Bon Jovi's new tour doubles as research mission

[Rike]

SEATTLE – Jon Bon Jovi's new tour is bringing the veteran rock star to venues he doesn't usually visit on the road.

A shelter for hardcore alcoholics in Seattle. A tour of Skid Row in Los Angeles. Perhaps a squatters village in Sacramento.

That's because this tour in support of Bon Jovi's latest release, "The Circle," is also a fact-finding mission. The singer plans on visiting as many homeless shelters and programs as time allows in hopes of getting ideas and inspiration to shape his own work with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a Philadelphia-based charity that fights homelessness by building affordable housing, establishing community kitchens and cleaning up vacant lots in blighted neighborhoods.

"I've spent the last quarter of a century touring, going from arena-stadium to hotel back to arena-stadium-hotel," he says. "This time, because of my foundation's work over the last six years building affordable housing, on my days off and when the opportunity arises ... I will go do shelters and try to learn more about the issue and how to combat it."

Among those stops: Skid Row in Los Angeles early next month with Steve Lopez, the Los Angeles Times columnist who wrote "The Soloist," about a schizophrenic, homeless and wildly talented cellist named Nathaniel Ayers. The book was later made into a movie.

"Skid Row is an eye-opener," Lopez said in an e-mail. "I don't know Jon Bon Jovi, but I suspect he may come out of this with a keener sense of how many people are suffering in this economy, and of how many people on Skid Row are dealing with a combination of financial, physical and mental health issues, many of them veterans."

Such themes dovetail with the latest album, which features "Working for the Working Man" and other songs inspired by the economic meltdown and political turmoil around the world.

Before he kicked off the tour with two shows at Seattle's KeyArena last week, Bon Jovi toured one of the city's most well-recognized homelessness programs, a building run by the Downtown Emergency Service Center that provides homeless alcoholics, many of whom have serious mental illnesses, a place to live — and drink alcohol.

The program saves taxpayers more than $4 million a year in social service and jail costs and creates a safe atmosphere where residents may be more likely to get sober, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year.

The singer didn't specify what aspects of the program he might incorporate into his future work at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has built more than 150 units of affordable housing in seven cities since 2006. Various problems of homelessness require different solutions, he said.

Thinking back on a quarter-century of hanging out in hotels around the world, does the 47-year-old wish he started working on the homelessness issue earlier?

"I don't think I was ready for it," he said. "When you're a boy in a rock band, you want to go out and see the world and do all the great things you're supposed to do when you join a rock band. Now there's another aspect to it. There's just more to be said and done, and the difference that can be felt on the trail that you've made.

and a video
omg.yahoo.com/videos/bon-jovis-new-tour-doubles-as-research-mission/10093

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and he was visiting a homeless shelter in MA

wcco.com/goodquestion/bon.jovi.charity.2.1621078.html

Good Question: Why Did Bon Jovi Visit MN Charity?

It is highly unusual for an international rock star to spend two hours at a homeless shelter. However, hours before his sold out show at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Jon Bon Jovi was walking around People Serving People on a "fact-finding mission." For celebrities, is charity about image or making a real difference?

"I'm also a dad and a man and a responsible citizen who wants to make sure he participates in life," said Bon Jovi.

Like many celebrities, Bon Jovi has his own foundation: the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. His started in 2006, when he became part-owner of the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football team. The culture of giving and charity is well-established in the sports arena, and Bon Jovi quickly immersed himself in the issue of affordable housing.

His foundation has built 250 units of affordable housing.

"It's broad. From homeless vets, to single moms to families to people with HIV and AIDS," said Bon Jovi.

However, there is no question that there are celebrities who visit schools or hospitals for the publicity, he said.

"There are those who show up for a photo op, or in disaster relief, and genuinely want to be there, but it was a moment in time, and they feel like they've participated," said Bon Jovi.

