Finer Things Thursday

Thursday nights are typically the start to weekends, party nights or free time. So would you ever consider Thursdays to be the only night of the week filled with good food and a fulfilling conversation? Probably not—but for those who attend “Finer Things Thursdays,” Thursdays take on this whole new meaning.

The weekly potluck “Finer Things Thursday” became popular earlier this year with a feature by The Mustang Daily that publicized its good purpose and religious credibility. The 6 p.m. weekly meals offered Thursdays at Mitchell Park are open to anybody who wants to come, whether friends of the group, people traveling through San Luis Obispo or the homeless. But Finer Things isn’t just about providing empty meals.

“We don’t just want to give out food and have people think that we’re just nice people,” says weekly-attendee Rachel Labonte. Finer Things Thursday is bigger than home cooked, hardy meals at picnic benches; the cooks and friends connect spiritually with those who come. “We’re doing this is because of Jesus, because we want to share with those who attend the awesome things that God has to offer them,” Labonte explained.

Finer Things emphasizes talk at the dinner table, encouraging openness and intimacy to better connect with those who attend and share an exotic-themed meal.

The dishes are unplanned and vary week to week, like those who show up, but all of the plates connect to a decided theme and are meant to quiet growling stomachs. From Peruvian to Egyptian themes, the meals are experimental and are meant to draw crowds to discuss religion and freely communicate. “You get a really good sense of community and although it does vary from week to week who comes, it’s usually a really intimate place where we can just talk about things and be there for each other and share a meal,” said Labonte.

While the free food brings people to Finer Things, the relationships built keep them coming back. The Finer Things group welcomes strangers and friends to share a connection with the unknown and with God through their preaching and listening.

“Some of the middle-aged men are my closest friends in SLO because I see them every week and I hear about their struggles and I’m able to pray for them and know them really intimately; they feel like they can tell me anything and that’s really great” said Labonte.

Finer Things Thursdays has regulars and visitors, and all are equally welcomed. Labonte especially connects with those who, like she and her friends, return weekly to update their newly founded friends on their lives and outlooks. “There is this guy named Curtis who has recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer with only a few months left to live… He totally knows God and Jesus and he’s so joyful about knowing where he’s going and that God’s going to wipe away his tears,” Labonte said.

The Finer Things Thursday group believes that their meals and conversations can guide and support attendees through the toughest of times, just by starting with a hardy meal.

Photo by The Mustang Daily

Homeless and Healthy

Being homeless has an assumed connotation of dirtiness and inescapable sickness from being on the streets. Without health care, available showers or sanitary and stable living conditions, dirt and grim are constants. However, they aren’t permanent.

Physical health is an attainable goal, even when homeless. Becoming destitute isn’t causation for poor health and sickness; the association is breakable and false.

There are simple tips to keep in mind when living on the streets to avoid poor health, stench and general sliminess. These are plausible and normal, not unfeasible in San Luis Obispo, so there are no excuses.

Drink lots of water. Drinking fountains, faucets and sprinklers provide relatively purified water, so drink plenty of it. Water is good when you’re sick and can keep sickness away.

Wash your hands whenever possible. Your hands touch everything you eat and your face and can foster bacteria without washing. Friendly restaurants, malls and public facilities are all equipped for and welcoming to those looking to clean their hands with safe water and soap, so use them. Being homeless means toughing it, but doesn’t have to mean going without the basics. Maybe you were taught to wash your hands before every meal and use of the restroom, and to time the duration to “Happy Birthday to You”; those standards need not be reduced due to homelessness.

Wash your clothes regularly. Maybe weekly is excessive and expensive, but hand washing clothes and linens in sinks with soap and hot water is practical and free. Most laundry mats have washer cycles that cost as little as 50 cents and one cycle holds huge quantities. Getting clean is something even the most adamant opposition to the homeless support, so ask for spare change around laundry mats or to share loads.

Sprinklers are your friends. Remember not to trespass or loiter on private property, but take advantage of sprinklers. A sprinkler can quickly fill up a water bottle with sanitary water or rinse your hands or head in less than 30 seconds. Be courteous and discrete, using sprinkler systems in public parks or the like, not residential yards or hotel lawns.

During the summer months, try to stay cool in the shade. Not sweating means less grim on your clothes and skin and protecting yourself from the sun prevents heat stroke and dehydration.

When it’s cold, keep warm to prevent colds and pneumonia. Wear layers, collect layers and stay warm under blankets, newspapers and inside. San Luis Obispo gets decently cold in winter and fall, so avoid soaking in the rain or freezing alone at night.

The basics for health aren’t different for the rich and the poor; they are standards to be upheld by everyone. Staying dry, warm and healthy keep your health in good condition, and make you more presentable. Win win.

