I’m glad the Wisconsin State Journal is continuing to follow this story. While there’s little new here about either the problem or potential solutions, there is more detail about the situation in the City-County building.
We’ll be having a follow-up meeting with social service providers, churches, and downtown business leaders tomorrow afternoon.
One issue that isn’t highlighted in the article is the scope of the problem on weekends, especially Sundays.
Everyone on the street has a story. Here’s one from an Afghanistan vet.
Today is the Feast of St. Francis, when we remember one of the most beloved, and important, figures in the Christian tradition.
Here’s Giotto’s rendering of St. Francis receiving the stigmata:
Our images of St. Francis tend be associated with the Blessing of the Animals:
a photo from Sunday that I didn’t post:
Last night, during “First Monday,” I reflected on St. Francis as well. Although he wasn’t mentioned by anyone, or perhaps even thought of (by anyone but me), we were doing the sort of ministry Francis did, among people with whom Francis ministered.
While he preached to birds and tamed wolves, and even rebuilt churches, Francis was most known for his work among the destitute, the poor, the hungry, and the sick. Although the order he founded quickly became powerful and made its home in universities and other cultural centers, Franciscans also tended the sick and dying.
Our feeding of shelter guests and community last night is one way in which we at Grace seek to serve Christ in all persons, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and the like. Last night, we were joined by others in the community, some who have become regular volunteers, others who were there for the first time. Among this latter group were members of the Madison Mennonite Church. The band last night was “Off the Porch.”
Here are other images of Franciscan ministry:
The meal had a very different feel, for some reason. Several regular volunteers remarked on the guests’ behavior. We often have brusque, difficult, or demanding guests. Last night, they were friendly, incredibly appreciative, and many lingered long after they had eaten, chatting with friends or volunteers, and listening to the music. It also seemed to me that there was a demographic shift–the percentage of African-Americans seemed lower than in past months, and many of the men looked “middle-class,” by which I mean one could have expected to see them working retail, or in a bank. It was all very odd. Whatever their history, tonight they were here, for a meal, most of them for a bed as well. And for a half-hour or so, they could enjoy some great food, great music, and wonderful hospitality. The spirit of St. Francis was present as well.
Of course, one can’t extrapolate from a single evening. It’s only a snapshot taken on a relatively warm night in early fall.
Thanks to everyone who came, everyone who volunteered, and especially to Metcalfe’s, who helped with the food.
Pat Schneider of the Capital Times continues to pursue this story. As I’ve mentioned before, with the imminent closure of the Central Library for renovations and continuing closure of the Capitol basement, there is great concern about where homeless people will go during the day this winter.
Schneider interviewed Steve Schooler, Executive Director of Porchlight, which runs the Drop-in Shelter housed at Grace and other downtown churches. In initial meetings with other service providers, churches, and the downtown business community, stop-gap measures were identified, but as Schneider and Schooler point out, there are large gaps in potential coverage, especially on the weekends. Schneider’s most recent article is here. For a depressing perspective on attitudes toward homeless people, read the comments thread.
The Episcopal Lead asks the question, following up on an article about Sacramento churches that includes some info about Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. The Very Rev’d Brian Baker’s response is very much in keeping with my own. I tell parishioners that anyone asking for assistance on Sunday should be brought to me. We have a list available of meals programs, and I used to say, before the Salvation Army quit serving breakfast, that on Sundays you could eat for free in downtown Madison pretty much all day long.
I don’t want to be crass or insensitive to people’s needs, but I do think it’s important that people be allowed to worship and take part in Sunday programs free of harassment. We have homeless people who come to services and to coffee hour, and occasionally, they will hit parishioners up for money. It’s hard to say no, especially when the gospel that day has something to do with selling all and giving to the poor. But panhandling can be a nuisance, especially in Madison. One parishioner who works downtown carries new pairs of socks in his coat pockets in winter, and when asked for money, offers socks instead.
There have been more articles about the proposed cuts to human services in the Dane County budget. Hearings have been taking place this week, and Pat Schneider of the Cap Times has been asking hard questions about the proposed cuts in funding to the Salvation Army’s Warming House (the warming house provides mattresses for homeless families in the SA’s headquarters when their shelter overflows). Also on the cutting floor is the county’s support for Community Action Coalition, which serves Dane County food pantries. Lynn Green, director of the Human Services department, rationalizes the cuts in this way:
“This community cares. It does what it can to fill in the gaps,” Green told me in an interview Friday. Church groups and others already run food and clothing programs, she says. “I believe this is something this community can rally around and pick up.”