"Celebrities are brands in themselves and represent more than the individual. It's important for them to find a charity that resonates with their commitment to social responsibility," said Rose McKinney, President, Risdall McKinney Public Relations.

Celebrities like Lance Armstrong have raised millions of dollars for cancer research, and Michael J. Fox for Parkinson's.

"Honestly, the locals we work with -- they honestly want to give back to the community," said Molly Mulvehill Steinke, Senior Media Relations Specialist at Nemer Feger. She's working with Harmon Killebrew, who's helped build baseball fields for people with disabilities.

"Some celebrities have a real, authentic passion for helping out charities. For others, it's more for publicity's sake. In the end, what matters is that the charities and their causes benefit," said McKinney.

"This is by far the most remarkable place I've ever been," said Bon Jovi, after touring People Serving People, a homeless shelter largely serving families in downtown Minneapolis.

Bon Jovi said he was going to take what he learned about how People Serving People integrates social services, housing, and education in one building, and try to spread the word around the country.

His foundation also issues grants, and the People Serving People staff hopes that the personal visit will improve their chances. They've already sent an e-mail blast out to donors, talking about the visit.

"Jon Bon Jovi's tour of People Serving People is illustrative of his band's Circle Tour. Jon made our circle bigger today, this can change the life of a child," said Jim Minor, president of PSP.

Bon Jovi said that he probably wouldn't have been so passionately involved in charity work when he was younger.

"Twenty years ago I was just a kid chasing a dream. I'm still chasing a dream, but I've grown," he said. "And I put my money where my mouth is. Nobody's gonna say I just showed up here for a photo op."

and a video
wcco.com/video/?id=[e-mail]

another article

www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/90256342.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUycaEacyU

Between concerts, Bon Jovi visits Minneapolis shelter

The mission was to glean ideas to combat homelessness elsewhere, but rock star Jon Bon Jovi walked away with something more after his surprise visit Thursday to a downtown Minneapolis shelter.

In his jeans pocket was a rock painted like an alligator head -- a gift from a 4-year-old girl whose mother also shared the family's story about a recent job loss and eviction with the New Jersey rocker.

The visit with Bon Jovi occurred away from the cameras at People Serving People, 614 S. 3rd St. But speaking with reporters afterward, he referred to Larissa Thelmon, 28, a personal care assistant laid off just before Christmas, as an example of how "the face of the homeless has changed."

Of the shelter, he said, the scope of services "blows my mind" and offers a model "that can and should be duplicated."

Bon Jovi, who was between Xcel Center concerts on Wednesday and Thursday night, was on a fact-finding mission for the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, which has worked to tackle homelessness by building affordable housing, establishing community kitchens and cleaning up vacant lots in blighted neighborhoods.

Touring in support of his band's latest release, "The Circle," the singer also recently visited a shelter for alcoholics in Seattle and toured Skid Row in Los Angeles. He identified People Serving People as a possible stop after driving by it during a previous concert date in the Twin Cities.

Mimi Box, executive director of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, who accompanied the rock star during Thursday's visit, said the foundation uses such stops to find out what has worked in some cities and can, in turn, be promoted elsewhere when awarding its grants.

At People Serving People, Box said, she was impressed by the large number of service providers under one roof.
Jim Minor, president of People Serving People, said Bon Jovi asked "a lot of good questions ... and knew what he was talking about." Asked whether the shelter might someday benefit from a grant, Minor added: "They haven't said a word. And we haven't said a word."

But taking a cue from the band's latest album, Minor said he thanked the rock star for "really increasing the size of our 'circle,' the people who know our story."

During the 10-minute visit in Thelmon's room, Bon Jovi asked about her layoff and the services she's received, she said. Child care and clothing vouchers were among them.

Before leaving, he pulled out his freshly painted gift, waved it at Thelmon's daughter, Kaileigh, and said, "Thanks for the rock," the mother said. Left behind was an autograph on the back page of the book "Scooby Doo Dinosaur Dig."

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And this is one of the many reason, we love him so. . . .