One hundred volunteers are needed for Project Connect, according to Asheville’s Homelessness Initiative Coordinator, Amy Sawyer. Persons who can take time off work from 8:00am to 2:00pm Friday, September 12, are welcome to volunteer at First Baptist Church downtown. Services to be provided for the homeless and near-homeless include “haircuts, pet care, mental health services, physical health services, housing referrals, [and connection to] mainstream resources including Medicaid, food stamps and child care subsidies, and more.†Contributions of “clean socks, new shoes, toiletries, back packs, sleeping bags, and financial donations to help with food and supplies†will also be accepted.
I’m not feeling charitable. I might get some toiletries together, but here we have again big government perpetuating the life of the organism, and doing nothing to feed the spirit, encourage self-sufficiency, or even liberate people from the habits that most often lead to chronic poverty. I half suppose the volunteer orientation will instruct people not to minister or reach out from their hearts to these people. What matters is that our bureaucracies capitalize on the weaknesses of the vulnerable. Why do homeless people need new shoes when my working-class friends buy apparel second-hand? We go around with DIY hatchet hairdos. And no, I am not going to start working a second job to feed somebody’s pet.
