Tag: Homelessness

Ever Wondered What To Say To A Homeless Person? Here Are 5 Things to Say And 5 Things Not to Say

Posted on by robbie

When you see a homeless person, what do you do?
Most of us tend to have the same response: We avoid eye contact and walk a little faster. But you might also ponder the situation, thinking to yourself, What’s his story? How did this happen to her? How long have they lived on the streets? Maybe you even wanted to help, but didn’t know how to start a conversation.
Should you decide to talk to one of the more than 600,000 homeless individuals in the United States, what you say is vitally important. Utter the wrong thing, and you make a person in crisis feel less than human. Make the right comment, however, and you just might provide the help that he or she so desperately needs. Here’s what the experts advise saying and what’s better left unsaid.

What to Say

“I don’t have money, but is there another way I can help you?”

“This is an especially good thing to say if you’re uncomfortable handing over cash or don’t have any to offer,” says Jake Maguire, director of communications for Community Solutions, a national organization dedicated to solving complex problems like homelessness and poverty. Undoubtedly, money is something that a homeless person needs, but often there is a specific thing that can quickly help that individual out of a dire situation. Shaun Gasson, a 32-year-old homeless man in Portland, Ore., says that someone once asked him if he needed clothes. Not only did the generous soul leave him three bags of nice clothing, but also gave him a bike and some money.
You might also consider asking the person if she or he is actually homeless. Kara Zordel, executive director of Project Homeless Connect, a San Francisco agency that links the homeless with resources in the city, says that she often will say to a person on the street: “I see you sitting out here every day, and it makes me wonder where you sleep at night.” This allows Zordel to do a better job of helping others. Sometimes a person isn’t homeless and doesn’t need a place to sleep, but might be in desperate need of something else. In that case, Zordel often hands out pairs of socks or granola bars, along with her agency’s business card. Greg Staffa, a homeless man in Farmington, Minn., suggests filling plastic baggies with nonperishable raisins or chewing gum, which will definitely be consumed.

“Did you catch the game?”

Athletic events are often shown on televisions in shelters. “Talking about sports can be one of the most interesting, neutralizing things,” says Robert Marbut, a homeless advocate in San Antonio, Texas. So while the game you’re referencing depends, of course, on your locale, bringing it up is like talking about the weather — sports is a topic of conversation that you don’t have to be of a certain class to experience.

“Good morning.”

Or say “hi” or “hello” or try to acknowledge the person in some way.  “It’s good to hear kindness,” says Joe, who has been homeless in Portland, Ore., off and on for the past 16 years. Regardless of what your greeting may be, it’s important to look the person in the eye when speaking. According to another Portland man, Troy Thompson, who has been homeless several times despite being a skilled carpenter (when he can’t find work, he can’t afford to pay rent), one of the many difficult things about being homeless is that you feel less than human. “It’s like being invisible,” he says. Adds Marbut, “The non-homeless person almost never looks the homeless in the eye. If you just look a person in the eye and sort of nod, it’s the most respectful thing you can ever do.”

“How are you doing? Would you like to talk?”

These questions are great because they’re open-ended, Zordel says, giving the homeless person a  choice either to brush off a deeper conversation or engage in one without judgment or pressure. Don’t be surprised if the individual isn’t interested in chatting, though, says Joe. “You’re getting into people’s personal lives. Maybe they don’t want to discuss that with a complete stranger.” If, however, the person is open to talking, this can lead to a real conversation — and maybe even provide a way for you to offer help. But even if you’re just having a casual exchange, you could be satisfying an important need: social connection. Many who live on the streets battle the feeling that they’re inadequate or nonexistent to the rest of the world. Having a real conversation can reduce those sentiments.

“I will keep you in my thoughts.”

Offering a wish of good will can be a powerful thing to someone who’s homeless, says Gasson. And for those that are religious, saying a prayer for the person can provide some comfort.  “When somebody prays with you, it just makes you feel a little better,” he says. Which is the exact feeling you hope to give to someone who’s without a home.

What (Definitely) Not to Say

“Why don’t you get help?”

