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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 07:49pm - Edited by: Julie2Oregon
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I was out doing some errands today and decided to stop at Subway and pick up a sandwich to take home for supper. When I got out of my car in the parking lot, I saw 2 people, 1 of them in a wheelchair, under some blankets nearby in a small area of grass.
I went over to ask if they would like a sandwich. I was wearing an Oregon sweatshirt and the elderly man looked out from his cocoon of blankets and got a huge smile on his face. "I like your shirt!" he said. "I used to live in Oregon! I lived in Grants Pass before here. Oh, how I miss it."
I told him I'd be happy to buy them some dinner and some gnarled fingers parted the blankets in the wheelchair. A tiny woman who was missing both of her legs looked out. She asked if she could have a cold cut sub and I said she surely could.
When I returned with the food, the man from Oregon started talking. He had worked for the US Forest Service for 25 years. His family had a log cabin on Mt. Ashland that had been in the family for 150 years. He loved going there when he had time off. He told me about all of the places in Oregon he'd lived and worked. "I miss my trees," he sighed. "Texas doesn't have real trees. They're more like shrubs."
I asked him if he could go back but he shook his head. "I'll never see Oregon again. I left 25 years ago. It's too late. But there's no place like it." I wished him well and started to walk away. He called out, "but I really do like your shirt. You wouldn't give it to me, would you?" I started to laugh and told him that I didn't feel like getting arrested today for being out in public topless. He grinned. The little lady never spoke again. I think she had fallen asleep in her blankets.
I wish they had a place to call home. Just a little place where they could feel safe, fix a meal, sleep comfortably, and be sheltered from the cold. It's supposed to freeze tonight. I guess that's why they had all of those blankets.
There's so much public land in the US and we've got HUD -- why not build tiny houses or small cabins for folks like these in some places? It's a project that would be easy for Habitat for Humanity to work on, too. We all know that it can be done affordably. Elderly and disabled people sleeping near parking lots is unacceptable. 
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Bevis
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 08:00pm
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I don't remember where I saw it, but there is one county/town that built tiny homes for the homeless.
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RichInTheUSA
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 08:06pm - Edited by: RichInTheUSA
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Our church did this in the past... built tiny home that were wooden, but the size of shipping containers...
Thank you for helping these folks out. People just like them are all over America. (and all over the world).
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neb
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 08:20pm
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Kindness goes a long ways. Thank you Julie2Oregon
I have mentioned this before here that we all are very blessed to have what we have. I consider myself the most lucky person that has ever lived.
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hattie
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 08:21pm
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That was so kind of you to buy this couple some dinner. I am sure they were very grateful to you for your generosity. This planet needs more people like you.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 24 Feb 2016 11:39pm
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Well, it just makes me sad that elderly and disabled people are on the street. Anyone, really, but someone who worked for the Forest Service for decades? He needs a home. I'll bet he wishes he hadn't left Oregon.
I didn't do much. Blessings on those who DO provide housing! When I had their sandwiches fixed (haha, one wanted onions and the other was adamant about NOT wanting onions so I asked that they be marked), one of the Subway employees asked if it was for the folks outside. He recognized the order. So they must stay there often and people must feed them, thankfully.
I think I might call one of the ministries in town that helps the homeless and see what might be done for them. Surely if he worked for the Forest Service at all (even if he exaggerated the length of time), he'd have a pension coming, wouldn't he? Maybe the ministry can help them get a little place. Maybe even get him back to Oregon if he really wants to go.
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 25 Feb 2016 10:01am - Edited by: Jebediah
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JulieWhat you did was heartfelt. More professionally trained advocates and health care workers are needed in this line of work.
My advice would be to advise the professionals; church, homeless shelters etc... If you get involved on a personal level you might start to feel personally responsible for their well being, it will drain you mentally, physically and like some people I know financially. Many of these people have psychological issues and would never be able to live in a home provided to them. Many of them don't want help. And beware of those that will take advantage of such a situation, they probably have a history that is well known to homeless shelters, police etc.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 25 Feb 2016 06:50pm - Edited by: Julie2Oregon
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Jebediah
What you say is very true.
I volunteered with the outreach to the poor at my church and trained as a pastor to meet with the people and do the intake, evaluate the needs, decide on what we'd pay such as help with utilities and bus passes and such, and keep the paperwork. The churches and charities in town utilitize a computer network and recording system provided by the United Way so everyone can see where people have been helped and when, what has been provided, and how often.
It's eliminated a lot of the gaming that can go on, and that's a really good thing considering the great amount of need that exists and the thin resources in the community. The churches and programs required a photo ID of some sort to provide assistance and, actually, if folks didn't have a photo ID but did have other forms of identification, I was happy to give them a bus pass and the required fees to GET a photo ID, with a check made out to the state DPS. You can't get a job or anything without one.
Before I was hit by Lupus, I was a secondary English Lit. teacher on the Border. (I'm medically retired from teaching.) All of my kids were at-risk, a large percentage were migrant workers, a sizable percentage were affected by the drug trade/cartels, and nearly all fell below the poverty line. School was their safe place where they were fed, encouraged, and treated with dignity -- and where they could find hope. Nowhere did my heart break -- or fill -- quite as much.
