A Trip to the Warehouse

First of all, I am sharing this story not because I want a pat on the back or a reason to feel good about myself. I just want my friends to know a little bit about the human condition and what other people are experiencing in the world today right here where we live. Anyone who knows me , knows that I am a volunteer and board member of Changing Footprints, an all volunteer non profit that seeks to collect and distribute shoes to those in need here at home and around the world. Being involved with this organization is one of the best things I have done in my life and I thank Maureen Leisure, the founder and my Rushville High School classmate, for inviting me to be involved. I am a delivery person. I don't make light of what I do. Anyone could do it but without a delivery person donating, collecting sorting and boxing would be a useless process. So I like being even a small part of the process. I am also always looking for new groups to collect shoes and to volunteer and sort shoes. A year or so ago a church youth group, called The Rock, from New Palestine came to me and wanted to collect shoes in New Palestine High School. Of course I was thrilled. That was over a year ago and they are still collecting shoes. Last year they decided they wanted to do more. So I invited them to come to our warehouse and sort shoes. After a while of trying to find a date at the same time we had shoes to sort, we decided to take a group down to Rushville this last Sunday. I said we had to make sure we had shoes, as most times shoes come in. are sorted and go out pretty quickly. The needs are great and currently we have a hard time supplying all the shoes that are ask for. I decided to take a friend of mine from church with me. His name is Michael and he is homeless. Michael has been a regular in Cumberland First Baptist for several years now. When he first came and I found out he was sleeping on the street and often eating out of dumpster, I was very very sad and concerned as to how help him. I am still concerned but I have gotten past the tears. Michael has become a friend over the time I have known him. I was not sure when I ask him how he would respond. He said yes and after lunch we started our trip to New Palestine. I don't think he had been in the country for a while. He kept remarking on the little towns that you could almost miss if you blinked. On our ride down, he repeated several times that his homelessness was not relevant to who he was. He was not a homeless man, he was a man and a friend that happened to be homeless. I told him, the group of young people, were mostly strangers to me, and I did not expect him to say or do anything. I did not want to make him uncomfortable or feel out of place. I mostly wanted to show off our warehouse which we have recently rehabbed and show him a little about how it worked. If I know anything about Michael it is that he is a strong advocate for the plight of the homeless. He stands up for himself and for others, hoping to change the way the homeless in Indianapolis are treated and how they are viewed. From what he said , he was not one of those people that always had his hand out for money. He has learned the system and gets food stamps and an "Obama Phone". A friend gives him money for a bus pass so he can come to the eastside to our church. If you were to give him money, he would probably use it to help someone else with food or a bus pass. When we have a church dinner, sure he will take leftovers back "home" with him. But he would also be the first there to take down tables or to wash dishes. He is always willing to give back whether it is ringing the bell on Sunday to call us to worship or with projects in church. I would never attempt to tell Michaels story and how he was forced to live on the streets. But I do realize that his story is not a lot different and that I know a great number of people, myself included, could easily become homeless and be forced on the streets just as he has. Michael did not share with the young people as I had hoped he might. Maybe another time. He is pretty quiet and I am not sure many of the kids did not even knew he was homeless. Michael picked out shoes, not for himself but for several of his friends. I had just taken him shoes a few weeks back. The interesting thing is when helping him pick out shoes in a warehouse full of shoes, there were only a couple of pair that he thought would work. They need to be able to take the weather and not be too flashy. He needed one more pair for his friend Kirt but they required Velcro because he was unable to bend over and tie his shoes. We did not find them yet. This was a good day. This was what Changing Footprints is all about. The enthusiasm and energy that the youth and their leaders brought to the warehouse gave me hope that our mission would continue to thrive and grow and help those in need. This was a good day. I got to know Michael a little better and hopefully come a little closer to understanding his situation. When I finally had to drive Michael back downtown Indianapolis and drop him off, I will admit to some tears. He told me to drop him off in a parking lot across from Military Park where he stays. He than carried his belongings to an area of bushes to hide them so he could go into Marsh and use their Wi-Fi for the rest of the evening. I learned when he is not at a store using their Wi-Fi, he is at the public library on Facebook or studying genealogy. He is a genius when working with genealogy. I have also strongly suggested on several occasions that he record his story on paper. I know I am interested and I am sure many others are too. I hope introducing you to Michael will somehow put a face of the homeless issue in our community and around the world. Michael is just one of many who deal with homelessness in our community. True he is probably not typical but he represents many all with faces and lives and sometimes families. I feel like Changing Footprints does its share in helping but it will take much much more. Our tagline has always been "we are changing the world two feet at a time" Every action we take, every shoe we collect or person we help may seem insignificant but it all will help and together we can live in the way Christ taught us to live.