This assumes the person hasn’t already tried to get help. It also infers that homelessness is that individual’s own fault or a result of his or her own failings. Most homeless people are not chronically on the street. Instead, they’re living there temporarily because of an awful situation — whether it is because of a job loss and a resulting downward spiral, a flight from an abusive partner or an exorbitant rent increase while on a fixed disability or Social Security income. These individuals may have already tried a dozen different ways to get help, only to hear that they don’t qualify for a specific assistance program, for example. Or, they might not be aware of existing resources, in which case you could actually make a huge difference by pointing them in the right direction. Tell them about charitable groups like the Salvation Army, Safe Harbor or any local agency or nonprofit that works with the homeless. Or call your town’s 311 hotline and request a visit from an outreach or social services worker, suggests Maguire.

“Here’s a dollar. Please don’t use it to buy alcohol.”

If you choose to give someone money, it must be given without strings. Yes, a person who is homeless may use your gift for something that doesn’t necessarily help his situation, but your generous action could also provide an opportunity to start a conversation — and eventually lead to an opening to approach with more substantive help. “Not everyone is ready to receive what they need today,” Zordel says. “But we can take the first step together, engaging and building a trusting relationship…without expectations of the individual.”

“Why don’t you go to a shelter?”

To some homeless people, the conditions at some shelters are worse than on the street. Shelters can be loud, dangerous or require quiet times that don’t align with a person’s sleep habits. Plus, in many parts of the country, particularly big cities, there may not be enough beds available for the homeless population, adds Jenny Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco. For example, “There’s one shelter bed for every five homeless people in San Francisco,” she says.

“You don’t seem like you should be homeless.”

This is another common utterance, Friedenbach says. And while it may be well intentioned, a statement like this reveals your prejudice against homeless people. It conveys to the person that, for the most part, you presume the homeless to be smelly, or drug addicts, or mentally ill. Whereas the only thing that really connects all homeless people is the fact that they’re impoverished and don’t have access to subsidized housing at the moment, says Friedenbach.

“Get a job.”

Homeless people hear this comment most often. But it fundamentally misunderstands and refuses even to consider what the person is actually going through. Many homeless people suffer from mental illness or other conditions that prevent employment. Or they’re on the streets because they once had a job, but suffered an injury that ended their ability to work.
Case in point: Just before becoming homeless in 2009, Staffa was making $20.20 an hour in a union job in Farmington, Minn., working for an employer he had been with for nine years. An on-the-job injury ended that, Staffa says, right in the middle of the Great Recession. For three years after that, he lived out of his car. The impact on his psyche, he says, was damaging. “Several friends of mine tell me ‘just find a job and everything will be fine.’ But I have to find myself again.”
“If I had a job, I wouldn’t be out here,” adds Joe while panhandling in Portland, Ore.
Watch: Dr. Jim Withers Makes House Calls to the Homeless

Thanks to This Pop Star, 22 Homeless Veterans Now Have Access to Affordable Housing

Posted on by robbie

Who cares what color Katy Perry’s hair currently is. She’s proven her heart is true blue by auctioning off a concert experience to help homeless veterans get off the streets.
The pop star teamed up with Veterans Matter, a nonprofit started by Ken Leslie in 2012 when he learned that HUD-VASH (a combined initiative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) doesn’t provide a deposit to homeless vets receiving rental vouchers.
The lack of a down payment is a huge obstacle for struggling, jobless veterans looking to take advantage of the program.
Perry auctioned off a ticket package — complete with VIP perks and a chance to meet the singer — to a stop on her Prismatic tour for $4,000 to Scott Vaughn of Oakton, Va. The money will make a big impact: providing housing deposits to 17 homeless veterans in Austin, Texas, and 5 in Detroit.
Vaughn attended Perry’s recent Cleveland show, where she told him, “Thank you so much for helping Veterans Matter, it is so important that we help those who fought for our freedom,” according to Digital Journal‘s Earl Dittman.
Leslie is quite skilled at interesting celebrities in Veterans Matter, with such musicians as Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, Ice-T and Stevie Nicks contributing to the cause. “These homeless veterans have guaranteed long-term housing and the keys are jingling in their hands,” Leslie tells Dittman. “All they need is the deposit to get them over the threshold. Katy and the others are helping us provide that final piece that pushes them over that threshold.”
MORE: What Do Kid Rock, John Mellencamp, and Mitch Albom Have in Common?
 

