Becky, Brent, Michelle, and Mike were ready with the back of the van open when I arrived at a quarter to six. It was cool--around 40 degrees--but there was little or no wind, so it wasn't too bad. In another month we will be wishing for such weather. For the first half-hour or so I helped Brent hand out food bags. We gave out quite a few, but most people didn't stay long or talk much. BK stayed and I talked with her for quite a while. She was rather cheerful: her significant other, CT, was getting an increase in pay. The two of them are building a tiny trailer-sized house outside of town. (CT has worked in construction in the past.) They are staying in the shelter because they can't afford regular rent and are trying to save enough to finish their tiny house and escape homelessness once and for all. I didn't see CT--BK said he was on his way after work. I hope all goes well and their plans work out. Another man, one I hadn't seen in a couple of years, then stopped by and talked to us--mostly to Mike. He just got laid off, and was back at the shelter until he can make enough to pay the rent. There are a lot of people in the shelter who are hard workers but have such little security in their jobs that they can't stay off the street.
I saw a few other familiar faces: the gentle man suffering from both cancer and aids, a young woman who is trying to get off the streets but has been sexually trafficked since before she was a teenager, a high school kid and his father. FB, another regular I hadn't seen in while, visited as well but didn't stay long. Michelle, Becky, Mike, and Brent were busy getting winter clothing articles and backpacks for people while I stayed at the back of the van handing out food bags. After a while Mike waved me over to the side of the van and asked me to take some notes. Two older men were living under a bridge and needed supplies, and I wrote down their needs. One has a serious drug problem (perhaps both do) and is not allowed in the shelter because of past behavior when he was high. They had been staying by the river, and had some possessions hidden in what they thought were secret places in the woods, but some people--the two thought they were city workers on cleanup detail--took away their tent and hidden possessions while they were gone. They needed sleeping bags, a tent (one had a one-person tent but not enough room for both), and some very wide shoes (one of them men suffers from hammer toes).
JF was one of our last visitors. He is one of our success stories--he has been living in his budget apartment for almost a year, and continues to work at a thrift store. He came by to say hi. Around seven we packed up. The temperature had dropped to the upper 30s. We did a rough count of water bottles and estimated that we served 28 tonight.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George
I saw a few other familiar faces: the gentle man suffering from both cancer and aids, a young woman who is trying to get off the streets but has been sexually trafficked since before she was a teenager, a high school kid and his father. FB, another regular I hadn't seen in while, visited as well but didn't stay long. Michelle, Becky, Mike, and Brent were busy getting winter clothing articles and backpacks for people while I stayed at the back of the van handing out food bags. After a while Mike waved me over to the side of the van and asked me to take some notes. Two older men were living under a bridge and needed supplies, and I wrote down their needs. One has a serious drug problem (perhaps both do) and is not allowed in the shelter because of past behavior when he was high. They had been staying by the river, and had some possessions hidden in what they thought were secret places in the woods, but some people--the two thought they were city workers on cleanup detail--took away their tent and hidden possessions while they were gone. They needed sleeping bags, a tent (one had a one-person tent but not enough room for both), and some very wide shoes (one of them men suffers from hammer toes).
JF was one of our last visitors. He is one of our success stories--he has been living in his budget apartment for almost a year, and continues to work at a thrift store. He came by to say hi. Around seven we packed up. The temperature had dropped to the upper 30s. We did a rough count of water bottles and estimated that we served 28 tonight.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George