Charles

Several weeks ago I met Charles on "the porch" where I sit on Thursday afternoons.

He impressed me then as a very smart, self-aware man.

"Today, Larry, I have a peaceful spirit.  That has not always been the case, back when I tried to 'act like God,' I was very, very different" he informed me in that first meeting.  Funny how deep folks seem to go immediately out there on the street.  No time for wasted words or small talk.  Tough reality only, please.

Last week when I saw him, he had a real problem.  His bike, the only source of transportation that he had, had two flat tires.  Charles picks up work wherever he can.  He stays in a night shelter or under a bridge, rides his bike to work where he cleans things up and catches out on odd jobs. Or, at least he did until recently.

It was an easy thing to help him get his tires fixed.

During that process, I asked him what he did for work.

"I do anything I can find to do," he said. "But, it's gotten lots harder.  Over in Deep Ellum they are telling us 'We can't hire people like you anymore.'  I told them, I don't know what you mean.  My name is Charles and I'm just here to work."  

It seems the Deep Ellum Association doesn't want homeless persons in their area, even if they are there to work.

Just one more example of why housing is so important.

Lots of people think shelters provide "housing."

Funny though, business owners and employers don't consider shelters "housing."  If they did, some of my homeless friends like Charles would be hired.

We've got to do better.

We've got to get people like my friend Charles into homes.

He has transportation.

Now he needs an address.

"If I had a home, Larry, I could get my little granddaughter out of foster care," he told me.

But, then, that's another story altogether. A story that breaks this granddad's heart.

Molly's blessing. . .

People often question, sometimes lecture, and express concern that the work we do at CitySquare is "not really about faith."  I suppose people think that because we make none of our services, activities or initiatives dependent upon our neighbors being involved in overtly religious activities.  Like all of our various activities, everything here is based on the complete freedom of our neighbors to choose what they desire to take advantage of. 

What people with these concerns don't understand is that faith lives on the streets and in the poorest ghettos in the inner city. . .and I do mean "lives." 

A few weeks ago, a very frail and troubled woman handed me a piece of paper that I've been carrying in my pocket ever since she passed it my way.  We'll call her "Molly" here. 

Molly deals with severe bi-polar disorder, and possibly schizophrenia.  She doesn't talk about faith much, but she knows I'm a minister.  Possibly she wrote the note because of her faith, or possibly because of mine, with the note being a gift she thought I would appreciate.  Either way, I consider the act very spiritual. 

Here's what Molly wrote:

Lord Jesus, bless my friend
the spirit of joy and happiness
to all who are in your care and
help the will of God's SON who
save all our lives
forever
for only Love not hate

As I've said so often, the witness comes back more powerfully than it can be offered from here.

Lost Angels

Homeless hero

Here's a powerful story about a homeless citizen who acted quickly to assist a police officer under attack. Good people on the streets of Dallas. We need to provide housing and decency for those at the bottom.