Homeless Advocate, Author Appearing on Good Morning America
Mike Yankoski, author of “Under the Overpass,” will appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Producers recently postponed a July 6 interview and have not yet rescheduled. Yankoski graduated from Westmont last year and lives in Santa Barbara.
“Under the Overpass” is about Yankoski’s experiences living among the homeless for five months in six American cities. The quest allowed him to take a critical look at his faith and helped him recognize the needs of this forgotten community.
“Westmont really helped shape and craft this whole dream and to question my purpose and journey,” Yankoski says. “Westmont equipped me with the tools to be able to ask those questions and then to be able to communicate the story, journey and lessons that I experienced while I was out.”
Since the book was published last year, Yankoski has traveled to Canada and the East Coast speaking about his experiences. He has been involved in rescue mission fundraisers, college and high school chapels, church services, and large youth events.
Not only is he getting the chance to talk the talk, but he says he’s been able to live out his convictions. He feeds Santa Barbara’s homeless on a weekly basis, continuing the mission of a youth ministry he founded while at Westmont. Once a week he joins friends and others in the community to prepare a meal and serve dinner to about 50 homeless people near the Santa Barbara Downtown Library.
“It’s incredible to go down and get to know some of these guys,” he says. “We’re having conversations with them and making a big ol’ spaghetti meal, looking them in their eyes and asking how they’re doing and offering to pray for them.
“When people did that for me when I was on the street, it happened so infrequently, but when they did it, it made a big impact. We’re just saying we care about you enough to realize that you’re human, that you have needs and we’re going to try to make a difference.”
Yankoski graduated with a degree in computer science. He is chief technology officer and partner of OptOR Systems in Santa Barbara. The company has created a software program designed to assist ambulatory surgery centers with inventory control.
He’ll be speaking to about 12,000 teenagers at the nation’s capitol, July 2-3 at DCLA 2006, a Christian youth training seminar. He is also a national spokesperson for World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine, where millions of youth are encouraged to go 30 hours without food and raise money to feed the hungry in Kenya, Sudan, and the United States.