What is Joy

A-Z Challenge J=JOY

I looked at lots of different definitions of what JOY means, and I read a survey where people responded to what JOY is to them, none of that seemed to fit into what we do here on Bridge and Beyond for the Homeless, nor fit into what is it to be homeless.

I feel JOY when I knit or crochet and I know the end product is going to help someone.  I feel JOY when I open beautiful donations from the many caring hearts and helping hands that donate to Bridge and Beyond.  I feel JOY when I hand delivery these donations to the various shelters or to Rae who passes out necessary items when she delivers hot meals on Saturday mornings.

I feel confident saying all the good folks who've helped by donating  to Bridge and Beyond  also feels that same JOY as they spend their time knitting, crocheting, looming, or quilting to help care for someone else.

I believe along with our warm items: hats, scarves, mittens, slippers etc we also give some JOY to those who receive the donations.  That's why our mission here on Bridge and Beyond is handmade, I believe the JOY we feel as we're crafting our items transcends to those who wear our knitted, crocheted, or loomed items.

So,

and go knit something to help spread JOY  to someone in need.  Can you join us?

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Inspiration

Today's A-Z letter is I, I've chosen the word Inspiration.  In a recent knitting class I took on line, there was considerable discussion about choosing colors and patterns that inspired us.  Many people said they use nature as their inspiration when selecting colors, patterns, and textures to knit with.  I rarely buy a specific yarn for a specific project, so am not sure I've ever given it much thought.  I use yarn I have on hand...often yarn that's been donated or yarn I've purchased on sale...a color that's flexible for a variety of projects.  However, seeing this picture the other day on Facebook and I thought.......wow, that would inspire me to select beautiful purples and greens, and wouldn't these colors make an awesome afghan, or sweater?  Coincidentally, purple and green are my daughters favorite colors and so they are colors I've often purchased, but this particular blend...

Inspiration with regard to caring for the homeless could be defined as inspired to help others.  I think all the folks who donate to Bridge and Beyond are inspired to do just that, help others.  And I believe those who receive our gifts are also inspired...inspired to feel better because someone cares about them.........Someone they don't know took time to make something especially for them.  That is certainly inspiring.  I know many times when I make deliveries to the various shelters and run into a homeless person on walk or in the parking lot, and they open the door for me, help me carry items in, and say Bless You, I feel that they are inspired.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Hobo and Homeless

 A-Z Challenge H= Hobo and Homeless
The above picture might be what you think of when you hear (if you're as old as me you knew the word), Hobo.  Wikipedia defines Hobo as a migratory worker, a homeless vagabond.  They believe the word started to be used in the Northwestern part of the United States around 1890.  The origin of the word is dispute/has many possibilities vs is unknown.  A Hobo travel to find work, had no permanent address.  The typically "Road the Rails" to move from one community to another.

The might have done odd jobs, usually manual labor in exchange for food, sometimes money.  They were known to hang out at the docks when ships would come and go and the rail roads.  Some thought riding the rails was a bit romantic....seeing the sites, not being tied down.  But, they often didn't have a roof over their heads or know where the next meal came from.  They weren't well received in many communities.  They spoke a language all their own with chalk symbols to leave behind important information for other Hobo's that might travel that direction.  The symbols might be as simple as a cat which meant a nice lady lives here, or top hat meaning a kind gentlemen lives here.  Those symbols would attract other Hobo's.  They might however, leave symbols indicated they weren't welcomed, to be aware of barking dogs, or mean police etc.

There were some notables who Hoboed before they made it, such as: Woody Guthrie, Robert Mitchum, Carl Sandberg and George Orwell; but..........for most it was a tough life.  Perhaps it was easier to be a Hobo then compared to being Homeless now.   Somehow I think so, towns are bigger, there are fewer families farms where you might work a day, or receive a meal, or be allowed to camp awhile.

The face of Homeless seems more wretched to me, filled with more despair and danger.

Hats, another word that starts with H.  Hats are one of the items we knit, crochet, and loom and donate.  Can you help?  A warm head can help warm the rest of the body, it can help keep someone dryer, and it can save a life.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Gubbio, a Homeless Project at St. Boniface Church

A-Z Challenge G= Gubbio Project

I can't help but think God is smiling knowing about the Gubbio Project in San Francisco at St. Boniface Church.  Sleeping is scared.  Homeless people have many problems, beyond the elements, the lack of food, the lack of respect, lack of good health, the also often lack sleep.  They lack sleep because they don't have a bed in a shelter, they don't have a protected dry or clean place to sleep, and or they don't have a place to sleep without being harassed, often by police as well as others.  When you lack sleep, you often act irrationally causing people to fear homeless, to not want to help them and more.

