Plymouth Street Ministry Journal--Friday, December 12, 2014
I was running late and didn't arrive at the parking lot until a quarter to six. Mike and Jens had the back of the van open, and they were talking with Julian, an editor for the Leader Telegram who has been covering homelessness and poverty in Eau Claire. The temperature was in the upper 30s--something that many of our visitors commented on with gratitude--and it was a bit foggy from all the melting snow. A homeless man soon arrived and began talking with Mike and Julian. The man was calm, but I could see he was frustrated as he told his story. I missed the first part of the conversation, but I think I picked up enough to relate his tale here. He was in legal trouble. He had been accused of stealing a small amount of food, a charge which he denied. He had recently had a hearing with a judge, where he complained about not having time to talk with his public defender. (He had only met with his lawyer a few minutes before his hearing.) The judge told him that he had had three weeks to get in touch with the attorney, and the man replied that he was homeless, had no phone, and that it was difficult for him to make the arrangements. Mike explained to the man that public defenders have very large caseloads, and that brief meetings before trials were all too common. The man has another court appointment (I'm not sure if it is his trial or some other preliminary meeting) on Monday, and Mike offered to go with the man so he wouldn't be alone in court. The man seemed relieved at that. He then went across the street to wait for the shelter to open.
Another man showed up whom I'd seen a few times. He has a calming, pleasant, avuncular manner. He was one of the few homeless dressed well for the cold. One of us commented that he looked nice and warm in his coat, and he mentioned that there was a story behind that coat, and he proceeded to tell us. He became friends a few years ago with an elderly woman in the Twin Cities area. She told him she was ill and dying, that her family wasn't very close to her, and that she didn't want to die alone and needed someone to care for her. They made an arrangement: he would take care of her, and she would give him food and a place to stay. He cared for her very well, he said, and genuinely cared about her. After a time she passed away. She left him a part of her estate, but her family accused him of taking advantage of her, or worse. He left without fighting for his share of her estate, but still wears the warm coat she had bought him. He didn't exactly choke up, but I could tell from his voice that the woman meant a lot to him.
Last week I wrote about a man staying in his car. He had been suspended from the shelter because he left in the middle of the night after he couldn't stand all the noise and commotion. Tonight he told me a little more of his story. He suspension was ending tonight and he would try to stay in the shelter again. He told me that he had been suspended for leaving once before, but the shelter worker later told him that she decided not to write him up, so he could have stayed. He wasn't aware of that, however, and spent a week living in his car needlessly. He was a little disappointed that no one told him--he was sleeping in the car just across the street from the shelter. I think the man suffers from serious depression. He is far from the stereotypical homeless person. From his manner of speech, I would guess that he is quite well educated, and I've never seen any signs of drug or alcohol abuse. He would seem to be the type of person any employer would be happy to hire, but I'm guessing he goes into bouts of depression that makes it hard for him to keep a job. Mike has been bringing him food.
I saw a few more familiar faces, including CT and his girlfriend. It sounded as though his temp job carrying a sign in front of the Kmart going-out-of-business-sale has ended.
When we had a break from visitors Mike showed me a card he had received. It was a beautiful thank-you card to the Street Ministry from a homeless couple. Inside was a gas card for the Street Ministry to use for the van. We were humbled. Here was a couple who were homeless and had few possessions, yet who still scraped together enough cash to give. We all felt a little uncomfortable receiving this from people with so little, but we knew that we couldn't give it back. To do so would be an insult to their gift of love.
I apologize if I'm being too preachy, but a story from Mark's Gospel (12:41-44) came to my mind:
'[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (NRSV translation)
Later in the evening the couple came up to the van. We all thanked them for the card and the gas card. They were both very gentle people. Jens talked at length with the man. Both Jens and the man enjoyed ice-fishing, and they spent quite a few minutes discussing the finer points of the sport. As I write this now, I realize that I did not see the face of the poor widow in this couple, I saw the face of Christ. Perhaps the man giving ice-fishing tips to Jens wasn't very different from Jesus telling the disciples: "Cast the net to right side of the boat, and you will find some." (John 21:6, NRSV)
Usually I write my journal entries right after I get home, but I was so tired that I went to sleep without making any notes. As a result, I suspect that I'm leaving out many stories. I think it was a good night--we listened much and gave out many food bags, water bottles, juice pouches, hand warmers, at least three winter coats, and some gloves and hats. There might have been a pair of boots as well. When the shelter opened at 7pm, I counted 25 people waiting to get in, and a few more were coming down the sidewalks.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George