Providing Hope In The Midst of Crisis, in Jesus’s name.
865 – 964 – 1461
Straight Ahead Outreach – Taking Back Your Life Inc. (STA)
**STA relies 100% on funds donated from you the General Public. Straight Ahead Outreach does not seek Federal funding.
STA attempts in every way to encourage those we help NOT to access the “system” of assistance. We strive to help them build confidence and do things on their own. Our goal is to bring a little Hope to help them make that possible.
Knoxville, TN & St. Petersburg, FL/Clearwater, FL areas
(Video of Chrissy Hynde singing her “I’ll Stand By You“)
Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking back Your life Inc. is an IRS registered Nonprofit, 501c3 Public Charity. We are a micro nonprofit.
Operated by:
- Lance Greene/Founder/CEO/Sr. Case Manager (primary provider of all services) – Non-salaried
- Patricia Mishler/V.P./Secretary/Treasurer – Non-salaried
- Two Part-time volunteers in Knoxville, TN – Non-salaried
I, Lance Greene/Founder, began helping homeless back in 1985 as an individual with my wife, Judy at that time going under the bridges and to the shelters in Minneapolis, MN with coffee, sandwiches and blankets. It was actually all her idea. After our divorce in 1989, I continued on and off taking a break from it in 2002-2003. In the 90′s it took on many different aspects and changes which included a great deal of work helping people who were suicidal in addition to those who were homeless. From 2003, when I met who I call my wife Pat (been with her almost 9 years now) through 2007, I continued to help the homeless as an individual/non-public entity.
In 2007, I made this homeless outreach public and gave it a name…. Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking Back Your Life. We did extensive work helping the homeless in Knoxville, TN. In 2009, at the strong encouragement of a donor we decided to go ahead and incorporate and apply for the 501c3 nonprofit status. We were awarded and became an IRS registered 501c3 Nonprofit Public Charity on 1/1/2010. It changed everything. Straight Ahead Outreach now became an entirely different animal to me. We became a public entity that now needed to focus on raising money to do even more then we were already doing. I felt pressure to do more. We raised some money yes, approx $12,000.00 or so in total from the General Public since we have been a nonprofit. No where near enough to cover the work we were doing. In contrast, in 2011 we raised a total of approx $1300.00 in cash donations. Most everything we have done has come out of our own pockets, all the way back to 1985.
Becoming a 501c3 Nonprofit seemed to change the focus from my single purpose of helping people to one of raising money. Don’t get me wrong, we have helped a lot of people in need, but the need to focus on raising the funds to do all we were doing did more damage to our organization then it did good.
THUS, my decision to put what we do back to the way i did it from the beginning, back to the “roots” of why i do this work. I do what i do because Jesus gave me the job to do it. For some weird reason he picked me to do this. It is my calling. Jesus has always guided me to those He knew He wanted and who needed help. I had let the 501c3 classification cloud that purpose. THAT, is my fault.
So, like i stated we have raised an all time total of about $12,000.00 or so. That is no where near enough to do what we have done as a 501c3 nonprofit. The rest all came out of our own personal pockets. Well, our personal pockets are now dry. I am not whining about it like i have many times before, simply stating fact.
This is the reason we will be switching our focus back to simply doing things As We Can, When We Can, If We Can and we will be focusing more on what Jesus Christ and Jehovah God want us to do and how they want us to do it. Back to the “roots” of how they had me do it all the years before we became a 501c3 nonprofit. We will still remain a 501c3 nonprofit.
When we do provide our services it will be done much like we did before and like i have done since 1985. One on One… very quietly, with no fanfare. Basically, it will be between us, Jesus Christ, His Father Jehovah God and those they want us to help.
Gift Cards are always the best form of Donations to our organization. However, If you would like to Donate to help continue and support what we do then great, if not we will simply do what we can as always.
Thank you for your time,
Lance Greene/Founder of Straight Ahead Outreach-Taking back Your Life Inc.
HOMELESSNESS! Ugly isn’t it? It carries a certain stigma does it not? Society hates talking about it, looking at it or being anywhere near or around it. FACT: it is here to stay, so we might as well do something about it. Let’s Call it what it is, Social Decay.
Social Decay. What is it? It is what happens when Emotional Damage goes to far. For example, it is the end result of what happens when someone drinks or drugs too much due to Emotional Damage. Can it be stopped? We believe so. We know so. How? That, is up to You. Which one are you? The one who is damaged? Or are you the one doing damage? All it takes is a decision. A decision to stop Emotional Damage. A decision, to end Social Decay, Today.
Our desires and goals are to Prevent the end results of Emotional Damage, which is Social Decay.
We, Straight Ahead Outreach (Taking Back Your Life) Inc. (STA) is not here to impress anyone with flash and or hype. We are here, formed and incorporated under the IRS 501c3 code exclusively for charitable purposes providing relief to the poor, underprivileged, distressed and depressed with a focus on the homeless and under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code. We are committed 100%.
If you are looking for tons of photos of our Friends In Need living in their filthy, smelly squalor and videos of the same, you may want to consider another organizations site. We do not believe in that practice.
Our Friends In Need Do Work Hard, Do Get Up and Do Take Back Their Lives.
