have also strived to make these homes as green as possible to reduce the impact on the environment as well as keep cost low. One of the most surprising things I learned was that there are at least 8 people who get evicted from their homes a day in their county. I do not know why I was so surprised by this number because I know there is such a large homeless population, but I had never thought about the number of people who are evicted from their homes on a daily basis. One of the things I really appreciated from talking with David, is Homeless Solutions, Inc. slogan. There slogan is “Give a hand up, not a hang out!” This means that they have to do the hard work, but Homeless Solutions, Inc. will be there to give them advice on what to do. I think this is important because, not to stereotype, but a lot of the time people do not want to help the homeless because they feel they are giving them a hand out. They do not want to give beggars money because they feel as though they worked hard for their money and they could simply do the same. This goes for homeless people as well, some simply do not want to have a job because they are getting hand outs on the streets, which is easier then working sometimes. I appreciate that Homeless Solutions, Inc. is focused on helping someone, but only if they are first interested in helping themselves and willing to do the work.