An article in Isthmus points out the implications for the homeless population of the ongoing restrictions in the State Capitol, and the closure for renovation of the Central Library beginning in November. One person estimated as many as 150 people have sought shelter in one or the other place on winter days.
One option that has been available when the library is closed on Sundays is also slated for elimination. The Salvation Army has offered a community breakfast on Sundays that will end this August. I’m accustomed to encounter as many as twenty shelter guests waiting for a shuttle bus that will take them there when I arrive at the church on Sunday mornings. They lack the funding to continue the program.
On the other hand, it’s estimated that the total number of homeless people in Dane County decreased from 2009 to 2010, according to the most recent summary issued by the City of Madison.
The menu was ham (again from Weber’s Meats in Cuba City–They’re the best!) and macaroni and cheese (one guy said it was the world’s best, another said it was better than his momma made), biscuits, green beans, and pound cake with strawberries. Music was provided by the Kat trio. They were great!
We served about ninety last night. The total number of shelter guests is down because of summer hours, but we had a line of people waiting for dinner who weren’t staying in the shelter. Many of them had eaten with us in previous months and remembered the good food and the good times.
What’s especially exciting to see is the emergence of real community among the volunteers. We’ve got a core of folks who come every week, some of them from Grace, some of them from the community, and as we work together, we are developing camaraderie and deepening relationships. That’s picked up on by newcomer volunteers who want to come back after their first time.
Here are a couple of photos:
That’s the Kat Trio
The joy of last night was tempered this afternoon when a guy came by the church looking for me. I don’t remember if he was at the meal last night, but I know he was at last month’s, because he was drunk and maudlin and asked to talk with me privately for a time. Today, he was drunk again, and he wanted me to help him get to detox. He said he hadn’t eaten in two days. I called the cops to transport him and off he went. I hope it goes well for him.
Last night marked a major seasonal change for our first Mondays. The shelter switched to summer hours on March 20 and restrictions on the number of nights guests could stay also began to be enforced (Although because of the unseasonably cold weather the last couple of weeks of March, several nights continued to see numbers more typical of winter).
What that means for us is that we had fewer guests join us, probably about 100, including a large contingent of people who weren’t staying in the shelter last night. We served a little bit later, but we had just as much fun.
The food was Italian and the music was bluegrass.
The music was provided by members of the Oak Street Ramblers:
Even though it was late, and the NCAA finals were on, a couple of guys stayed to listen to the music. One was heard to say, “That’s hillbilly music, and I’m a hillbilly.”
As a follow-up to the post about medical care, one guest came in wearing a surgical mask, and as he left, he told me that he had pneumonia.
As we prepared the meal, we could hear sounds from the rally going on at the Capitol. I popped out a couple of times to see the action. Several thousand people were there to hear Jesse Jackson speak on the anniversary of MLK’s assassination in 1968.
Special thanks to the Oak Street Ramblers for providing the music, to some students from St. Francis House (the Episcopal Chaplaincy at UW) who volunteered, and a happy birthday to Emma, who shared a birthday cake with volunteers after we were done serving.
See everyone next month!
Two articles on today’s Madison.com featuring doctors and dentists who provide free health and dental care for the homeless. One features Grace member Ben Farrow. If you can pay for dental care, Ben practices at Monroe St. Family Dental.
The other article introduces us to HEALTH, brainchild of Drs. Cate and Erik Ranheim. This group offers free clinics at various places, including once a month at Grace Church.
They aren’t the only ones offering medical care at Grace. Every week, students from the University of Wisconsin Medical School offer a clinic.
I’m surprised again and again in my encounters with homeless people and others seeking help, by the serious medical conditions that many of them are dealing with. I’m told repeatedly by people that it was a medical catastrophe that landed them on the street. Others have chronic conditions that require medications. The efforts of these doctors and dentists, as praiseworthy as they are, can do little to respond to the enormous needs on the street.
Preaching Grace on the Square 