This is the latest post in our series, TwitterPowerhouses, which focuses on the contributions of people who've helped to expand, influence, and redefine how we view social networking.

No matter who you are, or where you are from, every member of humanity is inspired by the extraordinary stories of ordinary...

This past week Jeannie and Eli (watch his video here) were arrested in Sacramento for being homeless. They lived along with about 125 other homeless people in an organized tent community called Safe Ground.

Jeannie worked as an in-home nurse. She lost her job and her place to live on the same day. Since April she has been living in a tent in Sacramento.

Kind of ironic Jeannie talks about the city counsel changes needed and the prospects of Sacramento allowing the campers to have a place to live only days before they were forced to move.

The old hippie in me loves the self-governing tent city model, but really the only reason a tent community even exists is because homeless services has failed to provide adequate support.

What are your thoughts on this controversial issue?

Special thanks to Safe Ground...

It's really hard to explain the feeling of powerlessness I felt today. But I guarantee my feelings don't even compare to the feelings of desperation our friends had while police were evicting them from their tents today. 

Those of you who have been with me for a bit have heard me say this before, so it's not new. Every now and then I will run into a homeless person that is so interesting to talk to, I could spend days just listening to them. Eli is one of them.

I met Eli about a week ago in a tent city in Sacramento, California. I also met Robert and shared his powerful video  about not having any place to go, and Jordan, 19 years-old going to college and living homeless, and a few others you will meet soon.

Eli had his own business doing building remodeling and was an associate minister at a church for over 20 years. Because of the economy he lost everything, and when he shares about losing his books and jazz records,  I can feel his pain. I hope you can, too!

"When we had jobs we were important. When we had homes we were important. When we had cars we were important. When we had bank accounts we were important" ~ Eli

Trust me, Eli's interview is very powerful. Please watch it in its entirety. Near the end, when Eli talks about rest being his 3rd wish, and that police keep threatening the campers with arrests, know that Eli stood up for what he believes and went to jail today.

Eli ends the interview with an emotional remembrance of the American Dream and what it would be like if he had a home.

Special thanks to Safe...

Invisible. Forgotten. Misunderstood. Increasingly, these words apply to a growing homeless population.

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I'll be honest, it was so cold I thought my face was going to fall off. A few times even I started to scream "I can't feel my nose" and was concerned the numbness would spread to the rest of my body. There is a reason I moved from Upstate...

It does not matter where you live in Los Angeles County, you see people experiencing homelessness on a daily basis. It's a very serious social crisis that affects us all, and it looks like such a massive problem, it's a normal reaction to feel we cannot do anything about it. But we can do something about it.

No matter if you give a panhandler money or not, you are paying for them to be on the streets. Malcolm Gladwell wrote an article "Million Dollar Murray" that talks about how taxpayers paid a million dollars to keep a homeless person on the streets. The bottom line is this: getting people off the streets and into housing not only saves lives, it saves YOUR money.

This coming Saturday bring your family and join Kobe Bryant and thousands of others for United Way of Greater Los Angeles's HomeWalk. HomeWalk 2011 is 5K run/walk to help raise awareness and finances to end homelessness in Los Angeles. The family-friendly event will be held at Exposition Park in Los Angeles on November 19.

WHAT IS HOMEWALK?
HomeWalk is United Way of Greater Los Angeles' annual 5K Run/Walk to End Homelessness. Each year thousands join together to do their part by fundraising and spreading the word that homelessness is a solvable problem.

WHY HOMEWALK?
In Los Angeles County 51,000 people are homeless. Over the past 4 years, HomeWalk has mobilized 18,000 walkers, raised $1.7 million and funded organizations that have moved 9,000 people into permanent housing. All proceeds go directly back to the community, supporting permanent solutions to end homelessness for chronically homeless people, veterans and families. Solutions such as permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing have proven highly successful in cities such as New York and Denver. In Los Angeles County the solutions we support have over 85% success at keeping people off the streets for good with a 43% cost savings for taxpayers.

HOW CAN WE END HOMELESSNESS?
The number one reason for homelessness is loss of a job. With our region's unemployment at the highest it's been in a decade, it's not surprising that we are the homeless capital of the nation and that 40% of the homeless population are women and children.

For more information on UWGLA's efforts to end homelessness in Los Angeles please visit Home For Good LA: http://www.homeforgoodla.org

Maybe you'd like to create a team with your co-workers and then challenge your competitors to do the same. To register and create teams go to http://www.homewalkla.org. Then please add your team to UWGLA's Facebook page so we can help promote you. If you don't know what team to join, I am walking with Zach Bonner's "Zach Pack" team and we'd love to have you. Last year, at the age of 13, Zach walked from Tampa to Los Angeles to raise awareness for homeless youth. You'll love this short video of Zach and his mom , and this year "Little Red Wagon," a movie on Zach and his philanthropy efforts, is being released. Of course, you could always join Kobe's team here.

Even if you're not in the Los Angeles area or busy that day you can register to be a virtual walker and help by sharing about the event over social media.

If you had seen me when I was homeless, you would have crossed the street. I was the worst of the worst, but now I am living proof that people not only can change when given a chance -- we get better! Please help support United Way's HomeWalk and let's work together to end homelessness in Los Angeles.
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