Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our Winter Outreach Shelter provides refuge on the coldest nights of the year saving people’s lives. Our guests range from those who have always been poor and have always lived with housing insecurity to others who have become unhoused because of their mental health or substance use challenges. And many others are unhoused for reasons that we will never know.
Over the last 10 years, I have stayed committed to this program because the generous, incredible people who take refuge for a safe night’s rest in our care. I cannot tell you how many times I have watched someone, carrying on their backs all they own, quickly dig through their few belongings to find pants or a belt for another guest who needs it more! Today, I am grateful to share some of the stories of those who have shared a night of their lives with me:
Among past guests was the woman who carried herself elegantly as she rolled her small suitcase into the shelter. One of our volunteers gasped, remarking: “she was my teacher!” Quietly, he said that this woman had been an impressive teacher that he remembered well from his childhood.
I remember a young couple, sitting up late into the night as they studied for an exam in a dental tech program they were both enrolled in. The next week, they came back SO excited to tell us that they had passed the exam – largely due to the help of one of our volunteers who sat up helping them prepare.
And then there was the family of four: mom, full-time-employed dad, and two small children. The mom cried as she said that two months earlier she had been the one passing out sandwiches to the homeless. But then the pipes broke in their apartment, the apartment was condemned, and they were suddenly unhoused without money to pay a deposit and first/last month rent.
Every one of our guests has their own story. And ALL deserve a warm place to stay on deadly cold nights.