Downtown 5/16/2010

It has been quite a while since I was able to go downtown on a Sunday, but I finally got the chance yesterday. What a difference it makes. The pace is so much more conducive to talking (and praying) with people than on a weekday. I mentioned last week that my friend Richard Brown has moved and I've been unable to locate him. I looked yesterday but still haven't found him. While looking for him around the I-10 and Hooper I did see Raul, who I hadn't seen in probably six months or more. He was under the freeway there on Hooper but hadn't seen Richard in a while either. Raul is a very small frail man and it's difficult to know how old he is. He was living under that freeway just a few yards away from Richard the first time I went downtown last year. We talked about him making it through the winter. Apparently, he spent some time at the missions on skid row, but doesn't like to make a habit of staying down there. This seems to be consistent with a lot of the folks I meet on this end of the town. Put simply, anytime there is a large congregation of homeless people (even the general public at large) there are inherent problems.
While driving around that area I came to 16th St and Central. As I passed Central Ave. I saw a man with a shopping cart on one of the corner lots. I pulled around and came back to where he was and called out to him as he was about to try to cross the street (not at the intersection). His name was Mario and he was having great difficulty pushing his cart around. I got out of the car and went over to talk with him bringing a bag of food with me. He had, maybe, a half a dozen or so empty plastic bottles in his cart. With his limited ability to walk I can only imagine how long it must take him to find enough stuff to recycle. He literally was taking six inch steps pushing the cart. I gave him some water and shirts and socks and prayed with him. He thanked me for helping him and started to go his way (trying again to cross the street). While he was making his way, another man by the name of George came by asking where the closest recycling place was. Where we were was a recycling place but it is closed on Sundays. The nearest ones that I knew of were several blocks away in either directon. He was quite disappointed to hear how far away they were but perked up when I offered him some food and water. As he left I turned my attention back to Mario who was still trying to cross the middle of the street with his six inch steps!!! Some cars were stopping but in the lane furthest away vehicles, including a transit bus, were continuing to drive by. Finally, I heard a siren coming from down 16th St. It turned out to be a paramedic unit. They turned onto Central and came around blocking the traffic with their vehicle so Mario could continue crossing the street. One of the paramedics got out and helped him across. After getting him and their vehicle across the street I saw them pull into the corner lot there (directly across from where I was). Apparently, someone must have called 911 because there was a man lying down there near the front corner of that lot (it was an old abandoned gas station). Yeah, never a dull moment downtown. Maybe fifteen minutes later I was again driving down Central Ave at this location and Mario had stopped and was sitting on a milk crate eating some of the bread I had given him. I can only imagine what challenges each day must bring for him. For now, he has enough food to get by for a couple of days.
Just down 16th St at San Pedro there were a few people living under the freeway. There was one couple who I had seen there the week before and then another man by himself and a woman by herself not too far way. I was able to pull up fairly close to the single man and woman and walked back to them with a bag of food. The woman's name was Laticia and the man's name was George (not the same George from down the street). I gave the bag of food to Laticia and asked if George wanted one too. He said he did and they both needed water also. So I went back to the car and got some for them. This is the same location where I last saw Mary a couple of months ago. I told them it is supposed to rain on Tuesday and to be ready to move around the corner under the freeway to stay dry. I prayed with both of them and as I turned to leave I asked Laticia if she could use a sweater. When she said yes I told her to come over to the car and take a look and see if there was one she could use. Both of them were quite appreciative of the food and water but when she saw the trunk of clothes and I showed her a couple of the sweaters she was absolutely thrilled! I gave her a couple of sweaters (she commented about how warm they looked) and a blanket and a pair of shoes and socks. She thanked me again quite profusely. I reached out and put my hand on her shoulder and I said that's what I'm here for is to help. She took my hand and kissed it several times thanking me again. Looking to comfort her I put my arm around her and gave her a hug (she then kissed my neck). Needless to say, I haven't encountered that reaction before. It was quite humbling to me. I told them both that "I come down here cada semana (each week) and I will look for them again." When you encounter people with needs so great, it's hard to just get in your car and drive away even though you've given all you had to give.
Well, at this point I had one bag of food left and three gallon jugs of water left. I ended up finding Ben sleeping on the corner of Paloma and Pico. It is a very small street, in fact, this is where Pico Blvd ends at Central Ave one block east of Paloma. Ben needed the food and water and prayer. He's probably around thirty years old. While talking with Ben, Kevin walked up and asked if I had anymore food. While I didn't have another bag of food, I did have a couple of cans of soup left and gave them to him. I also ended up giving both of them shirts and blankets. I also had a pair of shoes that seemed to fit Ben. Kevin was a fairly large man and none of the shoes I had fit him. I must have given out 3 or 4 pairs of shoes on this trip. I am so grateful to all of you who have given clothes that I can give out to these needy folks. On their behalf I thank you so much. It was a great trip, what a difference it makes going on a Sunday. --Until next week. John