I'm feeling a little bit pensive. There are a few people on the street that we have a relationship with who either won't accept any more help or who we didn't connect with in order to give them more help.
It was below 0 for the second night in a row. Two nights ago we put one of our homeless women up in a motel room. I'm not sure what she did last night.
I talked Wed night with two of our campers who were all bravado about the cold and their tent and how they stay warm. They were laughing and macho - but....it's still cold.
One of our guys recently lost his apartment and has been living in his car. He's selling his plasma for money for gas for his car. I suppose that's the heating bill for him right there. I tried to give him some extra blankets, but he wouldn't accept them and said that he was okay.
Others have told me that "there is a plan" and "they'll be ok" without going into details. I know that certain options come out of the woodwork, but, I still worry.
During a 10pm news weather report in December, the newscaster highlighted how cold it was by interviewing a homeless man who had been kicked out of the mission. In my opinion it was actually done quite well - neither demonizing the man nor the mission - but calling attention to the fact that there are people who on the streets in this cold.
As a child I know I was ignorant. In Tacoma - it never got this cold. In Chicago, I was able to ignore it. Here and now, I have to admit that I am no savior...and there are limits to how I can help. I have to recognize that it's not up to me to force people to accept help or to behave in the way I would say is socially acceptable. I have to recognize it and lead others in continuing to care for people where they are.
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