A different kind of care package: Concertgoers 鈥楤lanket the Homeless鈥�
When Ken Newman plays a concert, his merch table looks quite different from that of other musicians.聽
Whether he鈥檚 playing solo acoustic gigs or amps-cranked-to-the-max shows with his trio, Berkeley Bronx, the San Francisco-based frontman sets out the same unusual set of goods. His display consists of bags stuffed with emergency blankets, socks, gloves, nutrition bars, antiseptic creams, and contraceptives.
The bundles are free. But they鈥檙e not intended for the audience members to keep for themselves.
Why We Wrote This
For fans who help musician Ken Newman distribute bags of small essentials to homeless people, one reward is making a human connection with someone they might otherwise ignore.
When Mr. Newman isn鈥檛 singing tonsil-baring songs by Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and Radiohead 鈥� 鈥淚 have a wide range,鈥� says the vocalist 鈥� he uses his voice to enlist concertgoers to assist his unique charity, Blanket the Homeless. The part-time musician asks his audiences to take his care packages and distribute them to San Francisco鈥檚 transient population. It鈥檚 an ingenious distribution system. Since 2017, his informal street teams of volunteers have given out over 5,000 bundles. They鈥檙e vital supplies delivered with a human touch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 a Clif Bar. This will give you something to eat,鈥欌�� says Mr. Newman during a recent video call. 鈥淵ou have no idea the impact that you can have just by saying 鈥榟ello,鈥� just by acknowledging the person鈥檚 presence on the street.鈥�
Mr. Newman came to his endeavor through evolution. His first spark of awareness came during an earlier career as a freelance photographer. A newspaper assigned him to photograph children at a child care center for homeless people in San Francisco鈥檚 Tenderloin neighborhood. 鈥淗ere are these kids acting just like kids and having a really good time and running around and squealing,鈥� says Mr. Newman. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥極h, they don鈥檛 have homes.鈥欌��
Fast-forward to several years ago, when Mr. Newman recalls walking down Chenery Street after playing an exhilarating gig at a bar with the quartet he was in at the time. The tip jar split five ways amounted to $10 each. It wasn鈥檛 like Mr. Newman needed the money. By then he鈥檇 launched Magnet Productions, a successful live trade show presentations company. Why not donate all gratuities from future shows instead?
鈥淗ere鈥檚 the thing: When I made the decision to do that, I started to see [homelessness] around me more,鈥� says Mr. Newman, who started playing regular benefit shows for the nonprofit Compass Family Services. 鈥淚 just woke up to it.鈥�
Eager to do more, Mr. Newman was inspired by the story of a friend who had started distributing blankets to homeless people in Boston. Mr. Newman spent $500 on blankets. Then he talked to a songwriter who鈥檇 once lived on the streets and she recommended that he bundle in other essentials, too. Blanket the Homeless was born.
The power of connection
What Mr. Newman didn鈥檛 anticipate was the effect of asking his street teams 鈥� the fans who typically help by handing out flyers and putting up posters 鈥� to interact with people on the street they might otherwise not talk to. He recalls a show at the Lost Church theater in which one attendee had a snarky attitude about the packages but took a few with him. Twenty minutes later, while Mr. Newman was packing up his guitars, the audience member returned. He was soaking wet. The man told him that when he鈥檇 handed a package to a homeless person,聽 he stared at the package in disbelief and kept repeating over and over again, 鈥淚s this for me?鈥� The homeless man began crying. The concertgoer told Mr. Newman, 鈥淭he next thing, we鈥檙e standing on the street hugging in the rain.鈥�
Mr. Newman鈥檚 voice catches as he recounts the anecdote. He wipes his eyes. 鈥淗is story gets to me because of the look on his face. He looked at me like something fundamental had shifted in him.鈥�
Mr. Newman understands the difficulty for the more well-off to interact with those on the streets. There are days when he gets riled up because homeless people trash a garden at the building that his girlfriend manages. He gets disheartened when he sees someone openly using drugs. He gets angry when they yell inappropriate comments to his girlfriend on the street. So why does he persist with Blanket the Homeless? There are people experiencing homelessness 鈥渁bsolutely filled with grace and benevolence that you never expect,鈥� he says.
Mr. Newman cites comedian Margaret Cho鈥檚 street performances on behalf of homeless people as inspiration. Years ago, her 鈥淏e Robin鈥� fundraisers 鈥� a nod to comic Robin Williams, renowned for helping people experiencing homelessness 鈥� featured performers including Mr. Newman. (Ms. Cho has been known to join him for a rendition of 鈥淲onderwall鈥� by Oasis.) The sign on a guitar case, opened to collect donations, read, 鈥淚f you have, give; if you need, take.鈥�
Ms. Cho says it鈥檚 the opposite of a model in which donors just shell out money to forget about the problem. 鈥淲ith something like Blanket the Homeless or Be Robin, there鈥檚 a really direct result,鈥� says Ms. Cho. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a real charitable donation. Your time and effort is being spent on something that isn鈥檛 too much about financial contribution. It鈥檚 more of a heart contribution.鈥�
Helping hands of a nonprofit
Mr. Newman鈥檚 full-hearted efforts to develop Blanket the Homeless began to run into logistical issues. On the day of a show, he鈥檇 unlock his storage unit and fill as many as 100 supply bags. Enter the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco. The goals of the nonreligious nonprofit, established in 1860 to help the city鈥檚 most vulnerable community members, aligned perfectly with that of Blanket the Homeless, says Executive Director Shari Wooldridge. They offered Mr. Newman a helping hand 鈥� many hands, really 鈥� to put the packages together. They also added weather-proof laminated brochures to the bundle.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a resource guide,鈥� explains Ms. Wooldridge. 鈥淚t provides information about where shelters are, where survivors of domestic abuse can go, addresses and phone numbers for legal services, where people give out meals, and where San Francisco restrooms are.鈥�
The partnership has been a mutual blessing because it has introduced the St. Vincent de Paul Society to potential new donors. 鈥淧romoting his events through our website gives us an opportunity to be seen by a new group of people,鈥� says Ms. Wooldridge.
Mr. Newman鈥檚 latest fundraising venture on behalf of his charity is a vinyl compilation album titled 鈥淏lanket the Homeless.鈥� Among the contributions from local artists is a plaintive piano ballad by Mr. Newman.
鈥淚 wrote a song called 鈥榃e Should Do It Again,鈥� which was just culled from stories that I heard and cardboard signs that I read by people living on the streets.鈥� When Mr. Newman looks out his window, he thinks of people who don鈥檛 have the luxury of four walls. It鈥檚 made him less quick to complain, more grateful for the good in his life.
鈥淭he benefits that I鈥檝e gotten from my commitment to homelessness far, far, far outweigh the costs,鈥� says Mr. Newman. 鈥淪omeone called and told me, 鈥業 just saw this guy wrapped up in an emergency blanket and looking at one of the blue brochures.鈥� I said, 鈥極h, that鈥檚 great!鈥� That鈥檚 what keeps you going.鈥�
