Since apparently everyone is going to lose their job at some point in this economy, you might want to get your Karma up in advance.

The Home Van (in Gainesville) needs bottled water, peanut butter, jelly, Vienna sausages, white tube socks, candles, tents and tarps, etc. They also need volunteers.

Put all of that liberal guilt this election has stirred up to good use, and call 372-4825 to arrange for dropoffs.

HERE’S THEIR STORY

There’s overwhelmed, and there’s underwhelmed, and then there’s plain old whelmed.

We’ve managed to perch on the edge of whelmed these past two weeks, with a lot of help from our friends. I’ve lost track of how many people we’re seeing on driveouts, but, based on the number of water bottles and takeout bags I put on the van, I’d say it’s in the neighborhood of 200. Three months ago 100 people was a typical ‘end of the month’ number. Every week I get two or three phone calls from someone who is about to become homeless, asking me where they can find emergency shelter. (Answer: nowhere). I also get phone calls from people who want to know where they can camp without fear of being arrested (Answer: nowhere). Usually nowhere, with so few shelter beds, except possibly for those who fit into a special category. That special category is moving fast in the direction of blind, one-legged 80-year olds.

We’re reaching the outer limits of how many people we can help, both financially and physically, in terms of how much stuff we can pack into the van, how many people are needed for prep, and how many loose ends we have on our nerve endings. We are taking it one day at a time and doing a lot of praying, in our various ways.

These prayers are being answered by a spectacular outpouring of help from some of our newsletter readers. Two weeks ago we had a driveout that turned into a big, happy party. The ladies from Dining for a Cause met us downtown with a vast number of sandwiches (PB&Js and cheese and baloney), eggs, bottled water, cookies and socks. Everyone ate until they were actually full. Our guest helpers talked with the folks and there was a vast, diaphanous cloud of contentment, love and even joy drifting amongst us. It was only later I realized how much I’ve changed. There was a time when I thought parties needed more than baloney and eggs to really make my socks roll up and down.

One thing we need to recapture in our country is a sense of joy and knowing what it takes to create joy.

Then, two days later, the Hunger Summit folks gifted us with many dozens of boxed lunches and cases and cases of bottled water. Once again, everyone ate well.

We also have some individual angels who bring us extra sandwiches, extra eggs and, sometimes, a box of smoked chicken.

More and more homeless people are coming on board to help us, or offering to be backup helpers. As I used to say to the ladies who came to the family food pantry, “We’re all riding in the same boat.”

Once again, I want to acknowledge Hospice Thrift Shop, where a very special angel named Kathleen sorts out piles and piles of bluejeans, t-shirts, blankets, jackets, candles, books and even sometimes tents and campstoves, that we get on a weekly basis, so we don’t have to worry about storage (the lack thereof).

Financial contributions to the Home Van should be made out to the

St. Vincent de Paul Society (earmarked for the Home Van)
307 SE 6th Street,
Gainesville, FL 32601.