“Once you get out here, you’re like a Jeep that’s stuck in the mud,” Mrs. P. says. “You have the capability to be unstuck, but you just can’t quite do it. You need something to help get you out.”
If you think it’s not possible for you to become homeless, consider, then, others who are close to you.
Mrs. P. is a mother. So is Martha, who unfolds the chairs and sets out the day’s donated bread products in the mornings while Mrs. P. makes the coffee. Martha’s children are in their 40s with well-paying jobs on the East Coast.
“For a lot of people, it’s just age and running out of money,” Martha says. “I was a waitress for a long time.”
Rachel’s Night Shelter gave Martha a bed after another shelter had closed. When her morning chores are complete, she’ll doodle for a few hours before volunteering at the library, attending Bible study, or running other errands. She’s working on becoming a live-in helper.
Martha has no contact with her family. There was no fall out, no cutoff. Perhaps her homelessness might have freaked them out, she says. Rachel’s is her support system.
