Moving around again

Transitioning from young to older is a transition that I have not yet mastered.
I learned the hard way that standing up while putting on my socks is probably not the best thing for me to do. When I was younger and lost my balance I likely had a bit more resiliency! As it turns out I cracked a rib and caused just enough trauma to my neck and back to take me out of action for a few days! Ever eager to get on with things I went back to work as soon as I could move around and depleted every last ounce of energy by working overly long days back to back. I got a lot done and was able to help at the winter shelter for 5 or six hours but I ended up with a horrible cold that made my last day of the work week seem endless. Now, after a couple of days of sleeping for long periods, I am back in the swing of things --- with a little less swing at the outer edges.
Sometimes it is just hard to remember that I must be a little more thoughtful about what I can endure!

My community was able to provide shelter for 65-85 people every night for seven nights starting just before the end of the year and culminating a few days into the new year. Is is a rewarding experience to host the severe weather shelter. People are for the most part very grateful to be inside which helps to limit behaviors that can be disruptive to others. No one really wants to go out into the cold or to send anyone else out there either. People who live outdoors most of the time are generally quite reluctant to come indoors so the first few nights usually have the lowest numbers of people. But by the end of an extended cold snap people are worn out trying to stay warm and come indoors even though they hate to do so. We try to make lots of allowances for people knowing that people are not used to being so close to so many other people. Spending days and days together is very difficult - much like an extended slumber party - and by the end of a week people are ready to find 'alone time' anyway they can.

We have been lucky in the last few years to find people from the homeless community who are capable of hosting the overnight shift. These trusted folks know the community and the issues of the community well enough to know when to step in and when to let things go as only people who are on the inside of the group can do. In the last year we have also had some funding for the emergency shelter which allows us to give the overnight crew some payment for their time and efforts.

If I didn't spend time with homeless people as I do, I am sure that I would be afraid or suspicious of them just as so many people in our city tend to be. For me they are just people, sometimes with issues that set them apart from people who live indoors, thought usually the difference is in degree and in the visibility they must have with the public at large. Many people fight or argue with their spouse or partner from time to time but usually in the privacy of their own home. It can be disconcerting to reflect on what it would be like to live your whole life in public. Sure movie stars and public figures are used to being watched, but even they can shut their doors and pull down the shades. The people in the homeless community only wish they could.       

My favorite part of hosting the shelter is coming in early in the morning to make and serve oatmeal. I like to bring some extras: chopped walnuts or almonds, raisins, cranberries, cinnamon and the like. I find that people respond very well when they are given some choices in their lives. It might seem unimportant to people who have their own dwelling places and can choose what they want to eat day after day, but for people who are used to being given a plate of food already prepared with foods they may or may not really want to eat, having a choice is a good experience. Affluent people just expect to be treated as individuals. Those who live in poverty very often expect that they will be treated as a nameless, faceless member of a homogenous group. As a community we can do better. 

I was grateful to be out and about today and grateful as well to see my friends and the members of my community including the many homeless or low income people who come to be with us. Along with all who live outdoors in the winter time, I am hoping that the rest of the winter will be mild and without the ice or freezing rain that makes their lives miserable. But if we need to open our doors again, I will be there -- unless of course I forget how to put my socks on!