According to estimates from the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, anywhere from 700,000 to 2 million people are homeless on any given night in America. We see them every day in downtown Orlando, on streets just outside our neighborhoods and offices, wearing tattered clothing and holding up cardboard signs with pleas for help. They’re as much a part of downtown Orlando as the Citrus Bowl or Lake Eola, yet far too often, we don’t acknowledge their presence, let alone their needs. But five churches in downtown Orlando have teamed up to make sure they are never overlooked again.
The Heart of Mercy Community Church of Nazarene, Cathedral Church of Saint Luke, First United Methodist Church of Orlando, First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, and the St. James Catholic Cathedral have joined forces to build a Homeless Service Center that they hope will challenge the Orlando community to give to the less fortunate. The center will provide those in need with shower facilities, Internet and telephones, as well as career resources to connect them with job opportunities. The renovation of the property, located on Wall Street, is estimated to cost more than $2 million. Through marketing efforts and fundraising events, Covenant Communications has also joined the cause to make the center a reality.
I had the privilege of being a part of an informative video about the center and two of the people whose lives would be greatly changed by its completion. Ray and John are both homeless, and know what it’s like to feel alone and uncared for. Homeless for four years, Ray found himself struggling to make ends meet when the company he worked for went out of business. John has also struggled financially, even resorting to selling cocaine to make it by years ago. He’s been in and out of prison several times as a result. Both have since found work at a local church, doing maintenance and custodial work. Through working at the church and attending Sunday services, they’ve both become believers, and have dedicated themselves to God and making radical life changes.
I spent most of the day talking to these two men, who never missed an opportunity to open a door for me or make sure that I had a chair to sit down on. They shared stories about their families, memories growing up and about what it was like to live on the street. They both spend most of their days in the library now, reading the Bible and other books to occupy their free time and stay out of trouble. As often as he can, Ray also visits his mom and siblings. He travels to the store to buy her groceries with the food stamps she receives each month. The oldest of his family, Ray has always been the type to look after people. They both hope this new center will give them and others the opportunity to get a hand-up, not a hand-out. But above all else, they hope the new center will give other homeless people like them a place to go where they feel welcomed, loved and inspired that the world does have something to offer to them, and them to it as well.
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