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category archive listing Category Archives: News From The Fourth World

2009 Homeless Gift Guide

[Also published on Doc Gurley's blog on SF Gate's City Brights and Chronicle Health Section]

This time of year, no matter what your worldview, religion or culture, it’s hard, as you hurry past the homeless huddled on the street, to not feel like Scrooge. Whether you’re taking your family to the Nutcracker, or pounding the pavement [...]

Charging Rent To The Homeless

Here’s a new twist on just how far we as a society go to wring the very last penny out of some of our most destitute:
CNN covered the issue of New York’’s decision to charge rent to the homeless staying in shelters – but only if they’re working.  It’s a perfect storm of bur-idiocy (translation: [...]

Now That’s a Mother…

Check out the Doc Gurley article at SFGate – the online version of the San Francisco Chronicle – where she discusses the amazing Mother Wright. Mary Ann Wright was a woman who was “right” is so many ways – a true everyday hero of our times. In the article, you’ll find not only a celebration [...]

News From The Fourth World: Mail Dump

One of the hardest things about being homeless (and trying to work your way out of homelessness) is that you struggle with things

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that many of us take for granted every day – like a safe, reliable way to get your mail. Not many homeless people can pay for P.O. boxes or [...]

Gurley Guts

If you’d like a fun listening experience (and who doesn’t?) head on over to Nei Jing Now! It’s a fabulous wellness site

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with in-depth audio shows every two months.
[Motto: Demystifying Medicine; Cultivating Resilience; Empowering Host Resistance.]
The latest Nei Jing Now! episode deals with all things gutsy – and stars our own Doc Gurley.  Download [...]

Mentally Ill Does NOT Mean Violent…

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Finally, a whopping, thorough, well-designed study of over 34,000 people looks at whether or not our assumptions about mental illness and violence have any basis in fact. Here’s the result, as well-reported in Medscape -
“Future violence, such as fighting, sexual assault, or arson, was statistically more likely among individuals with severe mental [...]

Lock ‘Em Up! News From The Fourth World

Third World conditions in a First World country? That’s what we here at Doc Gurley call The Fourth

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World. Here’s some news from this far-off (and yet so up-close) land:
A new, well-designed study shows that we may not have emptied the state’s locked psychiatric facilities of the past (remember One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s [...]

Homeless Gift Guide Video!

Time to sip a little hot cider, put the old dogs up, lean back and let the Doc Gurley high-velocity-contortionist-shopping team take you on a whirlwind tour of the best Treats for the Streets! With real-time, gold medal caliber performance-gifting (and a guest judge commentator!). Let the holiday mood take you!
free video player & video [...]

Doc Gurley Second Annual Homeless Gift Guide

Ahh, there’s nothing more fun, or easier, than shopping for holiday gifts for the homeless (rub palms

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together with glee). And believe me, this kind of statement is strong praise indeed, coming from someone with a near-lethal shopping allergy (hey, I’ve been tempted to put it in my medical record). So [...]

5 Reasons To Give A Gift To A Homeless Person

So it’s 11 days to Hanukkah, 2 weeks to Christmas, 15 days to Kwanzaa. Welcome to the first of three related

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posts – here are the top five reasons to give at least one personal gift to a homeless person this holiday season:
#5) No one’s easier to buy for. It’s the opposite of the [...]