I canceled Thanksgiving this year. Initially, my family frowned at the idea of missing their favorite turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, and sweet potato pie.
Instead, we bundled up and spent that day and the weekend that followed cooking and serving food to the hungry.
On Thanksgiving day, we delivered meals directly to homes that requested them. I grew up here. Yet this delivery assignment took me to parts of my backyard I'd never seen. In the following days, we cooked and served 250 homeless at a local park near a large homeless encampment.
I'm a physician. My day job is service. What more could I learn here? Well, I've "volunteered" before, but not quite like this, where we talked with and ate alongside those in need. What would my kids take away from this experience?
It's too much for a LinkedIn post, but it can easily be summarised by saying we got more than we gave this Thanksgiving. The gratitude, the goodness of heart, the joy emanating from each person who needed our help was soul-shaking.
I grew up in a household where sometimes the TV was off for a few days or the power was out on Thursday but back on Friday. It was feast or famine. The stories shared with us often involved one small thing, an illness or a job loss, that resulted in the current situation. It really can be any of us or anyone you know.
The poverty rate among children saw a sizeable increase, more than doubling from 5.2% in 2021 to 12.4% last year, census data shows. Poverty and the lack of affordable housing are the primary causes of homelessness in families.
How Many Children and Families Experience Homelessness?
On a single night in January 2021:
An estimated 161,070 people in families — or 51,000 family households — were identified as homeless.
Approximately 17,337 people in families were living on the street, in a car, or in another place not meant for human habitation.
In 2020, an estimated 470,000 people in 132,000 family households used an emergency shelter or a transitional housing program.
Our contribution was trivial compared to the workers who do this day in and day out when there is no holiday in sight. Thank you to two outstanding Atlanta organizations, Hosea Helps and Food4Lives, for allowing us to join their mission this holiday. Sponsor a meal or sign up to volunteer through the websites below. Children age 12 and up are welcome for most activities. We'll see you there again soon!
food4lives.org
4hosea.org
#homelessness #homeless #hunger #children #childhealth #foodasmedicine #healthcareforall #medicaleducation #physicians #nursepractitioner #physicianassistant #nurses #housing
Provincial Syndic - Dominican Province of St Albert the Great
3moJosh and his team are doing God's work everyday at Samaritan House and Catholic Charities of Denver. Let;s pray for their work and pray that they continue to bring Christ to more and more families.