11/10/2000

Offer a Helping Hand

A couple of years ago I wrote an article about the plight of the homeless and posted it on this website. The outpouring of sympathy, personal stories and offers to help was very moving; I talk with people about it to this day. With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner, I'd like to share two letters I received recently -- reminders to remember those who are without food or shelter -- to remember those who need a helping hand.

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Dear Beth:

I once worked a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving Day and had one of the best days I could ask for. I had no idea, truly, how many people are hungry and homeless through no fault of their own. These people need a good meal and the help of others to let them know they can eke out another day with their pride and self-worth still intact.

When I was through working there I went home and had a big turkey dinner with my family. I ended up inviting three terrific college students back to the house, too, because I overheard them discussing, as they were leaving the soup kitchen, the merits of making tacos versus hot dogs for dinner. My daughter, who is a college student, ran into one of them in a bar last summer. He approached her and asked, "Did your mom ever work in a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving and invite some volunteers back to your home with her?" She knew right away who he was (even though nine years had elapsed) and was so excited, that she called me right away to tell me about it. Then she put him on the phone so we could say hi and catch up. What a great Thanksgiving memory. -- People never forget a favor

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Dear Beth:

A few years ago my husband and I and our three children spent a little less than two months in a homeless shelter over the holidays. Although my children claimed they didn't mind, I knew better. Area children volunteered their time for a Christmas party for us and they were the very same children my daughter oversaw when she served as an officer of her class! She was looking forward to the party, but before they spied her, she ran crying from the room when she recognized her fellow classmates. My eldest son overate at snack time. His eyes were bigger than his belly and he constantly overfilled with his share of snacks. Almost as if he were afraid he wouldn't eat again. He still panics about food and yet he wasn't like that before we landed in the shelter.

My youngest son carried his favorite teddy bear with him everywhere - to the dinner table, in his backpack, you name it. He gradually got over that.

As a mother it broke my heart to have my kids living there and while they were in school, I spent as much time as I could away from the shelter. No one has a clue how much this affected our family. None of us talk about this time period very much. When we do, the kids still deny what they were really feeling and so do my husband and I, I think. I don't admit to anyone we know that we spent time there. For all I know, it could be considered a hell on earth; a kind of jail sentence. Although our immediate needs were met, the degradation and shame can never be explained away. -- The shame feels like hell on earth

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If you would like to help people who are going through hard times, consult a pastor or priest from one of your local churches or call Town Hall to ask about needs for community volunteers. The links below may lead you to other volunteer opportunities.

Links

Pacific House Fairfield County shelter

Partnership for the Homeless Life Haven

Philanthropic organizations in CT

National Coalition for the Homeless

American Red Cross in CT

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.