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Al's Outreach Outtakes
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April 24, 2021One of the many great things about doing what I do is meeting so many people. Some are just brief encounters with quick exchanges of greetings; others are more in-depth with broader sharing of information. Many are somewhere in between. It is not unusual to interact with someone multiple times in a relatively short time period of a few weeks or months and then it all ends. Sometimes you never see them again; other times they just pop back up, usually in need of a little more assistance. I recently had such a scenario.
About a year ago an older woman came to get some food. I learned she was living in her car and was struggling in many ways. At the time she was not looking for any housing assistance, preferring to remain in her car. She did need food, toiletries and gas for her car. Fortunately we were able to help with all of it. Eventually she began emailing me with various minor requests. Each time we were able to help and each time she would cry with gratitude. Several times we were able to provide a few “surprise” items that really made her day. Again, nothing major, just unexpected. This went on for multiple months until a few months ago when the contact stopped.
Last week she emailed me again. She told me she had finally decided to get into a women's shelter and she was grateful for their help. She said they are able to get some food, but wondered if she could come and get some from us. She told me she wasn’t sure what time she would be here because she would be taking the bus and she was not all that familiar with it. When I asked her why she wasn’t driving she wrote that her tank was near empty and she did not have the money to put any gas in. I told her we would be able to provide her a gas card again if she would like.
After she got home she realized the card was a little larger than usual. She emailed:
Thank you so much for your generosity! Holy Trinity is a wonderful place with so many good people! I was in need of every day items like qtips, lotion and such that I will be able to get along with gas. Again thank you!