Remember SLO Health and Well-Being

Coming Soon: Heat

The past couple of months have been a fight to keep warm and dry. Bus as spring fades to summer and the lush green environment dies to brown, keeping cool and staying out of the heat are the new focuses and absolute necessities for the homeless population of San Luis Obispo. It is not as easy as running through sprinklers or lying by the pool; even drinking fountains can be hard to come by for those who live on the streets.

June’s average high temperatures in SLO range from 75 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit and July’s increase by an average of five degrees, according to the Weather Channel’s official site. The up side: warm weather is good for frolicking outdoors and water-related activities and sports. The down side: extreme heat is hard on plants and animals, and the homeless.

Raising temperatures aren’t easily dealt with when without pools or shade, or a house. The homeless suffer in the summer months due to strict vagrancy and loitering laws, unable to find cool places to rest and stay. Las Vegas attorney Jim Vilt admits, “Short of public libraries, there’s not a whole lot of indoor places to take refuge.” May is the last month of moderate weather, so get prepared with these helpful tips and guidelines for keeping cool in the upcoming hot months.

• Don’t be idle: Sitting and absorbing the heat emphasizes how hot it is and maximizes painful sunburns. Walk the Creek Walk or travel under awnings or trees to feel the breeze while staying shaded.

• Don’t be scared of air-conditioned buildings: Not every facility in SLO prohibits loitering as long as being homeless isn’t noticeable or disruptive. Malls let you window shop, apply for jobs and use public restrooms, all in a heat regulated complex; San Luis Obispo County Library does not prohibit reading a long book inside; save up and sit down for a cheap meal at any air-conditioned restaurant downtown.

• Don’t lurk in cars: Maybe having a car is considered a greatest asset to homeless living by providing shelter, comfort and storage, but with it comes excessive heat in the summer. Air conditioning is a waste of gas and therefore money—use it wisely, meaning never. Get out and find shade, feel the breeze and lock your doors.

• Don’t carry your belongings: A huge backpack or heavy cart equal more sweating and work, so leave them somewhere safe and downsize for the 80-plus degree day.

While San Luis Obispo is considered attractive to the migrating homeless population, remember that year-round living on the streets of SLO is draining and dangerous and to be conservative with water and insistent on shade.

Photo by coyote_2012 on Flickr

Photo by admanchester on Flickr

Photo by 87506973 on Flickr

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Living the Homeless Life

Dying for a Cheeseburger

You don’t realize how much you take food and meals for granted until you don’t have enough or any.  As a child, your mom probably encouraged you to eat your vegetables because “people are starving in Africa” who cannot afford the cheapest of dinners.  Africa is commonly pictured as the center of starvation, making hunger a distant crisis to Americans.

But in the United States, 40 percent of homeless people reported going a whole day without eating due to insufficient funding or services (Hud User).  Hunger isn’t just in Africa; it can be the bum camping on your neighborhood corner or the homeless person begging for spare change in front of the super market.

Most people don’t think starvation hits close to home, but it can be as close as the nearest homeless person.  Without a steady source of income, most homeless people struggle to buy, prepare and store food and meals.  Getting meals from a soup kitchen is only a temporary fix and unreliable because of capacity limits; digging through trashcans is unsanitary and illegal; relying on daily donations is risky considering weather, location and the given crowd.  The only secure way to obtain food on a more regular basis is to buy small, cheap portions of the most filling and nutritious food items.

This is one of the greatest challenges facing the homeless population: eating well. Because cooking is inaccessible, “the diet of a homeless person usually revolves around quick foods that can be bought ready-made or that require no heating or preparation” (ehow).  Malnutrition is common among the homeless and worsening.  McDonald’s Dollar Menu may be cheap, but it’s inadequate and counterproductive for a starving body.

Without a job, the homeless rely on recyclable goods and donations as mini-incomes.  But there is sometimes question as to the intentions of the homeless when asking for money, assuming all donations will go to alcohol or drugs due to negative stereotypes of the homeless.  Everyone needs to eat, and only 39 percent of the homeless get enough of the kinds of foods they need and want (according to a survey by Hud User).

So if you’re not going to finish those vegetables, give them away.  Maybe it’s unrealistic to ship your steamed carrots to Africa, so give them to a homeless person in need and help end hunger—or at least someone’s hunger in your community.

Here are some links to soup kitchens in SLO:

Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo

Organic Soup Kitchen

Redwood Empire food bank

And here’s help to get food yourself:

Food Assistance

Photo: myrtlebeachramblings at blogspot.com

Pets, Strays and Euthanasia

More and more pets are flaunted in hand bags, entered in competitions, and constantly being groomed and cared for—it seems like animals really are a man’s best and most prized friend, and a woman’s and a child’s.  America has long been obsessed with animals and pets, treating them almost as family members and fighting for their humane treatment the same as with abused people.  Rarely are animals killed in movies and a pet’s funeral can seem as dramatic as that of a grandparent.  Animals mean a lot to us as pet owners and animal-lovers, even when they aren’t ours.

