Organizing a non-profit to assist homeless smokers acquire e-cigs

[wolcen]

Upon reading this article about a pastor helping those living outdoors I was inspired to start a similar effort here in Boston.

My hope is that I can provide a service here in Boston for the many homeless smokers of the area struggling with health issues and addictions by providing free e-cigarette kits and supplies (and places to recharge their batteries).

Now, I know very little about doing such a thing, and was hoping that I could get some help with it. All suggestions welcome!

- What would you do? For instance, I could start small, and attempt to work through a local church or other organization. Otherwise, perhaps an independent non-profit is more suitable?
- Are there obvious current legal issues I might run into that I'm not thinking of?
- Do you know of any other similar efforts? I haven't found any, but if some do exist, I'm sure I could learn a lot from them.

I am not soliciting nor accepting donations! If you can can donate your time however, do let me know!

My own little side-business has changed it's published mission statement today such that all profits now go to supporting this effort, so there's at least one supporter already!

 

[wolcen]

Please note that a the thread I mentioned is currently accepting donations via PayPal for an order to be placed tomorrow, so please help them today if you are interested in making an immediate contribution!

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...91-helping-homeless-dont-know-where-post.html

 

[wolcen]

For anyone wondering why on earth this would be my way of contributing to those in need in our society (rather than say, providing food?) I'd like to share my reasons why I have picked up this cause.

First of all, I can completely relate to tobacco addiction at it's worst. I've done the same thing some homeless do, both at a time I was homeless myself and even when I did have shelter but no money for tobacco: I've searched in front of stores and on sidewalks for cigarette butts not burned to the filter, in order to empty them out and re-roll them. Hey - bumming smokes isn't always an option.

This is obviously very unhealthy - in my estimation, even much more so than buying the cheapest cigarettes you can find assuming you can get the money for those. Not only was I smoking extinguished butts that have been coated by the remainder of the burnt cigarette and then cooled, but God knows what else had seeped into the tobacco from the ground. Parking lots and city streets are obviously very dirty oil-saturated places. Then there's the obvious sanitary issues of handling things discarded from unknown person's mouths.

This whole procedure can also take some time too, and for me, when I felt like I "needed" a cigarette took up 100% of my thoughts until I finally had a lit cig between my fingers. Time that might be better spent on other, hopefully more healthy things.

The second very simple reason is that I'm passionate about e-cigs. I love going places, getting the funny looks, and then sharing information and my experience with others about them. Like most people, I do my best when I'm doing something I'm passionate about.

Finally, I think it can make a significant difference in a homeless persons life that otherwise isn't being made (to my knowledge). While we don't know the long term effects of vaping (just like we don't know this about any new drugs in testing, etc) it seems clear to me there are definite near-term heath benefits to be had by switching to vaping from smoking. Anything with so much potential to reduce chances of illness among those living on the streets is worth pursuing. I still had bronchitis this past year, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been getting. For the first time since it started happening (about four years running I think it was) it was much less severe and I did not need any antibiotics for it to clear. If I were living on the streets this past year and still smoking, I'm convinced this would have been a serious issue for me.

I have other reasons I'll keep to myself rather than share here, but I think any of these alone is reason enough.

 

[Nikinic]

This is a great idea My advice would be to PM BrotherFrankie and ask him about the best way to go. He not only works with a church but has a lot of experience working with non profits. Please let me know what I can do to help this cause. Like you I have very personal reasons for believing this is a good cause.

Niki

 

[wolcen]

This is a great idea My advice would be to PM BrotherFrankie and ask him about the best way to go. He not only works with a church but has a lot of experience working with non profits. Please let me know what I can do to help this cause. Like you I have very personal reasons for believing this is a good cause.

Niki

Definitely; thanks Niki! PM sent!

 

[BrotherFrankie]

im a bit behind today.. ill get to all this and explain how this morphed into what I am doing.. i have bee in the camps for over 10 years and walked alongside our folks outside for longer... one word to remember is be careful.. please be careful... many are mentaly ill with co-occuring disorders as well as addictions..

i have seen and know of people that have been raped, murdered, robbed, beaten, kidnapped..

more on this later..

