It is easy to become complacent downtown not being aware that there can be some dangers with the people we serve. Because of this, Paul and Charity started the evening with a meeting with the volunteers in the kitchen. They reminded everyone to be cautious and stay in pairs, ladies should not walk out to their cars alone, and ladies should not become too involved with the opposite sex and be especially cautious with their children. Even though everyone is, for the most part, very friendly and appreciative, there are many who have sexual criminal backgrounds.
Later during Paul’s teaching we had an example of this type of behavior. One individual kept talking loudly with his neighbor and becoming unruly while Paul was teaching. Paul asked him to please be respectful and not talk while he was teaching. But he continued and finally Paul had to get some assistance to eject him from the premises. Later he came back and said he was either staying or we would have to call the police. So unfortunately, we followed his advice.
Regardless of the difficulties, many volunteers spent quality time with the homeless. We saw a lot of new faces which leads me to believe that things are getting worse financially for many folks. We were pleased to serve 85 meals with the assistance of 22 volunteers last Tuesday night.
~Marc