Through This Simple Household Task, Volunteers Show Their Love for the Low-Income and Homeless

Posted on by robbie

If you’re lucky enough to have someone else washing your clothes for you, chances are that person loves you. (And it’s probably your mom, dad or spouse doing the dirty work.)
A volunteer mission called Laundry Love, however, spreads the affection beyond the immediate family to help the needy get the clean clothes that otherwise might be hard to come by.
According to the nonprofit’s website, Laundry Love began about 12 years ago when members of a church in Ventura, Calif., wanted to know what they could do to help a homeless man known as T-Bone. He said, “If I had clean clothes I think people would treat me like a human being.”
Since then, many other churches and volunteer groups have joined the effort, renting out a number of Laundromats across the country for a night to wash the clothes of homeless and low-income people, while also getting to know them and trying to help them in other ways.
Krysta Fauria of the Associated Press spoke to Victoria Mitchell, who began coming to Laundry Love gatherings in Huntington Beach when she was living in her car with her baby daughter. The volunteers took up a collection to help her rent an apartment. Now Mitchell has a steady job, too.
“You’re not just checking a box to give a donation. You’re spending the whole evening with these people and getting your hands dirty and it’s intimate — you’re doing people’s laundry,” Mitchell’s friend and Laundry Love volunteer LuzAnna Figueroa tells Fauria.
Some of the volunteers were once down on their luck, too. Christian Kassoff, founder of the Huntington Beach Laundry Love chapter, was once addicted to heroin and living out of his car. Now he leads an enthusiastic group of volunteers helping others. “I’m not wealthy, but I have the gift of time and a heart for it, so this fits,” Kassoff tells Fauria.
MORE: The Surprising Way a Shower Could Save a Life
 
 

Inspired by Homeless Veterans in His Own Family, This Boy Scout Helps Give Those in His Community a Fresh Start

Posted on by robbie

The challenge facing 17-year-old Boy Scout Robert Decker: Finding a service project that benefitted his Egg Harbor Township, N.J. community.
To earn the Eagle Rank that he’s been working for years to attain, Decker decided that he wanted to make a difference in the lives of veterans struggling with homelessness.
He Tells Devin Loring of the Press of Atlantic City that he was inspired in this mission because his grandfather and several great uncles served in World War II, and some of his uncles experienced homelessness after they returned from war.
Decker contacted Jaime Kazmarck, a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Northfield, N.J., to inquire about how he could help homeless soldiers. Kazmarck is a coordinator with HUD-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing), a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the VA to help homeless veterans transition off the streets. The program provides vouchers for rent payments to veterans and supports them with case management and counseling.
Kazmarck told Decker that many of the vets who finally get a key to their own apartment have few possessions to make it feel like home.
So Decker organized a campaign encouraging people to donate practical items to outfit these vets’ apartments, including towels, toothpaste and cleaning supplies.
Decker and other members of his Boy Scout troop stood outside the Somers Point supermarket ShopRite, distributing fliers about the project and talking to people about it. Over two nights, they collected more than $1,500 worth of supplies and donations. According to Loring, Decker collected enough to fill 20 laundry baskets and 10 boxes and was able to purchase 25 $10 Wal-Mart gift cards with money donated for the vets.
“We’re really grateful for Mr. Decker and the troop for getting this together,” Kazmarck tells Loring. “They did a great job. It gives them [veterans] a wonderful start in a new apartment or home.”
Decker has submitted documentation of all his work to the Eagle Scout board of review, who will soon tell him whether he has qualified. We think it’s a safe bet that this generous and hard-working scout will be rewarded with a new rank.
MORE: Veterans Receive Donations from An Unlikely Source: A Twelve-Year-Old Girl 

Are Storage Units the Key to Reducing Homelessness?

Posted on by robbie

Anyone that has moved can attest to the difficulty of moving your possessions from one place to another. But for the homeless, not only is hauling around their stuff a physical challenge, but also a blow to any sense of stability or dignity.
This was poignantly illuminated in 2009 when a group of San Diego homeless lost everything while attending a church event when the Environmental Services Department collected and destroyed their belongings.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter of San Diego filed a lawsuit on behalf of the homeless shortly after, which led to the city’s solution to provide a place for those without homes to safely store their possessions.
The Transitional Storage Center now provides more than 350 bins — each providing up to 96 gallons of space — for the city’s homeless, according City Lab. The program, which is run by service group the Girls Think Tank, is supervised by two full-time employees, enabling individuals to store or check on their belongings during the morning and evening.
“When you’re literally homeless, you’re like a turtle that carries everything on his or her back,” says Michael Stoops, director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless. “Which can be problematic if you’re walking long distances or trying to work. There’s always the danger of things being lost, stolen, or thrown away by police officers.”
San Diego’s move follows in the footsteps of Los Angeles’s Central City East Association Check-in Center, which also provides storage units for homeless. While the concept is by no means a solution to ending homelessness, it can help people avoid living on the streets long-term.

