Earlier today I received an e-mail from Todd requesting help for an impromptu outreach group tonight. The meetings are normally every other Tuesday and this would have been an "off" week, but feeling the freezing temperatures, Todd decided to put us out on the streets tonight as well. Monica and I hopped on a bus as soon as we got off work and shivered down to Seattle.
It's roughly an 8 block walk from the bus stop to the meeting place, and in passing an outdoor seating area, there was a man in a wheelchair with a tiny blanket around his shoulders. My heart went out to him and I dug around in my purse to find the one hand warmer that I knew was in there somewhere. Without any other supplies to offer, I approached him with my one hand warmer and offered it to him. He refused it without even looking at me. Upon receiving his rejection, I turned to a man a few feet away, offered it to him, and he accepted it graciously.
We carried on with our walk to the meeting place, and once the troops were assembled, we headed back out to the streets. My group walked back past the wheelchair man and even though I warned her that he probably wouldn't accept anything from her, Jan approached him anyway. Within seconds of her presence, he started rambling about how he is President of the United Nations while she wrapped an emergency blanket around him.
I thought that was amusing and wanted to share the experience, even though it's kinda sad because I know there is a good portion of homeless people that are in that situation because of a mental disorder. I wish I could do more than just offer a little warmth, but I'll spare my parents the agony of bringing home another homeless person :) .
(You're welcome Mom, haha)
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