We are looking for a target market of intense Donors and or Philanthropists who are intensely serious about making an impact. Who, are interested in the FIGHT, The Race, to prevent and even end Emotional Damage, Social Decay, and Homelessness for those who truly want to Take Back Their Lives. We desire to reach donors who are committed to making a positive, continual change in people’s lives for the right reasons. If you are simply wanting a tax deduction, please, we would rather not have your donation. If you want to make an intense difference and get the tax-deduction, then come on in! We look forward to meeting you!
Thank you,
Lance Greene :-))! Founder of STA and @HOMELESSCRISIS on Twitter
If you would like to help us continue our work then you may click the PayPal Secure Donate button below.
If Not You, Then Who?
We THANK YOU in advance.
**Some photos used on our website are courtesy of: http://www.123rf.com/
I strongly believe that we each have a very unique talent or gift. If you can find this in each homeless person, let them know you recognize it and center your strategy on helping them see this value (their value) in our society………. – you will see a remarkable difference.
Now they need an outlet for this talent. This is the area that no one seems to understand, have the time or the money to fix. Being each person is very unique many paths have to be blazed and protected while utilizing all of our local business people (big and small).
Homeless people often find themselves back in a community that was never good for them. (Surrounded by drugs, alcohol, takers, liars, hustlers, thieves, etc…) Naturally, if you’re surrounded by this – it won’t be long before you are drug down with them. – That’s one of the tricky things that no one seems to understand. Taking them out of homelessness and putting them in poverty usually does not work and there’s your chronic homeless person.
If you really, honestly want a brilliant solution – you can create an outlet (job) within your own organization. If the person is a math-whiz they can do your books. If they’re good with people they can answer phones. If they’re a violinist – they can play at your fund-raisers and events, etc)
Many of the homeless people I’ve come across are givers. In-fact they often give to the point of having nothing left including their own mental state. / If, while utilizing their talent/gift and getting cleaned up and back on track…, they attempt to give anyone but themselves credit for their success (including you) – don’t let them do it. (& please be careful not to unintentionally do it. – The community will recognize you and give you all the credit you could hope for) Assure them that their success belongs to them. If you can help them do this – you will again see a remarkable difference.
What happens when a human sees their value is: they stop self-destructing – but it’s temporary until it’s continually reinforced. If their success continues and their value in society starts to become recognized…. society then begins to walk in your shoes and takes over so you can move on to the next case….. but…. the path has to be kept clear until they’re back/fully recovered – the time is different for everyone.
THEN – (The best thing of all……….. some will start giving back to us.)
John, Thank you very much for your comment. One of the big things we believe in is NOT the Ten Year Plan, especially when it comes to housing for the exact reasons you mention. We believe the housing selection has to be in a safe environment, suited to the individuals or families personalities and needs, not surrounded by the types people and activities as you mention in your comment. We make every attempt to find housing for our Friends In Need away, away from where they are coming from. For example: as far away from North Broadway as possible. They used to be someones neighbor, they can and will be again. Our homeless Friends In Need are most definitely givers, many times they will give the only meal they have had for 3 days to another, or maybe their last cigarette to someone who seems to need it more at the moment. We typically do not get the “credit” for their success and we “typically” do not seek it. This is why we are not able to raise the funds we really need to do what we do in the way we would like to do it. Our Friends In Need are contributors and they do give back to the community even while they are sleeping on the concrete or in cemeteries, the public just does not seem to want to give them the credit for that either. For Example: When they get money many times what do they do? YOU know, they go buy cigarettes. Well, someone owns that store they just bought cigarettes and a Coke from. Ray’s Market for example on Broadway or PILOT Gas Stations. THAT, is giving back and or contributing to the Community. They go to McDonalds, Burger King etc etc. Someone owns each of those. Someone in the Knoxville Community. Someone who has a very comfortable bed to sleep in at night. When you gave the money to TJ, you knew he might very well go buy alcohol. While i do not really agree with that approach, i fully understand why you did it. BUT, the bottom line is he most likely went somewhere, most likely PILOT, Ray’s, Al’s Market or somewhere and bought what he wanted. No matter how anyone wants to look at it, TJ gave back to the community, he contributed. It is up to orgs like us to make a difference in him and people like you who have a place in your soul for him to make a difference. Please follow up with TJ, give him some of your time, give him some more hope. Even if it is another little blurb thrown at him. But please follow up, give him some of your Time. Give him some Hope. Thank You John. Lance Greene/Founder
John if you get time, check out my other blog site. Here is a link from one i posted in April 2009 on bringing a Homeless person from the streets into Housing. http://homelesscrisis.blogspot.com/2009_04_01_archive.html
The problem is all the Ten Year Plans want to do is throw someone into housing without any concern for the person in mind. It simply does not work.
Hi Lance,
Today’s flooding has kept me busy but, on a quick note, – I went back a few days after my interview with TJ and was going to sit down with him, perhaps offer him a place to stay and a job if he agreed to get himself some alcohol and depression recovery.
The article you read was just 1 part of a 6 part series. I’m always under the bridges and on the streets, distributing blankets, water, cigarettes and yes – money, interviewing the homeless, getting information on the orgs, etc – but I never saw TJ again after that night.
My best guess is that he faced his own depression, got help and returned to NC.
I’ll catch up with all you’re doing after I get a few articles released.
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