“Having a storage space can help someone get out of homelessness,” Stoops tells City Lab. “A lot of shelters will have no storage space whatsoever. You sleep on top of your stuff, you put it under the cot, you have to take it with you the next day.”

Indeed, having a space to store belongings helps alleviate some of the stress on the homeless to carry their stuff in order to be mobile. Keepsakes and personal documents or sleeping bags and clothing can be cumbersome to tote around, making it difficult for the homeless to move around. That could mean missing a job interview or medical appointment or making frequent use of public washrooms.

Storage units — while simple in concept — do pose some challenges. Primarily, funding them can be tricky. San Diego’s operational costs are anywhere between $80,000 and $100,000 annually, City Lab reports. And finding a location isn’t easy, either. San Diego’s program has moved twice since the city agreed to the space in the lawsuit agreement, currently residing in a San Diego Housing Commission parking lot.

Supervising these facilities is also a problem, Stoops adds.

“If people have access to storage units at all hours of day and night, then you need video surveillance or security personnel” on site, according to Stoops. “You can’t be doing drugs, alcohol, prostitution [in a storage-unit building]. You need to think of all those things. You need to be clear about what items are allowed to be stored.”

Still, if more cities found ways to convert abandon lots or shipping containers into spaces for the homeless, perhaps it could help ease an already harrowing situation. Storage units may be a small step, but the concept could be a stable step in the right direction.

MORE: Can a New Approach to Treating Vets Keep Them Off the Streets for Good?

Miley Cyrus Calls Attention to Homelessness. Is She Doing it for the Right Reason?

Posted on by robbie

At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, a scantily clad Miley Cyrus and her foam finger twerked her way into our collective memories. At this year’s awards, the pop star somehow managed to grab everyone’s attention again — and she barely even left her seat.
After presenter Jimmy Fallon announced her Video of the Year win for “Wrecking Ball,” Cyrus had her VMA companion, a 22-year-old formerly homeless man named Jesse, take the stage instead.
“I am accepting this award on behalf of the 1.6 million runaways and homeless youth in the United States who are starving and lost and scared for their lives,” he said. “I know, because I am one of those people.”
“I have survived in shelters all over this city,” he continued as Cyrus cried in the audience. “The music industry will make over $7 billion this year, and outside these doors are 54,000 human beings who have no place to call home.”
MORE: Does Dumping Water on Your Head Actually Work to Raise Awareness?
While in front of the microphone, Jesse also explained how viewers could donate to My Friend’s Place (a center that helps homeless youth in Hollywood with housing, jobs, school and healthcare) by visiting Cyrus’ Facebook page.
Undoubtedly (to paraphrase a tweet from Maria Shriver following Cyrus’ win), this is a very smart use of air time.
As the New York Times points out, however, Jesse’s appearance raises a few questions: Is Cyrus trying to improve her image? Did she notice the viral potential of social media activism of the #IceBucketChallenge? Is this tongue-wagging exhibitionist suddenly a philanthropist?
All of which leaves us asking: How genuine is Cyrus? We’re not sure, but the fact that there’s a prize for donating to My Friend’s Place — a VIP trip to Brazil and a chance to hang out with Cyrus — is unsettling, to say the least.
Her rep tells the Times that Cyrus took a page from Marlon Brando, who sent a woman named Sacheen Littlefeather to accept his Best Actor Oscar for “The Godfather” in 1973 to protest of the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry.
ALSO: Which Celebrity Is Building Green Homes For Native American Tribes?
And, according to the Times, she was also “informally advised” by Trevor Neilson, the president of G2 Investment Group and co-founder of Global Philanthropy Group, who worked has worked with Bono and Sharika on their charitable campaigns.
Interestingly, Cyrus also admitted to Ryan Seacrest in an interview she, perhaps, wanted something with a little more substance following last year’s scandalous VMA performance. “There’s going to be talk, so what do I want them to talk about?” she said. “If I’m going to be given this loud of a voice and this big of an image and this big of a platform and this huge of an opportunity to talk to young people in American right now, what am I really trying to say? Because I don’t think what I was trying to say is what happened the year before.”
My Friend’s Place does appear to be a reputable organization for Cyrus to talk about. It’s received a four-star rating from CharityNavigator, spending just about 90 percent of its funds on programs and services and only 5 percent on administrative costs.
Whatever your thoughts are about the former Disney starlet’s intentions, we’re probably going to hear much more about her newest charitable cause. “I’m just getting started,” a statement from Cyrus reads. “And I want to make sure my fans are part of helping me to give back and make an impact on this issue. We all have the power to make change happen. This is about helping youth, people just like you and me have the opportunity to find their inner power and potential, no matter what their circumstances.”
Bravo for raising awareness and funding for the 4,000 young homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles every year. And as for doing things for attention? That’s so Miley.
[ph]
DON’T MISS: How L.A. Plans to End Veteran Homelessness by 2016
 

