Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I talked with someone from a local church in Rancho this morning that is doing some work with the homeless. I am really encouarged to hear of how they have been intentional over these past 2-3 months to pass out warm drinks, sandwiches, and clothing to local homeless men and women. And as a result, 6-10 homeless folks have been integrated into their faith community and are being helped to find jobs and transformation. Isn't that awesome? The cool thing too is that these people are now going out twice a month with others from the church to pass out gloves, coffee, socks, clothing, food, etc... to those in need. One man told me that "it is nice to be on the giving end because I have been on the receiving end so many times." That's the good stuff.

I spoke with two of these men this morning and I wanted to briefly describe there situation.

1. Mike is a journeyman carpenter with 18 years of experience in the industry. He can do almost anything and is currently out of work. He does not have transportation, but he has his own tools. He is wanting to work. He goes to a local Labor Ready business that can give him work here and there (though transportation is still an issue), but Labor Ready does skim some money off of the top of any work he does (this is better than nothing as we both agreed, but still is not ideal).

2. Vaughn has much experience in carpentry and describes himself as a "jack of all trades" sort of man. He also has experience with a backhoe, digging graves, working with headstones, and landscaping. He wishes to work, but he does not have a vehicle.

This is where the rubber meets the road in my mind because it takes so much work to see someone's life transformed. It is easy to pass out needed items and we will continue to do these sorts of things because it is crucial, but I'd love to learn about doing the hard work of helping someone get off the streets. I know though that this is arduous and takes an intense commitment from a group of people really to support a willing individual. Often times when a person is on the streets, there might not be a car for him/her to get to work, there might be obvious addictions and past offenses with the Law, and there might be other things he/she has been running from also. So I guess the attitude that says, "that person should just go get a job" may not take into account all of the factors in need of being addressed to see a person get off of the streets.

QUESTIONS: What does it look like then to assist guys like Mike & Vaughn then? Does anyone have any local contacts in Rancho Cordova for people who need work on their houses or for local employers hiring? Does anyone have any ideas for these guys? Would anyone like to welcome these men to live in your home? Would anyone like to get involved in their lives to help in any way? Any creativity? And for those who are Christians, what does it look like for the church to surround these guys and help them get on their feet?