Michelle from "Feed My People", Jens from Plymouth Church and Karen a nurse and social work student at the University are trying to identify and work with the severely mentally handicapped people that we identify. They are trying to help them get off the street and in to a facility that can care for them. The streets are very difficult to navigate in their condition and can be dangerous if they are out there for any length of time. Please lift of prayers for these people and our volunteers that try and provide for them.
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For several weeks the street ministry has been observing a member of our street congregation that has been of great worry to us. In the few interactions we have had with him, he has said only one or two words and has not told us his name. So we will for the time being, simply abbreviate him as CH. CH we believe, has some very serious mental health issues that put him in extreme risk living out in the streets. He is unable to find/understand how to find food and does not seem to have the cognitive ability to communicate what he needs.
Plymouth Street Ministry - Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Hard to believe its May already, seemed it was just a few short weeks ago that our hands and feet were fighting the icy cold weather while standing on the streets.
On Tuesday, April 28, 2015, we had a young woman come to the van who caught our attentions and has held our thoughts since our initial meeting. I was helping someone else and when I turned around from the van there was a wide eyed young person standing immediately next to me. All she said was "Hi!" and it was spoken so excitedly that I was certain that I was supposed to have known her or remembered her. I asked her just a couple of questions and discovered that she was new to the streets, or has been gone a long while and has returned. She claimed that she rode a regional agency's transit bus from Barron, WI to Eau Claire, WI solely to get here and her plan was to stay at the Sojourner House. Her phrasing of words and word choice was that of a younger child but she clearly was an adult. I tried to keep her with us in order to ascertain her needs or necessary care but she slipped off and walked down the street, talking animatedly to herself. She returned to the Sojourner parking lot a short time later and I crossed the street to speak with her and her behavior was the same: very simple, very flighty and very concerning. She had nothing but what she was wearing and appeared ragged. She claimed to know where the Community Table was and the library but I couldn't get much other information from her. We hope she surfaces on Friday if for no other reason for us to know that she's safe.
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