First Friday

It is late on the first Friday of 2024. I am sitting here and contemplating the first abbreviated week of the year. 
It is winter in the Ozarks and it snowed for a little bit today. The temperature was just above freezing for most of the day so it was gone quickly. Tonight's temperature is just below freezing and the crisis cold weather shelters are open. I am so grateful for the many volunteers that come and serve on nights like tonight. The steady string of cold nights can stress our volunteer pool as it takes a good number of people every night we are open.

The diversity within the unsheltered population is interesting. Last night one guest was calling me an asshole and another was nearly in tears thanking me and calling me Pastor when he left in the morning.
Weird.
Two guys left the shelter this week saying I kicked them out in the middle of the night, when really I just gave them the option/suggestion that if they didn't want to follow the rules they were free to leave. It is generally a bit of a balancing act to provide a safe, warm environment for everyone to sleep when some are disruptive.

Most of them are unaware of how difficult it was to secure a location for this shelter, or how precarious our position is when it comes to keeping it. I doubt that many of them care -- until we lose it and they find themselves without the option our few beds offer them.
Some of the bs has me growing a little cold toward the community in general. I need to be careful about that. I've gone from going out of my way (as a volunteer) serving them to often feeling like they are ungrateful and wondering why I'm here. It's good to reevaluate my position and make the necessary adjustments.

Not much happening tonight.
Cops called twice (before the shelter even opened and before I got here) and the ambulance once.
Just another night at the shelter.

John