Lesson Learned?

We get many requests from the homeless each week. I know there are a lot of needs if you are living on the street but cash is usually at the top of the agenda. The reasons given are mostly for a bus ticket or for some breakfast for the next day. Obviously some of the requests are legitimate and some are not. The key is making that determination which is difficult. Lately I have been thinking that if the requests are every week then you know something else is going on. Finally I decided that I would follow the house rules and not give out any money for any reason. If someone needed something, I would purchase it for them then there would be no question in my mind whether it was a legitimate or not.

If you spend any time downtown with the homeless, you can expect to run into them at other times during the week. I was going in to a store the other day and sure enough there was a homeless guy out front that I had seen downtown. It appeared that the manager of the store was having a few words with him about loitering. I knew he would recognize me so I waved at him as I entered the store. I kept thinking while shopping that I probably would see him later. Sure enough he was there when I left the store and wanted to talk to me. It seems he needed something to eat and wondered if I had a few dollars to spare. My new rule was not to give money but to purchase what was needed to make sure the request was legitimate. However, I broke my own rule and gave him all the money I had, which was not much. I really wanted to go home.

The next Tuesday night I saw this individual and asked him what he used the money for that I had given him. His answer was “I have to be honest; I bought a can of beer”. That was not what I wanted to hear. Obviously, rules should not be broken if I really want to help someone. In this case I only contributed to his addiction and I hurt him.
~Marc

Regulars

Even though he is a large man, most would not know he was in the room because of his quiet nature. He usually comes in and heads for the back of the room and stays mostly to himself. But tonight he seemed a little agitated. I know him by name because he has been around since the start of Paul’s ministry. Usually he will acknowledge me by a few words and go about his business of getting some food. I remember years ago, I asked him if he believed in God and his response was “only a fool wouldn’t”. However, further discussions at that time revealed that he didn’t believe in the deity of Christ.

He walked up to me and placed a little book in the palm of my hand. The title was “Love”. I flipped through the pages and it appeared to be poems. On the inside cover I noticed there was a list of names he had written. I asked him about the names and he said the first one below his was his sister whom he has not seen for 22 years. The second one was his brother. I couldn’t read his shaky hand writing so asked him his brother’s name. He told me and then asked if he had spelled it correctly. Before I could ask about the other name he abruptly went in the room where Paul was preaching. I learned later that he caused a few problems although none that Paul could not handle. It was like he was a different person tonight.

One of our other regulars proudly showed me a letter from a local college that accepted him for the fall semester. As I looked at the letter I wondered about the address since he changes addresses often. He told us how the college had arranged for a loan from the Department of Education to be repaid later when he gets a job. He hoped to receive an Associates Degree as a paralegal. Later as we gave him a ride to a friend’s house, he said that most of the homeless spend too much time listening to their thoughts like “you will always be homeless” or “you will never get a job”, but he says he ignores those thoughts and just keeps on trying. He still has hope for the future.

Tonight, we served 92 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers. It seems we are getting more people as the temperature rises. A cool auditorium for a few hours is better than hanging out on the street in the sweltering heat.
~Marc

Medical Needs

I have mentioned many times about the various needs of the homeless. Some are life threatening and others are not. One of the individuals that assist them with their life threatening needs is a nurse that is assigned or loaned to Triune from St. Francis Hospital. I got to talk to her last Tuesday night.

She outlined her responsibilities for minor things like taking blood pressure to major things that revolve around medications that are necessary to maintain their health mostly for diabetics or high blood pressure. The homeless can go to the emergency room for a health assessment and get their prescription, but getting it filled is another thing. Since most don’t have the money they rely on her to help them cut through the red tape and get it filled.

Currently, the nurse told me that they have to go to one agency to be certified as homeless. This agency will issue a letter to that effect which they must be taken to another agency to get the prescription. That is a lot of walking or they need a bus pass to get from one place to another. After that is accomplished, then there is the challenge for them to keep up with the prescription and take it as directed. Since they don’t necessarily have a place to stay, it is not uncommon for them to lose it within day on street. Then there is the problem if they are incarcerated. Any kind of prescribed drugs are taken away from the homeless, so when they get out they have to start all over to receive the necessary prescriptions. Even though it is challenging for her, it is obvious she loves her job because she genuinely cares about the people she is helping each day. All of us at Food for Life salute her for her unselfish service and dedication to the most vulnerable in society.

This week most of the requested needs ranged from tooth ache medicine to a roll of toilet paper. Although not life threatening, I guess both requests are very important to that one individual.

We had a good crowd this week. We served 65 meals with the assistance of 18 volunteers.
~Marc