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Feb 23, 2008
"Our dignity is not in what we do, but what we understand." --George Santayana
Dignity Village
Pirate Steve surveyed the eccentric collection of shacks and cabins that is now his home on the outskirts of Portland. "Quite frankly, being here has been the best period of my life," he said. "Not the time when I had my sports car, my condo and my jewelery." Known as Pirate Steve because of the patch which covers an eye seriously injured in a car accident, the former laser optics technician is one of more than 60 homeless people who have turned an uninviting patch of land near the city's airport into a model for living. Dignity Village, as the ragtag collection of dwellings is known, has its own council, legislature and bylaws, and is perhaps the only homeless community of its kind, the world over.
BE THE CHANGE
Do you know the details of programs for the homeless in your town? Contact an organization that operates them and consider volunteering to help keep the programs going or to create better ones. More ...