This church has been provided sanctuary, a safe place to sleep, eat, and just be at peace for the last 10 years.   Homeless can sleep from 6 am til 3 pm.  On Friday's meals are served.  There are supplies of personal care items such as soap, toothpaste and more for those in need.  Free hair cuts, vouchers for clothing also are available.   There are pamphlets available to aid the homeless in finding shelters, and other social work assistance.  A nurse podiatrists is available certain days to help with cleaning feet, massaging feet, checking feet for disease etc.  There are 2 masses a day, and the homeless are not asked to leave during those masses.  In fact, many join in prayer, others may sleep through.  The church asks that the back 67 rows be used for sleeping, so parishioners can attend mass up front by the alter.  This project was started by Major Gavin Newson who had a 120 year plan to end homelessness.  20,000 homeless have been houses or referred to shelters and 1.5 million dollars spent; but the problem remains.  For each homeless person taken off the street, there's one to replace them.  Still the church and it's members do what they can and it does help.

Do you have a program similar in your city?  If so, I'd like to know about it, please leave me information in the comments section.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Crying and Homeless and Freezing Temperatures

A-Z Challenge
F = Freezing

Valentines Day George and Joyce Gruss were traveling through Columbus and stopped for a bite to eat at Wendy's on Route 161, right off the freeway with the intention of eating and moving onto their destination.  They noticed a couple near them and the woman was crying.  They seemed very low and down and out and so Joyce and George asked what the problem was.  The couple was homeless, had missed the curfew at the shelter and had no place to go.  It was 8 degrees, with a prediction of going lower as the night progressed.

Wanting to help the couple they took them to a nearby hotel, also on Route 161, The Super 8, and got the couple a room for 3 nights to keep them out of the cold.  They prepaid for the room and left thinking the couple would have a few days reprieve before making their way back to the shelter.   An hour later while Joyce and George were in no longer in Columbus and well on their way, they received a phone call from the hotel saying the weren't letting the couple stay, they were kicking them out.  The couple didn't have any identification.  So, out in the  freezing cold in what was the beginning of the coldest weather of the year the couple went.  No one knows what became of them, or where they went, of if they are ok.  The hotel initially didn't even refund the Gruss's money.  After a large out pouring of negative publicity on social media, their money was refunded.  Super 8 is owned by The Wyndham Hotel Chain.  Petitions gathered large numbers of signatures, again through social media to call this sad fact to the attention of the hotel chain and the general public.  The hotel chain has apologized, but....

The George and Joyce have tried to locate the couple, both by coming back to Columbus and through social media, but my research hasn't turned up anything on that score.

The hotel has had problems before.  Lots of problems with drugs and prostitution.  In fact the hotel had been closed for a period 6 months because of such problems and they were under some pretty tough court guidelines of appropriate action in order to stay open.  They had some business problems, perhaps management problems no doubt.  Does that justify sending a homeless couple out in the freezing cold ...the public outcry would say NO!  Social media can be a wonderful tool.

Yesterdays post, another sad story of being homeless, freezing and dying from exposure, so I do wonder what happened to the couple.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Exposure Kills Homeless Veterans

A-Z Day 6 E=Exposure

This incredible picture truly looks like somewhere over the rainbow.  This was taken by Steve Edquist at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota.  A final resting place of honor for our Military. (Thank you Steve for the use of your photo).

Meet Jerome William Jackson, better known as Jerry.  He was a Lance Corporal in the United States Marine Corp from 1975-1978.  This picture is the face of a homeless man, taken in 2005 at The Union Gospel Mission in St. Paul where Jerry lived for awhile off and on after being evicted from public housing.  Sadly, this Marine died of exposure on Feb 21st.  His body was found in a homemade shack in below freezing temperatures in Indian Mounds Park.  This Marine who served his country had schizophrenia, making life difficult for him and sometimes those around him; though he was well liked by those who knew him at Our Saviours' Lutheran Church.

No one should die of the elements, of exposure in this country; and most certainly not a Veteran.  But, it happens.  According to an article by Piper Hoffman of Care2, about 700 Homeless People die every year from exposure.  What a sad statistic that is.

