There is a big debate among economists about a curious phenomenon unfolding right now called “The Great Resignation”. We have an immense labor shortage because people are not returning to work as the experts expected (common after a recession). There … Continue reading
Posted in Featured Articles in Sidebar, Uncategorized | Leave a commentThis fall, in one of my first trips to visit my coworkers from the Ayni Institute in Boston, I stopped by New York City to visit one of my closest friends, Eric Stoner. And I was sitting on his couch, … Continue reading
Posted in Featured Articles in Sidebar, Uncategorized | Leave a commentThe Center for the Working Poor was founded in 2006, but we didn’t move into our large Victorian house until 2007. Therefore, we have been in the house for 14 years now; and throughout this time, only Paul Engler has … Continue reading
Posted in Featured Articles in Sidebar, Uncategorized | Leave a commentOver the last year, we have started beta groups for a new model of mutual aid counseling, called Community Counseling that has engaged dozens in weekly small group counseling practice and training. In November, I went to Boston to lead … Continue reading
Posted in Featured Articles in Sidebar, Uncategorized | Leave a commentWhy Some LA Jewish Millennials Are Walking Off Their ‘Birthright Israel’ Trips BY AARON SCHRANK ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 11:00 PM in LAIST This summer, some L.A. locals with Jewish American activist group IfNotNow walked off their Birthright buses to … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentGreetings from the Center for the Working Poor, aka The Center, aka the Burning Bush community! Things at the house have been settling down since the midterm elections. We jokingly say that two members of our community, Judy and Danielle, … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center | Leave a commentAs many of you know, I am a social justice geek. I compulsively read and think about social movements, and have been doing this for a long time, and am now considered a specialist in the field commonly referred to … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center, Featured Articles in Sidebar, Spirituality & Centering Prayer, Spirituality & Centering Prayer | Leave a commentI first got involved in social justice work at the age of 14, the summer after my freshman year of high school. I was totally politicized by a youth-led service learning trip to New Orleans that I went on with … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center | Leave a commentLast year, during my senior year of college at Occidental, I was tasked with writing a senior thesis— a capstone research project that served as a graduation requirement for the Urban and Environment Policy program. I wanted this project to … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center, Uncategorized | Leave a commentIt is amazing that the Trump election and inauguration was over a year ago. The Center for the Working poor (aka the Center), has been dramatically affected by these cycles of Trump and the protest movement. In the weeks after … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center, Spirituality & Centering Prayer, Spirituality & Centering Prayer, Uncategorized | Leave a commentWe’re doing a three hour workshop called Get Empathy with students at New Roads, a high school in Santa Monica. It’s program is designed to create a space where people can learn how to tell their stories and listen to … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center, Spirituality & Centering Prayer, Spirituality & Centering Prayer, Uncategorized | Leave a commentThe election of Trump was like somebody threw a political bomb into the middle of a crowded room. For undocumented people, it meant fear of losing DACA and being deported. For labor unions and the working poor, it meant losing … Continue reading
Posted in About the Center, About the Center, Featured Articles in Sidebar | Leave a comment
We will All Become Pilgrims: 2022 Newsletter Summary
December 19th, 2022
By Paul Engler Whenever I write my newsletter, I am afraid a subtle or not-so-subtle repetition will be noticed—I fear I write the same thing over and over again! Generally the theme has something to do with change, uncertainty, and … Continue reading
Liminality is a Recipe for Navigating Winter: Becoming a Pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago
December 19th, 2022
Whether you’re in a midlife, quarter life, or general life crisis, the proverbial crap hits the wall. You break up with your girlfriend, your community starts falling apart, your movement dies, your organization goes bankrupt, you lose the political campaign. … Continue reading
December 19th, 2022
I’m happy to report that our community has stabilized at the Center for the Working Poor house. We haven’t had one person leave in the past year! A welcome contrast to 2021, when we had so many people come and … Continue reading
December 15th, 2021
There is a big debate among economists about a curious phenomenon unfolding right now called “The Great Resignation”. We have an immense labor shortage because people are not returning to work as the experts expected (common after a recession). There … Continue reading
2021 Center Update: Ring the Bell of Hope… Again, and Again
December 15th, 2021
This fall, in one of my first trips to visit my coworkers from the Ayni Institute in Boston, I stopped by New York City to visit one of my closest friends, Eric Stoner. And I was sitting on his couch, … Continue reading
December 15th, 2021
The Center for the Working Poor was founded in 2006, but we didn’t move into our large Victorian house until 2007. Therefore, we have been in the house for 14 years now; and throughout this time, only Paul Engler has … Continue reading
The Story of Community Counseling
December 15th, 2021
Over the last year, we have started beta groups for a new model of mutual aid counseling, called Community Counseling that has engaged dozens in weekly small group counseling practice and training. In November, I went to Boston to lead … Continue reading
2020 Center Update: Surrender and Become Attentive
December 17th, 2020
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die …” — Ecclesiastes 3:1 “Surrender to what is dying, and become attentive to what is emerging.” — … Continue reading