WE are ONE

As the third week of my new job is coming to a close i am in awe at all that i have learned in such a short amount of time. i knew going into this job i was going to be working with low income families, maybe not in the best of situations. i did not, however, know i would be going out into the community and witnessing a completely different way of life. a homeless way of life.

a big part of my job is to "recrute" families into our program. this means utilizing my resources and finding families in need of our services. so, on monday my co-worker and i went to the housing authority in SLO for low income housing. we just went to post a flyer in the office. what we didn't know was that we were going to meet a girl who would change our hearts. she was in their with her social worker hoping to find housing for herself and her 5 children all under the age of 9. this 28 year old girl starting talking to us about early head start. so..we started the application process for her two youngest children. to complete an app we need some documents so my co-worker set up a time to meet her at her house to get what we needed. she was staying at a motel 6....the next day my co-worker returned to the office with the bad news that when she arrived at the motel our girl wasn't there. bummer...we lost her. or did we? at the end of the day my co-worker decided to stop by the homeless shelter after work. who did she find!? that's right...our girl...and her kids!

on wednesday we went to the prado day center (also funded by CAPSLO) to meet up with our girl. we got some more information from her and she was really excited to see us! she let us know that she was able to get housing but can't move in until Oct. 21st. so...homeless life is what she will be living for the next few weeks. i met up with her later in the day to take her and her kids some subway. she was so sweet and hugged me and thanked me for coming. i will be checking up on her over the next few weeks..

i don't think i have ever met someone as strong as this girl. she is hiding her and her kids from their abusive father. she is doing the best she can with what she has and i admire her so much. she knows and believes that things will get better and she is ready to do whatever it takes to keep her kids safe. in my eyes, she wins for mom of the year.

knowing that i work for such a wonderful company is such a blessing. i honestly had no idea of all the wonderful things CAPSLO does for the community. and now, i get to be a part of that! we try our best to serve those in need on the central coast..but their is only so much we can do. the prado day center and homeless center are amazing but need so much help at the same time. it's not the cleanest of places and the help is few and far between. God was tugging on my heart yesterday.. pretty hard i might add. i think seeing the old man in the wheel chair is what tugged my heart the hardest. no one should have to be homeless...but an old man!? no way...not okay with me.

WE are all ONE and we need to take care of eachother. count your blessings if you live under a roof, have a bed, or even just a blanket! we need to help eachother out. their is too much poverty in this world...so love your neighbor! i know where i will be this thanksgiving.. where will you be?