This is a sad story, one of many and one of the reasons we do what we can here on Bridge and Beyond.  Warm hats, scarves, and mittens can save a life.  And so we knit and we crochet and we donate.  This isn't the first post I've written about the death of a homeless person.  Very recently I posted about Michael B. Williams, Jr.

However, this is also a rather heart warming story, as the community came together and took care of arrangements to honor this man, Lance Corporal Jackson.  He was buried at Ft. Snelling with military honors, a 21 gun salute and bag pipes.  Mueller Memorial provided their service for free, and arrangement were made to locate his brother, Don and bring him in for the service.  He was honored to receive the folded flag from his brothers casket.  The brothers hadn't seen each other in several years.   Communications were strained and difficult with the disease and the homelessness.  RIP Jerry.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Donation

Day #4, A-Z challenge = D= Donation.

What is a donation?  Google says it's a noun, it's origin is Latin, and it means the act of giving, especially to a charity, a contribution.  Our donations from Bridge and Beyond  for those living outside in the elements, those living day to day in various shelters give hope.  My google search tells me a Butterfly is the symbol for Hope.  I believe we give hope as well as physical warmth with our donations of hand crafted items.  Being cold, hungry...a person needs hope.

Many people immediately think of money when someone says the word donation.  Donations can be varied.  Donations can be money, they can be time, they can be products, they can be a combination of all 3.  We don't collect or donate money here on Bridge and Beyond.  We do donate our time...the time it takes to knit or crochet a hat, the time it takes to read or write blog posts, the time it takes to read or write blog comments.  We also donate products...ie, the finished work....the hat, the scarf or pair of mittens.  We donate personal care items and socks, those too are products.

Some folks may have the ability to donate more, some don't.  It's not the volume that's important, it's that we donate.  And truly every bit of it, every completed work, every minute of time spent...it all counts for something good.

Can you donate?  You don't have to be able to knit or crochet to donate.  You can donate socks, and or personal care items.  You can donate yarn, or postage to a friend who's donating through knitting and crocheting.  You can donate your time to read and posts comments to support those who are knitting and crocheting, you can help spread the word.  Please do what you can.  Please donate to those less fortunate, if not here on Bridge and Beyond, locally.  Every donation matters to someone!

Thank you AnneMarie for this awesome donation of personal care items.  What a fabulous donation.  These are all Avon products she purchased from our other good friend, Sherry K.  What a win win donation.  Personal Care items are needed all year long for men, and women.  Those in shelters as well as those living out in the elements are always in need.

Keep up the good work AnneMarie from New York!

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

What is Crochet

 This afghan, titled Blue Sky

And this afghan titled Purple Iris are crocheted and on their way to our friend Sarah S to be assembled.  This won't be the easiest of jobs, as you can see the squares aren't the same size, in fact a few in Blue Sky are rectangles and not squares; but she has graciously agreed to lend me a helping hand by putting these together.  Thrilled to have some help on that score.  Many thanks Sarah, we're all looking forward to seeing the end products.

 Today's A-Z challenge is C.  C=crochet.  The two afghan above will be assembled then donated as part of our project for "Welcome Home".  Crocheted and knitted afghans are donated to Homeless Families Foundation discussed in the A post Here

**For new readers, I always name the afghans, based on what they look like.  And when I get stumped some of the good folks who donate to Bridge and Beyond turn their creative juices on and help with the naming as well.

So what is crochet...well wiki says:

Crochet (English pronunciation: /kroʊˈʃeɪ/;^[1] French: [kʁɔʃɛ]^[2]) is a process of creating fabric from yarn, thread, or other material strands using a crochet hook.^[3] The word is derived from the French word "crochet", meaning hook. Hooks can be made of materials such as metals, woods, or plastic and are commercially manufactured as well as produced by artisans. 

Some folks get confused about crochet vs knitting.  Crochet is as stated above a hook...knitting is 2 needles.

