A couple of days ago, I dragged a little wheelie bag full of partially used (shower gel, lotions, conditioner) and completely new (band-aids, deodorant, soap, socks, gloves, etc) toiletries to Homeless Youth Services. I'm not sure how I feel about that experience.
First, it's affiliated with a church, and I have mixed feelings about anything religious. However, it didn't look like a preachy situation, and quite honestly I totally believe in churches doing things like this because hey, they've got all that real estate - put it to real use! The program gets to use the basement after 6pm, and it's not a "finished" basement - it felt like a garage, which made me a little sad. The wish list for this week included sleeping bags, and I'm pretty sure they roll them out on the concrete floor and sleep right there.
I got there around 7pm on a bitter evening, but the basement was delightfully toasty. I saw about a dozen teenagers hanging out, chatting, teaching each other to dance (I thought that only happened in movies!). I asked the woman in charge how many kids they take care of, and she said now that it's so cold, about 30 sleep there and more stop by for food and a little relief from life on the streets.
It opened my eyes, but not in a "now I understand" kind of way...it was more like "wow, there's so much I don't understand".
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4 comments:
I can't imagine what it must be like to be a child and homeless. God bless these children. And God bless the religious organization and generous donors like you for helping these kids out.
What you're doing is great. I just found your blog and well, it's a nice read. I may try to copy you!
What you are doing is great. It's got me thinking about what I can do.
Wow, didn't know anyone read this thing but me - I keep debating whether or not to let this get absorbed into my personal finance blog...
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