Some, despite all of our best efforts, continued the cycle. Some were angry, even violent, but we had break-throughs and I continue to pray/hope that they're living successful lives. Many got to college! I helped one of my young ladies get a Bill and Melinda Gates Scholarship and she is now about to complete medical school! Where there's caring, there's hope.
It takes a whole community to care and help people and I wish we could all join together and do that. Social workers and the like burn out. Plus, sometimes fresh pairs of eyes and more open hearts can find solutions.
Just as when I was teaching, it wasn't the kids and their problems that I found tiresome and draining -- it was having to deal with people who dismissed them and wouldn't give them a chance. Some of those were even in the school itself. As in another English teacher who, I found out when his older sister came to me, was writing on his papers in red pen messages such as "You will never amount to anything!" next to a failing grade. OMG, no wonder he was failing! When I got the kid the following semester, I discovered he was quite bright but had some reading problems. We worked together, his confidence increased, and he had a high B in my class by the end of the year. AND he achieved an Exemplary rating on the state standardized test in English. I gave him my "Most Improved Student" award for 11th-grade English at the year-end assembly. (Although I couldn't get involved with the other teacher's methods because the boy wasn't my student, I DID strongly encourage his sister to show their mother those papers and schedule an appointment with the principal, which they did.)
Anyhoo, one never knows how people were treated, what's happened to them, and what simple acts just might get them back on a better, healthier road. I do know that neither of these dear souls ever came to our church's outreach and we had one of the larger ones in town. The woman clearly has health problems; the man speaks very clearly and coherently.
He told me that he did a 3-year sentence in Oregon decades ago at the state prison. I don't know for what and didn't press it. He was paroled, and he fears going back, even after all of this time. Was it more recent? More involved? I don't know. Seems unlikely because he's quite old and he's 1,700 miles away. But I do know that it is very, very difficult for anyone with a record of any sort to get a job because few are willing to hire them. And then we wonder why they go back to crime? 
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 25 Feb 2016 07:09pm
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Quoting: Bevis I don't remember where I saw it, but there is one county/town that built tiny homes for the homeless.
Bevis
I know that Portland, Oregon, was discussing that. And I believe that Eugene, Oregon, has put up some tiny homes.
That's what got me thinking about it when the man told me he was from Oregon. Well, that and the fact that his family had a log cabin in their family for generations! I thought, "Geez, dude, you'd likely have more help getting back on your feet in Oregon than you would here in West Texas!"
Rent here is crazy expensive for what you get. If you have property, this has become a RENTING market. In fact, that is EXACTLY what I'm doing with my house because I don't want to sit around here waiting for it to sell to a family who will have to get a mortgage loan. It is the perfect size and area for a rental and I'm selling to an investor. I've run the comparables and checked the rents. He could have all of his money back within 6 years on the lower end of the range.
But where does that leave the poor? Homeless. There's very little affordable housing, even for the disabled and elderly.
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Jebediah
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# Posted: 26 Feb 2016 06:34am - Edited by: Jebediah
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JulieLooks like I was "preaching" to the choir, no pun intended  Lupus, I 've heard its very hard to diagnose. I had run the gauntlet of many outreach programs as a volunteer, my focus now is with Vets. It's hard to understand how the people involved on a fulltime basis make a career out of this. You know its difficult when psychologists are seeking help. Thank you for your insight and the ability to move forward with such a debilitating disease. Hopefully stem cell research can provide a means to an end.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 26 Feb 2016 07:22pm
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Jebediah
Thank you! Stem cells won't help Lupus. They need to figure out what causes our immune systems to attack everything in sight rather than just the bad guys. That's what causes our problems. If they could turn off the "whatever it is," then we'd be cured. So would a host of other folks like rheumatoid arthritis patients. Anything "autoimmune." Even severe allergic reactions! Those are the immune system over-reacting to some stimulus it perceives as foreign.
All best in your volunteer work! Helping vets is very important!
I stopped working at the church ministry. I became frustrated that the church could do a fund-raising campaign for $6 million to build a fancy social hall so they could hold wedding receptions but the budget to help the poor was only $40,000. I had a hard time telling people in need that we could give them 1 portion of groceries (a couple of bags) every 3 months while outside major construction was going on. Really messed-up priorities, IMO.
So, now, I freelance, lol. If I see a need and can help, I do. Simple as that. Even if it's just a smile and kind word to people on the street who look like they're having a bad day.
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rmak
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# Posted: 28 Feb 2016 01:13am
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You're the best Julie!
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 28 Feb 2016 01:45am
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rmak
Thanks, but not really. Just raised by a couple of truly good people who regularly called me on my natural selfishness and woke my butt up, as needed. Which was fairly often. 
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cabingal3
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# Posted: 29 Feb 2016 10:17pm
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dignity_Village
http://www.opportunityvillageeugene.org/
there is so many empty homes...even close to us 25 miles away.
why cant the put homeless people in those.no one will ever buy these empty homes.
there is so much people can do if we just let go of some of the regulations.
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Julie2Oregon
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# Posted: 1 Mar 2016 01:49am
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cabingal3
I absolutely agree with you. Homes are empty and people are out on the street. Doesn't make any sense.
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