"Hate crimes" are criminal offenses committed against a person, property, or society, which are motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a certain class of people. In many cases, perpetrators of hate crimes do not know their victims personally. They do not seek material gain or vengeance; their actions are cruelly intended to intimidate or dehumanize. The damage done by hate crimes cannot be measured solely in terms of physical injury or dollars and cents. Hate crimes leave emotional and psychological scars for victims and their communities, leaving them feeling isolated, vulnerable, and unprotected by the law.

Since 1999, the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty have documented over 700 unprovoked violent attacks against homeless individuals, with over 200 of those attacks resulting in death. These attacks ranged from beating a victim with a golf club to dousing a sleeping man with gasoline and setting him on fire. Victims included men and women, veterans, children as young as four, youth, and elders. Though these statistics are troubling, they do not represent the full extent of the problem, as countless acts of violence against the homeless go unnoticed or unreported.

 
There is a growing number of homeless with dogs, perhaps for protection as well as companionship

Volunteers Actions Make a Difference   

 

Get Ready! Get Pet! Go! of El Cajon, CA is owned by Tina Carter.  A few months ago she contacted us to get permission to start a FaceBook Cause on our behalf.  The success of her efforts have been awesome.  To date there are 3,163 members enrolled and they have donated $290 to Feeding Pets of the Homeless.  She is responsible for attracting some new collection sites in the San Diego area as well as picking up and delivering over 700 pounds of pet food to St Vincent de Paul Village in San Diego. 

 

Thanks to Tina, a member of the FaceBook Cause donated $2,500 through his foundation.  We are grateful to The Thomas & Mary Ann Tizzio Foundation for their generosity.

 

We wish to congratulate Tina and The Tizzio Foundation for their compassion, time and efforts to help the pets of the homeless.

After visiting Feeding Pets of the Homeless website, Alexander Orandello knew what he wanted to do. He is a Boy Scout with Troop 332 in East Rockaway on Long Island, NY, and made the decision to do a pet food drive for his Eagle Scout project.

Eager to involve his troop, family and local community, Alexander contacted Genevieve Frederick, Executive Director/Founder, of Feeding Pets of the Homeless, a nationwide, non-profit organization with collection/distribution sites across the nation and in Canada. Alexander seemed moved by the pictures of the homeless and their pets on the website Pets of the Homeless . His goal was to, "... collect as much food as possible to donate so it could be distributed to people in need."

Alexander proposed his plan to the Eagle board. Impressed with Feeding Pets of the Homeless mission statement, he anticipated raising awareness through the pet food drive. Once his project was approved, he "...wrote to 20 pet food companies with minimal success, but did receive coupons for 12 free bags of dog food from Rachel Ray's Nutrish company" for which he was most grateful. Rachel Rays said, "I'm all about giving back, so all of my proceeds from Rachael Ray Nutrish go to charities that take care of animals who have no one else to look out for them." You can visit this website at: Rachel Ray

Alexander said, "I am happy to report we delivered the pet food to Mr. Neve. It was a pleasure to meet him and learn about his noble cause for our community. He is such a nice person and his story and journey very inspiring. "

Feeding Pets of the Homeless said of Alexander, "It is caring people like Alexander who make a difference for the less fortunate in our society. He makes our work worthwhile. Alexander Orandello is a true champion."