March in Indiana, weather unpredictable from one hour to the next. Rain, sun, sleet, snow, who knows?
This night in March, the temperature is in the high 40’s. There’s a group of 9 of us on a mission to distribute food and supplies to the homeless on the streets of Indianapolis–those for whom there is no room at the local shelters, or those for whatever, unknown (perhaps even irrational) reason, choose the fractious elements over a roof and 4 walls.

It’s a fairly quiet night, out on the streets. The people we see are grateful for the food we’ve brought, the clean, dry socks, blankets, gloves, fresh fruit—–oranges being a favorite amongst our clients of the night.

Our little caravan moves from place to place, seeking those who need what we have in our vehicles. Those who try to remain invisible to regular society, but who keep an eye out to see if we’re coming their way. Gulping down the hot soup which warms the core of their being, much better than even the blankets that we have to share.

One of our last stops—-there’s about 8 guys who’ve laid claim to this particular city sidewalk, for the night. One jumps up and his grin lights up the night. He is thrilled that we’ve shown up again. He is almost jumping up and down, he is so very pleased that “company” has come, not to mention that we’re bearing gifts. You’d think it was Christmas morning and his stocking was full of goodies, from the happy face he presents to us.

Blankets, socks, hot soup, the regular stuff is being passed out by our volunteers, when one of our “customers” walks up to my husband and pulls two dollars out of his pocket.

“Here, you feed me every night and I want to repay you”, he says.

My husband’s face is clouded with indecision, he does NOT want to take this man’s money, but also does not want to insult him. My husband looks at him with a question on his face, and the man replies “It’s okay, I have a job and I want to pay you for what you do for me.”

Yes, many of our customers have jobs, low paying, cash under the table jobs, which make it nearly impossible to accumulate the needed deposit for rent, utilities, etc. Another reason it is difficult to save up for a deposit on an apartment——others on the street know who has a cash paying job, and regularly rob them.

So my husband thanks the man for the two bucks, shakes his hand and they look each other straight in the eye. Man to man.

I have to walk to the back of the other vehicle and be by myself for a few minutes because a flood of tears is threatening to show everyone how easily I am hurt by how these people live. Some want to live this way and I will never fully comprehend why, but it’s not my place to figure them out, just to accept them for who they are when we see them, and give them what help we can.

Entered into the group’s CASH/CHECK DONATION log——
Date Donor Amount Cash/Check Receipt/Thank you
3-7-06 Homeless man $2 X from the heart……….

By Linda Cuff