Seattle giving a lesson in real love

Last week, it was Valentine's Day. While most people view "love" as something involving a family member or sexual partner, there is another kind of love. This kind of love is pure, asks for nothing in return as unselfishness calls them to work for the greater good. This kind of love does not stand in judgment. Does not seek blame. Does not seek anything but helping someone in need. This is a lesson in real love. The kind of love Christ spoke of.

At last, a place of her own
By Marsha King

Seattle Times staff reporter

For the first time in years, Mary Millett, 67, has a permanent roof over her head, a bathroom of her own and a door she can lock.

But after a decade spent in homeless shelters, she is finding her first weeks in a studio apartment both exhilarating and unsettling.

Millett's new digs are in a recently opened apartment building in downtown Seattle for those 55 and older who've been living in shelters, cars or on the streets.

What she's finding is that leaving a long-familiar way of life — even if it's homelessness — can be disorienting, as if something's suddenly missing.

"It's a new experience," Millett explains. "Getting your emotions in tow is the problem."

The $26 million apartment project reflects heightened concerns about the aging of the area's homeless population. Shelter and medical-clinic staffs say they are seeing more older adults with no place to go and with complex health needs that are difficult to meet.

It has 92 units, with about 20 set aside for homeless veterans. Residents pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. For most, monthly income ranges between $300 and $600. The project has a nurse, as well as case managers with expertise in geriatrics, mental health, chemical-dependence recovery and veterans issues.

go here for the rest
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004189012_homeless19m.html

I take no joy in posting about people suffering. As a matter of fact, it breaks my heart. These kind of stories, I rejoice in, celebrating the human spirit and the capacity so many in this country have in taking care of "the least among us" when it would be all to easy to just walk by them, act as if they didn't exist or worse, as if they deserved to be in the state they are in.

All across the nation, people are thinking of others and acting as if they do in fact represent Christ with compassion. These stories need to be told as much as the stories of people suffering. They show what people can do when they know there are so many others hurting. This is the best side of what the citizens of this nation can do.