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Helping with the Homeless Community:
Many Asked, Here's the Answer
Many Asked, Here's the Answer
mealtrain.com/q4v7vl
Like most cities around our country Springdale has a sector of citizens that most pass by every day without ever knowing their situation. Some live out in the elements, others have found temporary solutions that change from day to day, many sleep in a vehicle with their families and all their belongings wherever they can stop for the night. They are our neighbors, our friends, sometimes our family and sometimes they were just like some of us before catastrophic circumstances changed their lives.
There are places in our city who are helping the homeless and those who need a meal. Most serve during the week, but in the here and now a real need exists on the weekends. Tony DeBrum, a member of our Marshallese community, has been feeding the homeless each Saturday and Sunday for months at one of the activity rooms of the public library. He cooks and provides for them out of the goodness of his own heart and more tangibly his own pocket. He deserves the help of a loving community.
This past Saturday Amelia and I had the opportunity to provide the meal. We went shopping on Friday and cooked most everything on Friday evening. On Saturday we pulled up at the library and there was a line of smiling faces there to help us unload the car. There were eager hands helping set up the tables and chairs and set out all the food in the room. There were smiling faces and funny stories and friendly handshakes. These were the faces of many in our homeless community.
I visited with a dozen or so of them personally. I heard their stories and their hopes, dreams and goals. Many sound just like a lot of the people I know. I observed as Amelia took time with each one intently taking notes on ways to improve their situation and how we could help them get to a stable place in life. Mayor Sprouse and Rep. Penzo worked the room listening to the plight of many of the individuals and to these things that could improve their quality of life. Fadil Bayyari spoke to the group about hope and about how one person can make a difference.
We will be doing a multi-story series on the homeless over the next few months. We will talk about the steps that are being taken as well as ways we as a community can chip in. We will also try and provide as much support as we can to that community during this process of creating a permanent solution.
We have set up a meal train to take care of these meals on the weekends as well as to be able to provide services to these folks to help them get their clothes clean. I have included the link at both the top and bottom of this article.
mealtrain.com/q4v7vl
Like most cities around our country Springdale has a sector of citizens that most pass by every day without ever knowing their situation. Some live out in the elements, others have found temporary solutions that change from day to day, many sleep in a vehicle with their families and all their belongings wherever they can stop for the night. They are our neighbors, our friends, sometimes our family and sometimes they were just like some of us before catastrophic circumstances changed their lives.
There are places in our city who are helping the homeless and those who need a meal. Most serve during the week, but in the here and now a real need exists on the weekends. Tony DeBrum, a member of our Marshallese community, has been feeding the homeless each Saturday and Sunday for months at one of the activity rooms of the public library. He cooks and provides for them out of the goodness of his own heart and more tangibly his own pocket. He deserves the help of a loving community.
This past Saturday Amelia and I had the opportunity to provide the meal. We went shopping on Friday and cooked most everything on Friday evening. On Saturday we pulled up at the library and there was a line of smiling faces there to help us unload the car. There were eager hands helping set up the tables and chairs and set out all the food in the room. There were smiling faces and funny stories and friendly handshakes. These were the faces of many in our homeless community.
I visited with a dozen or so of them personally. I heard their stories and their hopes, dreams and goals. Many sound just like a lot of the people I know. I observed as Amelia took time with each one intently taking notes on ways to improve their situation and how we could help them get to a stable place in life. Mayor Sprouse and Rep. Penzo worked the room listening to the plight of many of the individuals and to these things that could improve their quality of life. Fadil Bayyari spoke to the group about hope and about how one person can make a difference.
We will be doing a multi-story series on the homeless over the next few months. We will talk about the steps that are being taken as well as ways we as a community can chip in. We will also try and provide as much support as we can to that community during this process of creating a permanent solution.
We have set up a meal train to take care of these meals on the weekends as well as to be able to provide services to these folks to help them get their clothes clean. I have included the link at both the top and bottom of this article.
mealtrain.com/q4v7vl