For Homeless Veterans, Gardening Can Be the Therapy That Gets Them Back on Their Feet

Posted on by robbie

It’s commonly known that gardening can be good for the soul, but for a group of veterans trying to leave homelessness forever, it can be a complete lifesaver.
Which is exactly why early last Wednesday, Coralei Kluver, an assistant manager at Home Depot was hard at work shoveling dirt to help build a greenhouse that will benefit a group of veterans living at Independence Hall, a 20-bed transitional housing center in Billings, Mont.
Home Depot provided a $10,000 grant for the greenhouse project, and the store’s employees brought the volunteer muscle. Many of them came to help in the morning before working a full shift at the store. “It’ll be a long day, but it’s worth it,” Kluver tells Zach Benoit of the Billings Gazette. “It’s good to be here and we’re glad to be helping.”
Kluver has a special motivation to help veterans: Several years ago, her cousin was killed while on active duty.
Since 2011, the veterans at Independence Hall have run a thriving garden, but the greenhouse will help extend the growing season in the chilly Rocky Mountain climate. Some of the produce grown is used as food for the vets at Independence Hall, while the remainder is sold at the farmer’s markets held in the center’s parking lot or donated to the community. One year, more than 800 pounds worth was dolled out.
Bill Holder, the director of veterans services for the local chapter of Volunteers of America (VOA), the nonprofit that runs Independence Hall, tells Benoit, “We’ve already got our community garden here, so hopefully we’ll be able to start earlier and grow more.” Holder says Independence Hall is “not a shelter. It’s a program where they transition to a self-sufficient lifestyle.”
Gardening “gives the opportunity to have something that’s therapeutic,” says Dave Shumway, the director of communications for the Northern Rockies division of the VOA. “They’re transitioning from being homeless to a more normal life and what’s more normal than working on a garden in your backyard?”
MORE: Meet the Marine Who Planted A Special Garden for His Fellow Vets
 

Meet the Artist Turning One Man’s Trash into Another Man’s Home

Posted on by robbie

When we call to mind the living conditions of the homeless, the images aren’t pleasant. We think of street corners and having to face the harsh weather conditions of every season. And while this is reality for most of those without homes, one man in San Francisco is working to change all of this.
[ph]
San Francisco has more than 6,000 people without homes within its city borders. And, despite the existence of shelters and temporary and subsidized housing, more than half still reside on the streets.
That’s why artist Gregory Kloehn is working to reverse this trend through his Homeless Homes Project.
[ph]
When on the streets, homeless people have to carry all of their belongings with them, which can be cumbersome and difficult to protect. So, Kloehn is making mobile homes, which are safe and private.
With these residences, the homeless can now sleep, wash and store their belongings without worry. While the homes range in size and design, they have three main things in common: they’re small, mobile and made from someone’s trash.
That’s right, in order to gather the materials to build the homes, Kloehn goes dumpster diving. He uses anything — showers, storage, seating, bike reflectors, and washing machine windows — to make the perfect home.
[ph]
When designing the homes, Kloehn works to ensure that they are compact and flexible. Amenities include adaptability to rain or sun, as well as the ability to double as a vendor cart, allowing the resident to earn an income.
While creating a rent-free option for the homeless to help them avoid the high cost of living in San Francisco was a concern, Kloehn had another goal in mind. Ultimately, these homes are instilling pride and dignity in the homeless. With a place to call their own, the homeless no longer need to be embarrassed — a vital key in getting their lives back on track.
[ph]
MORE: A Solution to Outdoor Urban Living, by Homeless People for Homeless People

