Christmas at the Hawks, PADS and Pacific Garden Mission
Christmas in the Hawk household is no different than many other Chicagoans. No work, much cheer. Strange, though, as today is a big day to read a newspaper. However, as busy as my corner is most of December, today is the least travelled.
This is not to say the corner is empty. It never is. Monday to Friday, mostly, I am there, as are thousands of businessmen and women. Also, somehow not always as obviously, are other men and women. These are homeless, or semi-homed, if that can be said.
It is hardly just Chicago. Every big city has people who need a meal and place to lay their head.
And it is not just big cities, but the posh suburbs. Now, before you get on your high horse about how the rich burbanites don't care, get a load of PADS. They are based in the wealthy west suburbs, specifically in Wheaton, IL. They got a lot of churches (130 churches!) working together to help feed and provide a place to sleep.
The deal is simple: every night, a different church provides a floor and sleeping bags to sleep in a safe area. People get dinner and breakfast at no cost. Some churches provide the floor, while others provide volunteers.
How You Can Give - see these two places, if you live in Chicagoland, but they are hardly the only ones. Your church most likely can connect you to others, and there is always the United Way, the Salvation Army.
Pacific Garden Mission - we don't have much to give, but our family has given to them over the years, and think you should too.
Homeless in DuPage County Fact Sheet - This is what PADS has to say about the homeless. I have even volunteered there to see what it is all about, working an all night night shift.
The News
It is Christmas. What better news is there? As good news goes, this is as good as it gets. Merry Christmas.
This is not to say the corner is empty. It never is. Monday to Friday, mostly, I am there, as are thousands of businessmen and women. Also, somehow not always as obviously, are other men and women. These are homeless, or semi-homed, if that can be said.
It is hardly just Chicago. Every big city has people who need a meal and place to lay their head.
And it is not just big cities, but the posh suburbs. Now, before you get on your high horse about how the rich burbanites don't care, get a load of PADS. They are based in the wealthy west suburbs, specifically in Wheaton, IL. They got a lot of churches (130 churches!) working together to help feed and provide a place to sleep.
The deal is simple: every night, a different church provides a floor and sleeping bags to sleep in a safe area. People get dinner and breakfast at no cost. Some churches provide the floor, while others provide volunteers.
How You Can Give - see these two places, if you live in Chicagoland, but they are hardly the only ones. Your church most likely can connect you to others, and there is always the United Way, the Salvation Army.
Pacific Garden Mission - we don't have much to give, but our family has given to them over the years, and think you should too.
Homeless in DuPage County Fact Sheet - This is what PADS has to say about the homeless. I have even volunteered there to see what it is all about, working an all night night shift.
The News
It is Christmas. What better news is there? As good news goes, this is as good as it gets. Merry Christmas.
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