The Word from the Streets - December 4, 2002

Namaste

As I sit here in my warm house, the idea of having to live on the streets is absolutely frightening. I am remembering looking into the bottom floor of the shelter at Peachtree and Pine today. There were so many men huddled together trying to stay warm. In the same parking lot that we give our lunches, there was a van giving coffee and donuts to our guys. Many told us that they were so grateful to get a warm beverage. Melissa and Candika broke out with Christmas carols with Shaun and other new guys. Todd was there with his endless supply of sweets today for Selina. Our Kevin was there. He had just finished his volunteer work at crossroads. He told us that he has a lot of work at Phillips arena doing security for big concerts. Many were fed here today. As we were pulling out of the lot, we noticed our Homer making his way up the road. We knew that he wouldn't come over to the crowded lot. Knowing this, Chris and Ganesh Giri jumped out to give Homer some lunches. He was on his way to a spot that gave him protection from the wind. Homer doesn't like to be around many people. He's told us that he will go in the shelter at night though.

Renaissance Park was pretty abandoned today. Only a few guys were there desperately trying to stay warm. Ganesh Giri gave one of the men a warm hat to help him stay warm. Our hearts feel such sadness when we see people suffering. It's really tough some days.

We saw about ten people huddled together at Central Park. Although everyone was friendly, we could sense a different energy from these folks today. The feeling was so heavy and desperate. One of the guys came up and offered his crowd some 'crack' With that, Connie (one of our regulars), told him to stop it! She said "Don't do that with these nice people here. They're from some church group that cares about us." The strange thing about this is, here this guy (in his way) was trying to help out his friends. His quote to us was, " Welcome to the Ghetto." That was a sad reality. I suppose the drugs let them escape from such fear and sadness. Even if it's short lived, it seems better than dealing with the reality of their existence. As we walked back to our cars and drove to Woodruff, we were all silent. Words couldn't really come to us. We chose to breathe and pray instead.

Woodruff was pretty vacant. David was there to greet us. Several guys got a few lunches each. We had extra lunches. When we arrived back at Kashi, a group took the extras to Little Five Points to distribute.

Through the ups and downs we experience out on the streets, the best and only thing we can do is offer our love and prayers.

Forever grateful to serve,
Sadhu