Rarely do I drive into town twice in the same day.
Yet volunteering at the warming shelter is actually incredibly interesting.
Many homeless folk are a bit lonely, and given a non-threatening environment. Love to tell stories. And boy do they all have stories.
Carrying a cup of hot soup, outside to have a smoke and a chat. You can, if you listen, find great wisdom borne of experience. That can be found nowhere else.
Last night at the warming shelter.
Busy at first, then calmed down. No major disruptions. Some minor squabbling over who got privacy screens. This is basically a church gym, with thick sleeping mats on the floor. Not much privacy. We did have about a dozen screens, that cover three sides of the mat. It is sort of a judgment call on who gets them. It got sorted.
Everyone was exhausted. More than last winter. This year folks are more grim, resigned. I did have a couple of brief conversations.
The hot soup was excellent, good church lady soup, thick with protein, I think chicken. Big hit. And there was plenty. Coffee was horrible, Tea a little better.
Plenty of blankets, and mats. Total count was 63 humans, not all stayed the whole night. There were two other smaller warming shelters open last night. Both on the outskirts. This one is close to downtown. But free city bus rides to all.
I got to ask a guy I knew sort of well, why people looked more beat down?
He said:
"They are, the city is busting up campsites, moving people around. Sure there are more beds open, but many come with strings, rules. The people that don't want no rules, have to keep moving. It's hard to pack up and move, it means you have less stuff. Less stuff makes you grumpy and meaner."
Then he bummed another cigarette.
I always buy a pack to take to the shelter.
Yet volunteering at the warming shelter is actually incredibly interesting.
Many homeless folk are a bit lonely, and given a non-threatening environment. Love to tell stories. And boy do they all have stories.
Carrying a cup of hot soup, outside to have a smoke and a chat. You can, if you listen, find great wisdom borne of experience. That can be found nowhere else.
Last night at the warming shelter.
Busy at first, then calmed down. No major disruptions. Some minor squabbling over who got privacy screens. This is basically a church gym, with thick sleeping mats on the floor. Not much privacy. We did have about a dozen screens, that cover three sides of the mat. It is sort of a judgment call on who gets them. It got sorted.
Everyone was exhausted. More than last winter. This year folks are more grim, resigned. I did have a couple of brief conversations.
The hot soup was excellent, good church lady soup, thick with protein, I think chicken. Big hit. And there was plenty. Coffee was horrible, Tea a little better.
Plenty of blankets, and mats. Total count was 63 humans, not all stayed the whole night. There were two other smaller warming shelters open last night. Both on the outskirts. This one is close to downtown. But free city bus rides to all.
I got to ask a guy I knew sort of well, why people looked more beat down?
He said:
"They are, the city is busting up campsites, moving people around. Sure there are more beds open, but many come with strings, rules. The people that don't want no rules, have to keep moving. It's hard to pack up and move, it means you have less stuff. Less stuff makes you grumpy and meaner."
Then he bummed another cigarette.
I always buy a pack to take to the shelter.