“We called 211, we called every place there is to help families, we called everywhere but no one could help us,” said a frantic mom and dad. The mom and dad came in to our shelter at The Homeless Voice. The shelter that every city uses, every hospital uses and many other agencies use when they cannot find placement in an emergency. The sad part of the story is that the only way we fund ourselves is by selling a paper in the same cities that send their homeless to us as if they owed us. Chapter Two of the same sad story is that the cities that send their homeless to us wants us to pay for all the services we use for their referral however we can only do that by selling this Homeless Voice Newspaper. Now for Chapter Three, these cities like the city Of Pembroke Pines and the city of Miramar outlaw our paper from being sold on public streets. The nerve of the city leaders to outlaw our paper form being sold then expect us to pay for it all with no help from them what so ever is just another example of how sad it is we have elected officials like this making decisions for our cities. This is why South Florida has been the most corrupt place in America for politicians. The feds are always busting them for one violation after another. They just alter the law, make new laws that fit their needs neglecting federal laws. But the final chapter is this.
So what is the final chapter? The final chapter is you the readers, you the supporters, and of course you the person reading this story. When the story starts off as a sad story it ends with the beauty of the hearts of all you who continue to buy our paper or send in their monthly checks. You are the ones who allow us to take the most complex homeless cases there are in the Tri County area. This family came to us because all the county shelters claimed they had no room. We did not have the room but we made room. We made room because, “How could we not?” Shelters must always bend over backwards to take people especially when it comes to a child in the arms of a mother or a dad. How can a place like the Homeless Voice take a family like this when the main shelters that get all the government funding and have professionals and people with degrees running their programs yet the Homeless Voice has only homeless people running their shelters but we can figure out what to do when a family comes their way. Yes when this family came to our doors a homeless person working the front desk checked them in, the shelter manager for the night who was also homeless put them in a location on the floor in a hallway that was blocked off to give them privacy and the next day the family met with a case manager who was also homeless. The other shelters and their directors I am sure would have wanted to help them if they could but because they get government funds they have to go by a set of rules in which we do not.
Sure we get comments made about putting a family on a mat on a floor but I volunteered for the Red Cross for five years and when the shelters were opened up for an approaching storm it was a mat on the floor. Every disaster has folks living on mats until the disaster is over with. This writer, this director feels that leaving a mom and a child on the streets is a disaster in itself and shelters need to change the way they think. But what does not need to change in the way they think? It is the supporters of this shelter for you have made it quite clear that you also feel leaving a mom and a child on the street is also a disaster and you donate to us because you want us to take as many as we can safely house.
Why have I written this story? I want every supporter or every person who prays and pays for our shelter to see what you have done. Read the letter below and see just how important your support is. This family that we took thanks me and the people who work here. Now it is time to “THANK YOU.” When you read this letter feel good about what you have done and please share it with others. As we lose city streets where we can sell our paper we need monthly supporters to make a monthly pledge even if it is only $5 a month. When people make a pledge it allows us to plan better and to get more for your buck. When we can plan better it keeps us more efficient. If you cannot afford to help us then please pray for us. We need prayers as well because it takes a lot out of us to do what we do. THANKS AGAIN for getting this family off the streets.