Cold weather is coming. It was in the mid forties when I arrived at the municipal parking lot at 5:45, and was in the low forties when I left around seven. We gave out quite a few hats, gloves, and warmer sweatshirts. Becky, Brent, Deb, Michelle, Mike and I were all helping. When I arrived an older looking man was talking with Mike and Brent. I only caught the end of his tale, but he is new in town. He had been in California but somehow--I missed that part of his story--arrived here. He suffers from several ailments including bone cancer and is currently trying to get better medical care. He was hard to understand--I think he was missing many of his teeth and that affected his speech. We gave him food, warmer clothes, and a duffel bag.
Another man talked with us, although mainly with Mike, for many minutes. He has been trying to find housing. He has a part time job at a grocery store and wants to work full time but the store won't raise his hours. He also has felony convictions in his past, although he has been out of prison for more than a year. When we mentioned some programs that serve those who have been in prison, he said that he now makes too much money to be eligible for them. When we mentioned other programs, he said he had tried them but they turned him down because he was a convicted felon. We gave him a couple of more leads, but he was clearly tired of all the bureaucracy.
We had many women visitors, although I didn't talk with many of them. We try to have women volunteers talk with the women privately because so many are victims of sexual violence and trafficking and are reluctant to open up to men. Brent and I stayed near the back of the van and handed out food bags, water bottles, and winter clothing items. We also distributed some hygiene supplies. I'm guessing we served about 25 people tonight.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George
Another man talked with us, although mainly with Mike, for many minutes. He has been trying to find housing. He has a part time job at a grocery store and wants to work full time but the store won't raise his hours. He also has felony convictions in his past, although he has been out of prison for more than a year. When we mentioned some programs that serve those who have been in prison, he said that he now makes too much money to be eligible for them. When we mentioned other programs, he said he had tried them but they turned him down because he was a convicted felon. We gave him a couple of more leads, but he was clearly tired of all the bureaucracy.
We had many women visitors, although I didn't talk with many of them. We try to have women volunteers talk with the women privately because so many are victims of sexual violence and trafficking and are reluctant to open up to men. Brent and I stayed near the back of the van and handed out food bags, water bottles, and winter clothing items. We also distributed some hygiene supplies. I'm guessing we served about 25 people tonight.
Please pray for, and care for, the poor.
George