The Care They Need
| A guest of our Center, someone I had known for a long time, came up to me the other day and asked if he could pray for me. I said yes and he placed his hand on my shoulder and began to speak. He asked God to bless me, spoke of how long I’ve done the work, called me a good man, and asked God to make me wealthy so we could have Beacons all over the world. His prayer made me laugh a bit, especially the wealthy part. It was a healing prayer in ways I’m sure he didn’t even know. That morning, I had been digging deep into the new funding directions from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing for people without homes. I was deeply hurting over their intention to cut permanent housing options for people experiencing homelessness by 70%. I knew these funds were the main way we help children and adults move out of homelessness. I knew without these funds street homelessness and family homelessness would likely double in our community. We currently house 110 children and adults with severe disabilities through our supportive housing program and more than a hundred children each year through our family housing program. Both programs are scheduled to be cut. But mostly, I thought of the people. I thought of the senior woman without an arm who spoke so deeply about how important it was to have her own home. I thought of the man in a wheelchair who had lost both his legs and came to us when a nursing home would not keep him anymore. I thought of the blind woman, waiting in our shelters for one of these homes. I thought of the little boy who sat on the lap of one of our staff, coloring in her notebook as she tried to help his family find a home. All of these people are now at risk. Some will die. If this concerns you as much as it does me, please reach out to your representatives. Tell them the cuts to permanent housing in the Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity (CoC NOFO) must be stopped. For more information, the National Alliance to End Homelessness is a great resource and you can also look to our Facebook page. May our guest’s prayer that all get what they need come true. Amen. |