STREET JOURNAL - Tuesday, 2/3/15. Its hard to believe that we've entered into February already. I am grateful for the somewhat milder winter we've been experiencing, and I know for certain that many of our street people are grateful, as well.
We continue to see new people each week, one man appeared saying he had come from Boston and was on the way to visit someone in the area, he had run out of travel money and was "trapped" in Eau Claire with little to no belongings to survive on. Another man has been living primarily in his car for many months but needed a little extra support to get by. He shared some of his stories about a broken marriage, doing some jail time, acknowledging that this was not how he expected his life to turn out. This man, I believe, sought us out for conversation and social contact more than anything, although he was in need of gloves and some food. How lonely it must get for many of the street people! Imagine having no where to go but your car and being looked down on by the general population.
One person I met when I first started volunteering in October is a struggling alcoholic, my concerns for him are growing. His physical appearance has changed, he is looking more gaunt and stressed, underweight, much less healthy from when I met him four months ago. His eyes lack the "life" I use to see. This man has one of the kindest, gentle demeanor's I've ever run into and I pray that someday he can get his addiction under control and see himself how we see him. Until he is ready to get help, we'll continue to support him and do what we can for him. I wish I could accurately describe his kind spirit so that you could see what we see. Being homeless is certainly not helping his situation but until he accepts changes in his life, stable housing may not be available.
Wherever the people come from and for whatever reason they're in need, we're available to them. Please pray for the needy. If you have any large gloves laying around or XL coats, we're still handing those out and are always in need.
Karen
We continue to see new people each week, one man appeared saying he had come from Boston and was on the way to visit someone in the area, he had run out of travel money and was "trapped" in Eau Claire with little to no belongings to survive on. Another man has been living primarily in his car for many months but needed a little extra support to get by. He shared some of his stories about a broken marriage, doing some jail time, acknowledging that this was not how he expected his life to turn out. This man, I believe, sought us out for conversation and social contact more than anything, although he was in need of gloves and some food. How lonely it must get for many of the street people! Imagine having no where to go but your car and being looked down on by the general population.
One person I met when I first started volunteering in October is a struggling alcoholic, my concerns for him are growing. His physical appearance has changed, he is looking more gaunt and stressed, underweight, much less healthy from when I met him four months ago. His eyes lack the "life" I use to see. This man has one of the kindest, gentle demeanor's I've ever run into and I pray that someday he can get his addiction under control and see himself how we see him. Until he is ready to get help, we'll continue to support him and do what we can for him. I wish I could accurately describe his kind spirit so that you could see what we see. Being homeless is certainly not helping his situation but until he accepts changes in his life, stable housing may not be available.
Wherever the people come from and for whatever reason they're in need, we're available to them. Please pray for the needy. If you have any large gloves laying around or XL coats, we're still handing those out and are always in need.
Karen