Homelessness Awareness Month

Feeding America is asking bloggers to post in the month of September about Homelessness Awareness Month. Since I am on the board of a soup kitchen in Boston, I thought I'd write about that.

The Friday Night Supper Program is in its 25th year of serving hungry and homeless people every Friday night in the basement of the Arlington Street Church. It was founded by the Church and Dignity Boston, a group of GLBT Catholics. It then became its own 501C3 nonprofit organization and has operated that way ever since. It has only two part-time employees and relies on volunteers to serve a nutritious meal to approximately 130 people each week. A Friday night has never been missed or cancelled, ever, in 25 years. Come rain, snow, hurricanes, holidays, power outages and more, Friday Night Supper is there.

The meal is served restaurant style. Guests begin with bread and butter and water on their tables and can go up to get coffee and juice and soup during the first hour. At 6 p.m., volunteers serve the meal to the guests at their tables, accommodating special requests for vegetarian options and other requests. As soon as the meal is served to everyone in the hall, the door is opened again to late comers, who receive a meal at the door as they come in. Dessert is also served to guests at their table at 6:30. Guests are welcome to spend time in the hall until 7 and then the hall closes so volunteers can clean up, sweep, mop, breakdown all the tables and chairs and do all the dishes. Without fail, all the volunteers leave by 7:30. It's like clockwork.

We serve guests who are homeless and those who live in subsidized housing or low-income housing. Some work, but many cannot for varied reasons. Some live only on disability or on social security. At the beginning of the month, our numbers are often lower, but come the end of the month, it can get very busy. On cold or rainy days, folks tend to stay longer in the hall, protected from the weather.

We also have a "Clothing Closet" which provides whatever we can to guests when we can. Clothes, shoes, socks, underwear, toiletries, and more are given out each week to folks with requests. Often, we cannot meet all the requests we get, and are constantly looking for donations. We always need men's things - we get about 90% male guests at the Program. If you have things to donate, let me know! Or, adopt FNSP for the holidays or for your birthday, and do a drive for us!

Homelessness is pretty horrible. Sleeping on the streets, on a bench, in an ATM vestibule are all risky, cold, and uncomfortable. People are homeless for lots of different reasons - many of them their own responsibilities, but many that are more luck of the draw than anything else. Undereducated, under resourced, under supported people struggle across the United States every day to be sure they can keep a roof over their heads.

Is running a soup kitchen solving the problem? Nope. It's not. We aren't doing any work at the root of the problem. We aren't working to change the source of the problem. But, for only $70,000 a year, we can serve about 7000 meals to people who can't wait for the system to catch up - because they are hungry right now.

Want to come volunteer with me? Let me know. You can come anytime! It's easy, fun, and rewarding.

And this month, when you walk past a homeless person, say hello. Or give the dude on the corner a dollar, even if you usually wouldn't. Or get your extras wrapped up at a meal and give it to someone who's asking on the street. Or, make a donation to a homelessness serving agency (FNSP!). Or volunteer. Before I served my first meal at FNSP in 2007, I had never worked in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. I had no idea I would care so much. But I do. And you might too.