Our church does a thing called “Prayers in the Park.” Praying is not the intended purpose, but occasionally, the people ask for a “prayer thing” and we do a non-denominational “service” that seems to be very well received by the crowd.
We bring lunch, but the main purpose is to meet and talk with the people and that is the key: they are real people with real lives. I’m amazed and pleased by how much they look out for each other. If someone doesn’t show up, everybody knows about it and ask about that person. They have enough of their own problems but care for one another.
The police in our city get along well with them, recognizing them as a vulnerable population and arrest any they can find on the street when the weather is bad, and release them without charges when the weather improves. In exchange the police have numerous “eyes and ears” on the street.
Every Christmas we have two “Angel Trees:” one for toys for children of parents who cannot afford toys and another for this part of the community. The second tree gets coats, gloves and camping equipment. We can’t eliminate homelessness, but we can make it easier to bear.
My wife goes about once a month and uses her nursing skills to do health screenings and even flu shots. She also gets people “connected” with agencies to provide health care to those who need it. She also has an “in” with one of the doctors who will write orders for her. Nurses can do a lot under a doctor’s order. It is a model we need to study of ALL of our nation’s communities.
rayannina over 5 years ago
The Gift of the Entouragi.
Dani Rice over 5 years ago
What a wonderful strip today!
DanFlak over 5 years ago
Our church does a thing called “Prayers in the Park.” Praying is not the intended purpose, but occasionally, the people ask for a “prayer thing” and we do a non-denominational “service” that seems to be very well received by the crowd.
We bring lunch, but the main purpose is to meet and talk with the people and that is the key: they are real people with real lives. I’m amazed and pleased by how much they look out for each other. If someone doesn’t show up, everybody knows about it and ask about that person. They have enough of their own problems but care for one another.
The police in our city get along well with them, recognizing them as a vulnerable population and arrest any they can find on the street when the weather is bad, and release them without charges when the weather improves. In exchange the police have numerous “eyes and ears” on the street.
Every Christmas we have two “Angel Trees:” one for toys for children of parents who cannot afford toys and another for this part of the community. The second tree gets coats, gloves and camping equipment. We can’t eliminate homelessness, but we can make it easier to bear.
My wife goes about once a month and uses her nursing skills to do health screenings and even flu shots. She also gets people “connected” with agencies to provide health care to those who need it. She also has an “in” with one of the doctors who will write orders for her. Nurses can do a lot under a doctor’s order. It is a model we need to study of ALL of our nation’s communities.
Night-Gaunt49[Bozo is Boffo] over 5 years ago
We do have enough foreclosed empty homes owned by banks to give them homes.