Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry

Food bank begs religious leaders to help feed hungry
Jay Hamburg and Kate Santich | Sentinel Staff Writers
November 20, 2008
Unable to keep up with the growing ranks of hungry people, a Central Florida food bank turned to a group of local religious leaders to issue an interfaith plea to the community: Give before the cupboards go bare.

As the economy declines, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida has struggled to keep up with unprecedented demands. The nonprofit agency distributed 2 million pounds of food last month. That compares with 1 million in October 2007.

And the gap between supply and demand keeps growing, said Dave Krepcho, the food bank's president and chief executive officer.

"We need to close that gap, not only with food, but we need to close it with faith," Krepcho said Wednesday at the agency's first multi-faith forum on hunger.


During the event at Lake Eola Park, the group of Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders all declared it is the faithful's duty to the help the poor and hungry.

"What we need to do is issue a clarion call to the greater faith-based community to take responsibility," the Rev. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, a Church Distributed in Longwood.
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Orlando Food Not Bonds wins right to feed homeless in court

Hallelujah! Orlando has it's heart back and compassion for the least among us as Christ commanded His followers to do and simple human kindness requires of anyone with a conscience.

Federal judge: Orlando's law against feeding homeless a civil rights violation
Willoughby Mariano | Sentinel Staff Writer
5:26 PM EDT, September 26, 2008
A federal judge has permanently barred Orlando from enforcing a rule barring large group feedings of the homeless in Lake Eola Park because it violates activists' basic civil rights.

In a ruling released this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell criticized the city's ordinance saying there was no "rational basis" for it.

"Rather than address the problem of homelessness in these downtown neighborhoods directly, the City has instead decided to limit the expressive activity which attracts the homeless to these neighborhoods," the ruling states.
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Orlando mayor defends regulations for feeding the homeless

Orlando mayor defends regulations for feeding the homeless
Mark Schlueb Sentinel Staff Writer
June 25, 2008
A confident Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer took the stand in federal court Tuesday, defending the city's regulations on feeding the homeless in public parks.

It was the final day of a trial that pitted the rights of the homeless against the city's responsibility to protect its parks and citizens.The homeless advocates who are suing the city over the 2006 rules are the ones who called Dyer to testify. But that decision may have hurt their case.

Attorneys for Orlando Food Not Bombs and First Vagabonds Church of God questioned Dyer for less than five minutes, and he had no problem coming up with answers.

The city's lawyers then questioned the mayor for 20 minutes, discussing his administration's programs to help the homeless and the complaints the city had received about feedings that regularly drew dozens of transients to Lake Eola Park.

Orlando Mayor to take stand in homeless feeding trial

Orlando's mayor expected to take stand in homeless-feeding trial
Mark Schlueb Sentinel Staff Writer
June 22, 2008

When Orlando's controversial rules on feeding the homeless go on trial in federal court this week, Mayor Buddy Dyer likely will have to answer some tough questions.

The advocates for the homeless who sued for the right to feed the hungry plan to call Dyer to the witness stand.

"He was the guy in charge when this ordinance was proposed and written and enacted," said Jacqueline Dowd, one of the attorneys for the feeding groups. "He's been somewhat vocal about the issue of homelessness in Orlando, and I think some of his public statements are going to be at issue."

Dyer is the most high-profile person on a list of possible witnesses that includes Orlando's police chief, city clerk and economic-development director, homeless advocates, police officers, Lake Eola-area business owners and even a homeless man.
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Homeless man harassed in Orlando?

You all know I get a lot of emails. This one came in today about a homeless person being confronted by two Orlando Police Officers. While I was aware of how the homeless are being pushed out of the city and they are trying to stop the feeding stations at Lake Eola, I did not think they had taken up harassing the homeless. I hope this is not what is acceptable behavior of the police officers. While I do not know any police officers personally down here, I've met quite a few in my travels and they have all been very nice. I'm scratching my head over this one. Is it true? Is there more to the story? What about the people in the store? Did something happen in the past that caused all of this?

Strike up brownie points by belittling homeless!

Re: Officer Cody Jackson, Officer Gillespe
To whom it may concern on Tuesday evening around 11:00 pm I got off of work and went to the 7-11 across from the Wild Side restaurant near Lake Eola. "I believe that to be Summerlin" though not 100% as I am not very familiar with that area. While in 7-11 I was getting food, and over heard the workers there making fun of a gentleman outside who was homeless, and laughing about how the police officers in question told them (the workers) that this guy had a masters degree but was homeless. They then stated that the officers had run into this guy a few times and stated that the homeless person was one of Orlando's finest citizens. (Wow, way to go OPD.)

Any how I then proceeded to tell the gentleman provoking the conversation that he needed to put himself into this guys shoes before they were to sit there and bash the guy. He proceeded to curse me out, telling me I'm the f@#%ing reason that these "bums" were all over Orlando etc... Now, I am one to be civil - but I did exchange some words back and fourth, never as colorful as what you see above here. I the extent was pretty much telling the guy he deserve to be in the hell the homeless person was.

