Post by Admin on Sept 21, 2014 0:38:43 GMT
Jewel has released a new song titled ‘Home to Me’ as part of a public awareness campaign for ReThink: Why Housing Matters.“They approached me, and it was a cause that was dear to my heart,” the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter tells The Boot. “I love the fact that it’s a public awareness campaign. We’re not asking people for money; we’re just asking people to re-think their perceptions. And that takes education and getting to know our neighbors.”
soundcloud.com/rethinkhousing/home-to-me-jewel
According to a recent public survey ReThink conducted, more than 80 percent of Americans believe that all U.S. citizens should have access to a safe and affordable place to live, but more than half did not want public housing in their own neighborhoods. “So you can tell that there’s an obvious disconnect between the need and people’s perception of what happens and who lives in public housing,” Jewel states. “There’s a lot of stigmas. They think people are lazy, they’re getting a free ride, those types of things. Everybody pays rent in public housing, which is something a lot of people don’t realize, on a sliding scaled based on their income. But they pay their bills.
“It’s over 40 percent children, it’s over 30 percent elderly. It’s a lot of veterans,” she adds. “I think it was Mahatma Gandhi that said, the mark of a civilization is how it cares for its elderly and its infirm. There’s such a tremendous need in America for this. I don’t think most people realize how many families, even two-income families are one paycheck away from homelessness. If anything goes wrong — if they get in a car accident or a child gets sick — they’re in dire trouble. These aren’t lazy people. These are people that need a safe and affordable place so that they can get back to school, get a better education and try to get a higher-paying job, and need some stability during transition times.”
Jewel knows exactly how that feels, having been in that position herself. “I grew up in a divorced home with parents that were barely making ends meet. I moved around a ton — I think over 20 different houses between the ages of eight and 18,” she shares. “I moved out when I was 15 and ended up homeless because I wouldn’t sleep with my boss when I was 18. I couldn’t pay my rent, lived in my car and thought, ‘No big deal. I’ll get a new job and save up for a deposit.’ “But then my car got stolen, and I had bad kidneys, and you can’t get a new job when you don’t even have a home address,” Jewel adds. “It’s very, very difficult. So it’s something I understand. It’s very close to my heart.”
"Home To Me," the latest song from Jewel, was inspired by the winning entries from the ReThink: Why Housing Matters Song Contest with Jewel. Click here for a complimentary download of the song!
