Surfing isn’t just for ocean waves and the Worldwide Web anymore. In fact, in the world of the serious traveler, couch surfing not only facilitates matching free accommodations of a lone traveler with a willing host, but also serves as an international network of people hoping to seek and create a deeper sense of cultural understanding.

This is the mission of Couchsurfing.org, an online community connecting people with others around the globe by providing a sort-of matchmaking service for the true wanderer. The initial appeal of couch surfing may very well be the absence of a bill slipped under your door in the morning. But after scrolling through the testimonials and statistics of “positive experiences” on Couchsurfing.org, it seems that once you crash on the couch of a welcoming local in far-off places like Poland, Ghana or Jamaica, you may never opt to stay in a centrally-located, expensive hotel again.

Couchsurfing.org is the non-profit brainchild of 28 year-old Casey Fenton, whose full-time job is now keeping the Web site and its thousands of members up and traveling. As a registered member of Fenton’s site, you can request accommodations according to your planned travel route — much like requesting a friend on Facebook — and then, if offered a couch, a bed or even a whole room, you can connect with your host and secure your accommodations. You are under no obligation to host if you surf. Don’t feel like riding the couch? Then just register solely as a host. You can even simply support Couchsurfing.org as a project without offering up any space in your home.

Membership is on the rise among young, independent globetrotters who hope to experience more than the typical tourist list of things-to-do. These new set of explorers also are looking to stretch their travel budget. The art of couch surfing seems to have manifested into an underground culture of its own, complete with its own lingo, set of rules and a strict adherence to etiquette, gratefulness and most of all, adventure.

In a way, couch surfing represents a commitment to the human spirit by encouraging people to interact, share and learn from each other. It brings travelers closer to the real experience of a place so that they can reflect, understand and ultimately appreciate the true dynamic of their destination.

photo by ryan jesena

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Heidi Thompson-Saunders is confident, seated in the crowded back room of the Barrel of Monkeys office. She has an MBA from The University of Chicago and is often asked, “Why on earth are you doing what you’re doing?” She tells me, “It’s the reverse question, because I went so I could do what I was doing. I don’t like the automatic assumption that because I went to this particular school I wouldn’t be interested in this kind of work.”

Heidi joined Barrel of Monkeys as Executive Director four years ago. This program works with some of the most under-served students in Chicago, going into the public schools, teaching creative writing, adapting the stories written by the students and finally performing them with professional actors. Within these six-week residencies the students are brought together under 3 powerful agreements:
1.    EVERY IDEA IS A GOOD IDEA
2.    DON’T MAKE FUN OF OTHER PEOPLE’S IDEAS
3.    RESPECT EACH OTHER.

Guided by five teaching-artists, students receive one-on-one attention, are encouraged to explore their own imaginations and feel tremendous validation watching their stories performed by adults.

“The way we promote self esteem is primarily through the performance, but starts first with the three agreements.” Heidi says. “These [agreements] are empowering for kids who are used to being told that you HAVE to get it ‘right.’ Well, in Barrel of Monkeys, there are no right answers and that is incredibly important.”

As Executive Director of a mid-size non-profit, Heidi oversees development, marketing, and general management of the staff – but she didn’t always plan on being in administration. She admits that, originally, she wasn’t quite sure what she wanted, “I think like most people in college I didn’t have a specific [goal]. I did a lot of theatre in high school and I knew that I was good at stage managing. I thought maybe that’s what I wanted to do and I also thought maybe I wanted to write novels or maybe I wanted to get into politics or maybe I wanted to be a journalist…I ended up studying political science and doing a lot of theatre as an extra curricular.”

After graduation, she found many successes as a freelance stage manager but wound up going back to school for her MBA (which led to her position at Barrel of Monkeys). “I [began] thinking about other ways that I could help and be within the theatre community…I love the art form so much and I love being involved.”

Finding Barrel of Monkeys after graduate school was a perfect fit for Saunders. “The idea that I would get to do what I wanted at an organization whose mission is so strong and that I believe so much in is really fantastic,” she explains. “It’s the best of everything I could possibly want.”

To find out more, visit the Barrel of Monkeys website.

photos by david wolf and erich nerger

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The number of patients seeking free or low-cost health care at clinics has spiked following the downturn in the economy, straining limited resources at Los Angeles facilities.

The Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, or CCALAC, represents non-profit and free clinics in L.A. With more than 120 locations across the county, all of the 42 member clinics treat patients regardless of their ability to make payment. Health care specialists say resources started waning long before the economy plunged.

“Even prior to the current recession, L.A. has experienced a major shortage of supplies and services to meet the needs of the underserved,” said Louise McCarthy, vice president of governmental affairs at the CCALAC.

McCarthy said the growing pool of unemployed and the increasing number of uninsured patients has compounded the health care problem.

According to the Employment Development Department, the California’s unemployment rate hit 10.1 percent in January, the highest since 1983. But McCarthy said the trouble started long before the economy took a nosedive.

“We’ve seen a shrinkage in supplies and an increase in demand. More people are underinsured,” McCarthy said. “The demand for service is related to the recession, but it’s also related to other factors.”

