SuperWomen and SuperMen Help Homeless with Donations

Blogging in alphabetical order brings us to the letter S today.  Doing a google search for words that start with the letter S and have a connection to homelessness produced a rather large list.  Here are some that stood out to me:
Safety
Scorn
Scrounge
Secret
Shame
Smell
Sleeping
Squalor
Stench
Survival
Suspicion

No doubt as you read through that list of words, you have thoughts perhaps even pictures pop in your heads, or maybe experiences where those words were used.

The sad thing is, those aren't happy words...they aren't words when put in the context of being homeless make you smile, or feel comfortable.

Safety is truly a concern.  For multiple reasons.  Sometimes homeless have reason to fear for their safety from Police, sometimes from other homeless, sometimes from ordinary citizens.

Many homeless feel scorn from passers by.  Or when they try to order something to eat at a fast food restaurant and are asked to leave, or see looks of scorn from other patrons.

Many homeless scrounge for food, water, clothing, money, a safe place to sleep.

Many homeless are secretive about where they sleep, some for safety reasons.

Most homeless do smell because they live in the elements, they can't bath or launder their cloths...certainly not with any regularity.  When it's been really long, the smell because more of a stench because they may be living in squalor.  

Shame...yes many feel shame, because they're in that situation in the first place.  Maybe they feel shame because they lost their job and can't support themselves or their families.  

Many homeless live daily with others being suspicious of them.  If there's a crime committed nearby, it's often the homeless that are suspected as having committed said crime.  

Sometimes all the homeless are trying to do is survive.  Survive the hunger, survive the extreme heat, survive the freezing cold, survive being sleep deprived.  Most of us take sleep for granite ...even if we sleep badly.  But, to be safe, and to be above suspicion it's not uncommon for homeless to have to move constantly...often in the middle of the night, therefore are often sleep deprived.  Even when there is a safe indoor space where they're permitted to sleep, those hours are restricted and they therefore have to be on the move, no matter how sleep deprived they may be.

But, you all who support Bridge and Beyond with your knitting, your crocheting, your looming, your collecting personal care items, your visits and comments to this blog.............you all are SuperWomen and SuperMen.  You help elevate some of those sad words above that start with the letter S.  You all help warm the homeless both physically and emotionally with your kind crafts and big hearts.  PLEASE keep up the good work.

**The counts on our progress bars are current. 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.