FTGH

 

[wolcen]

Thanks for the word of caution; I certainly don't want to cause any undue harm to anyone and have a particular aversion to harming myself (though I do seem to succeed at that time and time again )

I'm currently avoiding personal delivery of devices directly on the streets. I have no rapport with these folks at this time and I'm sure I do not understand their needs. Instead, I'm currently seeking those that do have that understanding of the landscape and its people.

My first step has been to try to find any "e-cig friendly" institutions and/or individuals at these places. I've started looking up and contacting e.g. the Pine Street Inn asking about their possible interest or input on this idea. Unfortunately I can't really hit the pavement until the weekend to visit any of these places though (i.e. to demonstrate to the staff there) but I'm hoping that there aren't just skeleton crews on the weekends. Fortunately, it's been very easy to get the names and numbers of a LOT of places around here!

 

[wolcen]

Today is not a good day to make calls it seems. Not many house managers/case managers around to talk to due to the holiday.

On the plus side I guess, no one has responded with a "not interested"

 

[echofinder]

Awesome idea, I have two questions though:

How do you address the difficulty of electrical device maintenance for homeless folk? I.E. the need to charge their e-cigs, the greater exposure to water & the elements... etc.

How will these folks re-up on juice, cartos/attys, & replacement-prone parts like these?

 

[Nikinic]

Awesome idea, I have two questions though:

How do you address the difficulty of electrical device maintenance for homeless folk? I.E. the need to charge their e-cigs, the greater exposure to water & the elements... etc.

How will these folks re-up on juice, cartos/attys, & replacement-prone parts like these?

Hey echo if you check out the thread link in my sig there is a post where Brother Frankie addresses these issues.

 

[wolcen]

Awesome idea, I have two questions though:

How do you address the difficulty of electrical device maintenance for homeless folk? I.E. the need to charge their e-cigs, the greater exposure to water & the elements... etc.

How will these folks re-up on juice, cartos/attys, & replacement-prone parts like these?

I still have no idea how this will work; all ideas are welcome! Water is particularly concerning to me, and if they'll be in someone's hands on the street, I think cases will be required equipment.

One thought I had was that they simply be made available at shelters where I (or willing staff) could maintain them. This way they could probably be of benefit to more individuals as well. I'm hoping to have time to make some more calls today, and that's one of the ideas I'll be proposing, so we'll see.

 

[BrotherFrankie]

i have been doing this a while.. i am swamped with my regular work too..

i can answer all questions concerning this.. there are some cautions.. please note that shelters, churches, not for profits are not advocates of e-cigs in general.. (i dont need to hear the arguments concerning this as i am a vaping advocate and an addictions counselor/specialist, im just stating the facts.. the public equates this as an addiction equal to smoking)

i know hundreds of people who live outside "homeless" and i teach them how to vape one on one, and weekly re-up the nic juice as well as cartos..

i know what works and what does not..

ill get back to ya..

wolcen: not for profits have many guidelines.. just the initial setup is expensive.. i run several and it gets harder and harder to stay within the "law"... i would suggest to start off slow with little or no investment.. street ministry is not easy..

blessings and ill help u any way i can..

 

[SuperLuckyLady]

What would you do? For instance, I could start small, and attempt to work through a local church or other organization. Otherwise, perhaps an independent non-profit is more suitable?

First of all, good on ya.

Definitely start small. There's a huge learning curve, both in the work you want to do, and in starting and managing a non-profit. The latter gives you the ability to collect money and operate independantly, but brings a huge bunch of headaches that you don't need while figuring your way through this. If you do see a need to collect money, you can do this just as well by hooking up with another 501c3.

 

[BrotherFrankie]

huge bunch of headaches that you don't need while figuring your way through this.

yup.. been there doin that for 20 years...

start small..
1 thing at a time..
help i person at a time.. 1 per month..

go from there..

ill be in touh