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Akron Beacon Journal editorial board says we should try my idea
Akron Beacon Journal November 30, 2024, “Unsheltered homelessness in the county is up 300%. It’s time to take action | Editorial” I like to make a backup of some of these articles because they almost always disappear from the Beacon Website. Unsheltered homelessness in the county is up 300%. It’s time to take action |…
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I Met With The Mayor Yesterday. Here’s How It Went
I walked out of that meeting exhausted. In my mind, it was a significant point of importance in this decade-long journey. My advocacy for this particular segment of homeless people has pushed me into realms of feeling, thinking, and “praying” in ways that no other work has ever challenged me to do before. This homeless…
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Finding Light in the Shadows: My Journey Through a Protest Camp
In a world that often feels dark, the smallest kindnesses reveal the light we carry within. As a person who experiences the suffering, hopelessness, and meaninglessness of life VERY deeply, it is absolutely critical for my mental well-being to acknowledge the WHOLE truth. I spent 2 nights living in this tent during my one-person protest…
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People First
I can’t lie. I’m excited about a Trump presidency. He will probably do some fun, interesting things. I’m hoping for more self-driving Teslas driving around, smashing into plate glass windows. I’m hoping for Amazon drones falling on old ladies walking to church. The deregulation that he’ll do for business should be entertaining and creative. But…
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The Well of Sadness
Finding Light in the Depths of Loss and Displacement (This was written the day after the November 5, 2024 presidential election where Donald Trump won his second term as president. Many Democrats had been told that he is a fascist and he is going to steal Democracy and go after “the enemy within” which are…
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The Last Tent Standing: A Protest, a Privilege, and a Nation’s Divide
Reflections on class, privilege, and the hidden biases that shape our society. It’s 6:50am on Friday, November 1, 2024. It’s 45 degrees. I’m the last tent standing. I’m the last anything standing, really. They brought trucks and bobcats and cleaned everything that wasn’t bolted down on 4 separate properties. That was surprising. All I ever…
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PRESS RELEASE: Winter Safe Sleeping Space Protest
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sage Lewis Phone: 330-416-7519 Email: [email protected] Advocate Begins Indefinite Camp-Out Protest Against Homeless Displacement in Akron AKRON, OH 10/30/2024 — Starting tonight, Sage Lewis, founder of Houseless Movement Charity, will begin an indefinite camp-out protest next to 85 Kent Place, Akron, in direct response to the City of Akron’s notice to…
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Supporter’s Guide: Help Amplify the Fight for Winter Shelter in Akron
Ways to Help On-Site Documentation Tips Important Details to Document Sharing on Social Media Ready-to-Use Posts (modify as needed) Twitter/X Templates: URGENT: Akron advocates are fighting for winter homeless shelter at 85 Kent Place. City plans to remove survival gear as temperatures drop. Witness needed. #AkronHousing #HumanRights Last winter, an Akron resident lost toes to…
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I Officially Ended My Gun Dealer License Today
I want to say that I’ve worked with a couple ATF agents over the years and they have always been super cool. Every once in a while you will need to do an audit of your books and inventory. They are random and anxiety producing. But that’s just because you are dealing with the government…
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When the World Turns Away: Choosing to Stand in a Society that Won’t
A personal reflection on rage, humanity, and the cost of caring I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to overcome my rage. The world is just so wrong sometimes. Did I tell you that my friend Hurricane got hit by a school bus? It destroyed his cart, his front bicycle wheel and his guitar.…
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Why I’m Voting For Kamala Harris
I don’t know why I’m writing this. But then again, I am in a place in my life where I really can’t tell you why I do much of anything. It just feels like the thing to do. (It’s not right or wrong. I can’t make that complicated conclusion. I just feel like doing it.)…
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The Art of Staying Alive in a World That Makes No Sense
A personal journey through despair, anger, and meaning in the face of life’s absurdities I think about killing myself all the time. Albert Camus writes: “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.” I…
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The Great Trash Can Caper: When Helping Others Becomes a Municipal Offense
Today’s example of bureaucratic overreach and the challenges of urban compassion Have you ever looked out your front window to see the city packing up all your trash cans? I suspect maybe not. (It’s happened to me on more than one occasion.) This was the picture from the front of my house a few minutes…
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Starbucks Lines and Silent Screams: America’s Invisible Addictions
Coffee, Trauma, and the Quest for Self-Acceptance in Modern America I laugh at myself often, listening to the petty bullshit that goes on in my head. I’m still stewing over losing that city council election seat. Yesterday, I was yelling at people in my head who voted against me because they thought that I was…
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The City Of Akron Called To See How Our Homeless Friends Are Doing
