Danny, and a possible new direction

I’m just home from the meeting Eske invited me to attend, and it was like a reunion of family I hadn’t seen in years. This portrait is of Danny, a houseless man who shouted “Mama!” when he saw me and broke into a wide grin. He hugged me close and said, “I love seeing you again. You made it through and you’re still here.” After we hugged, I heard my name and turned around and a woman named Michelle said, “Oh my god, Kendall! It’s you! You’re still alive!” and another big hug. Those greetings were more than worth the trip downtown. 

We met on the sidewalk near Sisters of the Road. Sisters closed down in March, 2020, when the lockdown came, and it still isn’t functioning, even though it received funding from many sources, and even though there are far more houseless people now than ever before. The old staff left, except for two people who have hung on and tried to hold space for a return to service. New staff was hired, but for reasons we don’t understand, the place still isn’t operating. There are four toilets not being used. There is running water and people in the street are thirsty. There is electricity where houseless people used to charge their phones. But the doors are locked and no one is allowed in, as far as we can tell.

Michelle, who is formerly houseless, now has a small disability check, an old car, and a single room to live in. She buys groceries, cooks them on a hotplate, and distributes food from her car every Sunday on the corner by Sisters. Today it was rice mixed with ground beef, she had enough to make 20 paper plates of food, and every plate she put out was gladly received. “But why isn’t Sisters doing this?” she asked, reasonably. 

Eight of us agreed to attend the Zoom meeting of the Board on Thursday (Danny and Michelle have never attended a Zoom meeting, but they have email addresses and phones, and they hope they can manage it.) Currently there are 3 board members, one of whom was standing on the sidewalk with us. He said there are openings for six more. I’m going to apply, and so are Danny, Michelle, and two more people. Maybe we can help to get things moving.