This year we set out to give back to our local homeless in Los Angeles, California. With our gift giving budget, we purchased sleeping bags, clothing, and hygiene kits. My neighbors have been collecting all of these items for 4 months. We canvased four neighborhoods and finished on skid row in Downtown Los Angeles.
This was a grassroots effort. There were 7 of us driving from stop to stop setting up tables and helping people find clothes and shoes in their size.
Everyone was so thankful and so generous. People would only take what they needed. No fighting and I would say 95% of the people we came in contact with were sober. At our last stop, at a Transitional Housing Facility, we encountered all these people that had only 1 outfit - the one on their back. Some did not even have underwear, yet they wanted to help us unload the truck and once again only took what they needed.
I personally felt so touched by these people, they taught me a lesson in gratitude, praise, and selflessness. One woman did not take anything for herself, she only wanted to help her husband find some clothes. I asked her if she needed anything and she said, " I have plenty, almost too much". She said, "he needs it more than I do." She was beaming with joy and they were about to celebrate 17 years of marriage.
May we all have plenty and share the rest.
Peace to all,
Suzanne
