Getting Involved : ‘We All Broke Bread Together’

I saw this lady who lives out of a buggy, what you call a bag lady. I thought, “What if that happens to me?” Because you know it happens. I felt very sorry for her and it really bothered me seeing her there. And there’s another guy named Hook. He kind of takes care of them all. And I started talking to him and he told me how they have to move constantly.

These people are nice people, but they’re struggling. They just want to be left alone. They’re just trying to make their lives better. I’m so lucky because I have a house and a family, but I really don’t know how the other side lives.

So I came up with a plan. My son and I did up some flyers (asking for Thanksgiving donations for local homeless people). Then I took some of the neighborhood kids out for ice cream, and for that, they had to take the flyers to all the houses in the neighborhood.

I wasn’t sure who would turn out and what we would get. But it turned out great! I think we did a good job. We all broke bread together and we all got to know each other, so it was a real Thanksgiving. I always wanted to have a big Thanksgiving, but we have a small family.

Part of the aim was to get the neighborhood together; I wanted to get involved. People live in a block for years and they don’t know each other. You don’t know who you have in your own neighborhood. And let me tell you, I met some wonderful people. We had all kinds of different nationalities and that was great. Since that riot thing, we have to all stick together.

I figured, why not give it a try? If you don’t have a catalyst, things don’t get done. I can’t do it all myself. Maybe we will do something different next year. I just dipped my finger into one thing, but there are so many other things out there.