She said hospital closures such as the shutdown of the Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital in 2007, “was a severe blow to an already crumbling system in South Los Angeles. Others echo McCarty’s sentiments.

“There has been an increase [in patients],” said Pat Johnson, operations manager with the University of Muslim Medical Community Clinic. “We always have more of a demand then we have a supply.” Johnson said the clinic, which is a member of the CCALAC, recently hired two physicians and is now open on Mondays to better serve patients.

According to research collected from 2006-2007 by the CCALAC, there was a 9 percent increase in patients at member clinics. There were also 31,600 Medi-Cal patients and an additional 21,600 uninsured patients. Perhaps not surprisingly, woman and children are the primary demographics filling the lobbies of health care clinics.

“Women are usually making the health decision for the family and children are most likely covered by these plans.” McCarthy continued, “Often women are the ones who come in making these decisions for their families.”

In 2008, the association conducted a survey which determined that its member clinics need a 7 percent increase in “capacity” to serve the growing population of patients.

“There is a need to add new points of access to health services, but also an urgent need to shore up the current clinics, so that they can better serve the current and increasing demand,” McCarthy said.

Registered CCALAC members started tracking newly uninsured patients this week to better understand what is required to meet increasing demand. The results of that survey are expected by March 10.

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A dangerous dichotomy is brewing in the non-profit sector. In these tough economic times, more people are turning to non-profits for help, be it food and shelter, financial counseling, medical assistance, or a slew of other services aimed at providing basic human needs. At the same time, most of these non-profits are losing huge chunks of funding from major corporations and foundations that have been hard hit in the disappointing Wall Street crisis and Ponzi scheme nightmare.

Currently, as the country continues to hold its breath, watching the roller coaster ride of the financial markets, a feeling of gloom and doom mixes with a budding hopefulness when it comes to the country’s 1.6 million non-profits.

Doomsday Prophecies
According to the Economist, one out of every 11 workers is employed by a non-profit. As funds dwindle and lucrative donors transform into failing businesses, some non-profits are considering the possibility of merging. This means more lay-offs as programs downsize, meaning less people out there serving the community.

On top of throwing more people into the ever-deepening pool of unemployment, the limited funds they still have are flying out the door to meet increasing need. For example the Red Cross, considered a “first-responder,” provides food, shelter, clothing, rent money, and whatever a family needs to get back on their feet after losing their home to a fire. As more families have their utilities shut off they turn to unorthodox ways to stay warm, dramatically increasing the number of house fires in cold climates.

Silver Linings
Fighting the urge to throw in the towel, some people are viewing the recession as an opportunity. Some directors argue that by merging they can streamline their missions and compile donor lists. Merging can help reduce the redundancy of some projects and make more funds available faster.

Another note they’re banking on is the hot new topic of “social responsibility.” You may ask how social responsibility is cool. Well, it’s more about how flaunting individual wealth used to be posh, but has quickly turned tacky. Wealth has to go somewhere, and if it’s not going into wardrobes, then non-profits are hoping some of that income will be directed their way.

But What Can You Do?
You’re broke, you say. Girl, I hear that, but you can still make a difference! Whatever floats your boat, be it the environment, animal rights, global hunger—your favorite charity needs you!
•    Volunteer! Donating your time is equally valuable. Especially with looming lay-offs, donating just one Saturday afternoon a month might make a difference in a program staying afloat.
•    Party! Throw a party and instead of asking your friends to B.Y.O.B., ask them to bring canned food, blankets, old clothes, toys (or anything you can think of) and donate your booty to a worthy cause.
•    Shop! Thank goodness vintage goodies are totally in vogue. Visit your local Salvation Army, Goodwill, Out of the Closet, Jewish Women’s Council Thrift, or a myriad of other businesses that use their profits for charity work. You save money, find one of a kind treasures, and help the needy all at the same time.

photo by patrick giblin

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Thailand’s breathtaking beaches make it a popular tourist destination, but behind the gleaming white sand is a dirty secret – the real tourist draw is the cheap sex. The blinking city lights of Bangkok beckon tourists inside the hazy go-go bars where women dance on stage, perform sex acts, and mutilate themselves for entertainment.  After the show, the women chat up customers and offer sexual services for moderate fees. Thai women migrate to Bangkok in droves to work in the go-go bars. Nightlight, a non-profit NGO, is working to build relationships with the sex workers and to provide them with a viable employment alternative. But do sex workers want to be in the industry? Nightlight believes that the women, even those who seem to enter the field willingly, have little to no choice in their illustrious careers.

Studies show that poverty is the main factor contributing to sex workers’ involvement in prostitution.  The World Health Organization asserts, “The majority of sex workers in Asia are compelled by economic and social inequality and by terribly restricted life chances.”  The need for feasible forms of employment far exceeds the opportunities available for women and “an income from prostitution is generally 25 times greater than an income from any other work in rural areas,” according to Lillian S. Robinson. The high supply of prostitutes in Thai society is also driven by the fact that women are expected to shoulder financial responsibility for their parents. For many uneducated women who are single, divorced, or widowed, the only way to provide for their families is to enter into the sex industry

In order to help these women, a missionary named Annie Dieselberg started Nightlight five years ago. Nightlight is a registered jewelry making business which aims to fight against “sexual exploitation of women and children (Thai and foreign) in the Nana/Sukhumvit area,” a red light district. At Nightlight, workers make jewelry and earn comparable pay to what they made in brothels. The women are also provided with medical benefits and a savings plan. Nightlight’s numbers have doubled every year since its inception. Their facility is currently at max capacity with a waiting list of women who wish to get out of prostitution.

