Cold weather!

Last month I spent an afternoon outside Dorothy Day Center in St Paul with the people with Communitas. The last of the underwear that CrossRoads Church (Woodbury) donated to Praxis last winter is gone ("Undie Sunday")!  That is a total of ~3000 pairs of underwear (which we individually packaged, labeled and sorted) which have been distributed one-to-one. That also means a thousand conversations, some long, and some brief (can't avoid a pun now and then....), a thousand signs that the homeless are not forgotten.  THANK YOU CrossRoads Church (http://www.crossroadschurch.cc/)

So the people at Communitas (http://www.communitastc.org/) are the ones that organize the annual new boot give away each December. I am impressed by their organization of the event.  They fit each person, and then give them a voucher which they bring back the next week to receive the proper fitting boots. For more info on supporting this, please see their website.  New warm boots are so important to the homeless in a Minnesota winter! 

A friend from CrossRoads asked what items are good for a hygiene kit, and this is what I told her:

There are many options for hygiene kits. 

These are the basics (all these are travel size):
> shampoo
> conditioner
> Hand/skin cream
> powder/foot powder (this is highly prized!)
> toothbrush and toothpaste (toothpaste can be larger than travel size, but not jumbo size)

Then at least some of the follow should be added (or else the kit is rather sparse)
> bar of soap in a ziplock bag
> facecloth in a ziplock bag  (inexpensive in bulk at Walmart, for example)
> razor and shaving cream (travel size)
> chapstick or other lip balm

Separate packs can be made for feminine hygiene;
> 10 packs of whatever product, in ziplock bag.  (this would be a huge bonus to get these!!!)

Blessings all!
Matt

"Cause of homelessness"

I was outside The Listening House in St Paul, with some middle schoolers from Las Vegas in town for a mission trip.

We had spoken to several people there, offered hygiene kits the kids had assembled, and prayed with a few folks.  Then Danny came over. Danny is middle-aged, and dressed moderately well. "What is the cause of homelessness?", he asked us.

Cause? A single cause?  I was thinking about job loss, addiction, running away from abusive homes, mental illness, freedom, and the other reasons people have told us about being on the street.  I couldn't think of only a single cause.

"Broken relationships" he continued.  "I have family in town, and if those relationships weren't broken, I would have somewhere to sleep tonight." He went on about how important is it to work at relationships and keep them healthy, so that when you need people, they are there for you.  Maybe he said that last part, and maybe I imagined it, because I mentally drifted away as I wrestled with whether this could be a root-cause.  When I mentally returned he was telling the kids a bit of his life story.  Yes, there was job loss, but without relationships he had no one to turn to when the money ran out. Was there an unspoken factor involved?  Don't know, and it really didn't matter - Danny had opened my eyes a bit further to the fact that there isn't an "us" (housed) and "them" (unhoused).  There is just "us", and God was clear that we are to look after the hungry, cold and naked, and yes, the lonely. 

We prayed with Danny while he wept, and then we headed back to Mears Park. I could tell that one of the boys and one of the girls had their eyes opened a bit.  I hope that that morning has planted something in them.

A New Year, a new phase...

I am really excited to tell you about the next phase of Praxis! After much discussion and prayer and walking St Paul, we are joining with Lowertown Fellowship to serve the people on the streets of St Paul. Check out the Lowertown Fellowship page linked below: they are a group with a heart for God and for the Lowertown side of downtown St Paul. They have space and presence on in the Mears Park area, so they will be able to reach our friends throughout the week; we will continue to set up on the weekend. All our material goods will be available to both groups, so yes, we definitely need donations of cold weather items and hygiene items! Please send/post a note if you have questions or interest in this next phase... and thanks for your partnership in serving the people of St Paul!


https://www.facebook.com/groups/111992412149712/

Matt