I got a nice call from the City of Akron yesterday. They wanted to check up on our homeless friends, see how they were doing, and offer their services to do anything they could to help. Well… I suppose that’s one way to look at it. Here’s the message they texted me: Here we go…
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When the Enemy is Me: A Radical Approach to Empathy
The beginning of the HBO Watchmen series starts with a reenactment of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. The Tulsa race massacre was a two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city…
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Joan Trumpauer Mulholland – A Symbol Of Hope
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I had never heard of Joan before yesterday. She was trending on Reddit yesterday. She is an American civil rights activist who was active in the 1960s. She was one of the Freedom Riders who was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961, and was confined for two months…
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I Found Hope Yesterday
It is said that Community, Purpose, and Hope are the pillars of a “happy” life. (Don’t get me started on the word happy. I’ve been fighting with it my whole life. But that’s for another time.) I have been lucky enough to find Community and Purpose. And for that, I have the Houseless community to…
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Why We Stay Stuck: The Comfort of Our Own Little Hell
I was thinking about this guy this morning, who is probably going to lose his house. His mom died a couple years ago and neither he or his siblings did anything about her estate. She owned this house outright. None of his brothers or sisters wanted the house, but he needed the house. So he…
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Finding Humanity in Loss: Reflections on Community, Pain, and Resilience in the Houseless World
Being banned from Facebook is a little bit like losing my community. Yes. It’s toxic,. It’s frustrating. But it was also beautiful, supportive and inspirational. But I am always thankful to lose things in that it helps me connect in a small way with others who have lost everything. The death of a child, the…
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And Now I’ve Been Banned From Nextdoor
I’m not going to lie. Getting banned from all these social media channels has done wonders for my mental health. I think I had an unhealthy relationship with all of them. Sage’s Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Now I’ve been…
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From Bench to Breakthrough: Crystal’s Journey of Resilience and Hope
I hardly know where to start with this story. Each of these leads are so powerful I don’t know which is the best hook to start this story off. I guess it’s a story of triumph over tragedy. Subscribe now Let’s go back to last summer… Crystal was pregnant and sleeping on a bench in…
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Sage’s AI Archive Bot
I want to show you an AI bot I made all around my life. It’s my AI Archive. It has my entire blogging history (back to 2005), the three books I have written, my entire Facebook timeline (1477 posts), and anecdotal stories about my life. (I intend to transcribe all my podcasts as well.) I…
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BAD DOG FACTORY IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
Donate $35 or more in the next two weeks and get a free Bad Dog Factory t-shirt made by the Bad Dog Factory crew. (offer ends Tuesday, September 10, 2024). With a tremendous amount of help and resilience, I am thrilled to announce that we have officially opened the Bad Dog Factory, a makerspace dedicated to…
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Podcast: They Pulled Another Gun On Me
In this episode, Sage shares two intense and deeply personal encounters that highlight the challenges and dangers of working with houseless communities. Sage recounts recent incidents where he was threatened by individuals with guns while simply trying to provide basic necessities, such as water and supplies, to those in need. These experiences lead him to…
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Burning Rage: The Heartbreaking Cycle of Arson and Despair in Our Community
This is a photo of Randy’s shed raging in flames. This happened yesterday, I believe: It was located on the Church of the Nomadic Spirit land (probably 20 feet from where Hermaine was shot and killed). He used it to store bicycles. I wasn’t there when the fire happened. In fact, no one even mentioned…
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The Spiritual Path Is Personal
As I was standing before a powerfully beautiful shrine in Tokyo I felt nothing. It was a hot, crowded Sunday morning. You would think that would make things worse. But suffering of any sort often helps me find a connection. I might think it’s simply because I’m from the west and I’m not tuned into…
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Boarding Up Our House
Yesterday we boarded up all the windows on our house that shelters homeless people. Today I will be finishing that work on boarding up the doors. I will also be signing a no trespassing document so the police can arrest anyone at the house from this point forward. In all the years I’ve done this…
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This is what burning wire looks like.
Here’s what the smoke looks like when you burn wire. It’s dense, dark and smells like cancer. I took this picture just now. Our neighbors were yelling out their windows about the smoke. I was yelling about burning wire on my property. This is one of the reasons we are boarding up this house next…
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SATM Podcast 122 Donald Trump is Going To Be The Next President of the United States
Sage Against The Machine Podcast Episode 122 Based on the CNN Donald Trump Town Hall, Donald Trump is as good as ever. His base loves him. And Joe Biden is no match for this guy.
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