They Count. Will You? - LA Homeless Count 2009

This Wednesday at 8pm we are meeting at Our Place Neighborhood Resource Center to count the homeless in our community. We are helping LAHSA (Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority) get an accurate count of the homeless in our county in order to better help them.

We will lead a short training at 8pm and then send teams of 2 out to different neighborhoods in Bellflower.

Will you help? Contact us at 562.804.2189 and register online at www.lahsa.org.

Neighbor Profile: Jimmy

Each Saturday morning at 6:25 I head out the door to pick up my friend Patrick and bring the towels over to Calvary Church where 30-40 of our homeless neighbors and neighbors in crisis gather weekly for a hot breakfast, warm showers, and some good conversation. It is always a blessing to me to see the regular volunteers and to meet some new neighbors.

This morning I met a man named Jimmy. He hasn't been to a breakfast before so I "cornered" him and I wanted to hear his story. He told me that he lost his job at the local wheel shop after he injured himself on the job in October and is staying with a friend at one of the local trailer parks. He's been living on $75 per week and his roommate notified him that he needs to be out at the end of the month. He'll be homeless in weeks.

In the last few weeks and months we are beginning to see more and more homeless neighbors who don't fit the stereotypes. They are not addicted to drugs or alcohol. They are not mentally ill. They are neighbors who have hit hard times and are dealing with hopelessness and despair. They are neighbors who are ready to hear the gospel if we are ready to demonstrate it.

Please pray with me for Jimmy. Pray that God will heal his back and that he will be able to stay off of the streets.

Known

Today as I was walking home to eat lunch I ran into Jim. Jim is blind but walks around our neighborhood every day managing well with his white & red walking cane. I called out "Hi Jim!" while he was still 10 feet away. He replied "Hi Chrissy! Where have you been?" He knew who I was by my voice and he noticed that I'd been away for a few weeks. How cool is that? Things like that make me so happy to live in my neighborhood. I've been away for a few weeks on vacation and my neighbors noticed. When I arrived home from the airport last night I was greeted by the junior high aged boys skating in my front yard. "Welcome home! How was your trip?"

I am blessed to be known by my neighbors. I'm glad to be home.

Successful Christmas Store

Barbies, dolls, stickers, jewelry, pink, sparkly, purple... girl or boy table?

Thank you to all who donated gifts and volunteered at our Neighborhood Christmas Store in December. We had 70 families register and a few extra that showed up the day of to shop. Thanks to you there plenty of quality toys to choose from.

A story about Bridge Builders: Caring Community

Aura Gonzales, is the case worker for Bridge Builders, a program housed at Our Place Neighborhood Resource Center. She helps individuals who are receiving government assistance but cannot manage their own budgets. She and her family recently took one of the clients she serves out for his birthday. Here's what Aura wrote about the outing:

"With the help of my family and a friend, we were able to take Bobby to Hometown Buffett as he wished for his 54th birthday last Saturday. He was like a little kid in a candy store. He was especially touched when we and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him, and he actually shed a few tears. Every chance he had he would thank the waiters for the food and commented on how good it was, and I was amazed at how such an ordinary thing can be of such extraordinary importance to someone like Bobby. After the meal we took him on a shopping trip to Target where he purchased a Timex waterproof watch that he so wanted and a few clothing items that he needed. He said he wanted to drive the Target shopping scooter so he steered while I pressed the go button. We made it down a couple of isles before we crashed into a clothing display in the men's section, and we had a good laugh, and so did everyone else."

As you can see, God is using Aura and the Bridge Builder program to bring peace and good news to the lives of people who are lonely and in need of a caring community.