Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Outreach


Verb:

Reach further than


Last Saturday my alarm went off at 3 a.m.  Although I have been up at that time, it was never with the goal of being totally awake.  And if you know me at all, mornings and I are not on the best of terms.  We tolerate each other ( I mean do I have a choice?) But neither of us have made an attempt to strengthen the relationship.

So why 3 in the morning?  Marc, Alyssa and I did a homeless outreach.  Each year in January, groups are asked to go out and count the homeless population and conduct a survey.  It is federally mandated 3 days in January and at 4 in the manana.
We were part of that effort.

We found some homeless spots.  Places where the homeless were obviously living, and in one case, one was hiding and clearly did not want anything to do with us.  We did find one lady who was homeless and was very kind.

The experience left me philosophical.  Do those homeless persons not want help or is it they don't trust humankind?  I could not answer that question, but why would they trust us?  Strangers invading their space in the wee hours of the morning offering our "help".

Who knows how many times they have been harassed, kicked out and/or treated without the dignity and respect EVERY human deserves.  


Now I know this Outreach is done each year with intentions of helping and understanding the needs of the homeless community, and I am sure it does provide helpful information. 

 The experience just left me with a lot of questions of how we can help them and to reach further (outreach) in order to break through the barriers created between them and society.


No comments:

Post a Comment