Time to get out those wool socks and put away the sandles. Fall hit us like the wind in a gale.
I couldn’t put off getting the winter clothes out any longer. I pulled out a few winter items that no longer fit me, which I had been hanging onto “just in case,” and donated them at the Chapel in the Pines‘ clothes closet. Chapel in the Pines meets a tremendous need in our community — a real blessing to those down on their luck.
Clothes Drying
As the temperatures dip down into the 40’s at night, the homeless huddle down and brace themselves for the bitter cold to come, taking care to bundle up well. Hats, coats, gloves and dry socks are necessities one doesn’t go without — especially if you are living in the woods. I had a couple of decent tarps I was glad to find a good home for. They will make a nice shelter against the fall rains.
Each Wednesday evening, Chapel in the Pines opens their food bank and clothes closet to the needy of our community. They can use your barely used items, to bless the indigent in our community. Maybe you have an iron skillet, a tent, warm coats, dry goods and such, just laying around, unused.
Please don’t donate junk or dirty clothing, Chapel in the Pines staff tries hard to really bless those down on their luck and in need of help. And we all know God loves a cheerful giver. Times are hard and we may not be able to donate like we once did, we can still pitch in and do a little. Kids still need nice school clothing for school and warm blankets for a cold night.
I spoke with a couple of young men, who were on their way to the forest. They carried a tent with them and stopped in for much needed supplies. Having been homeless years ago, I gave them a few tips and offered to scroung up a few things for them next Wednesday.
It’s a shame that forest rangers run off honest, hardworking, folks by only allowing them 2-weeks to camp in any given spot in the National Forest. The forest service workers come along and make them move — not to another part of the forest but to a different forest, making it difficult to keep a job — even if someone is lucky enough to have found one.
This is public land. You can’t tell me that we can’t spare a little bit of ground to help those in need. Why can’t we take an acre of land and allow a free tent city to exist? In most cases these are people who can’t find housing, or work and haven’t bothered a soul. The state has set up campsites and they charge a pretty penny for them.
In Yosemite, a camp site for tent camping can run $50 or more per night. This is public land that the general public can’t afford to enjoy. Did you know that rooms at the Ahwahnee can cost as much as $400 per night? This is an outrage. I do hope they pay a pretty penny to the government for staking out their claim to that piece of public earth.
Is this what we can look forward to for national healthcare? Instead of using local resources to run these resorts, the National Park System contracts out to huge corporations (such as Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts) to gouge the public. They make huge profits off visitors to our National Parks and the prices continue to sore.
Shamefully, many people are more concerned with protecting our environment than they are caring for people. I’m not saying we should put the homeless up in the Ahwahnee Hotel but what will it hurt to provide them a place to pitch their tent and call home for the winter? Who will it hurt?
