7 Hills
Sounds like a golf course name, or one of those nice communities that is going up around town. But it is far from those things.....it is a homeless shelter.
I met a 19 yo "kid" from there early Sunday morning while I was on call. Well, I say from there, that is where he tried to sleep...when it wasn't full. He was in the ER b/c he had no where else to go.
Now the ER doesn't just take people because they have nowhere else to go or else it would be full of homeless people all the time. That is what the homeless shelter is for. He was there because he had been hit in the knee with a baseball bat earlier in the evening. He had already visited the ER and had a brace put on. He came back because he figured if he couldn't walk, he couldn't get the job he was eager to start soon and who else is going to hire a 19 yo with a criminal record who is homeless. He was there because he thought he had no hope left in the world and he was considering taking his life.
The guy said something that hurt me. It was not a direct or intentional insult and he was not aware that what he said hurt me. In fact, he had nothing to do with what he told me that hurt me. It was OUR fault. The Christians in Fayetteville, AR. Yep, me and some of you who are reading this, it is OUR fault.
This guy, I will call him John, told me about what it was like to live homeless in Fayetteville. He told me how the Seven Hills provides some the basic needs for the homeless here. What disturbed me was that they run out of things....things such as blankets and sleeping bags. Consider that it is cold enough tonight to freeze the water in my pond. I thought to myself, "this should not be. With all the churches and Christians we have in town, this should never happen." I don't know what the Christian population is per capita in NWA, but I know with all the money that is up here and with all the churches, this place should be overflowing with supplies. Why is it not? What am I going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?
Here is a list of the needs there. Maybe my community group or maybe yours can make a difference?
coffee, creamer, sugar
blankets, sleeping bags
backpacks, gym bags
cleaning supplies
laundry supplies
toiletries and razors
paper plates, cups, towels, napkins
single-serving, no-cook foods
fresh fruit
good, warm clothing and hardy shoes
new socks
funds for operating expenses
I met a 19 yo "kid" from there early Sunday morning while I was on call. Well, I say from there, that is where he tried to sleep...when it wasn't full. He was in the ER b/c he had no where else to go.
Now the ER doesn't just take people because they have nowhere else to go or else it would be full of homeless people all the time. That is what the homeless shelter is for. He was there because he had been hit in the knee with a baseball bat earlier in the evening. He had already visited the ER and had a brace put on. He came back because he figured if he couldn't walk, he couldn't get the job he was eager to start soon and who else is going to hire a 19 yo with a criminal record who is homeless. He was there because he thought he had no hope left in the world and he was considering taking his life.
The guy said something that hurt me. It was not a direct or intentional insult and he was not aware that what he said hurt me. In fact, he had nothing to do with what he told me that hurt me. It was OUR fault. The Christians in Fayetteville, AR. Yep, me and some of you who are reading this, it is OUR fault.
This guy, I will call him John, told me about what it was like to live homeless in Fayetteville. He told me how the Seven Hills provides some the basic needs for the homeless here. What disturbed me was that they run out of things....things such as blankets and sleeping bags. Consider that it is cold enough tonight to freeze the water in my pond. I thought to myself, "this should not be. With all the churches and Christians we have in town, this should never happen." I don't know what the Christian population is per capita in NWA, but I know with all the money that is up here and with all the churches, this place should be overflowing with supplies. Why is it not? What am I going to do about it? What are you going to do about it?
Here is a list of the needs there. Maybe my community group or maybe yours can make a difference?
coffee, creamer, sugar
blankets, sleeping bags
backpacks, gym bags
cleaning supplies
laundry supplies
toiletries and razors
paper plates, cups, towels, napkins
single-serving, no-cook foods
fresh fruit
good, warm clothing and hardy shoes
new socks
funds for operating expenses
posted by jlo @ 10:24 PM
2 Comments:
At 8:01 AM,
John Nelson said…
Thanks so much for posting this message! As I read that list of needs, I realized that most of those items have companies here in Bentonville / Rogers that sell that stuff to Wal*Mart. Usually they do donations of their products to charities and other non-profits. If there's anyone else at the Grove in the vendor community, let me know. We can get together and try to pull some donations from Nestle (that's an easy one), Coleman, P&G, etc.
At 11:56 AM,
Wayne said…
I have long contended that if the Church was doing her job, we would not need welfare in this country. Unfortunately, we are all too greedy and self-centered. I am again humbled...the hard part is dying to self to be His hands and feet.
jlo -- as a physician, wow, what a great opportunity to reach people a lot of us will never see. However, all of us, no matter our profession, have people we need to be touching...addressing both spiritual and physical needs.
Run Well.
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