Homeless in a VW and Ford Explorer

Saturday, December 15, my roommates and I headed downtown to Riverfront Park for the 17th Annual Nashville Homeless Memorial. It appears from the title that this has happened every year I have been in Nashville, but this is the first time I have paid attention to the email information I guess.

Anyway, it began with a breakfast at 8:30 am and the service began at 9 am with the Color Guard: American Legion Post 82. Yes! It was absolutely brilliant, especially the four letter word uttered by one of the men as they messed up the formation.

We remembered the 42 persons that lived on our streets that we are aware died this past year.

We spent time hearing the stories of person living on the streets of Nashville today, as well as those who do not. One of the stories that has stuck with me since Saturday was the testimony that Howard Gentry, Homeless Commission Chair of Nashville, gave. He shared how he and his wife decided to participate in the Stamp Food challenge for a week about two months ago. What started off a challenge for a week, turned into a 2 month way of life.

For two months, he has been living off of $21 a week for meals. $21!!! Yes, that's right, $3 a day for meals. Crazy, huh?

Yes. Crazy and a bit shameful when I think of the people who have no choice but to live off of this federal assistance that many people would like for us to stop offering. This craziness grabbed my attention and imagination, not letting it go for even a second.

So, my roommates and I decided that we would participate in the challenge as a practice for Lent. On the way to Starbucks, home, Chick-Fila and Target (as you can see, this is definitely going to be a challenge) we talked about what this decision would mean for our lives and how we could live into it faithfully. At one point we discussed the possibility of volunteering at feeding programs and sharing meals with those we serve. We got so excited we started thinking of places we could serve each day of the week to get a good meal. $3 a day is nothing, we are going to need help from wherever we can get it. We realized how quickly our minds started thinking about getting what we need by almost any means necessary.

Come February, every feeding program needs to watch out for possibly the only hungry souls making their way to the soup kitchen in a Ford Explorer and VW.