The Wet Shelter

I have trouble with insomnia and should, as my doctor suggested, be working rigorously toward regular waking and sleeping hours. I haven't mastered that yet and just volunteered to work one night next week at the overflow homeless shelter from 1 AM-7 AM. I was just trained this evening and am not sure I'm entirely cut out for this kind of volunteer work, but I'll find out. It helps that I'll be there with a trained, experienced volunteer and a friend. It's a "wet" shelter, meaning: drunks and drug addicts are allowed in, but not allowed to drink or do drugs on the premises.

During these economically challenging times, I have felt fortunate. One estimate said the current recession would force 1.5 million more people into homelessness. Although I lost my job last spring, my husband is doing well and we certainly have nice food and shelter. I began to think about those who don't have these basic things and wondered, other than offering a small donation to the food pantry, what I could do. There is a big gap between the thinking and the doing of things and seeing the plastic bags, each containing a sheet, blanket, maybe a sleeping bag, with the homeless clients' names written on them, made this fact quite vivid.