I walked up to the cement picnic table in the middle of the small park by the railroad tracks. Men and women milled around all drawn by the spread of good hot food. I scanned the group, which consisted of friends from church and homeless men and women from Carlsbad. Like every Wednesday, I joined the food line, filled my plate with good grub and started talking to the people around me.
I was immediately drawn to a new comer who looked to be in her fifties. Her expression wasn’t hardened or weathered like many of the women
who have spent time on the streets. We begin to talk and she mentioned how excited she was about the home cooked food. Then she asked if I knew where to get a hot shower.
At that moment I realized two things, first she though I was homeless and second she was not just new to Fill-A-Belly (our homeless ministry) but new to the streets as well. I was honored by the realization that she assumed I was living on the streets. One of the goals of the ministry is to break down the walls that are so often erected between the homeless and mainstream society.
Through out the night I got to know Joanne and her husband Ronald (names changed). Their story had me fighting tears. Many of the homeless we work are there because of addictions or mental diseases. Joanne and Ronald were an average couple who hit a huge rough patch. Through no fault of their own they had lost the home they were staying in and Joanne had lost her job. Ronald still had a solid job but minimum wage doesn’t come close to making ends meet in Southern California.
When I met them they had only been on the streets for four days. They were tired, cold and not in any way used to living that lifestyle. Despite the circumstances Joanne was full of hugs, thanks, and encouragement. Ronald was excited to talk about Tofu with us (we are big soy fans) and I learned all about soy farming in the U.S. Joanne and Ronald are intelligent, beautiful people.
The next day I begin to research shelters, sure that it would be possible to find them a place. Ha, not so easy! There were shelters that would take women, shelters that would take men and shelters that would take families with children. I talked to one caseworker who said that couples with out children are almost impossible to place in a shelter. Through my research I found plenty of animal shelters and it frustrated me to no end to see how easy it would be to place a stray pet, while finding shelter for people was almost impossible.
I wish I had a good update for this story – the week after I first met them Ronald came to Fill-A-Belly alone. They had saved up gotten a hotel room for the night because Joanne hadn’t had a shower for almost two weeks. Ronald said that Joanne had insisted he come and at least say hi to us. We had a special Tofu dish just for him. He only stayed for a moment, Joanne had fallen into a major depression and he was nervous to leave her alone for too long. Hopefully I’ll see them tomorrow. I’m praying for some good news, and continuing to look for practical ways to help. If anyone has ideas or means to help let me know!
