Compassion for the Homeless:
Reality of
homeless situations really comes into play as the cold season unexpectedly
hits. Many persons aren’t as prepared for nasty weather as one would like to
be, furthering the basic survival needs such as a warm place to sleep. Our last
cold spell just took place, just after Thanksgiving of this year. In our area,
we set record low temperatures night after night, forcing warming centers to
stay open longer and earlier than anticipated.
In our area,
this ultimately meant depleting a large portion of the budget and placing a
great deal of strain on our volunteer staff. With the official beginning of
winter being on December 21, we were 18 days ahead of the solstice. A quick
check of The Farmer’s Almanac reveals data which states a colder than usual
winter ahead with a higher chance of snow in our region.
It doesn’t
take a rocket scientist to figure out that this means we are in for a real
doozy. With the money gone, and resources nearly depleted, in means an urgent
meeting for the leadership of our group, the Egan Warming Center network, to search for alternative methods of
funding for our mission of saving lives during potentially fatal cold nights.
With this
being said, hopefully there will be some help from local businesses as well as
the general public to recognize the urgent need for these types of
organizations so they can stay in operation during the coldest, deadliest part
of the year. In short, ‘tis the season for giving, and personally, I can’t
think of a better way to contribute than offer a little compassion for those
who need it the most.
Until next time,
Kirk Toncray
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