Nightlight focuses on helping women involved in both prostitution and trafficking. According to Charity Marquis, a Nightlight representative, “There’s not much of a difference,” as economic deprivation drives both paths.  On the streets of Bangkok, Marquis has run into women from Europe and Asia who knew they were being trafficked into Thailand to work in the sex industry but had no other way to support their families.

Even after women agree, they often have little understanding what the job entails. Marquis recalls her first time in one of the Bangkok bars. “The girls were dancing in bikini’s on stage, and I saw this young girl who was really frightened.  I couldn’t take my eyes off her.” The girl’s uncle had secured her the “job” and brought her down from Northern Thailand. The young Thai girl was unable to refuse her uncle because he’s her elder and, according to Thai culture, she must obey him.  Marquis could see on the young girl’s face that she had no idea what type of job she had agreed to take.

“Most of these women don’t want to be doing what they’re doing. They just don’t see another choice,” asserts Marquis. “They go to another country to offer up their bodies to support their families, and, if you think about it, that’s actually an honorable thing — to sacrifice yourself for your family.” Nightlight helps women get out of the sex business whether or not they entered the career willingly. The debate concerning sex workers’ choice to be involved in the industry seems frivolous in a country where women face very few alternatives.

If you want to find out how you can purchase jewelry from Nightlight, or how you can get involved, you can visit their website at www.nightlightbangkok.com

Sources:Sex Trade In Asia 6
Lillian S. Robinson, Touring Thailand’s Sex Industry, The Nation, Nov. 1, 1993

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Dear Readers,

Just over a decade ago, I read a magazine article about a young woman suffering from an intense eating disorder. As I read her thoughts and journal entries I thought, “Oh my god, this is me.” It was the first clue to myself that I, too, had a serious problem. At the bottom of the article was a list of resources, most prominently, the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA). “If you or a loved one needs help,” it read, “you aren’t alone.” I picked up the phone and called NEDA’s help line. The woman who answered was the first to hear me utter the words, “I think I have an eating disorder.” Now years of meaningful life and recovery later, I had the privilege of attending NEDA’s annual conference in Austin, Texas, on behalf of IATG.

The impact NEDA has had on my life is far from unique. The non-profit organization has helped over 50,000 individuals attain treatment. They receive over 50 million hits on their website each year. They envision a world completely free of eating disorders. NEDA’s conference is unlike any other, assisting families and all those affected by anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder. This year, nearly 500 clinicians, parents, family, friends, survivors and health care educators attended the event entitled, Break the Silence: Tools for Help, Hope and Healing.

I met women who’ve recently begun recovery and those who have maintained it for 30-plus years; a college professor who lost a beloved student at the hands of anorexia; a specialty book publisher and bulimia survivor who created the first ever help hotline in the late 70’s; a father of an eating disorder survivor who has dedicated his life to activism. “We were afraid we would lose her,” he told me. “We are just so grateful; we have to give back.” Healthy-size supermodel, Emme (pictured), an ambassador on the NEDA board made several appearances, expressing her love for the work NEDA partakes in. A multitude of treatment providers, counselors and teachers who are at the heart of implementing such crucial treatment shared their insight and wisdom as well.

Like one huge, loving family, the NEDA conference attendees bonded together, united by their common goals. “It’s one of the kindest atmospheres I’ve ever been in,” noted a therapist from Seattle. (If only every crowd of women radiated so positively…)

The only downfall of the conference was my inability to meet everybody, or attend everything. Every person I came across had a remarkable story to share. Every seminar offered inspiration, resources and helpful tools.

The last event I experienced was a one-woman show, entitled “The Thin Line.” The 30-minute play, written by Cathy Plourde, illuminated what it feels like to suffer from an eating disorder in a very human way. Tears stung at my eyes as I recalled my past struggles and, more importantly, reflected on my healthy life now — working with remarkable women as an editor for IATG and as a nutritional therapist, helping others who struggled as I did. Much of my recovery is thanks to people and organizations like NEDA. The conference was an affirmation of my own healing and a source of inspiration to do more, to reach out more, to talk more, to help more, to listen more and to give more.

Susie Roman, NEDA’s Program Coordinator, tells girls to “see the change you can make in whatever community you can. You can have a voice,” she explains, “and you can make a difference.” Susie is right. On behalf of IATG, I encourage you to utilize your gifts toward dreaming big and helping others. By using our gifts to help others, we, in a sense, become those help hot-lines ourselves, creating bridges for those who struggle.

Thank you, Readers and thank you, NEDA!

Love & health,

August

If you or a loved one is suffering from an eating disorder, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Visit www.nationaleatingdisorders.org or call NEDA’s help hotline at 1-800-931-2237.

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