Elephant Reflections
Most of those that know me know my propensity to put the elephant on the table rather than pretending not to see it in the room. Some see those of us called to serve the unsheltered and disenfranchised as people out to meet our own need for approval and esteem by exploiting those whose choices caused their own problems.
I understand that and know that description has to fit a few because we hear it on the streets all the time. “you are out here and you make promises to us and tell us you’ll help and we never see you again.” That doesn’t reflect our team.
We know full well that some among our friends will eat our food and sleep in the beds we provide and continue their dysfunction until they die from some preventable set of circumstances But then we also know, as is the case with some of the gifted, anointed and selfless team members I am surrounded by, that some will see in our simple acts of kindness an opportunity to get on a path that will lead them to an overcoming life.
Such a change certainly warms the heart and gratifies us, but that does not explain why we do it. Matthew 25:35 finds Jesus teaching. He says: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Confused the crowd asks when they had done all that. Jesus replies: ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Let’s back up a bit in the Bible to hear Jesus teach: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22: 37-40. Now let’s jump ahead in the Bible to hear: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands”. 1John 5. 2
We do it because we love God and God has told us to do it and we intend to be obedient. We do it because of God’s grace. We know on our own efforts we cannot earn and be found worthy of friendship with God but we all claim friendship with God! If we needed God’s grace , why would we not pass it on to those others that some think don’t deserve it because of how they drink or drug or. . . . How do we know which of them will not come to a new life because someone offered them A Hand Up—just as we received at some point in the past.
We invite you to get to know our friends. That’s why Melanie tells their story week after week. The old commercial, “I’m down and I can’t get up” loops around in my head as I experience our visits week after week. C has tried everything to keep a roof over her and her children’s head. For her efforts she got a landlord that wanted to move a man in on top of Cand her kids, then a temporary room with a great lady for a couple of months until she and some new friends all secured jobs in Sanford and a new place. Then her friends moved because their jobs didn’t work out, then another landlord changed their minds after saying they would rent to her and then a group that thought they could help didn’t because C was not on the streets but had one day left in her apartment. I could tell more of the same true stories for hours. They’re heartbreaking!
The system is terribly broken! And for those not touched by God’s compassion, be touched by the concern for your wallet. Refusing to deal with the elephant has cost taxpayers billions over the years. Our friend Bruce’s passing is an example. Please hear no blame against the hospitals. They tried hard to help but Bruce’s speech impediment made it hard for him to communicate so the hospital followed their rules and did the best they could. He went into the ER’s—stayed until slightly improved, got discharged, moved to the next ER because he felt poorly and had no shelter, same thing until he had three serious illnesses, all infections during his hospitalizations to which he finally succumbed in death. Frustrating experience for Bruce and his friends, frustrating experience for his professional care givers who tried so hard to help and a very expensive experience for all taxpayers. This all would have been avoided if he had been in temperate healthy living quarters.
Even though the source is from California 😊, the following article explains how the costs add up https://my.neighbor.org/what-is-the-cost-of-homelessness/#:~:text=We%20found%20that%20before%20individuals,amount%20depends%20on%20the%20individual.
Don’t know about you, but that’s about all the elephant I can chew in one setting. . . . 😊