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Home Van Letter - 9/28/08
WHELMED
There's overwhelmed, and there's underwhelmed, and then there's plain old whelmed. We've managed to perch on the edge of whelmed these past two weeks, with a lot of help from our friends. I've lost track of how many people we're seeing on driveouts, but, based on the number of water bottles and takeout bags I put on the van, I'd say it's in the neighborhood of 200. Three months ago 100 people was a typical 'end of the month' number. Every week I get two or three phone calls from someone who is about to become homeless, asking me where they can find emergency shelter. (Answer: nowhere). I also get phone calls from people who want to know where they can camp without fear of being arrested (Answer: nowhere). Usually nowhere, with so few shelter beds, except possibly for those who fit into a special category. That special category is moving fast in the direction of blind, one-legged 80-year olds.
We're reaching the outer limits of how many people we can help, both financially and physically, in terms of how much stuff we can pack into the van, how many people are needed for prep, and how many loose ends we have on our nerve endings. We are taking it one day at a time and doing a lot of praying, in our various ways.
These prayers are being answered by a spectacular outpouring of help from some of our newsletter readers. Two weeks ago we had a driveout that turned into a big, happy party. The ladies from Dining for a Cause met us downtown with a vast number of sandwiches (PB&Js and cheese and baloney), eggs, bottled water, cookies and socks. Everyone ate until they were actually full. Our guest helpers talked with the folks and there was a vast, diaphanous cloud of contentment, love and even joy drifting amongst us. It was only later I realized how much I've changed. There was a time when I thought parties needed more than baloney and eggs to really make my socks roll up and down.
One thing we need to recapture in our country is a sense of joy and knowing what it takes to create joy.
Then, two days later, the Hunger Summit folks gifted us with many dozens of boxed lunches and cases and cases of bottled water. Once again, everyone ate well.
We also have some individual angels who bring us extra sandwiches, extra eggs and, sometimes, a box of smoked chicken.
More and more homeless people are coming on board to help us, or offering to be backup helpers. As I used to say to the ladies who came to the family food pantry, "We're all riding in the same boat."
Once again, I want to acknowledge Hospice Thrift Shop, where a very special angel named Kathleen sorts out piles and piles of bluejeans, t-shirts, blankets, jackets, candles, books and even sometimes tents and campstoves, that we get on a weekly basis, so we don't have to worry about storage (the lack thereof).
MY NEW GOAL
I would like to publicly announce that I've set a personal, spiritual goal to stop bashing the City Commission, city staff, and even Russ Blackburn (:) I usually don't do this, because it's rather akin to praying on street corners, but announcing it will help me stick to this goal. It is my core belief that you change people by loving them, not by telling them how horrible they are. I also believe that most people are doing the best they can, given the circumstances they find themselves in (this applies to homeless people, city commissioners, and all the rest of us.) I wish those of us who work the streets could enter into a partnership based on mutual respect with our city government, and speak honestly with one another.
It is in this spirit that I am going to mention a recent juxtaposition of events. A week ago Thursday we left an 80-year-old woman who had been evicted from her apartment sitting on a curb across the street from Lynch Park. She was in the care of her daughter, who had been evicted with her, and a homeles angel all the street people call "Mom." That was cold comfort. The next day I read in the Sun that the city is going to spend $85,000 dollars turning Lynch Park into a dog park.
Here is my proposal: Cut that figure in half. Set a budget of around $45,000 dollars for the redemption of Lynch Park. The Porter Oaks neighborhood has not been able to use that park for at least two decades. They need and deserve this amenity. Put a modest but sturdy fence around Lynch Park. If it doesn't look fancy enough, I know local artists who would be thrilled to paint a beautiful mural on the fence. Put in the necessary water fountain, and turn the landscaping into a community volunteer effort. Ask local nursuries and gardeners to donate plants and saplings. Recruit landscape gardening students from Santa Fe and UF to design and supervise the transformation. Recruit volunteers from both the homeless and housed community to work together on landscaping Lynch Park. A volunteer coordinator of great talent would be needed to make this work, but I believe he or she is out there somewhere.
Then with the other half of the money, get people into housing. Some people get a check that would cover their rent, but they can never accrue the deposit money they need to get into a place. Set up a fund people can go to for rent, utility and cleaning deposits. Ask them to pay back the loan at a reasonable rate for each person, even if it is one dollar or five dollars a month, to help perpetuate this fund. Some people are waiting on disability (getting onto disability can take years, these days, unless you are maybe in an iron lung). The city could spend some of the saved money to pay Section 8 rent for people who are waiting for their disability approval. Sometimes this rent can be as little as $25 a month.
I think this sort of concept could be used on other projects that we in the lederhosen and flaming torch crowd see as a little "fluffy." As we head into hard times, maybe the city needs a volunteer coordinator on staff, whose salary would be paid by the money volunteer efforts could save the city.
We need to take care of people and we need to bring the human family together. Amen.
love, arupa
______________________________________________________________________________
The Home Van needs bottled water, peanut butter, jelly, Vienna sausages, white tube socks, candles, tents and tarps. Call 372-4825 to arrange for dropoffs. Financial contributions to the Home Van should be made out to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, earmarked for the Home Van, and mailed to 307 SE 6th Street, Gainesville, FL 32601. All contributions are tax deductible.