I learned to crochet when I was very young, about 7 I think from a friends Grandmother.  My friend Pam's Grandmother made magical things from string...that's what it seemed like to me.  I'd sit beside her and watch, and probably drove the poor woman nuts with all kinds of questions.  Then one day...she handed me a red plastic crochet hook and a ball of mint green yarn and proceeded to show me how to make a dollie.  I'm sure it was lovely, lol.  Anyway, it's a fond memory and I was very proud of that green dollie....no clue what happened to it though.  Mom probably, being a good Mother used it until I lost interest, lol

I didn't crochet anything else until years later when my husband was working and going to college.  I had a lot of alone time, time on my hands and decided I needed a hobby.  I think the next thing I made was 

a green vest, very similar to the blue one in this old hippie pattern.  In fact, I think I had this pattern book, or at very least I actually remember looking at it.  Thankfully my skills have improved and what you can make with crocheting has improved.  The yarn now available is 100% better then what used to be available.  AND, it's very popular again, it's not just for Grandma's.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Bridge and Beyond, Behind the Scenes

Bridge and Beyond Behind the Scenes.  Lots of B's in the title, after all today is April 2, the day for a B post for the A-Z Challenge.

As of the writing of this scheduled post, there have been 1448 published posts here on Bridge and Beyond.  The blogs mission is caring for the homeless through knitting and crocheting.  The first blog post was written on December 2, 2008.  A few days later, one of our original participants, sunniefairy (Andrea), made our logo for us.  The logo has remained these 9 years later and will continue to be our blog badge.

Originally I titled the blog as The Bridge Project, homeless living under the bridge was the first focus.  As donations grew, which they did quickly...we were able to care for a shelter.  As time went on, we continued to grow and added other shelters in need, schools in need and more.  The name was change to Bridge and Beyond.  We were helping those beyond the bridge, so it seemed appropriate.

We supplied knitted, and crocheted items such as hats, scarves, mittens, and slippers.  Again with growth we added the personal care items, cotton washcloths, rain poncho's, afghans, and socks to our our donation list.

This is the first scarf I made and donated back in 2008, using up odds and ends of yarn in my stash.

Bunny (Lynda G) was the first person to donate.  Her donation was received on December 9th, 2008.  So, in a matter of 1 wk, we were on our way to being a "group".  The power of one is truly awesome, and when people join ranks, great things can be accomplished.  Bridge and Beyond has been a grass roots charity now for 8 years.  If you knit or crochet, please help us.  If you don't, tell a friend about us.  AND, you can help without knitting or crocheting by donating personal care items and store bought socks.  Each item we collect has a tab across the top of the blog with necessary information.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted


All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

Afghans, Family Heirlooms

 Meet Great Aunt Viola and her husband Harry.  They were married back in 1932, 83 years ago.  Notice the afghan to Viola's right...the left side of my old picture.

 This is Great Aunt Viola's Mother, Mary Florence, my Great-Great Grandmother who was born 4 days before the start of The Civil War in 1861.  Mary Florence crocheted that afghan.  Likely 83 years ago as a wedding present for her daughter, Viola.  Though it's possible, she made it before or after that; that's a logical conclusion given family history.

That afghan was made by my Great-Great Grandmother, used by her daughter, my Great-Aunt, given to my Dad and used alot!  And now I have the honor of owning it.

Though it's in need of some repair, it's still around and is probably at least 83 years old!  Afghans, knitted or crocheted are family heirlooms and carry a-lot of sentiment and meaning.  We here on Bridge and Beyond knit and crochet afghans to bring meaning, and hope to those less fortunate.  We donate our Afghans to Homeless Families Foundation as a way to say congratulations and best of luck.  Congratulations because they have moved forward, they are transitioning from shelter living to their permanent living situation.  That's certainly something to celebrate and commemorate.  We also hope these afghans we make and donate give them hope for a brighter future, to know someone cares for them, and made something special for them.  We hope the afghans we donate carry a special meaning to those who receive them, must like this special afghan does for me and my family.

Today is the first day of the annual A-Z Challenge for the month of April A=Afghan.  Welcome to those in the challenge who may be seeing this blog for the first time.  The blog is dedicated to helping the homeless through knitting and crocheting.

**We call this project, "Welcome Home", you can use those words and or afghans in the search box to see some of the afghans that have been donated in the past.

2015 DONATIONS:
Hats: 179
Scarves 67
Mittens/Gloves/Wrist Warmers: 45
Slippers: 50
Rain Poncho's:  53
Cotton Washcloths: 109
Afghans: 6
Socks: 126
Cowls 12
Shawls 1
Misc: items like personal care and things don't fit into above categories aren't counted

This is the starting portion of the 2nd square to "Learning Logs", my regular readers will remember the fits this ghan has given me, but.....I can say things are improving with the various changes I've made to the pattern.  Comparison to square #1 is HERE

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.