This St. Louis Program Houses Veterans First, Asks Questions Later

Posted on by robbie

Cities across the country are finding social and economic benefits from using a housing-first approach toward helping the chronically homeless get permanently off the street. In other words, house them first, then help to stabilize their lives. This approach ends up saving communities money because chronically homeless people make such expensive use of government services.
According to a census taken last January, St. Louis has 100 chronically homeless individuals. Of those, 50 are veterans. So city officials decided to make a big push to house those needy soldiers by offering many of them furnished apartments, free of charge, as part of Operation: REVEILLE.
The money funding the program comes from a $750,000 HUD “rapid rehousing” grant. “They especially need a stable place to start their recovery journey,” Joanne Joseph, homeless program manager for the St. Louis VA, told Jesse Bogan of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
On July 30, the 50 homeless vets turned up for a meeting about the program, and each was screened to determine if they qualified for housing. According Bogan, most of the men were between the ages of 50 and 65, but one — 25 year-old Army veteran Esa Murray — “represented the next generation of homeless veterans.”
Murray served in Tikrit, Iraq, but was sent home due to mental disorders. After living in a tent in Indiana with his wife, he made his way to St. Louis after they split up. He hoped to qualify for the new housing program, but his time in the service falls a few months short of the two-year minimum requirement to qualify for an apartment.
Despite this, clinical social worker Toby Jones agreed to admit him to the program. “By the time we are done with him in a year, he should be able to walk away and sustain himself,” Jones told Bogen.
The program has enough funding to house the men for about one year, while caseworkers will help them try to achieve independence. For those who can’t obtain it, there will be continued support. The men are required to participate in services and abide by rules if they want to stay in the sponsored housing.
Near the end of the event, Antoinette Triplett, head of St. Louis’s Homeless Services Division told these often-overlooked veterans something they aren’t used to hearing: “I want to apologize on behalf of our nation that you are veterans and had to be homeless.”
MORE: The Unique Way that Charlotte Houses its Homeless
 
 

Once This Woman Realized the Vast Number of Homeless, She Started Making Sandwiches

Posted on by robbie

To make a sandwich, all you need are a few simple ingredients: two pieces of bread, some peanut butter and a little jelly. For Erin Dinan, though, that isn’t enough, so she’s added a fourth ingredient — compassion — making her sandwiches, and those made by volunteers at One Sandwich at a Time, not just sources of food — but rather, instruments of change.
Originally from the South, Dinan moved to New York City to study art and photography. One day while running through Grand Central Station, she was struck by her interaction with a homeless man who asked her for help. While many would have kept moving, Dinan gave half of her sandwich to the man without a second thought.
“It’s amazing because the look of gratitude on his face,” Dinan told Starting Good. “He was surprised and grateful that someone was helping him to make it to his next meal.”
It was that moment and the look on his face that inspired her. Going forth, she started packing extra sandwiches in her bag and distributing them to the homeless people on the streets. Sometimes, she would stop and talk with them, while other times she simply dropped it into their laps and kept moving.
From there, the movement spread as her friends and family encouraged her to start the nonprofit that now feeds thousands.
So how does one woman feed New York’s hungry and homeless?
Dinan has turned her small actions into a large scale 501(c)(3) charity. One Sandwich at a Time operates with the help of donations from food suppliers, such as local bakeries and Whole Foods, and local kitchen areas.
The charity hosts sandwich-making events, which businesses donate kitchen space for. The night before, Dinan will drop off all of the supplies and the following evening, volunteers will pour into the kitchen and start making sandwiches at the various stations.The events last for about two hours in the evening, and volunteers, equipped with hairnets and gloves, can stay for as long as they like. The next day, the sandwiches are packed into vans and brought to local shelters and food kitchens to be distributed.
“That’s why it’s grown because people are busy in city, and if they want to pop in and make one sandwich then go home, they have made a difference,” Dinan told Starting Good. “If someone stays for two hours and makes a hundred sandwiches, then they’ve made a huge difference.”
At Dinan’s first sandwich-making event, about 400 sandwiches were made. However, that’s a modest number compared to the 800 to 2,000 sandwiches made at her affairs now.
While One Sandwich at a Time continues to grow in New York City, Dinan hopes to expand the group into other cities, and maybe create chapters across the world.
“There is a deeper level of homelessness that we won’t understand,” Dinan told Starting Good. “So we open our hearts and show compassion, and show them that someone cares and maybe they will realize that they can get out of this.”
Who knew that opening your lunch box and sharing half a sandwich could make such a difference?
DON’T MISS: Showers and Toilet on Wheels Give Homeless a Clean Slate