This May 2015 is my fourth trip to NYC in the last
year and a half. Each time has been
different, of course. Each time has
brought a refinement to my life and this work.
This time is no exception.
To recap, I go to NYC to work with the homeless. Most of this work is done on the street. However, I do go to the Mission at Lafayette
& White. I also make a point to go
to the RHOW Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen.
This time I was working on the street mostly. Working on the street entails recognizing
those moments that God has orchestrated, and walking through them. Most of the time it is sensing a persons
need. To be honest, most do not approach
me asking for money. I approach
them. They may not even have a cup, or
hat. Those are the best encounters. I can just tell that they are in need of what
I have. It isn’t necessarily the D &
D card that they need. It is that human
touch of a handshake, and those words that say, I care about your
existence. God cares about your
existence. I am razor-focused on the
homeless, and spend a great deal of time, if they are willing, encouraging them
to press forward and not give up. They
tell me how hard it is. They share their
fears of shelters, or trains or people.
I was drawn to Times Square a lot on this trip. On May 18th, I went to Times
Square. I had a few encounters before running
into a man outside of a Starbucks (of course.
Funny thing is that I didn’t go into Starbucks.) I was interested because he was
engaging. He was asking for donations
to help the homeless. I thought, ‘Wow! Right up my alley. Another person working for God to help the
homeless.’ He was dressed in white
hi-top sneakers, jeans and a nice, clean, white t-shirt and wearing his
colorful hat sideways. His hat matched
his personality, colorful. His first
words to me were, while pointing to a statistic on a sheet of paper, “Do you
know that there are so many homeless youth just in New York City alone? That’s why I am here. I’m here because I need your donation to help
them.” I have to admit, I was drawn into
his spiel, and after all we were both there doing the same work, just in a
different way. This was my
thinking. He had a little square lock
box that read, “New York City Homeless Outreach,” on the front. It was propped up on a covered stand, so it
stood out. He opened the box, and I
gladly threw in a 5 dollar bill. Of
course, I introduced myself. I asked if
he was homeless. He said that he wasn’t,
but was volunteering his time to do this work.
I thought how noble for this man to give of his time in this way. I asked him where the Outreach was
located. He said 118th and
something. I didn’t quite catch it. He said the expected, God bless you and thank
you, and I moved on.
I walked away and felt good about the encounter, but
then I came upon 3 men next to a newsstand cart. They were all in a row, with the same kind
of set up. The same paper, and same lock
box but different people. These men were
homeless. I really didn’t have to ask,
but I did anyway. I didn’t want to
assume.
These guys said they were not from the same
organization as “John”. They gave me a
quite worn business card. I asked if
they were working for an individual or organization. They said they worked for the Times Square
News. “They help us.” What was strange to me was that I had never
seen an organization “pimp out” the homeless to get donations. It appears that that was what was
happening. These man were begging not
just for themselves but for a head person who took the money and spread it to
others. I left them and finished my day.
The next day I woke up and prayed about where God
wanted me to go. I again was drawn back
to Times Square. This time I wanted
information. I went to the spot where I
thought John would be. He was in the
same vicinity as he had been the day before.
I approached him with boldness. I asked, “Where is it, that you said the NYC
Homeless Outreach is located?” He
responded, “118th and 8th avenue.” I asked him if he had a business card. He said he was all out, since he had been
there since 5 o’clock that morning. (My
thought was ‘Wow! This guy is young and
dedicated to his cause.’) I turned
around and left. I hopped back on the
train to go uptown. I got off at 125th
and walked the few blocks down to 118th and 8th avenue. I looked all around that area. I stopped and asked people if they had heard
of it. No one responded with a yes. One woman, who was obviously homeless, said
that I should check on 116th street and 8th. Of course, I took the time to ask her name
and give her encouragement & a D&D card. Her name is Natalie. She is confused about religion.
I walked down to 116th street. Yes, there is a Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen
there. I walked in to a very busy
reception area, but a man that worked there walked up to me and asked if he
could help. I asked if he had heard of
The New York City Homeless Outreach. His
response was negative. He had never
heard of it.
I hopped back on the train to head back to Times
Square. I was a little steamed that I
had taken this time to try to find a place that didn’t exist. This time when I went back to where John was,
there was another person who was taking over for him. I walked up, and began to question John. He was quick to say that his shift was over. He pointed to the other guy and said, “He is
the manager.” I thought, “Great! Maybe I
can get some answers.” My first question
was, “Where is your organization located?”
He said, “123rd street and Lenox.” I told him that was not what John had told
me. He said he didn’t understand why
John had said that. I asked, “If I go to
123rd and Lenox, what am I going to find?” He said I would find two churches. He said the Outreach gives a percentage to
two churches that are right across from each other. I asked what the name of the churches
were. He could not give me the name of
the churches. He could not even spell
the name of the churches. He did make an
attempt.
I questioned Marc the manager some more. Come to find out, Marc and his wife are
homeless, and have been for two years.
He talked about getting a voucher to get a place and having to turn down
two places because they were in bad areas.
Of course, I gave him a Dunkin Donuts card. I told him what my thoughts were concerning
his management of operations for New York City Homeless Outreach. He seemed to not know what to say. I shook his hand and left.
The next day I again returned to the spot. Again John was there (John is a young guy,
who denies being homeless. He seems to
do this as his job,) and another man (I didn’t get his name.) They were next to a Times Square Newsstand. I questioned them again. John was visibly annoyed by my presence. I asked if they had jobs, because it seemed
that John’s volunteerism was more of a job, and not volunteering. The other guy said he had a job. He pointed at a building across the street, and
said they call him when they need him.
They both knew that they couldn’t convince me that they were
legitimate. Seemingly as a last resort
they hauled out a paper they said was their license. I asked if I could take a picture of it, and
did. They also took out a booklet about
the Times Square News. I took a picture
of that too. They said they were on
facebook.
I have thought about this part of my trip a lot over
the past few weeks. This operation is in
the heart of a hub in New York City, as many people pass through Times Square
in a day. These people are approached in
the same way as I was. Many do not pay
any attention to them and pass by, but many throw in a few bucks. There were people that gave their leftovers
from their dinner to them.
These men are the equivalent to The Salvation Army
bell ringers, seemingly without the organization behind them. Why is this so different from what the
Salvation Army does or any organization that collects money for the
homeless? The difference is that the
legitimacy of the organization cannot be substantiated. While it does have a license to operate,
there seems to be discrepancy in where the organization is located. I say, “Great!” if they are actually helping
the homeless. There just seems to be
something “not right” about everything to do with this.
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