Now, as I walked outside you had a Gillespie sitting next to the homeless individual and speaking to him in a rather condescending fashion. While I did not fully hear all of the conversation at first, when people started coming outside (including the inside 7-11 guy to tell me to never return to his @#$%ing store) Office Gillespie started getting louder and louder asking him why he was at the 7-11, why he didn't have a place to go, why he was bothering people. He was not conducting an interview per say, he was making an example if this gentleman (homeless person) or trying to at least to make it look like he was doing his job but at the expense of this guys place in life at this time. As I had stated the kid inside decided to come out and scream vulgarities and to never come back into his store. Officer Gillespie asked me (from his sitting position) all comfortable, looking very UNPROFESSIONAL, what was going on. I began to tell him, and Cody Jackson who had his car parked (to the left 3 spaces) from where we were, tells me to get the hell out of here and that I don't know what I'm getting my self into. My words at the immediate time were telling the guy from 7-11 (worker) to go back inside - and I then focused on Jackson who was now walking towards me pulling his collar out, vest to vent, etc... trying to assert his position as a "cop". Jackson still sitting there telling me "to get the hell off the property." (NICE WORDS FROM ORLANDOS FINEST.) I was located in my car at this point, window down, and Jackson is still making statements like this, telling me "You don't know what world he came from" I guess he meant the homeless person or what not.

Maybe Orlando condones all of this action from these poor examples of public servants, but I think it's rather sad. I know several of your officers old and new. Some I grew up with, which has pushed me to pursue going to the Sheriffs Office as a Deputy. I can honestly say, as many times as I have ridden as a 10-12 I have NEVER seen a Deputy Sheriff act in the manner that your "boys in black" did. I am by no means saying it never happens, any municipality has it's issues, I am just saying the S.O. seems to have a different caliber of individuals on the road, and not some cocky kid (e.g. Jackson).

Finally I make a call to your com center (911) as I did not have the non-emergency readily avail. I asked for a Sgt. or LT. to please give me a call, as I wanted to discuss the issue that was outstanding. He calls me back, already very standoffish. I am aware you're to protect your soldiers so to speak, but if you're officers are making you look bad then you would think you would be interested in hearing about it. Clearly from the Sergeant's tone and demeanor you can tell where Jackson gets his professionalism from. I tried to explain the story to this gentleman only to keep getting (I don't see where they were unprofessional.) (I don't see where they were unprofessional.) Are you serious? While Gillespie didn't say too much, and was trying to find out what was going on, he was by no means in the right here either.

While I do not doubt the jobs of everyone there at the PD, I am sure this probably wont make it further than all the people I will email it to. I can only hope something is done about it. Maybe OPD needs to get Jackson out with an FTO for some more training! And maybe have him work for a homeless shelter for some community service and sensitivity training. I am not saying the homeless should be put on a pedistool, but they are human beings. I dont like being begged for money like any one else, but I can be a human being and not belittle them in front of everyone at a store. (Just to add to this.) Before I walked into the store the two OPD officers were inside. The gentleman outside (as I passed and another patron passed) never asked for anything. He was just sitting there. While we both could argue it was because of the officers inside, we could find that he wasnt actually bothering anyone. Maybe just asking him to leave vs. patronizing the guy in front of everyone and trying to make an example by being very loud would have been easier....

Thanks for listening,

Damon

http://youcanthandleit.blogspot.com/

Homeless man named Perry and his gold coin offering

I'm sitting here in tears. Oldtimer Speaks Out has at least one story a week that does that to me.

Perry and his gold coin offering

One of these men, a homeless veteran is Perry. Perry has been described by Pat as “having an entourage of people swirling around him in his head always talking to him.” Perry came to our church among the first two to accept our invitation to visit. Pat and Scott picked him up. During one sermon our Pastor was talking about the woman who gave all she had, a penny, and what a wonderful thing that was.

Perry got up in the middle of the sermon and started for the pulpit. Scott caught up with him and asked what his intentions were. “I’m going to make an offering”. ”But wait, there is a time for that later”, said Scott. “But I want to give now!” So Perry took his Chucky Cheese gold token to the alter and placed it on the corner of the choir railing, and returned to his seat just beaming! Grinning from ear to ear. Gave all he had, real gold to him.

I don’t know what happened to Perry when the evictions came. I think that he had dissappeared. We know of one death, Dominic, and we know that there is likely more - I learned today that the medical examiner sent a homeless person to a funeral home near our church who was apparently found in the same lot we were serving, but Dominic had been found somewhere else.
go here for the rest
http://oldtimer.wordpress.com/2008/01/27/our-fight-for-the-homeless-some-stories/

The pastor was wrong because the woman didn't give one coin, but she gave two. That was all she had and it's been said this gesture is the basis for the saying "putting in my two cents" when we offer our opinion from all we have in our mind.