A homeless pet can seem more hopeless than a destitute child because of obvious language barriers and the helplessness of animals that depend on their owners.  So how do we react to a dog on the street?  Most are compelled to pet it and feed it—the dog simply cannot go unacknowledged.  Children flock to animals on the street because of their innocence and companionship and adults question whether the dogs are cared for, more than they assess the necessities of the homeless pet owners.  It is instinct to pet and cuddle pets regardless of familiarity (almost especially when the dog seems malnourished or uncared for) followed by a natural inclination to donate to the homeless in hope of getting their pets food, water and shelter.

If we are so obsessed with homeless pets, why aren’t the numbers of homeless and stray dogs decreasing?  The Humane Society of the United States estimates that shelters euthanize three to four million cats and dogs annually.  About twice that number enter shelters yearly, and entrance and death rates are both on the rise (Humane Society).

How are so many animals being left for shelter care?  Families move long distances and can’t travel with animals; lease contracts forbid pets; acquired allergies.  While these are avoidable circumstances, some pet owners deny alternatives.  Too many animals, old and young, are left at humane societies or residences in hope of adoption.

Abandonment is not the answer.  Pets are adaptive and pack animals, meaning they adjust with their family to new locations and pack members.

If surrendering your companion is the only option, animal shelters provide the best chance of survival.  The Woods Humane Society of the central coast is San Luis Obispo’s largest adoptive, educational and tracking animal shelter. Woods reported a 94 percent placement rate of their animals (Woods Human Society).  Woods allows drop-offs, has a show room of prospective pets, teaches responsibility and celebrates bonding with companion animals.

Homeless animals don’t have the facilities and services to get back on their feet (or paws) after becoming homeless or abandoned.  You can help by treating homeless animals with love and feeding them, and adopting new pets from animal shelters to prevent overpopulation or euthanization.  With an already alarming number of homeless people, homeless animals are an overlooked statistic that we can help.

Photo courtesy of claracupcakes at blogspot.com

Photo: woodshumanesociety.org

Work With What You’ve Got

Let’s be honest—not everyone is cut out to spend a night at a shelter volunteering or able to donate hundreds to the homeless.  And one shift at a soup kitchen or $1 in a guitar case won’t end poverty.  So where is the middle ground?  How can someone contribute to the fight against homelessness without putting himself in danger or going broke?

The answer: a dinner party.  Or checks from local businesses; small-scale fundraisers; home-cooked meals; even just awareness.  Sometimes the simplest of resources are the first overlooked and yet equally as beneficial.  Not everyone can be overly generous in this economic recession or incredibly active with a full-time job, so use what you know.  Try approaching the struggle against homelessness with these four steps:

1. The first step is understanding.  Knowledge really is power—there is little you can do for your community or for the homeless anywhere without understanding who they are, what they contribute, and what they detract from society.  Get on their level to figure out what they want from you to see how much you can give.  Research is easy and readily available, from this blog to Wikipedia entries to surveys in your own neighborhood.
2. The second step is planning.  Maybe monitoring the homeless for a shift at the local overnight homeless shelter is too uncomfortable for you, and that’s okay.  Everyone has something to offer the homeless without greatly inconveniencing themselves.  To not push your limits, you need to set realistic goals and map out your plan to help in detail.  Know what you will and will not be capable of executing prior to when it’s needed.  Any little contribution helps so don’t be afraid to start small; sell tickets to a dinner party (where proceeds are donated to a shelter), rally your friends together to make meals to hand-out to the homeless or bring up fundraisers and campaigns for homelessness at PTA and other school or small business meetings.
3. The third step is providing community awareness.  Get your friends in on helping the homeless by showing them how simple and comfortable it can be to donate time and/or money.  Make larger portions at dinner and separate half for the homeless or set a labeled jar on the counter at work and explain to customers how every penny counts.  It’s hard to solve such a crisis by yourself, so ask for support.
4. The final step is to act.  Think of the homeless children on the streets, the starving dogs barking for attention, the homeless person that smiles and reminds you that homelessness can happen to even the nicest of people.  Now help them.  Channel your frustration and confusion and empathy towards the event you’ve planned to get the word out and succeed in profits or participation.  Stay dedicated and hopeful because the homeless need you.

Your actions count.  Your knowledge is powerful because it’s contagious.  You help the homeless because you want to and you’ll succeed with these four simple steps.  Using what you know and what resources you are familiar with is reasonable and effective. Remember that any minute of helping or spare change donated make a difference in lessening poverty.

Photo courtesy of Silverisdead on Flickr