Downtown 11/30/2010

I arrived downtown this morning at about 10:30. It was sunny and fairly warm if you were in direct sunlight. I was traveling north on Santa Fe Ave around 2nd and 3rd streets when I saw a man pushing a cart on the other side of the street. I turned around and drove back to him and asked through the window if he needed some food. He said "Yes" to the food and water and when I asked if he needed some socks he somewhat sheepishly said, "I could always use some socks." With that I pulled over and parked to open the trunk up. When I got out he was already drinking out of the water jug I had given him and commented to me, that the water was, "A lifesaver." I noticed he had a cap on with a "B" on the front. It was a red cap and I figured it was a Boston Red Sox cap, but I wanted to ask just in case it was Boston College or something else. It turns out his name was Kennedy and he was from Massachusetts. Kennedy was his first name and knowing that Ted Kennedy was the long-time senator from that state one would guess that's how he got his name. He is a year younger than I am. Knowing also that the Boston area has a large Irish population I told him my last name was O'Connor and he told me his last name was "Call" but at one time his family used to be called "McCall" and yes they were from Ireland too. We talked about our roots for awhile. At my prompting I asked if he needed any other clothing items out of the trunk and we were able to come up with the socks and a pair of jeans. He was quite touched by the help he received. I told him, "I just like to help people." and he looked at me quite intently and said, "I can see that." If I hadn't seen another person today, this encounter would have made the trip worth it. I was able to give this homeless man a hug and pray with him before leaving.
I drove over to the Lincoln Park area but couldn't find my friends there today. In fact, it appeared that Phillip and Nancy hadn't been there for a couple of days (two of their shopping carts were there) and Luis' stuff hadn't been touched for several days either. I pray they have all found warm shelter for awhile. While leaving the area and driving down North Broadway street I found another man pushing a cart. He was very happy to receive the bag of food and when I asked him his name he said "Juan". Well, he didn't look Hispanic and when I asked where he was from he told me he was from Viet Nam. Perhaps the spelling of his name is "Wan". He was the first Asian man I've helped! He was just north of Chinatown. I'll have to watch for homeless folks in this area some more.
I continued on Broadway into downtown and over on Los Angeles St and 4th on a very crowded sidewalk I saw a man named Anthony standing near a corner with what just so happened to be an open parking spot right there. I called out to him asking if he needed some help and he told me yes. After giving him a bag of food he said something I'll never forget. He said, "From the bottom of my heart, thank you." Just like with Kennedy, you never forget the heartfelt thanks from someone who is desperate for help. What a privilege to be there at that time.
I stayed pretty much in the heart of the downtown area today and at the corner of Pico and Olive I saw a man laying face down on the sidewalk. I waited awhile and he hadn't moved so I got out and walked over with a bag of food in my hand and leaned over and asked him if he was OK. He had a jacket on and it was pulled up over his head. He moved a little but made no attempt to look up or speak at all (not even a 'Leave me alone.') I left the bag of food next to him and left. Not too far from this man was another homeless man resting by his cart. I didn't recognize him at first but it was Dalton whom I've seen a couple of times in the last few weeks. It was good to be able to help him again.
With one bag of food left I went over to the church by Cloud Nine Alley to prayer-walk in that area. Again, it was a busy weekday and the church was not open nor was anyone in the alley at the time. As I walked down the alley I continued to pray that God's love would penetrate the darkness of this area and reach the souls that live there. I ended up driving on down into the South Central area and gave the last bag of food to Walter at 30th and Main St. He told me he had been staying at a shelter at night and was waiting for his Social Security benefits to start coming. He appeared to be old enough to start receiving them. I guess during the day he has no place to go. He declined my offer to pray with him. That was disappointing.
Before leaving today I drove back to Pico and Olive streets to see if that man was still there, but he had moved. It had been close to an hour since I had seen him, so I'm guessing he's OK.
One final thing. Last week as I was getting ready to leave for downtown I realized I was out of blankets. This is the time of year when they are such a lifesaver to the homeless. I was more than a little concerned about what to do. I didn't say anything to anyone about it. Out of the blue, a longtime friend of mine called with a gift for this ministry. Yes, it was a gift of blankets and there were more than I could fit in my car! There's only one thing you can say after that. "PRAISE THE LORD." Until next week. John