This would be a wonderful world if we all put in our two cents. When we take compassion on those who have less than us even though we have very little of our own, we prove that we are grateful even for crumbs. When we set ourselves aside for the sake of someone else, that is what Christ was talking about. It wasn't just being willing to lay down your physical life, but to be willing to set aside focus on your own life because someone else is in need. Some may just need a shoulder to cry on, when you are dealing with your own pain. Some may need clothing when you are trying to figure out how to afford to buy the new coat that's on sale and you really want it. You may remember a time in your life when you were eating cereal twice a day because it was a lean month of income but a huge month for bills. You carry on your back those tough days and feel compassion for someone else knowing how much it does hurt to be broke and in need.

For the homeless, especially the homeless veterans dealing with other issues, they live lives as outcasts. Their families have sent them away, refusing to take care of them, or they themselves decided they didn't deserve their families and vanished into a world of wondering.

When we see a homeless person the first thought that comes into our mind is to not look at them. If we turn our heads, they won't come close. They won't ask for money. Horror overcomes us if they dare approach. Why is that? Is it that we fear they will try to harm us or we may catch something from them? That's hardly likely. Are we afraid we may need the change in our pocket or that they will use the buck and half we give them to get drunk with? What business is that of our's? We won't know if they eat or not unless we take them the food or take them to the food.

What about clothing? Do we have a yard sale so we can make some money on what we no longer want to own? Or do we decide to donate the clothes we don't need to someone who does need them? I donate mine. The Vietnam Veterans just picked up bags of clothes that filled my closet I hardly ever wore. No, I didn't go through my closet with them in mind. I did it because I'm a slob when it comes to my closet. My bureau is virtually empty because I'm too lazy to put the clean clothes in draws. It's a lot easier to just stack them on a shelf in my closet. It was purely selfish because I got to the point where I couldn't find anything and didn't have room to hang anything up. So I packed up what I never get around to wearing and donated it to the vets. I figured the clothes weren't doing me any good and cleaning out my closet helped me to find some of the favorite pieces of clothing I haven't been able to find in months.

What about a kind word? Can we manage to say a kind word to a homeless person? Do we even know how they became homeless? We can assume they must deserve to be homeless and then we won't have to face the fact we provide clothing, footwear, shelter and meals to prisoners. We can assume they want to be homeless and then we won't have to face the fact that if they want to be homeless there has to be a reason behind it. Would you in your right mind ever seek to be without anything?

We humans decide who we will judge, who we will help and what we will do while most of the time it's purely out of self interest. Some people will act as if they are doing it for the sake of someone else when what they really want is for people to see them doing it. That is what we think isn't it when we see someone at a feeding table on Lake Eola in Orlando.

Last week this just came out from Local 6 News

Just released this morning

20,000 War Vets Living On Florida Streets; 1,400 In Central Florida

POSTED: 5:42 pm EST January 23, 2008

UPDATED: 10:58 pm EST January 23, 2008

ORLANDO, Fla. -- More than 20,000 military veterans in Florida are homeless, living in a kind of war zone they had never imaged -- on the streets and in the woods.

A former U.S. Marine named Pete who once lived in Cocoa Beach with a great view of the ocean is now one of Central Florida's 1,400 homeless.

Pete lives in the woods.

"I got a tent in the woods. I'm not going to a shelter," Pete said. "I'm a carpenter by trade and I just need to get back to work."

Now we can just ignore them, walk by them, avoid them, but they won't go away. As a matter of fact, if we ignore them they will increase in numbers. They already have. 20,000 homeless veterans in Florida when the last time I checked the numbers it was 14,000. We have 1,400 in Central Florida alone. The Dom in the VA center only has bed for 60. There are other beds scattered across the area but there are not enough of them. What we really have to be aware of is there are homeless the VA doesn't even know about.

One of their stories was posted on this blog because of a comment made by the wife of a disabled veteran who lost everything because he was wounded and cannot work but received a zero percent disability. They are living with a relative. We can only assume this is the case here in Orlando as well. While we may be horrified by the numbers we know about, we need to always retain the fact there are more.

I think having homeless people in this nation is a sin. While we can give huge tax breaks to oil companies sucking our wallets dry at the pump, breaks for businesses looking at the bonus money they make by laying people off, the result is suffering for the many for the sake of the few. Still even with this, my heart is tugged by the veterans. They were willing to lay down their lives for this country and we do owe them a debt of true gratitude. We owe them to not be homeless. I posted about this many times that if we can't even take care of them, the chance of the regular citizens to be taken care of is highly unlikely.

Next time there is a meeting you attend or you hear about a homeless person being blamed for their state, put in your own two cents and set the record straight. Maybe a homeless man like Perry will get you a gold coin in heaven for helping him when he was the least among us.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com


"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation."

- George Washington