"Fighting Hunger...Feeding Hope"
I finally got hooked up with the program at church that takes food to homeless camps every week. I've wanted to do that since the inception of the program, but there were always plenty of volunteers. Suddenly they needed help and I jumped in. I must've done OK, cause it looks like I've got the job from now on.
We took a truck full of food from the Oklahoma Food Bank and some case workers from the Homeless Alliance, Be The Change and a couple of other organizations. There really are a lot of resources here for hurting, disenfranchised people. We parked close enough for people to walk over to where we were. They would come and the case workers would find out how many people they had to feed, whether they needed any other services (ranging from counseling to basic health care), etc..
We passed out food and blankets. I listened and absorbed.
I can't figure out how to say any more about it without appearing to be condescending, which I absolutely am not. These guys needed and appreciated the food and blankets. I was excited and thankful to be able to participate in it.
I think we would be amazed at the number of people in Oklahoma City, or anywhere else for that matter who are much closer to the homeless life than they know. If I lose my income and can't pay my house payment, it would take the bank a matter of months or years to foreclose. But people who rent apartments are much more vulnerable. They can stay about 30 days without paying and they're out.
Now they have to find a job, accumulate first and last month's rent, eat, stay warm and figure out how to stay clean and look presentable without a house, bathroom, kitchen,etc. It's really an uphill road.
And they need a bridge to tomorrow.
And, albeit in a very small way, I was glad to help with that.