It's 2:30am and I'm chillin' at the overnight cold weather shelter while a number of guys are sleeping on cots, with a thin pillow, and covered by thin hospital blankets. One man just arrived having been dropped off after finishing his work shift at an all night diner. It's 10f (-12c) and will still drop a few degrees before morning.
The population of Springfield MO is around 168,000 (2019). Local agencies that keep track of the people that utilize services for the unsheltered community currently have 933 people listed by name. It is estimated that an additional 1000 people are couch surfing with friends or relatives during this recent extreme weather. Although they have a warm place to sleep tonight, they are literally a fight over dirty dishes or leaving the toilet seat up from finding themselves without shelter for tonight.
The city itself has done little in the way of helping or offering shelter. If fact, even during the very heart of winter, the city has been removing tent encampments and forcing people to find other ways to stay warm. There has been some recent movement with some funds (far too few for a city this size) that have been released to help the situation. Unfortunately, government oversight of the monies pretty much ensures that it won't be used in the most beneficial ways.
Where would you go if you didn't have shelter for tonight?
If you could only have what you can carry with you, how would you stay warm tonight?
Where would you go for something to eat or drink? How long would your money last?
Then what?
I've got to tell you, before we started volunteering last winter, I wouldn't have had a clue. In fact, the homeless of our community were pretty invisible to me. Having worked with them, talked with them, listened to their stories -- it's been a real eye opening experience.
I remember working at an evening warming center last winter when the overnight forecast was around 20f (-7c). One of the guys was asking if we had an extra sleeping bag available. When asked why he wasn't going to the shelter, he said that he had just started a new job and was afraid that if he went to the shelter (it was on the far edge of the city) he would be late for work and lose his job. The dude would rather sleep outside in below freezing temps than risk being late for work! A few phone calls and a couple of bus passes and we were able to get him out of the shelter early and on a bus that would get him to work.
A number of our guests have jobs. Some have cars that they often sleep in. Some are trying to save enough money for the deposit and first month's rent so they can have a place to live. There are a number of them that deal with varying types of mental illnesses that keep them from holding jobs and the system for treating them is sorely lacking in anything that is truly helpful.
I can't begin to express just how thankful I am for the few churches that have really stepped up this winter. I want to emphasize that there really are only a few. Apparently helping people that can in no way add to your offering plate is against the religion of most churches in the so called bible belt.
But for those that do serve and the volunteers that fill the food pantries and meet the needs of our city's most vulnerable people -- these are the people that give me hope that there is something redeemable about the human race.
And those redeeming qualities are also found throughout the homeless population.
One night, an hour or so after we started serving dinner, two men came in. One of them was pretty young and had apparently just been kicked out of wherever he had been staying. He was brand new to the street. The other one asked me if there was anything left for his friend to eat because he hadn't had anything to eat all day and didn't have any idea where to go. I told him I thought we had enough for both of them and started to take them back to the serving table. He was pretty insistent that I take care of his friend first. As it turned out, he hadn't had anything to eat all day, either. This was the meal he was counting on, but was willing to give it up to make sure the new guy got fed.
There are some great humanitarian stories out there. While Texas republicans are playing the blame game, their arch enemy (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) has raised over $1 million in direct relief funds for Texas -- in less than one day! Just people helping people, right?
What have you got?
It's Friday. Tell me a good story. Make me proud of our humanity.
John
Tammy and I volunteered one night at a church shelter a couple winters ago, helping with serving the evening meal. I spent a good deal of my time there talking with those in need of shelter. It was eye-opening. One person told of how she was self-sufficient and doing well in life until a car crash left her debilitated and ultimately, homeless. There were so many other stories from people who were living on the margins of society who were doing what they could to keep a roof over their heads but fell behind. And some were mentally ill and struggling to make the right choices in life. They were all deserving of compassion and help.
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