Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Hot Streets of the Motor City


Today when we went downtown the temperature was 98 degrees. We had one cooler packed with shirts, shoes and underwear to give away along with our usual cooler filled with food and water.

Hart Plaza was pretty empty, maybe because of the heat, but we talked to one guy Andrew who was sitting on a bench next to a garbage can feeding the pigeons. He was wearing dark sunglasses and we soon learned it wasn't because of the bright sun. He had been shot in the eye and subsequently lost his eye. After some more bad luck he ended up homeless living on the streets "So I sit here and feed the pigeons everyday because at least they don't judge me," he said.

We hung out with him for a while. I know our clothes and food didn't solve his problems but I hope at least he feels like there were not only birds, but people out there like us, who wouldn't judge him either.

We then drove to a spot by the off ramp of I-75 and Grand River and saw a sight that was hard to believe.

Out there in the burning heat was a heavy set guy around 60 years old standing on the side of the road. He was carrying an oxygen tank that was attached to a mask which was covering his nose and mouth. He looked like he had just been yanked out of the hospital and dropped off on the street.

We handed him a food and clothing package and then drove around the block and doubled back to give him another one.

It was really hard to comprehend how he is living day to day, and how he got himself to that corner on this sweltering hot afternoon in Detroit. And if it's hard for me to comprehend, what it's like to be him, for even a day....just imagine what's it like to be him every day?

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Larry & Ken: Partners in Hunger



Off to Motown
With their coolers filled with packages of food and clothing Larry and Ken head to downtown Detroit to find people on the street in need of their food, clothing and encouragement. The team has been making these runs once a week for a couple of months and each one is an eye opening adventure. They know they can't solve the hunger and homeless problem in Detroit, but they want to do something....one person and one package at a time.

Packing Up!


Before heading down to distribute a dozen packages, the kitchen counter becomes an assembly line for sandwhiches, water bottles, chips and breakfast bars and cookies.




When we went down today to Hart Plaza there was only a few people hanging around the Plaza. Maybe it was because the temperature was over the 100 degree mark or the guys got lucky and found somewhere cool inside to stay. Maybe it was because over the past couple of days there have been bomb threats at the Windsor Tunnel and Ambassador Bridge. Don't know, but Ken and I drove around and found people to give our packages to--on the corner of exit ramps, a guy sitting on the ground in a park across from the Masonic Temple and one guy without legs wheeling himself along in a wheelchair downtown.

Does what were doing really make a difference. Maybe not to the world, but probably to the 9 people that we connected with today. Will it change their lives. Probably not, but it may make today -- just one day -- a little easier.

Ken and I met in the 5th grade. We have been in touch off and on through the years, but our lives went in different directions so we rarely crossed paths. One of the best parts of this package project is the chance to reconnect with Ken.

"We're just helping people one package at a time," says Ken.

I guess we are helping others, and in the process of doing good, it's helping us. It's a win-win for all of us.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Just Getting Started





If my brother Larry was a fancy guy, or a guy who liked titles, or a guy with a big ego, he could call himself a grass roots, food justice activist, independently addressing the needs of Detroit's homeless population.

I'm his little sister so I just call him a mush ball with a big heart.

What would Larry call himself ? Probably just a guy who had an idea one day to go to Sam's Club and buy some snacks and water and hand them out along with a smile and some conversation to anyone who needed it at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit....just for the hell of it. And once he got the thrill of making the connection with just a few people on that day, he was hooked. He went home and wrote down the names of the men he met and a few of the specific items they asked him for.

"One guy asked me for pants with a size 36" waist and another guy was kind of embarrassed but he asked me for a pair of underwear. Another guy had socks and no shoes and someone else had shoes and no socks." Larry said.

"Maybe I'm crazy but it just seems like everyone deserves a meal, a pair of underwear, shoes and socks. That's why I'm doing this."