Homelessness...

Last Saturday, I went to a community fundraiser concert for a local non-profit called Stand Up For Kids(http://www.standupforkids.org/). It was your average, hippie community gathering, located at the park next to the local community garden. One of our favorite local singers (Vicci Martinez--check her out, she is amazing. http://www.viccimartinez.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/viccimartinez) was volunteering her voice and band for the afternoon. My friend Toni has been volunteering for Stand Up For Kids for years. This local non profit champions the rights and the lives of local homeless teenagers. They make meals, do outreach, get them bus passes, clothes, a bunch of stuff. I was really compelled by the group.

Then, on Sunday, during the minute for mission at church, a woman named Betsey recounted her experience making lunches for a homeless settlement near the old Lowe's store. She had set up her table near the Goodwill store, read her bible and waited for 3 hours with the lunches and no one came. She decided that these lunches were not going to go to waste, so she drove down the main street in East Bremerton looking for needy people. She gave away all 8 lunches that had been made. She also realized that it was necessary to seek them out.

Today, I walked to the store. I needed to buy some travel toiletries for the YAV re-entry retreat at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. I walked past a couple of homeless guys on the way there. One of them had a super-old, poofy, starter jacket for the Miami Hurricanes. I laughed and remembered the Duke jacket I had in 8th grade. I started thinking about the cost of what I was wearing. And about what I was going to go buy. Have you ever added up the cost of what you have on, and then the cost of the products you use to get ready every morning, and eat, and gas. It can really add up.

It just got me thinking I guess.

There is very real, very true homelessness. No shelter, nothing. I have seen it in Peru, I have seen it in Seattle. But there is this lingering idea of home, what that was and how I felt there. I used to know where home was. Now, being without that leaves me with the feeling I can only call homelessness. While, physically, I have shelter, I am lost on where home is.

All for me, for now.
katie