There's overwhelmed, and there's underwhelmed, and then there's plain old whelmed. We've managed to perch on the edge of whelmed these past two weeks, with a lot of help from our friends. I've lost track of how many people we're seeing on driveouts, but, based on the number of water bottles and takeout bags I put on the van, I'd say it's in the neighborhood of 200. Three months ago 100 people was a typical 'end of the month' number. Every week I get two or three phone calls from someone who is about to become homeless, asking me where they can find emergency shelter. (Answer: nowhere). I also get phone calls from people who want to know where they can camp without fear of being arrested (Answer: nowhere). Usually nowhere, with so few shelter beds, except possibly for those who fit into a special category. That special category is moving fast in the direction of blind, one-legged 80-year olds.
We're reaching the outer limits of how many people we can help, both financially and physically, in terms of how much stuff we can pack into the van, how many people are needed for prep, and how many loose ends we have on our nerve endings. We are taking it one day at a time and doing a lot of praying, in our various ways.
These prayers are being answered by a spectacular outpouring of help from some of our newsletter readers. Two weeks ago we had a driveout that turned into a big, happy party. The ladies from Dining for a Cause met us downtown with a vast number of sandwiches (PB&Js and cheese and baloney), eggs, bottled water, cookies and socks. Everyone ate until they were actually full. Our guest helpers talked with the folks and there was a vast, diaphanous cloud of contentment, love and even joy drifting amongst us. It was only later I realized how much I've changed. There was a time when I thought parties needed more than baloney and eggs to really make my socks roll up and down.
One thing we need to recapture in our country is a sense of joy and knowing what it takes to create joy.
Then, two days later, the Hunger Summit folks gifted us with many dozens of boxed lunches and cases and cases of bottled water. Once again, everyone ate well.
We also have some individual angels who bring us extra sandwiches, extra eggs and, sometimes, a box of smoked chicken.
More and more homeless people are coming on board to help us, or offering to be backup helpers. As I used to say to the ladies who came to the family food pantry, "We're all riding in the same boat."
Once again, I want to acknowledge Hospice Thrift Shop, where a very special angel named Kathleen sorts out piles and piles of bluejeans, t-shirts, blankets, jackets, candles, books and even sometimes tents and campstoves, that we get on a weekly basis, so we don't have to worry about storage (the lack thereof).
MY NEW GOAL
I would like to publicly announce that I've set a personal, spiritual goal to stop bashing the City Commission, city staff, and even Russ Blackburn (:) I usually don't do this, because it's rather akin to praying on street corners, but announcing it will help me stick to this goal. It is my core belief that you change people by loving them, not by telling them how horrible they are. I also believe that most people are doing the best they can, given the circumstances they find themselves in (this applies to homeless people, city commissioners, and all the rest of us.) I wish those of us who work the streets could enter into a partnership based on mutual respect with our city government, and speak honestly with one another.
It is in this spirit that I am going to mention a recent juxtaposition of events. A week ago Thursday we left an 80-year-old woman who had been evicted from her apartment sitting on a curb across the street from Lynch Park. She was in the care of her daughter, who had been evicted with her, and a homeles angel all the street people call "Mom." That was cold comfort. The next day I read in the Sun that the city is going to spend $85,000 dollars turning Lynch Park into a dog park.
Here is my proposal: Cut that figure in half. Set a budget of around $45,000 dollars for the redemption of Lynch Park. The Porter Oaks neighborhood has not been able to use that park for at least two decades. They need and deserve this amenity. Put a modest but sturdy fence around Lynch Park. If it doesn't look fancy enough, I know local artists who would be thrilled to paint a beautiful mural on the fence. Put in the necessary water fountain, and turn the landscaping into a community volunteer effort. Ask local nursuries and gardeners to donate plants and saplings. Recruit landscape gardening students from Santa Fe and UF to design and supervise the transformation. Recruit volunteers from both the homeless and housed community to work together on landscaping Lynch Park. A volunteer coordinator of great talent would be needed to make this work, but I believe he or she is out there somewhere.
Then with the other half of the money, get people into housing. Some people get a check that would cover their rent, but they can never accrue the deposit money they need to get into a place. Set up a fund people can go to for rent, utility and cleaning deposits. Ask them to pay back the loan at a reasonable rate for each person, even if it is one dollar or five dollars a month, to help perpetuate this fund. Some people are waiting on disability (getting onto disability can take years, these days, unless you are maybe in an iron lung). The city could spend some of the saved money to pay Section 8 rent for people who are waiting for their disability approval. Sometimes this rent can be as little as $25 a month.
I think this sort of concept could be used on other projects that we in the lederhosen and flaming torch crowd see as a little "fluffy." As we head into hard times, maybe the city needs a volunteer coordinator on staff, whose salary would be paid by the money volunteer efforts could save the city.
We need to take care of people and we need to bring the human family together. Amen.
love, arupa
______________________________________________________________________________
The Home Van needs bottled water, peanut butter, jelly, Vienna sausages, white tube socks, candles, tents and tarps. Call 372-4825 to arrange for dropoffs. Financial contributions to the Home Van should be made out to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, earmarked for the Home Van, and mailed to 307 SE 6th Street, Gainesville, FL 32601. All contributions are tax deductible.
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