Chippewa Valley Street Ministry Journal - May 31, 2019

 

The following is a journal written by Barb in 2016.  Please read the journal and the notes following it.  Thank you for your interest and support!

 

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

 

Pastor Mike, Mariah, Samantha, Brent, Jake, Brian and I were out on the street tonight. Thankfully, the rain had let up. We talked with the young mom with 3 small children. She told us that she is trying to take one day at a time and if things start to overwhelm her, she tries to stay active and to keep her mind focused on what is best for her.

 

Another young woman whom I had not seen in a while came to us tonight looking worn out and despondent. She looked down and away from me, not wanting to make eye contact. She started out by saying her day had not gone well. She had been kicked out of her apartment and thought she was pregnant. She has mental health issues and is a victim of trafficking. Much of what she was telling us did not make a lot of sense. She was in a world of her own making. All we could do was listen and try to convince her to go to a place where we knew she would be off the street and safe. We would take her there, but she did not want to go. We managed to give her some new shoes and socks so that her feet would at least be more comfortable and made her promise to come back to us on Friday night and talk with us. In the meantime, Pastor Mike would look into the situation of her apartment. It is heartbreaking to hear stories such as this. Women on the street are so susceptible to being abused.

 

We continue ask for your prayers and support of this ministry that is so vital to the homeless.

 

Barb

 

The journal Barb wrote several years ago is still very much the reality today when witnessing the suffering that many of our homeless friends endure when we encounter them on the street. They live under the continued stress of being alienated from a society that looks down those who live in poverty and are homelessness. We've heard our visitors say that they feel unwelcome in the city. We've also been told by some people that they try not to "look" homeless so that they are more acceptable.

 

Many of our friends have physical and mental conditions. PTSD is frequent not only among our homeless vets but also among this entire population that lives in poverty. Mental health treatment is at a shortage overall in the community and several of our folks are untreated simply because help isn't available. Medical conditions such as diabetes or cardiac disease  add to the stress of being homeless -- finding nutritious but diabetic friendly food, keeping glucometers and supplies available and, if necessary, refrigerating insulin are all challenges that need to be addressed. For any condition, keeping medications safe and available can be a challenge.  Often, after medical care is provided, a person will convalesce at the library, the shelter, or other agencies. In other words they suffer, but they suffer in silence which adds to their particular physical or mental condition.

 

Other stressors include: applying for housing, navigating legal systems, social service systems, maintaining a vehicle, maintaining relationships, keeping track of time and dates if a phone or watch is unavailable, dealing with weather conditions, carrying everything one owns and many others situations.

 

Women are often abused and there those that are trafficked or have to compromise themselves in order to survive. Women will have sex with men who promise to protect them or use their bodies in order to fain shelter, food, transportation or other necessities. We know that this is not always a desired act but one rather based in survival. We encourage safety whenever we suspect that a woman is in this position. 

 

With the stress that many of the people we serve experience, it is understandable why some of our friends feel like their situation is insurmountable and they become stagnant as far as moving forward.  Observing their suffering gives us energy to work harder. Please keep those we serve in your thoughts and prayers. 

 

  - Staff - Chippewa Valley Street Ministry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

​

 

 

 

​

 

 

The late James Cone, a renowned Afro-American theologian wrote the following in part:

 

...By North American standards Jesus could 
be considered neither a successful person, 
nor could he be considered morally respectable.
He identified with the prostitutes and drunkards,
the unemployed and the poor, not because he felt
sorry for them, but in order to reveal God's judgment
against social and religious structures that oppress 
the weak.  Jesus was born like the poor, he lived 
with them, and on the cross he died like them.

​

​